Inspector General of Police decorates 9 newly promoted Commissioners of Police

The Inspector-General of Police, IGP MD Abubakar, CFR, NPM, mni, today 2^nd May, 2013, at Force Headquarters, Abuja, officially decorated Nine (9) senior Police Officers recently elevated from the ranks of Deputy Commissioners of Police to the substantive rank of Commissioners of Police, with their new ranks.

Addressing the newly promoted Commissioners of Police during the brief but memorable decoration ceremony, the IGP charged the Officers to justify the confidence reposed in them by the present Police Management. He challenged them to contribute their quota to the present Police administration’s drive to reform the Force. He called on them to strive to bring back the glory with which the Force was identified, especially, the need to reconnect with the people they serve.

The IGP reminded the Officers of the high expectations placed on them by their subordinates and the public, to lead by example especially, in the face of current national security challenges. He emphasized that the Office of the Commissioner of Police goes with enormous responsibilities that must be discharged with utmost diligence and competence. He reiterated the need for the Officers to carry along their subordinate officers in the performance of legitimate duties, in the interest of the Force.

On the need to reconnect with the people, the IGP stated that the Police cannot work in isolation, especially, in the face of global security challenges. He enjoined them to cultivate and win the friendship and confidence of the people they serve, as this will go along way in bettering the relationship between the Police and the public, in the fight against crime and criminality.  

The IGP used the forum to commend the spouses and family members of the affected officers for their support and understanding, even in the face of the most uncondusive circumstances. He enjoined them to remain supportive to the officers, as their quota of national service to our country.

Speaking on behalf of the nine newly decorated Commissioners of Police, CP Kudu Abdullahi Nma thanked the IGP and the Force Management Team, for finding them worthy of the exalted Office of Commissioners of Police. He pledged the unflinching loyalty of the Officers, assuring that the officers will discharge the responsibilities of their new offices with utmost diligence.

The newly decorated Commissioners of Police are:

CP KUDU ABDULLAHI NMA – (Formerly DC 2i/c Sokoto)

CP UMAR U. SHEHU          -  (Formerly DC Operations FCT, Abuja)

CP USMAN ISAH BABA      -  (Formerly DC Operations Zone 7 Abuja)

CP SAIDU MADAWAKI       -  ( Formerly DC Operations Zone 1 Kano)

CP USMAN YAKUBU         -   (Formerly DC 2i/c Nasarawa State Command)

CP ABDULMAJID ALI         -  (Formerly  DC 2i/c Ogun State Command)

CP ABUBAKAR MOHAMMED - (Formerly DC SCID Kaduna)

CP ABDUL SALAMI,           - (Formerly DC Budget FHQ, Abuja)

CP KAYODE ADERANTI      - (Formerly DC Director Peacekeeping FHQ, Abuja)

*The deployment of the new Commissioners of Police will be effected is being expected.

Police in Enugu denies media reports over late Kwara CP's killers

The Enugu state commissioner of police Tonye Ebitibituwa has described as unfounded,false and misleading a report being credited to the state command that three  suspects in the alleged killing of the former commissioner of police late cp chinweike Asadu have been nabbed and handed over to the police command by a private security company.

Tonye Ebitibituwa made the assertion on 2/4/13 in his office while reacting to the media report about the alleged arrest and handing over of suspects by a private security.

According to Ebitibituwa,there was need for all information to be verified by any media organization before it is let out to the members of the public to avoid feeding them with wrong information as well as misleading them.

He further stated that the case of the the death of the late commissioner of police is still being investigated and that at the conclusion of the investigations,members of the public will be briefed appriopriately through the media.

He however solicited the cooperation of the media and the members of the public as well as stake holders at ensuring that there is useful and timely information to the police to ensure a crime free society.

Police deny NSCDC murder claim

PRESS RELEASE

 

ATTACK ON INSPR SUNDAY GABRIEL AND TEAM ON ANTI PIPELINE DUTIES BY MEN OF THE NATIONAL SECURITY AND CIVIL DEFENCE CORP AT KONU LAGOS STATE.

 

The Lagos State Command wishes to use this medium to put the record straight on what actually transpired at Isawo-Ikorodu at early  hours of today 27/3/2013 between the NSCDC and the Police.

 

At about 0145hrs of date, there was a distress call from DM security PPMC, Mosimi that they were experiencing drop in pressure on the pipeline. The Unit Commander in charge of Konu immediately pulled out his men on Konu axis under Inspr Sunday Gabriel to proceed to the scene.

