Posted by By Kingsley Omonobi on
FORTY-ONE (41) Police officers including two Assistant Superintendents of Police, six Inspectors, nine Sergeants and several other rank and file, from the Plateau State Police Command are to be dismissed from the Force for their role in the attack of EFCC officials by Governor Joshua Dariye on Tuesday, the 6th of December 2005.
ABUJA - FORTY-ONE (41) Police officers including two Assistant Superintendents of Police, six Inspectors, nine Sergeants and several other rank and file, from the Plateau State Police Command are to be dismissed from the Force for their role in the attack of EFCC officials by Governor Joshua Dariye on Tuesday, the 6th of December 2005.
The dismissal of the Police officers, 30 of whom are natives of Plateau State, followed their orderly room trial, which was directed by the Inspector-general of Police, Mr. Sunday Ehindero.
According to Police sources, the police officers though pleaded not guilty to the orderly room charges of conniving to obstruct a properly constituted government security outfit from doing their job as well as brutalisation, the IG still went ahead to order their dismissal following the recommendations of the trial board.
The action of the Police hierarchy according to Vanguard investigations, has received widespread knocks by a cross section of Police officers at the Force headquarters, who feel that the IG is unduly wielding the big stick on innocent policemen who were trying to do their job.
'How were these junior Policemen to know what the EFCC operatives were after? Were these officers informed by their superiors that the operatives were EFCC men? If not is it not those superiors that should be made to face the music?.
We feel this is going too far and it is demoralizing to officers and men"", a senior officer opined. Recall that a day after the widely reported attack allegedly on the EFCC officials by Governor Joshua Dariye and his security outfit, Ehindero ordered the removal of the State Police Commissioner, Mr. Kevin Opoke and his subsequent replacement with Mr. Richard Chime, former Akwa Ibom State Police Commissioner. The removal of the CP was followed with the arrest of the ADC to the governor with over 40 officers attached to the Plateau State Police Command and their movement to Abuja on the orders of the IG. Mr Ehindero had expressed outrage that Policemen who are supposed to work in concert with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission over matters of fraud, would be the same security outfit colluding to prevent arrest of suspected culprits. The EFCC had on Wednesday, 7th December 2005, issued a statement detailing how Governor Dariye personally prevented operatives of the commission from affecting the arrest of his long time acquaintance, Miss Christabel Bentu with whom he jumped bail in a London hotel over allegations of money laundering. Continuing the Statement said, ''On Tuesday December 6, 2005, on Mr. Dariye''s orders, an operative of the EFCC was manhandled, disarmed and abducted in the premises of KIPC Guest House, Jos, when the operatives went to effect the arrest Mr. Wilson Echeje, Branch Manager of All States Bank, suspected to be the lynchpin in the alleged money laundering activities of the governor.