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Tag: IG Idris

  • IG Idris: normalcy returning to Benue

    IG Idris: normalcy returning to Benue

    •’Nasarawa not at war with Benue’

    The Inspector General of Police (IG), Ibrahim Idris, has said peace is gradually returning to Benue State.

    Idris spoke at yesterday’s peace meeting with stakeholders from Benue and Nasarawa states in Abuja.

    It is the second meeting by the IGP as part of measures to end crisis in both states. The first, scheduled for January 15, was stalled because both governors were absent.

    The Benue delegation was led by Deputy Governor Benson Abuonu; Nasarawa delegation by Special Adviser to the Governor on Security, Dr. Muhammad Adeka.

    The meeting, Idris said, was geared towards having lasting peace in both states.

    He said: “I know a lot of effort and progress have been made in trying to resolve the crisis between both states, because I was in both states and I conducted an on-the-spot assessment.

    “The DIG Operations is presently in Benue to coordinate our operation in that area and from his feedback, the situation is getting back to normal.

    “By the grace of God, I am sure the challenge we had in the past will never come back to us.”

    Nasarawa State Governor Tanko Al-Makura was represented by Adeka, who said Nasarawa was not at war with Benue State.

    He said: “I don’t want the people to leave here with the notion that the government or the people of both states are at war because of the word “peace and reconciliation” which is used to describe the meeting.

    “Nasarawa State does not have any problem with Benue State. We have our conflict resolution mechanism which has helped us for long, and we are willing to give it to Benue to resolve whatever skirmishes it has.

    “The only thing that concerns us is the ripple effect of the open grazing prohibition law, which the government and people of Nasarawa State are not in a position to contradict. We are not against the law, but the ripple effect has affected us severely. We, however, won’t chase the people away. Our government has done everything to accommodate all those running away from the law.”

    Abuonu said the state would ensure that the people experience permanent peace.

    He said: “The best we can do for our children and children’s children is to maintain peace so that cordiality exists between both states.

    “We cannot afford to have anything less than peace. If we must develop a strong united country, then we must have peace that is founded on justice, equality, security and equity.

    “Benue is hundred per cent for peace, and we will do everything possible to ensure that the current crisis is resolved.”

  • IG Idris has taken sides in Benue killings, says Ortom

    IG Idris has taken sides in Benue killings, says Ortom

    Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom yesterday accused Inspector General of Police,Ibrahim Idris of bias in the handling of the herdsmen/ farmers clashes in the state.

    Ortom, who appeared before the Senate Committee on Police Affairs to state his own side in the Benue killings, was said to have presented copies of letters he wrote notifying Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and security agencies of the pending attacks by armed herdsmen in the state.

    The meeting was held behind closed doors after the opening speech by Chairman of the committee Senator Abu Ibrahim.

    A source said Ortom clearly told the committee that the Inspector General of Police had no business whatsoever in determining whether the anti- open grazing law the state enacted was good or bad.

    It was gather that Ortom insisted that the IGP only has the constitutional mandate to uphold and enforce the law as made by the state.

    According to the source, “Ortom also presented copies of the letters he wrote to security agencies alerting them of the pending attacks.”

    The attack, which was eventually launched on January 1 claimed over 73 lives in two communities of in Logo and Guma local government councils.

    Ortom, who appeared before the committee yesterday, expressed a vote of no confidence on Idris, who he accused of taking sides in the crises.

  • Note to IG Idris

    SIR: On Tuesday February 7, I travelled from Port Harcourt to Sokoto State.

    The level of policing I witnessed on the trip was first-rate. I saw battle-ready policemen at every corner and bend on the road as we journeyed out of Port Harcourt. In many locations, policemen were only 100 metres away from each other at designated checkpoints. I appreciated their presence on the road – who wouldn’t? It gives people confidence in government when they know that the safety of lives is important and not subordinated – although I wasn’t impressed with the underhanded practice when money had to change hands from drivers to policemen at every stop.

    I had expected these police presence to be a matter of course everywhere gavel-to-gavel throughout my long trip but it wasn’t. When we passed the sleepy town of Okene at 9:30pm, a town at war with itself where a nightly curfew I heard is in place, policemen were at strategic points to enforce it. Little wonder – we never saw a being outside save for these policemen. All indigenes were in Noah’s Ark. It is a crying-shame to the people of Okene I must say. Why are they always in the news for the wrong reasons?

