NOT fewer than 1,260 policemen from the six South West
states of the country recently transferred to Northern
states, especially the North East, where Boko Haram
insurgency was ramp@nt, have complained bitterly
against what they termed ‘lopsided transfer that attracts
no incentives.
According to a signal by AIG Abdul Bude from Force
Headquarters, Abuja, dated December 24, 2016 with
reference No CB 4770/FS/FHQ/ABJ/Vol. 5/232, the
affected policemen have been mandated to assemble in
Kaduna on January 4, 2017.
Though, they said as security agents, their primary duty is
to protect lives and property, they are not comfortable
with the way the transfer which dates back to 1997 is
being handled.
An impeccable source told Vanguard that the transfer
carried out in 1997, 2003 and 2015 had recorded heavy
casualties among the policemen from the South West
due to inadequate facilities.
They are principally unhappy because they are allegedly
not treated equally with their Northern counterparts.
One of the affected policemen who spoke on condition of
anonymity for fear of victimisation said their northern
colleagues who are equally transferred at the same time
are treated as sacred cows because despite disobeying
the police authorities, by shunning the transfer, still get to
collect their salaries.
According to one of them: ‘’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 to convey them to their new
stations; non-provision of accommodation and other
welfare packages, language barrier and non-familiarity
with the northern terrain.
He said; “Since they started the transfer, lives of several
policemen of South West extraction have been wasted
because when they transfer them, the authority would not
provide necessary facilities such as money,
accommodation which make them prone to attacks by
the insurgents.
“We are not happy at all. This transfer was earlier 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 their
transfer letters bore their former ranks under the former
Inspector General of Police, Solomon Arase.”
With the transfer, he said the police authorities ran foul of
an earlier document which states that no policeman
should be transferred outside his zone of origin.
