Police: Waiting for Abubakar’s Revolution
It’s now two weeks since the Acting Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Dahiru Abubakar, handed down instructions to Commissioners of Police and other top ranking officers on the need to rid the force of corruption. Bail is free and mandatory after 24 hours. Checkpoints should become a thing of the past. Bribe-taking policemen would find […]
It’s now two weeks since the Acting Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Dahiru Abubakar, handed down instructions to Commissioners of Police and other top ranking officers on the need to rid the force of corruption. Bail is free and mandatory after 24 hours. Checkpoints should become a thing of the past. Bribe-taking policemen would find themselves in soup. Extortion and torture must be halted. Extrajudicial killings will no longer be tolerated. Policemen must not be shabby and beggarly, etc.
However, none of these instructions just there on the sheet of papers from which he read them out to police top hierarchy, going by checks by Sunday Trust across several police stations in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in many of the police stations visited, the 24-hour limit for the detention of suspects has not been adhered to, as many suspects are held in detention until they meet bail conditions or access ‘bigger persons in authority’ to intervene.
A crowd sourcing done by an online news agency, Premium Times, disclosed that police checkpoints are rampant across the country. Some of the responses so received said, “ we still have a lot of the checkpoints in Lagos, especially around Surulere; between Asaba and Onitsha are checkpoints on a stretch of less than 10 kilometres; in Udu and Effurun in Delta State, we have them after every two poles. They even run shifts between Korofo and JTF…all they say is *where am*?; I am presently at Iwo in Osun state. We have about five police checkpoints between Iwo and Ibadan. All they do is take money from motorists and harass whoever tries to challenge them.”
What this tells Nigerians is that the new IGP has a tough challenge from within the system. With favouritism and institutionalized “returns’ every Friday to top police officers; systemic corruption and non-application of funds for projects specified; inadequate training and poor manpower development; dirty police barracks; poor logistics and even uniforms that fail to meet the standard of proper paraphernalia, the police will need much more than verbal tirade to whip them into line. Can IGP Abubakar overcome these multiple challenges? What has he been able to accomplish over the years in the police?
A great performance tainted with controversy in Plateau
If there’s any place where the stewardship of Alhaji Mohammed Dahiru Abubakar, as a police officer, has been put under question, it is in Plateau State where he served as the state commissioner of police between 2000 and 2001. The Acting Inspector General of Police’s stewardship became controversial when, during his tenure, a sectarian crisis broke out in 2001, following which a commission of inquiry was set up by the Plateau state government to find out among other things, what and who were responsible for the crisis. It was during the regime of Governor Joshua Dariye.
In many of their submissions to the Justice Nikki Tobi Commission of Enquiry, many Christian groups and individuals complained about his (mis)handling of the crisis. They referred to three major aspects. The first was that he gave the Jos Central Mosque police security cover, while many Christian places of worship were vulnerable and came under mob attacks. During the violence, many churches were razed. Secondly, the new IGP was accused of redeploying 31 Divisional Police Officers (DPOs) prior to the crisis, which was interpreted to mean that Alhaji Abubakar may have had a foreknowledge of the crisis. Thirdly, he was said to have withdrawn all the ALGON jeeps which would have been used by the police to swiftly move in and quell the riots.
The commission, in its ruling, found Abubakar wanting and recommended his sack from the police force. The White Paper issued by the state government read in part: “Religious fanatics should not be posted to head state police commands. The Commission recommends that for his ignoble role during the September 2001 crisis, which resulted in the loss of lives, the former Commissioner of Police, Plateau State Command, Alhaji M. D. Abubakar, be advised to retire from the Nigeria Police Force and in the event of his refusal to do so, he should be dismissed from the service.”
Based on this, the Plateau state government frowned at his appointment as Acting IGP when he was named the replacement to Hafiz Ringim. Chief of Staff, Government House, Jos, Mr Gyang Pwajok, said the state government was surprised by the appointment. “Plateau State Government did its best by coming out with the White Paper concerning the crisis in 2001. The president recently said we should forward the paper, which we did. I wonder if that document has been examined by the appropriate authorities. This would have served as an opportunity for the government to know about the character of individuals concerning the crisis”.
However, there was no record to show if anybody had at any time, questioned the professional integrity of Abubakar before the crisis, as many who spoke to Sunday Trust in Jos hailed his performance in glowing terms. He was credited with sanitizing the force during his tenure as police commissioner.
