The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), on Thursday, called on the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Usman Baba, to appoint Igbo senior police officers as police commissioners in Enugu and other South East states as is the practice in other zones, particularly South West and North West.
The rights group further requests the Chief of Army Staff to appoint Igbo officers as top commanders in the South East to foster a sense of belonging among the people of the region, The Guardian reports.
HURIWA stated that its request is based on the observation that the majority of important security officers posted to the South East are from the North West and have preconceived and biased notions about the Igbo.
According to HURIWA, it is unimaginable that a high-ranking religious figure, such as Bishop Samuel Uche, the immediate past Prelate of the Methodist Church, could be abducted, adding that although the Bishop gave a detailed account of how troops of a particular affinity allegedly planned kidnappings near the Enugu-Okigwe Federal Highway, to this day, none of the soldiers manning military checkpoints in the area has been indicted or punished.
Emmanuel Onwubiko, Image:TheGuardian
In a statement, the national coordinator of the rights group, Emmanuel Onwubiko said that an indigenous person would better police the states because non-indigenous people have failed to stop the wave of kidnappings and the operations of "unknown gunmen" who are over-running the region.
HURIWA also suggested that the Nigeria Police and the Defence Headquarters deploy senior officers who are familiar with the geography of each geopolitical zone in the interest of community policing, insisting that to effectively reduce crime, local characteristics such as language, mannerisms, sociocultural variations, and others, should be taken into account when sending police commissioners and military commanders to the region.
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