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.