The Nation Newspaper

Tag: policemen

  • Policemen invade church over ‘debt’

    A pentecostal church, People of Peculiar Ministry International, Araromi in Igando, a Lagos suburb, was thrown into disarray on January 15 following invasion by 10 armed policemen.

    They dispersed the worshippers, assaulted and whisked away the pastor and some members over an alleged N300,000 debt.

    The policemen who came in mufti, were said to have been sent by the Divisional Police Officer, Amukoko Division, Mr. Abayomi Agbana, a Chief Superintendent  (CSP), although they initially claimed to have come from the General Investigations Division (GID), Ikeja, to execute a court order.

    When the church’s protocol officer, Mr. Samuel Ajakaiye, demanded to see the court order, the officers were said to have descended on him, before, forcing their way into the church to ransack offices, the kitchen and the pastor’s rest room.

    Ajakaiye, with a swollen eye-ball, told reporters: “We had a morning prayer session on Thursday, January 15, 2015 and the pastor, James Kunle Hephzibah, had two radio programmes at Bond Fm and Radio Lagos. At about 6.30am, an old danfo commercial bus stopped in front of the church. In fact, the way its occupants jumped out, I thought they were armed robbers. They said they were from GID, Ikeja with a court order.

    “When I demanded to see the court order, immediately they descended on me, tore my clothes and hit me with their handcuffs and gun butts. Just look at my swollen eyes. In fact, they scattered the office, kitchen, rest rooms, broke the door and the worst part, they humiliated the pastor. They dragged and forced him into the bus. They also arrested four members that questioned their conduct. But instead of the GID, Ikeja, they took us to Amukoko police division, where they subjected us to more ridicule and trauma until 7pm when people intervened from higher police formations.”

    The popular televangelist, Pastor Hephzibah, also known as ‘Baba Peculiar’ queried the legality of the action.

    “How can they invade a church without a legal authority? They came all the way from Apapa and did not register their presence at the nearest police station. When has the police turned to a debt collector? These men invaded our church, brutalised members and made away with three of my handsets and over half a million naira,” he said.

    The pastor added: “I have never seen or received this kind of embarrassment in my life. It was too much in our church yesterday. I am not a robber or fraudster and these people came all the way from Apapa to humiliate me and my members. They wounded our Protocol Officer Samuel. I lost three of my handsets – Samsung X2, X3, X4 – and we cannot find N560,000 meant for the radio programmes after their invasion. I just don’t know what to say but those policemen who came and disgraced me on the street and in the neighbourhood for a mere false allegation must receive their due punishment from the law and God. I had to calm down when their DPO apologised because I am a servant of God.”

    It was gathered that the policemen did not “book” their arrival at the Area ‘M’ until a crowd compelled them to take the pastor and his people to Igando Police Division to prove that they were from Area ‘B’ Command.

    When contacted, Agbana said he was not in his office, promising to be there before 2pm. But, he could not be reached later on his phone.

    Police spokesman Deputy Superintendent (DSP) Kenneth Nwosu said he was not aware of the incident.

    It was gathered that the church bought a Nissan bus from one Mr. Alabi Haruna for N1.2 million for which itpaid N900,000. The c hurch promised to pay the N300,000 balance after the bus was test-run.

    In a petition to the Commissioner of Police, the church said: “When we test-ran the bus, it was in bad condition, hence we asked Haruna to either effect the repairs as we agreed or balance us our money and take his bus away. For one year and two months, he disappeared and never showed up. We did everything to contact him but he ran away. The case was initially at Igando Police Station, where he was asked him to comply, but after one year and two months, he connived with those policemen that his bus was missing.”

     

  • Yobe: 33 policemen, six soldiers killed

    At least 33 policemen and six soldiers are among the casualties of  the Monday attack on Damaturu, the Yobe State capital, by Boko Haram insurgents.

    The Nation gathered that the corpses of the policemen and soldiers were brought to  the General Sani Abacha Specialist Hospital, Damaturu on Tuesday.

    The corpses of 20 members of the Boko Haram sect who also died in the clash were also deposited at the hospital.

