Those advocating state police calling for anarchy – Edo CP

Dan Mallam Muhammed is the Commissioner of Police in Edo State. In this interview, he speaks on how he is fighting crime in the state, why state police is not needed and other issues. Excerpts: Daily Trust: There is a call for the establishment of state and local police. What’s your take on this? CP […]

Dan Mallam Muhammed is the Commissioner of Police in Edo State. In this interview, he speaks on how he is fighting crime in the state, why state police is not needed and other issues. Excerpts:

Daily Trust: There is a call for the establishment of state and local police. What’s your take on this?

CP DanMallam Muhammed: Well, as far as I’m concerned, those calling for state police are enemies of the country because they are calling for anarchy. Two strong institutions are holding the country together today, they are the military and the police. Once you tamper with any one, you are calling for anarchy. Nigeria is very complex in nature, and anyone clamouring for the creation of state and local government police doesn’t mean well for Nigeria. I am sure President Muhammadu Buhari will not accept it. Instead of calling for state police, they should look inwards and identify the problems of the police and address them. In terms of peace-keeping, under the United Nations, the Nigeria Police Force is rated the best in the world, so, if we can go out and perform excellently, why not at home?

DT: How can the security challenges in the country be best addressed?

Muhammed: Government is already addressing it. With the introduction of Operation Puff Adder by the Inspector General of Police Muhammed Abubakar, the security of the country has improved. People are going about their lawful duties without fear of intimidation. Some of the highlights I gave you were under Operation Puff Adder, we are doing a lot and government is doing its best.

DT: There have been extra judicial killings by the police recently. How do you think this can be addressed?

Muhammed: I don’t agree that there have been extra judicial killings. What are your figures and the yardstick used in arriving at that? People are just blackmailing the police and we’ve lost more men than the civilians killed accidentally. So, if you say accidental killings, it is all right because we don’t kill intentionally. It’s unfortunate that the police are not given recognition and respect in Nigeria. If a policeman dies today, it is not an issue but if an average policeman commits an error, it becomes headlines in all the media.

DT: The recent one was in Enugu where an officer killed a civilian during an argument.

Muhammed: We have been saying that you don’t argue with anyone with a gun, whether a police officer or a civilian. In some occasions, people deliberately annoy security people, and even at that we always warn our men because policemen have no justification to face an armless person with a gun. I think it is an act of cowardice to face armless civilians with a gun. It can’t be justified but there are certain killings that are accidental but people will overblow it, forgetting that the police lose its men on daily basis and nobody cares.

DT: You’ve been Edo State Commissioner of Police for almost five months.  How would you describe Edo in terms of crime, compared to other states you have supervised as commissioner?

Muhammed: Every state has its own peculiarity in terms of issues of security challenges.  Here in Edo, security issues like cultism, kidnapping and armed robbery are some of the major issues but since I assumed office in February, we’ve made concerted efforts to ensure that the crime rate is reduced to the barest minimum.

DT: How has the command fared in tackling crime under your watch?

Muhammed: From February till date, we have made modest achievements in curbing crime and criminality. Between February and March, 141 cases were reported, 282 suspects were arrested, while 215 suspects were charged to court. We also recovered arms and ammunition during the period. Also, under Operation Puff Adder which we launched on May 2, we arrested 37 armed robbery suspects, 11 kidnappers and 32 cultists within two weeks of the launch.  We also impounded 13 vehicles and rescued 9 kidnapped victims successfully without paying ransom. Recently, we arrested a syndicate which specialized in child theft. DT: Recently, traditional rulers from Enugu State came to thank you for reducing crime while there as a commissioner. How did you achieve that?

Muhammed: Security is everybody’s business. The good people of Enugu valued the police and their security. The people, traditional rulers, government, religious leaders, students, market women gave us 100 percent support. They gave us intelligence reports because we worked hand-in-hand to ensure we secured Enugu and we achieved that. By the time I left, crime was at zero level and at times, for good one month we would not have any incident of car snatching, armed robbery or kidnapping. There was strong collaboration between the people, non state actors and the police. I spent two years in Enugu State.

DT: Are you receiving such collaboration in Edo State?

Muhammed: Yes, the good people of Edo State are doing their best to ensure that crime is reduced to the barest minimum. The state government and the people are very supportive and the figure I told you was as a result of the collaboration of the people under the concept of community policing. If I am able to spend the time I spent in Enugu State in Edo, I will be able to reduce crime to zero level.

DT: Policemen still openly collect money from drivers on the road in the name of road block in Edo, what is the command doing about that?

Muhammed: If you see them, report to us and we will take action. The IGP frowns at that and the current government is fighting corruption, we are totally against it. We have always said that people should report to us when they see police officers collecting money on the road.

DT: What has been your challenge in Edo in the fight against crime?

Muhammed: When we came, we met cultism and kidnapping but we thank God that through His help and the cooperation of the people, we were able to defeat them and made much progress. We made several arrests, rescued kidnapped victims and you can see now that there is stability and people can go about their business without fear or intimidation.

When I assumed office, I was told that by 6pm people would start closing their shops and I laughed, but now significant parts of Benin are enjoying peace, though we can’t rule out pockets of complaints. We need more cooperation from the people by reporting any suspicious person and movement to the police.