Hafiz Ringim is the chief law enforcement officer in Nigeria. He is a simple and fine gentleman of no small means. He wears his simplicity like a mask, said a police detective who worked under him. But in crime bursting, the detective said, Ringim is a no-nonsense officer. As the Inspector-General of Police, his primary responsibility is maintenance of law and order. As the governorship elections draw closer in Kogi, Bayelsa, Adamawa, Sokoto, Cross River and Edo states, the times are uneasy for the IGP. The Independent National Electoral Commission, the President and the entire citizens of this country look up to Ringim to ensure that his officers and men perform above board during and after the elections. As the last general elections drew close, while the IGP and his men were busy devising strategies to assist INEC in conducting free and fair polls, politicians schemed endlessly to outwit both the INEC and the Nigeria Police Force to achieve their inglorious aim.Perhaps, having seen what unscrupulous politicians can do to outwit the system, Ringim recently gave a directive to all police commands to dismantle the extra police outfits that had been established and which laid tenuous claim to combating crime. The reason for this directive may not be far-fetched. The police have all the departments needed to detect and combat crime in the society. Besides, the extra police units created by commissioners, with backing from state governments, could become special squads which may be put into use by politicians during the elections to scuttle the plans of one man, one vote. I recall that a former IG, Mr. Sunday Adewusi, created a special mobile police squad during the era of President Shehu Shagari, precisely between 1979 and 1983. The outfit was notorious for intimidation of the opposition and also for engaging in extra judicial killings. The public nicknamed Adewusis mobile police force, "Kill and Go." It was no surprise that with the aid of the Kill and Go squad, Shagari coasted home to a landslide victory in the presidential election of that year. As Nigerians rejected the election results, the military, led by Gen. Mohammadu Buhari, sacked the Shagari-led government.With the coming of democracy again in 1999, some state governments, working in concert with the police commissioners, created special police squads. Reasons: First, the units would combat crime to the admiration and applause of the public. But a veiled motive is that the squad would be gradually transformed into the "kill and go" brand that can deal with the state chief executives political opponents and aid politicians during elections. Some of these police squadrons come under various nomenclatures. With the directive from the Police headquarters, some police commands have since dismantled these notorious squads, while some states still retain theirs.In Bayelsa State, for instance, extra-police squad seems to be waxing stronger, intimidating and maiming members of the public who are unfortunate to run into their dubious dragnets. The regiment is called Operation Famutangbein. This squad was created last year, with a superintendent of police as its ultimate commander. Famou tangbei, translated in Ijaw, means kill and go. Operation Famutangbei has its main office at the old commissioners quarters, which was built by the Caleb Olubolade military regime before the advent of civilian rule. To fence off inquisitive eyes, the four-foot walls of the old commissioners quarters were raised to about nine feet so that nobody can see what goes on inside the yard. With a fence higher than prison walls, what goes on in the expansive yard is anybodys guess.The police in Bayelsa lack operational vehicles to carry out their basic functions. In fact, the response rate for assistance from the police in any of the divisional police stations is one hour. This is because they lack operational vehicles. But for Operation Famutangbei, patrol vehicles are the least of their problems. They have patrol vans and other logistics so that the squad can do their sponsors political biddings without much ado. Again, unlike other patrol vans painted in police colours, those of the self-acclaimed killer squads are difficult to identify, as they are of different colours. The squad once arrested the Azikoro community youth president and two others for allegedly stoning the governor. They were charged to court, remanded at Ahoada prisons and later released allegedly for lack of evidence.The squad seems positioned to protect sponsored agents who destroy bill boards and posters of the opposition in the state. Indeed, the fear of Famutangbei is the beginning of wisdom in Bayelsa State.The squad seems to be a multi-purpose outfit of some sorts. For instance, on February 17, 2011, members of the Multi-Purpose Cooperative Union protested at the Government House gate over their exclusion from the share of the N200bn agric loan. Its as if protestation is against the norms of democratic society, as the squad beat up the protesters mercilessly. The State NLC chairman, Comrade Bio Ben-Basuo, who was trying to appeal to the protesters to soft-pedal since there was enough tension in the state already, was also beaten up. All these took place in full glare of journalists who were there to cover the event.With elections just some weeks away, the activities of this police outfit would have been a source of concern but for its disbandment by the IG. However, this is not enough. The IG must take drastic steps to ensure that the outfit doesnt crop up under another name. Ringim must also rid the state of thugs and sophisticated weapons flaunted by unscrupulous politicians. If this is not done, Operation Famutangbei will resurface under another name and continue to breathe down the neck of politicians and the ordinary people alike. Common citizens are afraid that Bayelsa may be the flashpoint for a series of conflicts if appropriate structures are not put in place in the count down to the 2012 governorship elections. Ebiegberi wrote from Kilometre 3, Isaac Boro Expressway, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.
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