Two and a half years after the Inspector-General of Police, Mr Kayode Egbetokun, told Nigerians upon his appointment as the nation’s top police officer that he felt like a “tiger” ready to chase criminals out of the country, veteran crime journalist Mr Folorunsho Atta has challenged him to live up to that metaphor.
With the rising wave of banditry and terrorism, Atta insists that the IGP must now demonstrate the tiger in him through decisive action.
Atta recalled that on June 20, 2023, after being decorated by Vice President Senator Kashim Shettima, an elated Egbetokun addressed the press.
In his words: “Now I have just been decorated, and I am looking forward to taking over tomorrow morning by 11 a.m. I really can’t describe how I feel presently, but if I have to tell you, right now I feel like a tiger inside me, ready to chase away all criminals in Nigeria. And at other times, I feel like a lion within me, ready to devour all internal enemies of Nigeria. That’s my feeling right now.”
Atta lamented that despite this declaration, Nigerians have continued to live in unprecedented fear and uncertainty regarding their lives and property. He criticised Egbetokun and other security chiefs for failing to meet the expectations of Nigerians and foreigners alike, describing their performance in tackling banditry and terrorism as “abysmal.”
According to Atta, unless President Bola Ahmed Tinubu takes bold steps to overhaul the nation’s security architecture, including dropping certain security chiefs, kidnapping, banditry, and terrorism will continue to escalate.
“It does not matter whose ox is gored when it comes to the president putting the security situation in the right perspective,” he said.
He noted that in less than 10 days, no fewer than 425 people had been abducted by bandits and terrorists, including women and children. In Kebbi State, 25 female students were kidnapped; in Kwara State, 38 worshippers were abducted from a church; and just three days after the Kebbi incident, over 300 students, teachers, and staff of a secondary school in Papiri, Niger State, were taken.
Religious and youth leaders in Kwara expressed helplessness over the growing trend of banditry in the state, where Egbetokun once served as Commissioner of Police. Neighbouring Kogi State, home of the new Chief of Army Staff, has also become a playground for bandits and terrorists.
Atta further argued that the recent surge in abductions has rendered the newly formed Schools Protection Squad ineffective. “The abductions in Kebbi and Niger states came just days after the Squad was launched by the IGP. In less than three weeks, bandits and kidnappers have reduced the outfit to a toothless bulldog, much like the Eminent Persons Forum initiative of a former IGP,” he said.
He emphasised that his call for Egbetokun to show himself as a tiger or lion is tied to the IGP’s unique track record. Within five years, Egbetokun rose from Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) to Inspector-General of Police a rare feat. In 2018, he was an ACP in charge of the Police Training School, Ikeja, under the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Edgar Imohinmi. By June 20, 2023, he had become IGP, a promotion Atta believes was based on his “credible” past performances.
However, Atta contrasted Egbetokun’s rapid rise with the fate of crime-fighting czar DCP Abba Kyari, who, despite international commendation for his exploits, languishes in prison without similar promotions.
He also recalled that under proactive IGPs such as late Alhaji Ibrahim Coomassie, Alhaji Tafa Balogun, Sir Mike Okiro, Dr Mohammed Abubakar, and late DrSolomon Arase, many abductions would have been nipped in the bud by detectives from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).
“Today’s situation in Nigeria is fearful and frightening,” Atta concluded.
He cited the recent case in Ibadan where a young woman, Ibikun, was kidnapped at the gate of her home in Akobo by gunmen who dragged her from her car into another vehicle and fled.
“Such cases of kidnapping and banditry have become the order of the day across the nation. Nowhere is safe. Does the IGP still feel like a tiger or a lion?” Atta asked.