    I found it ironic to see that from Zuba to Kaduna, we never encountered one police checkpoint. So I imagined that we may see some from Kaduna to Zaria but there were none. Could it be the cold from Kaduna to Zaria that prevented setting up a checkpoint? It was scary. Imagine if we had run into good-for-nothings?

    So I guessed that the cops were busy and we would see checkpoints from Zaria to Giwa, but there were none. This policing strategy was befuddling. How is it that one part of Nigeria is heavily policed and another is not? To think that the north isn’t crime free?

    I had hoped something will give and see cops on the road or patrol vans from Giwa to Funtua but again there were none. The first patrol vehicle I saw from Zuba to Funtua was the one stationed at the boundary between Katsina and Zamfara.

    God forbid if we had run into robbers, they would have taken seven-forevers to fleece us, rape the women and do other things good-for-nothings do without conscience with no help in sight.

    What is the policing philosophy of the Nigerian police under your watch sir and what is the domestic agenda of the Nigerian police? I find it hard to comprehend.

     

    • Simon Abah,

    Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

  • IG orders DIG to find killers of Plateau monarch

    IG orders DIG to find killers of Plateau monarch

    The Acting Inspector General of Police (IGP), Ibrahim Idris, has directed the Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) in charge of Operations, Joshack Habilla, to find killers of the paramount ruler of Bokkos, the Saf Ron Kulere, Lazarus Agaie.

    A statement yesterday by the Force spokesperson, Don Awunah, promised that the culprits would be fished out  for prosecution.

    Urging aggrieved persons to be patient with the police in their investigation, Awunah said: “the death of the monarch, his family and orderly, are painful, but it is more painful when we take to reprisal attacks.”

    He urged the public to come up with information without overheating the tensed atmosphere, adding that the force will arrest the culprits.

    The Special Federal Troops in Jos, the Plateau State capital, also known as “Operation Safe Haven (OPSH), has imposed a 24-hour curfew on Bokkos.

    The Media Officer of the military task force, Captain Ikedichi Iweha, who announced the curfew on phone, said: “We have imposed a 24-hour curfew on Bokkos. I’m in Bokkos but as soon as I return to Jos, I will send a formal statement to that effect.”

    This followed the violence that erupted over the murder of the town’s monarch, last Monday. The youths blocked the only entrance into the council headquarters but calm was restored when security agencies appealed for peace.

    However, the youth went on the rampage the next day on hearing that gunmen attacked the monarch’s home town, sacked residents and demolished buildings.

    The aggrieved youth took their peaceful protest to the local government secretariat and the chairman appealed for calm. He urged them not to  take laws into their hands.

    But on Wednesday night, gunmen allegedly stormed Bokkos, set some buildings ablaze and killed a resident.

    Palace sources said angry youths confronted the attackers and discovered that the Fulani community leader was conveying arms and ammunition to the gunmen in a military Hilux Van.

    They reported their discovery to security agencies, and he was arrested. But the youth insisted that the Fulani Ardo be released to them for instant judgment since, according to them, he had been masterminding the attacks, including allegedly killing the Saf Ron Kulere.

    Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) in charge of Zone 4 arrived at Bokkos about 9 am to control the security situation.

    His arrival, however, did not calm the tensed atmosphere. The youth continued to battle the troops against smuggling Ardo to Jos.

    According to an eyewitness, the troops were forced to open fire on rampaging youths and seven were hit. Four died instantly; others sustained injuries.

    But the soldiers denied killing anyone; they said the shot that killed the victims was not from them.

    While the battle was raging in Bokkos, an emergency security meeting was on at the Government House, Jos, where security chiefs gathered to brainstorm on the way out.

    The crisis spread to Jos, as concerned youths, about 200, dressed in black, protested the murder of the Saf Ron Kulere. They were escorted by policemen.

    They were, however, prevented from presenting their case to Governor Simon Lalong, as security agents claimed ignorance of the protest. When the protesters insisted, they were sprayed with teargas.

    This affected students of the Nigerian Television College (NTC), whose campus is just 100 metres from the Government House, sparking another  protest.

    It was gathered that the police beat up the students and arrested four of them. A reporter with Lightbearer was beaten up as he attempted to photograph the crisis.

    Meanwhile, tension has also been noticed in neighbouring Barkin Ladi and Bokkos councils, as the battle between the Fulani and youths continue. Both are said to be on the red alert in case of reprisal attacks.