    Details later…

     

  • ‘Eight policemen, 73 robbers killed in Lagos’

    ‘Eight policemen, 73 robbers killed in Lagos’

    No fewer than 73 suspected armed robbers and eight policemen have died so far in gun battles this year, Lagos State Commissioner of Police Kayode Aderanti said yesterday.

    Aderanti spoke at the 8th Town Hall Meeting on Security held at the City Hall on Lagos Island.

    He said the robbers were killed between November 2013 and October 2014, adding that the police also arrested 423 bandits and foiled 372 robberies within the period.

    The commissioner said the police recovered 255 arms, 4,043 ammunition and 560 stolen vehicles.

    About 358 vehicles were snatched by armed robbers; 468 others were stolen from where they were parked. Seven others were driven away.

    Aderanti said 68 armed robberies were recorded and 280 people killed during the period.

    Gangsterism, rivalry, motor transport unionism, thuggery, youthful exuberance, unemployment and politics, among others, he said, were responsible for the high murder cases in the state.

    Also speaking, Governor Babatunde Fashola said: “The work has not yet finished. We have started some. We intend to provide modern patrol vehicles to every Police Division in Lagos and every Area Command. We intend to undertake prison reforms by building a 21st-century prison and we have completed the design. We are also developing the investigative capacity of law enforcement through training and support with the aim of providing them with forensic capabilities.”

    Executive Secretary, Security Trust Fund (STF), Mr. Fola Arthur-Worrey, said though donations were not forthcoming this year, STF was still able to contribute significantly to the security machines.

  • Policemen arrested over beating in Hong Kong

    Ken Tsang was photographed on 15 October being taken away by policemen, shortly before his alleged beating  PHOTO:AFP

    Seven Hong Kong policemen have been arrested in connection with the beating of a pro-democracy protester.

    A police statement said the officers, who had already been suspended, were detained on suspicion of “assault resulting in grievous body harm”.

    The incident took place on 15 October amid clashes while police cleared an underpass by the Admiralty camp.

    Civic Party protester Ken Tsang was filmed being led away in handcuffs and beaten for several minutes.

    Local TV network TVB later aired footage of his assault, and Mr Tsang’s lawyer said that the beatings had continued after he was taken to a police station.

    The authorities immediately moved to suspend the officers and launched an investigation shortly after the clip was aired.

    A video filmed by the Apple Daily newspaper appeared to show officers beating a handcuffed protester

    Images such as this one allegedly showing marks on Ken Tsang’s back have caused outrage

    On Wednesday, a police spokesman said they had not delayed investigations into the case, and that Mr Tsang had promised to show up to identify his assailants, but failed to do so.

    The spokesman called on Mr Tsang to “assist the police in investigations as soon as possible”.

    The police also rejected previous criticism of their handling of the case, saying that their investigations had consistently followed the procedures for complaints against police officers.

    “If any other officer is suspected of illegal behaviour, the police will investigate impartially and not show favouritism,” said the spokesman.

    Police used pepper spray and batons on 15 October to remove protesters from Lung Wo Road, arresting 45 people who had resisted the action.

    The clearance operation continued on Wednesday as bailiffs, backed by police, began removing barricades

    Since then the authorities have attempted to clear parts of the three protest sites in Hong Kong, after the high court granted injunctions to several groups.

    Wednesday’s announcement by the police came amid efforts by bailiffs, aided by the police, to clear the Mong Kok protest site, which resulted in more clashes. More than 140 people have been arrested.

  • Pirates kill four policemen, abduct six others in Bayelsa

    Pirates kill four policemen, abduct six others in Bayelsa

    Palpable tension has gripped the Bayelsa waterways after pirates at separate incidents killed four policemen and abducted six other persons in Nembe waters, Nembe Local Government Area on Friday.

    It was gathered that the gunmen also seized a gunboat belonging to the Nigeria Police in an incident that occurred at about 1.30pm on the fateful day.

    The gunboat was said to be escorting a barge owned by the Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC) when it came under attack.

    It was gathered that the hoodlums, who operated on a speedboat, laid ambush for the gunboat and opened fire on the policemen.

