Security And 2019 By Ray Ekpu

Two ugly incidents, a few days apart, occurred in two states of the Niger Delta region, one in Akwa Ibom State and the other in Rivers State, last week. The invasion of the Akwa Ibom State of House of Assembly by some suspended members of the Assembly has received some severe bashing by the public. This is largely because the five suspended legislators were shepherded into the place by the Nigeria Police in their Hilux vehicles, an affront to the authority of the Assembly.

The police claim that if it had not gone into the place it would have been burnt down. By whom? The 21 members who had no grievance with the institution or the five men given protection and led into the place at a time that the Assembly was not about to sit? In any case, if the Commissioner of Police, Mr. Musa Kimo’s story is to be believed why did he not get in touch with the Speaker of the House of Assembly, Mr. Onofiok Luke? Or is it the fashion that the police can just move into an important institution of democracy like a parliament without seeking to see the leader of the place? Was the police Commissioner going to use the five suspended legislators to restore order in the place? And why would the police seal up the place because of five men who had lost a case in court without advising them to pursue their right in the court? Mr. Kimo’s behaviour is baffling and his explanation is unconvincing but he can be forgiven because he is a first offender.

But he must take note that those who want things to be done properly, fairly, justly will be keeping him under their radar in the months to come. He must also take note that even though he takes operational instructions from the Inspector General of Police he has a boss that is superior to the Inspector General of Police: The Police Service Commission (PSC). All policemen in Nigeria except the Inspector General of Police are, in terms of appointment, promotion and discipline, under the PSC. In fact, the posting of police commissioners to the 36 states of the federation and Abuja is the constitutional responsibility of the Commission. Section 215 of the 1999 Constitution declares that a Commissioner of Police for each State of the Federation shall be appointed by the Police Service Commission.

Since the PSC has disciplinary control over the CPs they must be careful because if the PSC decides to do its duty as the PSC Establishment Act authorises it, an errant Commissioner of Police may not be saved from discipline even by the Inspector General of Police. With reports of CPs taking partisan political decisions instead of professional ones in various states the PSC must read the Riot Act to them so as to save these partisan policemen from bringing that institution into disrepute. If they want to be politicians they should drop their uniforms and put on some flowing agbada and go into the field for politicking. They must not be allowed to be politicians in police uniform.

In Rivers State, another security arm seems to be having its wires crossed. Last week, some military men from the 6th Division of the Nigerian Army in Port Harcourt marched into the NYSC Orientation Camp at Nonwa in Tai Local Government Area and disrupted the recruitment and training of the members of the State Neighbourhood Safety Corps. The soldiers described the outfit as “an illegal militia training camp.” What are the facts of the matter? The corps was set up by the Neighbourhood Safety Corps Agency Law No. 8 of 2018 duly passed by the Rivers State House of Assembly.

So is that an illegal outfit? The answer is No. The purpose of setting up the agency is to assist in tackling the many security challenges that afflict the State but they are working with federal government security agencies. They are to report to the police, gather and supply intelligence report to the police and other security agencies in the State. Such agencies exist in various states such as Lagos, Kano, Kogi, Zamfara, Imo, Enugu and Edo, to mention but some. In fact, the Rivers State agency is said to be a Xerox copy of the Lagos State own which has been very helpful in tackling the cult boys, pipeline vandals and other touts that had been terrorising residents of various communities before the creation of the agency.

In a statement issued by the Deputy Director of Army Public Relations of the 6th Division in Port Harcourt, Col. Aminu Iliyasu, titled “Discovery of an illegal militia training camp” he said that investigations were on to discover those behind the camp. It would be a very marvelous discovery if Col. Iliyasu can, at the appropriate time, improve our knowledge of the mystery men behind the outfit. But even some of us who do not live in Port Harcourt had been reading about the origin of the outfit and the controversy it generated until the bill was passed into law. Maybe the Colonel has just been posted to Port Harcourt because Governor Nyesom Wike says that his government had written to the Army before embarking on the exercise asking for security, drill and physical training instructors for the Agency. He said he got no response whatsoever from the Army. You know, mails crawl like tortoise in Nigeria so maybe the letter is still on its way from Port Harcourt to Port Harcourt. In that case, it is neither Mr. Wike’s fault nor that of the Army. If you have to find faults with anyone kindly hold the system responsible.

It has been reported that Wike, who has been having a running battle with the former State Governor, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, over security issues has invested a lot to make Rivers State safe. According to the report, he has bought 400 Hilux vehicles fitted with communication gadgets and 10 armoured personnel carriers and also provides allowances for housekeeping matters which add up to quite a bundle. He apparently was of the view that his efforts will be appreciated by the Army and that he would be allowed to assist them in improving the general security situation in the State. Apparently the Army is not interested in his good Samaritanism or even in having a uniform standard of behaviour on these matters. Mr. Wike thinks that what the Army does in stopping the outfit is politically motivated. Well, politics is in the air and that air can drift into the barracks too for the consumption of the soldiers. So it is really not necessary to name several states in which such neighbourhood vigilante groups exist. They are apparently different from Rivers State and their governors are not called Nyesom Wike.

It is possible that Wike may consider himself as a Governor who wants to solve the ticklish security problem in his State but why should he also be a successful critic of the Federal Government? It is not right so the Army is right to see illegality in the legality of the Act setting up the Agency. Mr. Wike should be happy that the Army has not yet discovered those behind the illegal contraption. When that happens a severe punishment obviously awaits its authors.

It is puerile to ask why the Army never challenged the bill when it was being processed in the State House of Assembly before it was passed into law. Or even to ask for the Act to be amended or repealed. It is not the business of the Army to engage in such time wasting activities. What it needed to do it has done by bringing the illegal recruitment and training to a stop. Frankly, all of us have to worry about the degeneracy in terms of professionalism of federal institutions especially those that use force in the discharge of their functions. Time and again they have shown that doing things professionally and fairly is not part of their calling. Making exceptions where there should be none does not really bother them, because their supervisory authorities are less than bothered about the falling standards of practice even when these infractions stick out like a sore thumb.

As we march into the elections we all must be on our guard if we hope to have a semblance of free, fair and credible elections. The security personnel will be central to the success or failure of our elections based on how they do their jobs. We must encourage them to feel that they have a national assignment which they must discharge with a greater sense of responsibility and fairness than they are used to. The two recent incidents in Akwa Ibom and Rivers States do not give much room for cheer or for optimism so we have to keep our eyes open, wide open.

Independent (NG)

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