It’s not that the country had not experienced worrisome insecurity situations before, neither is it that such sad situations did not overwhelm our internal security agency. A situation where police officers are mercilessly gunned down like chickens by armed bandits while in the line of duty is nothing short of a barbaric situation. It’s only that those who have emerged as our security leaders do not have the sense of hindsight, neither do they learn and girdle themselves with history. Institutions of repute resort to archival history and always upgrade their knowledge and this is impacted on its personnel. The unfortunate and painful incident that took place at Galafimawa roundabout, in the Federal Capital Territory ( FCT) Abuja, need to be thoroughly investigated. According to police report , “on July 2nd, 2018, seven armed police men who closed from their duty and were returning to their base, were ambushed and attacked in broad daylight in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja . The unknown attackers gunned down and killed the seven armed policemen and escaped with their rifles.
Nigeria is not alone in witnessing this type of dastardly act of killing police officers. In South Africa, Britain, China and even the sophisticated United States of America, the story has always been the same; either similar or very similar.
Truly, the number of police officers killed in the line of duty around the world is becoming worrisome and ought to be seen as a challenge to any responsible government. The police officer is the image of a country’s law enforcement. No wonder the former French president, Nicolas Sarkozy shut down his office on the day a French police Corporal was gunned down by highway robbers in Paris. It is on record that no Inspector General of Police has ever attended the burial of a junior police officer mowed down by bandits while on duty. That the IGP constituted a team of over five deputy police commissioners to investigate what ordinarily junior police officers can effectively handle is nothing than eye service and playing to the gallery. He must have done this because it happened in Abuja where the president resides. If one may ask, how many of such killings of police officers in other parts of the federation had he constitute such high powered team to investigate. Simply, none!
The police needs an IGP with human feeling, an IGP that will not sit on the allowances of his men. The Nigeria police have lost eleven gallant officers while on their line of duty and they should be celebrated. The seven police officers in Abuja and the recent ambush and killing of four other policemen on patrol in Sabon Gida, Ora, in Edo State on the 14th of July, 2018. The month of July was a crossed month for the Nigeria police.
This writer was in Sambisa forest and had time to engage the police commissioner in Borno State command, Damian Chukwu, who disclosed that the police lost over three thousand police men and women, yet the Nigeria police are carrying on as if those that died are chicken in uniform. No memorial as it is the practice in other climes. In an exclusive interview with the Army Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Bruatai, said he takes time off to attend either the burial of his men or pay members of the family and community condolence visit. This is the stuff a good leader is made of, and which is completely lacking in the police.
The Inspector General of Police gave the investigating team which his spokesman described in very highfalutin words and gave them a 21-day ultimatum to fish out the criminals. As I write this column, the count down remains five days to the deadline and one wonders why all these break dance. Had the FCT Police command left to handle the investigation, maybe there would have been a favorable result. I remember in the days of Sir Mike Okiro, Sunday Agedo, MD Abubakar and Marvel Akpoyibo as commissioners of police in Lagos State, whenever a police officer is gunned down by criminals, his colleagues of his rank cadre are unleashed to apprehend the suspects. The anti – robbery squad at the time were very effective and patriotic. They loved their uniform and they loved to protect the people. Since his ascension as the IGP, the Force headquarters has been inundated with various nomenclatures of investigation units, thereby making nonsense of the entire policing procedures and practices. These are some reasons why there are no more bite and depth in investigation, except wishy-washy investigation. It has become so bad that petitioners now help provide solution to investigators . Very appalling (to be continued).
