Following weekend’s escape of the mastermind of Christmas day massacre and bombing at St. Theresa’s Catholic Church in Mandalla, Niger State, Kisiru Sokoto, sharpedgenews.com has received information that the inspector-general of police, Mr. Afeez Ringim, has been directed to explain the theatrical fiasco that occurred at Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory.
According to Police Affairs Ministry insiders, Afeez Ringim, a serial failure, was allegedly asked, with his supervising Minister, Caleb Olubolade, to within twenty-four hours explain why escapee Kisiru Sokoto had to be taken out of detention for investigations in Abuja, where he was allegedly rescued by irate youths who were acting in solidarity and approval of his bombing of a worship center, flagrant violation and killing of Christian compatriots during the important Christmas day mass at the Mandalla church.
Minister of Police Affairs, Caleb Olubolade, said that both him and Ringim stood the risk of losing their jobs because of the seriousness with which President Goodluck Jonathan viewed the image implications of the alleged escape which many Nigerians are now looking at as an orchestration that further undermined national security and the integrity of the police.
The Borno State Administration in his whose Abuja property Sokoto was originally apprehended and taken into custody has denied any relationship between the terrorism suspect and the state governor, emphasizing that he must have penetrated the security cordon around the governor in order to wreak an unimaginable havoc that could have had tragic consequences.
The Borno State Commissioner for Information, Inuwa Bawa, said that the administration is as worried by the sudden disappearance of the culprit like most Nigerians, and would want him to be re-arrested and speedily tried.
Heads have already started rolling in the police over the embarrassing escape of suspect Sokoto. The police commissioner with jurisdiction over Abuja has been placed on administrative suspension, while the Investigating Police Officer (IPO) who took Sokoto to Abuja, has been arrested and detained, in order to be investigated for possible connivance in the run-away saga.
When asked if the IG could be sacked over the incident, Olubolade responded: “Yes, anybody, including myself.” He described the escape of Sokoto as an unfortunate incident, saying that necessary steps had been taken to address the situation and rearrest him. The minister stated: “From the ministry, I have directed the Inspector- General of Police to carry out full investigation and even at higher level above that one, there will be another investigation to ascertain what led to the suspect’s escape. “I have also directed that the officers and the personnel involved should be detained immediately.
“The commissioner of police has been suspended. In fact, beyond that, I have advised that they should be placed under arrest and properly monitored.” Olubolade confirmed that he issued a 24-hour notice to Ringim to address the issue, “because he is the field officer, he has the responsibility to ensure all operations regarding arrest are conducted in the proper manner. “If he is found to have had complicity in the matter, he himself will have to account for his mistake.” He, however, added that the incident was not an indication that there had not been good working relationship between his ministry and the police. Olubolade said: “It is not an indication, if somebody has erred in his responsibility the outcome of the investigation will proof that. Whatever step we are to take as a result of this neglect, we have to take it immediately.”
Meanwhile, Nigerians have urged President Goodluck Jonathan to sack Ringim, even as they described Sokoto’s escape as a bad omen in the fight against terrorism. The Prelate of Methodist Church Nigeria, His Eminence, Dr. Sunday Ola Makinde, in a statement made available by the Media and Public Relations Officer, Rev. Oladapo Daramola, described the report of the escape as a “joke”.
He said: “The falsehood that goes on in our country never ceases to amuse all right thinking people. It makes one to believe that this nation is built on falsehood and something critical and deliberate must be done to address the situation so that people watching us will begin to take us seriously. “In the first place, why would a prime suspect like that who is being linked with acts of terrorism be taken to-and-fro without the presence of heavy security; knowing the importance of having such suspect in their custody.” Makinde alleged that the suspect’s escape from the police had “a tinge of conspiracy.”
“No doubt, there exists a possible conspiracy in all this and those involved must be brought to book after serious investigations must have taken place. “For the sake of justice for those who have lost their lives and means of livelihood, this charade must not stand. The security agencies, especially the police, must come clean on this issue. “They must prove to everyone that members of the Boko Haram sect have not infiltrated their ranks similar to the alarm raised by the President. “All this while, we have been clamouring for the masterminds and sponsors of this extreme sect and their activities to be unmasked and when it seemed that something was about to happen in that direction, another twist is what we are witnessing,” he said. A member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Opeyemi Bamidele, also said the suspect’s escape showed that Nigeria was not serious about combating terrorism.
The lawmaker said that the act would have adverse effect on the muchacclaimed efforts to attract foreign investors to the country. Bamidele, representing Ekiti Central I Federal Constituency in the National Assembly, told journalists in Ado-Ekiti on the phone yesterday that the escape should not be treated with levity because nobody would ever take the government and security agencies serious anytime they arrested suspects in future. Bamidele said: “This escape came to me as shocking news. It is an embarrassment to the nation. It is an embarrassment to Nigerians at home and in the diaspora.
“It is a negative signal to the international community. It is an indictment on the government and those who manage our security as a nation. This is an implication on investment. There is no doubting the fact that some people are fast becoming untouchables and they are major threat to the corporate security of Nigeria.” Bamidele, who is the Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Legislative Budget and Research, urged the police and other security agencies to concentrate “on their real job as defined by the constitution rather than being drafted to intimidate defenceless people who are legitimately protesting the draconian policy as we are witnessing in Lagos and other unjustifiably militarised parts of Nigeria.” A public commentator and Managing Consultant at August Consulting, Mr. Azuka Onwuka, said Ringim and Zakari Biu must be sacked.
He said: “For consciously or unconsciously aiding the escape of the suspected sponsor of the St. Theresa’s Catholic Church Christmas Day bombing, we demand the immediate sack, resignation, arrest and prosecution of the IG, the Commissioner of Police, Zakari Biu, and all those who participated in this national embarrassment and sabotage. “Biu is from Borno State, the headquarters of Boko Haram. Why did the IG hand over such a sensitive case to him? Why was only a police van used to transport such a key suspect to his hometown for a search? Was he not handcuffed? So how did he escape from armed policemen? “We must not allow this to go like other cases. This was exactly the way the police officer, accused of killing the Apo Six, allegedly escaped from police detention.”
Additional Reports from National Mirror