The joint investigative panel to unravel the unfortunate killing of three police detectives and a civilian on August 6, 2019 submitted its report last week. A statement signed by the Acting Director of Defence Information, Col. Onyema Nwachukwu, stated that the panel had recommended sanctions for five soldiers and two police officers. The seven-man panel was instituted by the Defence Headquarters at the behest of President Muhammadu Buhari, following the sensational killing of the policemen in Ibi, Taraba State, in macabre circumstances.

Killed in cold blood were Inspector Mark Ediale, Sergeants Usman Danzumi and Dahiru Musa; their civilian collaborator, a 24-year old Olajide Owolabi also fell in a hail of bullets. The panel headed by Rear Admiral Ibikunle Olaiya comprised officers of the Army, Navy, Air Force, the Police, the Directorate of State Services and the Defence Intelligence Agency.

Among the officers to be further probed and punished were Capt. Tijani Balarabe, Sergeant Ibrahim Mohammed and Corporal Bartholomew Obanye. Two police officers, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Aondoona Iorbee, the Divisional Crime Officer of the Ibi Division, and Inspector Aliyu Dadje were recommended for disciplinary measures. The suspected kidnap kingpin, Hamisu Bala (alias Wadume), was recommended for prosecution for “gun running” and should be further investigated for possible kidnapping charges.

This incident, when it occurred, cast a blanket of melancholy over the nation. There was such a pall of grief, and the cheeky manner those excellent police detectives were wasted was beyond national endurance because the deaths were completely avoidable. The panel’s report, the bit the Defence Headquarters are able to release, seems rather sketchy but panel completed its work in a good time and its recommendations are quite natural and were almost expected. National sentiments are no more quite as raw as they were a few weeks ago, underscoring that time, indeed, is a great healer.

The report referred to “infractions and poor communication between police officers and troops.” It also noted the non-observance of adherence to the Standard Operating Procedure by both parties. Most Nigerians would now be wondering what the punishment for infractions and poor communication between police officers and troops would be, and the identity of those who committed them. Again, it is not expected that the ordinary Nigerian would like to know what the Standard Operating Procedure in the armed services entrails. But these two indictments (of both sides) give an insight into some of the problems of our armed services and the Police. There is no occupation in the world, which takes itself seriously that does not have standard operating procedure and a correct way of communicating. The panel’s report may sound like mere words on paper. But the real consequences were the deadly movie-like tragedy, which played out in Ibi. When will our leaders begin to take their responsibilities seriously enough to follow the rules and compel their subordinates to do the right thing?



    SEE ALSO: Taraba killing: "Culprits prosecuted"- Former CP

Oblique references have been made to inter-agency competition between the Army and the Police. Such conflict is unexpected because the functions of each side are well delineated by the Constitution. It is true that the Army is temporarily involved in ‘Internal Security,’ which probably saw the Army manning the checkpoints which ordinarily should be done by the Police. Even so, if both sides had strictly followed the rules, the August 6 disaster would have been averted.

But when all is said and done, and we are certain that the panel was not asked to dwell on the underlying cause of this avoidable massacre, it would be found that the urge to shoot and ask questions later is at the root of the problem. In the civilized world, where many of our soldiers and police officers have gone for peace keeping, and returned with prizes, the aim would have been to apprehend the fleeing suspects and not to kill them. If you blew off the tyres and the bus tumbled thrice, as the reports said, what was the point in shooting to kill the helpless occupants? This kind of problem deserves to be tackled by a special programme of re-education of our armed services and the Police. Despite weeks of violent protests in Hong Kong by hundreds of angry protesters, only one shot was fired, and nobody was killed. In France, the yellow vest protests went on for more than a dozen weekends without a single bullet fired. Ours should not be different.