Sylvanus Viashima, Jalingo
Residents of Taraba State woke up on Wednesday to the sad news of the killing of three police officers of the IRT Unit of the force, who were on a covert mission in the state to arrest a kidnap kingpin, by men of the Nigerian Army.
As more details of what happened started filtering in, confusion was mixed with sadness boiling to a pure rage for what most people considered a confirmation of collusion and conspiracy in high places to ensure that Taraba State remained under the burden of insecurity and some people believed to be benefiting from it.
In a statement issued in Abuja on Wednesday by the Force headquarters and signed by the spokesperson, Mr Frank Mba, the police alleged that the IRT team had arrested a kidnap kingpin identified as Hamisu Bala Wadume from Ibi and were on their way to Jalingo when they were attacked and killed in cold blood by military personnel, despite the deceased identifying themselves as security operatives in legitimate mission to the state.
In a quick reaction, however, the army authorities described the incident as unfortunate, but said that their men had responded to a distress call to rescue a kidnap victim who was in the custody of suspected kidnappers and only engaged the team when they failed to stop at a military checkpoint.
“On the 6th of August 2019, the said Nigerian Army troops, while responding to a distress call to rescue a kidnapped victim exchanged fire with the suspected kidnappers along Ibi-Wukari Road in Taraba State.
“The suspected kidnappers numbering about ten (10) and driving in a white bus with Reg No LAGOS MUS 564 EU refused to stop when they were halted by troops at three consecutive checkpoints. The flagrant refusal of the suspected kidnappers to stop at the three checkpoints prompted a hot pursuit of the fleeing suspects by the troops. It was in this process that the suspected kidnappers who were obviously armed opened fire at the troops sporadically thus prompting them to return fire.
“In the resultant fire fight, four (4) suspects were shot and died on the spot while four (4) others sustained various degrees of gunshot wounds and two others reportedly missing. It was only after this avoidable outcome that one of the wounded suspects disclosed the fact that they were indeed policemen dispatched from Nigerian Police, Force Headquarters, Abuja for a covert assignment.
“However, following inquiries from a police station officer who was asked by the commander of the Army troops whether he was aware of any Nigerian Police team being dispatched to operate in the LGA, the Divisional Police Officer of Ibi Police Division responded that he was not informed about any operation by the Nigerian Police Force headquarters thus lending credence to the distress call from members of the community that the suspects who turned out to be policemen on a covert mission were rather suspected kidnappers.
“This incident is indeed quite unfortunate and could have been avoided through proper coordination and liaison as the Nigerian Police Force are partners in the fight against crimes such as kidnapping amongst myriads of other internal security threats confronting our nation of which the Nigerian police is the lead agency,” part of the statement by the military read.
But the Nigerian police came up with a counter-statement questioning most of the situations made by the Nigerian Army and raising some fundamental questions that border on alleged conspiracy and serious cover ups.
Mr Mba said: “The attention of the Nigeria Police Force has been drawn to the Press Release by the Nigerian Army dated 07 August, 2019, seeking to justify the unprovoked and unwarranted murder of three (3) police officers and one (1) civilian, and serious injury to other operatives, who were on legitimate criminal investigation activities to Taraba State, to arrest one Alhaji Hamisu Bala Wadume indicted in a series of high-profile kidnap incidents in the state. In the best tradition of esprit de corps, Inter-Agency Harmony and National Interest, the Nigeria Police Force would naturally have kept quiet, but it has become imperative to set the record straight by addressing the obvious distortion of facts inherent in the Press Release by the Nigerian Army.
“The most important question arising from the Nigerian Army Press Release is: Where is Alhaji Hamisu Bala Wadume? Alhaji Hamisu Bala Wadume is a millionaire kidnapper arrested by the police, but paradoxically treated as a ‘kidnap victim’ by the soldiers and subsequently ‘rescued’ by them. Where is he? Where is the rescued kidnapper?
“Secondly, the Press Release was silent on the source of the alleged distress report or identity of the complainant, on the strength of whose report, the Army claimed had informed their decision to engage in the purported chase and rescue operation. Needless to state that in the true spirit of transparency and accountability, the Nigerian Army ought to have arrested the purported distress caller – if any – for obviously and deliberately furnishing them with false and misleading information. Besides, such arrest should, in fact, be made public!
“Thirdly, it is not true that the policemen failed to identify themselves as alleged in the Press Release. The video on the incident, now viral, wherein the voice of one of the soldiers was heard loudly proclaiming that the policemen were from the Force Headquarters, Abuja speaks volume. Besides, the presence of the IRT personnel was well known to the Taraba Police Command as the operatives officially and properly documented not only at the State Command Headquarters, but also at the Wukari Area Command and the Ibi Divisional Headquarters. As a matter of fact, some of the Detectives from the Taraba State Command’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID) were part of the operation.
“The Force also considers it insensitive, disrespectful and unpatriotic for the Press Release by the Army to continue to describe policemen on lawful national assignment as ‘suspected kidnappers’ long after it had become crystal clear to the Army that these are law enforcement officers who unfortunately were gruesomely murdered in the line of duty by Nigerian soldiers attached to 93 Battalion, Takum.”
