The Nation Newspaper

Tag: policemen

  • Policemen to undergo drug abuse test -Arase

    Policemen to undergo drug abuse test -Arase

    The Inspector-General of Police, Mr Solomon Arase, has said that henceforth, all Policemen will undergo snap urine tests to ascertain signs of drug abuse before they could be issued firearms.

    Arase disclosed this at the launch of drug testing kits and campaign against sudden death of police officers in Abuja on Wednesday.

    The programme was organised by the Nigeria Police Force in collaboration with the Hypertension and Diabetes Awareness Foundation.

    He said that apart from denying officers who failed the test access to firearms, the force would wean them from drugs or other psychological problems.

    Arase noted that the killing of Nigerians from misapplication of firearms by policemen had made the public to cast aspersions on the police.

    “After an in-depth study, my team and I have found out that some of these fatal cases could be due to mishandling of firearms by police officers who are psychologically unfit to handle firearms at that time.

    “We have therefore decided that the medical assessment of persons we recruit into the police Force will include a psychological assessment, “he said.

    He said that some of these psychological problems could also have resulted from drug abuse by few of the officers.

    Arase said that the police had also initiated a policing strategy that would witness the transition of the police from relying on firearms to manage social disorders.

    “Orders have been placed for this weaponry and adequate training framework is being put in place.

    “My long term vision is to effectively address issues that engender misuse of firearms and give true meaning to our mandate of safeguarding the lives of our citizens,” he said.

    He said that the Force had also decided to address the issue of frequent sudden death of police officers from preventable or avoidable health challenges.

    Arase said that medical personnel had attributed such deaths to chronic non-communicable diseases like diabetes mellitus and hypertension.

    He said that following this discovery, the medical department had been directed to screen all officers for the diseases.

    “I encourage all men to come forward for health screening.

    “Our medical section is well positioned to manage any health problems our officers and men may have,“he said.

    Earlier, the Force Medical Officer, AIG Adenike Abuwa, said that the initiative was aimed at further protecting the lives of Nigerians from accidental discharge by police officers.

    Abuwa said that a three-day capacity building workshop for medical officers would hold at all police health facilities nationwide to improve mental care delivery services in the police.

    She said that the sudden death programme was part of the police collective response to the growing prevalence of sudden death in the police community and Nigeria at large.

    “In line with global best practices, this programme has been organised to educate police officers on healthy lifestyle and regular medical checkup.

    “This initiative will ensure prompt identification and management of conditions that lead to non-communicable diseases among the police community,“she said.

    She said also that the programme would be held at zonal and state commands to ensure that no police personnel were left out.

    The high point of the occasion was the launch of the drug testing kits by Arase.

     

  • Killer of 12 policemen to die by hanging, court rules

    One of the killers of 12 policemen who were ambushed and shot dead along the creeks of Lobia 2 community, Southern Ijaw, Bayelsa State, on April 5, 2013, has been sentenced to death by hanging.
    The Oporoma Judicial Division of the High Court sitting in Yenagoa, the state capital, slammed the capital punishment on the accused person, Jackson Feutuboba, known along the creeks and waterways as Jasper.
    The 2013 victims were deployed by the state police command, then headed by Kingsley Omire (retd) to provide security for the funeral of the late mother of an ex-militant leader, Mr. Kile Torughedi, popularly known as Young Shall Grow.

    Torughedi who was the commander of the South Wing of the Movement for Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND) from 2002 till 2009 when he embraced the amnesty for repentant militants was then serving as the Senior Special Adviser to Governor Seriake Dickson on Marine Waterways Security.

    The slain policemen were escorting dignitaries to the wake of the deceased when the gunmen attacked them.

    The gunmen killed 12 out of 15 of them and held one of them hostage for ransom.

    Jasper and two others have been standing trial for their murder.

    The court ruled that the prosecution proved its case beyond every reasonable doubt and found Jasper guilty on all the 11 counts.

    He was particularly arraigned for killing one Police Inspector, Joseph Ofozini.
    The prosecution told the court that the accused person had over five cases in various courts bothering on kidnapping, sea piracy and involvement in the death of the policemen.

    The presiding Judge,  Justice M.A Ayemieye, took into consideration the nature of the offence, the passionate plea for mercy made by the defendant’s lawyer.

    But the judge concluded that the sentence for murder is death and it is mandatory.

    Justice Ayemieye ruled and sentenced the accused to death by hanging.

    The police prosecutor, Arthur Andrew Seweniowor, said if the accused failed to appeal the sentence in three months, the governor would sign his death warrant and he would be hanged.

    The accused lawyer, Efieseimokumo Bipelede earlier pleaded with the court to tamper justice with mercy saying the accused person is a family man with five children.

    He said imposing the maximum penalty would truncate the destiny of all the children whom he described as minors.

    He urged the court to convert the punishment to prison sentence.
    The court discharged and acquitted the second accused person identified as ThankGod Clinton Ezetu for lack of evidence.
    End.
  • Hoodlums kill two Policemen in Akwa Ibom

    Hoodlums kill two Policemen in Akwa Ibom

    Hoodlums in Eastern Obolo Local Government Area in Akwa Ibom State opened fire on a police station and killed two policemen.

    The identity of the two policemen could not be ascertained as at the time of filing this report but our reporter gathered the hoodlums killed a police inspector and a corporal who were on duty on Tuesday.

    The cause of the hoodlums’ grievances which led to the killing of the two policemen could not be ascertained as elders and indigenes of the area claimed no knowledge of the violence. 

    The community had in recent time warned oil firms to stay out of their area owing to marginalisation and non-adherence to the Memorandum of Understanding reached between the community and the oil firms.

    A traditional ruler in the area, Chief M.W. Ujile, told our correspondent that he saw the situation as it is. 

    He added that he did not know what might have propelled the hoodlums to take such drastic measures against the police. 

