The Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Mohammed Abubakar, yesterday vowed to bring to book anyone found to be a sponsor of terrorist activities in the country.
He also said that the force would not sweep any of such cases under the proverbial ‘Nigerian carpet,’ adding that already three senators were being closely watched.
Speaking at a conference of sectional heads of police zonal and state Criminal Investigation Departments, CIDs, in Abuja, the IG said the force would stop the reign of terror in the country.
He, however, appealed to Nigerians with evidence to avail the police of such stressing that the Police required evidence to nail anyone linked to terrorists while urging Nigerians to avoid passing irrational judgement on people on the strength of yet-to-be proven allegations.
The police boss said: “We are doing so much about it and looking for evidence. Please anyone who has evidence should give us because you cannot take anyone to court without evidence.
“So, these people (senators) are under watch. There must be a preponderance of evidence. Things do not just happen out of the blues. There is no imaginary evidence.”
Three senators from Borno State have in recent times accused one another of laying the foundation for the formation of the Boko Haram Islamist sect.
They are former governor of the state and ex-senator, Ali Modu Sheriff, Senator Ali Ndume and Senator Ahmed Zanna.
In November last year, Ndume was arrested by the State Security Service, SSS, on suspicion of being a financier of the deadly sect.
Ndume, who has since been charged to court, was indicted when an alleged spokesperson of the sect, also in SSS custody, Ali Konduga, reportedly named him as a major sponsor of the terrorist activities of the group.
A suspected kingpin of the sect, Mohammed Bama, who had earlier been declared wanted by the SSS, was a few weeks ago reportedly arrested in the home of Zanna in Maiduguri.
His arrest prompted the SSS to invite the senator for questioning.
Zanna, who is reportedly still under the close watch of the security service, also indicted Sherrif, claiming that Bama was arrested in the house of the ex-governor.
The SSS is reportedly “waiting for the right signal” before extending an invitation to Sherrif, who is currently the Chairman, Board of Trustees of the All Nigeria Peoples Party, ANPP.
On the $620, 000 bribery scam involving Femi Otedola, and the former Chairman of the House of Representatives Ad hoc Committee on the Management of the Fuel Subsidy Regime, Farouk Lawan, the police boss said investigators would soon tidy up the case. Abubakar said there were other issues that the police needed to key into before revisiting the case.
He did not, however, disclose what the “issues” were but a police source said investigators “are waiting for the report of a committee set up by the House of Representatives” to look into the issue before proceeding.
Abubakar said: “It is not ad infinutum. It is ongoing. If you look at the case well, the police actually initiated it but there are other issues that we need to key into.
“Once we are done with those issues, we will certainly do what we are supposed to do.”
Addressing officers at the conference, the IGP warned the detectives against subjecting suspects to torture in the guise of extracting information from them.
“The CID we want is not the CID of today. We want a responsible CIDs who will grant bail free; not subject suspects to torture or take money to frame people up.
“What we need is a 21st century policing where things are done professionally and rightly”, Abubakar stated.
He also pledged that the force would do everything possible to resolve all past cases of murder and rape.
The IG said: “When we came on board, we met problems of not being able to resolve cases of murders that should ordinarily not have taken a very long period. There are unresolved cases of murder and rape. It is not because the police are incompetent but due to several factors which we shall discuss today.
“There is no doubt that the investigation department is a very key department of any crime fighting outfit in the world.
“For the force to move forward, we must continue to train and retrain our men for better services,” he said.
Earlier, the Deputy Inspector- General Police, “D” department (Investigations), Mr. Peter Gana, challenged the detectives to be more dedicated to their calling and work towards solving all past and present criminal cases no matter how puzzling they might appear.
Meanwhile, in Borno State, gunmen yesterday killed Mustapha Flawama (62) an associate of the former state governor, Ali Modu Sheriff at his Polo ward residence in Maiduguri.
Flawama was killed along two others suspected to be his friends at 10.16a.m. according to sources.
The two gunmen, according to a resident, trailed the deceased in a tricycle to his residence and fired several gun shots into his head and chest.
There were also reports of multiple attacks by gunmen suspected to be members of the Boko Haram sect on Chibok, a small town located 130 kilometres south of Maiduguri and a base of radical Islamists.
The Chibok Divisional Police Station, a Bible college and primary school as well as telecom masts of Global System of Mobile Communication (GSM) firm were razed during the attack about 6.35p.m. on Tuesday.
An eyewitness and resident of Chibok, said that the gunmen came in two unmarked Golf Volkswagen vehicles armed with petrolbombs and Improvised Explosive Devices, IEDs, with which they attacked the police station and schools.
He said the policemen on duty at the station were caught unawares, when the gunmen started chanting… God is great! God is great and started throwing several petrol-bombs and explosives at the police station, which went up in flames.
“On torching the police station the gunmen also ran to one of the Bible schools and a primary school in the town and set them ablaze. They also burnt a telecom mast of a GSM firm in the town,” a resident told National Mirror in a telephone interview yesterday in Chibok.
The source said they appeared to be no casualties as the policemen fled on sighting the gunmen while the schools were empty at the time of the attack.
Pique by attacks, youths in the town mobilised with bows and arrows, and chased the suspects out of the town, while the three public buildings and GSM masts were burning, as the council has no fire fighting vehicles to put off the raging fire.
Confirming the separate incidents yesterday, the state police command spokesman, Gideon Jibrin said in a telephone interview that there were attacks on one of the Divisional Police Stations in Chibok, while a resident at Polo area was also shot and killed by suspected gunmen.
He said no arrests have been made with respect to the two separate attacks.
National Mirror
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