 

As they were approaching, they heard sound of serious gun firing in their area of pipeline coverage and the Inspr instructed his men to proceed to that direction as it could be the activities of vandals. Upon arrival, they saw a group of Civil Defence Corp Members coming out from the direction where the shooting was earlier heard. The NSCDC men challenged the Policemen who were about four in number on what their mission was in the area; “saying that it was their sole responsibility (Civil Defence) to guide and protect pipelines”.

 

At this juncture there was an argument between the NSCDC and the Police and the most senior NSCDC officer DSC Olufemi ordered his men who were about fourteen (14) in number to disarm, arrest and handcuff the Police team leader and three other members of his team. The NSCDC succeeded in disarming the Police team leader Inspr Sunday Gabriel, handcuffed him, collected his service pistol, walkie-talkie, and Police I.D card. As they were about dragging him into one of their standby hilux vehicles, a phone call was put to the Police Unit Commander reporting the situation. The 3 other officers resisted the arrest and this infuriated Civil Defence Officials who started shooting sporadically to intimidate and subdue the Police officers.

 

Before the Police Commander could arrive the scene, the NSCDC officials had taken to their heels abandoning the handcuffed and leg chained Police Inspector with one of NSCDC personnel.

 

Therefore, it was shocking that at about 0400hrs, the Civil Defence Corp Commander called the Police Commander Mosimi to say that he lost two of his men and their corpses have been deposited at the hospital. Uptil now, the pistol of Inspr Sunday Gabriel who was badly beaten and stabbed by the NSCDC officials including his other accoutrements are still with NSCDC.

 

Subsequently, far away in Alausa, Ikeja,  at about 0800hrs today, the NSCDC officials abducted and assaulted three Policemen namely: Sgt Charles Igiebor, Cpl Ekun Julius and Cpl Okoro Charles who went for National I.D Card registration exercise. They also started attacking Policemen on sight in other parts of the State.

 

The Commissioner of Police Lagos State Command immediately went on air to warn Policemen not to engage in any form of confrontation with the NSCDC officials.

 

However investigation into the matter has commenced while Lagosians are advised to maintain peace and remain calm, please. 

 

 

 

DSP NGOZI C. BRAIDE

POLICE PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICER,

LAGOS STATE COMMAND,

IKEJA.

STUDENTS PROTEST AGAINST DISCRIMINATION IN LAGOS

"There are some situations one simply cannot be neutral about, because when you are neutral, then you are an accomplice. Objectivity doesn't mean treating all sides equally. It means giving each side a hearing." - Christine Amanpour.

These were the feelings witnessed today at the peaceful mass protest staged by the Muslim Students' Society of Nigeria, Lagos State Area Unit against assault, maltreating and victimization of Muslim Sisters using Hijab in secondary schools.

"We are here to peacefully register our displeasure over the dehumanization, victimization and molestation of our female members by some principals and administrators in some public schools regarding the issue of hijab, which amount to gross abuse of our fundamental human rights", said, Sulaiman Dhikrullah, the leader of the students, that led the protest to the Lagos State Government House, Alausa, Ikeja Lagos.

Muslim students across the state raised their pens, voices and banners to collectively condemn the discrimination of hijab, the religious symbol of the Muslims, calling on Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola to relieve with immediate effect the appointments of the principal of Kadara Junior Grammar School, Ebute Metta, Mrs. E. C. Ukpaka for allegedly flogged a JSS 1 student, Aisha Alabi 43 strokes of the cane.

At exactly 8.00am on Thursday, February 28, 2013, thousands of protesters, who were mostly Muslim students from secondary schools and higher institutions across the state started to gather at the Alausa Secretariat Central Mosque in numbers. By 10am, they marched peacefully to the Governor's Office with banners and placards declaring ''My Hijab, My Right'', "Muslims Say No To Oppression", "Stop The Victimization, Stop The Harassment, Stop The Hatred", ''Hijab is Our Right, says Nigeria's Constitution”, among others.

They also chanted solidarity songs in support of hijab as they demanded to see the Governor.

The demonstrators were however stopped from gaining entrance to the Governor's Office right from the gate by fully armed policemen, who insisted that the aggrieved students would not be allowed in. It took more than an hour before Hon. Mohammed-Bello Oyinlomo Danmole, Commissioner for Home Affairs and Culture, who said the Governor was on official assignment in Maiduguri.

