The Commissioner of Police in Abia State, Mr. Anthony
Ogbizi, tells OGBONNAYA IKOKWU how he confronted the security
challenges in the state, including the activities of the proscribed
Indigenous People of Biafra, farmers/herdsmen crisis, kidnapping
and armed robbery
You were posted to
Abia at the peak of the IPOB activities. Can you recall the
situation which you met on the ground?
I was in the Special Fraud Unity for about one year before I was
transferred to the Railway Police Command Headquarters in Lagos. It
was from the Railway Command that I was posted to the Abia Command
as the Commissioner of Police on September 11, 2017 and I reported
here on September 14, 2017. I actually came when the activities of
the Indigenous People of Biafra were at its peak. The fundamental
challenge I met on the ground was the activities of IPOB. I came at
a time when there was near collapse of law and order. There were
targeted killings, burning of properties, particularly motor
vehicles, burning of police station and killing of police officers.
We lost a police officer; an assistance superintendent of police
and one other officer was injured in Aba when I came. IPOB members
had taken the law into their own hands by engaging the law
enforcement agencies violently, using petrol bombs and other
offensive weapons. In fact, they were law unto themselves.
Did you have an idea of what you were going to meet
in the state when you got your posting?
As a police officer, my fundamental responsibility is
maintenance of law and order. I was aware of IPOB activities in the
state. However, the magnitude of my findings on resumption showed
that I underestimated the situation that I met on the ground.
Notwithstanding the magnitude of the problems, I hit the ground
running. We started confronting the problems head-on and with the
push from our sister agency, the army, we were able to calm the
situation within days.
What specific measures did you put in place to
tackle the menace?
Our main task was to deal with the hoodlums who took the law
into their own hands by harassing innocent citizens, to the extent
of going into stealing, vandalising public properties and burgling
peoples’ shops. Many people were even forced to desert their homes
in Afara Ukwu, Umuahia, when they could no longer cope with the
activities of IPOB members. We had the problem of people being
intimidated and assaulted. There was total breakdown of law and
order with lots of deaths being recorded on daily basis while
properties were either destroyed or stolen. The movement of
law-abiding citizens was restricted. So, the task before us was to
restore peace and win the confidence of the law-abiding
citizens.
Can you recall a major confrontation between your
officers and IPOB members?
IPOB had already declared certain places as Biafra Republic and
named a particular community as the headquarters. Nobody dared go
there. One of such places happened to be where the Assistant
Inspector-General of Police, the Commissioner of Police and other
top government officials live. For the police to enter such a
place, we had to confront them in places like Afara Ukwu, Ariaria,
and Powerline. It even got to a point where they were collecting
revenue from the people. In fact, they went ahead to declare the
whole of the South-East as Biafra land. So, there was a serious
confrontation with them in which we lost a police officer. They
were not in any way provoked, but because the police station was
just close to Ariaria, the IPOB boys went there on rampage, looted
the offices, killed a police officer and burnt the station.
Did you at any time recover weapons from IPOB
members?
We recovered weapons like petrol bomb, rifles and other weapons.
We also recovered their insignias; we got a lot of information
concerning the military wing of IPOB that they were training and
teaching their members military tactics.
Where is Nnamdi Kanu now?
Nnamdi Kanu was charged to court; he still has a case in court.
He was granted bail by the court, but we heard that he jumped bail.
The sureties, who secured the bail conditions for Nnamdi Kanu,
should tell us his whereabouts.
His parents were also not in the palace. As the
chief law enforcer in the state, where are they
now?
As for Nnamdi Kanu’s parents, they have the right to live
anywhere they want. Nobody stopped them from going back to their
house, but if they decide to live elsewhere, it is their choice.
None of them is in the custody of the police; so, we are not in a
position to say where they are.
How have you been handling kidnapping activities in
Aba since you came to the state?