Solomon Dalung Selcap, a lecturer in the Department of Law at the University of Jos, who was in Jos when Abubakar was Commissioner of Police, confirmed that before the 2001 crisis, Abubakar brought the crime rate in the state to a very low level, to the admiration of many. He said crime prevention was effective under Abubakar. Selcap said Abubakar did very well before the crisis and people had no problems with him, but that “it was after the crisis that many people came with complaints against him.”
Many residents said he effectively checked alcoholism among police officers while on duty and disciplined those fond of resuming work drunk. Many say he took it upon himself to patrol drinking joints in the night to check if his men were involved in the consumption of liquor while on duty. Sunday Trust learnt that he actually arrested many of them and penalized them.
Alhaji Buhari Yusuf, a lawyer, who was in Jos at the time, said he remembers that the practice of drinking and reporting to work was a major problem for police officers, and that the image of the force was seriously affected in a negative way as people’s confidence in handing over matters to officers who were reeking of alcohol was shattered. But after the sanitization exercise carried out by the commissioner, that image of the force got better and people’s confidence in the police was restored.
Abubakar was also credited with the physical restructuring of many police outlets in Jos, as he renovated many of the divisional offices, including the ones in local governments, as well as the state police command headquarters.
A retired police officer, who prefers not to be named, told our correspondent that divisional police offices had peculiar odour due to poor hygiene, but that when Abubakar resumed in Jos, he introduced compulsory sanitation exercise. Policemen had to sweep their premises and mop up dirts from the interior of police stations. Many police stations were refurbished, giving them fresh looks.
A former Commissioner for Information in Plateau State, Mr Yakubu Datti, on his part, said Abubakar was a strong and effective police officer when he was in Plateau State, adding that the indictment by the commission of inquiry did not hold water as there was no official gazette of the indictment.
Caught between the Saraki and Lawal feud in Kwara State
The Acting Inspector General of Police was caught in the cross-fire of the political struggle between Dr Olusola Saraki’s political dynasty and the emerging political adventure of a former governor, the late Alhaji Muhammed Lawal towards the 2003 governorship elections. IGP Abubakar was the Commissioner of Police in Kwara State during the turbulent period, when the battle for the take-over of the state caused deaths on the streets of Ilorin. A resident described the era as the “the worst period in the political life of Kwara State because the warring politicians would stop at nothing in their quest to take control of the state by any means. That included murder.”
While the late Governor Lawal was determined to employ every means possible to retain his grip on Kwara State, it was evident at that time that Dr Saraki was fighting the battle of his political life to regain control of the state politics from his erstwhile political son and this made the governorship campaigns bloody and deadly. Often, supporters of the opposing politicians confronted each other in every area of the state, leading to killings and political assassinations almost on a daily basis. Corpses of people believed to have fallen victims of the political crisis were at times sighted floating on Odo-Asa, a major river in Ilorin.
Beside this, the state capital, Ilorin at that period, was in turmoil due to the activities of cultists in the state’s tertiary institutions, among them Kwara State Polytechnic, Kwara State College of Education, and the University of Ilorin. Daily, there were cases of killings and reprisal attacks by cultists who were then alleged to have been equipped by politicians to launch attacks on opponents. On the other hand, armed robbers took advantage of the tumultuous situation by mounting road blocks on virtually every road. Between 2003 and 2004, many people were reported to have fallen victims to the mindless attacks of the robbers who took over Saare/Jebba road, Ajase-Ipo/Offa road and other major roads in the state.
However, before the IGP was transferred from Kwara to Lagos state as commissioner of police, normalcy was restored. How did he do it? Speaking to Sunday Trust on phone, a resident of Ilorin, Alhaji Suleiman Idris said, though the Abubakar period was characterized by political crisis, the new IGP did his best to return the state to normalcy before he was taken to Lagos.
Alhaji Idris said, “don’t forget that they almost ruined his career over the allegation against him by the late Governor Lawal’s government and his loyalists who accused him of being used by Dr Saraki to advance his cause against the other parties in Kwara. But he was still held on until the conclusion of the election. We witnessed what happened then; it got to a time we could not sleep with our eyes closed, particularly after the elections, when it was obvious that there were no more political crisis and the thugs had to find alternative means of survival. Hoodlums then turned the guns the warring politicians gave them to rob people. Abubakar acted quickly by mapping out strategies that stopped them, and also mopped up a reasonable number of the guns and other dangerous weapons from robbers,” he said.
