The Nation Newspaper

Tag: IGP

  • Reps to IGP: Don’t replace firearms with stun guns

    Reps to IGP: Don’t replace firearms with stun guns

    The House of Representatives yesterday called on the Inspector General of Police, Solomon Arase to shelve the plan to introduce stun guns to replace firearms for the force till such a time when the state of insecurity in the country would have abated reasonably.

    The resolution of the House was sequel to the passage of a motion by a member, Hon. Ayodele Oladimeji and the adoption of the prayers of the motion.

    It was subsequently referred to the House Committee on Police Affairs

    Oladimeji while presenting the motion said the Inspector General of Police recently announced that the Nigerian Police Force will soon replace firearms with stun guns as part of measures to reduce casualties resulting from misuse of firearms by police personnel.

    The lawmakers noted “the current high rate of robberies, kidnappings, abductions and general insecurity of lives and property in Nigeria which need strong, conceited and unrelenting efforts of well- equipped police force to combat.”

    The lawmakers expressed doubt that stun guns, being an electric shock weapon or an incapacitating weapon that momentarily disables with an electric shock, will reduce incidents of extrajudicial and accidental killings by policemen in the course of their official duties.

    He further said: “many of the incidents of extra- judicial killings in which the police have been implicated had to do with the demand for bribes and refusal of the victims to comply. Besides, many of the police personnel involved in those incidents allegedly acted under the influence of alcohol and narcotics which largely impaired their sense of judgment.”

    He said that the replacement of firearms with stun guns will expose the officers and citizenry in danger in the hands of hoodlums who possess more powerful weapons.

    The House subsequently stopped the plans replacement and also urged the Nigerian Police to regularly train their personnel in the proper use of firearms and how to relate with the civil populace.

    The lawmakers further urged the Inspector General of Police (IGP) to ensure that strict disciplinary actions are meted out to officers found drunk on duty.

  • PFN to IGP: Prosecute Fulani herdsmen for carrying arms

    PFN to IGP: Prosecute Fulani herdsmen for carrying arms

     

     

    The Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) in Cross River State has called on the Inspector General of Police (IGP) to as a matter of urgent national interest, arrest and prosecute all gun-carrying Fulani herdsmen.

    This Christian body said was because the carrying of arms without license violates the laws of the land.

    A communiqué signed by the Chairman, Rev Lawrence Ekwok and Secretary, Apostle Frank Umo, issued to The Nation in Calabar Tuesday, also strongly condemned the attack and killing of people in the middle belt and southern parts of Nigeria by the Fulani herdsmen.

    The communiqué read, “We call on the Federal Government to as a matter of urgency ensure the arrest and immediate prosecution of the perpetrators of these heinous crimes.

    “PFN in Cross River calls on the various legislatures to enact legislations against free movement of destructive animals such as cows in their states.

    “The Cross River House of Assembly should enact a bill prohibiting any portion of the Cross River State land to be forcefully taken or otherwise for the purpose of grazing cattle as it will attract negative consequences on the economy and lives of Cross Riverians.

    “PFN CRS calls on all members of the National Assembly in the state to resist the National Grazing Reserve Bill in view of its negative economic consequences on the indigenes of the state, and on our already fragile pressure on our land.

    “PFN CRS strongly condemns and opposes the proposed Executive Bill by Governor El-Rufai of Kaduna State designed to restrict all forms of preaching in the state. Such a Religious Regulation Bill is contrary to the provisions of Section 38 of the 1999 Constitution.

    “PFN CRS condemns in very strong terms the new trend of Muslims abducting Christian girls and forcing them into marriage and conversion into Islam.

    “PFN CRS rejects plans by the Federal Government of Nigeria to fund the 2016 budget deficit from an “Islamic Compliant” loan.

    “PFN CRS condemns the decision of the Kano State governor to use Sunday for sanitation in the state. This is a deliberate poly to hinder Sunday worship by Christians in the state.