The moment we decapitated IPOB, the next challenge we faced was
other serious crimes like kidnapping, armed robbery, drug dealings,
child trafficking and cultism. What we did was to look at their
modes of operation and we designed the strategies to stop those
heinous crimes. We redesigned the security architecture of the
state. If you move around now, you see nipping points all over. We
created and deployed nipping squads to isolated areas were these
kidnappers used to operate freely. The Divisional Police Officers,
who were not performing, were redeployed and we replaced them with
those who were bold and committed to duty. Within the space of
three weeks, incidences of kidnappings reduced and lots of arrests
were made. Lots of interceptions of child trafficking syndicates
were also made. We arrested many robbers and it reduced the robbery
incidences to a great level.
Another strategy was that we took the war to the criminals’
hideouts. We developed local intelligence, which means we earned
the confidence of the public. I have learnt something and that is
once you win the confidence of the public and they know that you
are committed and determined to doing the right thing, they can
help you by giving you information. That strategy has helped us a
lot, such that even from my office, I can call a DPO in Aba to move
to a scene of an incident because of information given to us from
members of the public.
How did your men unmask the activities of a criminal
gang in a three-bedroom flat somewhere in the Ogor Hill area of
Aba?
I must thank the Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Ibrahim Idris,
because he deployed an intelligence response team, and when the
operatives came, we added a few trusted local officers to them,
particularly those from one division in Aba and the DPO. We also
got some officers from our crime squad here included in the IG
response squad and they did a marvellous job.
They met heavy fire from the kidnappers, but they overpowered
the hoodlums, and in fact, the squads discovered where kidnappers
hid their arms in a tank carefully constructed under a car. Over
nine notorious kidnap suspects were arrested and the victims,
including a 78-year-old man, were rescued. However, the old man
died in the hospital because he was denied his drugs for one
week.
The Aba-Port Harcourt Expressway used to be a very notorious
point and what I did was to deploy a fearless police officer there
and we made a shocking discovery there. Most of the kidnapers were
living in the midst of the people in the communities. Acting on
intelligence, we arrested about seven of them in a forest, while we
are still looking for those who escaped. That explains why that
area is still calm till today.
Did you undergo any special training on how to
tackle certain crimes?
I’ve spent 32 years in the police. My policy is that I must
attend to any visitor who comes to me, irrespective of their class.
That is how we gather intelligence. I have been AC operations in
Delta State. I have been in the investigation (unit). I have been a
DPO in the most challenging areas; so, the training and experience
gathered over the time are what I am working with. I’m grateful to
the IG because often, he brings his wealth of experience to bear by
giving us the needed manpower and materials to confront challenging
situations at any given time. He sent two units of the mobile
police to me at that time, which helped us to beef up the nipping
points. The local police officers here know that I will be serious
with them if they fail in any operation; thus, they also became
serious by following instructions.
How have you been managing the farmers/herdsmen
crisis in the state?
The IG has been helpful too; he gave us two units of mobile
police officers and directed us on how to deploy them. If I go
outside that directive, I will have myself to blame, so I deploy
the mobile police officers to the appropriate command. For example,
Ohafia Command has a unit and also the Bende Command. Governor
Okezie Ikpeazu also constituted the farmers/herdsmen committee, of
which I’m the chairman and members of the committee are drawn from
the stakeholders — government officials, the military and other
security services, the traditional rulers, religious leaders, the
farmers and herdsmen and even members of the state House of
Assembly. Within the period since I came here, we have held
meetings, about six times, with the members of the committee and
chairmen of various local government areas. We have spelt out the
need to maintain peace and control the movement of cows in the
state. We also spelt out the legal implication of people taking the
law into their own hands during the time of crisis.
How do you ensure regular training for your officers
in the command?
I am conscious of our perception before the public, which is why
we do not joke with the training of officers in the command. I
commend and encourage those who behaved well and I equally
discipline those who misbehave at any time. We hold lectures and
training for our officers to encourage them to conduct themselves
within the ambit of the law. Just as we do not play with their
welfare, we don’t also bat an eyelid when it comes to the
discipline of officers.
We had training about human rights and anti-corruption last
week. It is about policing in a democracy. The Centre for Civil
Society and Justice, an umbrella body of various civil society and
human rights groups in the country, organised the training.
The IG wants it to sink into the minds of all of us that we
can’t abuse the rights of citizens, extort them, collect bribes
from them and citizens are encouraged to report any police officer
involved in any of these to the Commissioner of Police.
