Drop your uniform and join politics!
That is the earnest advice issued to the Inspector-General of Police, IGP, Dr. Kayode Egbetokun, by the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, HURIWA, who felt that the top cop has become rabidly partisan in the roiling political crisis in Rivers State.
The body also declared its support for the Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, for foiling an attempt by operatives of the Nigeria Police Force, led by the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Operations), to forcefully take over the State Independent Electoral Commission, RSIEC.
The Police was said to have attempted to take over the electoral commission at about 1:00 a.m. on Friday, October 4, 2024.
In its no-holds-barred response to the Rivers political showdown, the rights group pointedly accused Egbetokun, of donning a partisan toga and becoming an active party in the ongoing battle for political relevance and supremacy between the Rivers State Governor and his erstwhile benefactor, Nyesom Wike.
In a statement signed by its National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, HURIWA declared: “We urge the IGP of Police Kayode Egbetokun to decide if he wants to remove his uniform and then join the All Progressives Congress as a registered card carrying member rather than wear the uniform paid for by taxpayers most of whom don’t belong to any political persuasions, and then only for the IGP to dabble into the political fisticuffs in Rivers State on behalf of the self acclaimed political godfather of Rivers State Barrister Nyesom Wike.
“The Police in Rivers State, controlled from the office of IGP in Abuja, must behave like professionals rather than always acting as the armed thugs of All Progressives Congress. ”
The Crest recalls that, in the small hours of Friday, policemen stormed the office of Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission, tried to scale the gate and and storm the strong room in a brazen attempt to cart away sensitive electoral materials meant for Saturday’s local government election in the state.
But the plot was foiled by vigilant security officials who alerted principal officers of the Commission and relevant government authorities, who, in turn, informed Governor Fubara of the development.
The Governor promptly led a team of government officials, lawmakers from the National Assembly and State House of Assembly, top political stakeholders and other leaders, to storm the facility.
Responding to the development, HURIWA condemned the nocturnal invasion of the Rivers State Electoral Commission in Port Harcourt, describing it as an illegal operation.
The rights group demanded “the immediate arrest of the Deputy Commissioner Operations of the Nigeria Police who coordinated the attempted take-over of a democratic institution of Rivers State.
“We view this brazen attack on the soul of democracy in Rivers State by the partisan Nigeria Police as an attempted coup which must not be swept under the carpets of impunity.
“We will continue to warn the Nigeria Police to steer off politics and operate in compliance to the constitutional provisions which created the Policing institution to enforce law and order and not to be deployed for political parties’ supremacy battles to advance the ambitions of certain individuals only because they are affiliated to the All Progressives Congress which is the party in power at the centre.
“The Nigeria Police Force has continued to give Nigerians reasons to doubt that the country even have anything like a credible or professional policing institution because if the police of Nigeria now behaves like the armed wing of All Progressives Congress and then dabble into controversies around the Rivers Local Government elections, we the people of Nigeria will automatically assume that we don’t have a complete professional police in existence.
“These vexatious, toxic, unconstitutional harassment of the Rivers state governor and the brazen, lawless, reckless efforts to take over democratic institutions by the police in Rivers state are only drawing us back to the days of the military dictatorship and these illegal acts of treachery by the police are attracting global opprobrium and bad image in the comity of nations for Nigeria.”