Imo State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Mohammed Musa Katsina, speaks on the challenges of stemming crime in the state which became notorious for baby factories, child trafficking, kidnapping, among other vices.
How did you feel when you were informed of your transfer to Imo State?
It was a very normal feeling. I was then the Kogi State Commissioner of Police. So, when the Inspector General of Police told me to get ready and come to Imo, he first gave me some tutorials about Imo State and the nature of crimes there. He particularly mentioned kidnapping, armed robbery, child trafficking, baby factory and some other heinous crimes.
It was a very normal feeling. I was then the Kogi State Commissioner of Police. So, when the Inspector General of Police told me to get ready and come to Imo, he first gave me some tutorials about Imo State and the nature of crimes there. He particularly mentioned kidnapping, armed robbery, child trafficking, baby factory and some other heinous crimes.
This done, he gave me the marching order to come to Imo and put up the structure to enable me deal decisively with crime. So, as a crime fighter, I saw my posting as a challenge. For the IGP to have recognized me as fit enough to combat crime in Imo was to me, a very wonderful recognition.
The IGP never knew that I embarked on unauthorized visit to the state before the signal came. I wanted to have first hand information about the state that will ultimately help in shaping my strategy.
The IGP never knew that I embarked on unauthorized visit to the state before the signal came. I wanted to have first hand information about the state that will ultimately help in shaping my strategy.
Are you serious?
Yes. Few weeks before my transfer, I was in this place (Imo). I came and toured all the 27 local government areas; I disguised. Nobody would have had an inkling I was a policeman. I wanted to have very raw information about the state I was to preside over as the security officer in terms of law enforcement. I saw the situation, as well as looked at the attitudinal pattern of the police and other security agencies.
Yes. Few weeks before my transfer, I was in this place (Imo). I came and toured all the 27 local government areas; I disguised. Nobody would have had an inkling I was a policeman. I wanted to have very raw information about the state I was to preside over as the security officer in terms of law enforcement. I saw the situation, as well as looked at the attitudinal pattern of the police and other security agencies.
I also got to know how big the state was and the peculiarities. I put all my findings down when I returned to Kogi State. Thereafter, I sat down and started plotting my strategies. So, before I arrived here, my strategy was already in place in my brain. I came and rolled it out and here we are today!
Is there any particular finding you would like to share with us?
To be candid, I met a demoralized personnel and I also identified areas I could conveniently pitch my tent, in terms of my strategy. I looked at the personnel by their age and level of enterprise as a very strong pillar that will assist me put up a solid foundation.
To be candid, I met a demoralized personnel and I also identified areas I could conveniently pitch my tent, in terms of my strategy. I looked at the personnel by their age and level of enterprise as a very strong pillar that will assist me put up a solid foundation.
Other issues I considered included that most of the policemen here had been in the state for a very long time. This brought in dwindling productivity. I took cognizance of all these findings and I think that helped me a lot in my fight against crime and criminality in the state.
There was this story that you asked for non-existent persons from some of the units and even parted with money to get assistance.
Yes! It was all part of the strategy because the IGP is one of the strongest advocates of zero tolerance for corruption. He is transparent, inspirational. In all the conferences we had with before I came to Imo, he laid serious emphasis on corruption. He also told us that when we are able to purge ourselves of corruption, we wold have succeeded in achieving more than 60 percent of whatever we would like to achieve.
Yes! It was all part of the strategy because the IGP is one of the strongest advocates of zero tolerance for corruption. He is transparent, inspirational. In all the conferences we had with before I came to Imo, he laid serious emphasis on corruption. He also told us that when we are able to purge ourselves of corruption, we wold have succeeded in achieving more than 60 percent of whatever we would like to achieve.
Corruption debases everything in you. It renders you impotent. It makes you vulnerable, weak, indecisive. When you remove corruption, you will find yourself light, smooth and able to march on and surmount all problems.
One of the allegations leveled against you was that you were sent to implement the Boko Haram script. How true?
How can a Commissioner of Police be a member of Boko Haram? I heard it too but I considered the allegation as insignificant. The allegation, at best, came from polluted minds, misinformed minds and shallow brains. It is only when you find yourself totally incapacitated in assessment of things that you begin to use the word Boko Haram to describe a law enforcement officer. My name is Mohammed Musa Katsina. There is no way you call me Mohammed Musa Boko Haram.