According to him, the Governor wasn't aware of your coming. He didn't receive letter of appointment in respect to your coming. Hence, the Governor is on another official assignment outside Lagos. But we wouldn't say because the Governor is not around, we won’t attend to you.

He therefore requested that the protesters send their leaders for a closed-door meeting, an offer they collectively turned down.

Speaking on behalf of the Muslim students, the Coordinator of Council of Higher Institutions (COHI), Luqman Edu said, "No! No!! No!!! No close door meeting and we are not going to leave until we see our Governor. He's our Governor, we voted for him and now, he has refused to come out."

Several efforts by the government officials, including Special Adviser on Religion Affairs, Hon. Abdul Hakeem Kosoko to persuade the students proved abortive as they demanded for justice.

After waiting endlessly for nine hours, the Governor didn't show up. The protesting Muslim students however finally agreed to hold discussion with the government delegation after several persuasions that the Governor is not around.

At the end of the talks which lasted almost two hours, it was agreed that the government would address all the demands of the MSSN within seven days. On the two principals, who maltreated the female students, the government said the issue is already been attended to and action would be taken. On the demand to make hijab part of uniform in Lagos state, it was said that the issue would be tabled before the State Executive Meeting on Monday, March 4, 2013 where final decision would be made on it.

Addressing the protesters at the end, leader of the protest, Sulayman Dhikrillah, warned against reneging on the agreement reached.

The memories of today's protest would linger on as the protesting Muslim students observed Solatuz-Zuhr and Salatul-‘Asr at the demonstration ground (in front of Lagos State Governor's office). They raised their voices louder as they dedicated the evening Adhkar Al-Mathuraat to the course, warning, “this should be the last time that Muslim sisters would be molested for exercising one of their Fundamental Human Rights.”

PDP Govs in Crucial Meeting with Akpabio Presiding

Following the election of the Akwa-Ibom state governor as the Chairman PDP- governors forum, a crucial meeting of governors elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) commenced around noon Monday with the new chairman of the PDP governors, Godswill Apkabio of Akwa Ibom State presiding.

The agenda of the meeting was not known at press time, but it may not be unconnected to the leadership crisis rocking the Nigeria Governors’ Forum.

More to follow...

Oscar Pistorius: Partial Freedom for the double amputee

The presiding Chief Magistrate at the Pretoria court in South African has granted bail to the paralympic double amputee Oscar Pistorius who has been alleged to have murdered his model girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on February 14.

The next hearing on the case will come up on June 4, 2013.

IGP receive Nations Cup Trophy, promises support for Super Eagles

The Inspector General of Police MD Abubakar was presented with the Golden African Cup of Nations trophy this afternoon at the Force Headquarters, Abuja.

The trophy was presented by the Head Coach of the team, Stephen Okechukwu Keshi who expressed delight to the police boss for his support and word of encouragement before, during and after the tournament.

The IGP however promise to support the team in the area necessary to progress.

It will be recalled that Abubakar congratulated the team upon winning the tournament.

PRESS RELEASE: Averting crisis in Lagos State, Mrs Ukpaka must be brought to justice!

The Muslim Students’ Society of Nigeria (MSSN) Lagos State Area Unit hereby calls the attention of the state government and the entire peace-loving citizens of the state to the inhuman, unprofessional, barbaric and shameless act of Mrs E.C Ukpaka, Principal, Kadara Junior Grammar School, Ebute Metta, who, because of Hijab, subjected a JSS 1 student, Aisha Alabi, to the most horrible abuse and disgrace.

Our findings show that Aisha wore the Hijab outside the class in the school compound when she was seen by Mrs. Ukpaka who immediately called an emergency assembly and allegedly ordered her to be beaten. The students at the assembly, we learnt, counted no less than 43 strokes of cane landing on the hapless little girl’s body! This happened on Tuesday February 5, 2013 around some minutes to 4pm!

This is quite unfortunate and unacceptable in a country where the constitution guarantees the citizens right to practice andMANIFEST any religion of their choice without any interference from any quarter.

The use of Hijab by Muslims anywhere in the country, especially in public institutions, is a fundamental right issue. And fundamental human rights are rights which when denied man becomes an automatic diminution of his humanity. It is a right that can never be whittled down by any administrative enactment or procedure.

Section 38 (1) of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution guarantees this right to practice our religion. It states that ‘Every person shall be entitled to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, including freedom to change his religion or belief, AND FREEDOM (EITHER ALONE OR IN COMMUNITY WITH OTHERS, AND IN PUBLIC OR IN PRIVATE) TO MANIFEST and propagate his religion or belief in worship, teaching, practice and observance.

