from EMEKA OKONKWO in Abuja, Nigeria
Nigeria Bureau
ABUJA, (CAJ News) – THE murder of state security personnel at the hands of civilians during conflicts in Nigeria is increasingly a cause for concern.
It adds a new dimension to the insecurity in the continent’s largest nation.
In the latest incident, civilians killed a police officer during an outbreak of violence and subsequent breakdown of law and order in the southern, oil-rich Rivers State.
Two political factions of the main opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) have clashed over the tenure of Local Government Council Chairmen.
In addition to the killing of the police officer, a vigilante member was also killed. The deaths occurred at the Eberi-Omuma in Omuma local government area but various areas of the state are beset by violence.
Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun, the Inspector General of Police, has directed the Commissioner of Police in Rivers, Olatunji Disu, to heighten security measures across the state and institute thorough investigations into the killing of the police officer and the vigilante operative, as well as the general violence which erupted in the state.
Egbetokun has specifically deployed operatives of the Force Intelligence Response Team (IRT) to assist the Rivers State Command in apprehending the killers of the police officer and the vigilante member.
“The IGP seriously warns individuals and groups of people who have a penchant for senseless attacks and mindless killings of police officers and other security operatives across the country to desist forthwith as the fullest force of the law will be meted on them.”
This is according to Olumuyiwa Adejobi, Nigeria Police Public Relations Officer.
“The Inspector General of Police calls on all residents and political stakeholders in the State to exercise restraint and seek peaceful means of resolving differences,” he added.
The Not Too Young To Perform (NTYTP), a youth-driven leadership development advocacy group, has strongly condemned rising attacks on Nigerian security operatives on duty, including military officers, police, and other uniformed personnel of the armed forces.
“These attacks not only endanger the lives of those who serve to protect all of us but also undermine the stability and security of our communities,” President / Executive Coordinator, James Ezema, and the National Publicity Secretary, Mikail Okoiye Audu, jointly said.
“A society where security operatives are constantly harassed and intimidated freely by the civil populace or non-state actors is a failed society,” they stated.
At the end of May, militants agitating for autonomy from Nigeria killed five soldiers in the southeast state of Abia.
In March, 17 soldiers were killed while responding to a distress call arising from a clash by rival communities in the southern Delta state.
– CAJ News