The Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris (IGP), Ibrahim Idris, yesterday ordered state commissioners of police to as a matter of urgency disarm all militias, vigilantes and other security outfits set up by governors to protect their citizens.
The IGP equally reiterated his earlier position that the renewed killings in Benue State were communal clashes. He was speaking in Abuja when he met with officers with the rank of commissioner of police and above.
He said the Nigerian Constitution made it clear that only the security agencies were empowered to carry arms and ammunition.
Idris did not, however, state whether or not the same law applied to Fulani herdsmen accused of carrying sophisticated weapons and killing innocent citizens.
He said: “We are entering a very tedious and serious situations in this country.
“The political issues are coming up to the fore and officers must gear up in our various locations, in our various responsibilities to ensure that we provide law and order all over Nigerian.
“We are now coming into a political arena. Commands should be very conversant about the arming of militiamen or vigilante.
“Before a vigilante is established by government, you must have a bi-law, which must be passed by the house of assembly.
“It is the responsibility of the commissioners of police of the commands to study these bi-laws and see how they conform with the constitution and other laws of this country.
“But whereby through the connivance of some police officers you have a command arming militiamen under several names. Our officers are to brace up to face these challenges.
“No country, no government in this country have the responsibility to approve some prohibited firearms to any Nigerian under any guise.
“It is the responsibilities of CPs of commands to put close watch on the activities of some of these governors arming individuals, which is against the laws of this country.
“All of us are aware about these prohibited firearms. You cannot give approval for any individual to own a pistol. You cannot give an approval for any individual to own an AK-47, riffle.
“These are prohibited weapons and only the government has that authority to give that approval.
“I want to call on our commissioners of police of various commands, you have to be on the watch out for these abuses at various levels.”
To justify his claim that the incidents were communal clashes, Idris said: “About two or three days back, we had an incident we are investigating in Gboko, where seven Fulani men in pubic transport traveling to Taraba State and stopped at Gboko. The youths there seeing they were Fulani just pounced on them, killed and roasted them.
“I dispatched our monitoring team to Benue and arrests were made in that area and we are going to investigate it thoroughly.
“These are clashes occurring between two members of the community. As Nigerians, we should learn to live together, we should learn to be tolerant of each other.
“When I had a briefing with the traditional rulers in Port-Harcourt, I told them they have a lot to do to bring peace and harmony within their community members.
“This country needs leaders who should unite the communities, not leaders who create divisions.”
