Chidi Samuel|
The rising tension between the army and the police continued on Thursday with the police authorities accusing the army of deliberately lying to the public to cover up the killing of its officers by soldiers in Taraba state on Tuesday.
The killed police officers from force headquarters who were on assignment in a remote part of Taraba, were ambushed by soldiers after they successfully arrested a notorious kidnap kingpin. The suspect was freed by the soldiers, force PPRO Frank Mba said in a statement on Wednesday.
The Nigerian Army in a statement on Thursday disputed the claim by the police.
In a statement by its spokesperson, Sagir Musa, the army admitted soldiers from 93 Battalion were responsible for the tragedy but claimed the soldiers mistook the police for kidnappers as a result of poor communication.
Sagir claimed that villagers made a panic call to soldiers that kidnappers had come to operate in their community, leading to the hot pursuit of the van the officers were travelling with and the eventual killing of three police officers.
Sagir said, “The attention of the army headquarters has been drawn to the press release by DCP Frank Mba, force public relations officer, force headquarters, Abuja Ref No. CZ.5300/FPRD/FHQ/ABJ/VOL.2/68 Date: August 7, 2019 on the unfortunate incident that occurred on the 6th of August 2019 in which troops of 93 Battalion Nigerian Army Takum pursued and exchanged fire with some suspected kidnappers who indeed turned out to be an Intelligence Response Team from the Police Force Headquarters Abuja on a covert assignment from Abuja resulting in the death and injury of some members of the Team.”
“On the 6th of August 2019, the said Nigerian Army troops, while responding to a distressed call to rescue a kidnapped victim exchanged fire with the suspected kidnappers along Ibi-Wukari Road in Taraba State.
“The suspected kidnappers numbering about ten (10) and driving in a white bus with Reg No LAGOS MUS 564 EU refused to stop when they were halted by troops at three consecutive check points.
“The flagrant refusal of the suspected kidnappers to stop at the three checkpoints prompted a hot pursuit of the fleeing suspects by the troops. It was in this process that the suspected kidnappers who were obviously armed opened fire at the troops sporadically thus prompting them to return fire.
“In the resultant fire fight, four (4) suspects were shot and died on the spot while four (4) others sustained various degrees of gunshot wounds and 2 others reportedly missing. It was only after this avoidable outcome that one of the wounded suspects disclosed the fact that they were indeed Policemen dispatched from Nigerian Police, Force Headquarters, Abuja for a covert assignment.”
Although an investigative panel had been raised to urgently get to the root of the incident, the police on Thursday evening kicked against the army’s account of the incident.
Force spokesman, Frank Mba who condemned the army’s description of their personnel as suspected kidnappers also asked the military to provide evidence that villagers made a distress call to soldiers who killed the officers and freed Alhaji Hamisu, the kidnap suspect.
He equally raised a series of questions for the Nigerian Army to clarify to Nigerians around its culpability in the killing of detectives.
Mba said, “The most important question arising from the Nigerian Army Press Release is: Where is Alhaji Hamisu Bala Wadume? Alhaji Hamisu Bala Wadume is a millionaire kidnapper arrested by the Police but paradoxically treated as a ‘kidnap victim’ by the Soldiers and subsequently ‘rescued’ by them. Where is he? Where is the rescued kidnapper?.”
“Secondly, the press release was silent on the source of the alleged distress report or identity of the complainant, on the strength of whose report, the Army claimed had informed their decision to engage in the purported chase and rescue operation.
“Needless to state that in the true spirit of transparency and accountability, the Nigerian Army ought to have arrested the purported distress caller – if any – for obviously and deliberately furnishing them with false and misleading information. Besides, such arrest should in fact be made public!”
Mba concluded, in the final analysis, we leave the Nigerian Army authorities to provide Nigerians with answers on the following questions emanating from their Press Release:
· Where is the notorious kidnapper, Alhaji Hamisu Bala Wadume ‘rescued’ by the soldiers?
· How and why was Alhaji Hamisu Bala Wadume released by the soldiers?
· How could a kidnap suspect properly restrained with handcuffs by the Police escape from the hands of his military rescuers?
· If Alhaji Hamisu Bala Wadume is a ‘‘victim of kidnap’’ as claimed, and properly rescued by soldiers, why was he not taken to the Army Base for documentation purposes and debriefing in line with the Standard Operating Procedure in the Nigerian Army?
· Why were the Police Operatives shot at close range even after they had identified themselves as Police Officers on legitimate duty as evident in the video now in circulation?
President Mohammadu Buhari on Thursday ordered a probe of the killing of the police officers.
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