For More:Visit Us at Uju Ayalogu's Blog
Herdsmen…
NDV learned that the killer-herdsmen largely dominated by fleeing terrorists from the northern part of the country had sent the fear of the devil into local herdsmen in the state that nobody would want to disclose their activities and whereabouts to the Police for fear of being identified and killed.
Commissioner of Police, Delta State, Mr. Zanna Ibrahim, who spoke to reporters, weekend, however, declined to disclose, according to him, “for security reasons”, his findings at the Abraka ‘Sambisa forest’. He stated: “We cannot divulge that kind of information, which is why we call it intelligence.
It is privileged information. By the time I tell you that this is the information I have from Emma Amaize, I will be exposing him, is that not so. So, we try to keep in confidence the sources of our information and what we want to do.”
Similarly, a seven-man team from the office of the Inspector General of Police, IGP, sent to Abraka, over a fortnight ago, on the orders of the Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo to investigate the activities of armed Fulani herdsmen in the area, fastened its discoveries.
Herdsmen go into hiding—Informant
An informed source told NDV: “Most of the herdsmen carrying out these activities are from the north like us, but we do not know them, sometimes, they come without invitation to the Hausa and Fulani communities in the state and there is nothing we can do about them because they are deadly people.
“I call you that they are resident in Abraka and environs, we do not even know their real mission, they move from one place to the other, wrecking all kinds of havoc and people think we are the ones.
Shortly before the Police deployed men to Abraka, they went into hiding because we have not been seeing them anymore and some of the friends they also move about with have also disappeared. They are really endangering our stay with our host communities.”
Re-position after operations
Findings showed that the destroyer-herdsmen, who function as kidnappers, mercenaries, robbers and rapists used fake names and have no fixed addresses in the state and once after their operations in a community, they quickly relocate to another part of the state to cover their tracks.
For More:Visit Us at Uju Ayalogu's Blog
2 suspected arms suppliers nabbed—CP
A source said they get their arms from a syndicate, which the police have arrested some of the kingpins. One of them, Musa Mohammed, aka Musa 1000, described by the Commissioner of Police, Mr. Ibrahim, as a “notorious kidnap kingpin/illegal arms dealer/supplier of arms and ammunition to kidnap syndicates” was arrested on June 1.
Commissioner Ibrahim asserted: “Musa Mohammed, aka Musa 1000, 56 years, a native of Dutsinma town in Katsina, is resident in Cable point area Asaba.
On June 1, 2017 at about 1645hrs, the suspect who has been on the command’s watch list, having complicity in most kidnappings related to supply of arms and ammunitions to herdsmen and kidnapping syndicates, but has been on the run was arrested by combined team of SAKCCS operatives and Eagle Vigilante group Abraka market Asaba.”
The commissioner disclosed that a day after Mohammed’s arrest, detectives of the Special Anti-Kidnapping and Cyber-Crime Squad, SAKCCS, Asaba, in conjunction with the Eagle Vigilante groups of Abraka Market, Asaba, seized an ally of Musa 1000, a 45-year old national of Niger Republic, Sa’adu Alhaji, resident at Okpanam road, Asaba, over his complicity in most kidnap cases connected to the kidnapping syndicates by suspected herdsmen.
…roaming herdsmen behind attacks, killings
On the hunt for herdsmen, he stated: “Delta Police Command is aware that it is not the sedentary herdsmen that are staying with us that are causing the problems but the ones that migrate from one place to the other, they are criminal elements among them that come to create this problem.”
His words: “Yes, that is true, we have deployed 131 policemen made up of special forces, that is PMF, counter terrorism unit, general duty policemen and SIB, that is the intelligence branch of the police because we believe that in order checkmate the excesses of herdsmen, it has to be a holistic approach.
Our men are on the ground, they are sniffing for information and as soon as they are credible enough and doable, we will work on them.
