The Nation Newspaper

Tag: policing

  • Navy trains 40 officials on inland water policing

    The Nigeria Navy (NN) has initiated a Basic Marine Operations Course (BMOC) for 40 marine police officers.

    The 12-week course, according to the Flag Officer Commanding (FOC) Naval Training Command (NAVTRAC) Rear Admiral Adeniyi Osinowo, was structured to better equip the police on weapon handling and effective policing of inland waters against pipeline vandals, kidnappers and armed robbers who use the water as an escape route.

    Inaugurating the course, Osinowo said requisite skills that will promote proficiency in the participants will be imparted.

    His words: “Nigeria’s maritime domain remains a strategic asset with enormous resources and potential. We are equally cognisant that this natural benefit has been persistently channeled by a myriad of threats that have impinged on Nigeria’s economic wellbeing and national security.

    “Thus, the command, through the Nigeria Navy Ship Quorra (NNS) (headed by Commodore Francis Isaac), runs professional operations courses for NN personnel and occasionally for other agencies.

    “In this light, the NNS QUORRA was tasked to conduct the BMOC for personnel of the NPF. The course is aimed at ensuring that the marine police have a grasp of the skills necessary to operate effectively in their assigned areas and in compliance with existing statutes and jurisdiction.

    “This is meant to enhance the marine police capability to conduct operations in support of the NN in the internal waters up to the harbour and port entrances of Nigeria.

    “The training objectives include inculcating in the marine police their specific areas of operations/jurisdiction in the internal waters best practices in seamanship, navigation and other specific areas of maritime operations.

    “Also, the course is tailored towards improving the marine police’s ability in weapon handling, boat handling and maintenance, as well as being introduced to the laws of the sea, search and rescue, and other elements of chart work.”

    Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of Western Marine Command, Ahmed Iliyasu urged the participants to make good use of the opportunity.

    Iliyasu said the police was always ready to improve its abilities for the safety and security of the nation and her resources.

    Of the 40 personnel on training, 14 are Assistant Superintendents of Police (ASPs), six are Inspectors, seven are Sergeants and the others are Corporals.

  • Edo APC chieftain seeks enhanced community policing

    A governorship aspirant on the platform of Edo State All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr Godwin Obaseki, has called for the strengthening of local security outfits, popularly called vigilantes across the state.

    This followed the recent twin bank robbery at Igarra, Edo State.

    In his New Year message to Edo State residents, the politician noted that for the police to effectively protect the people, there should be a collaboration between the communities and the police.

    He cited the case of the Igarra and Makeke vigilance groups, which successfully foiled the twin bank robbery in Igarra.

    Obaseki said, in line with APC’s manifesto, the design of an enduring community policing strategy would secure the lives and property of the residents from Gelegele to Somorika.

    The governorship aspirant urged the people to always support the police with information that could help in the fight against insecurity.

    Also, Obaseki pledged to deploy his goodwill in the private sector within and outside Nigeria to encourage the sector to show interest in the Gelegele-Atlantic Ocean link Port.

    The politician said it has the capacity to open up the state’s economy to other parts of Nigeria and the world.

    He added that as a Financial Management expert, he would not allow Edo State economy, with its potential, to be less than 10 in the ranking of Nigerian states, especially in doing business and youth employment.

    Obaseki said Edo State would continue to leverage on its strategic location in Nigeria as an artery to push its economy to greater heights for the benefits of the people.

  • Policing Lagos

    With a population in excess of 21 million, Lagos is arguably the largest city in Nigeria. In fact, it is the second most rapidly growing urban area on the African continent after Abuja, the capital city of Nigeria. As one of the most populous urban agglomerations in the world, Lagos is the commercial capital of Nigeria and a major financial centre in Africa. In recent times, successive administrations have been putting measures in place to justify Lagos as a mega city. Furthermore, with one of the highest Gross Domestic Product, GDP, and also home to one of the largest and busiest seaports on the continent of Africa, Lagos presents an attraction to all manner of people in search of the Golden Fleece.

    Side-by-side with this ever-increasing population comes a myriad of problems such as over-stretched infrastructure, inadequate health care delivery system and above all, security problems, to name a few. In the last few months, the issue of insecurity has been on the front burner with the unrestrained onslaught of armed robbers, kidnappers and other miscreants who have turned the heat on hapless citizens and helpless law enforcement agencies particularly the police.