    They were said to have overpowered the police, killed and pushed them into the water and took control of the gunboat.

    It was learnt that the incident which occurred along Santa Barbara and Nembe waterways caused panic among travelers.

    The development was said to have delayed the movement of persons travelling to Okpoama in Brass Local Government Area, for the funeral of the uncle of a former governor of the state, Tmipre Sylva.

    Most of the guests for the burial were said to have waited at Ogbia jetty till after the gunmen finished their operation.

    A security source who pleaded anonymity said the hoodlums were not interested in the Agip barge and its occupants.

    He, however, said three policemen and the gunboat operator were killed after the gunmen hijacked the boat.

    He identified the boat driver as a civilian, adding that the bodies of the policemen had since been recovered.

    He revealed, “Policemen escorting Agip barge were attacked on Friday. The gunboat and the policemen were all taken away. The policemen were three including the driver of the boat making them four. The barge and its occupants escaped, because the gunboat was the target of the pirates. This incident happened along Santa Barbara and Nembe route at about 1.30pm. The pirates were after the gunboat and the arms.”

    In a separate incident, six persons working for a company identified as Icon Xearex, an oil servicing firm, have been abducted at Oluasiri in Nembe.

    It was gathered that the pirates attacked a boat owned by the company in the early hours of Friday and took the workers away.

    When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer in state, Mr. Alex Akhigbe, said he was in Abuja for a program and could not comment on the incident.

    The Commissioner of Police, Mr. Valentine Ntomchukwu, when reached for comment, claimed to be in a meeting.

  • Update: Pirates kill four policemen, kidnap six others in Bayelsa

    There was tension along Bayelsa waterways on Saturday after pirates in separate incidents killed four policemen and kidnapped six other persons in Nembe waters, Nembe Local Government Area.

    It was gathered that the gunmen also seized a gunboat belonging to the Nigeria Police in an incident that occurred at about 1.30pm on Friday.

    The gunboat was said to be escorting a barge owned by the Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC) when it came under attack.

    The hoodlums, who operated on a speedboat, reportedly laid ambush for the gunboat and opened fire on the policemen.

    They were said to have overpowered the policemen, killed and pushed them into the river.

    It was learnt that the incident which occurred along Santa Barbara and Nembe waterways caused panic among travelers.

    It was said to have delayed the movement of persons traveling to Okpoama, Brass Local Government Area, for the funeral of former Governor Tmipre Sylva’s uncle.

    Most of the guests for the burial were said to have waited at Ogbia jetty till after the gunmen finished their operation.

    A security source who pleaded anonymity said the hoodlums were not interested in the Agip barge and its occupants.

    He, however, said three policemen and the gunboat operator were kidnapped after the gunmen hijacked the boat.

    He said: “Policemen escorting Agip barge were attacked on Friday. The gunboat and the policemen were all taken away. The policemen were three including the driver of the boat making them four.

    “The barge and its occupants escaped because the gunboat was the target of the pirates. This incident happened along Santa Barbara and Nembe route at about 1.30pm. The pirates were after the gunboat and the police arms.”

    In a separate incident, the source confirmed that six persons working for a company identified as Icon Xearex were abducted at Oluasiri in Nembe.

    He sad the pirates attacked a boat owned by the company in the early hours of Friday and took the workers away.

    According to him, the company is suspected to be an oil-servicing firm.

    “There was another incident at Oluasiri. As a matter of fact six persons were kidnapped. They were in a boat called Icon Xeareax.

    “Six persons were abducted from the boat belonging to that company. The company is suspected to be an oil-servicing company”, he said.

    When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Alex Akhigbe, said he was in Abuja for a programme.

    The Commissioner of Police in the state, Mr. Valentine Ntomchukwu, who sent a message to our correspondent said he was at meeting.

  • How motorcyclist snatched our rifle, by policemen

    How motorcyclist snatched our rifle, by policemen

    The five policemen who lost one of their AK47 rifles to a commercial motorcyclist about two weeks ago have told investigators how it all happened.

    Inspector Ayuba Kehinde, Sergeant Obiora Chukwuka, Corporal Nuru Yusuf, Corporal Ita Agbom and Corporal Yusuf Omotayo, of the Operations department of the Lagos Command are being detained at the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), Ikeja.

