Imminent Mass Transfer: Police Officers Fear Boko Haram States

THE high rate of insecurity in parts of the North is threatening the planned mass transfer of police personnel across police formations nationwide as ordered by the Police top hierarchy.

Saturday Tribune learnt that some officers and men of the Force were totally indisposed to being transferred to any of the volatile northern states, in spite of frantic moves by the  authorities to disabuse their minds on the prevailing situation in those states.

Feelers from the various police formations and the Force Heaquarters, Abuja indicated that mostly apprehensive officers and other ranks were those who had  spent more than two years at their current duty posts.

The Inspector General of Police,(IGP), Mohammed Abubakar, had last week through a  memo dated August 2, 2012 and signed by the Force Secretary, Assistant Inspector General of Police. AIG Dan’Azumi Doma, directed the immediate transfer of all general duty police  personnel of all ranks who might have spent more than two years  in the various formations.

The IGP explained that the action became necessary as available reports indicated that some of the officers and other Ranks had spent more than 10 years at their present duty posts which had made some of them to be fraternizing with criminals and turned local land speculators while some turned local politicians among others.

He made it clear that the  only solution to the ugly development, which had made the Force to lose its primary focus of maintaing law and order as well as

combating crimes, was the shake-up and pegging the period of service at a duty post to two years for all ranks.

Investigations by Saturday Tribune in the formations,  however, revealed that the new plan would displace them and their family members if carried out, while some of the personnel also saw it “as a way of transfering them to the volatile North against their wishes.”

 Recently, several police personnel posted to some states in the North, had also rejected such postings under one guise or the other  and worked their ways back to the Southern part of the country.

Some of the Police personnel, who spoke with our correspondent over the development in confidence, said the two years’ policy being introduced, was unrealistic as it would distrupt police operations nationwide.

According to one of the Police  officers,’’it is easier said than done. Police job is not a tea party. The entire system will collapse. That is not the  way they can get the needed results. There are other ways of doing it. The mass transfer can be done in phases.

 “If they insist on going ahead with it, many experienced personnel, with few years in the service, will opt out voluntarily rather than  to proceed on transfer to danger Zones.’’

However, it was learnt that as part of efforts to allay the fears of the personnel over the new policy, the IGP had directed the Assistant Inspectors General, (AIGs), Commissioners of Police (CPs), Area Commanders (ACs), Divisional Police Officers (DPOs) in the Zonal Headquarters, states, Police training institutions and other police formations to educate their officers and other ranks on the policy and the need for them to embrace it if they still wish to remain in the Force.

It was  learnt that following some subtle moves in some quarters to frustrate the policy, the IGP had reportedly vowed  to go ahead with the mass transfer as he did when he scrapped all police check points on the nation’s highways.

Some people had kicked against it under the excuse that armed robbers would take over the highways in the absence of the police personnel.

Efforts to speak with the Force Public Relations Officer, Mr Frank Mba on the new development was not successful as his mobile phone rang, but no reply, when contacted.

However, a senior officer at the Force Headquarters, Abuja told  Saturday Tribune in confidence, that the mass transfer would still go ahead as planned, saying all neccessary operational steps needed to take for its smooth take-off were in top gear.

Meanwhile, the IGP has ordered all zonal AIGs and state command CPs, to send a comprehensive list each of all officers under their command to the police headquarters.

Informed sources disclosed to the Saturday Tribune that the IGP’s directive, which was to with immediate effect, should indicate the rank of the officers, how long they had stayed in the zone or command, and from where they were posted to their present command.

The source revealed that the directive was far from what  obtained in the past, as any police officer that was not included in the list would be declared a ghost worker.

According to the source, the directive will enable the police management team, know the number of officers that are actually working in the field and those that are redundant.

The compilation was said to be a prelude to the imminent mass transfer as ordered by the IG, who was worried by the growing insecurity in the country and the inability of the policemen to contain the situation, despite their presence in every nook and corner of the country.

The source disclosed that while no fewer than 5,000 policemen were in each state command, only an insignificant number was often seen when there was a crisis.
It was also learnt that he had ordered the immediate stoppage of policemen, who claimed to be on leave on compassionate grounds.

Source: Tribune