Naijagossiper

Efforts of the police hierarchy to sanitise the force in the last couple of weeks have been yielding positive results.
In the last one month, at least more than 13 policemen have been dismissed for various infractions ranging from extortion to robbery.
Three policemen, Inspector Okelue Nkemeonye AP No 136005, Sergeant Braimoh Sunday F/No. 355897 and Sergeant Yusuf Olukoga, F/No 35992 were dismissed in July for extorting over N200,000 from Nigerians and forcibly using their banking facilities at gunpoint.
The three policemen were attached to Area ‘N’ Command, Ijede-Ikorodu, Lagos State.
The dismissed policemen, who probably had been doing that for a long time, were led by an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), Bayo Obadia.
They used a police vehicle and embarked on arbitrary arrest of several young Nigerians, who they tagged: ‘Yahoo boys.’ Many of them were released only after they parted with money.
But they forced their victims to pay the money into the account of another suspect they called Yahoo boy. After the money was paid in, the policemen used his Automated Teller Machine (ATM) card to withdraw it. According to the victim, the policemen threatened him with a gun and slapped him repeatedly.
Also in July, four policemen – Inspector Mufutau Olaosun AP No 122800, Sergeant Adebayo Temitope F/No. 366127, Corporal Bakare Taiwo F/No. 455593 and Corporal Adesoye Ayokunlehin F/No 455554 – attached to Ijebu-Ode Area Command in Ogun State were dismissed for forcibly extorting N50,000 from a man who just withdrew money from an ATM.
As usual, their dismissal was after an orderly room trial.
Last week, four policemen – Sergeants Musa Musa F/No. 436691, John Nanpak F/No. 235422, Ogah Audu F/No.261898 and Gabriel Ugah F/No. 425210 – attached to Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command were also dismissed.
The four policemen were said to have broken into and looted the house of former President Goodluck Jonathan at the Gwarimpa district of the FCT.
Musa is already facing trial.
Again, three policemen, Christopher Onyegho F/No. 375631, Nwakem Ebonzim F/No.413318 and Michael Chima F/No.441254, attached to the Delta State Police Command, were dismissed last week for armed robbery.
They allegedly joined a dismissed colleague to hijack a truck loaded with 33,000 litres of petroleum product.
Efforts of the police authorities to sanitise the force through the dismissal of policemen for indiscipline are commendable.
But dismissal after orderly room is not enough. Adequate prosecution in court is necessary because the outcome of orderly room mostly is recommendation for dismissal, which portends a greater danger for the larger society.
It has been discovered that many of the policemen who have been dismissed in the past have become kingpins of the crime world.
Trained but later dismissed policemen are like the Frankenstein’s monster; they will come back to haunt their creators.
Also, the gale of dismissal should not be limited to the rank and file. Justice will not be served if senior officers involved are spared while only the men are fired.
For instance, an ASP who reportedly led his men to extort N200,000 has not been punished while the three lesser mortals have been dismissed.
“An official query was issued to him by the AIG Zone 2 Lagos, both his reply and query have been forwarded to the office of the Force Secretary, Force Headquarters, Abuja from where it would be proceeded to the Police Service Commission as required by Police Regulations,” the police said in a statement.
The police also need to do more to assure the public that it is not shielding the senior officers from discipline. Many times, senior officers are transferred out of their stations to remote areas rather than allow them to face consequences of their actions, particularly in cases where their attention is required in court.
This, it is understood, is always done in order not to expose the force to public ridicule. But the action has achieved the opposite; it has brought more public opprobrium to the force.
We also suggest that officers and men of the force be adequately trained, particularly in regard to their dealings with the public.
Adequate attention must also be given to the welfare of policemen. This includes remuneration, promotions as at when due, reward for gallantry, insurance, and equipment.
A situation where officers and men procure their uniform cannot augur well for a modern police force, which must respond to dynamics of dynamic society. ""