justicejay:
IBADAN—NOT fewer than 1,260 policemen
from the six South West states of the country
recently transferred to Northern states,
especially the North East, where Boko Haram
insurgency was rampant, have complained
bitterly against what they termed ‘lopsided
transfer that attracts no incentives.
According to a signal by AIG Abdul Bude from
Force Headquarters, Abuja, dated December
24, 2016 with reference No CB 4770/FS/FHQ/
ABJ/Vol. 5/232, the affected policemen have
been mandated to assemble in Kaduna on
January 4, 2017.
Though, they said as security agents, their
primary duty is to protect lives and property,
they are not comfortable with the way the
transfer which dates back to 1997 is being
handled.
An impeccable source told Vanguard that the
transfer carried out in 1997, 2003 and 2015
had recorded heavy casualties among the
policemen from the South West due to
inadequate facilities.
They are principally unhappy because they are
allegedly not treated equally with their
Northern counterparts.
One of the affected policemen who spoke on
condition of anonymity for fear of
victimisation said their northern colleagues
who are equally transferred at the same time
are treated as sacred cows because despite
disobeying the police authorities, by shunning
the transfer, still get to collect their salaries.
According to one of them: ‘’Lives of several
policemen from the South West that were
transferred in the past had been wasted by
the insurgents.’’
Other grievances of the aggrieved policemen
include non-provision of vehicles to convey
them to their new stations; non-provision of
accommodation and other welfare packages,
language barrier and non-familiarity with the
northern terrain.
He said; “Since they started the transfer, lives
of several policemen of South West extraction
have been wasted because when they transfer
them, the authority would not provide
necessary facilities such as money,
accommodation which make them prone to
attacks by the insurgents.
“We are not happy at all. This transfer was
earlier stopped by the National Assembly and
a powerful politician from the South West in
2015. It is the same policemen that are being
transferred now. We knew this because their
transfer letters bore their former ranks under
the former Inspector General of Police,
Solomon Arase.”
With the transfer, he said the police
authorities ran foul of an earlier document
which states that no policeman should be
transferred outside his zone of origin.