…attacks subside
“So far, since we have redeployed to that axis, there has not been any incident. Since we redeployed, there has not been any accident and we hope that it is our pro-activeness that has brought stability to that place, the same thing with Ossissa, we have also deployed to the flashpoints in those areas. And as time go on, we will re-strategize, and as events we unfold, we change our strategy,” he stated.
…open confrontation won’t solve problem
”It is not open confrontation that will solve this problem, we need intelligence, and we need to know their position, where they are exactly at every point in time, what is their firepower, what is their number, what is their motive, and so on and so forth? “That can only be done through intelligence, otherwise we fall into ambush.
That is why we involved the SIB, the plainclothes policemen, whenever information comes; they go into the nooks and crannies, gather information and give us which we are going to act on.”
…fighting points in Abraka
He explained: “Secondly, we have established three fighting points at the three flashpoints in Abraka, at the desert, at the bridge and at one market, either cassava or yam market. So we have three fighting points in Abraka which we have erected canopies for the comfort of our men. But the Abraka Police Station for security reasons remains our transit camp.
“So from there, they take off for duty and return, just recently, I have the privilege of showcasing to the governor some of the vehicles we have just refurbished, ordinarily, these are auction-able vehicles, but we use our initiative through the support of the governor to refurbish and we have deployed some of the vehicles to Abraka, Ossissa and Kwale, Ubulu-Okiiti and other flashpoints.
“Those are the flashpoints we have deployed these vehicles all in bid to reducing the crisis between communities and Fulani herdsmen. Like I said it is not deployment that will make the magic, what will assist all and sundry is information.
Information is very important, you do not expect us to react if we do not have credible information, if we react without information, we will also be in jeopardy.
For More:Visit Us at Uju Ayalogu's Blog
Warning
Cautioning criminals masquerading as herdsmen to desist from the acts of lawlessness and those who carry out jungle justice to halt the practice as two wrongs do not make a right, he said: “We also implore communities to be vigilant and report threat of whatsoever in their areas promptly to security agencies.
I want to assure Deltans in this regard that the command will not shield any criminal herdsman or herdsmen from the full weight of the law for any reason.”
…no reason to support criminally-minded herdsmen
Dismissing the allegation that he, being Fulani man was providing cover for herdsmen, Ibrahim said: “In the media they say that the CP is a Fulani man, I am not a Fulani man, I am a Kanuri man and by the oath of my office, which I have sworn to, I am to protect all lives and property, irrespective of ethnic, religious or whatever attachment.
“So I do not have any reason to support any herdsmen, which is a criminal. Forget about tribe, a criminal is a criminal, whether he is Fulani man, Hausa man or Kanuri, my tribe.
All the people we are parading today are criminals, they are Hausas, Fulanis among them, all tribes, there is even a half caste among them, so it is purely criminality, so let us downplay sentiments or bring tribal inclinations into the matter,” he pleaded.
Ibrahim pointed out: “As a commissioner of police, having risen to this position, I wonder how I will compromise my position and support one ethnic group against the other, I will definitely lose my position and all the curriculum vitae I have made over the years will be rubbished.”
What DSS found
On the findings by the DSS, an operative of the security agency told NDV that nothing incriminating was discovered in the bush contrary to reports that arms and ammunition used for criminal activities were stockpiled in the area.
The operative who confided in NDV on condition of anonymity, said: “DSS operatives in partnership with other sister security agencies combed the area following the alarm raised by the people of the area.
At the end of the raid, nothing incriminating was found. The only thing we found in the said area are drugs, syringes and some used medical drips.”
Are you an artiste? Do you want your music to go viral and reach a large number of audience? Promote your music and Submit your story on Ujuayalogusblog.com by clicking here. For Advert Inquiries Tel/+44(0)7590363984 Subscribe to Ujuayalogusblog.com News!
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 2015-2017 @ Uju Ayalogu's Blog NIGERIAN NEWS
For More:Visit Us at Uju Ayalogu's Blog
No comments:
Post a Comment