The three operatives of the
Inspector-General of Police Special Intelligence Response Team (IRT), who were
shot dead by soldiers along Ibi-Jalingo Road, Taraba State on Wednesday, were
part of the elite cracked squad behind the arrest of the kidnap kingpin Chukwudi
Dumeme Onuamadike, popularly known as Evans, says a police source.
According to the source, the slain
policemen, described as gallant and outstanding, were among the best in Nigeria
and had been highly trained.
They were not just part of those
that arrested Evans; they also took part in the arrest of 22 Boko Haram
terrorists responsible for the 2014 abduction of the Chibok schoolgirls in
Borno State. They also led in the arrest of Umar Abdulmalik, the overall Boko
Haram commander of the north central Nigeria and many of his members.
The Force Public Relations Officer
(FPRO), Frank Mba, yesterday disclosed that the officers were on an operation
to arrest a suspected kidnap kingpin, identified as Alhaji Hamisu.
He said the operatives – an
inspector and two sergeants – were allegedly attacked by soldiers on their way
to the Taraba State Police Command, where they were scheduled to report the
successful arrest of the suspect.
Mba stressed that the shooting
incident occurred despite proper “proof” that the policemen were on a
legitimate operation. This was as he added that the suspect was subsequently
set free.
The police source yesterday said:
“The murdered policemen were also part of those that arrested kidnappers of two
American and two Canadian citizens in Kaduna State. Not too long ago, they
participated in the rescue of Magajin Garin Daura in Kano State and arrest of
the 13 terrorists responsible for kidnapping of the Magajin Garin Daura in his home
town Daura, Katsina State, on the May 1, 2019, among many other outstanding
records. It’s very sad that the notorious leader of kidnappers, which the IRT operatives arrested
in Taraba State, with handcuffs and leg chain on him had been released by the
Army to escape.”
The Executive Director of Rule of
Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RLAAC), Okechukwu Nwanguma, said:
“I'm saddened by the news of the gun attack on operatives of the IGP's Intelligence
Response Unit on covert operation by army officers at a check point in Taraba
leading to the death of three operatives and one civilian and injury on many
other operatives, and the hasty release, by the army, of the kidnap suspect in
handcuff whom they claimed they believed was a kidnap victim.
“The army claimed they received a
distress from a community that a suspected kidnap gang had kidnapped someone
from the community. They also claimed that the Police team which they mistook
to be the kidnappers refused to stop at three consecutive military check points
which warranted their pursuit and gun attack on the suspected kidnappers who
engaged them in a gun fire exchange. The army also said they inquired from the
DPO in the area who said he didn't know about the Police operation in his
jurisdiction. They said the incident happened due to 'lack of proper
coordination and liaison'.
Issues for concern; did the Police
team inform the Police authorities within the jurisdiction about their presence
and mission? Did the Police team refuse to stop at three military check
points when flagged to stop? Why did the army immediately release the suspect
in handcuff, even if they believed he was a kidnap victim? This incident needs
to be properly and exhaustively investigated to find out what happened. I'm
also worried about the news of the killing of a commercial motorcycle operator
in Aba, Abia State by a military officer yesterday. The activities of
undisciplined army officers working in cahoots with unscrupulous operatives of
other uniformed services in Abia and the entire southeast have become a major
cause for concern. Military authorities should investigate the activities of
their personnel in the Southeast and elsewhere in the country and ensure that
they no longer continue to engage in criminal and illegal activities including
extortion at check points and brutality on civilians.”
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