Olaitan Oyerinde
By Adibe Emenyonu
The Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIG) in charge of Zone 5, Hashimu Salihu Argungu, Tuesday decried the contradicting reports among operatives of the State Security Service (SSS) and the police over the killing of Olaitan Oyerinde, the Principal Private Secretary to Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State.
Argungu, who disclosed this during a visit to Edo State Council of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Benin City, described the development as ‘unfortunate,’ adding that the two security agencies were “supposed to work together.”
He attributed the development to unhealthy rivalry among Nigerian security agencies or undue competition for credit.
The Zone 5 AIG said it was unfortunate that the two security agencies of government gave conflicting reports on a single matter.
“It is unfortunate that two agencies of government gave conflicting statements on one single issue. I call it unfortunate because of what I said that the criminal justice system is a system that works together.
“What I want you to understand here is if you look at the structure of the criminal justice system, who are the agencies, whether in uniform, whether civilian etc involved in the structure of the criminal justice system and also look at the broad issue of the system,” Argungu said.
He also likened the situation to human system, noting that if one part of the human system is rotten, it may likely affect the whole body. He therefore enjoined all security agencies to work hand in hand so that they can achieve common objective and common cause.
According to him, “In those days when we still young, both the SSS and the police work hand in hand towards a common goal, but now, something is wrong. We expect you to dig in and find out where the problem lies.”
He however called for the cooperation of the media practitioners, which he described as a bridge between the public and the police, especially in the discharge of their duties adding: “There is no how we can work without the cooperation of the press.”