The Commissioner of Police in Abia State, Mr. Anthony
Ogbizi, tells OGBONNAYA IKOKWU how he confronted the security
challenges in the state, including the activities of the proscribed
Indigenous People of Biafra, farmers/herdsmen crisis, kidnapping
and armed robbery
You were posted to
Abia at the peak of the IPOB activities. Can you recall the
situation which you met on the ground?
I was in the Special Fraud Unity for about one year before I was
transferred to the Railway Police Command Headquarters in Lagos. It
was from the Railway Command that I was posted to the Abia Command
as the Commissioner of Police on September 11, 2017 and I reported
here on September 14, 2017. I actually came when the activities of
the Indigenous People of Biafra were at its peak. The fundamental
challenge I met on the ground was the activities of IPOB. I came at
a time when there was near collapse of law and order. There were
targeted killings, burning of properties, particularly motor
vehicles, burning of police station and killing of police officers.
We lost a police officer; an assistance superintendent of police
and one other officer was injured in Aba when I came. IPOB members
had taken the law into their own hands by engaging the law
enforcement agencies violently, using petrol bombs and other
offensive weapons. In fact, they were law unto themselves.
Did you have an idea of what you were going to meet
in the state when you got your posting?
As a police officer, my fundamental responsibility is
maintenance of law and order. I was aware of IPOB activities in the
state. However, the magnitude of my findings on resumption showed
that I underestimated the situation that I met on the ground.
Notwithstanding the magnitude of the problems, I hit the ground
running. We started confronting the problems head-on and with the
push from our sister agency, the army, we were able to calm the
situation within days.
What specific measures did you put in place to
tackle the menace?
Our main task was to deal with the hoodlums who took the law
into their own hands by harassing innocent citizens, to the extent
of going into stealing, vandalising public properties and burgling
peoples’ shops. Many people were even forced to desert their homes
in Afara Ukwu, Umuahia, when they could no longer cope with the
activities of IPOB members. We had the problem of people being
intimidated and assaulted. There was total breakdown of law and
order with lots of deaths being recorded on daily basis while
properties were either destroyed or stolen. The movement of
law-abiding citizens was restricted. So, the task before us was to
restore peace and win the confidence of the law-abiding
citizens.
Can you recall a major confrontation between your
officers and IPOB members?
IPOB had already declared certain places as Biafra Republic and
named a particular community as the headquarters. Nobody dared go
there. One of such places happened to be where the Assistant
Inspector-General of Police, the Commissioner of Police and other
top government officials live. For the police to enter such a
place, we had to confront them in places like Afara Ukwu, Ariaria,
and Powerline. It even got to a point where they were collecting
revenue from the people. In fact, they went ahead to declare the
whole of the South-East as Biafra land. So, there was a serious
confrontation with them in which we lost a police officer. They
were not in any way provoked, but because the police station was
just close to Ariaria, the IPOB boys went there on rampage, looted
the offices, killed a police officer and burnt the station.
Did you at any time recover weapons from IPOB
members?
We recovered weapons like petrol bomb, rifles and other weapons.
We also recovered their insignias; we got a lot of information
concerning the military wing of IPOB that they were training and
teaching their members military tactics.
Where is Nnamdi Kanu now?
Nnamdi Kanu was charged to court; he still has a case in court.
He was granted bail by the court, but we heard that he jumped bail.
The sureties, who secured the bail conditions for Nnamdi Kanu,
should tell us his whereabouts.
His parents were also not in the palace. As the
chief law enforcer in the state, where are they
now?
As for Nnamdi Kanu’s parents, they have the right to live
anywhere they want. Nobody stopped them from going back to their
house, but if they decide to live elsewhere, it is their choice.
None of them is in the custody of the police; so, we are not in a
position to say where they are.
How have you been handling kidnapping activities in
Aba since you came to the state?
The moment we decapitated IPOB, the next challenge we faced was
other serious crimes like kidnapping, armed robbery, drug dealings,
child trafficking and cultism. What we did was to look at their
modes of operation and we designed the strategies to stop those
heinous crimes. We redesigned the security architecture of the
state. If you move around now, you see nipping points all over. We
created and deployed nipping squads to isolated areas were these
kidnappers used to operate freely. The Divisional Police Officers,
who were not performing, were redeployed and we replaced them with
those who were bold and committed to duty. Within the space of
three weeks, incidences of kidnappings reduced and lots of arrests
were made. Lots of interceptions of child trafficking syndicates
were also made. We arrested many robbers and it reduced the robbery
incidences to a great level.
