By Momoh Abubakar
The Network of Civil Society Organizations of Nigeria (NOCSON) the umbrella body of all Civil Society Orgnizations in Edo State has called on the Inspector General of Police to as a matter of public interest redeployed the Edo State Commissioner of Police,CP Harilu Gwandu over the high level of corruption in the Command under his watchful eyes.
In a statement made available to NAIJA CENTER, the Organization threatened to carry out Mass Action against CP Haliru Gwandu,if he is not redeployed.
They gave some reasons why the IGP and the Polce Service Commission should act rapidly, the Group challenge the CP to swear with the gods of Kebbi State where he hails from as well Edo State, if he is not fantastically corrupt.
They call on all activists, right thinking Edo People, discerning minds, all those who have been extorted and being extorted and indeed lovers of freedom and justice to be on standby as the Human Rights Community meets in few days’ time to finally nail the coffins.
Below is the statement:.
WHY CP HALIRU GWANDU MUST BE REDEPLOYED FROM EDO STATE (PART 1)
Since the Inspector General of Police, despite the continuous hue and cry has refused to redeploy CP Haliru Gwandu away from Edo State as Commissioner of Police in the light of his deep rooted corrupt practices and extortive tendencies, we are determined to take Cp Haliru Gwandu to the cleaners while exposing the criminal and oppressive tendencies perpetuated on Edo people.
Edo State have in the past played host to numerous Commissioners of Police but CP Haliru Gwandu is a special breed and will forever be remembered for making Edo Police Command a business venture where buying and selling thrives at will. His gluttonous taste for extortion has corrupted all the Divisional Police Officers (DPOs) and Officer in Charge (O/Cs) of various department who are duty bound to make financial returns on a weekly basis to CP Haliru Gwandu.
Let me place on record that we are very much in support of the fight against crimes in our state. But it becomes irritating when those saddled with task of detecting and preventing crimes abets criminality by consistently compounding felonies for financial gains, one is therefore forced to be frontal and constrained to speak truth to power.
Youths in Edo State are arrested on a daily basis for no just course and alleged of cultism and fraud, and are thereafter compelled to part away with between N50, 000 to N300, 000 as bail when bail ought to be free.
Like an insider confirmed thus: ‘this trend of extortion will continue as long as the Cp insist on returns from the DPOs and OCs as a prerequisite for holding on to their office’.
This development have irked major activists in Edo State who have consistently engaged the Commissioner of Police and have accordingly resolved to chat a way forward toward the immediate removal of CP Haliru Gwandu from Edo State via a mass action in few days’ time particularly when the right to freedom of speech and association is heavily threatened.
Precisely on the 12th of April, 2017 some youths who have been badly hit by the extortive tendencies of CP Haliru Gwandu staged a peaceful protest to the palace of the Oba of Benin against the police. CP Haliru Gwandu led a team to personally disperse the peaceful protesters. Few days later one of the protesters were traced to his house and arrested, incarcerated for 6days and his family forced to part away with N350, 000. 00 (Three Hundred and Fifty Thousand Naira Only) before he was released.
As we speak, EKPOMA is currently under siege from the hands of CP Haliru Gwandu’s men who had hitherto justified the assault and molestation of the Dean, Faculty of Law of AAU. The former O/C SARS, CSP. Franklin Akanuo who was removed for his inability to pay financial returns to the CP have now been sent to Ekpoma as DPO having assured CP Haliru Gwandu of productivity and he is doing what he knows how to do best there.
Few days ago two (2) students were shot dead by unknown gunmen and as usual over 50 persons were arrested by Anti Cultism Unit of the State Command and each were granted bail with a minimum of N100, 000.
The DPO of Ekpoma Division determined to meet the financial obligation of his office led his men to a building in Ekpoma, he met nobody and cause his men to break into the house, carting away laptops, generator, phones and is even alleged that a bag of rice and tubers of yams were carted away too. As we speak, each of the occupants of the house are being requested to pay N100, 000 each to bail their laptops, generator and food stuffs. We can go on and on…
We concede that the CP is also being encouraged by some disgruntled element hence his arrogance.
At least, in December 2016, some fraudsters joined hands and bought him a jeep worth 9million Naira for his role in aiding and abetting criminality. We challenged CP Haliru Gwandu to deny these allegations and be willing to swear before the gods of Argungun Waters in Kebbi State where he hails from or be willing to swear before the gods of Edo land or the Quran that he is not fantastically corrupt.
This indeed triggered the line of thoughts of the duo of Abraham Oviawe Esq and Marxist Kola Edokpayi while on a media chat on Friday the 12th of May, 2017 on ITV, whereat CP Haliru Gwandu who couldn’t stand the criticism ordered his men to arrest the duo. Althought the CP who earlier boisterously told his earlier callers on the day of the arrest confirmed the order but later denied ever giving the order when right thinking Nigerians were constituently on his phone lines with calls and text messages.
Meanwhile, we have resolve to brief the world every other day from this platform of the callous activities of policemen under the watchful eyes of CP Haliru Gwandu in Edo State until the IGP redeploys him from the state.
We therefore call on all activists, right thinking Edo People, discerning minds, all those who have been extorted and being extorted and indeed lovers of freedom and justice to be on standby as the Human Rights Community meets in few days’ time to finally nail the coffins.
The days of CP Haliru Gwandu as Commissioner of Police, Edo State are numbered as we await his final redeployment or Edo people will resort to passive resistance and civil disobedience.