    Perhaps, the most noticeable among these criminals are the band of ruthless and blood-thirsty armed robbers comprising mainly misguided youths who have taken to violent robberies as a way of life. Every now and then, they come in large contingents, well-armed and daring, as they wreck havoc on unsuspecting citizens who are indiscriminately cut down either at the scenes of violent robberies or in areas close to the scenes. Members of the security agencies are not spared either. They are continuously mowed down as the dare-devil intruders scramble to gain access to their target which, in most cases, are financial houses where they help themselves by looting the treasuries and emptying the counters.

    This ugly spectre which has often sent cold shivers down the spines of residents of the city has continued unabated for some time. In fact, it has also elicited some unpalatable side comments. Obviously, the spate of crime and criminality has also become an irritating nightmare to those in authority who have been working round the clock to find a lasting solution to the ugly development. Therefore, in an attempt to put an end to the growing concern expressed by Lagosians on the issue of insecurity in the state, the governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, last Friday, November 27, demonstrated his commitment to protecting lives and property in the state by donating security equipment and vehicles valued at a whopping N4.765bn to the state police command and the state’s re-branded anti-crime outfit, the Rapid Response Squad, RRS. 

    Equipment donated include 100 4-door salon cars, 55 Ford Ranger pick-ups, 10 Toyota Landcruiser pick-ups, 115 power bikes, Isuzu trucks, three helicopters, two gunboats, 15 armoured personnel carriers, revolving lights, siren, public address systems.  Also donated were vehicular radio communicators and other security gadgets including bullet proof vests, helmets, handcuffs, uniforms and many other kits. As a way to further motivate members of the security agencies, the state also put in place an improved insurance and hazard benefit schemes for the officers.

    Recall that Lagos State was the first in Nigeria to put in place a Security Trust Fund in the country in order to assist the police in performing their statutory role of protecting lives and property. The trust fund is a government-citizens’ partnership on security. The establishment of this trust fund, which attracted generous donations from many blue chip companies and high net worth individuals, has really changed the face of policing in Lagos. Buoyed by the successes achieved by this innovation in the state, many other states including the neighbouring Ogun State and a few others have since followed suit.

    However, there seems to be a problem in the human components of this arrangement. Like we all know, equipment and armaments alone cannot deliver the needed results. This is where the human components come in. This is the more reason why the police high command should ensure that in posting officers and men to Lagos and assigning them responsibilities, round pegs should be put in round holes. To be frank, as it is, efficiency in the police is almost at its lowest ebb as the service seems to have been reduced to ‘who knows who.’ And, in any case, he who pays the piper calls the tune. The officers and men know this but there is virtually no avenue to ventilate their disgust. The question is: How many of these privileged officers who are posted to strategic beats are dedicated to fighting crime the way it should be?

    It is a good thing that the governor said that those who are going to be engaged in using the newly procured equipment have been trained on how to use them. If that be the case, there should be training and retraining of the policemen. As we all know, training is a continuous thing. For instance, if an officer must be a Divisional Police Officer, DPO, he should be physically fit and not a mere bench warmer. Above all, the police should completely overhaul its operational strategies in order to effectively cope with the exigencies of modern crime where armed robbers, kidnappers and others now go about in large numbers, armed with sophisticated weapons, to carry out their nefarious acts.

    During a robbery incident in the Ikorodu axis of the state earlier this year, reports had it that the control room of the state police command got wind of the movement of the robbers in time and told the police contingent, the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, SARS, sent to accost them  where and where to block. But while the young boys, obviously the rank-and-file of the force, were ready for a showdown, their leader was said to have been fretting because he was not a tested officer. Now, if the boys are brave but there is no good leader, then there is a problem somewhere. That is why the right people should be engaged. That is, those who are not only vast in methodology but with proper orientation on how to carry out their assignments.

    By every standard, Solomon Arase, the Inspector General of Police, IGP, has been giving the right direction to his men, at least, theoretically. This should be adequately matched with action. There is the likelihood of insider collaboration among the security agencies in the wave of crime in the state. This should be thoroughly investigated and dealt with.