    They claimed that a motorcyclist scaled a culvert, rushed to the back of their vehicle, snatched the rifle, jumped the culvert again, mounted a waiting motorbike and disappeared.

    The police top hierarchy is said to have described their story as incredible, noting that they do not deserve to be in the force.

    A source said: “They were on patrol duty at Olosan, Mushin area when the incident happened. According to the story they told the Commissioner of Police, they were driving when someone grabbed the rifle from Corporal Yusuf Omotayo. The man jumped the culvert, mounted a waiting motorbike and zoomed off.

    “Sergeant Obiora was the person driving. Omotayo and Yusuf were at the back of the vehicle. They said the man grabbed the gun from Omotayo while the vehicle was on motion. Immediately it happened, Yusuf and Omotayo repeatedly hit the body of the van to alert Obiora, so that he would stop, but he didn’t hear them.

    “When the van got to a traffic light, it stopped. Omotayo and Yusuf jumped down and ran to tell Obiora and Kehinde, their team leader, what transpired.

    “Due to the heavy traffic, the team decided to take one-way in an attempt to catch the motorbike rider, but it was already too late”.

    The policemen team said to have arrested a man who witnessed the incident, alleging that he knew the whereabouts of the motorcyclist.

    The police top hierarchy is baffled over how an unarmed man collected a rifle from four armed policemen.

    In his defence, Yusuf said he would have opened fire on the motorcyclist, but did not because the incident occurred in a market place.

    The Nation reported on September 8, that the policemen, who were patrolling in a vehicle marked ‘OPS ATTACK’, impounded a motorcycle and allegedly demanded N10,000 from the rider before releasing it.

    The motorcyclist was said to have pleaded with them to take N3,000.

    The rider was said to have mobilised his colleagues to attack the policemen at Ojekunle junction, near the Ladipo parts market, where one of them snatched the rifle.

  • Policemen in desperate search for snatched rifle

    Police operatives in the Lagos state command are making desperate efforts to recover the AK47 snatched from one of their men by some aggrieved motorcyclists in Mushin on Sunday.

    Sources at the command headquarters in Ikeja from where the policemen pulled out for the operation said the rifle was yet to be recovered.

    It was also gathered that there was a clash between motorcyclists popularly known as Okada riders on Monday at Oshodi following an attempt by policemen to impound more motorcycles in an effort to trace those who snatched their rifle.

    Eyewitnesses said it was a free for all fight as motorcyclists in their numbers attacked the policemen, wounding some.

    The riders who were joined by social miscreants, smashed vehicle windscreens and caused traffic gridlock, forcing commuters to ran for safety.

    Some anti-riot policemen from the command headquarters were deployed to the scene to restore sanity.

    It was also learnt that some motorcyclist were arrested around Ladipo area and their motorcycles impounded.

    On Sunday evening, policemen who were patrolling in a vehicle marked ‘OPS Attack’, arrested one of the motorcyclists at Oshodi for plying illegal route.

    The motorcyclist was said to have mobilised four other motorcyclists who followed the policemen to Ojekunle junction, Ladipo and dragged the motorcycle from the two policemen behind patrol van, snatching their rifle in the process.

    An eyewitness said: “As the policeman hit the okada man on the head, another forcefully snatched the gun and pointed it at the policemen in the patrol vehicle. The Inspector who led the police team ordered the driver to stop and they all disembarked from the vehicle and fled. The okada rider also mounted one of the motorcycles and fled with the rifle.”

    A senior police officer who spoke on the condition of anonymity said the policemen would be disciplined by the force.

    The source said: “Those policemen were just after money. That is why they will stand and watch hoodlums snatch their rifle. We are still looking for those miscreants who snatch the rifle and am sure we will get them”.

     

  • Three policemen, prophet held over alleged murder

    Three policemen, prophet held over alleged murder

    The death of a 20-year old man after an alleged torture by the police has landed three policemen and a prophet in trouble. JUDE ISIGUZO reports.

