By: Ifeanyi Izeze
When the police officers directly from the Inspector General’s
officeTuesday September 4th 2018, raided the Abuja residence of
formerFederal Commissioner for Information and South-South Leader, Chief
Edwin Clark,for alleged stockpiling of arms and ammunition, it would have
ordinarily beenassumed they were merely doing their job but for the now
familiar “acts” ofthis government which has perfected mischief and
intimidation as part of itsdefining characteristics.
One of twothings is playing out in this government as we approach the
general elections.It is either the president is being taken for granted by
those he appointed towork with or rather for him or the president himself
is part of the scheme todrag this nation into a senseless wave of violence
for whatever reasons. Thingsthat happen on daily basis in this country
make it look as if there are peoplehigh up in this government who
deliberately are out to create conflicts/crisisfor President Buhari for
reasons obviously not in the interest of the nation.
Let’s even look at what transpired at the Abuja residence of
thesouth-south leader on Tuesday 4th September 2018: Eight policemencame
in an 18-seater Toyota Hiace bus with number plate: EU 979 ABC, from
theoffice of the Inspector-General of Police, IGP, Ibrahim Idris. They
were saidto be from the IGP’s ‘Special Tactical Force’ STF, Guzape, Abuja,
which reportsonly to the IGP.
Three of the policemen, who were heavily armed, waited outside thehouse,
while three others entered the house to effect the search. At the end
ofthe two-hour search, the policemen were said to have left without
finding anythingincriminating against the elder statesman.
As narrated by Chief Clark, three of the policemen reportedly signed
adocument indicating that neither arms nor ammunition was found in the
house,while three persons from Chief Clark’s household counter-signed the
document.Those who signed on behalf of Chief Clark were Ambassador
Godknows Igali,Secretary-General of Pan Niger Delta Forum, PANDEF, Dr.
Alfred Mulade and Mr.Mac Emakpore.
The policemen who were led by one Kolo Yusuf, told Chief Clark they hada
search warrant obtained from the court.
Now who is the IGP deceiving that the policemen who report directly tohis
office acted on their own without instruction from him? Disowning
anddetaining the eight police officers seem more like looking for dummy
fall guysas the operation has gone sour.
This Government,whether President Buhari is aware or not the buck stops on
his table, should betold in a language they understand very well that this
action against ChiefClark was an outright provocation and a deliberate
incitement orchestrated todraw out the Niger Delta militants into a new
round of violence in the region.This is the truth, the whole truth and,
nothing but the truth!
Do we needanybody to tell us that it is impossible for the raid by the
Police on theAbuja residence of the 92 year old leader of the Niger Delta
to have beencarried out if it was not planned and ordered from only two
sources, thePresidency and/or the office of the Inspector General of
Police?
It is outrightlyackward that the police ‘acting unilaterally’ can invade
the residence of a prominentman of that age who President Buhari and his
government did duly acknowledgedand recognized as the leader of the Pan
Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), the groupthe government has been talking to in
the name of Niger Delta and which hashelped the government so much in
dissuading the angry youths of the Niger Deltaregion from violently
engaging the government security agents even in the faceof outright
provocations.
Why would anelder statesman of 92 years stockpile arms and ammunitions?
Buhari or peoplearound him deliberately want to provoke the Niger Delta
especially themilitants so that the government will have excuse to do what
they have becomeused to doing in the region.
For the policeto conduct a raid on the home of a man of that age on the
pretence that theywere looking for arms and ammunitions and eventually the
claim turned out to bea hoax, means that something must be amidst as the
stories are not adding up atall.
We need to getthis drama clear. Before now, these kind of sting operations
were usuallycarried out by men of the Department of State Services (DSS)
and not thepolice. So suddenly the police has discovered their swag to
sting, abi? Could it be that whoever packagedthe operation did pass
whatever intels they had to the DSS to handle because ofthe person of the
current Acting Director General of the Service? Just thinkingaloud!
Is it notcurious that the raid on Chief Clark’s house came few weeks after
one of the NigerDelta militant groups, the Niger Delta Avengers, issued a
threat to the federalgovernment to immediately restructure the country or
be ready to face anotherround of armed agitation by the region against
everything that has to do withoil productions in their area?
For the presidentnot to see the game plan playing out (though terribly
muddled up by thepolice), says a lot about his aloofness to the happenings
in his governmentand/or his complicity in the whole matter.
If the NigerDelta militants or even their father, Chief Clark, want to
stockpile arms andammunition to sabotage oil facilities, will they be so
foolish to keep theweapons in Edwin Clark’s house in Abuja? Throughout the
spate of the previousagitations, did the militant groups keep their arms
and ammunition in Abuja?You see the foolishness of those that pushed the
very foolish Police InspectorGeneral into making another mockery of not
only himself but the entire internalsecurity efforts of this government.
How could themilitants have been so foolish as to keep their arms in
somebody’s residence inAbuja? Are there any oil production activities in
Abuja to warrant anybody toclaim the action of the police was to forestall
the militants’ attack on oilfacilities since the militants are not
interested in overthrowing anygovernment?
No matter howanybody views this case, it definitely looks foolish on the
surface but underthe surface, it has all the attributes of a well-planned
covert operation toprovoke and incite the people of the region into
another round of violence.
My plea to mypeople is that we should not fall to this unintelligent
dummy. That thing wey their mama tell them, ourmama don tell us too, abi?
The wise thing to do is to insist on a properinvestigation to unravel all
the details particularly concerning who gave theorder, who signed the
police search warrant, which officers executed it andwhat objective was it
meant to serve.
It should beclear to the people of the Niger Delta that the attack on
Edwin Clark’s goesbeyond the Police. If you look at it, you will think the
police deliberatelymuddled it up. No! It’s all part of the plan. It is
Operation Crocodile SmileIII unfolding. My Niger Delta people let us be as
wise as serpents for we arelike sheep in the midst of wolfs! God bless
Nigeria.
(IFEANYI IZEZE writes from Abuja: iizeze@yahoo.com; 234-8033043009)