By Abel Daniel

Nasarawa State commissioner  of police, Mr Akerele Abayomi, speaks on the ethnic clashes in the state that allegedly claimed 12,500 lives in  four villages.

What role have the police played in the crises that have bedeviled the state in recent times?

The role of the police so far is to be neutral and to allow the law to take its course. What we do is to investigate whoever may have committed or involved in one crime or the other, and to make sure such person or persons are brought before the court for the law to take its course.

We don’t want to get involved in any  political, religious or ethnic crisis. That is why all those found with AK 47, locally made guns, those who used offensive weapons, those who attacked their fellow human beings during the crises have been arrested and some charged to court while some are still under investigation.

There is never a crisis in the state that the police did not made arrest of suspects. At Asakio, suspects were arrested and charged to court; in Agyaragu, 19 suspects were  taken to court. Most of the suspects were even remanded in police custody for a very long time, but when the court and the DPP found some of them not directly connected with the crisis and because we didn’t have sufficient evidence to link them to the crisis, their release was granted. That does not mean police is not doing its job.

Those  found guilty after investigation and linked with the offence of causing public disturbance were charged appropriately. I can boldly tell you that the police in Nasarawa State have been playing their role of investigating and arresting suspects, but we don’t want to be involved any form of political, ethnic or religious crisis even though some people are trying to drag us into it.

In the Agbashi clash, how many suspects did you arrest?

The crisis actually started at Agbashi but escalated to other villages. The cause was traced to Agbashi in Ekye Development Area, based on the allegation that a particular farmer  inflicted  machete cuts on somebody’s  arm, but the people involved were  arrested by the police.

The crisis further spread as far as to Bassa where people took it upon themselves to kill their fellow humans beings. We made arrests; two herdsmen were apprehended and found with AK 47 rifles with 60 rounds of live ammunition. We strongly believe the arms must have used in that particular locality.

File Photo

Overall, 22 suspects were arrested and are still at the CID custody for further investigation. Some of the suspects  were in possession of  machetes and locally made guns.

Some groups have alleged that the police are not proactive enough, and that was why  crisis easily spreads  in the state.

As Shakespeare  said there is no how  one can read man’s heart on the face. No human being can be so proactive as to act in advance of crisis. We cannot read people’s minds, nobody told us that somebody was going to cut another man’s hand at Agbashi on that fateful day; so if people are saying that we are not proactive enough, it means they want to stretch us beyond our limits to act on what has not happened.

But I think from what  happened, we  acted well within our capacity. Don’t forget, in the course of the crisis, the IG sent men from Kogi, Benue and Niger to assist us. In some of the places where crises happened early last year, our officers are still stationed there. To say that the police is not proactive enough to stop  any of these crisis from escalating is a very difficult job. We have held peace meetings with the people on several times and they still went ahead to do what they had in mind.

In many societies, you have people who are simply non-conformist; no matter what you do or tell them not to do, they will still go ahead. Those are the kind of people we are after. So what has not happened we cannot know not to measure it or prevent it. What has not happened we cannot judge or use any barometer to measure or determine anything.

What is your message to the warring parties, the injured, the displaced, and the communities affected?

My counsel  to such people  is in line with the appeal made by his excellency, the governor, asking those who are displaced to return to their homes and settlements. I want to add that eight security units have been created by  government to provide adequate security to villages that are evacuated. The government has equally urged that people should resume their normal businesses.

My advice  is that the displaced people should go back to their places in line with the government policy as adequate security is being put together to ensure the safety of the people in those areas. We will make sure that nobody or community is attacked. Nobody should exercise fear of reprisal attack; the police is out to protect lives and property. The police is working hard to make sure fear is removed so that people can move freely.

Furthermore, people should have the courage and confidence  to go back to their  homes. Anybody who knows about any sect or person threatening the existence of their community should not hesitate to inform the police nearest to their domain.

To the warring parties, the governor, while addressing the people  involved in crises acoss the state, said  they have lived together for years, and what is bad is bad. We should therefore not hide under any guise to cover what is bad by trying to trigger off communal clashes here and there, we should fish the perpetrators because they don’t mean well for us.

If people have been living together for so long and all of a sudden they start to kill and destroy themselves,  it then suggests that some people are behind that act. Nobody should allow himself to be used to cause confusion in the community.

Anybody who allows his head to be used to break coconut may not live to eat that coconut. Don’t allow anyone to use your head to break coconut either. Do not allow yourself,  under any circumstance to be used to  make trouble, that can expose you to danger and you may not live to tell the story.