By Ikenna Orioha (Owerri),
Chuma Austin (Enugu),
Nonye Udumiri (Aba)
Indications are rife that most of the police checkpoints as well as roadblocks formerly encountered in almost every major highway in South East are deserted. Although it was very difficult to decipher the actual reason for this action, it is generally agreed that the fear of attack by gunmen might have been a prime factor. In the last three months, at least 10 policemen have lost their lives in the South East from various gruesome attacks targeted primarily on policemen. At the same time, about the same numbers of police stations have also been burnt. Informed commentators suggest that taken together, such developments could compel the authorities to order their subjects out of their duty posts.
In Enugu State, it was observed that police checkpoints at highways which hither-to were manned by police officers are gradually disappearing. Even in some checkpoints, soldiers are only seen on duty. Some of the expressways not regularly manned by the police authority included 9th Mile/Opi Road and Enugu/Onitsha Road.
It was also observed that the few police officers that occasionally come out for duty at major check points are heavily fortified with arms against any intruder. Responding to the development, the State Police Public Relations Officer, Daniel Ndukwe, said on Thursday that he would verify the claim that there is absence of policemen in the highways in the state.
Despite the position of the police image maker, investigations show that the absence of law enforcement agents at various police checkpoints in the state may not be unconnected with the incessant attacks on policemen by unknown gunmen in the South East geo-political zone. There have been rising bloody clashes between Fulani herdsmen and host communities in the region of which some reactionaries alleged that security operatives including the police were not doing enough to stem the ugly tide in Igbo land.
To this end, some youths have embraced jungle justice to let off their bottled anger against security personnel as reprisal. Comrade Ugochukwu Ibeh, a top member of Civil Liberties Organization (CLO) said the attack on the police is a misplaced aggression, adding that security is everybody’s work. “If policemen abandon our highways, it will be dangerous for everyone. We should cooperate with the police to do their job. The security apparatus at the top echelon should be overhauled. A situation where a particular section of the country holds sway security wise is inimical and retrogressive. It is this lopsidedness in appointments of security chiefs that is giving room to some of these herdsmen to unleash evil on us”, he added.
A cleric, Reverend Dr Obasi Oko of the Assembly Renewal Ministry, Enugu, described the absence of policemen in the major roads in Igbo land as dangerous, saying that the lasting solution is for Nigeria government to allow restructuring to take place which will lead to state police. “With establishment of state police, the fear of police personnel being killed by unknown gunmen will be reduced. Many people are losing confidence in government due to security failure”, he noted.
Several security checkpoints in the South East had been deserted by the army, the police and other security agencies. The reason for this, as many respondents stated, may be as a result of the Easter Monday attacks at the Federal Prisons and the Police Command, Owerri by gunmen who burnt government owned properties and let loose many prisons and cell inmates. The attack by the gunmen in Owerri lasted for over three hours without any security personnel in sight to challenge them.
Some residents and motorists are deeply worried on the absence of security men on the road, some are happy over this development, attributing the desertification of security personnel on the highways in the South East over what they termed as extortion, intimidation, illegal activities, extra- judicial killings and illegal arrests. When contacted, Hon John Iwuala, Imo State chairman of the All Progressive Grand Alliance, APGA, stated that the desertification of security personnel on the highways in the South East may not be unconnected with the attack by gunmen at the Correctional Centre and the Police Headquarters, Owerri on Easter Monday.
According to Iwuala, “the desertification of security personnel on the highways in the South East may not be unconnected with the police command and prisons attacks”. He unequivocally advised the police, the military and other security agencies “to live up to expectations in securing lives and properties. They should be proactive to tackling insecurity while shunning extortion and illegal activities. Let them go back to their duty post”.
Iwuala, who condemned unlawful harassment, arrest, detention and undue extortion of people by police, army and other security personnel in the region, told government to wake up from slumber and do the needful to curb or reduce insecurity in the society. He added that the issues that lead to insecurity such as lack of employment, economic opportunities, infrastructure including high cost of living, poor and unaffordable education, corruption, greed, hijacking of public funds by fraudulent politicians, money laundering, hatred, favouritism, tribalism and dictatorship should be addressed by the federal government otherwise the society would not make any headway.
However, efforts made to reach the Police Public Relations Officer, Imo State Command, SP Ikeokwu Orlando, to ascertain the reason for the desertification of security personnel on the highways in the South East, was unsuccessful, as he did not take up a phone call from a News Echo reporter.
While police officers may be absent in other major roads in the South East, Aba, the commercial hub of Abia State and its environs are a different case. News Echo reports that presence of police officers are still noticed around popular junctions like Aba-Water-Side Bridge in Ogbor-Hill and George’s Street by Ikot-Ekpene Highway.
From the entrance into the city, another police checkpoint were also noticed at Umuikaa Junction at Isiala-Ngwa South, while another one was also noticed at Isiala-Ngwa Junction very close to Aba.
Aside these, all other notable police checkpoints in the city have disappeared as none is noticed currently. All efforts to get police view on the issue proved abortive, as Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in Abia failed to speak on the matter.