Insecurity: Enugu Students Call for Removal of CP ...Threatens mass protest

 

Following the recent security challenges in Enugu State, students in the state under the auspices of National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) have joined in the call for the immediate removal of the state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Suleiman Balarabe, for lack of capacity to secure the state.

In a statement issued by the state Chairman of NANS, Darlington Ugwuegbe, the students stated that they were worried that the state which is known for its peaceful and secure nature has recently witnessed some strange and sudden security lapses since the deployment of Balarabe as the state Commissioner of Police.

They stated that their investigations revealed that Balarabe has not served as commissioner of police before his deployment to the state, stressing that the sudden security lapses in the state could not be unconnected with his lack of experience in his present assignment.

The students, therefore, gave the federal government and the Inspector-General of Police (IG) a two-week ultimatum to redeploy the commissioner of police or they would embark on a peaceful protest to drive home their demands.

According to them, “The CP does not have contemporary policing strategies. Enugu has been adjudged the most peaceful state in Nigeria after the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and this was confirmed by the police, but all of a sudden everything seems to have changed.  We demand an urgent and total overhaul of the security architecture in the state, especially the police. We also demand the deployment of more security personnel in the state.”

The students alleged that their investigations further revealed that the CP’s deployment to the state prior to the last general election was facilitated by chieftains of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state, who were only interested in the removal of the immediate past CP, Mr. Danmallam Mohammed, for political reasons.

“We, therefore, give the federal government and the IG a two-week ultimatum to move the CP out of Enugu State, failingly, we will not hesitate to stage a peaceful protest to drive home our demand, which is in the overall interest of the people of the state, especially the youths.

“While the leaders of the APC in Enugu State went to Abuja to push for the removal of our former Commissioner of Police, Mohammed, to enable them actualise their political ambition, they forgot to ask for an experienced and capable police officer to replace him. Today, they see the consequences of their self-centered action and they have refused to call for his redeployment,” the students said.

Ugwuegbe in the statement maintained that the call for Balarabe’s removal was borne out of their concern for the safety of lives and property, pointing fingers at some political elements in the state, who he said are hell-bent on sabotaging the efforts of the state government in strengthening the security of the state.