    In the case of the renewed system of robbers passing through the waterways, the Marine Police should be effectively mobilized to give them a good fight. The first thing to do under such circumstance is to clear the waterways of boats and see who will come looking for a boat. And if the robbers block the roads, even if you cannot meet them face-to-face, fire some warning shots, encircle them and pin them down, then begin to do what in security parlance is known as “snake and tiger movements” to get them. Restrict all vehicles, Okada and others and since they cannot fly or put bags of money on their heads, their loot will become a burden to them. The police can also gain the upper hand if they launch their teargas properly. The teargas can be a decisive factor.

    As Arase said at the formal handing over of the equipment last Friday, the equipment would surely allow police officers to be a step ahead of criminals. But then, the public will not want to see any of the recently purchased patrol cars being used by police officers’ wives to go shopping in the market for Ewedu or as status symbols at Owambe parties. They must be used strictly for the purpose for which they are meant. Period!

     

  • Community policing the way to go, says Ogunsakin

    The outgoing Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) in zone 6, Calabar , Tunde Ogunsakin, has called for community policing.

    AIG Ogunsakin spoke after he visited the Vice Chancellor of the  University of Calabar, Prof  James Ekpoke at the weekend.

    He said the  visit is to strenghten the relationship between the police and the  university community, adding that  community policing was the way to go. Ogunsakin said  police would always work with the university to ensure peace.

    Ekpoke  said the school has enjoyed a smooth  relationship with the  police.

    “Our relationship with command and  AIG’s office is perfect in terms of dealing .The relationship has helped  to nip riots in the bud. Since the last riot in the  school in 2011, the school has  been relatively peaceful. Where there is community policing, you  hardly see crime in such places.”

    He presented an award of excellence to the AIG.

  • Policing Nigeria

    Policing Nigeria

    My brief is to introduce you to this compendium of 21 well researched book by scholars and experts from a wide range of discipline- law, criminology, security, history, law enforcement, counseling and general administration. These experts have, in concise manner, presented in 21 chapters different issues that reflect as well as capture the title of the book: Policing and Crime Preservation in Nigeria.

    Today in Nigeria, few issues are as topical as those dealing with crime preservation and control. In fact, never a time in the history of this country, have we had the present level of insecurity kidnapping, insurgency, ethnic conflicts and robberies, among many others. With these myriads of security challenges, we are compelled to find solutions with the sole aim of solving them.  Among these solutions, one can identify the need for effective and efficient policing. This, the book describes as the bedrock of productive law enforcement. This book is therefore a modest contribution by the authors towards this effort.

    On the basis of the foregoing, the authors have endeavoured to explore the subject by hinging the work on three critical assumptions:

    First, policing is a necessary and inevitable aspect of modest society. The second assumption rests on the question of whether it is possible to have a police service that is modern, proactive and impactful in law enforcement. On the last and final assumption, the book has attempted to make suggestions which the authors strongly believe will help policing and crime prevention. In dealing with these issues, seriatim, I choose to address them under the following relevant aspects.

    On the issue of inevitability of policing modern society, the authors have argued that no modern society can exist without an efficient policing system. Policing is seen as a sine qua non for peace and the authors discussed the need to redirect the role and structure of the police, in particular the Nigeria Police Force, along the lines of modern professional policing paradigm for more impactful law enforcement. In the word of the lead editor:

    Whichever way we look at it, policing is important but telling career, full of toils and thanklessness. People find it so easy to derogate the police. This has been so even from the earliest times. The extent of police derogation is often expressed in all manner of nicknames given them by members of the public across the world. While some refer to them as vultures, olopa, flatfoots, yansanda, Babylon, bastards and lawdogs, the more nasty persons call them dicks, titheads, khaki, men in black, bloodgang, old bills, blue locust and drones, etc. Most of these appellations express dislike. But can we, for one second, imagine what our society will be like without the police. Of course there would be monumental anarchy.

    There is no doubt that most of these appellations express dislike, but despite this, the million dollar question pops up: “can we, for one second, imagine what our society will be like without the police. Of course there would be monumental chaos”, stated Bassey the lead editor.

    To the second assumption: it is possible to have a police service that is modern, proactive and impactful in law enforcement. In addressing the issue of the kind of policing we need, the need to redirect the role and structure of the police as discussed, in particular the Nigeria Police Force, along the line of modern, proactive and technologically driven. It argues strongly that the police must imbibe the culture of accountability and transparency, and more importantly in the case of Nigeria with more than 250 ethnic groups, effective policing system must recognise and take into account our straddled ethnic mores and peculiarities. The community, the book insists, must be made to buy into it.