Section 42 (1) clearly spells it out that no citizen shall be subjected either expressly by, or in the practical application of, any law in force in Nigeria or any executive or administrative action of the government, to any form of DISABILITIES orRESTRICTIONS by reason of belonging to a particular community, ethnic group, place of origin, sex, RELIGION or political opinion.

 

If all these provisions are clearly guaranteed in the nation’s constitution, we are seriously at a loss as to why Mrs Ukpaka, who we expected to know better and act accordingly, would deliberately and with impunity violate the provisions of the constitution. No school rules or regulation can take away the right to wear the Hijab by female Muslim students as stated by the constitution!

 

Aside the fact that the principal brazenly violated the constitution, what if the little girl dies in the process of beating her, what excuse would she give as her reason? This amounts to CHILD ABUSE!

 

Mrs Ukpaka’s action demonstrates the deep hatred and disgust that most non-Muslims school principals in Lagos State have against our law abiding female members. Hers is not the first as others had done similar thing in the past without any disciplinary action against them by the state government.

 

In the light of this, we are demanding that the Lagos State Government immediately suspends Mrs Ukpaka from office and order a full investigation on the matter.

Ours is a law abiding organisation and the state government can attest to this fact. It should be noted that the leadership of the MSSN Lagos State Area Unit had had course in the past to keep its members across the state calm over recurrent abuses and discriminations against our sisters in the face of government’s indifference towards bringing to justice those maltreating them because of Hijab.

However, we must state that failure to take disciplinary action against Mrs. Ukpaka this time around would draw the anger of the entire Muslim Students’ population in the state.

We say ‘enough is enough.’

Signed:

Sulaimon Alamutu

PRO, MSSN, Lagos State Area Unit.

08186013330

Breaking News: Election Tribunal declares Obanikoro winner in Lagos

The election tribunal sitting in Lagos, Ikeja has today, Thursday October 4, 2012 declared Ibrahim Babajide Obanikoro of the Peoples Democratic Party winner of the Ikoyi/Obalende L.C.D.A Chairmanship election held in 2011.

It will be recalled that the PDP candidate had challenged ACN Adewale Adeniji's victory at the tribunal.

Obanikoro is the first child of the Nigeria High Commissioner to Ghana and the former governorship candidate of the PDP in Lagos State, Senator Musiliu Obonikoro.

The young Obanikoro attended Kings College in Lagos and St. Cloud State University, Minnesota, USA where he studied Political Science. He also hold a Masters in Public Administration from Pace University, USA.

The tribunal collation breakdown shows the Action Congress of Nigeria candidate having a total votes of 3, 248 while the Peoples Democratic Party candidate have 3, 780, although the results of some polling units were cancelled by the tribunal based on allegations of irregularities; the results of other units and wards were used to declare the PDP candidate winner.

Four of the 5 man panel headed by Retired Justice Dolapo Akinsanya voted in favor of Obanikoro while one favored Adewale of the ACN.

ACN supporters were obviously in a state of shock when the judgement swung in the way of the opposition. Though Obanikoro was not in court at the time of the verdict, his supporters who were duly present went into wild jubilation when the judge gave the verdict.

Behold, the youngest lawmaker in Africa

KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — A teenaged young woman fresh out of high school has won a seat in Uganda's parliament, adding to the ruling party's majority but embarrassing some who say her success lowers expectations of lawmakers in the East African country.
Proscovia Oromait, who is 19 and a college hopeful, contested elections deep in eastern Uganda to fill the seat left vacant by her father's death. President Yoweri Museveni's ruling party had been desperate for a win there, having lost seven in eight parliamentary by-elections this year. The polls have come to be widely seen as a test of Museveni's popularity, and some party bosses calculated that she would win with a sympathy vote. The result was Uganda's youngest lawmaker ever — and a boost for Museveni's party.
Michael Mukula, a lawmaker who is one of the ruling party's deputy chairmen, said Oromait's win had sent "a lot of ripples" through the organization, dividing it into reformers and hardliners who want to win by any means necessary.
"I am a bit concerned and taken aback because of her lack of experience and lack of exposure," Mukula said of Oromait. "This is not a constituency you want to give a child of that age to shoulder."
Oromait will represent a place called Usuk, where dirt roads become flooded in the rainy season and where there is only one functional high school. This rural constituency of some 100,000 people is said to be thoroughly impoverished, even by Uganda's standards. But last week it was thrust firmly into the national limelight, the latest battleground in the ruling party's quest to claim a reassuring win and silence critics who say Museveni's popularity is starting to fade. Museveni, who took power by force in 1986, has not said if he will run again in 2016, when his current term expires, but he faces growing opposition within and outside his party to step down and preside over the first peaceful transfer of power in Uganda's history. Some opponents suspect he may be grooming his son or wife to take over when he retires.
In choosing Oromait, some say, the ruling party was simply trying to stay afloat at a time of rising political activism against the Museveni regime, which has been criticized by rights groups as too eager to use violence to retain power.
"She is a victim of these circumstances," said Nicholas Opio, a Kampala-based political analyst, referring to the ruling party's eagerness to win after a string of losses. "I don't think she was prepared for this. She had even never voted."

