The Nigeria Police Force has dismissed from official duty the three officers who on Monday carried out the raid on the house of the foremost elder statesman and Ijaw leader Chief Edwin Clark. The dismissal was approved by the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris.
The dismissed officers are Godwin Musa AP/No.18858, Sada Abubakar AP/No. 225812, and Yabo Paul AP/No.225828. Meanwhile the superintendent of Police, David Dominic who led the search team was still being investigated and appropriate punishment would be meted out accordingly.
This development which was made known by the Force Public Relations Officer Jimoh Moshood is coming a day after the Inspector General of Police represented by Deputy Inspector General of Police; Habila Joshak paid a courtesy and apology visit to the Elder statesman in his residence at Asokoro in Abuja.
The development which has attracted widespread uproar and condemnation from Nigerian far and wide saw the police officer acting on information from a concerned citizen about the possible storage of arms and ammunitions at the residence of the Ijaw leaders, information which proved to be false after the police officer conducted a raid and search on his residence.
The informant who had since been arrested claimed he was acting upon information given to him by a commercial cab driver who alleged that arms were being stored in the Ijaw leader’s residence. While being paraded before newsmen Mr Ismail Yakubu expressed that his actions were predicated upon his civic duties as a citizen of the country in informing the police of security situation in his surroundings. He narrated how he was informed of his suspicion by a cab driver and how he informed the Inspector General of Police Special Tactical Force which carried out the search.
The Police Public Relations Officer, Jimoh Moshood also stated that the Informant would be charged to court for giving false information and misleading the force.
However, in a reaction to the development, some Nigerians have labeled the development as a deliberate scapegoating attempt by the Force of the officers who were simply carrying out specific orders from superiors. They likened the development to the dismissal of the director General of the department of state security DSS Lawal Daura for invading the national assembly. It will be recalled that the DSS chief was dismissed after the uproar that greeted the invasion of the national assembly by mask wearing DSS officers last month; a development that generated international condemnation.
Some Nigerians also condemned the parading of the informant as a development that could jeopardize further attempt by concerned individuals to inform the police of any suspicion in their neighborhood, which would hamper attempts to ensure adequate security of lives and property.
Victor Alagogooko for IbadanCity ANNOUNCER
