ROT IN POLICE COLLEGE: HURIWA CANVASSES JUDICIAL COMMISSION; SUPPORTS STATE POLICE

HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS' ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA, [HURIWA] a Democracy and development focused Non-Governmental organization has called on President Goodluck Jonathan to go beyond mere political rhetorics and media stunts regarding the extensive decay and rot in the Police training colleges in Nigeria and set up strong judicial commission of inquiry made up of tested and trusted Nigerian Patriots and to be led by a serving Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria of high repute to unravel the circumstances and identify persons surrounding the corruption and massive theft of budgetery releases to the Nigeria Police Force [NPF] from 1999 till date meant for the maintenance of police training facilities and police stations across the country.

The group has also faulted the decision of the serving minister of Police Affairs Retired Navy Commander Caleb Olubukolade to set up ministerial committees to uncover the reasons for the rot in the police colleges across the country. HURIWA believes that an accused can not constitute himself into a prosecutor and the judge in his own case even as the Rights group believe that only an independent Judicial Commission of inquiry can dispassionately determine the characters responsible for the obscene decay in the Nigeria Police Force as an institution.

The group also wants the judicial commission of inquiry to invite all former and serving police affairs ministers and inspectors General of police to interogate them on the whereabouts of the billions of public fund voted and released to the police authority since 1999. The Judicial commission must ensure that the anti-graft agencies retrieve and prosecute all those to be indicted for this monumental heist of fund belonging to the Nigeria Police Force since 1999 till date.

HURIWA also tasked the National Assembly constitutional review committee to positively include a new provision in the coming constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria for the creation of an effective and efficient state and municipal policing institutions as are done in civilized climes such as the United Kingdom and the United States because according to the Rights Group the primary reason why the current Nigeria Police Force have professionally collapsed and the operatives unable to tackle the unprecedented insecurity across the country is because it is unwieldy and made up largely of persons with past and current criminal records since there is no way of verifying the past criminal records of those recruited or enlisted into the Nigeria Police Force since Nigeria does not have state of the art national crime data. The Policing institution for Nigeria must start from a clean slate to cure the inefficiency and legendary professional incompetence of the current crop of Nigeria Police Force, HURIWA submitted.

In a statement jointly signed by the National Coordinator Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko ad the National Media Affairs Officer Miss. Zainab Yusuf, HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS' ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA [HURIWA] said the recent visit of President Jonathan to the Police Training Collge in Ikeja, Lagos during which the President expressed shock on the extent of rot and collapse of policing infrastructure shows that those in power are completely shut out from the realities on the ground because according to HURIWA the decay in the Nigeria Police Force [NPF] has always being a notorious and so well known fact since two decades ago which was the fundamental reason why virtually all successive administrations including the current Federal Government have had to set up Presidential reform committees for the police.

HURIWA regreted that for total lack of commitment and political will, the proposed reforms for the Nigeria Police Force recommended by the over one dozen Police reform committees have collapsed like pack of cards. HURIWA dismissed the current Police Presidential Reform committee headed by Vice President as cosmetic and destined to die on arrival.

According to HURIWA; " We have watched with shock the recent visit to the Ikeja Police College in Lagos by President Goodluck Jonathan during which he stumbled on the massive collapse of the facilities at the Police Training institution. We were shocked that President Jonathan only woke up literary from Presidential slumber only when the Channels Television showcased this shameful and graphic pictures of the extensive rot in the policing institution of Nigeria".

"We invite Mr. President to visit the Garki Police station and/or any of the police stations in Abuja and any part of Nigeria to see for himself the monumental decay and the harsh conditions under which police operatives operate. One wonders where the huge budgetary releases meant for the Nigeria Police Force since 1999 have gone to. We are of the firm conviction that over 75 % of the total budgetary releases to the Nigeria Police Force since 1999 till date have all but stolen by individuals charged with the duty of procurement and administration in both the Nigeria Police Force and the Federal Ministry of Police Affairs. The President must set up a strong judicial commission of inquiry to be headed by a serving Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria of high repute in order to name, shame and recommend for judicial sanction, persons indicted for the theft of these huge police budgetary releases since 1999. The vicious circle of corruption in the Nigeria Police Force must be checked or Nigeria will collapse under the heavy weight of organized crimes and terrorism."