    Three policemen attached to the ‘B’ Division Akure of the Ondo State Police Command and a popular prophet are currently been detained for the alleged murder of  Mohammed Oluwatobi Badmus (20).

    The deceased was the only son of a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and a popular hotelier, Raheem Afolayemi Badmus.

    Young Badmus was allegedly tortured to death by policemen on the orders of Prophet Bisi Adedugbagbe of the Celestial Church of God, who alleged that the deceased stole a phone belonging to a member of his church.

    Late Badmus was allegedly dragged to the police station by the prophet on the allegation of breaking and stealing at his church.

    The family is also alleging that the police are demanding for a sum of N150,000 (one hundred and fifty thousand naira) to carry out an autopsy to ascertain the cause of death, a responsibility they claim ought to be borne by either the state our the suspects.

    But the police are saying that since the family was alleging that their men killed the deceased, it was their responsibility to provide the funds for the autopsy to ascertain their claim.

    The family had alleged that Adedugbagbe had ordered the policemen led by  one Corporal Adesola Awodeyi to torture late Badmus to confess to stealing a phone from his church.

    It was gathered that Awodeyi and the other two policemen beat and tear gassed Badmus until he collapsed and became unconscious.

    A family source said: “Once he became unconscious, the policemen at the station then hurriedly wanted him released to his family because they suspected he could die.

    “Corporal Awodeyi and Prophet Bisi should be held responsible for the death of Badmus. He was tear-gassed at close range, after he had been beaten mercilessly at a mini-detention room in the station. The beating and torture with tear gas was to coerce Badmus to confess to stealing the phone.

    “He refused to confess to the crime because he did not do it and he was battered as a result. Some of the other officers at the police station heard the scream of the boy. They advised Corporal Awodeyi and the other two officers to take it easy with the boy, but they refused.

    “The prophet was present during the torture, but he showed no compassion for the boy. All he wanted was for the boy to confess to the crime of stealing a phone. He was urging the corporal to keep pummeling Badmus. The prophet was bragging that he would deal with Badmus unless he confessed and returned the phone he allegedly stole”.

    A police source said “We have no legal record of the boy in our station now because they didn’t even ask him to write a statement. The statement should have been the first thing, but Corporal Awodeyo forgot to initiate that. Already he has put himself into trouble for that.

    “We can’t deny the fact that he was brought here. He was actually here but we have no legal record backing up his presence.”

    The Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in charge of the station had asked for Badmus’ statement as soon as he received a petition on his torture but none was produced.

    Bakare Asani, a lawyer representing the Badmus family, in a petition to the Inspector General of Police, accused the police officers at the ‘B’ Division police station, Akure, of murdering Badmus.

    The petition alleged that the deceased sustained internal injuries as a result of the gruesome torture by the police.

    A medical report issued by a hospital said Badmus suffered serious internal injuries. The report added that the victim had inhaled a chemical that caused serious bodily damage.

    “The boy was brought in here and he was breathing through the help of an oxygen mask and we attended to him immediately after they had collected a card,” said a staff at the hospital. He added that the deceased “had inhaled a heavy dose of the substance which had already damaged his brain and caused serious disorder in his system before he died.”

    Father of the deceased Raheem Badmus said: “My son was hale and hearty before his untimely death. He came home to break the Ramadan fast with me during the week at my residence. I even spoke to him concerning some unholy behaviours of his during the fasting period and promised to deal with him, before he ran away from the house to his uncle’s place in Okuta Elerinla Estate.

    “He was filled with life and expectations when we broke the fast together. Certainly, death was not one of the tasks of my only son, not even cheap death from the supposed law enforcement agents who tortured him with large dose of chemical substance, which he inhaled and later passed out.

    “So -me of my friends that called him over the unfortunate incident found it difficult to break the news to me and it was later I was told what transpired on the day.

    “The elder sister Oluwaseun told me that she was in the house when she was called by one of our neighbors who asked her to come to Danjuma Street where she was told that they wanted to see her because her brother (Tobi) had stolen a smart phone in a prophet’s church.

    “Truly, they discovered such type of phone was in Tobi’s possession and they inquired how he managed to get the phone since he was never at the church.”

