Nigeria police can perform better

Uchenwa Godwin

It is only people who are not informed about the activities of the Nigeria Police Force that would say the opposite. As a journalist, I have been opportune to come very close to the Nigeria Police Force, especially when it comes to tracking down criminals. You will agree with me that almost all the notorious criminals in the country have at one time or the other been tracked down.

No matter how long it takes, once a criminal or a group of criminals has been penciled down for arrest, let the crimina disappear into thin air, men of the police force would eventually fetch him to face the charges against him. Reference is made to notorious criminals like Oyenusi , Anini, Iyamu, Big Fish, Osisi Ka Nku and Evans, to mention but a few. These were notorious criminals that the Nigeria Police Force, through effective network, apprehended.

If I begin to put down the many crimes the Nigeria Police Force handled to a logical conclusion, the newspaper pages in the country will not be enough to contain them.

Suffice it to say that the Nigeria Police Force is doing its best to reduce crime in the land. There is no gainsaying the fact that there are bad eggs in the force but the activities of the bad eggs in the police cannot override the good jobs done by the force generally.

What excited me the more about the Nigeria Police Force was the arrest of two brothers in Imo State who were involved in kidnapping. These two brothers, with their gang, terrorised a number of communities in Imo State. When the police (SARS), went for them on a tip-off, one of the brothers, who happened to be the kingpin of the gang, escaped while the rest were rounded up. Not long after, the police, who did not relent in their efforts to nab all the members of the gang, got the kingpin (names withheld) into their net. When the news of his arrest broke, the terrorised communities heaved a sigh of relief and gave kudos to the SARS.

In another development, the Nigeria Police Force has brought peace and tranquility to one famous territory in Lagos, precisely, PPL, in Okokomaiko Ojo, Lagos, along Lagos/Badagry Expressway. This community was formally a jungle where cultists had a field day. For several years, the cultists displayed their prowess through wasting innocent blood. Many heads rolled in the process. The practice went on unchallenged as residents who lived in fear maintained sealed leaps for fear of being hunted. The tense atmosphere caused most of the residents to relocate to neighboring towns.

Lately, the landlords put their heads together and sent an SOS to government, who quickly responded by sending a detachment of the Nigeria Police Force (SARS) to check the menace. I can proudly say that the quick intervention of SARS has to a great extent returned peace and calm to the area today. Most of the residents who fled the territory during the turbulent years have come back. Residents now move about without fear or molestation. Who else can do this but the Nigeria Police Force? I doff my hat for them.

In a chat with one of the prominent men in the area, the spokesperson for the landlords’ association, Honorable (Chief) Joshua Ogunleye, he gladly spoke in respect of the changed atmosphere in PPL and Okokomaiko: “We thank God that the police, most especially the Inspector-General of Police and the Lagos State Commissioner of Police responded to our plea by providing us with gallant men of the force (SARS) who arrested the situation. Before the arrival of SARS, it was a terrible situation in PPL and Okokomaiko environs. A lot of lives were lost through the wicked activities of cultists and robbers.

“Many inhabitants, including landlords, fled the area out of fear. PPL/kokomaiko was a no-go area. People slept with one eye open; even in broad daylight, people were robbed unchallenged. Means of livelihood became an issue as houses and shops were burgled at will. Since the arrival of SARS, all the hoodlums have fled the area. The unfortunate ones SARS picked will ever regret being part of the misguided elements that mesmerized the area. Law and order are now in place and people are doing their normal business without fear or molestation. To crown it all, most people and landlords who fled the area during the troubled times have since returned.

“We are very grateful to the Lagos State Governor, the Commissioner of Police Lagos State, SARS and the entire police force. All in all, we thank God for the normal life that has returned in PPL and Okokomaiko areas.”

• Godwin wrote from Ojo, Lagos State.