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SLAIN OFFICERS: The messy public row continues as police counters army’s statement

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The Nigerian police have accused the army of distorting facts for claiming that police officers who were killed by soldiers in Taraba were mistaken for kidnappers.

The police had on Wednesday raised the alarm over the killing of three police operatives and one civilian by soldiers in Taraba state.

Officers of the Intelligence Response Team (IRT) were attacked by some soldiers along Ibi-Jalingo Road, while taking a kidnap kingpin, identified as ‘Alhaji Hamisu,’ to the Command Headquarters in Jalingo. Other police operatives were also injured during the attack.

The police had also said that the kidnap-suspect, who was being taken to the Taraba State Police Command in Jalingo, had his hand-cuffs unlocked by the soldiers, and set free.

Responding, the Nigerian Army, in a statement, claimed that the killing was in error, stating that the incident was triggered by a “distressed call to rescue a kidnapped victim”.

However, the police, in a series of tweets on Thursday, claimed that the army was only trying to justify an unprovoked and unwarranted murder.

READ ALSO: Why soldiers killed policemen, freed notorious kidnapper in Taraba —Army

It said: “The attention of the Nigeria Police Force has been drawn to the Press Release by the @HQNigerianArmy dated 07 August, 2019, seeking to justify the unprovoked and unwarranted murder of three (3) Police officers and one (1) Civilian, and serious injury to other operatives, who were on legitimate criminal investigation activities to Taraba State, to arrest one Alhaji Hamisu Bala Wadume indicted in a series of high-profile kidnap incidents in the State.

“In the best tradition of Esprit de Corps, Inter-Agency Harmony and National Interest, the Nigeria Police Force would naturally have kept quiet, but it has become imperative to set the record straight by addressing the obvious distortion of facts inherent in the Press Release by @HQNigerianArmy.

“The most important question arising from the Nigerian Army Press Release is: Where is Alhaji Hamisu Bala Wadume? Alhaji Hamisu Bala Wadume is a millionaire kidnapper arrested by the Police but paradoxically treated as a ‘‘kidnap victim’’ by the Soldiers and subsequently ‘rescued’ by them. Where is he? Where is the rescued kidnapper?

“Secondly, the Press Release was silent on the source of the alleged distress report or identity of the complainant, on the strength of whose report, the Army claimed had informed their decision to engage in the purported chase and rescue operation.

“Needless to state that in the true spirit of transparency and accountability, the Nigerian Army ought to have arrested the purported distress caller – if any -for obviously and deliberately furnishing them with false and misleading information. Besides, such arrest should in fact be made public!

“Thirdly, it is not true that the Policemen failed to identify themselves as alleged in the Press Release. The video on the incident, now viral, wherein the voice of one of the soldiers was heard loudly proclaiming that the Policemen were from the Force Headquarters, Abuja speaks volume.

“Besides, the presence of the IRT personnel was well known to the Taraba Police Command as the Operatives officially and properly documented not only at the State Command Headquarters but also at the Wukari Area Command and the Ibi Divisional Headquarters.

“As a matter of fact, some of the Detectives from the Taraba State Command’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID) were part of the operation.

“The Force also considers it insensitive, disrespectful and unpatriotic for the Press Release by the Army to continue to describe Policemen on lawful National Assignment as ‘suspected kidnappers’ long after it had become crystal clear to the Army that these are Law Enforcement Officers who unfortunately were gruesomely murdered in the line of duty by Nigerian soldiers attached to 93 Battalion, Takum”.

The force also posed some questions to the Nigerian army which are contained in the picture below.

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