The time was 7am and the traffic was absolutely crazy on a fateful Monday morning at the popular Gate Bus Stop, Iyana – Ipaja – Ipaja Road, Lagos. Mr. Olu Akinyemi was one of the Lagos residents trying to meander his way and see if he could get out of the terrible gridlock to get to his Ikeja office before the 8am resumption time.
Just as Akinyemi was applauding himself that he outsmarted other motorists in beating the traffic, three men suddenly appeared from nowhere in front of his car and ordered him to pull over towards the Federal Junction Bus Stop.
Confused and angry at the same time, Akinyemi, who said he was already looking at his time piece, said he wasn’t going to pull over since he didn’t know who the people were or what their mission was.
But at the sight of the guns they pointed towards him, Akinyemi quickly pulled over, wondering how robbers could have the guts to operate that early morning in such a busy area.
But stunned Akinyemi said he was surprised when the men started asking him for his vehicle particulars.
“They were in mufti; black T-shirt and jeans, two wore shoes, and one wore slippers. They came to me and asked for my driving licence, vehicle documents and that I should open my boot all at once. I only saw the logo of the Nigeria Police Force faintly on the black shirts they wore, which was not conspicuous enough for identification from distance, and I didn’t want to assume who they were, so, I asked them to identify themselves,” he said.
Akinyemi never knew he just made a costly mistake, because that question was the beginning of his trouble on that day.
“I didn’t know that could spring trouble. They told me to come down; they searched me and my two colleagues in the car, checked my papers, and more importantly, wasted my time, in the morning when I was going to my place of work. Later, they allowed me to go, even though they didn’t identify themselves still. I only assumed they were policemen, coupled with the way they spoke in rough pidgin,” he added.
Even though it is common practice and acceptable for policemen and other men in uniform to wear mufti as undercover agents, and in such situations, they are not seen with arms, unlike the way the way Nigerian policemen parade their guns in spite of being in mufti, oft making it difficult to differentiate them from impersonators or armed robbers.
A management and security consultant and President of the Association of Industrial Security and Safety Operators of Nigeria, Dr. Ona Ekhomu, said the act of Nigerian police officers wearing mufti while carrying guns was very unfortunate and should not be tolerated. He said it was wrong for a policeman not in uniform to carry weapons.
“There is no condition under which a policeman on duty should be dressed in mufti and be carrying weapons. If you are under cover, then you should have concealed weapon under your garment because you cannot be under cover and carry a rifle. It should not be visible to people,” he said.
He added that the situation was another indication of the indiscipline that has permeated almost every aspect of Nigerian system and that such things facilitate a lot of crime.
Ekhomu said, “I have been a victim of it. I was attacked in October last year on my way to Edo State. The people who attacked me had police weapons and vests on but they turned out to be kidnappers with some police elements among them. I had to fight my way out of that crisis.
“It is also an act of cowardice on the part of the policemen. Because they say the reason why they are dressed like that is to prevent attack on them, but they carry weapons. That singular act provides a leeway and cover for criminal elements to operate and prey on innocent citizens. It is the highest form of indiscipline. It is subversive to the police agency itself. It shows that these police personnel do not regard their employer and the organisation they work for.”
Source: Punch
No comments:
Post a Comment