IN a development that sounded extremely bizarre, the Cross River State command of the Nigeria Police Force recently apprehended and dismissed a corporal who had carried out illegalities undetected for nine years. The corporal, Buba Adamu, was alleged to have refused to report to his new station in Kaduna, Kaduna State, where he was transferred from the Cross River command nine years ago. But the suspect’s bag of criminality was allegedly larger, as he had allegedly promoted himself to the rank of superintendent and operated illegal activities in the Cross River command. According to the spokesperson of the command, SP Irene Ugbo, who spoke during a press briefing in Calabar, the state capital, the suspect operated as a “mobile police officer” without any supervision or reporting to a specific police command since 2015 when the transfer was made.

Incredibly, the corporal was alleged to have been receiving his salary despite not reporting to his new station and had he not been exposed by certain concerned members of the Nasarawa community, a Hausa-Fulani settlement in Calabar municipality, who brought his case to the attention of the police authorities after enduring his illegal activities for years, he would still have been at his game. The community allegedly raised the alarm when they learnt that the police command was under pressure to release Adamu following his arrest. Ugbo said: “As of today, Corporal Adamu is no longer a policeman because he has been relieved of his duties. Every item of property belonging to the Nigeria Police in his possession, including uniforms, identification card and others, has been retrieved. The matter has now been charged in court. It is left to the judiciary. The court will take it up from where we stopped.”

To be sure, as in other countries, strange things happen in every sector of Nigeria’s national life, and Nigerians are accustomed, even desensitized, to scandal. Yet the current story, shocking in every respect, seems to occupy a special place in the book of absurdity and negativity. When the suspect was given a new posting nine years ago, he definitely had superiors at the Cross River State command. Were they not aware that he had virtually gone AWOL? What action did the authorities take when they learnt of his case? Surely, refusing to proceed on a legitimate transfer is a serious offence. Was there complicity between him and his superiors? Transfer, particularly in a regimented outfit, is supposed to be immediate and non-negotiable, and the process should have been documented. What was in Adamu’s file all these years? Was he not supposed to participate in audits, attend courses and briefings, and carry out assignments? Even if he had decided to, as it were, keep his distance from the police force and its leadership, should the force have allowed him such latitude? How did he manage to stay away from the detection radar for nine years? Was there no inquiry from his new station in Kaduna when he did not report for duty as expected? If there was correspondence on the issue, as there definitely should have been, what was the outcome? Or was the correspondence glossed over and trashed?

It seems curious that In the course of nine years when he carried on as a renegade, setting his own rules, wearing an unapproved rank and harassing innocent members of the public, none of the suspect’s former colleagues at the Cross River command crossed paths with him. Surely, his new rank would have invited some curiosity, even by way of congratulations. Besides, since the victims of his illegal acts must have reported him to the authorities before now, what steps did the authorities take on his case? It is certainly frightening to imagine a scenario where policemen set the rules for themselves, drawing salaries while being technically out of the system and its rules. That is an act of sabotage against the force, the Nigerian government, the rule of law, and the Nigerian public, and it is important to ask if the suspect followed any precedent in his alleged criminal actions. Even if this case is novel, it is certainly underlined by the structural defects in the system. It is a big scandal and must be treated as such.

Without preempting the justice system, we think that the police authorities have some explaining to do. Members of the public need assurances that whenever they see a police(wo)man in uniform, they are dealing with an officer of the law and not a lawbreaker. We hope that the mystery surrounding this case will be unveiled soonest and the brains behind it dealt with in accordance with the service rules. It is difficult to imagine that any police operative can pull off such a daringly criminal stunt alone.

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