The United Nations has been overwhelmed with complaints that Nigeria is fast becoming a police state, which is somehow incongruous with the self-evident and glaring insecurity all over our beloved nation.
The current Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres who is a seasoned politician (he was formerly the Prime Minister of Portugal) in addition to being a diplomat thought he had seen it all and heard it all, until he started delving into the complaints against Nigerian police officers.
Front-page headline of “Daily Trust” newspaper of December 8, 2020:
“COURT DISSOLVES MARRIAGE OVER WIFE’S PROMISCUITY:
(I) “A 44-year-old man, Mr. Sheriff Ahmed, on Monday, in Lagos, secured a divorce from his wife who he accused of having an extra marital affair with a policeman.
Mr. Sheriff had petitioned an Igando customary court, seeking dissolution of his marriage to Rashidat (33) over promiscuity.
He earlier told the court that, “My wife is promiscuous; she is having affair with a POLICEMAN. I checked her phone and saw love chats and other immoral talks with the policeman on WhatsApp. We fought over it and I wanted to send her packing but due to intervention from friends and relatives, I forgave her.”
Responding, Rashidat consented to the dissolution of the marriage, telling the court that she was tired of battering by Sheriff.
After listening to both parties, the judge dissolved the marriage.”
(II) “MY HUSBAND (WHO IS A POLICEMAN !!)
HIDES FOOD, DIVORCE-SEEKING WIFE TELLS COURT”
“A business woman, Mutiat Asimiyu, on Monday, told a customary court sitting in Mapo, Ibadan, that her husband, Ganiyu Asimiyu, (who is a policeman) keeps foodstuff on the rooftop of their house to starve her and their children.
Mutiat, who spoke before Chief Ademola Odunade, the court’s president, said her husband did not have any trust in her despite her struggle to keep the family one.
The mother of two said her parents had on many occasions begged Ganiyu to complement her effort but that he usually behaved like a stranger to her.
She said, “My lord, I wish to divorce him because my husband is troublesome. He used to climb the rooftop of our house to keep food there for us not to have access to it. We usually fight. He doesn’t trust me. He doesn’t take care of me and my children.”
The husband, Ganiyu, who consented to the divorce suit filed by Mutiat, said she was an ingrate.
Ganiyu told the court that his father-in-law and mother in-law insult him all the time and that they instigated her to move her belongings out of his house.
He further said his wife’s co-workers beat him to stupor the day he visited her place of work to appeal to her and that, “after beating me, they reported me at the Mapo Police Station.”
Chief Odunade held that the union between Mutiat and Ganiyu had been irreparably dented and that dissolution was the only solution in order to avert anarchy.
He, therefore, dissolved the union and awarded custody of their child to Mutiat and directed them to keep away from each other.”
However, Dr. Hakeem Baba-Ahmed who was formerly a chieftain of the All Progressive Congress (APC); Chief of Staff to the former Senate President Bukola Saraki and is currently the Director of Publicity, Northern Elders Forum, intervened on the following day (December 9, 2020) with a repost which adorned the front page of “Vanguard” newspaper:
“THE BEST WAY TO EAT AN ELEPHANT IN YOUR PATH IS TO CUT IT INTO SMALL PIECES”
“The Nigerian state failed to develop institutions and values that will mitigate the type of circumstances which produced Biafra and the civil war. During its long tenures in power, the military fought against itself, and discouraged the emergence of a political system which could have mediated conflicts around power and resources by the elite.
Read also: The Nigeria Police Force: A reputation assessment
At every turn, the state was challenged by problems it created. Between 1966 and 1999, the military was unable to stay outside power for longer than four years, a brief period which significantly highlighted the total re-integration of Igbo elite into the Nigerian political process.
The military factor in Nigerian political history has been prominent and damaging, and hopefully, will come to an end with the expiration of President Buhari’s presidency. Every major political development since January 1966 has had a major military (and police!!) imprint, and no leadership has emerged at the national and largely sub-national levels without the direct or discreet influence of military actors. This legacy has stunted the growth and development of democratic values and institutions, and has created multiple sources of grievances and conflicts that give the impression of Nigeria as a nation of multiple causes and few solutions.
The emergence of a political leadership without roots or linkages with a military tradition will signify a major reconciliation in the rupture which begun on January 15, 1966. The nation has survived many Biafras in the past, and it needs to come to terms with these challenges in their proper contexts. The resistance against the abortion of the elections that may have produced an Abiola presidency; the resistance of the communities in many parts of the South-South against abuse and neglect; the resistance of many communities across the entire nation against neglect, attacks, abuse and marginalisation; the unacceptable levels of collapse of basic infrastructure in the East; the scandalous de-industrialisation and pauperisation of the entire north; the disaster arising from incompetence and official collusion in the growth and development of Boko Haram insurgency; the unfolding, global-scale humanitarian disaster in the North East are all Biafran causes. In a real sense, every Nigerian is a Biafran.”
On December 9, 2020, “The Nation” newspaper devoted its front-page editorial to extolling the superlative achievements of Sylvia Andrew who scored A1 in nine subjects. However, there was no mention of any prospects of a career in the police:
The number one policeman/woman in Britain is Dame Cressida Dick who got her first degree from the University of Oxford and her Masters in Criminology from the University of Cambridge. She was appointed as the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), London in 2017.
On December 17, 2020, “The Punch” newspaper devoted its front page to the police, with the bold headline:
“POLICE TORTURED MY CO-DETAINEE TO DEATH, WITNESS TELLS PANEL”
“A witness, Abbah Onoja, told the panel probing cases of police brutality in Abuja that a co-detainee, Obinna Jonah, was tortured to death in police custody in Abuja on January 28, 2020.
Onoja was called to testify in the case of alleged extra-judicial killing which was lodged before the panel by the deceased person’s brother, Okechukwu Jonah.
The witness recalled that he was arrested along with his friend, Chizoba Samuel, at Anguwar Shehu, Karimo, Abuja on January 27, 2020.
He said the arrest took place at Samuel’s place, with the police accusing them of belonging to a cult called, Supreme Vikings Confraternity.
He said Obinna was later arrested that same day, also on the allegation of being a cultist.
The witness noted that they were all detained at the police Anti-One Chance Unit in Jabi, Abuja.
According to him, the unit, headed by DSP Jumbo Jumbo, later moved to Abattoir, a police facility being occupied by the disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad and other tactical police units.
He said after being tortured by the police, Samuel confessed to belonging to the cult, and implicated the deceased, Obinna, to be a member.
He said Obinna, who was later brought to join them, also admitted to being a member after he was tortured.
Onoja added, “They asked for his firearms, but he denied having any.
After much torture, it got to a point that he couldn’t talk anymore and started foaming in the mouth.”
He said a total of 14 of them arrested for allegedly being cultists, were later moved to the Abuja Police Command.
He recalled that Obinna could not talk despite being hit repeatedly by an officer with a baton.
The witness testified further that they were all moved from there to SARS detention centre at Abattoir for further investigation.
He said, “When we got there, one Corporal Abubakar asked Jumbo Jumbo in pidgin English what should be done with Obinna.
Jumbo told him that he (Obinna) should be dropped.
“He was kept in a cell, but by the next morning, he was dead. The inmates were asked to bring his corpse out. That was on January 28, 2020.”
The witness said that apart from Jumbo, others, including one Sergeant Gambo and one Sergeant Biggie, were involved in the case.
The Justice Suleiman Galadima-led panel adjourned the matter till February 9, 2021 in order to enable the police defence team to cross-examine the petitioner and the two witnesses.”
