NOT fewer than 1,260
policemen from the six South West states of the country recently transferred to
Northern states, especially the North East, where Boko Haram
insurgency was
rampant, have complained bitterly against what they termed ‘lopsided transfer
that attracts no incentives.
According to a
signal by AIG Abdul Bude from Force Headquarters, Abuja, dated December 24,
2016 with reference No CB 4770/FS/FHQ/ABJ/Vol. 5/232, the affected policemen
have been mandated to assemble in Kaduna on January 4, 2017.
Though, they said as
security agents, their primary duty is to protect lives and property, they are
not comfortable with the way the transfer which dates back to 1997 is being
handled.
An impeccable source
told Vanguard that the transfer carried out in 1997, 2003 and 2015 had recorded
heavy casualties among the policemen from the South West due to inadequate
facilities.
They are principally
unhappy because they are allegedly not treated equally with their Northern
counterparts.
One of the affected
policemen who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of victimisation said
their northern colleagues who are equally transferred at the same time are
treated as sacred cows because despite disobeying the police authorities, by
shunning the transfer, still get to collect their salaries.
According to one of
them: ‘’Lives of several policemen from the South West that were transferred in
the past had been wasted by the insurgents.’’
Other grievances of
the aggrieved policemen include non-provision of vehicles to convey them to
their new stations; non-provision of accommodation and other welfare packages,
language barrier and non-familiarity with the northern terrain.
He said; “Since they
started the transfer, lives of several policemen of South West extraction have
been wasted because when they transfer them, the authority would not provide
necessary facilities such as money, accommodation which make them prone to
attacks by the insurgents.
“We are not happy at
all. This transfer was earlier stopped by the National Assembly and a powerful
politician from the South West in 2015. It is the same policemen that are being
transferred now. We knew this because their transfer letters bore their former
ranks under the former Inspector General of Police, Solomon Arase.”
With the transfer,
he said the police authorities ran foul of an earlier document which states
that no policeman should be transferred outside his zone of origin.
Vanguard
Follow Solenzo Blog on
0 Comments