The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) has warned Nigerians against comments
and actions that could pit the Nigerian Police Force against the Nigeria
Army.
The warning became necessary following the controversies and public
criticism that greeted the killing of three policemen and a civilian
last week by soldiers on the Ibi-Wukari Road in Taraba State.
Col. Onyema Nwachukwu, the Acting spokesman for the DHQ, Colonel gave
the warning while reminding Nigerians that the police and the army are
two very important services in the country.
He said that concern should be geared at ensuring the joint panel constituted undertakes an exhaustive investigation.
When asked by The Nation about the captain alleged to have been
responsible for the unauthorised shootings and release of the suspected
kidnapper, Nwachukwu said, “That information did not come from me. Our
concern is to allow the panel do a thorough job and avoid comments that
heat up the situation. We are trying to apply some restraint on this
issue to avoid pitching the police against the army.
“These are two very important institutions in Nigeria and it will be
most unfair to this nation to pit them against each other or the
personnel of each service against the other.
“What is important is that lives have been lost and this is a
difficult time for the families of the victims. We should be more
concerned at looking into the human angles, the psychological traumas
these families are going through.
“Our concern should be that the panel does exhaustive investigation
and gets to the bottom of the matter. So, I would not like to begin to
make comments that would pre-empt the investigation or its outcome.”