How can a Commissioner of Police be a member of Boko Haram? I heard it too but I considered the allegation as insignificant. The allegation, at best, came from polluted minds, misinformed minds and shallow brains. It is only when you find yourself totally incapacitated in assessment of things that you begin to use the word Boko Haram to describe a law enforcement officer. My name is Mohammed Musa Katsina. There is no way you call me Mohammed Musa Boko Haram.
What led to the mass transfer of policemen on your arrival in Imo?
Every policeman is a federal agent. And every policeman’s movement, transfer or posting is part of the job. You can’t be a policeman and you stay in one place. For me, I was in a command before coming to Imo. When the time comes for me to leave, I will gladly leave for another state. One of the greatest problems I encountered when I came was this prolonged stay in this place.
Every policeman is a federal agent. And every policeman’s movement, transfer or posting is part of the job. You can’t be a policeman and you stay in one place. For me, I was in a command before coming to Imo. When the time comes for me to leave, I will gladly leave for another state. One of the greatest problems I encountered when I came was this prolonged stay in this place.
Some of the officers I met on ground had really abandoned the mission and saw themselves as local police prepared to engage in local politics. As a result, some of them were no longer committed to the job. So, the transfer was nothing unusual.
As a Commissioner of Police, I cannot transfer anybody outside the state, neither can I transfer anybody to any area.
As a Commissioner of Police, I cannot transfer anybody outside the state, neither can I transfer anybody to any area.
But the IGP, having given directive for reorganization in Imo State Command, has helped the people because we removed this syndrome of familiarity that our efforts to fight crime and criminality in the state. So, as they find themselves in a different environment, it will also prepare them to face new challenges and overcome them. It is only in Imo that people grumble over transfer. The issue of people staying in one place for a very long time has a drawback effect to our collective endeavour. So, transfer is normal. I can find myself in my state tomorrow. I will work there not because I am from there. I will work as a member of the Nigeria Police.
Did the spate of armed robbery, kidnapping, baby factory and other serious crimes overwhelm you on arrival?
It was a serious phenomenon, but to talk of it is overwhelming me, I will say no. It rather encouraged me, emboldened me, gave me the courage and mental state of mind to look at it and counter it.
It was a serious phenomenon, but to talk of it is overwhelming me, I will say no. It rather encouraged me, emboldened me, gave me the courage and mental state of mind to look at it and counter it.
Can we now take a critical look at the baby factor syndrome in the state?
Baby factory is a place where children are, so to say, manufactured for sale. It is one of the greatest things that, today, has really affected me because it is unimaginable that our children, totally defenceless human beings, are being produced and sold like pure water. So, the baby factory syndrome is a condemnable act. My intelligence network led me to the first one at Umuaka, Njaba local council area. My action or reaction is usually intelligence-propelled. So,I put an effective intelligence network on ground comprising members of the public and the police.
Baby factory is a place where children are, so to say, manufactured for sale. It is one of the greatest things that, today, has really affected me because it is unimaginable that our children, totally defenceless human beings, are being produced and sold like pure water. So, the baby factory syndrome is a condemnable act. My intelligence network led me to the first one at Umuaka, Njaba local council area. My action or reaction is usually intelligence-propelled. So,I put an effective intelligence network on ground comprising members of the public and the police.
When I got the information, I looked at the structure, studied their literature and later found out that most of these so-called baby homes and motherless babies homes are nothing but an area for the perpetration of gross illegality. The people come out with very flamboyant signboards and have an enticing environment. The whole place represents optical illusion. People get easily deceived with the beautiful place where motherless babies and orphans are kept, but was not the case.
What is the story behind Madam 1,000 Amaefule Babies Home, Umuaka?
In the case of Madam 1,000, what we saw could shatter the strongest of hearts. It was a case of man’s inhumanity to man! This type of inhumanity is special in the sense that the victims of the inhumanity are innocent babies, totally defenceless human beings. Their crime is simple: they happen to find themselves in a world or in the midst of gluttonous vultures, who understand nothing but quick money or wealth.
In the case of Madam 1,000, what we saw could shatter the strongest of hearts. It was a case of man’s inhumanity to man! This type of inhumanity is special in the sense that the victims of the inhumanity are innocent babies, totally defenceless human beings. Their crime is simple: they happen to find themselves in a world or in the midst of gluttonous vultures, who understand nothing but quick money or wealth.