    “PFN CRS opposes the alteration of the school curriculum of Nigerian schools with the intention to exclude the teaching of Christian Religious Knowledge in schools.

    “It is our hope and prayer that all stakeholders of our country will work for the common good, well-being and continued unity of Nigeria.”

     

  • IGP’s ‘no fuel in kegs’ order

    SIR: There are already so many inhuman policies of the present APC led government, no doubt! But the Inspector General of Police, Solomon Arase’s order to arrest both the buyer and seller by the roadside of fuel, is nothing but cruel and unconscionable – far more inhuman than any before it. The lnspector General of POlice seems to forget that his men only needed to be given a step and they go  miles on  ‘overdo’ gear!

    The Minister of State for Petroleum, Ibe Kachikwu, the other day, decried the diversion of fuel to nearby countries, such as Cameroun and Benin republics. The minister and the IGP, especially, before his inhuman order, should have endeavoured to explain to Nigerians, if the fuel being diverted were done in jerry cans, or in trailers loads, while his men looked the other way. Is it not ridiculous that while Arase and his men, could do nothing about their complicit negligence, the poor people of Nigeria are made to suffer the absurdly pampered life the rich live in Nigeria? Only a ruling party whose heart is dead to human feelings and sufferings, would allow the excruciating poverty and helplessness of the poor to continue, as is presently is.

    PHCN, is better dead than its epileptic existence. The other time, the Minister for Works, Power and Housing Babatude Fashola was quoted, while justifying the increase in energy tarrif, that it is “still costlier to power generators than paying the increased electricity tarrif.” He talks here of power supply, which is never available.

    Our leaders have forgotten that Nigeria, belongs to all of us and God is supreme above all.

    If the people have no access to power, to water, to shelter, to money, to jobs, to security and the power, or the ability to self-generate same is now taken away from them, via an essentially thoughtless order of the IGP, then one is left to ask: what exactly does the government want from the people they pretend to govern?

    The Nigerian government is never tired of demanding sacrifices from the people from regime to regime, while people in government luxuriate in wanton profligacy. Now, there remains nothing else to sacrifice. Is the government turning the people themselves to sacrifice? If this is not so, the inhuman, wicked, unfeeling order of the lGP, must be reversed.

     

    • Wole St. Jones,

    Ikeja, Lagos.

  • IGP orders arrest, prosecution of black marketers

    IGP orders arrest, prosecution of black marketers

    The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Solomon Arase has directed all Zonal Assistant Inspectors-General of Police (AIG), FCT and other State Commands Commissioners of Police (CP) to arrest anybody found selling petrol and other petroleum products in plastic container.

    The Police High Command explained that the order became imperative following untold suffering and hazard emanating from the activities of black marketers.

    The IGP also noted that the act has led to fire outbreaks, thereby rendering many homeless.

    This is contained in a statement in Abuja Tuesday by the Force Spokesperson, Olabisi Kolawole.

    According to the statement: “…apart from the hardship this act is causing to fuel buyers, it has also rendered some innocent and law abiding citizens homeless due to fire outbreak from jerry-can petrol storage.

    Arase while warning fuel attendants at filling stations to desist from selling petrol inside jerry-can and plastic container added that the buyers and the sellers of the products if caught will be arrested and prosecuted under the law.

    He also noted that fuel products such as petrol are highly flammable and if not stored and handled properly, can seriously endanger people, property and the environment.

    The IGP who assured Nigerians of Police readiness to fulfill its constitutional mandate also solicited  for a cordial relationship between the Force and Nigerians.

     

  • Fulani herdsmen: Reps ask IGP to investigate Enugu killings

    Fulani herdsmen: Reps ask IGP to investigate Enugu killings

    The House of Representatives has mandated the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Solomon Arase to investigate the killings allegedly carried out by Fulani herdsmen in Enugu State.

    The Director General of the Department of State Security (DSS), Lawal Daura has also been summoned to brief the House about measures being put in place by his agency to stop the killings.

