By Olamilekan FAWAS
The House of Representatives has urged the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) to constitute a team of detectives to fish out those behind the murder of four policemen in Edo State.
TBI Africa recalls that the policemen were murdered on Saturday while at a checkpoint in Sabongida-Ora, Owan West Local Government Area of the state.
Their assailants put their bodies in their patrol vehicle and set them ablaze. Deputy Majority Whip of the House, Mr Pally Iriase, raised the motion on Wednesday at plenary under “Matters of Urgent Public Importance.’’
Moving the motion, Pally recalled the gruesome incident and said that the dead officers were killed by yet-to-be-identified persons.
He said it was becoming a trend for policemen to be attacked at will, adding that it was time for action on the part of government.
“We must rise up and act. The IGP must be held accountable, so, he needs to act fast to bring the killers to book,” he said.
Similarly, the Minority Whip, Mr Yakubu Barde, said two policemen were also killed in similar circumstance along the Birnin-Gwari way in Kaduna state on Tuesday.
He cautioned that the development was assuming a dangerous dimension. “When Boko Haram started, they started by targeting the state, killing policemen. Something may be in the offing,” he warned.
In his contribution, Rep. Ahmed Kaita (APC-Katsina) called for better equipment and training of the policemen to enable them to withstand such attacks.
“We need to ensure that those who it is their responsibility to protect us are also secured,’’ he said.
Others who spoke in support of the motion including Reps. Tahir Monguno, Nicholas Ossai and Adamu Kamale, separately condemned the trend of police-targeted killings. “Enough of lamentations. We should have the solution,” Kamale said and called for urgent action.
The motion was unanimously adopted by members, after which a minute silence was observed in honour of the fallen policemen.
It was consequently resolved that the IGP, Mr Ibrahim Idris, should raise a squad of crack detectives to apprehend the persons behind the incident.
