The Anambra State Police Command is a den of criminality that needs urgent action to cleanse, according to a frontline civil society group.

In an Expert-Statement released today, the leadership of International Society for Civil Liberties & the Rule of Law (Intersociety Nigeria) descended on the Anambra State Police Command for allegedly perpetrating sundry crimes and sought the attention of the Inspector General of Police, M.D. Abubakar, to sanitise the command.

The report signed by Emeka Umeagbalasi, Chairman, Board of Trustees of Intersociety Nigeria, was released in Onitsha, the commercial capital of Anambra State in Nigeria’s South-East. It also touched on the evils perpetrated by some other public agencies such as Power Holding Company of Nigeria-the Federal Government-controlled electricity provider, and by multifarious vigilante groups operating in Anambra.

Under “Public Crimes Against Persons & Properties In Anambra State” Intersociety Nigeria wrote: “On the part of the Nigeria Police Force, Anambra State Command, it may most likely be correct to say out of every five suspected crime incidents reported, four are subjected to bribery and extortion. The saying that he who pays the piper dictates the tune is a norm in matters of criminal complaints, investigations and prosecutions within the Command. It is widely believed in the State that ninety-nine percent of complainants bear the total costs of filing criminal complaints, arrest of the suspects including logistics for the arrests; investigations, obtainment of autopsies/medical reports, writing of police reports, procurement of human and material witnesses and arraignment/prosecution of the suspects/defendants, yet huge overheads go into the hands of the Command’s top echelon monthly. The accused and their relatives/associates are routinely extorted and made to process their defense/innocence through bribery. As a result, the records of dark figures of crime (crimes not reported to police) and grey figures (those reported but not recorded by same) are very high in the Command.

“Further, instead of complying fully with the IGP’s directive, effected from 30^th January 2012, banning mounting of road blocks on Nigerian roads; various divisions of the State Command especially those in urban areas have devised other dastardly means to subvert it, such as going on mufti and stationing at strategic urban locations, arresting, impounding and extorting persons and properties with alacrity. One of the urban divisional commands indulging in the dastardly acts is Okpoko Police Station, which routinely stations over twenty of its mufti personnel between Chisco Park and Aba Park/Ogbaru Relief Market areas of Onitsha Upper Iweka. Another culpable-Police Station is Fegge Police Station, which adamantly stations its uniformed personnel permanently at some commercially busy routes such as Creek Road Roundabout, Niger Street by Zik’s Avenue, St. Jude Cath. Church by Port Harcourt Road and Iweka Flyover all in Fegge, Onitsha. Its personnel also arrest, impound and extort daily dozens of Okada riders before dawn at various locations in Fegge including Zik’s Avenue. Those who cannot afford bribery and extortionist sums are dumped in cells or charged to magistrate courts on trumped-up charges. For instance, on Sunday, November 4, 2012, the extortionist personnel of the Fegge Division were sighted at the afore-said roadblock joints including St. Jude by Port Harcourt Road, Fegge, Onitsha, extorting motorists and motorcyclists. One of those sighted by Intersociety on Port Harcourt Road by St. Jude extortion joint is Corporal Michael Orji. Awada and Ogidi Police Stations as well as the Onitsha Central Police Station and Onitsha Area Command are also very corrupt and defiant to the IGP’s directive. The motorized patrols ordered by the IGP have been abandoned and extortionist approaches adopted and sustained by these divisions of the Anambra State Command. These sharp practices also have tacit backing of their divisional, area and State commanders.

“Crime of torture is still very alarming and routine among the operatives of over 1,000 registered and unregistered armed vigilante groups in the State and the personnel of the Nigeria Police Force, Anambra State Command, particularly the operatives of its Special Anti Robbery Squad and the State Criminal Investigation Department. Torture remains the sole source of obtaining confessional statements among them. . . . Extra-judicial killing is still high among the SARS and vigilante operatives in the State, but not as alarming as it used to be seven to ten years ago. In SARS, it is now substantially restricted to violent criminals like fleeing and detained armed robbery and kidnapping suspects, including those who are unable to buy their lives and freedoms.”

Intersociety Nigeria called “on the Nigerian authorities concerned to take firmly the social notice of this expert-public statement on Security and Crime, though centered on Anambra State, with a view to addressing frontally and immediately the relevant issues so raised.” Continuing, the roup said: “The over-reliance on manual and arms-and-ammunition concept (AK-47 driven) of security should be deemphasized and global concept of human and intelligence securities fully embraced. Concrete steps should be taken by the Nigeria Police High Command and its supervisory agencies to tackle endemic commercialization of criminal enquiries in the Force particularly in its Anambra State Command as well as to curb same of bribery and extortion. The express attention of the Inspector General of Police, Mr. M.D. Abubakar is also drawn to the clear flouting of his ban on unwarranted roadblocks on Nigerian roads by his Anambra State Command particularly the divisional and area commands so mentioned. Efforts should immediately be made to curb Nigeria of proliferation of illicit small arms and other dangerous weapons of death as well as to effect the amendment of the anachronistic Private Guards Act of the Federation 1986 to ensure proper control of proliferated armed vigilantes in Nigeria including their use of arms.”

•Photo: Police IGP M.D. Abubakar.