An episode that is shaking the foundations of the relationship between
the Nigeria Police Force and the Nigerian Army, the killing of three
policemen as well as a civilian in Taraba State on Wednesday is still
sending shock waves across the minds of many Nigerians. A jarring video
in circulation shows the immediate aftermath of the mindless murders of
the police officers, attached to the Inspector General of Police
Intelligence Response Team (IRT) with one of them, in the throes of
death, not spared despite begging, with incalculable desperation.
The
video begins with one of the slain officers in a red attire and alone
beside their bus apparently turned over through an accident that must
have occurred from the hot chase that ensued after the team was ambushed
by the soldiers. Seconds later, it moves to the other side as three
bloodied people lay dead while one, in a striped white and green Polo
shirt, is on the floor and writhing in agony. A man in yellow tee shirt
hands the ignition key of the white Toyota bus with number plate: Lagos
MUS 564 EU, to a man not visible in the video. “Here is the key of the
vehicle,” he said in Hausa language.
The body of the vehicle,
like the murdered policemen, was riddled with bullets as the mob
continues cursing the fallen officers. “We will deal with you, you
unlucky ones. They showed us ID cards that they were from the IG
(Inspector General of Police). Till all of you die, another said, also
in Hausa. As this goes on, a booming voice from the crowd of mostly
soldiers, many of them not in uniforms, commended the mob and said:
“Well done guys, you did well.” Lending further credence to reports that
the killings were premeditated, another unidentified voice said: “Let’s
set them ablaze with the vehicle,” a suggestion another, perhaps a
personnel of a higher rank, responded to almost immediately with an
order: “No!
Do not burn them.” As the officer battling to stay
alive turns as he continues to wriggle in pain, another person in a
white fez cap, as if alarmed, shouted: “He is not dead! He is not dead”
as he moves and rains a number of slaps on him as the dying man fell
back in a sleeping position. Calling on others’ attention, another
asked: “Where is their service pistol?” as another swiftly responded:
“They have been collected and taken away.” In the meantime, a bulky
frame in a yellow top with white fez cap is seen recording a video of
the slain policemen as they made to cross check whether the while few
minutes earlier had died finally.
Upon certifying him dead, a
member of the crowd, as if in victory, shouted: “He is dead! He is
dead!” Thereafter the glare falls on two of the killed policemen, one in
a red shirt covered in his pool of blood and the other with a white
striped shirt lying face down as the people surrounding them start
plucking and dropping leaves and shrubs on them, a typical practice for
accident victims. Even more harrowing is a scene in which it becomes
clear that one of the fallen policemen, the last to give up, had
defecated on his body shortly before succumbing to death finally.
Lifted
by two men by the hands and legs, his corpse is dumped along with the
others as a soldier with a riffle walks past the bodies, shouting: “He
is defecating. Do not touch the faeces.” As the voices rise even
further, a voice is heard in the background saying: “They showed us ID
cards that they were from the IG (Inspector General of Police).
They
met us at the check point. If they had escaped here, they would
definitely not have escaped the road block at Wukari.” Meanwhile, fresh
information has emerged on what really went down between the police
policemen and soldiers along Ibi-Jalingo Road, leading to the death of
three policemen and a civilian. Security agents said the order to attack
the policemen, who were on lawful duty to apprehend a suspected kidnap
kingpin, Alhaji Hamisu Wadume, was given by an army captain, who is a
friend of Wadume.
The unnamed army captain, it was learnt, is not
just a friend, but allegedly also on Wadume’s pay roll. According to
sources, the operatives, while heading to Ibi village to make the
arrest, encountered military men at three check-points. They introduced
themselves, chatted with the soldiers and exchanged pleasantries. But
when returning with the suspect, the same soldiers seen earlier at one
of the check points pulled the triggers that ended the lives of three of
the policemen. “The road to Ibi village is very narrow and only that
road leads to the village. You have to pass through it to enter or leave
the small village. That was why when the policemen encountered the
soldiers at the three checkpoints, they introduced themselves and stated
what they came for. They chatted, joked and exchanged pleasantries.
The
arrest was made within 20 minutes and while they were returning,
soldiers at the first and second check points asked them if they were
already through. The soldiers and operatives know one another, but the
phone call from a top military personnel changed everything,” a source
disclosed.
One of our reporters gathered that the policemen were
attacked at the second military check-point in the village. It was
further learnt that the policemen were taken unawares as the soldiers
allegedly opened fire on the bus conveying the operatives, with the
shocked driver losing control of his wheel, leading the bus to
somersault under the barrage of gun fire. Policemen, who were fast
enough to crawl out of the damaged vehicle fled into the bush and the
soldiers, upon getting to the scene and realising they were still alive,
shot three operatives and a civilian among them at close range.