    He added that Tobi was taken to the police station along with his uncle, Sola, and was tortured before being released, but that he died some hours later.

    Oluwaseun, the late Badmus sister who was with him when the police came for him confirmed his arrest and torture at the police station. She said: “I was at home when some people close to prophet Bisi called me, that my younger brother, Tobi, had stolen a smart phone from his church. It was surprising, and I told him my brother can’t do such a thing. Immediately I called my mum’s uncle (brother Sola) where Tobi was staying to inquire about the allegation and if he saw any phone with Tobi and he confirmed he saw a phone with him and had already collected the phone”.

    She explained that she told the clergyman that his uncle had confirmed finding such a phone with late Badmus and that she had called him on his phone to meet her at the prophet’s church.

    She said that though the late Badmus agreed to meet with her at the church, the prophet was impatient and advised that they go and meet him wherever he was.

    “On getting to Tobi’s place, it was argument all through between the two, with claims that the phone doesn’t belong to the prophet. The prophet now told us that he had already informed the police at B division Oke Aro about the matter. It was at that point, Tobi suggested we move down to the Police station, where he believed the matter would be resolved”.

    She further stated that three police officers, led by a corporal with the name tag ‘Adesola Awodeyo’ held

    several talks with the prophet at the front of the Police station before they arrested her late brother.

    When they were dragging him away, she said she heard use of the term, ‘Baptismal Room,’ and believed that was where he was tutored.

    “Close to an hour later, the prophet and the cohort (Policemen) with whom he carried out the plot came

    out with my brother with his face swollen, vision blurred  and his eyes balls reddish and bulging and couldn’t compose himself while he can’t also stand on his legs”.

    She alleged that instead of the policemen to take him back inside the station, he was handed over to them with directions that they go home, adding that they drove back home in the prophet’s vehicle amidst argument and anger over the maltreatment in the station.

    She said when the prophet dropped them and departed, her brother’s condition worsened. He was crying, vomiting and holding his stomach and complaining of a headache.

    “I picked my phone and called prophet Bisi who pleaded we take him (Tobi) to the hospital and that he

    would join us there,” she said.

    He was rushed to the State Specialist Hospital Akure, but that he could not be attended to because of

    the ongoing strike of doctors, and later to Liberty Hospital in Oluwatuyi quarters also in Akure, where doctors directed them to their family hospital.

    At Hope Land Hospital, Lafe junction in Akure, where Badmus died, a nurse who spoke on the condition of anonymity said: “The boy was brought in here and he was breathing through the help of

    oxygen and we attended to him immediately after they had collected a card. Report with us showed that he had inhaled a heavy dose of chemical substance which has already damaged his brain and caused a serious disorder in his body system before he died”.

    Days after Tobi’s death, Oluwaseun said the police, in an effort to cover up the case called her to come over to the station to write a statement for the deceased because they had forgotten to get him to write one, but that she declined.

    Spokesperson to the Ondo State Command, Oluwole Ogodo confirmed the incident. He said the deceased was brought to the station for stealing and that he confessed to it, adding that it was because he refused to return the other items that he took from the church that he was brought to the station.

    The spokesperson said from investigation, the deceased was released by the police around 10am and developed ill health around 6pm. He said if he had indeed been tortured as his family was claiming there was no way he could have survived up till that time.

    Ogodo said the three policemen and prophet linked to the murder of Badmus have been arrested and they are been detained, pending investigation.

    On the issue of autopsy, he said it is the family’s responsibility to pay as they are the ones alleging and therefore should be able to go to any extent to prove it.

  • 10 years after, retired policemen yet to get pension

    10 years after, retired policemen yet to get pension

    Some policemen who retired about 10 years ago are yet to be paid their pension. They are worried that their years of service to The Nation may go down unrewarded with their pension yet unpaid, reports Omobola Tolu-Kusimo.

    When the Chairman of the House Committee on Public Accounts, Hon. Solomon Adeola Olamilekan recently raised the issue of the N24 billion Police Pension Fund alleged to be missing two years ago, the Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Mrs. NgoziOkonjo-Iweala was quick to refute the claim, saying the money was intact.