    The aim of the investigation, according to the lawmakers is to ascertain the causes as well as bring those culpable to book.

    The decision of the House followed the adoption of a motion of urgent public importance by Chukwuemeka Ujam (PDP, Enugu), regretted that findings have shown that a number of persons have been declared missing with their whereabouts unknown.

    Saying that the recurring killings by the Fulani herdsmen threatens the security of the country, Ujam added, “Eye witnesses account indicates that this mayhem was perpetuated by an army of masked herdsmen emerging from the bushes and attacking their victims with careless abandon.

    “These merchants of death were armed with guns bow and arrows, swords and engaged in sporadic shooting for a lengthy period of time, sending shivers into the inhabitant of this community and hacking any person within sight to death.”

    In his contribution, the Minority Leader, Leo Ogor (PDP, Delta) said the issue of conflicts between Fulani herdsmen and host communities over grazing must be addressed as a matter of urgency.

    “Rearing should be done in confined zones but it is important to address this issue once and for all,” he added.

    The motion was unanimously adopted after it was put to a voice vote by the Speaker, Yakubu Dogara

     

  • Lagos asks IGP to take over probe of Disu’s death

    Lagos asks IGP to take over probe of Disu’s death

    •White Paper on LFTZ out

    The Lagos State Government has asked Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Solomon Arase to take over investigation into the death of former Lekki Worldwide Limited Alhaji Tajudeen Disu last October 12 at the Lekki Free Trade Zone (LFTZ).

    In a White Paper on the recommendation of the tribunal, which probed the October 12, 2015 disturbance at LFTZ, the government said it was imperative that Arase took over the case because of the conflict over Disu’s death.

    Leaders of the Okunraye community where Disu died on October 12, 2015 had claimed that the late Disu was killed by a stray bullet from mobile policemen attached to the area, but the police denied the allegation.

    The government reiterated its commitment to granting investors access at the zone.

    It directed the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Cooperatives to ensure that outstanding compensation issues were resolved forthwith.

    A statement by Commissioner for Information and Strategy Mr Steve Ayorinde said the ministry was also directed to ensure that the Resettlement Committee is reconstituted in line with the provisions of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to enable it perform.

    The government directed that “a LFTZ Peace and Security Committee comprising the police and representatives of investors of the affected villages be constituted to receive complaints. It will also resolve issues referred to it, as spelt out in the MoU”.

    It directed the Lands Bureau to prioritise the issuance of Certificate of Occupancy of excised land.

    According to the White Paper, the government accepted the tribunal’s recommendation that cash payments, no matter how meagre, should no longer be received. All payments should be by cheque, duly receipted by the payee in a format that carries the said payee’s name, picture and signature, it said.

  • Family of abducted ex-Mobil employee petitions IGP

    For more than two months after her abduction, the whereabouts of Ms. Eunice Udo have remained a mystery, causing anxiety that she may have been killed.

    Ms. Udoh, a former contract employee with Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited (MPN), hails from Atibe community, Afaha Eket in Eket Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State.

    The victim, 34, according to the family, was allegedly seized and taken to an unknown destination on February 4 by a business associate.

    The suspect, who has since been arrested, it was gathered, is undergoing interrogation at the Zone 6 Headquarters in Calabar, Cross River State, where the case had been transferred.

    Worried by the slow pace of the investigation, the family has petitioned the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Solomon Arase.

    The two-paragraph petition entitled: “Re-Case of Abduction of Eunice Eno Udo”, stated that the suspect abducted her in the process of transacting a business.

    The elder brother to the victim, Akpan Udo, said her sister may have been killed. He urged the IGP to use his good offices to unravel the mystery surrounding the disappearance of the woman, whom he said “was our bread winner”.

    He recalled that when her sister was dropped as a contract staff of Mobil, she took some of her vehicles, including a bus to the car stands in Uyo, for sale, but ran into the suspect, who offered to buy the vehicle.

