With the cold rivalry going on between the personnel of the army and the police, it is evident that the war against crime being fought by the federal government is at risk. ELEOJO IDACHABA writes.
At the present, this is not the best of times for the personnel of the Nigeria Army and Nigeria Police Force over mistrust that has crept into the two foremost security organisations that champion the cause of securing lives in the country. This is because of what analysts say is the cold war that has polarised the two agencies over the years.
For instance, as well as last week’s incident regarding the killing of some policemen who were in Taraba to arrest a notorious kidnapper, the army authorities had, in a statement this week, warned its personnel serving in Taraba state to avoid appearing in uniform publicly in order to avoid being attacked either by civilians or policemen on revenge mission over the killing of three policemen by some soldiers in the state.
In a letter with reference number AHQDAIOPS/G3/240/232 said to be written by one Brigadier General F Omoigui on behalf of the Chief of Army Staff, Gen. Tukur Buratai, titled, ‘The need for troops to be circumspect in dealing with members of the Nigeria Police Force’ he accused the police of making inflammatory remarks on the social media which he said is capable of inciting the ranks and file of the force to exhibit aggression against army personnel. He noted in that letter that formations and unit commanders of the army should educate their units to be cautious in dealing with the police in the aftermath of the recent killing in Taraba.
The letter read in full: “In the aftermath of the unfortunate incident involving troops of 93 Battalion, Takum and members of the Intelligence Response Team of the NPF at Ibi LGA of Taraba state on August 06, 2019, inciting and inflammatory comments are being made by the NPF on the regular and social media platforms. This is capable of inciting the rank and file of the NPF to exhibit aggressive tendencies against NA personnel.
“Accordingly, all troops on IS (Internal Security) duty as well as personnel travelling in and out of uniforms are to be circumspect in their conduct to avoid escalation. Consequently, formations and unit commanders are to educate troops to be cautious in their dealings with members of the NPF in view of this development. Troops travelling on pass are to endeavour to do so in mufti.”
While justifying the action of the military in the Taraba incident, army spokesperson, Col. Musa Sagir said the military got involved in the incident after it received a distress call that kidnappers were on the prowl in that vicinity and responded immediately. Unfortunately, he said, the slain police men did not identify themselves early enough thereby leading to the unfortunate incident.
However, while posing several questions to counter the military’s claims that they mistook the policemen for kidnappers, Mba said, “The attention of the Nigeria Police Force has been drawn to the press release by the army dated August 07, 2019, seeking to justify the unprovoked and unwarranted murder of three police officers and one civilian and serious injury to other operatives who were on legitimate criminal investigation activities to Taraba state, to arrest one Alhaji Hamisu Bala Wadume indicted in a series of high-profile kidnap incidents in the state. In the best tradition of esprit de corps, inter-agency harmony and national interest, the police would naturally have kept quiet, but it has become imperative to set the record straight by addressing the obvious distortion of facts inherent in the release by the army.”
Continuing, he said: “The most important question arising from the release is: Where is Alhaji Hamisu Bala Wadume, a millionaire kidnapper arrested by the police but paradoxically treated as a ‘kidnap victim’ by the soldiers and subsequently ‘rescued’ by them. Where is he?
“Secondly, the press release was silent on the source of the alleged distress report or identity of the complainant on the strength of whose report the army claimed had informed their decision to engage in the purported chase and rescue operation. Needless to state that in the true spirit of transparency and accountability, the army ought to have arrested the purported distress caller, if any, for obviously and deliberately furnishing them with false and misleading information. Besides, such arrest should, in fact, be made public.
“Thirdly, it is not true that the policemen failed to identify themselves as alleged in the press release. The video on the incident, now viral, wherein the voice of one of the soldiers was heard loudly proclaiming that the policemen were from the Force Headquarters, Abuja, speaks volume. Besides, the presence of the IRT personnel was well known to Taraba police command as the operatives officially and properly documented not only at the state command headquarters but also at the Wukari area command and Ibi divisional police headquarters. As a matter of fact, some of the detectives from the Taraba state command’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID) were part of the operation,” he said.
