INSECURITY SITUATION ACROSS NIGERIA DAILY GETTING OUT OF HAND – THE URGENT NEED FOR DESPERATE MEASURES AND A DIFFERENT APPROACH TO ARREST THE SITUATION
April 10, 2021 | News
It is really a cause for concern that daily, the insecurity situation in the country is deteriorating, becoming more worrisome, as things have continued to escalate across the country. While we are dealing with terrorists’ activities in mostly the Northern parts of the country, we are now having a rise of criminal activities by supposed gunmen in the Eastern parts of Nigeria.
INSECURITY SITUATION ACROSS NIGERIA DAILY GETTING OUT OF HAND – THE URGENT NEED FOR DESPERATE MEASURES AND A DIFFERENT APPROACH TO ARREST THE SITUATION
It is really a cause for concern that daily, the insecurity situation in the country is deteriorating, becoming more worrisome, as things have continued to escalate across the country. While we are dealing with terrorists’ activities in mostly the Northern parts of the country, we are now having a rise of criminal activities by supposed gunmen in the Eastern parts of Nigeria.
With reports that such gunmen on Tuesday (6/04/21) razed the Ehime Mbano Local Government Area Divisional Police Headquarters in Imo State, it is worrisome that this development came just a day after unknown gunmen attacked Owerri Correctional (Prison) Centre and the Imo State Police Command headquarters, freeing 1,884 inmates, who are currently on the run, and razing over 50 vehicles within the premises. The attackers were said to have gained entrance into the facility using a bomb to blast the administrative block. And they were said to have arrived in their numbers in Toyota Hilux trucks and Buses, with sophisticated weapons, which they used to engage Security operatives. On arrival, the gunmen freed all the suspects in detention before setting the Police Divisional headquarters ablaze.
Though, there have been no account or report to suggest that any Security Officer lost his/her life in this particular attack in Imo State, but in recent times, Nigerian Police officers and Security Operatives have become targets of criminals, most of whom are killed and their guns (mostly AK-47s) carted away. There have been several reports of Police Officers and Security Operatives killed recklessly in broad daylight by these criminal elements across the country. From Kano, Benue, Cross River, to Akwa Ibom, Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers and Edo States, and more recently, Taraba State, where at least Two mobile police officers were shot Monday, April 5th, 2021, night while on duty at a checkpoint in Dogongawa, along Katsina Ala - Takum road, in Takum LGA of the state, and their guns are taken away by the hoodlums. In other words, now it seems as if Police Officers/Security Operatives are being murdered for their guns.
This is something the new Acting Inspector General of Police, IGP Alkali Baba Usman, urgently needs to address and stop these killings of Police officers. I believe that a Police officer with only his/her baton, could still enforce an arrest without molestation of anyone in developed societies.
The fact is that in a country where police officers and security operatives have become targets of attack, and some others killed in the process, it is not a good development at all that any sane Government should allow continuing. For one, it paints a very bad and poor image of any state in question and the country at large, and it is also discouraging foreign and domestic investments because such State and country cannot be safe for any foreign and local investments of any kind. This unfortunate development means that law and order has broken down completely. But the question is, what exactly is going in the Eastern parts of Nigeria? From Abia, which had led to the State Governor declaring a curfew in Umuahia the State capital, to Anambra and Imo States. The criminal activities is becoming worrisome. Who are the people behind these frequent recent attacks and brutality? Who are those sponsoring it? Is this politics or what? Why the attacks on Police Stations and Correctional facilities? Is their way of trying to normalize the breakdown of law and order, by attacking Security Operatives? Can a State and country survive without an active police force?
Whatever might be responsible for these attacks, it should be seen as a crime against the Nigerian State and the Nigerian people. And should be urgently addressed with the appropriate authorities and weight that is required to bring the situation under control. For instance, what is the State Governors doing with all their so-called Security Votes? It is apparent that the Nigerian Police Force seems to be overwhelmed already with the increasing levels of insecurity across the country. Have the Governors of these States been giving the Police the needed support to combat these crimes? Are they well-equipped, well-trained, well-staffed, well-financed, and their welfare well-managed? Are the Nigerian Police Force well-motivated enough to meet up with the rising insecurity challenge in the country? These and many more, are some of the issues and areas that the Federal and State Governments need to give serious attention to.
The insecurity situation across the country is no longer something that should be treated with kid gloves by both the Federal and State Governments and relevant Security Operatives. From the Northern parts, with the last abduction of 39 Students of the Federal College of Forestry Mechanization in Kaduna State; to the Western parts of the country which have led to the creation of a regional security outfit to try and curb the situation. And now, the Eastern parts are boiling with these unexplained attacks by supposedly unknown gunmen. Though the Security Operatives are pointing fingers at the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and the Eastern Security Network (ESN) as those responsible for the recent attacks in Imo State, however, the issue is, the Government and their Security Operatives should ensure that it is actually those behind these crimes that are pinned down and brought to book. This should be done without prejudice or profiling some groups and using them as scapegoats because of the Government’s perception of them.
The bottom line is that such reported incidents of unexplained killings in the Eastern parts, or any other parts of the country, which has now become a daily occurrence, is something that is painting these States and the country in a very bad light. Nobody seems to be safe anymore in the country.
Truth be told, the Nigerian government at all levels, and the Nigerian Police, should adopt the latest technology and be equipped with sophisticated communication gadgets out there to address the high wave of crime in the country.