    The suspect, who hails from Omuogba in Onyigbo Local Government Area of River State, was said to have been connected to the business by another suspect who is still at large.

    According to Udo, the suspect was taken to Ikot Ekpene Road to see the vehicle before the transaction.

    The sister was said to have driven to the place with her car from her residence at Nnung Obio Enang on IdoroRoad, Uyo, for negotiation.

    “After the agreement to sell the bus had been reached by both parties, my sister parked her car at the stand and was driven in the bus by the suspect to pick the vehicle documents in her house. After fetching the particulars, the suspect drove my sister with the bus to an unknown destination,” he said.

    The following day, the suspect, according to him, disguised in Navy kits, went to the stand, picked his sister’s car and drove to the house, where he ransacked and carted away other vital documents of lands and vehicles.

    The Hausa man at the gate to the victim’s house, it was gathered, had revealed that the suspect  made phone call in Hausa language to alert some people that he was bringing the person.

    “When he (the suspect) made the conversation on phone to intimate his accomplice that he was bringing somebody to them, he did not know the gateman was a Hausa man, who also understood the language. This revelation forced us to report the matter at Itam Police Station.

    “The case was later moved to the State Headquarters before we made effort for the matter to be transferred to Zone 6, Calabar, because of shoddy handling of the case”, Mr. Udo explained.

    Her father, Chief EnoUdo Unanaowo, lamented that her daughter was the major bread winner in the family and urged the Police to expedite action in the matter.

    “Her seven-year-old daughter has been in tears since her mother was abducted,” he said, adding that only her rescue would safe the child from the trauma.”

    Part of the petition reads: “Due to the shoddy investigation process at the Akwa Ibom State Police Command, IkotAkpanabia, Uyo, we wrote a petition for the case to be transferred to Zone 6, Calabar, for proper investigation and prosecution of the culprit.

    “We therefore appeal to you sir, to use your good offices and prevail on the AIG Zone 6, to carry out a thorough investigation that can lead to discovering the whereabouts Ms Eunice Udo, as the whole family is in turmoil since her abduction. We sincerely believe that with your zero tolerance for criminals of this kind, justice will surely prevail.”

     

  • IGP directs police formations to update armouries

    IGP directs police formations to update armouries

    Inspector-General of Police Solomon Arase has directed police formations to ensure that their armouries are updated.

     Arase said this would ensure that ammunition are in good conditions.

    He gave this directive while responding to an observation by Sergeant Nicholas Enguru yesterday at the Police Headquarters in Ikot Akpan Abia, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.

    While the IGP was interacting with men and officers of the command, Enguru observed that before he was posted to Akwa Ibom, he was given a gun with 30 rounds from the armoury, but to his dismay, the gun could not fire because it had expired.

    The Arase noted that any police officer that goes out with expired ammunition was in danger when he faces criminals.

    He hailed the officer for bringing such matter to his notice.

    The IGP said: “If I am an accountant and I am careless, I will lose money, but if you are a police officer, if you are careless with your men, you lose lives and that is the difference. If you are having 30 rounds of ammunition and you cork it and it does not fire and you are facing criminals, it means you are going to be killed.

    “We are going to take care of that. The armourers should check their ammunition to see that they are not expired and so that they would not jeopardise the lives of our officers while on duty. This is a national thing. I am directing armourers in the commands to update their armoury.”

    The IGP announced Enguru’s promotion from sergeant to Inspector.

    He urged the DPOs to get connected to the community where they serve, noting that such would help in security.

  • Police recruitment: Senate panel meets IGP, others

    Police recruitment: Senate panel meets IGP, others

    The Senate Committee on Police Affairs yesterday met with Inspector General of Police Solomon Arase, Chairman, Police Service Commission Mr. Mike Okiro and others over the plan by the Federal Government to recruit 10,000 police personnel.

    Chairman of the committee Senator Abu Ibrahim said the meeting was convened to interact on the police recruitment.

    Ibrahim noted that adequate man-power remain the bed rock of effective and efficient policing.

