Reps Fume At Police Extrajudicial Killings Following Ogun Footballer’s Death

The House of Representatives on Tuesday bemoaned the extrajudicial killings, harassment, intimidation and other forms of violence unleashed on innocent citizens by some men of the Nigeria police.

Speaker of the house, Femi Gbajabiamila stated this on Tuesday during a public hearing by the House Committee on Police Affairs chaired by Rep Usman Bello Kumo, following the alleged killing of a footballer by the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) of the Nigeria Police in Sagamu Ogun State.

In a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Lanre Lasisi, Gbajabiamila described as unfortunate a situation where some men of the Nigeria police, saddled with the constitutional responsibility of protecting the lives and property of the people, turn out to be against the citizens.

“It is unfortunate and entirely unacceptable that the relationship between the police and many of these communities is now defined by fear, mutual antagonism and an absolute loss of faith in the ability of the police to protect and to serve.

“In the last few days, we have all witnessed as the city of Sagamu in Ogun State has been unsettled by an orgy of violence resulting from the extrajudicial killing of a young footballer by officers of the Nigerian Police.

“Citizens who gathered to protest this killing were soon themselves at the receiving end of police bullets. This is not an isolated incident. We are daily inundated with news reports of interactions between citizens and the police resulting in the injury and death of those citizens.

“Reports of police harassment of young people have become so rampant that they barely even break through the news cycle except when public anger becomes so great that it results in a breakdown of law and order.”

Gbajabiamila also said that although the public hearing with the theme ‘Repositioning the Nigeria Police for an Enhanced Delivery’ might come with some uncomfortable truths, the Nigeria Police should take home the contributions of stakeholders as they would be the ultimate beneficiaries.

“We cannot build people, particularly the police, ‎in a situation where they can barely get themselves together. If I ask the police what’s the situation with the insurance of the police personnel, I know very well the likely answer I’ll get, because it will be in the negative. If you ask what the pay or welfare package of a policeman is, I know the answers we’re going to get, they’re not going to be encouraging.‎”

The speaker noted that when the agencies that should protect the lives and property of the people “become predatory, they lose the faith of the public and become incapable of delivering on this responsibility.

“When the public are as afraid of the police as they are of the criminals, and perhaps even more so, the very fundamentals of our nationhood are at stake. We are confronted with an urgent need, deserving of our utmost attention and dedication.”