As we went beyond the beautiful place they called Madam 1,000 Amaefula Babies Home, we saw a dungeon! Children, teenagers forced into pregnancy were kept in captivity. They were rendered completely incommunicado. Their telephone handsets and other means of communication were taken away from them. They were kept in unventilated rooms, subjected to all manner of forced labour and perpetual servitude.
The perimeter fence was not only high but carefully laid with broken bottles and nails like a Nazi detention camp. We also discovered, to our chagrin, a horrendous spectacle. The teenagers were rescued. One of them even said that when all hopes were lost, they turned to God in prayer and fasting and, at the end of their fasting, police came to their rescue. Some of these girls are reunited with their families and are now back in school. This marked the beginning of our fight against baby factories I the state.
What next?
I re-directed my operations department to go after all these babies homes; today, we have been able to arrest more of them. Since I arrived Imo State, we have arrested no fewer than 261 suspects in connection with baby factories. We have rescued many children and reunited them with their families. Let me also say that babies factories are not only a crime and a sin against man, it is also a sin against God.
I re-directed my operations department to go after all these babies homes; today, we have been able to arrest more of them. Since I arrived Imo State, we have arrested no fewer than 261 suspects in connection with baby factories. We have rescued many children and reunited them with their families. Let me also say that babies factories are not only a crime and a sin against man, it is also a sin against God.
Where does adoption come into this picture?
When people want to raise the question about adoption, I look at them as being simply parochial and mischievous. There are well established international protocol for adoption of babies. Do you adopt under the cover of darkness? Do you need to go and snatch a baby from a helpless teenager? Do you need to establish a place as a decoy to attract innocent, vulnerable minds?
When people want to raise the question about adoption, I look at them as being simply parochial and mischievous. There are well established international protocol for adoption of babies. Do you adopt under the cover of darkness? Do you need to go and snatch a baby from a helpless teenager? Do you need to establish a place as a decoy to attract innocent, vulnerable minds?
What is the current situation about baby factories in the state?
At this point in time, there is no single baby factory in the state. I challenge anybody to come forward and prove me wrong.
At this point in time, there is no single baby factory in the state. I challenge anybody to come forward and prove me wrong.
Are the perpetrators of this ugly syndrome no getting desperate?
I agree that they are getting desperate. Now that they do not have a factory to manufacture babies, now that we have dealt a death blow on them, now that it is very difficult for you to come with any camouflage name called motherless babies home, so as to groom teenagers into delivering and selling the children, they have now resorted to what we now call “the hawk”.
I agree that they are getting desperate. Now that they do not have a factory to manufacture babies, now that we have dealt a death blow on them, now that it is very difficult for you to come with any camouflage name called motherless babies home, so as to groom teenagers into delivering and selling the children, they have now resorted to what we now call “the hawk”.
The hawks are those, who are armed and move about looking for babies to snatch from their mothers. When the see a helpless or unsuspecting mother with her baby, they snatch the baby like a hawk. But we have also dealt a death blow on that. Even those who snatch babies from other states and make the mistake of passing through Imo are picked up with ease. The structure has been weakened to such a level that they now find it extremely difficult to operate.
What about child trafficking?
You cannot talk about child trafficking without considering the movement of a child from the source to the market where the baby is sold. You discover they move in three very important structures namely, the breeder, the pilot or the courier and the final recipient. These people are very dangerous and intelligent. They have the capacity to beat security agents. They even induce a baby to sleep. They can speak like God fearing people. They can disguise like women. They can do anything.
You cannot talk about child trafficking without considering the movement of a child from the source to the market where the baby is sold. You discover they move in three very important structures namely, the breeder, the pilot or the courier and the final recipient. These people are very dangerous and intelligent. They have the capacity to beat security agents. They even induce a baby to sleep. They can speak like God fearing people. They can disguise like women. They can do anything.
When you look at the fate of these innocent babies, I can authoritatively tell you that some of them are used for rituals. Some are used for domestic labour because they treat them like slaves. Their masters paid for them and the children must pay back what was spent on them. Some of them are prepared for export.
I must tell you that there are some who are naturally barren and need babies but are always ashamed to go through the legal protocol to adopt. In one of our encounters, the woman came all the way from Kwara State to Aba to buy a one-day old baby. On her way back, we caught her. We moved fast to Ilorin to her house and rescued so many babies.
