By Austin Ogwuda
THE Delta Commissioner of Police, CP Abaniwonda Olufemi and his counterpart in Imo State are jittering following a call made by the Chairman of the Police Service Commission, Solomon Arase calling for the removal of any Police Commissioner where the Command is experiencing wave of killing of Police officers.
Arase, clearly questioned the competence of the Commissioners of Police in Delta and Imo States, following a wave of assaults against Police officers under their control.
Arase, in a statement on Sunday through the Police Service Commission spokesman, Ikechukwu Ani, said, “The killings in some States across the nation has become worrisome; we call on the Inspector-General of Police, Olukayode Egbetokun, to take another look on the capacity of State command leadership in the country.
“There must be consequences for these avoidable incidents. Any State Commissioner of Police found incompetent, derelict, and operationally/tactically porous should be eased out to avoid these huge Police casualties.
“The Commission wishes to condole the Inspector-General of Police, Dr. Olukayode Egbetokun, on this unfortunate developments, especially at a time when all hands are supposed to be on deck to rid the nation of militancy and banditry.
“The Commission had more than a fair share of these ugly developments in recent times and call for integrated intelligence policing”.
The Commission condoled the families of the slain officers, saying, “time has come for State Command Commissioners to rise up to the occasion, we enjoin the serving officers not to be demotivated by these ugly developments but to re-enact their indomitable fighting spirit that the Force is known for to ward off this new wave of assaults”, the statement added.
Recall that the decomposing corpses of Police officers killed in Delta State were discovered during a search and rescue operation at Ohoror village, Ughelli North Local Government Area of Delta State.
The Townhall had previously reported that on January 24, 2024 these police officers while on check point responded to a distress call by one Moses Progress, who came to inform them about a purported attack by herdsmen while performing sacrifice to the gods of the river under a bridge close to the check point.
Arase also referenced the series of attacks in Imo State, noting that Imo turned into a hotbed for violence after Police declared war on secessionists, killing and burning their houses and communities.