But one of the loyalists of the late governor of Kwara State, Alhaji Olomowewe Amao, said even though he bears no grudges against the new IGP, he still shared the position of Lawal’s government and its loyalists at that time that Abubakar did not do justice to them during the crisis that culminated in the 2003 governorship election in the state.
He said “it’s on record that we accused him of taking sides with Saraki against us at that time. We even called on the authorities who posted him to Kwara to remove him because we no longer had confidence in him with regards to the election that was about to be held then but it appeared the Obasanjo government was satisfied with the way he was handling the situation because they were looking on to Saraki, who had decamped from the All Peoples Party (APP), the party that was controlling power in the state, to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to deliver the state to them in the governorship election. In any case, that is now history because the new IGP has, over the years, proved himself to be worthy and one of the finest top-ranking police officers in the country today.”
Alhaji Mohammed Abubakar Woru, a former Zonal PRO (ZONE E), told Sunday Trust that the new IGP was posted to Kwara State at a trying period. Woru said, “there were reported cases of intimidation, maiming and killing of innocent souls by sponsored government political thugs. Violent crimes such as armed robbery, house breaking, car snatching, just to mention a few, were on the increase, the law abiding citizens lost confidence in the ability of the police to combat crime, instead, police were considered the enemies of the people, rather than friends of the citizenry.” According to him, within a short period of his assumption of office as Kwara State Police Chief, Abubakar, worked relentlessly and succeeded in checking the excesses of men of the underworld.
Also, Abdulkadir Shola Muse, a resident of Ilorin, said, “ when he was at the helm of affairs in Kwara command, he supervised patrols, took genuine complaints from members of the public on the conduct of his men and handled issues related to corruption with all seriousness.”
Alhaji Yusuf Abubakar was the former General Manager, Harmony FM, narrated his experience with the IGP thus: “One incident I can remember vividly was when the state was in a serious political crises, M. D. Abubakar was able to pave his way and the state was able to get a free, fair and credible election which ushered in a new and acceptable administration in Kwara State.”
battle against armed bandits in Lagos
A Superintendent of Police, Bode Ojajuni, was the Police Public Relations Officer (PPPRO) when M. D. Abubakar was Commissioner of Police in Lagos and he spoke of the new IGP thus: “He was one of the arrow heads of the police force intelligence. I recollect vividly that when he was the CP in Lagos and there is any crime anywhere, the first thing he would do would be to summon the DPO and the Area Commander where the crime took place. He would ask them to come along with the map of their area commands, and together, they will sit in the conference room of the State Command headquarters in Ikeja to brainstorm. He would take them through the map and as he does that, he would be pointing out to them the loopholes and at the same time, evolve new strategies to tighten such loopholes. And to that extent, many of us called him the strategist.”
Ojajuni added that one unique act of this police boss which he imitated was that, “at every 10pm, he would leave his comfort zone in Ikoyi and patrol the city at midnight. He would do that until about 4 am! On those occasions, if he noticed that I was tired, he would say to me, “Bode, go home and rest” even when he himself is still on the road. I’m not sure if any these attributes will leave M. D. Abubakar because, from my understanding, these are personal attributes that could hardly leave him.”
Frank Mba, a Superintendent of police and former Lagos Police spokesman, said when Abubakar was Commissioner of Police in Lagos State, he worked closely with Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State to convene the first-ever Town Hall Meeting on Security in 2007 at Civic Centre, Lagos. “He is a firm believer in the concept of ‘public-private partnership’ as a means of tackling security challenges. He was instrumental to the establishment of the Lagos State Security Trust Fund- an innovative tool for funding police logistics and general security operations in the state.”
He said M. D. Abubakar fought crime to a stand-still in Lagos – pushing back bank robberies and other violent crimes to almost a zero level. He is a robust crime fighter with a practical grasp of the job.