    On the last and final assumption: the book has attempted to make suggestions which are strongly believed will help improve policing and crime prevention. These suggestions include:

    i. The need to put enlightenment programmes in place to educate the people or populace about ethics underling policing principle and practice.

    ii.The need for NPF to improve its management style, equipment and funding packages.

    iii. The need to bolster the morale of personnel of the force through the introduction of life insurance covers for police personnel.

    iv. Need for enhanced income, operational incentives disability benefits and recruitment entitlement.

    v. To check the level of police performance, an independent statistical evaluation of the NPF in crime prevention through crime survey needs to be introduced. This survey will provide an objective change to judge the police/law enforcement performance and change public perspective.

    This work certainly evidence ingenuity, organisational ability and a simple to read approach. Aside from the language and style of writing which is quite lucid, I am impressed with the thematic approach the editors have adopted in the treatment or discussion of the issues in focus. Right from the first to the fifth chapters, attempts were made to give us an insight into the origin, development and theoretical basis of the subject matter. Indeed, the evolution of the police force in Nigeria as well as the emergence of new crimes have been elaborately dealt with in these chapters.

    The next thematic approach is that which deals with uses of internal security concerns. In chaptersseven to nine, the entire fields of militancy, amnesty and peace in the Niger Delta as well as general issues of internal insurgency and national security have been handled with such panache and competence by the various contributors. Interestingly, specific attention is also paid to matters of policing internal conflicts.

    Another issue that has adequately been dealt with by the contributors is policing within the socio-economic relationship/human rights. –Chapters 10-17 cover issues of Peace, Youth, Spousal Violence against Women in Nigeria, Economic and Financial Crimes and Asset Tracing.

    Finally, there is the international dimension of policing that is treated under the topic ‘The police and peace-keeping operation’ by Dr. Okom in chapter 18 of the book. The last three chapters of the book, to wit: chapter 19, 20 and 21 deal with such key issues, Socio-situational Crime Prevention, Crime Information Management and Police and the Reintegration of Offenders in Society.

    Need I say more? The articles in this work are scholarly, characterised by intellectual depth and mind-stirring analysis and evocative arguments. Therefore, buying this book or keeping a copy will give you more than your money’s worth. The prints are good and readable. It is also in soft and hard cover. However, It is my considered view, indeed my suggestion, that the editors should make available to the reading public an e-version of this book. Furthermore, it is my hope and wish that at the next lunch of the revised edition of this book, the issue of state police should come up for discussion.

    I am honoured to recommend this book to you for your general reading and intellectual growth. For the lovers of Nigeria, this book is a must read.

  • Canada supports Gwagwalada policing

    The High Commissioner of Canada to Nigeria, Mr. Perry Calderwood has congratulated Women Friendly Initiative (WFI) on the inauguration of the Community Security Support Group in Gwagwalada Area Council, Abuja.

    The project is aimed at contributing to the reduction in crime in the community.

    He said that the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives (CFLI), focuses on funding projects with long-term sustainable goals that enhance the local community.

    This was made known in a press statement signed by the Public Affairs Officer, Ezinne Uluocha.

    Calderwood said in the statement, “This project supports the effective participation of the community in decision making around local policing. This community-based policing approach is improving the security of women, men and children. I congratulate Women Friendly Initiative and the key stakeholders in Gwagwalada Area Council on their commitment to work together to improve the security of their community.”

    “She also stated, “The project by Women Friendly Initiative has brought together stakeholders from the Gwagwalada Area Council Security Committee and the local community for regular dialogues to improve relationships, raise awareness of security issues, and increase capacity in crime prevention.  The project builds on a successful 2012 WFI initiative in Kuje Local Government Area.  Both projects have received support from the High Commission of Canada in Abuja’s Canada Fund for Local Initiatives.

    “The Canada Fund for Local Initiatives (CFLI) provides direct funding assistance to community groups, non-government organizations, people’s organizations, international non-governmental organizations, and government institutions for small projects addressing human rights, democratic development and transition, security, rule of law, and good governance, and strengthening economic governance.

    “The CFLI focuses on funding projects with long-term, sustainable goals that enhance the local community.  The program is widely recognized as making a significant contribution to development and capacity-building in Nigeria.”