However, according to Opio, Oromait "will be at home in the House in the sense that not much is required of her."
Museveni's party has an overwhelming parliamentary majority, a fact that contributes to the sense of contempt some Ugandans feel for legislators. In 2005, with Museveni facing a stiff challenge from a former insider, lawmakers agreed to remove presidential term limits from the constitution, a process condemned by opposition activists and Western diplomats as a backward step for Uganda's young democracy. Many lawmakers have become notorious for avoiding plenary debates, with the speaker recently threatening to punish those who deliberately choose to stay away.
Barnabas Tinkasiimire, a lawmaker with the ruling party who has the reputation of a nonconformist, said the election of Oromait is an embarrassment to Uganda. "When you analyze that baby," Tinkasiimire said, referring to the teenage lawmaker, "what kind of knowledge and experience does she have? This is unbelievable."
Oromait comes across as vaguely confident in interviews, recently telling reporters: "It's not about the age ... it's the brain."
Mwambutsya Ndebesa, a professor of political history at Uganda's Makerere University, said she could turn out to be a much more inspirational figure than some of her older counterparts.
"She may not have any ideas yet," said Ndebesa, "but she has the ability to learn."

This note was copied from Yahoo News.

PHOTOS: MEET NAKOULA BASSELEY NAKOULA, PRODUCER OF CONTROVERSIAL ANTI-MUSLIM FILM- YNaija

Nakoula Basseley Nakoula (Left). The first pictures of the Egyptian born US man who is suspected to be behind the amateur movie considered to be in bad taste by followers of Islam have been released. Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, 55, is reported to be at the center of the probe into the amateurish movie “Innocence of Muslims,” which slanders the prophet Muhammed and triggered protests at several U.S. government buildings in the Middle East. During a demonstration in Libya, which may have been used as cover by terrorists, an American ambassador and three of his colleagues were killed.

Anna Gurji: Said she was misled over the film's true contents. The movie caused widespread protests in Egypt, Libya, and Yemen with the Benghazi, Libya protests taking the life of the U.S Ambassador, Christopher Stevens. Though a man known as Sam Bacile had been preliminarily fingered as the creator of the film, AP connected Nakoula to the Bacile persona. Meanwhile, in California, 21-year-old Ms Gurji, who plays Muhammad’s child bride, spoke yesterday of her fear of reprisals and how she was ‘betrayed’ by Nakoula. “I was playing the youngest bride of a character named George. I had no idea George would be changed to Muhammad. I’m locked up in my house. I’m terrified people in the Middle East will blame me. “I’m Catholic so they might think I have something against Muslims. I’m taking pills to sleep. I’ve been crying for days. I feel betrayed. My face is stuck on the movie clip. People see that awful film and they see me.” Ms Gurji said she and her fellow actors believed they were making an action film called Desert Warrior and that Nakoula, or ‘Sam’ as she knew him, never discussed religion. Nakoula, whose name has been widely linked to the film in media reports, pleaded guilty to bank fraud in 2010 and was sentenced to 21 months in prison, to be followed by five years on supervised probation, court documents showed.