    His words: “The situation is just as you have said.  We don’t know what actually happened.”

    The state Police Public Relations Officer, Cordelia Nwawe, ASP, confirmed the killing of the two policemen to our reporter.

    ASP Nwawe decried the killing, saying it was uncalled for.

    According to her, the police are in Eastern Obolo just as in any other places in the country to protect lives and property. She noted that the hoodlums by killing the two policemen, they had gone just too far.

    She said: “It is sad for anyone to vent anger on policemen who are there to protect lives and property. We condemn the actions of the hoodlums. The police, will, however, fish out the culprits.”

  • My eight-month ordeal in the hands of corrupt prison officials, policemen –Environmental activist Zikoreigha

    My eight-month ordeal in the hands of corrupt prison officials, policemen –Environmental activist Zikoreigha

    Chief Futek Zikoreigha, a Niger Delta environmental activist and anti-illegal bunkering crusader, came into limelight in April 2015, when he was arrested by the police allegedly for illegal oil bunkering. His arrest sparked widespread outrage from his fellow activists agitating against pipeline vandalism, who alleged that the police were being used by criminals involved in illegal oil bunkering to silence him. In this interview with South-South Editor, SHOLA O’NEIL, the activist opens up on his prison experience, particularly how the police was allegedly used to torment him in detention.

    What is the story behind your alleged metamorphosis from a crusader against illegal oil bunkering to a participant in the illegal act?

    First, let me tell you a little about myself. I was the Chairman of Forcados Community in Burutu Local Government Area of Delta State. I was removed because of my stance on illegal bunkering and pipeline vandalism. I am fully aware of the damages done to our environment by illegal bunkering and such vices by undesirable elements who, out of quest for quick money, are destroying the future of our unborn children.

    Apart from that, I worked very closely with former JTF Commander, Gen. Wuyep Rimtip, who was the most active – in words and action – among the military personnel I have met in the fight against illegal bunkering. I constantly gave information to the military, including the army at Effurun. Some they acted upon, others they chose to ignore.

    During all those years, I was threatened, induced with money and other attractive offers to back off, but I have remained resolute because of my conviction that whatever meagre gains we enjoy from illegal bunkering today, our children and others yet unborn would pay for by way of damage to the environment, loss of their homeland and economic activities.

    Having said that, I will answer your question by giving you the background to the matter. Sometime ago, I had information that some persons wanted to vandalise the 48” SBM pipeline of SHELL (petroleum) company. They hijacked the community, damaged the facility and then pushed for the award of the contract to their paymaster who is an indigene of the community. Because SHELL refused, they used the name of the community to write a petition and gave SPDC an ultimatum to award the contract to certain persons or face consequences.

    The threat was contained in a paid advertorial. When I saw it, I said, ‘No, it is not right!’ I reacted by stating the situation as it was, and my reaction was carried by your paper (The Nation). That was the beginning of my problem because it angered these set of people and they declared me a persona non grata in my community.

    When I lost my elder brother, I took him home for burial, but the corpse was desecrated. I was severely beaten up and almost killed, but for the intervention of some of the youths. Not satisfied with that, they wrote a petition against me to the Inspector General of Police. I knew it was a ploy to arrest me and get me out of the way. This was confirmed when a member of the gang who attended the meeting was confronted by the community leaders and he confessed to it.

    Zikoreigha in detention
    Zikoreigha in detention

    When I got wind of the plan to arrest me on trumped up charges, I alerted the police, SSS and other security operatives. The Warri Area Commander of Police invited me to write a statement. While we were on that, I filed for the enforcement of my fundamental human rights to stop the kangaroo arrest. I was in the process of serving some of the defendants when they used the same policemen I had complained to, to arrest me.

    You said the police were used to arrest you. Didn’t they tell you, you were arrested?

    I said the police are being used for personal vendetta. Let me explain it to you: I was taken to Abuja and arraigned for assault and trying to cause a breach of the peace before an Abuja area court, which lacked jurisdiction. I was arrested in the South-South, which operates the criminal code and taken to Abuja which operates penal code for a crime I allegedly committed in the South-South. Is that not clear that they wanted to get me out of the Niger Delta where I can monitor and truncate their activities?

    My lawyers went to Otu Jeremi High Court where I was granted bail and all the processes were perfected. It was served on the police in Abuja. But to further punish me, after seeing the order, the police charged me to court, not for the earlier offence, but for a weightier allegation of pipeline vandalism, illegal bunkering and others. I was charged at a Federal High Court in Abuja, which has no territorial jurisdiction to hear the matter. The judge refused to entertain the matter and also refused to send me to Kuje Prison as the police demanded.

    Let me tell you that during this time, I had received information that a  senior police officer had been drafted into the plot to lock me away for illegal bunkerers to have unhindered operations in my area. They were already boasting that the coast was clear for them to continue the criminal ways because I had been dealt with totally.

    Can you give an insight into how you came about this information and your experience at the hands of the police?

    Let me quickly chip this in: while I was away, my community was attacked by armed militants and illegal bunkering gang members. The houses of those opposed to their activities were burnt down and even the traditional head was chased away.

    When I arrived Abuja, I was locked up in an underground cell marked Cell 1. My chief tormentor was a policeman who blatantly told me that he would ensure my conviction and continued incarceration. He further said he would do anything within his powers to ensure that I remained in detention or I was sent to prison. His actions and the way he tortured me left me without any doubt that he was dead serious.

    But there was another policeman who showed that not all policemen are bad. I don’t know his real name, but they called him Alhaji. After my prolonged detention, Alhaji asked my tormentor one day, ‘What is the crime that this man committed?’ He said they should release me or take me to court. Alhaji called me and asked me to tell him the truth in confidence. I told him how I had been assisting the Federal Government to fight illegal bunkering. Later, I sent for the documents and showed him what I had done through my NGO, Heroes of Peace. He seemed impressed and assured me that he would ensure that I was no longer maltreated.

