Are the police truly our friends?

Uche Igwe
| credits: File copy

Growing up in a rural village comes with very interesting experiences. Many of the good and bad things that form part of daily urban life appear very strange to rural dwellers. For instance, as villagers, we never had any regular source of power supply. During festive seasons, a few distant relations would bring home small generators that powered a black and white type SANYO television set and we queued up and watched American wrestling matches on Saturdays. We were “bush men” who literally went around the forest looking for one thing or the other including climbing trees to take a gaze at the countryside.

The village is a peaceful place and I can recall I never saw a policeman till I was about seven years old. It was a bit of an accident. I developed cough and cold during one of the rainy seasons and my mother had to take me to the hospital. The police station was adjacent that hospital.  Although my mother tried to prevent me peeping into the station, she did not succeed. I did not see many things but I could remember clearly that their uniforms were blue in colour and their counter had a bold inscription – POLICE IS YOUR FRIEND. That inscription got stuck to my subconscious till recently.

I was growing up with this image until 1986 when the Lawrence Anini saga broke out. Nigerians were jolted when it was discovered that a serving police officer named ASP  George Iyamu was actually the one who provided logistics, weapons and intelligence to the dare-devil gang that murdered more than nine other policemen in the old Bendel State. Could this be true, I wondered innocently as I recalled that inscription at the police station the last time.

Now, my closest experience with the police was in 2010. One man from my village wanted to take charge of the politics at home and saw my retiree father as a stumbling block. So, he tried to frame up all his children including myself. He connived with some officers in the Nigeria Police and petitioned against me for killing someone in the village even while I was away in the United Kingdom. When I got back from my trip, I was invited by the office of the then Assistant Inspector General of Police, Mr. Hafiz Ringim, to Umuahia.  As soon as I arrived at Umuahia, I submitted myself for questioning to the officers.  After spending several days at home and shuttling to and fro Umuahia, the doctor in charge of the hospital where the man died revealed that his patient died of AIDS.  I got angry with the police officers for wasting my time and requested to see Ringim.  The man turned out to be a pleasant personality and explained to me that they received tons of petitions every week and that many of them turned out to be frivolous allegations on innocent people. I blushed and later left.

Three other fairly recent incidents provided additional insight into the police in Nigeria. The first is the unfortunate murder of Olaitan Oyerinde, the Principal Private Secretary to Governor Adams Oshiomhole. The drama that surrounded his killing gave me fresh insight into the rot in the Nigeria Police Force. I am still struggling for the right words to use. Incompetent, wicked, fraudulent, dull and desperate are a few words that readily come to my mind. They are however insufficient.  The police led by AIG Peter Gana first paraded a set of suspects which included the late Oyerinde’s close friend, David Ugolor. They had detained Ugolor for 43 days during which they tried unsuccessfully to build a water-tight case of murder against him.

The court later threw out the matter and set the democracy activist free. Since then the police have been wobbling and fumbling with one form of narrative or another. From one court to another, trying to stitch together an explanation. Rather curiously and interestingly too, the Department of Security Services also paraded another set of suspects for allegedly committing the same crime.  Very shameful that the two agencies have yet to compare notes to tell Nigerians who actually killed Oyerinde, rather they engage in an unhealthy rivalry.

The timing of Oyerinde’s murder a few weeks to the governorship election in Edo State led to fingers pointing at politicians competing for the soul of the state. One year later that murder remains unsolved as the killers still remain at large.

The second event relates to the allegation that two police officers, Corporal Enugu and Corporal Haruna Joseph, allegedly leaked the operational information to the members of the proscribed Ombatse cult which led to the killing of an estimated 103 security officers in Nasarawa Eggon near Lafia in Nasarawa State recently. It was said that Enugu drove a van which had a red sticker with an image of a machine gun with a chain of bullets.  That was the signal that allegedly gave the signal that enabled the members of the cult to notice him and spare him. He was one of the few officers that came back alive from the botched operation.

The third relates to the story of the kidnap syndicate in Delta State allegedly with police officers as members.  The syndicate is said to have specialised in intimidating and collecting ransom from High Court judges.  An orderly to a Justice at the Otor-Udu High Court was actually the one who allegedly arranged to collect N20m from her boss. It was reported that luck ran out of him when his boss decided to call the number that sent her threat text messages and it rang in the pocket of her orderly.

It is with these events fresh in mind that I examine the unfolding drama in Rivers State. It is alleged that an operative of the Rivers State Command of the Nigeria Police is playing a key role.  The Commissioner of Police himself is said to be a weird character that is known for arbitrariness even from his last posting. For instance, he allegedly moves in a convoy of almost 50 officers with at least three bullet proof cars.  So, how many policemen are available to protect the lives of ordinary Rivers people? Since the political situation became a bit tumultuous, the CP has not hidden the fact that he is in one side of the divide. No wonder that prominent civil society leaders in the state have called for his redeployment. Granted, the Nigeria Police is a command structure and the CP is expected to obey the others from above, but does this mean that they must abandon their constitutional duties and become pawns in the hands of powerful politicians? From sealing the Obia Akpor Local Government Council secretariat to withdrawing officers attached to key government officials, the police in Rivers State could be said to have conducted themselves in a manner that has punctured the confidence of the people. Should the police be meddling in politics?  This may be one of the reasons why some people canvas for the establishment of state police, a proposal others vehemently oppose to.

From the days of Anini to what Enugu did to 103 of his colleagues in Nasarawa State to what is going on now in Rivers State, 25 years have passed.  Are things getting better or worse with the Nigeria Police? Are the police really the friend of an ordinary man and if no, then what are we to do?