…Detained Officers Seek To Know Offense Committed
As part of its disciplinary measures to correct erring officers, the Ughelli Area Command of the Delta State Police command has detained a police inspector, Abel Ogbekene and six others including a member of the Nigeria Hunters Group.
The Police Inspector, Abel Ogbekene and six other colleagues, including a member of the Nigeria Hunters Group are currently been detained at the Ughelli Police Area Command, but has appealed to the authority to intimate them with details of their offenses that warranted their detention.
The security operatives have been in detention since Monday night.
According to Inspector Abel, his team had gone out on routine patrol along the Agbarha-Otor Road in Ughelli North Local Government Area, where they had a checkpoint. He said they had just arrived the checkpoint when they received a call to return to base.
He said, “We got the call that evening and we returned to the office at about past 7pm. Then we were delayed till about 8.25pm before they took us straight to the cell.
“They ordered our detention, but never told us the said person who called or what the person said.
“The reason for the detention was not given, name and meaning of the offence committed not given to us. We should be able to know our offense because Section 129 (1) paragraph 1a of the constitution says, ‘if anybody is alleged to have committed an offense, he should be informed of the cause of arrest if he must be arrested. Otherwise it becomes an illegal detention.”
Asked whether their predicament has to do with any encounter they may have had on duty that night, Inspector Abel said;
“The only thing I can recall is that, we held a man on that road riding a motorcycle without particulars.
“And Section 5 of the Traffic Act is explicit on that, ‘No person shall drive without vehicle papers. That it is an offense to drive without papers and, this was someone driving without any paper at all. One of my team member, a member of the hunter group (Vigilante) was with the offender bike rider when we were recalled to office.
“So my concern is for the Ughelli Area Command authority to tell us what our offenses are, and for detaining us without stating the cause of action. It is necessary we know. It’s morning and we remain in the cell. Nobody is telling us anything. I don’t understand.”
But investigations revealed that the said Inspector Abel had already violated the ethics of his job before the said incident. An anonymous police source from the Delta State Police command, told this medium that the said Inspector Abel was formally at Otu-Jeremi Division of the Nigeria Police, but was deployed to the Ughelli ‘A’ Division due to his alleged unprofessional activities and abuse of the police profession. Upon his resumption at the ‘A’ Division, he was given a posting which he allegedly objected to and had altercation with the DPO.
He was again redeployed to the Ughelli Area Command where he resumed without an official release from the ‘A’ Division. The source further disclosed that he was asked to go back to normalise his deployment with the DPO before resuming at his new posting, but he allegedly absconded from work as he seldomly appears and disappears.
On his detention, the source revealed that Inspector Abel and his team allegedly arrested a motorcycle at a check point at about 9am, and took the motorcycle to the station.
He allegedly demanded the sum of N10,000 which the rider couldn’t afford, and this prompted him to call his family at Ozoro, and they made a cash transfer of N10,000 to an account provided by Inspector Abel. After receiving the money, he still kept the bike till 4pm before releasing it.
The source also revealed that the Inspector is being detained for what is called ‘Disciplinary Offense’.
When contacted, the Delta State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Bright Edafe said; “Before a policeman will be detained, he must have violated the ethics of the police profession and he is being detained for disciplinary measures which if he is found wanting, he may be dismissed.