     

  • Neighbourhood policing inaugurated

    Neighbourhood policing inaugurated

    Voluntary Policing Sector (VPS) has been inaugurated in Idimangoro, Agege Local Government. The group serves the entire community and operates within the established law of the land. It also works in collaboration with the Nigeria Police Force and other relevant agencies to ensure the security of lives and property within the community. The event was held at the weekend in Sebiotimo, Agege, a Lagos suburb.

    VPS’s chairman Mr. Omodele Morufu, said the community was the first to introduce VPS in Nigeria .He, therefore, urged the residents to cooperate with members of the group in the discharge of their duties.

    “Neighbourhood policing can only be achieved if the community members can ensure a mutual relationship with the police as this will also reduce the crime rate in the community,”he said.

    The Chairman, Cammadeco Local Council Area, Comrade Segun Balogun, said the VPS had been doing a great job in the community. According to him, the cult memebers in our community are the problem. They call themselves Awawa boys, Million dollars and Abuja boys, among others. If two trusted residents can be employed from different communities in Agege Local Council Area,it will help reduce the level of crimes. Everything depends on members of the community. If they work hand- in- hand with the police, there will be a positive change.”

    The Divisional Police Officer, Isokoko Police Station, CSP Aliko Dankoli, said: “Community policing is a balance between re-active and pro-active policing. Residents should endeavour to report robbery cases during operations and not after they have extorted their valuable items.Parents should also train their wards to eschew crimes.”

  • Policing with impunity

    Policing with impunity

    ‘Anywhere, anytime ordinary people are given the chance to choose, the choice is the same: freedom, not tyranny; democracy, not dictatorship; the rule of law, not the rule of an impunity committing police.’——-Tony Blair (Former British Prime Minister)

    In Rivers State today, there exists a circle of absolute power corruption and impunity that is too offensive to ignore. The state, courtesy of federal might of President Goodluck Jonathan, is witnessing totalitarian impunity and no one is yet held accountable by the police – our own “friends.” The police institution seems to have forgotten that in the name of guaranteeing peace, there should be no impunity such that has today become its hallmark in Rivers. After all, justice cannot be pursued under an eerie air of subjection. The constitution allows for right to freedom of association and expression, yet, the police, in flagrant violation of the law, forbid this within the precinct of the treasure base of the nation.

    The police still wrongfully arrest and imprison people branded as opposition. When the arrested tries to seek court’s intervention, the brigands hiding under the cloak of federal might inflict arson on the Temple of Justice. It is only in Rivers that this dangerous trend has been on and nobody is caught by the police. The brigands with covert state support also kidnap and kill dissent voices with reckless abandon. This column abhors deployment of power with impunity. It fears misuse and abuse of power by the tenants in the corridors of power. It is sad that voluntary errors of authority and other infamous vices have become shameful routine in Rivers and ostensibly carried out with the sanction of those in the highest hierarchy of state power.

    The Nigerian societies have to be worried over what is happening in the state before it spreads to other parts of the country. In contemporary Nigeria, it is hard to believe that the police under the guise of quelling what it erroneously termed illegal public protest march, could engage in indiscriminate and barbaric firing of defenceless innocent people. The government may think it is trying to suppress the people by force when it ought to embark on attempting to solve the problems that led to the dissent. The Save Rivers Movement (SRM) was the last victim of officially induced police brutality. The group is an organisation that purportedly insists that Rivers State must be saved from political buccaneers that have been treating the state as their personal fiefdom. There reportedly exists another group called GDI that has a serving federal minister, Wike, as its grand patron and which has reportedly been receiving special police protection from the state police commissioner in all its public rallies.

    SRM reportedly provided a copy of the application for permit to hold the rally, written to the police command since January 7. And the group’s letter was received by a police officer on behalf of the state police command. Why did the police refuse to respond to this request if not to serve the ulterior interests of their paymasters? Rivers State Police Commissioner Mbu, in an interview on Channels Television after the sad incident, insisted: “It is not time for political rallies. If groups are going to meet for empowerment, we approve and provide security…I asked policemen to subdue and take over the place. We took over the place.” Yet, these are hapless people that were about to converge on the Rivers State College of Arts and Science, Rumuola, Port Harcourt. Was the same treatment meted to GDI rallies believed to have the backing of the presidency?

