CONOMIC
and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) last Tuesday confirmed that its
revelation on the financial standing of former Inspector-General of Police (IGP)
Tafa Balogun precipitated his sudden and shocking exit.
Chairman of the commission, Alhaji Nuhu
Ribadu disclosed that a huge lodgement of some funds that was equivalent to
seven million dollars were traced to the former top cop’s Fountain Trust Bank’s
account.
Irked by the discovery, President Olusegun
Obasanjo was said to have summoned the IGP last Monday and prevailed on him to
proceed on retirement leave.
Across the country, Balogun’s retirement
has provoked a gale of reactions.
While some people are celebrating the exit
of the police boss, others are either on the fence or are clearly rueful over
it. For instance, for EFCC, it is a major victory in its anti-corruption drive.
The same feeling is shared by members of President Obasanjo’s cabinet.
However, the ripples of Balogun’s ouster
are most palpable in the political turf. And the reason is understandable. If
there is any sector that feels that the police under the former helmsman have
questions to answer, it is the political class as well as the electorate.
It is for that reason that the loudest
clamour for either his resignation or removal emanated from the stable of
politicians and the pro-democracy and human rights community.
"At last, government has seen some sense
in what we have been clamouring for. We have been vindicated," Maxi Okwu,
Secretary-General of Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP) told
Daily Champion.
Although Balogun’s appointment in 2001 was
hailed by most Nigerians including the political class, events of last general
elections were to set him against those opposed to the government and the ruling
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The role played by the police was not considered
noble by many.
The alleged massive irregularities
especially the widespread intimidation of the electorate were taken to the
doorstep of the police. In some states, police were said to have brazenly helped
to cart away ballot boxes, while in others, they were accused of guarding the
stuffing of the boxes as well as alloting of imaginary votes to candidates of
ruling parties.
The situation elicited wide condemnation
of the IGP by the masses who felt that their right to free choice was infringed
upon and by contestants who complained of being rigged out. Balogun denied the
allegations, but his refutal hardly made any impact.
To be fair to him, the IGP was in a very
precarious situation. Many believe that he had a devil’s alternative in his
hand, that he was left with the option of either doing the bidding of the
government that appointed him or losing his juicy job.
Police supervision of the 2003 election
was the third time police would monitor elections organised by a civilian
administration. The first was during the Alhaji Abubakar Tafawa Balewa regime
and the second, in 1983, under Alhaji Shehu Shagari. The case of 1983 and 2003
had similarities. Leaders of governments at the centre and in the states were
desperate about getting re-elected.
One of the allegations against the IGP was
that he connived with governors and the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to
rig the last elections. It is a controversial claim which has neither been
substantiated nor allowed to go. The same way the allegation that he was paid by
governors and other contestants has stuck on the political landscape but is yet
to be proven.
It is the handling of the 2003 elections
and issues that arose from them by the police boss that is fingered as the
facilitator of his removal. A major case in point is the Anambra political
crisis. Gov. Chris Ngige’s abduction on July 10, 2003 was facilitated by a
detachment of police, led by the late Assistant Inspector-General of Police,
Zone 9, Raphael Ige.
Although Ige was retired, many people were
not pleased with the way Balogun handled issues associated with the case.
After Ige, the performance of police in
the strings of crises that have come the way of the state have also provoked
suspicion and verbal attacks from eminent Nigerians on the IG. A recent case is
the November 10, 2004, mayhem which led to the torching of public properties.
Police were accused of standing by while the destruction took place.
The development gave a bite to the feeling
that the Federal Government was behind the crises in the state. The IG denied
that but many considered that as not only belated but an after thought. His exit
is seen by political pundits as a fall-out of the foggy goings-on in Anambra
State. The view is polemical and can only be situated appropriately by those
that eased him off.
Whatever it is, the retirement of the
police boss is a huge boost to the Obasanjo’s anti-corruption campaign. It is
certainly going to earn the incumbent administration a good mention by both the
international community and Nigerians who have held tightly to the view that the
anti-graft war is only on paper only.
Unarguably, Balogun’s case is one of the
top cases in the anti-graft war. Coming only few weeks after the MT African
Pride, which had to do with the nabbing of some naval officers who allegedly
engaged in bunkering, it means a lot to the President.
The arrest and detention of some prominent
politicians, including the former Minister of Internal Affairs, (now late) Chief
Sunday Afolabi, erstwhile Governor of Enugu State and maiden National Secretary
of PDP, Dr. Okwesilieze Nwodo, among others over the ID card scam were
considered to be more on political grounds than genuine intention to combat
corruption.
Again, that is debatable. Interpretation
one gives to it depends on the perspective from which he looks at it.
That people look at the Balogun case and
other cases differently is shown by the type of reaction(s) that have trailed
the pronouncement of government since Monday that the man tendered his
retirement letter. For many, in this there is nothing political in government’s
action.
Prior to his case, tongues wagged anytime
either EFCC or Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences
Commission (ICPC) closes in on some individuals over allegations of corruption.
This was often informed by the fact that most of the people being chased were
the ones that had fallen out with the President.
As a result, many now perceive ICPC and
EFCC as tools with which the President deals with his political enemies.
Somehow, that impression is likely to take a back seat with the new development.
Beyond the issue of corruption, the
decision to shove Balogun away may be in line with the political reforms of the
government. The President may merely be bowing to unrelenting campaign by
opposition political parties and pro-democracy activists who have insisted that
only the removal of Balogun and restructuring of the police force can make the
2007 general elections different from that of 2003.
Okwu said "It is a good step to any
political reforms that this government wants to embark upon. But there is still
a whole lot to do with the leadership of the police. Balogun must be prosecuted
to serve as a deterrent to his successor."
As far as the opposition is concerned, the
inability of the Balogun led police to bring to book faceless individuals that
assassinated prominent politicians makes his tenure the one that politicians
would not remember with pleasant memory.
"Many politicians were killed. Innocent
Nigerians were shot during elections. Yet nothing was done to nab all these
killers. Instead, they were shielded by the police," the CNPP scribe added. Many
other Nigerians, however, hold different opinion about the former police boss.
But what can be hardly disputed by both
his critics and admirers is that he was part of the forces that make feasible,
the first successful civilian to civilian transition.
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