    During that period, I took ill. I was taken to the Abuja Police Clinic, where a female doctor asked me to do liver and lung tests. But my tormentor refused to take me for the tests and instead returned me to cell. Alhaji later took me to the hospital and never stopped fighting to ensure my freedom.

    After a long time, I lost track of time. I was taken to an Abuja High Court. My tormentor-officer and one Ingo from the community were in court as witnesses against me. The judge asked them where the alleged crime was committed. He also asked them if there was a pipeline in Abuja. He wondered why a crime was committed in Delta State and the witness was in Abuja. Again the judge asked where I was arrested and he was told that I was arrested in a hotel in Warri. He asked again if there was a pipeline there, and they said no. The judge then ordered me to be kept in police custody and brought back to court after two weeks.

    After that, the case was transferred to Warri. But instead of taking me to Warri, I was taken to Asaba. When I asked why I was taken to Asaba instead of Warri, my IPO told me that he had a business in Benin and that Asaba was easier for him and ‘safer’ for me. At the Police Headquarters in Asaba, I saw another face of police corruption.

    What do you mean by that?

    It is very interesting, but not as interesting as what I saw in Warri Prison. When we got to the station that evening, a police officer at the station told me through an agent in the cell that my ‘cell fee’ was N15,000. I had to explain to the policeman my ordeal and that I did not have more than N7,000 with me. He took the N7,000 from me but refused to give me a receipt for the ‘rent’ I had paid. A drama ensued when he came back for the balance two weeks later. I told him I didn’t have any money but he would have none of that. He insisted on taking me from Cell 1 where I was being held to Cell 4, which is reserved for hardened criminals. As he was moving me to the hardened criminals’ cell, I resisted because I knew there was a bad reception planned for me there.

    We were involved in a scuffle, which attracted the authorities there. After hearing my story, the senior officers ordered that I be taken to Cell 2 while the agent working for the police was transferred to Cell 4. But the policeman said I had injured him and so I must pay N2,500 for his treatment. Since I had no money and he insisted on collecting the money, I had to take a loan from a lady who usually sold us food. I gave the man the money for peace to reign and we became friends afterwards (laughs).

    That was where I was kept for another two months before my IPO and one Mike came from Abuja on a Sunday. They called me out and told me that my case was fixed for hearing in Warri the next day, which was a Monday. I was taken to Warri and detained at the ‘A Division’ Police station cell, from where I was moved to the court. From the court, I was sent to the Okere Prison in Warri.

    As I told you earlier, I thought I had seen it all in police cells in Abuja and Asaba, but I was in for another ‘treat’ at the Warri Prison. First, when I got in I had to pay N50,000 to the warders. This was to grant me access to a special room where I was able to get in my own food, cook and eat what I wanted and when I wanted. Warders helped to buy the food and collect ‘commission’ based on how much food they are buying for you, usually from Okere Market. After being in the prison for one week, a warder known as ‘Intelligent’ approached me. He asked if I would like to be able to communicate with my friends and family outside. I told him I would very much like that. He demanded N7,000 to enable him buy me a phone and a SIM card. I gave him the money and he came back with a phone which I know sells for N2,500. I knew I was cheated, but was grateful for the chance to make and receive telephone calls.

    My joy was cut short again when two weeks later ‘Intelligent’ came and took away the phone because  he said I was not cooperating like the other inmates in ‘Self-feeder Cells’, who usually paid to enjoy the privilege. He took my phone and refused to refund my money. I reported the matter again to the prison authority. I was queried and I responded by opening up on ‘Intelligent’ and how he got me the phone and then took it away because I “was not cooperating.”

    There are many other arbitrary levies and taxes warders impose on inmates at the Warri Prison. From time to time, there are levies like that which you have to pay to have peace of mind. If you are unable to pay them, you lose some privileges that make life behind bars a bit bearable.

  • Philanthropist remembers wives of slain policemen

    Philanthropist remembers wives of slain policemen

    The atmosphere was sober, yet there was excitement in the air at the police headquarters, Owerri, Imo State when a concerned indigene of the state, Nze Franklin Iwunze, extended his empowerment programme and love to the wives of slain policemen in the area.

    The widows, who were about 30 in number, sang and drummed while welcoming their host.

    Apart from the women, the Imo State Commissioner of Police, Taiwo Lakanu, accompanied by other top brass of the force, were on hand to receive Nze Iwunze.

    Addressing the gathering, Nze Iwunze, the Ogbuagu of Nkwerre, said he was touched by the death of policemen who paid the supreme price and sacrificed their lives in defence of the nation.

    He stated that although he invited the women to empower them financially, the widows needed the support of all Nigerians to survive and give their children quality education.

    He stressed that former British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill once said “we make a living by what we get and make a life by what we give”.

    The philanthropist said: “It’s not how much we give, but how much love we put into giving. I must be willing to give whatever it takes to enhance the well-being of others.

    “We are here in the spirit of the Yuletide to appreciate the families left behind by our fallen heroes who gave all they had for this country, laid down their lives in the quest to provide for us a habitable society, safe and secure for us to live in happily.”

    Nze Iwunze, who  stopped short of weeping as he spoke to the widows, said: “Your husbands have done their best. We cannot bring them back to life, but the greatest thing we can do for them is to always appreciate the families they left behind and show them love.”

    Speaking at the event, Lakanu commended the benevolent spirit of Nze Iwunze, pointing out that in his many years of service as a police officer; he had not seen anyone who thought it wise to remember widows of slain police officers, especially during periods of festivity. He enjoined other public-spirited individuals in the country to borrow a leaf from the Ogbuagu of Nkwerre.

    Responding on behalf of the widows, the Welfare Officer of the Police Officers’ Wives’ Association (POWA), Imo State Police Command, Mrs. Angela Chinweuba, praised Nze Iwunze for his kindness and demonstration of love.

