CLO Faults Call For Mass Transfer of Northern Police Commissioners from South-East

Posted by African Examiner Latest Headlines, News Thursday, July 17th, 2014

Ignatius Okpara, Awka

The Civil Liberties Organization (CLO), has picked holes in the recent calls for the transfer of all serving Police Commissioners from the Northern part of the country from the South-East, describing such request as unconstitutional.

African Examiner investigations revealed that the Professor Ben Nwabuze – led Igbo Leaders of Thought (ILT) had earlier in the week in a statement accused Northern Commissioners of Police in the zone of shielding the Boko Haram insurgents.

CLO, in a press statement issued by its South Eastern Coordinator, Barrister Olu Omotayo and made available to African Examiner in Enugu on Thursday condemned the call attributed to the group.

“It should be noted that by virtue of the provisions of the constitution, the organization and administration of the Police Force shall be in accordance with the provisions of the Police Act which is the Act of the National Assembly governing the Nigeria Police Force.

“The provisions clearly state that the organization and administration of the Police Force shall be in accordance with the law.

“The call by an organization for the removal of Commissioners of Police in the five Sout Eastern states is not only unconstitutional but also unhealthy in a Federal system of government.

“The practice over the years is to see an Ibo man or Yoruba man heading Police Commands in the North while the Northerners head Police Commands in the South East or South West” the statement elaborated.

The human rights organizations argued that the only reason provided by ILT for the transfer of the senior Police officers was mainly on ethnicity difference, affirming that for Nigeria to move forward, tribalism should be discouraged, noting that ethnic affiliation sentiment negates the principle of true federalism and equality of all Nigerians before the law.

“We have been enjoying peace and security in the South-East based on the effective operation of the Police in the southeast.

“This type of demand is like turning the hand of development and provision of adequate security anti-clockwise. Unless the proponents of this ideology want to create a state of insecurity in the southeast, the call made by them is a threat to the peaceful coexistence of the citizens of this country viz a vis their peaceful relationship with the Police and the security agencies.

“We should all advocate for reforms in the police to bring the…Force to the standard obtainable in the developed societies but not this type of reform on ethnic or tribal ground”, the statement concluded.