The acting Inspector General of Police, Mr. Mike Okiro, on Wednesday accused politicians of contributing to the high crime rate in the country by failing to honour agreements with political jobbers in their states.
Okiro, who spoke while parading five suspected kidnappers in Abuja, said the nation would be at peace when politicians stop giving false promises, either to the electorate or their supporters.
Okiro‘s accusation came as the suspects said that they resorted to kidnapping relatives of politicians, because the politicians allegedly reneged on their promises of paying them after helping them (the politicians) to win in the last election.
The suspects are Miss Nkechi Enemuoh and his fiance, Mr. Onyeka Okoro, Michael Kumosouyo, Hero Abraham and Joshua Julius.
While the duo of Enemuoh and Okoro were involved in the attempted kidnap of a father of a member of the Anambra State House of Assembly, Mr. Dimobi Joseph, the other three suspects were involved in the kidnapping of the mother of another in Bayelsa State.
Enemuoh specifically accused Joseph of refusing to pay her N600,000.00 which she said was promised her by the politicians during campaigns.
She said, ”I was the campaign coordinator for the man and he promised to pay me the money if we could help him win the election. We did this and when I went to him for the money, he said we should wait for him to be sworn in.
But, after he was sworn in, he still refused to do something. This was why we planned to kidnap him.”
Enemuoh refused to say the exact duty he performed for the politician when prodded by journalists.
She, however, said the plan to kidnap the lawmaker was shelved when they realised that he was always going out with mobile policemen.
This, she said, was the reason why they settled for the father.
Also, Julius, who spoke on behalf of the Bayelsa group, said the militants resorted to kidnapping Madam Laura Canus, mother of Mr. Yousuo Amalanyo, because the lawmaker did not compensate his group for the work the members did during the election.
He said this was why they demanded for N5m when they succeeded in kidnapping the aged woman ”to teach the man some lessons.”
Speaking on the two cases, Okiro said, ”This is the reason why I said politicians should learn to promise what they can deliver. If this is done, these kidnapping issues would probably not have happened.
”For example, police investigations into the Anambra State case revealed that Enemuoh and Okoro, both friends, met and concluded plans, with others still at large, to kidnap the complainant for a ransom of N5m.
”Also, the Bayelsa gang also invaded a village court yard at Akassa town in Brass Local Government Area where they kidnapped an aged woman, Madam Laura Canus, mother of Yousuo Amalanyo, a member of the Bayelsa State House of Assembly.”
By Olusola Fabiyi and Tobi Soniyi, Abuja
The Punch
Thursday, September 13, 2007