Nakoula Basseley Nakoula shielding face from media on arrival at police station for interview

POLICE PAID OUT OVER N69.7M TO BENEFICIARIES OF SLAIN AND WOUNDED OFFICERS AND MEN

Today 12th September, 2012 at Force Headquarters, Abuja a total of Sixty Nine million, Seven Hundred and Seventy Seven Thousand (N69,777,700.00) was paid out to families of Police officers and men who died in the line of duty and those who sustained varying degrees of injuries as accrued insurance benefits and medical expenses. The IGP MD Abubakar, NPM, mni who was represented by DIG Philemon I. Leha described the occasion as emotional and said the Police as the most visible agency of government, has its personnel vulnerably exposed to different types of dangers in the course of their duty. He assured, that despite these occupational hazards, the Police will not be deterred but rather get more committed in performing its constitutional roles to the nation. He noted that the money paid is to assist in alleviating the suffering of the immediate families and other beneficiaries of the deceased. The IGP while admitting that the amount of money provided may not be sufficient to solve all the problems of the beneficiaries, urged them to ensure prudent and optimum use of the funds. Mr. Horsfall Opiriyabo a beneficiary of late Inspector Horsfall Roggers on behalf of the beneficiaries thanked the Police authorities for their kindness and promised that the money will be used judiciously. He further appealed for decentralization of the collection of the insurance claims as he stated that this will reduce the risk of travelling long distances to Abuja by the Next-of-Kin and relatives of the deceased officers.

AIGs, C.Ps PLACE ON RED ALERT ON SECURITY AROUND EMBASSIES AND FOREIGN MISSIONS

The Inspector General of Police M.D Abubakar has ordered all Police Formations across the nation to provide a round-the-clock security in all Embassies and Foreign Missions in Nigeria. The directive came following recent violent demonstrations in some parts of the world, linked to a movie said to be an affront to Islamic faith. In statement signed by Deputy Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Frank Mba, the IGP has directed all Zonal AIGs and Command Commissioners of Police to adequately ensure that security measures are put in place. M.D Abubakar also advised parents and guardians to monitor their wards closely to protect them from negative influences who may want to lure them into criminal............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ Below is the original copy of the release; Ref No:CZ:5300/FPRD/FHQ/ABJ/VOL.1/ Date: 12th September, 2012. The Editor/News Manager, PRESS RELEASE IGP PLACES POLICE FORMATIONS ON RED ALERT ....Orders water-tight security around embassies and foreign missions Following recent violent demonstrations in some parts of the world linked to a recent US film believed to have offended a section of some religious faithful, the Nigeria Police has taken immediate proactive security measures to ensure that no similar violence is replicated within our country. Consequently, the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Mohammed Dahiru Abubakar, has placed all Police Formations across the Federation on red alert. In this regard, the IGP has directed all Zonal AIGs and Command Commissioners of Police to ensure a 24-hour water-tight security in and around all Embassies and Foreign Missions in Nigeria as well as other vulnerable targets. In addition, the AIG in charge of Intelligence and Commissioners of Police in charge of the various Police Special Squads such as the Counter Terrorism Unit (CTU), Police Mobile Force (PMF) and Special Protection Unit (SPU) have been directed to ensure that their personnel are strategically deployed to prevent and nib all potential crisis in the bud. While assuring law abiding citizens of the readiness and capacity of the Nigeria Police to provide adequate security for life and property, the IGP warned potential trouble makers to stay off the streets of Nigeria as the nation’s security agencies will bring to bear the full weight of the law on all laws breakers. The IGP also advised parents and guardians to monitor their wards closely to protect them from negative influences of mischief makers who may want to lure them into criminal and unwholesome acts. CSP FRANK E. MBA DEPUTY FORCE PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICER FOR: FORCE PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICER, FORCE HEADQUARTERS, ABUJA.

UNRULY EJIGBO LCDA OFFICIALS - PUNCH NEWSPAPER

I would like to draw the attention of the Lagos State Government and Ejigbo Local Council Development Area to the unruly behaviour of officials of the council at Jakande and Ejigbo. They stand at different points on Egbe-Ikotun Road and periodically run after commercial motorcycle riders. Their regular harassment of these riders has led to a considerable number of accidents on the road. They also obstruct traffic on the road. They need to be withdrawn from the road as a matter of urgency. BY Tunde Williams, Ejigbo, Lagos State, +23480341885

State police and effective policing in Nigeria (1)

