Maybe on another day, this article would have been titled: ‘the many sins of the IGP’- that should serve as a pointer to the direction this write-up is tilting- but permit me to stick with that which I have chosen
Firstly, the Nigeria Police Force has faced a lot of backlash from the Nigerian populace at various times, and most of these criticisms have been as a result of the slipups perceivable from the way officers of the NPF carry out their activities. Recall the issues that led to the #ENDSARSNOW# crusade; how the spokesman of the NPF, Jimoh Moshood [while being interviewed on a national TV] called a sitting governor, ‘a drowning man’ amongst other unprincipled conducts.
However, before I get wholly engrossed with the general affairs of the police force, let me try to remain on track [by staying in line with the objective of this very discourse]. The Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris might have scored good remarks in some quarters but there is no denying the fact that he has been in the office for the wrong reason(s) of late. To start with, his handling of the massacres perpetrated by the terrorist herdsmen across different states in the north- especially Benue- does not speak well of his reputation as the chief law enforcement officer of a nation such as ours. Aside having men on ground, shouldn’t there have been modalities in place to help curtail future occurrences [after the incident that had 73 innocent indigenes of Benue killed]? The perpetrators of that evil act have gone on to kill more persons thus causing panic in the hearts of citizens amidst the trails of blood, tears and sorrow left behind, and it remains to be seen how much more havoc will wreaked before the police bring things under control.
It could be argued that the IGP [as well as the Nigeria Police Force] is incapacitated to deal with a problem as ‘magnanimous’ as the terrorist herdsmen but his utterances have often reflected an iota of insensitivity or maybe lack of priority. For instance, he (the IGP) was proposing that governors of the states affected by the onslaught of the herdsmen need to establish grazing ranches before implementing anti-grazing laws, and this makes me ask: ‘ought the IGP not have known that it is not in his place to make or propose a law but to enforce it? Making such proposition only indicates either of these two things: that he lacks the wherewithal to occupy the office he is currently holding or that he is being sentimental and advancing the course of the herdsmen which is certainly not good for the credibility of the office of an IGP.
The last- or maybe latest- straw that broke the camel’s back was President Buhari’s revelation of being unaware of the IGP’s refusal to move to Benue in the wake of the violent attacks of the herdsmen on some Benue communities. Ought the IGP not have known [and/or respected] what is meant by an executive order? And that the failure to act on an executive order could jeopardize the security of the (Nigerian) state? At this point, I do not think it will be wrong to pass of no confidence on the IGP. He cannot continually do things that are against the oath of the office he holds and be left without being reprimanded. Letting such be without any form of penalty is dangerous for the security and polity of the nation as it would encourage disorderliness and nonchalant attitudes towards responsibilities among other public office holders who have the inclination to go wayward. In the light of this, Nigerians are looking up to know the President’s next line of action as it concerns addressing the IGP’s disregard and/or negligence of one of his primary assignment.