President Muhammad Buhari on Tuesday said he has directed the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Ibrahim Idris to relocate to Benue state and ensure the incessant killings in the state was stopped.
Buhari who decried the spate of kidnapping for ransom, cultism and other violent crimes across the country and said his administration would leave no Stone unturned in during that the perpetrators did not go free.
He spoke at the 9th Assembly of National Council of traditional rulers in Port Harcourt, the Rivers state capital yesterday, tagged “Community Policing as a Catalyst to Crime Prevention – The Role of Traditional Rulers.’
The President was represented by the Minister for Interior, Abdulrahman Dannballzua, he said the perpetrators of the killings of innocent people in Benue and Taraba states as well as other violent crimes in parts of the country will not go unpunished no matter what, and that he has directed the Police head to relocate his office to Benue state to stop further killings and fish out the killers to sender for their crimes.
He said, “We’re seriously having a sigh of relief over the degradation and dismounting of Boko Haram, but we are now witnessing increasing cases of kidnapping, cultism, ethnic militia activities and herdsmen farmers’ conflicts.
“I am saddened and very worried over the persistent killing and kidnapping across the country, especially the wastage of innocent lives in different parts of the country, by whatever name it is sad and particularly condemnable, I have therefore directed that no efforts should be spared in identifying and bringing to justice, all those who have been involved in these killings.
“I have earlier directed the Army to relocate to Borno state to ensure that the activities of Boko Haram are brought to an end, likewise, I have directed the Inspector General of Police to relocate to Venue state to ensure that the herdsmen incessant killings are not contained but the culprits are brought to justice.
“These actions amount to a declaration of war on our peaceful co-existence and a deliberate attempt to undermine the authority of the Nigerian State and threaten her sovereignty and territorial integrity.
“As a responsible government, we will never tolerate or condone all troublemakers, criminals and killers; they should be ready to face the consequences of their acts. While the Federal Government is doing everything possible to tackle the root cause of violence and crime in Nigeria, we expect citizens to respect and obey the laws governing our society,” he stated.
In his speech, the Governor of the host state, Nyesom Wike called on traditional rulers to break their silence and speak up in support of true federalism, stressing that the country is in shamble.
Wike described as ungodly if traditional institutions should maintain silence while the country is being plunged into annihilation.
“Indeed the Nation is fast becoming a country in shambles, with the numerous multidimensional crisis it is facing and traditional institutions must wake up to their responsibilities by lending their voices to the national agitations for true federalism, resource control, greater delineation of power, as well as stated and community policing and good governance in the country.
“At a time like this, it will be ungodly for mean men to remain silent while the nation is dangerously shambling.
He called on the Federal Government to decentralize policing, adding that the security of the nation would be achieved if the governors are given charge to control the security of their states.
The Governor noted that the centralization of police has made the security of the nation not to be achievable, revealing that his administration has sent a bill to the State Assembly for the establishment of Neighbourhood Security Corps, which would stand as the beginning of the process in the state.
He said: “The Benue killings have exposed the weakness of our system centralization of policing because the state’s governors do not have the right to take charge of the security.
“Centralized policing has failed in managing the Nigerians security situation. Central policing is out of touch, we need to effect the necessary steps to bring state policing to reality. Already we have forwarded a bill to establish a neighbourhood security corps to compliment the policing of the state.”
Meanwhile, the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, in his keynoted address to the gathering, noted that the issues of community policing are relevant to the security challenges and in line with President Buhari’s resolve to provide adequate security to the nation.
Idris noted that affected policing of the nation cannot be achieved easily without the assistance of the traditional rulers, adding that they (traditional rulers) command the respect of their subjects.
He called for a synergy between the traditional rulers and the security agencies, adding that the rulers know their citizens know their subjects and can help in the provision of useful information that would help the police achieve its mandate.
The IGP further disclosed that he has been adopting decentralized as one of his strategies, adding that police are increasing people’s participation in town hall meeting and seminars.
He warmed royal fathers to stop conferring chieftaincy titles on people with questionable characters, even as he urged well-meaning Nigerians to support the police force in the area of logistics.
Earlier, the Chairman of NCTRN, Alh. Muhammad Abubakar, the Sultan of Sokoto, in his Opening remarks charged traditional rulers to be role models in all their dealings.
Abubakar, who thanked Wike for hospitality, noted that any government that relegates traditional rulers to the background would suffer a setback in its attempt to take governance to the grassroots.
He noted that the formation of the was a big step in restoring peace in the nation, commending royal fathers for convening the body when the nation still had opportunities to resolve its challenges.
The royal father further added that he body would play an advisory role to the government in dispute management, stating that with the council that it will be easier to handle the crisis in the nation.