THE first official recommendation for state police came up in the Constitutional/Law Review Report of the National Think-Tank early in 2009. The next recommendation following that came from the National Vision 20:2020 Report handed the Federal Government of Nigeria 2009-2010. In both cases, the thinking being that the first essential requirement of policing is knowledge of the community, the local environment. Local policing has firm roots in Nigeria and never a new idea. In the colonial times, alongside the Nigeria Police Force, were the Native Authority Police. Despite cases of abuse, the NA Police were very effective in the regions, particularly the Northern and Western regions responsible for local and community policing combating crimes and criminals up until the early seventies. It was just after the civil war that General Gowon peremptorily integrated the Native Authority rank and file into the Nigeria Police Force and thus began existence of a single police force in Nigeria. There are many problems associated with full scale centralised policing in the last three or four decades in Nigeria. There has been complaints of uneven distribution of policemen and material, with some states getting more than their fair share while others are left unmanned open to unchecked criminal activities; second, many states are also frustrated after committing huge state resources into a federal police force yet having no real or legal control over their use and utility; third, countless cases of men without knowledge of the local environment deployed to man or take charge of places, violating several local sensitivities leading to ineffective policing; fourth, cases of stunted careers of generations of officers not favoured by the political control of the police forces which led to lack or loss of morale and reduces professional output. To be sure, section 214(1) of the 1999 Constitution provides: ‘’There shall be a police force for Nigeria, which shall be known as the Nigeria Police Force and subject to the provisions of this section no other police force shall be established for the federation or any part thereof’’. Those are the words in the Constitution. What the Constitution has done is to limit the potential of effectively policing the Nigerian state by rigidly prescribing one single federal police force. Truth however, is, as Nigeria continues to consolidate and evolve on its federal structure, certain anomalous governance institutions must begin to give way for the federating units to take proper care of their local and state challenges. One of such is the police force and by extension the correctional centres, i.e the Prison services. As a federal republic, the imperative of state police and state prison service is obvious and a contradiction of the federal arrangement if otherwise and that is why this heady disagreement within the governors ranks only shows how frightful we often are to take first steps in solving obvious national problems. A new framework for effective policing is needed now. There is the legal absurdity of a federal police enforcing state laws, prosecuting state laws in state courts, and incarcerating state offenders in federal prisons. That kind of arrangement does not allow effecting governance in a federal arrangement or even in a modern democratic state. No state government can budget properly for security and crime control and criminal management. The state governments cannot invest in more men to man the streets because they are federally provided; the prisons are congested because states cannot bring state offenders into their budgeting lines. This is a fundamental problem in addition to the chain of command which is directed elsewhere to the higher federal authority. Now, only a few days ago, the Lagos State government signed into law a radical traffic regulation with stiff monetary penalties for offenders. This then is the issue: How can a federal police buy into the states traffic or policing agenda when the state may see huge revenue potential in the law and the matters thereto are peculiarly a state’s local challenge? It is natural for some conflict and passivity to follow the enforcement of the law as both the legislative initiative and policing possibilities are of divergent sources. This is not to say that the said Lagos traffic law, as it stands, has or may enjoy popular acclaim knowing for example that infrastructure deficiencies- bad roads, limited access ways, insecurity on the highways, lack of street lights, etc, in part,are often responsible for limited or outright non-compliance with several road regulations. In all the comparative studies done on federal states across the globe, nowhere else do you have this large amount of police and correctional forces under one, single command. This write up was written by Mr. Tony Odiadi, a Lawyer from Lagos and was originally published by the Vanguard Newspaper

Jonathan sends condolence message to Ghanaians over death of Atta Mills

Nigerian President, Goodluck Jonathan has joined other world leaders to send a message of condolence to the government and people of Ghana on the death of their President, John Atta Mills. President Attah Mills who was elected as president of Ghana in 2009 died yesterday in Accra, over a brief illness at age 68. In a statement released in Abuja, Jonathan’s spokesperson Rueben Abati said the President has condoled with the family of the late Ghanaian president. Jonathan said the news of the sudden death of President Attah Mills was shocking and brought immense sadness. Meanwhile, the Nigerian Senate has described the death as a colossal loss that will shake the African continent as a whole. According to the spokesman of the senate, Senator Eyinnaya Abaribe in a statement made yesterday described Mills as a simple and a quintessential African statesman who would be missed. Also former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo who is currently in Ghana for an official engagement described Mills death as shock to the people of Ghana and all those who knew him.

PHOTO NEWS: PHCN WORKERS PROTEST IN ABUJA

BURMA BOYS

“I am standing under a pagoda, deep in the jungles of Burma. The monsoon rains are relentless and water comes cascading down through the trees. A troop of monkeys huddles for shelter above me. I am waiting for a family I have never met to arrive.

This is the culmination of a journey that has taken me across three continents, eight decades and into the horrors of an almost-forgotten chapter of the Second World War. It is a story about the collapse of the British Empire, but also about heroism and courage I could never have imagined. Now I need to repay a debt of gratitude, still strong after 67 years.”

