“The incessant killings by diverse freelance armed non-State actors like Islamic fundamentalists and other fringe insurgents, of operatives of the Nigeria Police Force in the last two years but with increased frequency this year, is symptomatic of a policing institution that is bereft of effective fighting and law enforcement mentality and defective in leadership. It is also a clear evidence that the current holder of the office of Inspector General of Police has no logical reason to remain a day longer in office since he has systematically failed.”

With the above synopsis, a democracy inclined non-governmental organisation, Human Rights Writers’ Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), yesterday strongly condemned as primitive and deplorable, Tuesday’s massacre of 23 police operatives by suspected armed local terrorists in Nassarawa State, a day after armed Islamic fundamentalists in Borno State had killed 22 policemen along with scores of prison officials and other security operatives in Bama, Borno State.

In a statement issued in Abuja, the Nigerian capital, by the National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, and the National Director of Media Affairs, Miss. Zainab Yusuf, HURIWA canvassed a judicial probe over what it calls “unwholesome and atrocious criminal acts” of systematic decimation and killing of police operatives. The group restated its demand for the immediate re-invigoration and implementation of effective police reforms to equip and train police operatives to competently face the law enforcement challenges of the contemporary times.

HURIWA predicted that at the rate police formations in Nigeria are successfully attacked by armed terrorists without being repelled by policemen maintained with taxpayers’ money, the police will inevitably collapse if urgent, comprehensive and pragmatic reforms devoid of political intrigues are not immediately activated.

“It is a constitutional duty of Mr. President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, to ensure that the Nigeria Police Force does not collapse under his watch because posterity and the verdict of history will be very harsh on him,” HURIWA asserted.

The rights group lamented that IGP Mohammed Dikko Abubakar was busy in the last few days celebrating his birthday, well-armed freelance non-state actors, terrorists, cultists and other armed marauders were successfully attacking and unleashing devastating violence on police formations all across the North and wantonly destroying precious lives and property of innocent Nigerians.

“While we condemn the brutal assassination of police operatives by terrorists and other local insurgents, we urge President Jonathan to sack the Inspector General of Police for clearly failing to add combat value to the rapidly collapsing Nigerian Police Force which he has headed for nearly two years without much progress except in the reverse and decline,” HURIWA said.

It also urged “Mr. President to set up a highly powered judicial commission of inquiry to uncover the remote and immediate causes of the seeming collapse of the Nigerian Police Force, name, shame and prosecute erstwhile police Chiefs and ministers that stole police Fund and to effectively kick-start pragmatic police reforms without further waste of time.”

•Photo shows embattled IGP Abubakar.

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