Unfortunately, by the time we came knocking, she had traveled to Saudi Arabia during last year pilgrimage. We are still monitoring her. She will surely come back and face justice. There is no human face attacked to child trafficking, it is illegal. It is sinful. I don’t want to be caught in the web of those who stand and watch as evil doers perpetrate their evil acts. Today, I am here to fight crime and I will fight it to the last drop of my blood. I thank God that we have achieved remarkable progress.
What have to say about kidnapping?
The situation now is cool. We have a comfortable security platform in the state. The greatest problem I faced when I came was the China syndrome or what they called international kidnappers. They come in, kidnap high profile individuals, extort money, at times they kill and go back to China, Malaysia, Indonesia, Gabon, Mali and many other countries. They go there and hibernate and come back later when they feel the heat has reduced.
The situation now is cool. We have a comfortable security platform in the state. The greatest problem I faced when I came was the China syndrome or what they called international kidnappers. They come in, kidnap high profile individuals, extort money, at times they kill and go back to China, Malaysia, Indonesia, Gabon, Mali and many other countries. They go there and hibernate and come back later when they feel the heat has reduced.
How did you burst this ring of dare devil hoodlums?
It will shock you to know that I never used Interpol because in policing, there is what you call below the line or above the line. So, in every country, I know we have Imo people staying them. So, after obtaining their dossier, I was able to hook up and establish what we call expanded strategy network, where most Imolites and Nigerians volunteer and became members.
It will shock you to know that I never used Interpol because in policing, there is what you call below the line or above the line. So, in every country, I know we have Imo people staying them. So, after obtaining their dossier, I was able to hook up and establish what we call expanded strategy network, where most Imolites and Nigerians volunteer and became members.
So, whenever we got the dossier of any of these China syndrome issue, we passed on the information to them, to monitor and keep informing us. Through this method, we were able to arrest most of them. We were very handy at the airports and borders to receive them and straight to jail. Some of them were even lured into the country, probably to come and strike only for such people to be entangled in our network. So, the network is so formidable that criminals found it very difficult to escape our eyes.
Back home here, we have our strategy partners. These are those who want to see and ensure a crime-free society. I segmented Imo into land and professional groups. This enabled the operators to have a limited area to operate. These people pass credible information and I send the Ambush Squad. Today, the partnership in the state is working. We are all bound by one common goal, to fight crime, ensure security of the environment, guarantee future of the citizenry and ensure that confidence is restored.
What is the secret behind the successes in crime fighting credited to you?
The secret behind my success stems from what I call “strategic network”. I would also like to recognize the efforts of Imo State journalists. They are very courageous and stood by me in 2013, and, at times, during direct impact operations, they were always with me. No matter the hazard, they stood behind me and captured the news fresh. Honestly, Imo journalists remained very dependable allies.
The secret behind my success stems from what I call “strategic network”. I would also like to recognize the efforts of Imo State journalists. They are very courageous and stood by me in 2013, and, at times, during direct impact operations, they were always with me. No matter the hazard, they stood behind me and captured the news fresh. Honestly, Imo journalists remained very dependable allies.
Can we have the statistics of those arrested?
A total of 2,786 suspects were arrested in 2013. We nabbed 649 for kidnapping, 503 for armed robbery, 261 for baby factories related matters, 486 for cultism, 55 for murder, 302 for electoral offences, 510 for drugs and allied offences and 20 for burglary and stealing. About 2,405 suspects are now facing charges in court. We recovered 674 vehicles, 1,009 motorcycles/tricycles, 50 master keys, 422 arms, 3,325 ammunition, 529 telephone handsets and N28 million cash, as well as $2,700.
A total of 2,786 suspects were arrested in 2013. We nabbed 649 for kidnapping, 503 for armed robbery, 261 for baby factories related matters, 486 for cultism, 55 for murder, 302 for electoral offences, 510 for drugs and allied offences and 20 for burglary and stealing. About 2,405 suspects are now facing charges in court. We recovered 674 vehicles, 1,009 motorcycles/tricycles, 50 master keys, 422 arms, 3,325 ammunition, 529 telephone handsets and N28 million cash, as well as $2,700.
Le me also use this opportunity to inform that a total of 51 men of the underworld voluntarily surrendered and handed over nine pump action guns, 11 Awka made pistols and one assault rifle. They are still undergoing counseling at the Counseling and Rehabilitation Unit of the Command.
No comments:
Post a Comment