This development, no doubt, has bred serious gulfs between the two agencies and has also eroded the confidence the people has in the ability of the police and army to halt the growing insecurity in the country, thereby raising concern on the ability of the security to halt the growing level of insecurity in the country.
Memories
This unhealthy rivalry between the police and military operatives, in particular, is not new in the country as the mutual suspicion had existed over the years. For instance, in 2016, soldiers from the Nigerian Army Cantonment, Nkwagu, near Abakaliki in Ebonyi state clashed with policemen on stop and check point leading to pandemonium in the entire city. According to an eye witness account, “Trouble started when a police patrol team on road check requested for the identity cards and vehicle particulars of army officers from the Nkwagu military cantonment.
“The soldiers rode a tinted Toyota Camry car with registration number BWR 886 AE and a black Toyota Jeep with the inscription of ‘Bride’ used to convey a newly-wedded couple.
“The soldiers, who were in their uniforms except, one personnel, told the police team they were returning from a wedding and felt embarrassed by their request for the documents. At this point, one of the police officers stopped the soldiers from passing and the latter angrily fired sporadically into the air.”
Also, in the commercial city of Aba, Abia state, several policemen and a soldier were in 2018 confirmed dead after a bloody clash between them. An eyewitness, Chinyere Nkem, said the commercial city came to a standstill while vehicular movements were halted by the incident. She said, “It happened like what we used to watch in American movies. It happened in a flash and before you know what is happening, trucks of army and police vans were everywhere.
“Police and army were shooting themselves face-to-face. From what we later learnt, two policemen and a soldier died in the gun duel. It is better seeing that being told. I don’t know what is happening at this Osisioma junction. Don’t forget that sometimes ago, police and army clashed here and shoot at each other leaving one policemen dead.
“In this very one, I saw some people running with blood stain and I guess that they were hit by stray bullets. Police and army leadership in the state should call themselves to order. They are sister agencies and I don’t think that it is in their own interest to be fighting among themselves when they are supposed to be working hand in hand with each other especially as the state governor is doing his best in tackling insecurity in the state.”
In the last general elections in River state, there was palpable tension at the headquarter of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Port Harcourt between some policemen and soldiers arising from the battle of supremacy over who was empowered to guard the premises of the electoral umpire for which the office was cordoned off with heavy presence of security personnel. Report had it that it took the intervention of Governor Nyesom Wike to calm the frayed nerve from the looming clash otherwise the outcome would have been disastrous.
Military not fair to police – Alobi
Speaking on this development, a security expert and former retired Commissioner of Police in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mr. Lawrence Alobi, said, “It is a very serious development. The police is suffering because we have a military president; the military may find this offensive, but it’s true. The military has been running down the police for a very long time now. The Nigeria Police Force is a critical agency for democracy. Without the police, there would be nothing like democracy, rule of law and human rights because policemen are the custodians of human rights. This is also a serious threat to the internal security of the country because it implies that the two agencies which are supposed to protect the country are now killing each other.”
‘Ex-servicemen have roles to play’
Also speaking, Maj. Gen. Theophilus Akpa (retd.) said this is the time for retired military and police officers to come together and find a lasting solution to the problem of insecurity in the country.
“Retired military officers are the ones that can solve the problems of insecurity in this country. Let the officers in the war front confront the insurgents and other uprisings in the country but the experiences of retired officers are invaluable to bring this protracted security challenges to an end, believe me.
“The military and other paramilitary agencies are supposed to be collaborators in this war so that infidels don’t take advantage of the lapses,” he told Blueprint Weekend via telephone conversation.
As it is, all is not well with the security architecture in the country as analysts say if there is no deliberate effort to ensure a harmonious working relationship among the security operatives. This is certainly not good as the government continues to make efforts aimed at arresting the situation.