    He added that the meeting became necessary because matters of security globally readily bring the police into focus as the pivotal organ of government responsible for protection of life and property.

     Ibrahim noted that the situation was more relevant these days when viewed alongside internal security challenges facing the country.

    He said: “As we all know, it is only a secured nation that can attract foreign investment and promote trade, industry and commerce for socio-economic growth.”

    He noted the manpower profile of the police stands at about 316,000 officers and men expected to police an estimated Nigerian population of about 180 million.

    He said the figure is grossly inadequate, hence the need to recruit more policemen.

    Ibrahim added that although the plan to recruit 10,000 police officers was a welcome development, the exercise should be done meticulously.

    He said: “Reflecting on the past experience whereby some inappropriate elements find their way into getting enlisted into the police with resultant criminal and inappropriate conducts, the committee find it imperative that this time around, everything must be done to ensure that only credible persons are recruited into the Nigeria Police.”

    He advised the police service commission, formations and commands to ensure proper screening and character profiling of candidates for recruitment of the right officers and men.

  • FG approves funds for takeoff Police recruitment

    FG approves funds for takeoff Police recruitment

    President Muhammadu Buhari has disclosed that the government has approved funds for the takeoff of the 10,000 police personnel to be recruited in to the Nigeria Police Force.

    The President has also tasked the Force to put national interest first as it begins the recruitment exercise nationwide.

    The president noted that aside addressing the national challenge of youth unemployment, the recruitment will bridge the chronic manpower gap inherited by this regime in the Nigeria Police

    Buhari also highlighted community input in policing as part of ways to address the current national security challenges that has threatened national values and development strides.

    Buhari made these known in Abuja yesterday during the Ceremonial Parade to mark 11th Biennial Nigeria Police Week.

    The president who was represented by the Minister of Interior, Lieutenant-General Abdulrahman Dambazzau (rtd) said: “the Federal Government approved the recruitment of additional 10,000 police personnel and also approved funds for the take-off of the exercise.

    “Aside addressing the national challenge of youth unemployment, this initiative will bridge the chronic manpower gap inherited by this regime in the Nigeria Police.  In carrying out this exercise, I expect the Nigeria Police to put national interest in the forefront so that it will be in line with the reforms agenda being pursued under the Ministry of Interior.

    Buhari also revealed that the Federal Government has funded the procurement of over 1,000 Patrol Vehicles and other logistics to strengthen the operational capacity of the Safer Highway Patrol Scheme and support the deployment of police personnel towards security stabilization and restoration of civil authority in the North East.

    On the need for community input in policing, he said, “the need for a police system that is driven by community input in Nigeria has even become more imperative considering our current national security challenges in which Kidnapping, armed robbery, murder, transnational crimes, terrorism and other organized crimes have evolved to threaten our national values and developmental strides.”

    Also speaking, the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Solomon Arase vowed to redeem the image of the Nigeria Police Force and also deal with criminal elements who threaten the existence of the Force.

    According to him, “We are determined to take the criminal battle to the footsteps of elements that continue to threaten our peace and security and remind the nation that with their support, the new police Force vows to defeat the threat of terror and other internal security threats.

    “We are passing a clear message to the criminal community that the wind of change is now blowing through the Police, a cultural reorientation that is premised on adoption of international best policing practices is emerging, and a new Police Force that will display team spirit, loyalty, zeal, courage, civility and renewed commitment towards confronting criminal elements, hand-in-hand with the citizens is evolving.”

    Arase who reassured the Federal Government of its commitment to restore its lost primacy also assured the citizens of its determination to live the true meaning of the common saying ‘Police is your friend’.

    According to him, “In my capacity as the IGP, I wish to use this occasion to reassure the president of the loyalty of officers and men of the -Force and our firm determination-to advance ­the vision of a professional, community-driven police Force that will remain civil to the citizens, but potent enough to respond to any threat to our internal security and national cohesion.”