    Mrs. Chinweuba said Nze Iwunze had set a record for being the first person or group in Imo State to remember wives of policemen who lost their lives in active service. She prayed God to reward him abundantly with good health and more resources.

    Highlight of the event was the official hand over of cash gifts and 80  bags of rice to Lakanu by Nze Iwunze for the widows. The donor said he hoped the cash gifts would assist the women to provide quality education for their children.

  • Drunk policemen, others

    Recent report that a police sergeant, Stephen James shot dead three people in the Ketu area of Lagos for failing to buy him beer exposes all that is wrong with the Nigerian Police Force. The offending policeman said to be under the influence of alcohol had gone to the bar of the hotel where he was deployed and threatened to shoot some of the customers unless they bought him drinks.

    His conduct did not go down well with some of the customers who cautioned him to behave responsibly in view of his call of duty. Apparently unhappy with the response of the customers, he laid ambush for them outside the hotel killing three as they made to leave. Among those he killed were two brothers who were the only surviving offspring of their parents. The policeman subsequently shot and killed himself after discovering the gravity of his offence.

    And in Enugu State within the same week, another policeman was reported to have shot and killed three people in circumstances that have remained largely untidy. The two incidents are a tip of the iceberg. They also mirror very vividly the sad fate of our citizens in the hands of those paid with the taxpayers’ money to protect them. The list of such unprovoked and senseless killings by trigger happy policemen is endless.

    Before now, our people have had to contend with the so-called accidental discharges from policemen at checkpoints. It was largely on account of killings arising from such occurrences that the police hierarchy had to do away with checkpoints along the nation’s highways and major roads.

    But whatever gains recorded in human lives as a result of this measure, appear to have come under serious threat from the increasing recourse of policemen to cut down the lives of innocent and defenseless citizens under sundry guises. The rising incidence of policemen killing innocent citizens without provocation has raised questions as to the mental suitability of some of those we place the protection of the society in their care. Take the case of Sergeant James who was deployed to give protection to customers at a hotel. Instead of doing that for which he was engaged, he turned out a calamity to that business premises.

    His killing of the two brothers and their friend, as unconscionable and dastardly as it was, also highlights the inadequacies of character checks in the recruitment of policemen. This calls to question the efficacy of the supervisory role of senior police officers under whose command such highly temperamental and seemingly mentally demented policemen function. This conclusion is supported by reports that the said policeman was in the habit of Indian hemp and alcoholism.

    Why this man was able to operate that long without his supervisors taking note of his embarrassing conduct has remained largely sloppy. It is also curious that the hotel authorities kept quiet while the policeman carried on with his madness until the worst happened? These issues have been raised to underscore the point that had the hotel done the needful, the lives of those that fell prey to this obviously mentally unstable policeman would have been saved.

    This is not the first time the mental balance and suitability of policemen will come under public scrutiny. During the regime of Mike Okiro as the Inspector General of Police, he shocked the nation when he disclosed that 24 top police officers had doubtful mental stability for the job. In this number were two deputy commissioners and one assistant commissioner among others. We were then told that they had been referred to the Police Medical Board for the determination of their suitability. Nothing was heard of the outcome of the investigations by the medical board again.

    Some years back also, the Police College in Kaduna had sacked 234 recruits for various offences. Commandant of the college Sanusi Rufai said while some of those sacked were lepers, others had sight problems. There were also those who stabbed their colleagues with knives and habitual hemp smokers as well. These disclosures were a huge shock given that certificate of metal and physical fitness is an irreducible requirement in the recruitment and continued retention of policemen especially given the sensitivity of their jobs.

    It became a huge puzzle why such a large number of senior police officers and recruits found themselves into the police without their mental and physical inadequacies detected at the point of entry.  That people with such contagious diseases as leprosy could find their ways into the force despite the obvious health risks they pose to others is a sad commentary on police recruitment procedure. Little wonder the rising indiscriminate cases of the killing of helpless citizens by sundry policemen without provocation and under very annoying circumstances.

    It is an irony of sorts that Sergeant James killed the only two sons of their parents and their friend for failing to buy him beer in a hotel he is supposed to be maintaining security. Why will he not take laws into his hands when he is in the habit of drinking alcohol and smoking Indian hemp even while in uniform? Someone should have noticed the looming disaster which such conduct posed in the performance of his duty.

    It would seem there was dereliction of duty on the part of those under whose command he worked. It is a big puzzle that he was able to carry on that way without either the hotel authorities or his supervisors having some knowledge of the disaster he had become.

    More than any other thing else, the incident has brought to the fore the conduct of policemen deployed to individuals and private places for their primary assignment. It is increasingly obvious that the way such policemen conduct themselves has become a big embarrassment to the nation’s security system. Not only do some of them drink while on duty, they shoot indiscriminately at sundry social functions in a way that suggests they can deploy the guns at their disposal to their whims and caprices. Yet, we do know that the bullets they dispense are bought with public funds and ought to be accounted for.

    From what we see daily, the procedure for the deployment of policemen to private individuals has been serially abused. At a time the police service does not have enough personnel to carry out its statutory functions, it smacks of monumental abuse for some inconsequential persons to be parading the roads with a retinue of police escorts ostensibly for personal protection. In some parts of the country, the use of police escorts has assumed the character of a status symbol. The fad now is to apply for police protection under sundry reasons. Immediately that is granted, you follow it up by acquiring at least one Toyota Hilux or similar vans fitted with siren. The next day, you hit the roads blowing siren at the sight of which policemen at the check points clear the road for you for quick passage. Once such vehicles are on the roads, nobody bothers whether those blowing the siren are even criminals who use such cover to evade detection.

    In a clime replete with the criminally-minded and such sophisticated crimes as armed robbery, kidnapping and terrorism, it is a huge risk to subject the use of the siren to the kind of abuse it has been subjected in some parts of the country. These are some of the areas the authorities should take proactive measures to stem the abuse. If such checks are regularly instituted, the sad fate of the two brothers in the hands of Sergeant James would have been averted.

