Ile-Ife crisis: IGP defends arrest of Yoruba suspects

FOLLOWING outcry over the arrest of 21 Yoruba suspects over the recent bloody ethnic clashes in Ile-Ife, Osun state, Inspector General of Police (IGP), Ibrahim Idris, has insisted that ethnicity played no part in their arrest by the police.

The suspects were paraded in   Abuja this week, drawing criticism from Afenifere which posited that the police were biased since they appeared to have focused on Yorubas and leaving Hausas out.

But speaking to State House correspondents after a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday, the police boss said only criminals were arrested in connection with the crisis.

Idris said he had come to brief the president on efforts to resolve the bloody clashes in Ile-Ife as well as the killings elsewhere in the country including Zaki Biam, Benue state.

He said: “You know we are police officers, crime has no tribe if you are a criminal you are a criminal.

“Crime has no face. We don’t look at crime in the identity of where you are coming from. As far as you are a criminal and the police find you wanting, we apply the law.”

On why the crises could not be prevented, he said: “Some of these crimes happen without any warning. If you look at that Ife crisis, it started just as disagreement between two people selling food along the road.

“So, you have to look at the dynamics of the country itself, obviously when you have such situation we have to react to it. We had to move in to ensure we provide some security to the people.”

The police boss absolved Fulani herdsmen from blame over the Zaki Biam killings, which he said was perpetrated by a known criminal on the police wanted listed, called Gana, who he said would soon be apprehended.

According to Idris: “We deployed Mobile Police Unit on 16th of this month over the allegations on that Gana, one of the wanted men who has been in the police wanted list, to go after him and get him by all means. Definitely that man we are going to get him.

“I don’t think its Fulani herdsmen, it was an activity of a criminal who is using some of his criminal gangs in the state to harass people that I have assured the governor when I met with him few days ago.”

On what specific directives he had been given by the president, the IGP stated: “Obviously there should be a specific directive to ensure that all of us use all the facilities at our disposal to make sure that some of these incidents we are talking about are brought under control as soon as possible.

“I gave the President my assurance that we are going to do that. Like I said earlier we have deployed a special squad to Benue and we are surely going to get that Gana within a short time.”