Two
of the recovered corpses had bullet holes in their stomach, the other
two, had bullet holes in their chests. Ibi is a small community and
within a twinkle of an eye, the scene of the accident and attack swarmed
with people and as the soldiers labelled the policemen kidnappers, the
people went wild with jubilation. The arrival of the people to the scene
actually saved the lives of two policemen, who had earlier crawled to
hide. It was gathered that they would have been shot dead too, but for
the crowd and they were taken to a part of the army base where
deliberations were held regarding whether to kill them or not. One of
the soldiers told his colleagues that killing them would be too risky
because most of the villagers already captured them alive on their smart
phones. Upon telling them the videos would give them away, the soldiers
reluctantly took them to a hospital. A security source said: “The three
IRT operatives were brutally murdered while on investigation duty in
Taraba State by personnel of the Nigerian Army.
It is believed
that these soldiers and their boss are working for the kidnapper,
Wadume, who was later released. The operatives, who were on a follow-up
in an ongoing kidnapping investigation, led by an Assistant
Superintendent of Police (ASP), Felix Adolije, went to Taraba State with
a letter detailing their inves- tigation and mission.
They were
ambushed by the soldiers. Preliminary investigation showed that the
kidnap kingpin, who is presently on the run, has many security personnel
in Ibi, Taraba State on his pay roll.
Operatives got to the
police headquarters Jalingo, and perfected their papers as
professionals. Then they proceeded to Ibi Town, Taraba State, in their
operational Toyota Hummer Bus.” The agent further said: “When the
operatives got to Ibi town, they booked their arrival at the police
station and proceeded with assistance from a policeman attached to them
in the state headquarters, Jalingo, to trace and arrest Alhaji Hamisu
Wadume, who is wanted because he is linked to several kidnappings in
Taraba State, including a recent kidnapping in which N100million was
collected as ransom. After arresting Wadume, the operatives were heading
to police headquarters at Jalingo, when gang members of Wadume, who are
close to an army captain serving in Ibi town, called the army and told
him that his friend had been kidnapped. “Without any verification or
inquiries, the army captain ordered his men along the highway to ambush
the policemen.
Thus, as the team was moving along Ibi-Jalingo
Road, they came under the hail of bullets from soldiers. The soldiers
came from behind with another vehicle, as a result the policemen’s bus
summersaulted. Thereafter, two policemen and one civilian agent were
shot to death by the soldiers at close range. The policemen were shot
despite presenting their police identification cards. These policemen
also wore police jackets. All the policemen were alive when their
vehicles somersaulted. Two operatives, Inspector Mark Idiale and
Inspector Abah Mathias, were seriously injured with bullets. They are
now receiving treatment at the General Hospital Wukari in Taraba State.
Policemen from Ibi Area Command responded to calls and took the injured
and dead officers to the hospital. Wadume, who was rescued and released
by the soldiers, is presently on the run.
”It is believed that
Wadume and other members of his gang escaped with him to a location
outside Ibi Town. One AK47 rifle and two pistols belonging to the late
police officers were carted away by the gang members of Wadume who came
to the scene with the soldiers while two of the police AK47 rifles are
with the soldiers as admitted by one of their personnel at the scene.
Following the killings of the policemen, the military high command
issued a press release attempting to exonerate its men and this forced
the Nigeria Police Force to issue a stiff counter statement, raising
posers and demanding answers to several puzzles in the case, one of
which was the demand for the military to present Wadume. Force
Spokesman, a Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Frank Mba, mentioned
the names of the murdered policemen as Inspector Mark Edaile from Edo
State, Sergeant Usman Danzumi from Taraba State and Sergeant Dahiru Musa
from Taraba State.
Mba said: “The gallant, outstanding IRT team
attacked by soldiers in Taraba State consists of some of the most
disciplined, proficient and hardworking police investigators in the
service of the nation. Until their untimely death in the hands of
soldiers of 93 Battalion Takum, Taraba State, these officers have
participated in several high profile and high risk arrests, rescue
missions and investigative operations.” Killed police operatives among
the best in the land The FPRO listed some of the operations to include
the arrest of Nigeria’s most notorious kidnap kingpin, Evans.
The
arrest of 22 Boko Haram terrorists responsible for the 2014 kidnapping
of the Chibok schoolgirls in Borno State; the arrest of Umar Abdulmalik,
the overall Boko Haram Commander of North-Central and several of his
group members; the arrest of the kidnappers of two American and two
Canadian citizens in Kaduna State.
