Top echelons of the Nigeria Police and Navy Wednesday met to resolve the conflict occasioned by the clash between some junior officers of the lower cadre in both forces.

This peace talks follow a recent confrontation involving Naval ratings and policemen of the Special Taskforce, in Apapa area of Lagos.

Flag Officer Commanding Western Naval Command of the Nigerian Navy, Apapa, Lagos, Rear Admiral Ibok Ibass, while speaking called on the need to organise a forum where men of the lower cadre in both forces, would be educated that both services were fighting a common goal.

He said this when he paid a courtesy visit to the Assistant Inspector General of Police in-charge of Zone 2,Onikan, Mr. Mamman Tsafe.

According to Ibass: “I believe we can get the men to know that we are all fighting a common cause is by interaction, a forum whereby they meet and understand our common goal on security.”

Several weeks after 11 children, between the ages of five months and two years were abducted in Ishiagu, Ivo local government of Ebonyi State, their whereabouts remain unknown.
The children were reportedly abducted at Ishiagu, home town of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator Anyim Pius Anyim.
A reliable source in the community said the trend started December last year with the abduction of four children, adding that only recently six others were abducted, bringing the number to eleven.

DailyPost learnt that all the eleven children abducted are settlers in the community.
Already, the situation has taken another dimension as residents of Ishiagu are accusing the police in the state of complicity in the abduction.
Residents who alleged that policemen in Ishiagu divisional police station were aiding the kidnappers, said efforts they were making to stem the tide were being frustrated by the police in Ishiagu division.

When our correspondent visited the Mile 2 Area in Ishiagu where 2 year old Chiemere Emmanuel and eight month, Chidubem Emmanuel were abducted, their mothers Blessing and Nnenna respectively lamented that since the abduction of their children, nothing had been heard from either the police or from the government.
The youth leader of the community, Mr. Chijioke Njoku, who also spoke to DailyPost alleged that Ebonyi state government and in fact the council chairman of Ivo LGA were not torched by the development because the abducted children were not indigenes of Ishiagu.
He said: “It is no longer news that our children are being kidnapped, even on the 19th and 20th of December, 2012 in Ayaragu children were kidnapped.
On 29th of December, along this Afikpo-Okigwe Road, a woman who was coming back from Ayaragu area with her child was intercepted by gunmen, they pushed her and her child into a car; along the road, they pushed her out and took her child away. Till now the family has not seen the child”.
On the effort of the community, he said: “Two or three weeks ago we intercepted two vehicles- Jetta and Mercedes Benz; the Jetta over ran us while we seized the Mercedes Benz.
“When we stopped the occupants of the car, they even tried to fight us. One of them ran away living the driver of the car.
“The suspect was later handed over to the police, with the warning that they should not toy with the case. Painfully, nothing serious came out of that case”.
Continuing, he said: “We are appealing to the government to help us. Everyday we come to this place to keep night watch in an effort to see whether we can stop this abduction, but the police are not backing us”.
The Ebonyi State Police Public Relation Officer, (PPRO), DSP Sylvester Igbo who was contacted on phone, did not make any comment.

 

Members of the Upper Chambers of the National Assembly, yesterday, vowed to probe the funds allocated to Police college and other institutions of training in the force.

The senate, however blamed itself for not carrying out a proper and efficient oversight function to detect the deplorable and appalling situation of the college and then raise an alarm, prior to the visit of President Goodluck Jonathan.

Answering questions from newsmen in Abuja on Monday, Chairman, Senate Committee on Public Accounts, Senator Ahmed Ibrahim Lawan, said the Senate had completed arrangement to summon the Police Service Commission to explain how funds appropriated to the college were utilised.

Lawan, however, said that the investigation of the committee would go beyond the Police College, Ikeja, with a view to finding a lasting solution to the rot in the entire system.

Lawan, who could not give the exact figures appropriated to the college, said: “I don’t have any figure off hand as to how much has been appropriated. But one thing is very certain and clear from the visit of Mr. President to the police college in Lagos that some agencies of government have not been living up to expectations.

“The public accounts committee has already taken some steps to ensure that the police authorities appear before the committee to explain the utilisation of the funds appropriated particularly to the college. But we are also expanding beyond the college because this is a sign that all is not okay with the police organisation.

“I want to hope that the rot will stop with the police college. But if in the course of our investigation we discover that it is more than the college and that some organisations within the police are facing the same thing, then we have to take very serious action.

“First, we have to determine whether the funds were adequate so that if the funds were not adequate, we will like to see how prudent, economically and efficiently the scarce resources were utilized. If, however, the funds were enough and someone failed to do his or her duty, we will surely recommend serious sanctions for whoever is responsible.”