“As a Commissioner of Police, MD Abubabar regularly embarks on night anti-crime patrols and undercover operations- including the covert monitoring of his men. He is not given to “arm-chair” policing. He is fearless and courageous, even in the face of danger! He took steps to improve the working environment/conditions of his officers and men through massive construction and re-construction works at the Command Headquarters, such as the building, furnishing and commissioning of an ultra-modern Conference Hall at the Command Headquarters’, Ikeja. All projects were funded through his public-private partnership initiatives (and not from government coffers)”, he said.
Frederic Fasheun, a medical doctor and founder, Oodua People’s Congress (OPC) described him thus: “The new Inspector General of Police is a complete gentle man to the core. I have had personal interactions with him and I can say he is a gentleman who will do well as Inspector General of police. We (OPC) did not have any sad experience with him when he was in Lagos. He did not confront us at all, and mind you, during his time, there was nothing to call for such confrontation.”
A CP who disguised himself to do night patrol
The acting IG worked in Kano as a police commissioner for three years. During his time, the Kano police command witnessed positive developments both in terms of crime control and the welfare of the police officers. Attesting to this was SP Baba Muhammad Azare who was the Police Public Relations Officer in the Kano command when the acting IG was the police commissioner. He described the IG as an upright person who is not corrupt and who hates corruption in its totality.
“I know him as a man who is not corrupt and who hates corrupt officers and any corrupt tendency. He is a visionary leader who sets goals and not only that, but pursues the goals to its logical conclusion,” he said.
He said as a commissioner, M. D. Abubakar had worked tirelessly to fight crime in the state. He goes out on patrols in the night, “To tell you how serious the man is, he hardly sleeps in the night. There was a time when somebody called me around 3am and said there was robbery around Na’ibawa quarters and as I called our control room to tell them that they should quickly send policemen to the scene of the robbery, it was the commissioner that answered the call. He immediately ordered for the intervention of the police. This can tell you that the man doesn’t sleep,” he said.
He added, “On another occasion I was again compelled to call the control room for yet another emergency around 2am. Again it was the commissioner who answered the call.”
Azare further described him as a person who hates indiscipline and had ensured that such negative behavior was not found among the police. “One can see it visibly written all over our offices that you should give way to your seniors. There was no way that a junior officer could bypass a senior officer on the staircase or in other places.
One thing that made him different, according to the former PPRO, was his concern for the welfare of the staff. “Under him the police were motivated to work. He ensures that all claims were duly paid and in this way, he was able to keep the police on their toes.”
Alhaji Danlami Hamza Fagge, a former lawmaker representing Fagge federal constituency and a friend to M. D. Abubakar, has this to say about him, “He is a thorough professional. Anybody who knows him will be glad that he is now the IG. Kano people will testify to this because during his tenure as the Kano State police commissioner the crime rate reduced drastically. He would disguise himself in the night and go on patrol to ensure that people sleep very well.”
He described him as, “a person with friendly disposition but that could not stop him from performing his duties. The welfare of the police used to be his main concern and he has work earnestly to achieve that. We are glad that he is chosen for this apex position in the police force. I wish him God’s guidance as he performs his statutory duties and also condole with him once more, over the death of his wife.”
A resident of Kano Municipal council, Alhaji Isa Muhammad, who spoke about the new IG, said during his time, robbery and other crimes were reduced, “When he was the police commissioner in Kano, robbery cases and other crimes were reduced to the barest minimum. It was after he left that robbery resurfaced in Kano,” he said.
He added that the commissioner used to disguise himself at night when the police were out on patrol. He would be actively involved in the exercise. He could make a surprise visit to police check points to catch the corrupt policemen red-handed.
Similarly, the crime reporter of the Kano state radio Abbas Ibrahim, who had worked closely with the acting IG, further said, “I can attest to the fact that he monitored the police here and was serious on crime in a city like Kano, which has every Nigerian represented, the job will be a challenge to him but he will surely cope.”
Abbas said the badminton court at the officer’s mess in Bompai was established by the IG, adding that on many occasions, he had witnessed the new IG coming out to ask those in the waiting room at the headquarters if they had come to see him.
A state counsel in the Kano state Ministry of Justice, Barrister Mustapha Imam, who spoke to our correspondents, said he had an encounter with the man in the year 2007 and what impressed him was his punctuality. “It was the legal year and he was the first of the top guests to arrive. We had discussions. He was simple and straightforward, although it was the only time we met, but his seriousness was what I admired,” Barrister Imam said.