Police Should Kill Bandits, Not Democracy In Plateau, Nasarawa -By Emmanuel Aziken

Arguably the best Inspector General of Police since the exit of Solomon Arase, Nigeria’s top police shot, IGP Usman Alkali Baba appears to have now run himself into an unnecessary controversy.

Given the foibles of the ruling political class, he had within reasonable expectations held his dignity in the face of the rascality of political actors here and there during the recent General Election.

Indeed, even if the Election Day vituperations of MC Oluomo were unforgivable, and the seeming silence of the police to the brutalization of many innocent voters around the country on election day seen as reprehensible, it is easy for apologists of the IGP to offer explanations. To them the IGP and the police were apparently overwhelmed by desperate politicians aided by crooked election officers.

However, proceeding on, IGP Usman will have little to defend himself in the seeming bias of the police in the unfolding political theatrics by political actors on the Plateau and in Nasarawa State.

Nigerians were shocked on Thursday morning when news emerged that the IGP had given the instruction that all 17 local government secretariats across the Plateau be shut down.

His reason followed the rebellion of the former local government executives who were “selected” in a dubious election conducted by the immediate past administration of Governor Simon Lalong.

Remarkably, the former House of Assembly before its dissolution had in the course of investigating the local governments as it is constitutionally empowered to, vide section 7 of the Constitution, put the local government executives on suspension.

It is sufficient to say that the House of Assembly that gave the power to Governor Caleb Mutfwang was the All Progressives Congress, APC-controlled legislative body.

While many of the former local government executives obeyed, the suspended chairman in Jos North brought drama to the dispute by breaching the order of the State House of Assembly and the governor by seeking to take possession of the office.

Given that this was a political dispute, albeit a constitutional dispute, what was expected of every stakeholder was to go to court as it is now regularly rehearsed.

However, instead of prodding the political combatants to seek a judicial resolution to the crisis, the police IGP shut down the secretariats. What the IGP has done was to give a fait accompli to the rebellion of the suspended local government executives. The effect is that several duties performed by the local governments which is the fulcrum of government have been paralysed.

The police in the extant case have taken over the roles of both the judiciary and also of law enforcement. There is no doubt that the situation on the Plateau is a political situation that was triggered by the move of the former House of Assembly to scrutinize the finances of the local governments.

The failure of the local governments to respond and the decision of the House of Assembly to suspend them is part of the unsettled issues in Section 7 of the constitution.

Whereas as this correspondent has in the past asserted that the system of democratically elected governments at the local government should be sustained, the situation on the Plateau is particularly interesting.

The former state authorities on the Plateau had through intrigues edged out the PDP from the ballot when the local government election was conducted in October 2021 bringing an infamous legitimacy on the winners as declared by the State Independent Electoral Commission, PLSIEC.

If the action of the police on the Plateau is ruled as biased, the hands-on collaboration of the police in the neighbouring state, Nasarawa in vesting legitimacy to the atrocious actions of Governor Abdullahi Sule against the independence of the State House of Assembly is shocking.

With the governor facing a true test of legitimacy, he, just like Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State in 2019, decided to divide the House of Assembly at the inaugural session of the House on June 6.

At the inaugural session of the House in the parliament building, 13 of the members-elect met and elected Daniel Ogazi. However, just like Obaseki, Governor Sule with the knowledge that he could not help his preferred candidate for speaker and immediate past speaker, Balarabe Abdullahi to emerge, opened the office of the Ministry of Local Government for a session of 10 lawmakers to elect Abdullahi as the re-elected speaker.

Why did the 10 members go to a government building and refuse to submit themselves to the common democratic exercise with their fellow lawmakers in the place designated for the election?

The era of governors whether of the PDP or APC appointing presiding speakers for the legislative branch of government is odious to the principle of separation of powers. It is regrettable that the same attitude was seen in the National Assembly where President Bola Tinubu appointed Senator Godwilll Akpabio as Senate President and Tajudeen Abbas as Speaker of the House of Representatives.

It is not a good example in a democratic setting and runs foul of political sparkle. However, what makes the President’s action more palatable was that he lobbied and was able to wear away the opposition to his nominees.

Remarkably, in Edo State, Governor Obaseki from whom Governor Sule apparently learnt his tricks allowed the inauguration of the House of Assembly to hold unfettered unlike the situation in 2019 when he shut off the majority of the members to allow the election of his designated speaker.

Whether in Plateau or in Nasarawa and everywhere else, Nigerians are looking to the police to enforce the law and not interpret it. IGP Baba already has his job well cut to squash the violence on the plateau that has seen repeated and unsolved killings. Killing democratic enterprise should not be added to his brief.