Weighty Allegation

Naval boss’ accusation that the police free suspects arrested by the navy calls for probe

The report emanating from the visit by the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Ibrahim Idris, to the Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas, last week, threw up some important security questions. While the naval chief blamed the police for bungling the prosecution of notorious criminals arrested by the navy and handed over to the police, the IGP absolved the police and said the blame should rather go to the judiciary, which he said was in charge of the prosecution.

According to the report, the CNS said: “The navy has handed over to the police arrested persons who are involved in maritime crimes. We are hoping that most of the suspects that were handed over to police… would be prosecuted so as to serve as deterrent to would-be offenders”. He further noted: “I want to observe areas where we have concerns. At some levels, we have had some instances where criminal cases which were handed over to the police have been muddled up… and at the end of the day, such criminals find their way back to the same operational areas where they were arrested”.

This allegation is weighty and require thorough investigation, and not just to push the blame to the judiciary as the IGP reportedly did. So, we urge the IGP to constitute a discrete investigation in the volatile spots like Arepo, Ogun State, to find out if his officers were condoning the criminalities, as the CNS implied. It is bad enough that our coastal areas have become very dangerous, with kidnapping and other serious maritime crimes now common.

The naval chief also said that there was no Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) between the military and other security stakeholders. He promised that the Navy was working on one that would be put to use shortly. While we praise the navy for the initiative, we urge for collaboration with other stakeholders, so that such new manual would be acceptable across board. Perhaps the SOP will help to determine the responsibilities of the arresting officials and those that the criminals are handed over to.

We also share in the optimism of the CNS of the capability of our security agencies to nip in the bud the prevailing insecurity along our waterways. What the security agencies lacked in the past was commitment and capacity. So, the present government should encourage the retraining and reequipping of the maritime police; collaboration with the navy and whatever is necessary to fill the gap in the security of our coastal areas. We agree with the CNS when he told the IGP: “We want the suspects to be diligently prosecuted for a safer environment …, so we need to work together and collaborate in that area. If we are able to work closely, we can nip crime in the bud.”

The collaboration in training between the navy and the police should be streamlined, like that between the army and the civil defence. Such inter-agency collaboration is for our common good, and would save our country scarce resources. Inter-security agencies’ collaboration would also enhance trust and the sharing of intelligence to our common benefit. As the IGP rightly noted, the police and the navy should work together to rein in kidnapping and dangerous crimes, now prevalent in Lagos and Niger Delta.

The Federal Government should also be ready to support this initiative. Nigeria should never go back to the era of handing over the security of our critical infrastructure to private hands. For us, all our security agencies should work together to solve the prevailing security challenges.