    There are still many of such characters in the police force. The authorities must come out with fool-proof measures to ensure that those on whose shoulders we place the security of our citizens are not only mentally and physically fit, but carry themselves in such a way that command public confidence.

  • Wanted: Regular psychiatric tests for policemen

    Wanted: Regular psychiatric tests for policemen

    Last Saturday’s shooting of twin brothers and their friend by a drunken policeman, Stephen James, in Lagos came on the heels of a policeman allegedly killing a man at a wedding in Anambra State. Several other fatal shots have been fired by this year. Experts proffer solutions, including improving working conditions and periodic mental health checks for officers and men. JOSEPH JIBUEZE writes

    The shooting spree is a source of headache to the police hierarchy. It is a riddle they are searching for an answer to. But they need not look further. Experts have the solutions, if only the authorities will act.

    Some of the solutions proferred are: regular emotional stability check-up for policemen, re-building of professional value system and periodic psychiatric evaluation.

    Really, the concern over the rate at which policemen kill civilians is not misplaced. Those at the receiving end can tell the tales better.

    Only last Saturday, a mother lost her children, the two she ever had,  twins in their early 30s, Taiwo and Kehinde Oyesunle – no thanks to a “trigger-happy” police officer, Stephen James. He shot them and their friend, Jeje, who was marking his birthday at a hotel on Anibaba Street, Ketu, Lagos, at about 4:20pm.

    Reports said the police sergeant, with force number 217884, became unruly and threatened customers with a gun after demanding that they buy him more booze. The three men were said to have condemned his behaviour, which apparently provoked the officer. As the three came out of the hotel, James opened fire. After shooting them, he shot  himself dead.

    Police Public Relations Officer Mr. Joe Offor said the policeman was on duty at the hotel and was attached to Mopol 22, Ikeja, Lagos. “He was drunk while on duty and he acted under the influence of alcohol,” he said. James was “dismissed” posthumously from the police.

    A day later, another tragic incident occurred in Uruagu, Nnewi in Anambra State. On December 27, a drunken policeman allegedly shot at guests attending a traditional marriage ceremony. Reports said the bride and groom were dancing when gunshots rang out at about 6.30pm. The joyous occasion ended abruptly after it was confirmed that a Nollywood actor was fatally hit by a bullet. Another was injured. The state police spokesman, Okechukwu Ali, confirmed the incident. He said only one person died.

     

    Officers on the rampage

     

    This year alone, ‘trigger-happy’ officers have killed tens of unarmed citizens. On September 17, a police corporal attached to the Isheri-Oshun Police Station, Augustine Telenumdu, shot at a tricyclist and his wife Comfort. The Keke Marwa operator, Godwin Ekpo, was returning from church with his wife and four children when Corporal Musefun Aremu stopped them.

    Aremu allegedly demanded N200 from Ekpo. But Ekpo was said to have explained that he was returning from church and that the time was just 8pm. As he attempted to ride away, Aremu shot at them with an AK 47 riffle. The bullet pierced through Comfort’s skull, killing her.

    Aremu (28) has been arraigned. He claimed he never meant to kill the woman, denying that he also tried to extort money from Ekpo.

    “All I did was to aim at the tyres.  Unfortunately, the bullet hit the woman from behind and also hit the man in the jaw,” he said.

     

    Shot for arguing with officer

     

    In May, an Assistant Superintendent of Police, identified as Mohammed, allegedly shot dead a tricycle operator, Akeem Aranse (31), during an argument at Akowonjo on the outskirt of Lagos. Aranse mistakenly hit a commercial motorcycle conveying Mohammed at Karimu Laka Street in Egbeda. An argument ensued. The officer was said to have brought out his pistol and shot Aranse in the chest, killing him instantly.

     

    Threat to other officers

     

    ‘Trigger-happy’ policemen are also a threat to their colleagues. On September 25, a Constable, Ibrahim Musa, of the Nangere Police Division reportedly shot dead two of his superior officers following a quarrel at Tarajim Village in Yobe State. Musa was said to have angrily opened fire and shot Inspectors Mohammed Musa and Ishaku Elam with an AK47 rifle. After shooting his colleagues, he also shot himself. He was later confirmed dead at the Potiskum General Hospital.

    Shot for ‘love’

     

    On April 30, a jealous policeman took his own life after killing his lover and a colleague for allegedly cheating with her. The woman was said to be double-dating the two married policemen. The incident occurred at Karu, a satellite town in Abuja. The killer-cop, a sergeant, was said to be the lady’s primary lover. However, his colleague, on the same police patrol team, also started dating her. As they were arguing, the jealous sergeant reportedly shot the woman twice in the chest, then shot his colleague, killing him. After ensuring that the two were dead, the sergeant killed himself.

     

    Murdered in cold blood?

     

    On May 19, four police corporals, Adeleke Adedeji, Abena John, Henry Shobowale and Oniyo Musa, who were reportedly investigating a case of armed robbery that occurred in Agege, Lagos, went to Edo State as part of the enquiry.  They were on the trail of those who robbed Alhaji Babangida Isa of his Toyota car and other valuables.

    In Edo, they narrowed their trail to Benson Obode, who was found at the Aduwawa in Benin, the state capital. While trying to arrest Obode, who was accused of receiving the stolen car, he was shot and killed. Following a protest by his family and members of his community who accused the officers of cold-blooded murder, a petition was sent to the Inspector General of Police (IGP), who ordered an investigation, which led to the officers’ arrest.