We might want to ask: How come we now have so many criminals across the length and breadth of Nigeria? The simple answer is the fact, Human Capital Development has been getting very low across the country over the years. And Poor Governance at both the Federal and State levels has led Nigeria to where the country is today. So, what we are seeing now, is long coming. And the situation might get worse, if those in Government should continue doing things as they like, without considering the dire consequences of their actions on the society. They are therefore advised to change from their evil and greedy ways, otherwise, the insecurity situation in the country will eventually consume the entire country.
Zik Gbemre.
April 10, 2021
We Mobilize Others To Fight For Individual Causes As If Those Were Our Causes
It is really a cause for concern that daily, the insecurity situation in the country is deteriorating, becoming more worrisome, as things have continued to escalate across the country. While we are dealing with terrorists’ activities in mostly the Northern parts of the country, we are now having a rise of criminal activities by supposed gunmen in the Eastern parts of Nigeria.
With reports that such gunmen on Tuesday (6/04/21) razed the Ehime Mbano Local Government Area Divisional Police Headquarters in Imo State, it is worrisome that this development came just a day after unknown gunmen attacked Owerri Correctional (Prison) Centre and the Imo State Police Command headquarters, freeing 1,884 inmates, who are currently on the run, and razing over 50 vehicles within the premises. The attackers were said to have gained entrance into the facility using a bomb to blast the administrative block. And they were said to have arrived in their numbers in Toyota Hilux trucks and Buses, with sophisticated weapons, which they used to engage Security operatives. On arrival, the gunmen freed all the suspects in detention before setting the Police Divisional headquarters ablaze.
Though, there have been no account or report to suggest that any Security Officer lost his/her life in this particular attack in Imo State, but in recent times, Nigerian Police officers and Security Operatives have become targets of criminals, most of whom are killed and their guns (mostly AK-47s) carted away. There have been several reports of Police Officers and Security Operatives killed recklessly in broad daylight by these criminal elements across the country. From Kano, Benue, Cross River, to Akwa Ibom, Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers and Edo States, and more recently, Taraba State, where at least Two mobile police officers were shot Monday, April 5th, 2021, night while on duty at a checkpoint in Dogongawa, along Katsina Ala - Takum road, in Takum LGA of the state, and their guns are taken away by the hoodlums. In other words, now it seems as if Police Officers/Security Operatives are being murdered for their guns.
This is something the new Acting Inspector General of Police, IGP Alkali Baba Usman, urgently needs to address and stop these killings of Police officers. I believe that a Police officer with only his/her baton, could still enforce an arrest without molestation of anyone in developed societies.
The fact is that in a country where police officers and security operatives have become targets of attack, and some others killed in the process, it is not a good development at all that any sane Government should allow continuing. For one, it paints a very bad and poor image of any state in question and the country at large, and it is also discouraging foreign and domestic investments because such State and country cannot be safe for any foreign and local investments of any kind. This unfortunate development means that law and order has broken down completely. But the question is, what exactly is going in the Eastern parts of Nigeria? From Abia, which had led to the State Governor declaring a curfew in Umuahia the State capital, to Anambra and Imo States. The criminal activities is becoming worrisome. Who are the people behind these frequent recent attacks and brutality? Who are those sponsoring it? Is this politics or what? Why the attacks on Police Stations and Correctional facilities? Is their way of trying to normalize the breakdown of law and order, by attacking Security Operatives? Can a State and country survive without an active police force?
Whatever might be responsible for these attacks, it should be seen as a crime against the Nigerian State and the Nigerian people. And should be urgently addressed with the appropriate authorities and weight that is required to bring the situation under control. For instance, what is the State Governors doing with all their so-called Security Votes? It is apparent that the Nigerian Police Force seems to be overwhelmed already with the increasing levels of insecurity across the country. Have the Governors of these States been giving the Police the needed support to combat these crimes? Are they well-equipped, well-trained, well-staffed, well-financed, and their welfare well-managed? Are the Nigerian Police Force well-motivated enough to meet up with the rising insecurity challenge in the country? These and many more, are some of the issues and areas that the Federal and State Governments need to give serious attention to.
The insecurity situation across the country is no longer something that should be treated with kid gloves by both the Federal and State Governments and relevant Security Operatives. From the Northern parts, with the last abduction of 39 Students of the Federal College of Forestry Mechanization in Kaduna State; to the Western parts of the country which have led to the creation of a regional security outfit to try and curb the situation. And now, the Eastern parts are boiling with these unexplained attacks by supposedly unknown gunmen. Though the Security Operatives are pointing fingers at the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and the Eastern Security Network (ESN) as those responsible for the recent attacks in Imo State, however, the issue is, the Government and their Security Operatives should ensure that it is actually those behind these crimes that are pinned down and brought to book. This should be done without prejudice or profiling some groups and using them as scapegoats because of the Government’s perception of them.
The bottom line is that such reported incidents of unexplained killings in the Eastern parts, or any other parts of the country, which has now become a daily occurrence, is something that is painting these States and the country in a very bad light. Nobody seems to be safe anymore in the country.
Truth be told, the Nigerian government at all levels, and the Nigerian Police, should adopt the latest technology and be equipped with sophisticated communication gadgets out there to address the high wave of crime in the country.
We might want to ask: How come we now have so many criminals across the length and breadth of Nigeria? The simple answer is the fact, Human Capital Development has been getting very low across the country over the years. And Poor Governance at both the Federal and State levels has led Nigeria to where the country is today. So, what we are seeing now, is long coming. And the situation might get worse, if those in Government should continue doing things as they like, without considering the dire consequences of their actions on the society. They are therefore advised to change from their evil and greedy ways, otherwise, the insecurity situation in the country will eventually consume the entire country.
Zik Gbemre.
April 10, 2021
We Mobilize Others To Fight For Individual Causes As If Those Were Our Causes