“If one of my men is killed, I shall kill 20 of them but don’t shoot first. If they shoot you, shoot back in self-defence. You have the power to stop the governor. We are in a critical period. We are not para-military. We must be bold and brave….” That was the recently posted Assistant Inspector General (AIG) of Police, Zone 2, the ever controversial Mr. Joseph Mbu, addressing men and officers of the Ogun State Command at its Eleweran Headquarters last week. The question that comes to minds of most Nigerians is: how could an officer of the law talk like that?
It is unfortunate that in this critical election period, Mbu who wears the esteemed uniform of the Nigeria Police and exalted rank of AIG, two steps away from becoming the IG, would continue to behave like the leader of a criminal gang plotting the downfall of a rival gang. More unfortunate still is that Mbu would appear to be the favourite policeman of some vested political interest hence his promotion to the rank of AIG and deployment to the political hotbed of the South-West. Yet it is the controversial profile of Mbu and his incomprehensible meteoric ascendancy within the echelon of the Nigeria Police that leads critics to term the Nigeria Police as the Nigeria Police Farce.
The list of Mbu’s infractions is long. As Rivers State Commissioner of Police, he violated the principle of subordination of the armed forces to elected civil authority thereby undermining a cardinal pillar of democratic order. In Rivers State also, he used the police to unconstitutionally overthrow constituted civil authority in a local government and forcibly occupied its offices for as long as he wished. As Abuja police boss, Mbu violated the rights of citizens to freedom of association and peaceful assembly over the Chibok girls abduction. Then he ordered the detention of Mr. Amaechi Anakwue, a journalist with the African Independent Television (AIT), for reportedly describing him as “controversial” in a news report.
While it remains our view that a man with Mbu’s predisposition has no place in the police force, especially in a democracy, it is very clear that those who should call the man to order may actually be hailing him for his lawlessness. That then explains why Mbu has become the prime symbol and uniformed mascot of a season of unbridled impunity in the nation. However, as we have repeatedly reiterated, only in Nigeria is this level of authorised hooliganism sanctioned by the state in a purportedly democratic context.
The point that should not be missed by his superiors is that Mbu’s serial felonies go beyond accidental errors committed by a dedicated law officer in the line of legitimate duty. What the public has been witnessing are the indiscretions of a police officer who finds it difficult to distance himself from opportunistic partisanship and someone who believes he is above the law. The language he speaks is that of the street and he seems to have no restraints when it comes to decision making.
Even more frightening is the fact that here is an officer whose duty should be majorly the protection of the sacred principles of democratic rights in a civil administration but who is more comfortable with frequent flirtations with autocratic high-handedness. That is the meaning of his latest directive which was meant to intimidate. But Mbu is dealing with a people who cannot be cowed and would challenge his autocracy. Therefore, the Police Service Commission must rise to its responsibility and save Nigeria from Mbu before he imperils an already apprehensive nation.
