A constitutional and human right lawyer, Angus Obinna Chukwuka, has condemned the gruesome murder of Mrs Omobolanle Raheem by ASP Drambi Vandhi.
He called on the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Usman Alkali Baba, the Police Service Commission (PSC), all allied agencies and personnel to declare a state of emergency on the police force.
In a statement, Chukwuka decried the murder of the late Raheem, a lawyer and described it as a sad reminder of the state of insecurity to which Nigerians everywhere have become hopelessly exposed.
Thanking the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) for setting up an adhoc committee to ensure a proper investigation of the incident and a subsequent prosecution, thereof, Chukwuka said the incident is beyond prosecution of the trigger-happy ASP Vandhi and his cohorts.
According to him, it is more about our police system that has been bedeviled with tribalism, religious bigotry, corruption and outright indiscipline.
His words: “In this system, police officers at endless checkpoints, extort bribes at gunpoint from commuters. They do this openly without any shame or fear of punishment and even give change to victim drivers without any receipt. They are prepared to shoot for delay or refusal of a driver or vehicle owner to give them as little as N100, sometimes.
“The Federal Government must take another look at recruitment and appointment procedures of the police force. Round poles must be in round holes. Tribalism and religious bigotry must be eschewed now more than ever before, in employing and appointing police officers.
“Also, mechanisms for internal discipline and sanctions within the police must immediately be activated. Thorough punishment should be meted out to erring officers no matter whose ox is gored.”
Chukwuka urged that a searchlight should be beamed on the officers of the Nigerian Army, the Federal Road Safety Corps, the Security and Civil Defence Corps, and other security agencies who stay on the road principally to extort bribes from road users with impunity, using all manner of schemes.