Gbenro Adesina/Ibadan
As the yuletide season is winding down, policemen numbering about 1,260 who have been transferred to the Northern Zone of the country from six South West states are particularly unhappy about what they have termed, ‘lopsided transfer that attracts no incentives’.
The magazine learnt that most of these policemen who are indigenes of Oyo, Osun, Ogun, Ondo, Ekiti and Lagos were posted to states afflicted with various security challenges, including Boko Haram insurgency.
In a signal signed by AIG Abdul Bude from Force Headquarters, Abuja and dated December 24, 2016 with reference no CB 4770/FS/FHQ/ABJ/Vol. 5/232, the affected policemen have been mandated to resume in Kaduna on January 4, 2017.
According to a source, ever since the transfer exercises carried out in 1997, 2003 and 2015, policemen from the South West have recorded heavy casualties due to non-provision of necessary facilities in the areas they were posted to.
On the contrary, according to the source, their Northern counterparts transferred at the same time to the South West usually shun the transfer and are treated as sacred cow because despite disobeying the police authorities, they would collect their salaries.
According to one of them who preferred anonymity, lives of several policemen from the South West that were transferred in the past had been wasted by the insurgents.
Other grievances of the aggrieved policemen include non-provision of vehicles that would convey them to their new stations; non-provision of accommodation and other welfare services, language barrier and non-familiarity with the Northern terrain.
According to one of them, “We are not happy at all. This same transfer had initially been stopped by the National Assembly and a powerful politician from the South West in 2015. It is the same policemen that are being transferred now. We knew this because the letter sent to them was addressed with their former ranks whereas these policemen had been transferred by the former Inspector General of Police, Solomon Arase”.
With the transfer, he said, the police authorities have contravened the earlier document which states that no policeman should be transferred outside his zone.
“For instance, those in Oyo State could be transferred to Osun State or other states within the zone. Likewise, those in Kaduna could be sent to states within the zone.
“We are not happy because our northern counterparts who are transferred to the Southern part always ignore the transfer and no action will be taken against them. Then, they will collect their salaries.
“But, those of us in the South West who obeyed the authorities and were posted to insurgency prone areas were killed in units where they were transferred to.
“So, we don’t want to go for this transfer because we know that we will go and suffer there. We are not saying we should not be transferred but let them provide enabling environment for us to work. They can’t just continue to make us sacrificial lambs. This kind of transfer has forced some of us out of the force; it has led to broken homes”, he stated.