IPOB Killings: Group Exonerates Enugu CP, Writes Police Service Commission

An Enugu based human rights group, Jonnymanpush has faulted the call for the removal of Enugu State Police Commissioner, Abdur-Rahman Ahmad over the clash between Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) and security operatives in Emene, Enugu State.

The call for the removal of the Police Commissioner was made in a petition to the Police Service Commission (PSC) by an Onitsha based human rights group, Int’l Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law.

In a letter to the PSC, President of Jonnymanpush, Comrade Chibuzo Onyeije, described the call for the removal of CP Abdur-Rahman as unwarranted, stating that the “Police know the terms of engagement, which some of these DSS people do not. The Police in Enugu State has been managing IPOB and other group of agitators in the zone and state without much problems.

The leader of the group Onyeije who is also the Convener, Youths Participation in Nigerian Police, urged the PSC to disregard the petition by the Onitsha, Anambra based group.

“They have been very professional and never killed any IPOB or any youth for that matter. Let us put the blame to where it belongs. We in Enugu are not only happy with our amiable CP, we have confidence in him and his officers”.

Onyeije noted that “war when it starts knows no boundaries nor who caused it,” adding that in the middle of it (war), it could only be managed, but never be balanced.

“The Commissioner of Police has dealt with so many cases/petitions in the state which went in the favour of the oppressed/vulnerable. We have reports that since the deployment and redeployment of Commissioners in the State, Mr Abdur-Rahman has developed unquantifiable security formations, fostered police civil society engagements and deployed his officers to areas of expertise based on intellectual capabilities.”

On the attributes of the Police Commissioner, the group said that from their findings based on the interactions with the commissioner, he neither takes nor offers bribe, adding that “he is the only CP in Enugu who allows NGOs to access police cells.”

He noted that the CP never cares if one is a politician nor visits offices of politicians and other rich men in the State, and unlike some armchair CPs who delegate investigation to surbodinates, Abdur-Rahman moves out on his own to make enquiries.

He therefore urged the PSC to disregard the petition from the Onitsha based group on the grounds that it lacks merit and framework.