‘No Killer Of Officers Will Go Unpunished’ — Police PRO

The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) has said that the killers of its personnel would not go unpunished by the provisions of the law.

The spokesperson of the Nigerian Police, ACP Muyiwa Adejobi disclosed this via his X handle on Friday night.

He said, “Aside from being a sin, taboo, abnormality, and crime, it’s a slap and disservice to our great nation to slaughter, kill, and mutilate the bodies of our security operatives.”

Adejobi was addressing the recent spate of killings of police officers as recorded in Delta and Imo States between January and March this year.

While six officers were ambushed, gruesomely killed and their bodies mutilated in the Ohoro forest of Delta state by armed men, the same occurred in Imo, with two officers allegedly killed by proscribed IPOB members.

From the incident in Delta, the police confirmed that six officers were still missing, a situation that has left many officers disgruntled, given how the police authorities handled the situation.

But Adejobi in his latest post said, “We will resist such. We will make necessary announcements on some developments with respect to this heinous crime as soon as possible.”

THE WHISTLER understands that many officers had been dissatisfied with the purported lackadaisical attitude of the police towards the killing of officers.

For instance, it took the police over four weeks to officially condemn the attack of officers in the Ohoro community in the Ughelli North Local Government Area of Delta State, and the same measure of time to reveal the identities of the slain officers.

The incident which reportedly occurred in January while police personnel were responding to the abduction of their colleagues, only got a formal reaction from the police in March.

When the police authorities finally issued a statement, there were purported discrepancies in the number of casualties.

While 19 officers alleged to have been drafted to Ugelli were reportedly missing, with only six bodies subsequently discovered, many officers silently demanded the state of the 13 remaining officers. But the police said it was still searching for six.

Speaking to THE WHISTLER, a senior officer who spoke on the condition of anonymity to avoid being sanctioned, said the police did not consider a public condemnation of the incident until the death of military personnel began to gain momentum.

The officer said, “See the way the death of these soldiers happened. The killing of the police also happened in the same state, but the police incident was the first, and no one said anything.

“Now, it happened with the Army; the burial was attended by everyone, including the president. They also granted the families of the deceased, scholarships, and presidential awards, but no one said anything about the police.

“Rather, the police are busy saying six people were killed when there were more, and this is because the police won’t come out to give you the real numbers.

“Do you know that when this incident started to escalate, he (the police PRO) came out with a statement just to calm the public? You know they are arranging for an official award next week.

“He came out with the pictures of the six policemen that died in Delta that they will give them an award. The award is from the police and not the nation, and they are just ordinary papers.”

The police while reacting to the incident, had pledged to “honour the memory of the fallen heroes at the Nigeria Police Awards and Commendations Ceremony scheduled for April 5.”

But THE WHISTLER gathered that the award ceremony had been on the agenda of the police.

“This award ceremony is not even one that was set up to celebrate the officers who were killed on the line duty, but the award ceremony is something the police have been planning since last year for selected officers. So, they decided to add the officers that were killed,” the officer said.

The officers are more destabilised by the Presidency’s purported silence on the matter, believing that the police leadership is likely not to have briefed President Bola Tinubu on the matter.

The officers are seeking that beyond plans to honour the officers killed while executing their duties, support including monetary and scholarships from the police and the federal government are pertinent to ameliorate the burdens on the bereaved families.

However, the police noted that “The Inspector General of Police has mandated the expedited processing and payment of all entitlements due to the families of the fallen officers, aiming to alleviate any financial burdens they may encounter in this challenging time.”