Still On Wadume

Recently, a massive manhunt launched by the Police Special Forces and the Intelligence Response Team (IRT) resulted in the re-arrest of millionaire kidnapper, Hamisu Wadume at his hideout in Layin Mai Allo Hotoro area of Kano State.

The police had been on the look-out  for Hamisu since August 6 following the unfortunate incident in Ibi, Taraba State that resulted in the brutal murders of three police officers and two civilians, and injury to five other persons.

Wadume, however, has been making a number of horrid confessions about his activities, such as paying soldiers N20,000 at each security checkpoint to avoid arrest.

He also confessed to have paid huge amounts of money into the account of an army captain in order for the military to turn the other eye when he carries out his desperate operations.

In sum, Wadume’s capture raises concerns about a high-level connivance between criminals and security personnel all over the country, a factor that may be making crime detection and prevention a problematic issue.

We are however not surprised that the Police Special Forces and IRT eventually re-arrested Wadume, because it has always been the contention of many that if Nigerian policemen are motivated sufficiently enough they can successfully tackle the security challenges facing the nation.

It is a cogent idea because the Police know the criminals in the various communities in the nation, and they can fish them out if they have to protect their reputation or have something at stake.

It was probably because their officials were killed in the brutal attack by the military that made them become so proactive as to fish out the notorious Wadume in a record time.

Still, we commend the Police for re-arresting the accused, because it shows  their feats at detecting complicated crimes and bursting invisible syndicates in the past are no flukes.

However, we are shocked that Wadume’s  revelations indicate that many military officers could be  so mean as to betray the trust reposed in them by collecting N20,000 from a kidnapper at checkpoints.

If they can be so desperate for money, it means the federal government has to think seriously about improving the welfare of military men sent to checkpoints, to prevent other Wadumes  from corrupting soldiers and evading justice after carrying out their criminal activities.

Meanwhile, we demand that the military officers identified to have compromised themselves so shamelessly should be disciplined for such a condemnable behavior.

It is such an attitude that has led to a worrisome delay in concluding military actions against the Boko Haram insurgents and the notorious Fulani herdsmen turned kidnappers.

While we welcome some of Wadume’s disclosures, we  advise the security agencies involved with his interrogation to be careful with the manner at which they leak information out to the public, because a huge network must be behind Wadume’s activities, and many people might take flight if the disclosures continue to be made public.

Besides, the purported confessions of the re-arrested kingpin could jeopardise the deteriorating relations between the military and the Police.

This has become imperative because Nigeria cannot afford a breakdown of harmony between the Police and the military, perhaps the two most crucial institutions in the business of combating Nigeria’s numerous security challenges.

Equally important, the Police should replicate the decisive maneuvers they used to in re-arresting Wadume when they investigate crimes against lesser mortals in the country, as such efficiency could lead to reduction of criminal activities.

With such efficient execution in future operations, criminals will know they have no place to hide, and this could deter them in their criminal activities.

In other words, the Police should not wait for their colleagues to be killed before they display their vaunted skills, skills that had made a number of them to return to the country from international assignments with commendations and awards.

But much more than this, the Wadume episode continues to highlight the need for synergy between the military and the Police towards crime detection and prevention.

A synergy between the two federal government agencies would have prevented a needless situation where innocent lives  of security officers were lost.