     

    ‘Police killed our son’

     

    On September 10, policemen from the Ehimiri Police Station in Umuahia, Abia State, allegedly killed Ikechukwu Uwagbaokwu (21), an Imo State Polytechnic student. His family alleged that the Marketing undergraduate went to bed at about 9:00pm. At about 10:50pm there was persistent banging on the door. Ten fierce-looking, uniformed policemen, who came in a Hilux pick-up van and black Camry Saloon car, shot Uwagbaokwu on sighting him. He died on the spot.

    The deceased’s father, Emmanuel (54), said: “Those who killed my son were policemen from Ehimiri Police Station, Umuahia. I am not guessing. I reported the matter and the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) denied sending his men to that area that night. He, however, ordered some policemen to follow us to the scene of the incident. On the way, the team dodged us and never got to our house”. The state command denied the killing and the family has urged the IGP to investigate the case and bring the culprits to book.

     

    Shot over N100 bribe

    On August 7, a commercial bus driver in Port Harcourt, David Legbara, was shot and killed for allegedly refusing to part with N100 bribe demanded by a policeman said to be attached to Kala Station. The deceased’s wife was delivered of a baby boy two months after the murder. The baby, named ThankGod David Legbara, will grow up without a father, no thanks to a ‘trigger-happy’ policeman.

     

    Gun-butted

     

    On September 1, seven police officers in Ondo State allegedly killed Aderonke Eze, a widow who owned a beer parlor close to her residence in Akure, the state capital. She was allegedly hit repeatedly with a gun butt by police officers from the Ala unit of the Oda Divisional Police Station. After her death, the policemen allegedly dumped her remains at the Akure General Hospital morgue.

     

    Cover-ups

     

    The police have been accused of covering up monumental crimes by its officers. Some officers have gunned down innocent citizens and fled the scene. For instance, sometime in 2006, a woman Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in Onitsha, Anambra State, tried to compound felony by covering up a police corporal, Daniel Ayuba who shot dead a lady, Nkechi Obidigwe at a police checkpoint at Zik’s Avenue, Fegge. The DPO had denied that her men were responsible and claimed that it was members of the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) who shot the girl.

    It took an impartial investigation to indentify the killer corporal, who confessed to the crime during an orderly room trial. Three officers at the checkpoint were fished out, arrested and detained. An autopsy revealed that a police bullet from an AK47 killed the victim.

    A similar fate befell Ugochukwu Ozuah (36), an engineer, on September 20, 2012. He was allegedly shot and killed by a policeman five days after his wedding. The incident occurred on Gbagada Expressway, Lagos as the victim went to drop off a classmate. His killers are yet to be brought to book despite promises by the police hierarchy that they would be fished out and prosecuted.

     

    Psychiatric tests for the police?

     

    There have been calls for policemen to be subjected to periodic psychiatric tests to determine their mental state, especially those of them who bear firearms.

    A foremost mental health practitioner and former Permanent Secretary in the Lagos State Ministry of Health, Dr Femi Olugbile, believes the killing of three men in Ketu by a policeman was “a display of the tragic consequences that can arise when no effort is made to ensure the mental health and emotional stability of ‘law enforcement agencies’ – specifically people who carry arms ostensibly for the protection of the public.”

    According to him, the best measures to prevent such incidences include yearly mental health checks for officers who bear arms, and improving their working conditions.

    “The Police hierarchy must undergo a programme of mental health training in order to develop an enlightened attitude to mental health issues, and enable them to create a climate conducive to the mental health of people within the force (I am aware such a programme is currently receiving consideration from the IGP).

    “Anyone observed by peers or reported by the public to be displaying erratic behaviour or to be indulging in drug and/or alcohol abuse should be compulsorily subjected to a medical test, which should include mental state examination. Treatment for mental health problems should be available as a free service to all servicing personnel within the police medical services.

    “Personnel who have substance abuse problems or any other mental health issues should be able by themselves to report to the Police Health Services for assistance without any fear that this will negatively affect their careers. These steps will represent the commencement of a civilised approach to the problem,” Dr Olugbile said.

    A Consultant Psychiatrist at the Federal Neuro-Pychiatric Hospital, Yaba, Dr Olugbenga Owoeye, said anybody could become mentally ill at any point.

    Owoeye said: “Studies have not shown that more policemen abuse drugs than soldiers or civilians. Because there is no research to that effect, no one can make a categorical statement that police officers need regular psychiatric tests because they are more prone to abnormal behaviour.

    “Subjecting all officers to psychiatric test will stigmatise the profession. But studies have shown that out of 100 people, close to 20 have one mental illness or the other, but we don’t know whether the level is higher within the police.”

     

    Why abuses persist

     

    The Amnesty International, in a report entitled: Nigeria Police kill at will, documents cases of torture and shooting of suspects in custody, allegedly by the police. The group said the police were notorious for not only shooting suspects, but torturing them to death.

    “The Nigeria Police is responsible for hundreds of unlawful killings every year. Police don’t only kill people by shooting them; they also torture them to death, often while they are in detention. The majority of the cases go uninvestigated and the police officers responsible go unpunished,” AI said.

    The group said promptly investigating such cases, not covering anyone up, and ensuring justice for victims, will help rid the police of killer-cops.

    National Coordinator, Network of Police Reform in Nigeria (NOPRIN), Okechukwu Nwanguma, blamed police leadership for not being good example to the rank and file.

    “Police abuse and corruption are often ordered from the top or condoned by higher authorities. This makes it difficult to achieve change at the lower levels. Naturally, police resist change and anybody pushing for change is perceived as an adversary and often exposed to risk or targeted for retaliation,” he said.

     

    Whither the PSC?

     

    The Police Service Commission (PSC) is the oversight body responsible for appointment, promotion, and discipline of all police officers, except the IGP. The police have experienced endemic problems with recruiting, training, inefficiency, and indiscipline, and their lack of expertise in specialised fields is well documented. Corruption and dishonesty remain widespread, engendering a low level of public confidence, failure to report crimes, and tendencies to resort to self-help.

