Pipeline vandalism: the cold war between police, Civil Defence

By Adetola Adenmosun

Since the creation of Civil Defence in Nigeria, there has been no love lost between them and the police. The cold war between the two which cannot be traced to a particular era or time snowballed into something ugly after the Civil Defence was given mandate to carry guns.
While police see Civil Defence as the ‘wannabes’ in the block, the Civil Defence see the police as an organization performing duties they(Civil Defence) can perform better. Thus both keep squabbling over who will outshine the other.
The situation was not made easy, when it was apparent that part of the  major job description of Civil Defence, was to fight and curtail pipeline vandalism and vandals.
A job which an arm of the police was already enforcing before former President Olusegun Obasanjo gave a statutory backing to the Civil Defence in 2008.
The creation of Civil Defence was not a bad idea itself. It not only created an avenue for graduates and unemployed youngsters to have jobs, it also was supposed to complement the work of the police.
Members of Civil Defence and police would have understand and appreciated this  sharing of job, if  not for the selfish and no doubt dirty, shady and money spinning business they discovered in chasing pipeline vandals and collecting bribe from them. 
Immediately both agencies discovered the money making business of pipeline vandalism, the distrust between them became more obvious as both agencies fought for space in the media to showcase who got the largest catch of vandals and of course the largest recoveries of petrol filled jerry cans.
 The competition does not end there; it extends to the prompt discovery of vandalized pipeline by vandals.
The Civil Defence seems to be in the shades, until the media started giving them recognition through several publications on their activities.
In fact, the Civil Defence gain more popularity when the former Lagos Commandant of the corps, Obafaiye Shem appeared on a live TV show on one of the television stations in Lagos to speak on job racketeering in the corps.
Obafaiye stuttered and started a national comedy ‘Oga at the top’ viral which is now a sing song everywhere. 
So the recognition being enjoyed by NSCDC in recent times, the common interest of men of both sister agencies in pipeline vandalism, vandals, and the ego in the carrying of arms seems to have brought the sister agencies at a cross road with each other. 
The clash between the two sister agencies on March 27, 2013, was a situation which like a keg of gun powder, had for long been waiting to explode. If not that fateful March 27, it definitely would have happened any other day.
The rivalry either in the area of specialization or in the area of what they want to put in their pocket took a bloody dimension that fateful day.
According to Civil Defence accounts, on this day, the vandals were at it again around Ikorodu, an outskirt of Lagos when men of the NSCDC who were on operation around the area arrested the vandals with their exhibits.
Troubles however started when one of the suspected vandals allegedly made a call to God knows who. The men in their usual style were taking the vandals to their Alausa office for further questioning and investigation when they were allegedly accosted by policemen who allegedly opened fire on them. Two of the NSCDC men who had gone for the operation, were shot dead.   
Immediately this happened, the NSCDC wasted no time in issuing a statement in respect of the incident.
A statement by the National Deputy Spokesman of NSCDC, Sola Odumosu pointed accusing fingers at the police, saying they were working in collaboration with the vandals.
His words: “In what looked like a commando attack, policemen ambushed and opened fire on men of the anti-vandalism squad, killing two of them on the spot, while others escaped with gunshot wounds in Ikorodu area. The incident occurred at about 3 a.m. The officers and men of the corps were returning from a successful anti vandalism operation where vandals were arrested. However, as the suspects were being transported back to the state headquarters of the corps, an eyewitness said the vandals made calls to their police collaborators for support since they could not overwhelm the corps officials. Immediately the police got wind of the information, they laid ambush for the corps operatives and opened fire on their patrol vehicles killing two operatives instantly. Others made desperate effort to escape but they were also hit by the police bullets. The vandals were released immediately by the police.”
Several hours after the incident, the Lagos State Police command issued its own statement through its spokesperson, Ngozi Braide, stating that men of the NSCDC challenged policemen for encroaching on their territory.
She said: “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 Inspector 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 three 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 at the scene, the NSCDC officials had taken to their heels abandoning the handcuffed and leg chained Police Inspector with one of NSCDC personnel.”
Nigerians have listened to both the police and Civil Defence trading blames and counter blames. Each trying to outdo the other but several things keeps coming to mind, showing yawning loopholes in both accounts.
The Civil Defence claimed in the statement that one of the arrested vandals made calls to the police. If this claim was true, how did they know the vandal actually called the police? Why didn’t they dispossess the vandals of their phones and some other communication gadgets immediately they were arrested?  Even a rookie, who had just finished from a security training school, knows that certain items should, as a matter of urgency, be confiscated from a suspect.
Another stunning fact was that they didn’t handcuff these vandals? Why?  And why would the Civil Defence officer watch, while a suspect makes a call without making any attempt to stop the suspect?
A critical assessment of the police reaction to the incident showed that men of the NSCDC overpowered their men and collected their service pistol, walkie-talkie, I.D. cards and handcuffed their men who were four in number.
The statement stated that the four policemen had gone to the scene to arrest the vandals. But everybody knows that even if police were to arrest a mere unarmed robber, they will go in their commando style let alone leaving four of its officers to face vandals who will stop at nothing to get rid of whoever might want to stop them from their daily business.
According to Braide, there were 14 Civil Defence men against four policemen, so at what point was a call put across to the police commander? And who the heck made the call?
Suffice to say, both forces are being economical with the truth, playing on Nigerians’ intelligence!
Both sister agencies claimed their men were injured, why can’t they both allow press men interview these men who went for the operation if they both have nothing to hide.
But the Commandant General of Civil Defence Dr. Ade Abolurin is not a kid still wet behind the ears. When he flew down to Lagos to pay his slain officers’ family a visit, he had later addressed his men. He said something significant and poignant. 
His words: “As we have bad eggs in the police, so also we have bad eggs in Civil Defence.”
A denotative meaning to the statement by Dr Abolurin reflects that men of both sister agencies were on illegal duty!