Imminent Mass Transfer: Police Officers Fear Boko Haram States

Saturday Tribune learnt that some officers and men of the Force
were totally indisposed to being transferred to any of the volatile northern
states, in spite of frantic moves by the  authorities to disabuse their
minds on the prevailing situation in those states.

Feelers from the various police formations and the Force Heaquarters,
Abuja indicated that mostly apprehensive officers and other ranks were those
who had  spent more than two years at their current duty posts.

The Inspector General of Police,(IGP), Mohammed Abubakar, had last
week through a  memo dated August 2, 2012 and signed by the Force
Secretary, Assistant Inspector General of Police. AIG Dan’Azumi Doma, directed
the immediate transfer of all general duty police  personnel of all ranks
who might have spent more than two years  in the various formations.

The IGP explained that the action became necessary as available
reports indicated that some of the officers and other Ranks had spent more than
10 years at their present duty posts which had made some of them to be
fraternizing with criminals and turned local land speculators while some turned
local politicians among others.

He made it clear that the  only solution to the ugly
development, which had made the Force to lose its primary focus of maintaing
law and order as well as

combating crimes, was the shake-up and pegging the period of
service at a duty post to two years for all ranks.

Investigations by Saturday Tribune in the formations, 
however, revealed that the new plan would displace them and their family
members if carried out, while some of the personnel also saw it “as a way of
transfering them to the volatile North against their wishes.”

 Recently, several police personnel posted to some states in
the North, had also rejected such postings under one guise or the other 
and worked their ways back to the Southern part of the country.

Some of the Police personnel, who spoke with our correspondent
over the development in confidence, said the two years’ policy being
introduced, was unrealistic as it would distrupt police operations nationwide.

According to one of the Police  officers,’’it is easier said
than done. Police job is not a tea party. The entire system will collapse. That
is not the  way they can get the needed results. There are other ways of
doing it. The mass transfer can be done in phases.

 “If they insist on going ahead with it, many experienced
personnel, with few years in the service, will opt out voluntarily rather
than  to proceed on transfer to danger Zones.’’

However, it was learnt that as part of efforts to allay the fears
of the personnel over the new policy, the IGP had directed the Assistant
Inspectors General, (AIGs), Commissioners of Police (CPs), Area Commanders
(ACs), Divisional Police Officers (DPOs) in the Zonal Headquarters, states,
Police training institutions and other police formations to educate their
officers and other ranks on the policy and the need for them to embrace it if
they still wish to remain in the Force.

It was  learnt that following some subtle moves in some
quarters to frustrate the policy, the IGP had reportedly vowed  to go
ahead with the mass transfer as he did when he scrapped all police check points
on the nation’s highways.

Some people had kicked against it under the excuse that armed
robbers would take over the highways in the absence of the police personnel.

Efforts to speak with the Force Public Relations Officer, Mr Frank
Mba on the new development was not successful as his mobile phone rang, but no
reply, when contacted.

However, a senior officer at the Force Headquarters, Abuja
told  Saturday Tribune in confidence, that the mass transfer would still
go ahead as planned, saying all neccessary operational steps needed to take for
its smooth take-off were in top gear.

Meanwhile, the IGP has ordered all zonal AIGs and state command
CPs, to send a comprehensive list each of all officers under their command to
the police headquarters.

Informed sources disclosed to the Saturday Tribune that the IGP’s
directive, which was to with immediate effect, should indicate the rank of the
officers, how long they had stayed in the zone or command, and from where they
were posted to their present command.

The source revealed that the directive was far from what 
obtained in the past, as any police officer that was not included in the list
would be declared a ghost worker.

According to the source, the directive will enable the police
management team, know the number of officers that are actually working in the
field and those that are redundant.

The compilation was said to be a prelude to the imminent mass
transfer as ordered by the IG, who was worried by the growing insecurity in the
country and the inability of the policemen to contain the situation, despite
their presence in every nook and corner of the country.

The source disclosed that while no fewer than 5,000 policemen were
in each state command, only an insignificant number was often seen when there
was a crisis.
It was also learnt that he had ordered the immediate stoppage of policemen, who
claimed to be on leave on compassionate grounds.