     

    More reforms needed

     

    Analysts say reform is needed to change the perception of the police as one of the most corrupt and dysfunctional public institutions in Nigeria. Citizens no longer feel safe around the police.  Many innocent citizens have died in the hands of the police and in such cases,  justice is not served. The right to life and dignity of human person is an inalienable fundamental human right, which observers say is the duty of the police to enforce and not to violate.

    The Ministry of Police Affairs had embarked on reforms through the implementation of a six-year Police Reform Programme (2010 – 2015) designed to transform the police into an efficient, people friendly service, with the overall aim of protecting lives and property. The programme included training and capacity building. From 2011 – 2013, the Ministry said it trained about 15,342 personnel in various professional and administrative courses, including counter-terrorism and advance intelligence training, amongst others.

    Recognising the need to sanction erring officers, IGP Solomon Arase unveiled the Complaint Response Unit (CRU) as a means of reporting such officers. People can lodge complaints through BBM, WhatsApp, facebook, e-mail, twitter, SMS and voice calls. For WhatsApp and SMS, complaints can be sent through 08057000001, 08057000002 and 08057000003. Complaints can also be lodged through facebook.com/npfcomplaint.

    Analysts say the police need adequate funding, which must be well managed if the hallmarks of modern policing are to be realised. Such hallmarks include the willingness of policemen to risk their lives in defence of citizens. But the reverse seems to be the case in Nigeria where policemen sometimes flee from robbers or arrive after the deed had been done to seize innocent persons. A counter-argument is that the police are not well equipped, therefore, most robbers have better and sophisticated weapons that the police cannot match with their obsolete AK47 rifles.

    Also, a modern police officer is regarded as spotless in character and is incorruptible. But in reality, there is a likelihood of being shot by a policeman for refusing to part with money than being protected, observers say. A truly professional police is expected to refuse to accept bribes to pervert the cause of justice in protection of criminals. But such an attribute is a scarce commodity as the police have been accused of acting in cahoots with criminals and sometimes supplying them with arms.

    “The Buhari administration has, as part of its anti-corruption campaign, a duty to rid the police of the irresponsible behavior of some of its men. As the principal law enforcement agency, it should be the first to obey the laws it is meant to enforce,” said a criminologist, Onyebuchi Nwaogo.

     

    Ridding the police of killer-cops

     

    Arase said it was likely that some officers who shoot unarmed citizens at the slightest provocation could be suffering from temporary insanity.  He said an officer who had been in the sun for over 12 hours could go temporarily crazy. He urged the public to show understanding and not argue with or provoke such officers. He vowed to ensure that erring officers are disciplined. But experts say more needs to be done beyond dismissing and prosecuting killer-cops.

    To rid the police of such excesses, Nwanguma, who has been at the vanguard of civil society movement for police reform, believes there must be no cover-up of crimes committed by officers. He said. “It appears that the culture of cover up of crimes and stalling of prosecution is entrenched more within the Nigeria police than in other uniformed services.”

    The PSC, he said, should also be prompt in punishing erring officers. He recalled that it took the PSC close to 15 months to discipline the DPO in charge of Pen Cinema, Agege, Olusegun Fabunmi, who allegedly shot Ademola Aderinto during the January 2012 fuel subsidy protests in Lagos.

    “Failure of the PSC to discharge its constitutional mandate of enforcing discipline and accountability within the police accounts for the impunity, which protects perpetrators,” he said.

    The NOPRIN chief said how decisive errant officers are dealt will help deter others. “Failure to bring perpetrators of abuse to account sustains the climate of impunity that encourages others to commit abuse.

    “There is the need to streamline the various internal disciplinary procedures in the Nigerian Police Force into a manageable framework that could easily be used by aggrieved citizens seeking redress for police misconduct, as well as using data emanating from such mechanisms in tracking police officials who are subjects of unusually high numbers of citizens’ complaints.

    “There is also the need to strengthen external oversight of the police. The PSC under the Constitution and the PSC Act of 2001 is an independent and impartial institution. A body, which is established with the constitutional mandate to recruit, promote and discipline all police personnel other than the IGP in an independent and impartial manner is expected to be composed and headed by non partisan individuals of unquestionable integrity.

    “What we need is a civilian-led PSC that has the courage to investigate all public complaints and cases of police abuse. Appointing a retired IGP undermines and subverts this mission and renders the PSC ultimately into another department of the NPF. This is not good for the Police; it is inconsistent with the structure and purpose of the Constitution and the PSC Act of 2001; and defeats the whole essence of the establishment of the PSC as a civilian oversight body on policing in Nigeria,” Nwanguma said.

    The President, Women Arise for Change, Dr. Joe Oke-Odumakin, said the police should subject its officers to periodic psychiatric tests, as extrajudicial killings are becoming common. Besides, she would like  the police to bear the cost of training children of those killed by the police.

    A former Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) president, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu (SAN), said the rank and file need re-orientation.

    “A lot of work needs to be done to make officers and men of the NPF appreciate their role as the people’s police and not a police force. The word ‘force’ is certainly a misnomer in the present democratic dispensation.

    “Periodic psychiatric test is only desirable for suspicious officers and men.  But how well placed is the institution itself to detect derelicts among its rank?

    “The Office of the Federal Attorney General in collaboration with the PSC must set up a special prosecution unit to handle grave matters of this nature involving the police and the people. Proper prosecution and commensurate conviction would certainly deter future occurrence. ”

    A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Dr Joseph Nwobike, attributed incessant killing of civilians by policemen to a failure of professional value system within the police.

    “There is no evidence that those policemen who unlawfully kill others suffer psychiatric ailments. The solution requires integrated reordering of the value system amongst policemen. This will involve training and retraining of police officers and men on a continuous basis with a view to building a responsive policing culture,” Dr Nwobike said.

    Constitutional lawyer Mr Ike Ofuokwu said ‘trigger-happy’ policemen continue to pose a risk to the populace because the problem was not decisively dealt with by past police leadership.