    But facts are beginning to emerge that something has gone wrong with the pensioners’ money, as some pensioners have not been paid their pension benefits, or gratuities 10 years after retirement. Frustrated, some of the affected retired policemen have begun to cry out over the non-payment of their pensions and gratuities since their retirement 10 years ago.

    The pensioners who do not belong to any association as they are not allowed to do so while in service, said they were told recently by some senior police officers in the pension department that their pension money has been stolen.

    The police officers are in a dilemma as some have been allegedly duped by fellow officers at the police pension office who promised to facilitate the release of their benefits. Some of the affected pensioners, who spoke to The Nation, said the situation is sad, considering the fact that they have duly served their fatherland and protected the citizenry throughout their active years.

    They said the service of a police officer in the society cannot be overemphasised. They have helped in maintaining public order, preventing and detecting crimes in the state. They have protected life  and property of the people notwithstanding the growing rate of crime coupled with increase in the complexity of civilisation, they added.

    They said: “Without the police, there would have been chaos in the society and the people would live in Hobbesian state of nature in which life would be solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short.

    “Thus, the police provide the necessary checks against the ambivalence of the human nature, play an important role in the administration of justice and enforcement of law. They are the saviour of our modern civil society.

    “Based on this, the welfare of a police officer should be uppermost in the mind of every responsible government.

    “It is therefore, appalling to find that many retired policemen under the old pension scheme, the Defined Benefits Scheme are still owed pensions and gratuities eight years after retirement.’’

    In this case, the police pensioners majorly affected, are soldiers from the Nigerian Army who got seconded into the Nigeria Police Force. Some of them have died, while some others are sick.

    Sixty-year-old Inspector, Abu Ekundayo, said he has not been paid his retirement benefits eight years after serving the Nigeria Army and Police Force for 27 years.

    He served last with the Lagos State Command, Ikeja, before his retirement on July 1, 2006.

    A letter written on behalf of Ekundayo by the Lagos State Commissioner of Police and signed by Deputy Commissioner of Police, Augustine Obaedo to the Director, Nigeria Police Pension Office on April 7, 2007 stated: “This is to introduce police officer, Inspector Abu Ekundayo who served last with Lagos State Police Command, Ikeja, before retirement on July 1, 2006.

    “Kindly render every assistance at your disposal to enable him collect his retirement benefits.”

    Ekundayo said that despite this letter and his several visits to the Lagos Pension Office before it was moved to the Police Headquarters in Abuja, his case has not been treated.

    Recounting his ordeal to The Nation, he said: “I was receiving salary regularly until I retired in 2006, but I have not received my pension since I retired. I have been suffering and partially blind with no money to eat or go to hospital. I have been living a miserable life.

    “Sometimes ago, when I visited the pension office, which was in Lagos as at the time, with some other retirees who have the same case, a fellow police officer who works in the pension office, said he could help us facilitate the release of our benefits if we give him some money. He collected N50, 000 from me and N25, 000 from another retiree. While we were waiting for him to help us, we didn’t know when he left the pension office and his phone number never went through afterwards and we could not trace him again.

    “In 2011, when a friend and retiree who has the same issue with me went to the Police Pension Office in Abuja, he said they (pension office) confirmed to me that they saw my name in the list of pending pensioners. Usually what happens is for Lagos Command to compile our files and send them to the Pension Office for payment. Under normal procedure, it should not take more than a year for them to pay. Some people who are well connected have received their own pension,” he added.

    Richard Ogundare and Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), retired 10 years ago and has not been paid his retirement after serving the Nigeria Army and Police Force for 35 years.

    Ogundare, who served within 1969 and 1979 in the Nigerian Army before he got seconded to the Nigeria Policein 1979, is also aggrieved that the Police Service Commission refused to merge his years of service years in the army with those in the police.

    He petitioned the Chairman, Police Service Commission (PSC), MikeOkiro and copied the Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar in the petition written and signed byhis lawyer, Kehinde Hassan Bamibola& Co.

    According to the petition, Ogundare has not received his retirement benefits since he retired in 2004.

