IGP’s statement on Benue crisis

THE Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr. Ibrahim Idris, has reportedly apologised to the people of Benue State for his recent statement in which he reduced the horrendous killings by Fulani herdsmen in the state to a mere communal clash.  The IGP was forced to recant at an explosive stakeholders’ meeting in Makurdi, the Benue State capital, which had the state governor, Mr. Samuel Ortom; the Tor Tiv, Professor James Ayatse; DIG Operations, Mr. Habila Joshak, and the Commissioners of Police for Benue and Nassarawa states in attendance.

Mr. Idris was literally forced to tender an apology by the participants after the state governor outlined the series of steps taken by the state to alert the police of the impending infamy while it was still incubating, with the police turning a deaf ear to its repeated pleas for help. The IGP’s apology came just before the mass burial which the state gave  the 73 hapless victims of the outrage. The apology came on the heels of a culpable dereliction of duty by the IGP whose duty is to protect lives and property. As the highest ranking police officer in the land, he could not identify the communities that he had said engaged in a clash or clashes. Do members of the Nigeria Police, let alone its top echelon, talk without facts?

How would the IGP have reacted to a junior police officer who came to feed him with fake news on a matter bordering on national security? It is also crucial to note his obvious discomfort at the suggestion that the Army be deployed in the troubled areas even when the mobile police officers drafted to the zone came under attack from the murderous   Fulani herdsmen. From his utterances, it is easy to discern prejudice and carelessness. Without doubt, these are objectionable attributes in any security man, let alone the head of a police force of a country.  Surely, the IGP knows that his apology to the Benue people during the explosive encounter was too late to be of any value to the dead citizens of that state and it could not have consoled the bereaved.

Indeed, his quick response to the distress call from the state governor would have mitigated the horrendous disaster which befell the state in that mindless infamy and the suspicion of a deliberate conspiracy against the country’s leadership would have been unwarranted. To say the least, we are not comfortable with the idea of underrating the lives of the Benue people by belittling their collective tragedy as a communal clash. It is actually distressing to see the heads of security agencies handling their briefs with condescension and levity and we think that the time is ripe to put a stop to this ugly trend.

We counsel the IGP to weigh the implications of his utterances very carefully next time. He should avoid giving the impression that he is not ready to  play fair in discharging the duties of his exalted office. He should bear in mind that in saner climes, people have been known to quit office for statements such as those credited to him, being persuaded by decency and contrition to throw in the towel.