    The casualty figures in the harm inflicted by the police are unimaginable. Senator Magnus Abe was riddled with rubber bullets in the chest. The people including houses around the vicinity were tear-gassed while the police allegedly picked the shells of the teargas used. A young boy in the company of his mother, coming to church, suffocated and died instantly. A house at Elegbam Road, Port Harcourt was reported to have been partly burnt while several other people sustained injuries. More than one Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs) were purportedly deployed to the venue of the rally.

    Unfortunately, the police deliberately choose to be ignorant of the law whenever it pleases their topmost hierarchy. Is it sensible to agree with the police that it is compulsory for law-abiding members of a group to forcefully obtain its permit before embarking on a peaceful protest in a supposed democratic state like Nigeria? A cursory excursion into the legal-historical lane shows that such deliberate memory loss on the part of the Rivers Police chief should be punished by the Inspector General of Police for crass disobedience of judicial position on the matter over some time. For months, the Court of Appeal has upheld the judgment of the Federal High Court in June 2005 that the Public Order Act, which in Section 1 of the Act makes it mandatory for a police permit to be applied for and obtained by any person or group before embarking on a public rally or procession is unconstitutional.

    Before the advent of democratic rule and until the appellate court’s resounding judgment, it was the position under the Public Order Act that no group or person can organise any public rally or procession without first applying for and obtaining a Police approval. But that has now been thrown to the waste bin of history as the Court of Appeal, in that momentous decision, struck down the requirement of seeking and obtaining police permit under the Act before holding a public rally. Such permit was considered in the learned view of the court as an infraction of the fundamental human rights of persons and groups in this nation. All progressive-minded Nigerians and institutions except the police and their paymasters now know and appreciate through the Court of Appeal that the provisions of the Public Order Act are unnecessary since Nigeria is “in a democracy” and “has joined the league of civilised society.”

    Globally, public rallies and processions are part and parcel of democracy that must not be under any circumstances restricted or disrupted. The duty of the law-enforcement agents, including the police, is to monitor public gathering and to bring before the law any person that breaches the law. The predilection, especially by the police, for disrupting peaceful assemblies is anachronistic, dogmatic and an unabashed affront on the human rights of Nigerians.

    One of the foundations of a democratic society is that everyone has right to freedom of peaceful assembly and freedom of association with others. And this include right to protest in a peaceful way that has become a civilised way of promoting change. Police misuse of surveillance, stop-and-search powers, and other pre-emptive legal actions as deployed by the Rivers Police Command inhibit peaceful protests. Nigerians want ‘freedom, not tyranny; democracy, not dictatorship; the rule of law, not the rule of an impunity-committing police’ as the nation prepares for another general election next year. This madness in form of official impunity through the police must stop in Rivers – and elsewhere!

  • Fayemi calls for multi-level policing to fight insecurity

    Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi has reiterated his call for multi-level policing system to curb the growing insecurity in the country.

    He said this reality had also dawned on some Northern governors, who have consistently opposed the state police.

    However, the governor opposed the proposed deduction of one per cent of the allocation to the state, saying that it conflicted with the principles of federalism.

    Fayemi spoke with reporters in Lagos on his endorsement for a second term by the leaders of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), national security and 2015 elections.

    Expressing concern over the insecurity and deployment of troops in 32 states, he said the next general elections may be marred by the lack of conducive atmosphere in some states.

    He said: “ I am an advocate of multi-level police. I’ve always consistently argued for driven agenda, but the only way you can be your brother’s keeper is, if you know your brother. If you don’t know your brother, you can’t be his keeper.

    “If you bring me from Ekiti to go to Zamfara and you dumped me at Talata-Mafarawa and you give me gun to protect people; who am I protecting at the place where I don’t have clue about the language, I don’t speak their language, I don’t have any connection with the people, it will be difficult to have multi-level police from university, local government, state and federal, and you will have a unit that connect all the branches both in terms of training and sanction.

    “That is the area we need to work on. We can have multi-level police and independent arm that will be responsible for sanctioning adherent behaviour on the part of men and women of police in various levels. I see multi-level police having a key role to play in the country”.

    Fayemi said that, in the light of the political chaos in Rivers State, many governors would have been convinced to support multi-level policing, owing to the blatant abuse of the federal police within the local entity.

    He acknowledged that governors have been setting up alternative security forces to protect their environment.