Another strategy was that we took the war to the criminals’
hideouts. We developed local intelligence, which means we earned
the confidence of the public. I have learnt something and that is
once you win the confidence of the public and they know that you
are committed and determined to doing the right thing, they can
help you by giving you information. That strategy has helped us a
lot, such that even from my office, I can call a DPO in Aba to move
to a scene of an incident because of information given to us from
members of the public.
How did your men unmask the activities of a criminal
gang in a three-bedroom flat somewhere in the Ogor Hill area of
Aba?
I must thank the Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Ibrahim Idris,
because he deployed an intelligence response team, and when the
operatives came, we added a few trusted local officers to them,
particularly those from one division in Aba and the DPO. We also
got some officers from our crime squad here included in the IG
response squad and they did a marvellous job.
They met heavy fire from the kidnappers, but they overpowered
the hoodlums, and in fact, the squads discovered where kidnappers
hid their arms in a tank carefully constructed under a car. Over
nine notorious kidnap suspects were arrested and the victims,
including a 78-year-old man, were rescued. However, the old man
died in the hospital because he was denied his drugs for one
week.
The Aba-Port Harcourt Expressway used to be a very notorious
point and what I did was to deploy a fearless police officer there
and we made a shocking discovery there. Most of the kidnapers were
living in the midst of the people in the communities. Acting on
intelligence, we arrested about seven of them in a forest, while we
are still looking for those who escaped. That explains why that
area is still calm till today.
Did you undergo any special training on how to
tackle certain crimes?
I’ve spent 32 years in the police. My policy is that I must
attend to any visitor who comes to me, irrespective of their class.
That is how we gather intelligence. I have been AC operations in
Delta State. I have been in the investigation (unit). I have been a
DPO in the most challenging areas; so, the training and experience
gathered over the time are what I am working with. I’m grateful to
the IG because often, he brings his wealth of experience to bear by
giving us the needed manpower and materials to confront challenging
situations at any given time. He sent two units of the mobile
police to me at that time, which helped us to beef up the nipping
points. The local police officers here know that I will be serious
with them if they fail in any operation; thus, they also became
serious by following instructions.
How have you been managing the farmers/herdsmen
crisis in the state?
The IG has been helpful too; he gave us two units of mobile
police officers and directed us on how to deploy them. If I go
outside that directive, I will have myself to blame, so I deploy
the mobile police officers to the appropriate command. For example,
Ohafia Command has a unit and also the Bende Command. Governor
Okezie Ikpeazu also constituted the farmers/herdsmen committee, of
which I’m the chairman and members of the committee are drawn from
the stakeholders — government officials, the military and other
security services, the traditional rulers, religious leaders, the
farmers and herdsmen and even members of the state House of
Assembly. Within the period since I came here, we have held
meetings, about six times, with the members of the committee and
chairmen of various local government areas. We have spelt out the
need to maintain peace and control the movement of cows in the
state. We also spelt out the legal implication of people taking the
law into their own hands during the time of crisis.
How do you ensure regular training for your officers
in the command?
I am conscious of our perception before the public, which is why
we do not joke with the training of officers in the command. I
commend and encourage those who behaved well and I equally
discipline those who misbehave at any time. We hold lectures and
training for our officers to encourage them to conduct themselves
within the ambit of the law. Just as we do not play with their
welfare, we don’t also bat an eyelid when it comes to the
discipline of officers.
We had training about human rights and anti-corruption last
week. It is about policing in a democracy. The Centre for Civil
Society and Justice, an umbrella body of various civil society and
human rights groups in the country, organised the training.
The IG wants it to sink into the minds of all of us that we
can’t abuse the rights of citizens, extort them, collect bribes
from them and citizens are encouraged to report any police officer
involved in any of these to the Commissioner of Police.
Read more https://nairalaw.com/nnamdi-kanus-sureties-should-tell-us-his-whereabouts-cp/