    “Such policemen should be made to face trial speedily and maximum punishment imposed whenever they are found guilty, in addition to making them pay compensation to the victims or their dependants. The DPO’s or supervising officers should also be demoted or summarily dismissed.

    “In addition, subjecting all policemen at the point of recruitment to psychiatric test should be a condition precedent to engaging them. Periodically, all policemen and officers of the law generally that carry arms should be subjected to psychiatric evaluation. A fundamental overhaul of the Nigerian Police Force so as to align them with best global practice is long overdue. What we have today are mainly bandits in police uniform,” Ofuokwu said.

     

  • Court clears seven of beating up policemen

    Court clears seven of beating up policemen

    A Lagos State Magistrate’s Court in Igbosere Monday discharged seven men of the allegation that they attacked police officers on duty with dangerous weapons, due to the absence of the Investigating Police Officer (IPO).

    The accused are: Bada Saheed, 29, Damilola Olayiwola, 23, Musibau Lateef, 18, Ajayi Tobi, 21, Tunde Lekan, 20, Seun Adeoti, 18, and Seun Tayo, 18.

    The men, whose addresses were not given, were standing trial on a one-count charge bordering on unlawful attack on policemen.

    During their arraignment on December 10, the prosecutor, Inspector Ingobo Emby, told the court that the defendants committed the offence on Dec. 8, at 11:30 p.m, at Obalende Motor Park, Lagos.

    He alleged that the defendants attacked policemen who were on duty with dangerous weapons.

    The offence, he said, contravened Section 409 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.

    The accused had pleaded not guilty to the charge.

    Monday, the magistrate, Mrs. F. F. George, struck out the case due to the absence of the complainants and the IPO.

    Cases should not be dumped in the courts, she said, if the complainant had no interest in prosecuting.

  • Yuletide: 5000 Policemen deployed to Niger

    Yuletide: 5000 Policemen deployed to Niger

    No fewer than 5000 Police officers and men from the Niger State Police Command would be deployed during the Christmas celebration, the state Commissioner of Police, Abubakar Marafa has disclosed.

    According to him, these policemen would be deployed to places of worship, markets and recreation centers in the state.

    Speaking to newsmen in Minna Tuesday, the Commissioner of Police said patrol and surveillance activities are being intensified for the safety of the lives and property of people in Niger state throughout the festive season.

    Marafa who spoke on the activities of the police in the state said that they are currently winning the war against criminals and their activities adding that cattle rustling, youth gangsterism, kidnapping and highway robbery have been reduced to the barest minimum.

    He said that 1,986 suspects were arrested for major crimes in the state while 889 cattle, 114 sheep and goats and 14 donkeys were recovered from cattle rustlers in 2015.

  • Extortionate policemen

    Extortionate policemen

    One bribe, big tragedy

    Everything happened because of N100,” according to the account of a distraught survivor of a fatal multiple-vehicle collision on the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway, Sango, Ogun State, on November 18. It was tragic enough that lives were lost. The Unit Commander, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Ota, Leye Adegboyega, said five people died.

    The tragedy was compounded by the participant narrative of Mrs. Latifat Olukogun who, ironically, blamed it all on the shady activities of policemen on the road. A report said: “She claimed that the truck rammed into them because of the policemen’s insistence on taking N200 instead of the N100 offered them.” Olukogun was quoted as saying: “Everything that happened was because of N100. My partner, Iya Nimota, whose daughter will be getting married next Sunday, died in the process, just because of N100.”

    The pile-up, which happened between 1.00am and 6.00am, involved 16 vehicles, including two that plunged into a stream. “Eyewitness accounts revealed that the casualty figure would have been minimal, but for the excesses of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) officials, who were forcefully extorting money from motorists,” said the report.

    It is certainly no credit to the Nigeria Police Force when road tragedies, like this one, are credited to its men who are supposed to help prevent such disasters in the first place. It is relevant to mention that there are several reported cases involving road users who lost their lives in encounters with extortionate policemen.  What makes the role of the police even more condemnable in this particular case is the allegation of extortion. It is worth noting that this is a familiar accusation against the police; and sadly, it is often provable.

    It would appear that the police authorities are unserious about checking road extortion by policemen. It is obviously not enough to say that police roadblocks have been banned, as the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Solomon Arase, did in April when he addressed senior officers of the force and highlighted his vision.

    Arase said: “The drive will be clear, coordinated, massive, firm and sustained and it will target and tackle issues relating to commercialisation of bail process, the nuisance of road blocks and abuse of police powers, particularly, in relation to pre-trial detention…I wish to in clear terms, re-emphasise that police roadblocks remain banned. They are public nuisance, points of corruption, and source of police-citizens’ frictions.” He added that commissioners of police, area commanders and divisional police officers in whose jurisdiction illegal road blocks were detected would face strict disciplinary actions.

    The IGP should give teeth to his words. This multiple-vehicle tragedy on the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway in which policemen are said to have played a dishonourable role should be promptly investigated. The policemen found culpable should be punished. It is high time the police authorities moved beyond lip service and came down on those within the force who continue to disrespect the official ban on roadblocks.

    Against the background of alleged police culpability in the multiple-vehicle collision, the account of FRSC Assistant Corps Commander Adegboyega showed the absurdity  of a situation where  the police are the problem as well as the answer. Adegboyega said:  “We had to quickly leave the scene and went back to the base as the commercial drivers and miscreants at the toll gate went on the rampage, damaging all oncoming articulated vehicles, mostly trucks and trailers, as they saw the lifeless bodies of their colleagues.

    We contacted the area commander, Sango and he mobilised seven police teams to maintain peace and order for the rescue operations to take place under my watch and other police officials.”

    The public and the political authorities need to rouse the police hierarchy from its lethargy.  We have had enough of avoidable deaths caused by unprofessional policemen.