    He added: “ That is what Zamfara State wanted to do that led to the debate at the National Assembly. The governor decided to take the bull by the horn because 48 of his citizens were killed in one day and our police cannot do anything about it.”

  • ‘Community policing is answer to kidnapping, other crimes’

    Mr. Onoriode Sunday Eromedoghene is the Transition Committee Chairman of Ethiope East Local Government Area of Delta State. In this interview with Polycarp Orosevwotu, he speaks on his administration, especially on the security challenges.

    What was the most pressing challenge you faced when you came to office as transition committee chairman?

    It was the issue of security, a very serious one that gave not only me but my entire executive serious concern. But with the assistance of the state governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan who has peace and security as one of his 3-Point Agenda, the Army, police, State Security Service (SSS) and of all the local vigilante groups, we were able to reduce the security tension and other related vices drastically to the barest minimum.

    So do you support community policing?

    Yes, but the must be under the supervision of the police or other security agencies. I saw the need for community polcing because of the recent security problem and noticed that they know the area more than every other person and they were so helpful. It was with the support of the Okpara vigilante and others that we could douse the tension in the area. So, l appreciate all of them and will always support community policing if they are under the control of the police.

    Your Local Government has been tagged as the den of kidnappers by the Commissioner of Police. What is the financial implication of tackling the trend?

    You cannot separate financial implication from most security issues but the only thing l would say was that it did not deviate my focus, as l was still doing what l ought to be doing since my governor was there for me, implementing some of his order to see that there is relative peace in the area. It only slowed the speed of my developmental work.

    How has the ban on motorcycle affected your people?

    It is true that the ban on motorcycle was from the state government. It was because of the incessant kidnappings and other vices in my local government, but all the same, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan did marvelously by donating 20 tricycles to the Delta State University Management to cushion the effect of the ban.

    He did this by considering the fact that Abraka community is a university community housing the state university and he saw that the effect will be too much for the university and donated 20 tricycles to the university and gave another 30 to the local government, which was handed over to the union and without wasting time they went straight to work.

    The local government has also purchased over 30 tricycles and we are still expecting another 15 for different interested persons. And we giving this tricycles out to the cyclists at a subsidised price of N350,000 and we have gotten about 100 tricycles in the last three weeks.

    What is your assessment of the administration of Dr. Uduaghan for over six years?

    l will say he is a quiet achiever, excellent and a proactive governor, who knows what to do at every given time. l must tell you that the things the governor is doing today that we are seeing are not projects for the next twenty years to come but lasting projects that our children will enjoy.

    I believe many of us will not know the developmental projects Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan is putting in place until after 10 years and that is when we start appreciating him. We wouldn’t have had a better governor than Dr. Uduaghan who has taken his time to ensure that the state is not behind in the scheme of things.

    We should not forget that if he is not the only one he should be among the few that have embarked on this free maternal health care from zero to five years of age, giving them free maternal health care from his inception of office till date. This is aside the enrolment of students in the Senior Secondary Schools; scholarship scheme to study abroad and other skill acquisition programmes where some of our Delta indigenes have been trained on different fields of endeavour and are today self-employed with equipment generously given to beneficiaries to start life of their own.

    All these we are saying are not part of the dualisation of the Ughelli Asaba road, Eku – Asaba dualisation, the Asaba Airport and a lot of road work that the state government has embarked on both Asaba and other major cities of the state apart from the ones being carried out by the Direct Labour Agency.

    The PDP in Ethiope East recently passed a vote of confidence on you. Is this part of your plan to contest the local government election?

    Well, l don’t know what to say but l think what happened was that in one of our stakeholders meetings in the residence of our leader, Chief Bernard Edewor, l spoke extensively on the journey so far since l assume office as the Ethiope East Transition Committee Chairman and l did not go there with the knowing that somebody was going to applaud me or passed a confidence vote on me but l was surprised that after l gave details of my stewardship within the space of time, they were so happy and passed a confidence vote on me.

    I really was happy because l never expected it but it goes a long way to show that anything anybody is doing he or she should do it well because people are out there watching.

    What would you count as your achievement so far?

    Though short, but within this period, my administration has done a lot; though Ethiope East is a rural local government and we do not expect so much from Internally Generated Revenue, we depend solely on allocation coming to the local government and with that we have been able to stabilise the local government in terms of meeting up our statutory obligation.