"IG must end killing of policemen now" – Reps

The House of Representatives on Wednesday asked the Inspector-General of Police, Mr Ibrahim Idris, to end the killing of policemen by unknown gunmen before the attacks deteriorated to a fresh security challenge for the country.

Lawmakers gave the directive in Abuja as the House debated a motion on the killing of four policemen in Edo State by yet-to-be-identified attackers.

They asked the IG to “act fast by empanelling a crack team of detectives to arrest the culprits.”

The four policemen were reportedly murdered on July 14 at Sabongida-Ora, in Owan-West Local Government Area of the state.

The Deputy Whip of the House, Mr Pally Iriase, who drew the attention of lawmakers to the incident under matters of urgent public importance, said the killers went a step further to set the bodies of the victims ablaze.

“The deceased policemen were later packed into their operational Hilux pick-up and set ablaze.

“The residents of Sabongida-Ora, Uzebba and environs in Owan-West Local Government Area now live in fear,” Iriase informed the House.

The policemen were said to be on patrol duty in the area when the assailants shot them at an intersection.

He recalled that the Edo attack came about two weeks after seven policemen were gunned down in Abuja by unknown persons on July 2.

Making his contribution to the debate, the Minority Whip, Mr Yakubu Barde, observed that the attacks might soon take a new security dimension if the police authorities did not move fast to end the killings of policemen.

He said, “Only on Tuesday, two other policemen were killed along the Birnin-Gwari Road; so, we are talking about seven plus four and another two policemen. That is 13 policemen gone in about two weeks. This pattern is reminiscent of how Boko Haram insurgency started and nobody appeared to pay attention to it.

“When they started, their first strategy was to attack policemen and police stations just to weaken the ability of the law enforcement agents to respond swiftly to any security threats.  If nothing is done to end these killings, very soon, we may have another group to contend with.”

Some lawmakers, including Mr. Nicholas Ossai, Mr. Johnson Agbonayinma and Mr Adamu Kamale, seized the opportunity to demand adequate funding of police operations and welfare.

For example, Ossai told the House that a hungry policeman could do little to stop a crime from being committed.

“I have always advocated the payment of reasonable salaries to policemen. The least-paid policeman should not earn less than N50,000 every month. But, as I speak, there are many of them who earn far below N50,000.

“These are the people we rely on for all the security duties every 24 hours,” he added.