The senator admitted that the National Assembly, particularly the Senate and House Committees on Police Affairs, would have detected the rot in the college, had the committees did their jobs well.

He said: ‘’These are people that are directly involved with them. So it is a responsibility that we share. But I believe that we are supposed to take the lead in the oversight process because this is our major work.

“We are supposed to be visiting institutions and organisations that have been appropriated public funds to ensure that the funds are utilised properly.

“So, this is an eye opener not only for the police affairs committees but for other committees. And the Senate President has consistently told us to ensure that we have oversight functions and programmes that would ensure that no public fund is put in another way or used in an imprudent manner.

“So I am sure that we would step up our oversight. And the President should do more of this kind of thing because if anything, it would give the trainees the impression and confidence that their leaders are really concerned with what happens with their training at institutions.”

Asked if the funds for the Police were enough, he said: “I always believe that efficiency, economy, prudence and effective utilisation of resources are more important than quantum of resources, because when we emphasise on having more funds neglecting the efficiency aspect of utilisation, we don’t achieve anything.

“Some organisations with good management could achieve more with little. It is not about the quantum of money but how strategically the funds are utilised and efficiency of utilisation.

“So I believe that we should be emphasizing efficiency, economy and prudence of funds in addition to appropriating more funds. We can also grow better environment for our organisations to function better. But I don’t think we should be limiting ourselves to quantum of funds.”

On whether the probe will be as holistic as that of Bureau for Public Enterprise, BPE, Lawan said: “We did not do BPE investigation as a Public Accounts Committee. You would recall that the BPE assignment was an ad hoc assignment.

“This police issue is a public account assignment. What we will do is narrow down appropriations over the year to the police and see how much has been utilised and to what the revelation will be.

“But I don’t think we will begin to investigate the police from 1999 till date. We will focus on the budget. You would recall that BPE was a total investigation and everything was involved. But with the police, I don’t think that is where we are going.

Many have seen how dilapidated the police quarters are, possibly have heard how horrible the Nigerian Police cells can be. The reality is right from the Academy, the Nigerian Police officer has known no better way to live.

A Channels TV documentary on the life of students living in the Nigerian Police College Ikeja, Lagos has revealed the deplorable conditions they face. Its an irony that these students will later graduate to become policemen and women.

Channels TV had the opportunity to film a meal-time at the training college at Ikeja, Lagos, the crew recounted how they watched as the cadets struggled to get their bellies filled with substances not fit enough to call food. About 50 trainees were seen sharing one head of fish.

The documentary shows the sad state of the dormitories, the toilets and more. Students were seen urinating at the back of the building where the drainage system has broken down completely. The toilets and bathrooms are in such terrible conditions, one wonders how students manage to use them.

The college’s male dormitory 10, is one of those built by Nigerian colonial masters in 1940. Today, its windows and doors are damaged with no plans for any repairs. There is no electricity and the occupants point out blood stains from bed bug bites.

Also, the female hostels are in no way better. Meanwhile, the recruits will spend 13 months of their lives in there. An Olympic-size swimming pool is one of the facilities the college can once boost off, but have is now a breeding ground for toads.

Also, the college is known in wining medals for shooting all over West Africa but there is no shooting range anymore.

According to Jonah Mavah, the Deputy Commandant of the College, there has been no major development since establishment except for some few renovations.

The College itself was built to accommodate only 700 students but today, it contains 2,554. As for the library, the Staff says they cannot remember the last time books were supplied to the library which is full of museum pieces and antiquities called books bought in the 1970s.

There are 7 police colleges in Nigeria and a total of 18,500 constables graduated as at December 2012.

In 2013, a sum of N311 billion Naira has been budgeted for the Nigerian Police. It is hoped this money would be used judiciously and a significant part of it be allocated to improving infrastructure in the Police College and other facilities of the Nigerian Police.

 

President Goodluck Jonathan, has labelled the documentary on the state of decay at the Police College, that was aired on Channels Television, as a smear campaign.

Jonathan, arrived the premises of the institution, at about 3pm for an unscheduled visit and saw first hand the state of things at the College.

It was major embarrasment for CP I.F. Yerima, the commandant of the college, who could not explain how the media house got exclusive images of the horrible sights in the establishment.

“This is a calculated attempt to damage the image of this government. The Police College, Ikeja is not the only training institution in Nigeria,” the president said.

It was gathered that a group of police recruits, hailed him as he made a tour of the facilities saying, “Our number one President, the God sent President, the President of Nigeria, among others.” Jonathan acknowledged the cheers by raising his right hand.