While the back and forth continue between the Nigerian Army and the Police Force, residents are seemingly becoming more restive and anxious for cogent answers.
Taraba State has experienced horrible cases of kidnapping involving government officials, businessmen and even civil servants, making people in the state to continue to leave in constant fear as some of the victims are often killed even after ransom was paid.
A member of the state House of Assembly, Mr Josiah Ibi was kidnapped in early 2018 and after a ransom of over N25 million was paid, he was killed. Recently, the Chief Press Secretary to Taraba State governor, Darius Ishaku, was kidnapped along with others and they spent many horrifying days in the custody of their kidnappers before he was released after a ransom was paid. Incidents of kidnapping have become a daily occurrence in the Southern parts of the state, as well as the state capital recently.
This has consequently made the residents to live in constant fear with every one praying for an end to the menace.
Some of the natives told Sunday Sun about the lifestyle of Alhaji Hamisu Bala Wadume, saying that he is regarded as a businessman and philanthropist in Ibi Local Government Area.
One of the residents who spoke to our correspondent on condition of anonymity said:
“Some of us who are beneficiaries of his generosity are not even aware of his source of income. The truth is that, he is our governor in Ibi. He is very generous and that is why you always see people in his house soliciting assistance from him.
“We have always wondered the kind of business he is into, but it is clear that you cannot question him. He spends money more than even the politicians and he is far more generous than all of them from here. We feel bad that he is coming out to be a bad person behind the scene.”
Another resident told our correspondent that it would be very difficult for the security team to ever get to Hamisu again as the residents may not want to divulge his whereabouts, even if they know because he has been of tremendous help to people in the area.
Probably that why when the news of the incident broke, the leader of the Jukun Development Association, Mr Benjamin Bako described Hamisu as a businessman from Ibi on his Facebook page.
According to Mr Gabriel Gbanger, the killing of the officers and subsequent freeing of the kidnap kingpin by the army spells doom for the state.
“You know that we have been working hard and praying for an end to kidnapping in this state. This is so strange to us, but it is gradually becoming part of our lives. So, for a major kidnap kingpin to have been picked, one would expect that there would be some form of relief. Now that the army has decided to kill the gallant officers who arrested this man and freed him, it shows that they have a hand in all that have been happening.
“How can you kill armed policemen, but fail to secure a cuffed up criminal and let him slip between your fingers? It is clear to everyone that the security operatives who are supposed to protect us are actually the ones orchestrating these criminal acts and providing all the needed support for the criminals all along. Sacrificing the lives of these gallant officers just to ensure that criminality persists is most unfortunate and regrettable,” he said.
Meanwhile, Mr Jonathan Yahaya has described the latest altercation between the military and the police as a confirmation that the military are really colluding with criminal elements to perpetuate crime in the state as alleged by elder statesman, T. Y. Danjuma.
Yahaya who insisted that the military deliberately killed the police officers to release a kidnapper in their custody, called on the Federal Government to urgently address the issue as it is capable of causing serious disharmony between the services and dampening the moral of police officers fighting the menace of kidnapping and other crimes in the state.
“Remember that an elder statesman from this state recently accused the military of colluding with the killer herdsmen attacking and killing people in the state. Most recently, some stakeholders have also accused the military of wading into the ongoing Tiv Jukun communal clashes and committing a lot of atrocities for monetary gains. Ordinarily, people have the tendency to deny such allegations against a highly respected institution as the Nigerian Army, but with this latest development, it’s really obvious that there are more that need to be desired.
“I really console with the bereaved families and urge the Federal Government to ensure that thorough investigation is held into this matter and those found wanting are made to pay for their crimes. We must begin to respect the sanctity of human lives,” he said.
Meanwhile, a special investigative team led by DIG Mike Ogbizi arrived in Jalingo on Thursday to unravel the mystery behind the “unfortunate killing of three police officers by men of the Nigerian Army” in a bid to exposing the truth and forestalling a future occurrence.
President Muhammadu Buhari also ordered an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident. What comes out of these investigations will go a long way in averting such occurrences in the future.
But some residents are pessimistic that the investigation will yield any meaningful result.
“It is unfortunate that these highly trained and efficient officers have to die in place of a nuisance. What is most painful is that after wasting our time the findings of the investigation may end up going under the carpet and we will hear nothing of it. No one may be punished and they would have died in vain. That is just the most painful part of it.
“I can imagine the kidnapper celebrating with his gangs and mocking the dead for trying to stop him, not knowing that he is an outlaw operating in a lawless society,” a resident said.
But, according to the military authorities, “in order to avert future occurrences of this nature, the Army Headquarters and the Force Headquarters of the Nigerian Police have agreed to constitute a joint investigation panel to be headed by the Deputy Inspector General of Police in charge of Criminal Investigation Department, DIG Mike Ogbizi, to jointly investigate and report on the true circumstances surrounding the unfortunate incident. Therefore, until the Joint Investigation Panel concludes and submits its report, it will be premature to officially conclude and speak on the real circumstances that caused this unfortunate, but very avoidable unfortunate incident”.