    It stated: “We have the authority, instruction and consent of our client to call your attention to inhuman treatment he has been receiving from your Commission after he has duly served his fatherland, Nigeria, meritoriously, formerly as a military personnel from 1969 before he got seconded/enlisted to the Nigeria Police Force in 1979.

    “Our client informed us with documentary evidences that he applied to merge his service years sometimes in 2002 and that the application was not recommended. He would have served for 35 as at December 1, 2004, if the merging application had been granted.

    “However, he served the Nigeria Police meritoriously till April, 2007 before he was retired from the service. It is so painful and we consider it an act unleashing unmerited hardship on our client, that ever since his retirement, he has not received his retirement benefits. He has been suffering and languishing in abject poverty as a result of non-payment of his retirement benefits.”

    The petition further noted that a letter from PSC dated July, 2006, put Ogundare’s retirement date at April 24, 2004, while another letter dated May 3, 2007 with the heading “Retirement Benefits” put the effective date of his retirement at April 24, 2006 with factual affirmation that he was not indebted to the Federal Government.

    “Going by the letter from PSC, he actually applied for merging of his service years comprising the service years with the Nigerian Army from 1969 to the period he joined the Nigeria Police in 1979, but the application was turned down. He was made to serve beyond December 2004 till April 2007. Assuming the merging application was granted, he would have clocked 35 years at the service by December, 2004.

    “He actually served the Nigerian Police Force for 28 years from 1979 to 2007. That, the period between December 2004 and April 2007 should be reasonably computed into his service years for the treatment, calculation and payment of his retirement benefits.

    “We hereby appeal to your good office to pay our client all his retirement benefits as he is in great need of finances for his health and other necessities. The ‘dead does not spend money’ and so he should enjoy what he has laboured for while he is still on earth now. We are looking forward to hearing from you that his retirement benefits have been paid fully,” the petition read.

    Also recounting his ordeal, Ogundare said: “We are demobilized soldiers who fought war between 1967 and 1970 before we were asked to join the Nigeria Police Force.

    “The president at the time was OlusegunObasanjo. He asked us to join the police because it had few officers. Later in 2004, former Inspector General of Police, Sunday Ehindero, asked us to go on voluntary retirement. We obeyed him because we are loyal. But some people did not obey that instruction and worked up to 40 years before retiring. The most painful thing for me is that this group of policemen havebeen paid their pension with some of them receiving eight million naira.

    Ogundare also told The Nation that one of his colleagues also has the same case as his and his name is Paul Odunwa, an ASP who retired in December 12, 2005 after serving for 35 years.He has also not received his pension 10 years after retirement and he is seriously sick, Ogundare added.

    Another pensioner, he said, is AfolabiKosolu, who according to him has lost his sight and can no longer move around to demand for his pension.

    Ogundare appealed to relevant authorities to come to their aid.He also called on the National Assembly to look into their matter.

    Public Relations Officer, Police Service Commission (PSC), Ferdinand Ekpe in his reaction exonerated the commission.He said the PSC does not have anything to do with the pensioners.He said: “PSC does not handle police salaries or pension. Our mandate is to appoint, promote and discipline erring police officers. Any other thing that has to do with police welfare is not part of our business.

    “The pensioners will need to direct their complaints to the Police Pension Office.”

    Efforts to speak with the Managing Director, Pension Transitional Arrangement Department (PTAD), Ms Nellie Meshack and Force Police Public Relations Officer, Frank Mbah, proved abortive as at press time.

    In a statement in March, this year, the minister’s Special Adviser (Media), Paul Nwabuikwu, said: “As we explained in a recent communication, the Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. NgoziOkonjo-Iweala, has maintained her stance that N24 billion is not missing from the police pension account contrary to allegations.

    “Therefore, allegations by the Chairman of the House Committee on Public Accounts, Hon. Solomon AdeolaOlamilekan over a so-called missing N24 billion from the police pension account, are ridiculous and false. It is unfortunate that the chairman has persisted in using his privileged platform to disseminate such distortions even though the minister has repeatedly explained to the committee that the money was an overpayment based on the demands of those trying to steal from pension funds, which were successfully blocked and the money returned to the treasury by the minister.