No member of the 61 Mobile Police Force
Squadron 38, in Akwanga Nasarawa State, dispatched to dislodge the
Ombatse militia group, survived the raid, The PUNCH learnt on Wednesday.
This came as the police search and
rescue team deployed in Alakyo forest in the state recovered the corpse
of an Assistant Commissioner of Police, Mohammed Momoh, who led the
operation.
The team recovered Momoh’s mutilated corpse alongside those of many slain security operatives.
The police and the State Security
Service had put the number of their dead or missing officials involved
in the last week attack at 56. They comprised 46 police officers and 10
SSS operatives.
However, a source told our correspondent
on Wednesday that no member of the PMF 38 Squadron known as ‘Tiger
Squadron’ mobilised for the operation survived the militia’s attack.
“Apart from the 61 MOPOL officers that
were deployed from Akwanga, we have yet to see many others mobilised
from the MOPOL base in Lafia, including the men of the State CID. So the
claim that only 56 policemen died cannot be true,” an officer confided
in our correspondent.
It was learnt that the
Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar, had summoned the officer
in charge of the base to the Force Headquarters.
The Police High Command was also said to
have begun an investigation into allegation that the Nasarawa State
Government paid a huge amount of money to the state Police Command to
influence the massive deployment of its officers for the ill-fated
operation against the militia group.
Findings indicated that the 2015 race for governorship position in the state informed the operation against the militia group.
Meanwhile, a new Commissioner of Police, Umar Shehu, has taken over from Abayomi Akeremale, who is retiring from the force.
Shehu resumed at the command on Tuesday.
In a related development, the Plateau
State Government has confirmed that three indigenes of the state, who
were State Security Service operatives, died in the Ombatse attack.
Commissioner for Information, Mr. Yiljap
Abraham at the end of State Security Council meeting in Jos on
Wednesday, said the remains of one of the victims had been identified.
The identified cop, he said, was buried on Wednesday.
Abraham added, “The council condemns the
attack on security agencies and we think it is disastrous to the nation
if all we have to do is to target security agencies. Council also
condoled with families of the victims and urged the civil populace to
work with security agents for the sustenance of peace and security in
the country.”
The commissioner noted that the council
meeting, chaired by the Deputy Governor, Ignatius Longjan, also reviewed
the security situation in Plateau State and expressed delight that the
state was not among the states involved in the emergency rule.
The commissioner said, “There are crisis
merchants who will want the state included in state of emergency. So
residents should remain in the highest state of alert.
“We are trying to sustain the peace we
have and the media is critical to this. There are people who are not
happy that Plateau is not included and will want such reportage that
will tend to inflame tempers in order to justify the need for inclusion
of the state in the emergency rule.”
(Punch)
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Pls Nigeria Police needs to be trained by the Soldiers, Nigeria of today is different from Nigeria of yesterday, so we need a well trained Police, NOT lazy,indiscipline,unintelligent & corrupt Police. Police are been corrupted right from their training School. With their fat salaries they still find means of collecting bribe from people, corruption is in their blood none is excepted.
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