When Senator Isa Misau accused Inspector General of Police (IGP), Ibrahim Idris, of pocketing an illicit N10B monthly, he should have braced up for what was coming next.
Misau
said the N10B accrued from payments for special security services
rendered by the police to private citizens and corporate organisations
like oil companies.
Senator Misau (Bauchi State) is a retired Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) whose last posting was in Niger State in 2010.
Misau
chairs the Senate committee on Navy and his allegations against the
police hierarchy stemmed from the oversight responsibilities lawmakers
are constitutionally saddled with.
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Sen Isa Misau (Daily Trust)
Embarrassed
and miffed, the police went after Misau in rather predictable fashion:
the senator was accused of deserting the police some seven years ago and
pronto, the police opened an investigation into how Misau retired from
the force.
Forged letter
The police said Misau’s retirement letter from the police is a fake.
“The retirement letter presented to journalists by DSP Mohammed Hamman is suspiciously forged and dubiously obtained”, said police spokesman, Jimoh Moshood. “The
letter which was dated March 5, 2014, a period of more than four years
after AP N0 57300 DSP Mohammed Isa Hamman (Senator Isah Hamman Misau)
deserted the Force is now being investigated by the Force".
According
to the police, Misau’s name is still on the police payroll. The police
allege that Misau ran away from the Police Force to avoid disciplinary
proceedings which had been instituted against him.
Moshood also told the world that other security agencies have been invited to go after the senator as well.
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Sen Isa Misau (Daily Trust)
Here’s Moshood again: “an official with pending disciplinary issues is not allowed to retire or leave the force until his case has been resolved.”
The
police say Misau’s case file is before the Force Disciplinary
Committee—an indication, according to the police, that the retirement
letter the lawmaker has been flaunting, is a forgery.
“His
case file is still marked Pending Disciplinary Matter, meaning he would
not be allowed to retire until the case against him has been resolved”,
said Moshood.
Indian hemp specialist
The police also say Misau finds solace in Indian hemp joints.
“These
allegations from a dubious and fraudulent deserter Deputy
Superintendent of Police (DSP) are ridiculous, baseless and a beer
parlour gossip which can only be from someone of unsound mind,
unrepentant and habitual liar who patronises Indian hemp joints.
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Idris and some of his men (The Nation)
“DSP
Mohammed Isa Hamman got the suspected forged retirement letter in 2014
but he contested the Bauchi Central Senatorial Election in 2011 general
elections under Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) at that time he was a
Deputy Superintendent of Police and a deserter of the Force. This is a
clear element and criminal liability of fraud and impersonation, because
under the law, you cannot be a Police Officer and still stand for
election".
Why did it take the police seven years to realise that Misau is a police deserter who gamed the system?
Would Misau’s case file have been reopened if he didn’t accuse the police boss of corruption?
Most likely not.
Blackmail
This has cheap blackmail and vendetta written all over it.
That
the police is only going after the senator following an allegation to
one of its own by the same senator, is really embarrassing but not
surprising. After all, this is the same Police Force whose members pump
bullets into defenseless citizens who refuse to part with bribes at road
checkpoints.
Misau may be guilty of
deserting the Police Force. That is beside the point now. If he is
serving in the senate illegally, how come we are only getting to know
about it after he accused IGP Idris of corruption?
The police is no one’s friend, really, forget that cliché to the contrary.
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Saraki and Dogara are presiding members of the national assembly (The Guardian NG)
I drive home to work daily knowing that I’d be stopped at several checkpoints by police officers pleading for ‘Egunje’ (bribe) for no offence other than that I’m heading home after a tiring day at work.
The
police also protects the rich to the detriment of the poor. They carry
bags for the wealthy and government officials; while the rest of the
citizenry remains painfully under-policed.
Here’s
the thing—we shouldn’t sweep Misau’s N10B allegation under a rug
because the police has come out on the defensive. We can actually
investigate that allegation while also proceeding apace with whether the
senator is a deserter or not. It’s called multi-tasking.
With this incident, the police has again proven how shameless it is as a law enforcement unit.
How low can the Nigeria police really go?
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