“And most recently, the rescue
of Magajin Garin Daura in Kano State and arrest of 13 terrorists
responsible for the kidnapping of the Magajin Garin Daura in his
hometown, Daura, Katsina State on May 1, 2019, among many other
outstanding feats,” Mba stressed. This is the first time in many years
of the silent war between police and soldiers that the police appear
ready to throw their weight behind its men and demand the truth and
justice. Recent history of burning stations, killing of policemen by
soldiers On October 4, 2005, soldiers and policemen had a confrontation
at Area C Police Command, Ojuelegba, which led to the death of many
policemen.
The attack was later described as a massacre as
soldiers set the station on fire, freed detainees and allowed the police
armoury to be looted. Policemen at the station, who survived, either
had to hide in toilets or fled through windows and back ways. Till date,
no soldier has been arrested over the burning of the station or death
of the policemen. When the military responded, it stated that the act
was carried out by unknown soldiers, with the police hierarchy claiming
it was still investigating the matter when it finally reacted to the
case.
Also, some years ago, three policemen, including the
Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of Badagry, were shot dead by soldiers
from nearby barracks and as was the norm, it was attributed to unknown
soldiers. Nigerians in shock, activist reacts The murdered of the three
operatives and their civilian friend, followed by viral videos of the
scene of the attack, has generated a buzz in the social media and among
members of the Civil Society Organisations. A human rights activist,
Okechukwu Nwanguma, who is the Executive Director of Rule of Law and
Accountability Advocacy Centre (RLAAC), while speaking on the matter
said: “There are many reasons to doubt the Nigerian Army’s claims of
‘mistaken identity’ as excuse for the murder of the IRT operatives.
That
plea does not explain why they shot at the officers at close range and
continued to maltreat the ones battling for life after being shot even
after they identified themselves as police officers. It does not also
explain the immediate release of the arrested kidnap suspect.
There
is something fishy. They probably have something to cover which only an
independent and impartial inquiry, perhaps, a judicial panel of inquiry
will unravel. There have been allegations of diversion of security
funds, military and security agencies’ collusion/ involvement in crime
and sabotage of efforts to combat kidnapping and insurgency. Nigerians
should insist on this matter not being covered up like previous cases.
There’s the need to unravel the motive, and other circumstances
surrounding this tragedy and identify appropriate measures to end
interagency rivalry and also identify, isolate and neutralise saboteurs
of the fight against insecurity in Nigeria.”
Youths flee Taraba
community for fear of police reprisals Hundreds of youths from Ibi Local
Government Area of Taraba State have fled their homes in fear of
possible invasion of the town by security operatives in search of Alhaji
Hamisu Bala Wadume allegedly rescued by soldiers from the Inspector
General of Police Response Team earlier in the week, with three
operatives left dead by soldiers who claimed they were kidnappers. A
combined team of soldiers and police detectives have intensified search
in the community with the aim of arresting youths who allegedly took
part in the killing of the three policemen and a civilian on Monday.
According
to sources, the streets of Ibi have been deserted as most of the youth
of the town have gone into hiding while some have temporarily relocated
to nearby villages for safety. It was gathered that some of the youth
and the soldiers facilitated the escape of the arrested suspected
kidnapper Hamisu, arrested by the IRT policemen on a covert mission in
Ibi and being taken to Jalingo. A source who pleaded anonymity told one
of our correspondents: “As soon as the news of the escape of Hamisu got
to town and knowing that special forces will be coming the town to track
him down, many of the young men ran out of town for safety to avoid
arrest.
The suspicion is that the young men took part in the
killing of the policemen and and also aided the escape of Hamisu.” Our
source disclosed that Hamisu has been a very generous person and has
helped a lot of people in the area and so most of the youth will not
want to betray him even if they know his whereabouts. Consequently, most
of them have fled the town to safer places to hide pending the end of
the tension before they will return homes.
Another source said:
“The wanted kidnap suspect has been generous to the soldiers in Ibi. It
was Hamisu who allegedly paid a ransom of N1.5 million when one of the
soldiers was kidnapped few months ago.” Sources told our correspondent
that between Tuesday and Friday, over 10 truck-load of soldiers have
visited the community on fact-finding mission while over 20 senior
police officers, some from Force Headquarters, Abuja, have continued to
visit Ibi. Our correspondent recalls that Hamisu, who was arrested for
complicity in several high-profile kidnappings in Taraba state, by the
IRT policemen, was freed by men of the Nigerian Army. Efforts by our one
of our correspondents to confirm the true position of things including
likely arrests in Ibi from the police failed as the PRO, ASP David
Misal, did not respond to several calls put across to him.
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