Army Has Case to Answer over Death of Police Officers, Says Shehu Sani

Army Has Case to Answer over Death of Police Officers, Says Shehu Sani

Martins Ifijeh

Politician and human rights activist, Senator Shehu Sani, has stated that the soldiers who killed three police officers, transporting an alleged kidnapper in Taraba State last week has questions to answer, as their actions show they were bent on freeing the culprit.

Speaking on Arise News Channel yesterday, Sani said the actions of the soldiers show the widely perceived opinion that security agencies were complicit in the kidnapping and banditry currently happening in the nation.

He said: “The incident reflects the complexity and disorderliness of security matters in Nigeria. If we have a synergy between the police and army on prosecuting banditry and kidnapping, this unfortunate incident wouldn’t have happened.

“Issues arising now show conspiracy against the policemen who successfully apprehended the kidnapper. This gives room for questions that need answers. No doubt, investigations could reveal what the motives of the soldiers were in killing the policemen.

“This incident brings to spotlight that banditry and kidnapping have the imprint of security agencies. Imagine the police getting hold of a wanted man, and then suddenly they were killed while the wanted man was left to escape. Those that killed them have questions to answer,” he added.

While commending the Federal Government for setting up of a panel to investigate the incident, he said previous recommendations by panels on interagency confrontation did not yield results, adding that reports from such panels have never been implemented.

He noted that everyone was talking about the incident because it happened between agencies. “If it was between security agencies and civilians, what you will most likely hear is that those killed are also kidnappers. That is what they would have been labelled.”

He said this presents an opportunity for the office of the National Security Adviser to address interagency confrontations, stressing that the office of the NSA has been docile for some years now.

“The NSA should bring security agencies together. If security forces do not work together, it is almost sure that the war against banditry, kidnapping, and terrorism will never be won. This is a wakeup call to a synergy,” he said.

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