When Al Jazeera correspondent Barnaby Phillips first started researching the story of West Africans who fought in the war in aid of the British, he meant to document it all in a book – until Al Jazeera commissioned his findings for a documentary.

The Burma Boy is a documentary that sees Phillips travelling to Nigeria to meet up with Isaac Fadoyebo, who formed part of the British troops who fought against imperial Japan and survived the jungles of Burma to tell his story.

Not to be confused with the novel (Burma Boy is based on a true story of a child soldier who fought in the same war), “The title The Burma Boys is really one I used due to its generic reference to the troops that went to fight in the war. It is a name that was given to these troops on their return,” says Phillips.

“I was always very interested to learn more about the Burma Boys story. I spent some time in the Imperial War Museum and looked at many memoirs preserved by British troops. I eventually found the whole process frustrating, because the information was pretty much one-sided – I wasn’t finding anything from the Africans’ perspective. I only really got lucky when I came across Isaac Fadoyebo’s memoir.”

Isaac’s account grabbed Phillips for a number of reasons. It was the first well-written African perspective on and account of the war. Isaac also happened to be one of the few living troops who had survived – and the way in which he survived in the jungle was extra-special.

“Isaac was barely 16 when he signed up to join the war. It wasn’t a must that they join, but the war really was a way in which Britain got a chance to exercise its imperial power.”

In the documentary, we find out some of the reasons these Africans would have joined the fight.

“I needed to ask someone other than troops why the Africans would have fought a war so far removed from their reality. Many of them, just like Isaac, were young when they joined and couldn’t possibly have comprehended the reasons behind the war to begin with. They also wouldn’t have been able to give me that informed breakdown in the documentary, which is why I had to find the officials who supervised them.”

British officials who appear in the documentary reveal that Africans would have signed up because of a sense of adventure and the need to travel outside their little villages, rather than any sense of patriotism.

“Britain’s imperialist power was undermined after the war, when the very troops they had shipped out to fight for them returned with a more informed sense of worldliness – they had seen during the war that there’s no real difference between black and white, that we are all the same,” says Phillips.

Phillips also travels to Tokyo, Japan, to try to get the opposition’s perspective.

“It was really difficult to get hold of anyone to speak on behalf of the Japanese troops, because they really lost many men in that war. I managed to find a few through a really good Japanese researcher whose own father was a veteran.”

This is a well-documented journey that makes one respect researchers such as Phillips for taking an unbiased stance.

“I have always loved history. I think it’s very important for us to understand the way the world is today. To a large extent, the war has been written from a British and American point of view and that makes way for negligence of pivotal information and accounts.

“It’s important to tell these stories so we can understand why Africa and Britain are the way they are today.”

zintlem@thenewage.co.za

The Burma Boys airs on Al Jazeera (DStv channel 406) at 8pm

PRESIDENT JONATHAN'S THOUGHT ON SINGLE TENURE IS UNFORTUNATE - PROF. ELAIGWU

Professor Isawa Eliagwu has branded President Goodluck Jonathan’s talks on the proposed six years single tenure for all political Chief Executive Officers in the country as an unfortunate one. Eliagwu made this known today at the Senate review of the constitution amendment retreat in Asaba, Delta State. He stated that the Obasanjo and Yar’Adua’s administration made it impossible for Nigerians to believe in Jonathan’s proposal. “Unfortunately President Obasanjo and President Yar’Adua have made the office of the Chief Executives so politicize that people don’t want to hear anything about it” “It’s a pity that Jonathan came in and immediately started talking about a six or seven year’s single tenure, I think it’s unfortunate” The Professor of law while delivering his memorandum suggested a five year single tenure for all political CEO in the country. “Any leader who cannot deliver his promises made in five years is inept, six or seven years tenure for many Nigerians is too long” “I also suggest that any office holder currently serving as a chief executive shall benefit from the single tenure” He also mentioned that the electoral process should be of paramount consideration to the Nigerian government. “We should as a country ensures that people are sworn in only when their cases have been vacated, which means elections must finish in good time so that when they resume to the office they know they are there for real”. On immunity clause he stated that political office holders should be allowed immunity only on civil cases. “Public officers should have immunity but only on civil cases and not on criminal cases because it will waste their time” “Criminal matters may amount to gross misconduct” The former Vice Chancellor worried about the future of the Judiciary in the country as he complained about the employability of Law graduates the country is producing.