Force Public Relation Officer, Jimoh Moshood, on Tuesday, attacked the personality of the Governor of Benue State, Mr. Samuel Ortom, by calling him a drowning governor, if he could watch his state degenerate to a lawlessness state.

He was reacting to the a press release by the government of Benue State that called the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris to resign, if couldn’t restore peace.

He made the statement February 6, 2018 on Sunrise Daily, a popular early morning show on Nigeria’s best TV station, Channels.

Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Mr. Terver Akase, who was on the hot seat maintained the stance of the government of Benue State that IGP Idris should resign, “the state commissioner of police takes orders from the IGP, if he couldn’t direct his men to maintain peace in the state, then he should resign.”

The CPS accused the police authority of supporting herdsmen killing in the state.

Akase’s statement angered Moshood, “the governor should be the one to resign because he’s a drowning man, who has failed to put measures in place to maintain law and order in his state.”

The show nearly degenerated to confrontation between Mr. Akase, and the police PRO, intervention of the host Abuja studios saved the situation.

The host advised the police PRO to withdraw such “a degrading” statement, but ‘indirectly’ failed to do, the host threatened to discontinue the interview, if both men failed to abide by the codes of conduct of the TV station.

Abusive and derogatory statements aren’t allowed on the best Channels TV.

At a time, a former Deputy Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Dr. Obadiah Mailafia, made a derogatory statement against the person of Mr. Ortom. He was mandated to withdraw his statement, which he did.

It’d be recalled that Benue State Government faulted the Inspector General of Police, over his comment that the recent attacks on farmers in the state was as a result of the implementation of the anti-open grazing law.

The state said it expected the police to be neutral in sensitive issue.

A statement by Mr. Akase expressed the disappointment of the state governor:

“We read statements credited to the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris as having blamed the recent killing of innocent Benue people by herdsmen on the Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Establishment Law of the state.

“We thought that the IGP was misquoted and expected the police authorities to issue a rebuttal to the reports hence our delay in responding swiftly.
Consequently, we have to respond to the erroneous impression which the reports have created.

“Indeed it was these unrelenting spate of attacks that prompted the people of the state to seek a permanent solution to the incessant clashes between farmers and herders hence the law for the establishment of ranches as the best method of animal husbandry across the globe.

“The law which has constitutional backing followed due process with the requisite public hearings and inputs from various stakeholders. The police authorities had ample opportunity to also make inputs while the process was ongoing. They however failed to do so.

“The unfortunate claim by the IGP indicates that some of those saddled with the responsibility of protecting and property and maintaining law and order have abdicated their duty and become accomplices with those undermining the very existence of the country.
This is unacceptable.

“If truly the IGP said what was widely reported by the media, our conclusion is that his is a clear case of a man who is either on a mission to mislead the nation or is complicit in the attacks on Benue communities and the killing of many people by terror herdsmen.

“The Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Establishment Law of Benue State is certainly not the cause of the crisis as insinuated by the IGP. Mr Idris needs to be reminded that Fulani herdsmen attacked Benue State more than 50 times and killed scores of people before the law was enacted.

“The IGP should tell Nigerians if states like Adamawa, Zamfara, Kaduna, Nasarawa, Enugu, Edo, Plateau among others where armed herdsmen have killed hundreds of people also have anti-open grazing laws in place.

“It will be recalled that a few days after the killings took place and all fingers were pointed towards the direction of armed herdsmen, the IGP quickly rose in defence of the herdsmen and frankly tried to divert attention from the genocide being perpetrated by herdemen with a comment that it was a ‘mere communal clash’. Did he not know that there was a law in place in Benue State when he made that first statement?

“With his latest demand that the ranching law of Benue be suspended, it is now clear where the loyalty and interest of the Inspector General of Police lies – certainly not with innocent Nigerians. He has now positioned himself not only as the mouthpiece of those who are killing Benue people but indeed as their shield. Little wonder herdsmen still proudly carry out sophisticated weapons and willfully terrorize innocent people in the state without being arrested.

“We wish to place it on record that contrary to the directive by President Muhammadu Buhari that the Inspector General of Police should relocate to Benue to ensure that the killings stop, the IGP spent only one day in Benue and left for a destination where only he could tell. No one has seen him in Benue since that day.

“Nigerians must be told that contrary to the statement credited to the IGP, herdsmen are still killing people in Benue, so it will be wrong to say that enough security has been provided. At the last count after the mass burial of 73 victims of the attacks, about ten people have been killed in “Guma Local Government Area, one killed in Logo and many more receiving treatment in the hospital having suffered varying degrees of injuries with property worth millions of naira destroyed.

“Benue now has nearly 100, 000 displaced persons in seven camps established by the State Government. We therefore find IG Ibrahim Idris’ statement as mockery and a shameful dance on the graves of those killed in the state by herdsmen.

“The constitutional responsibility of the police is to maintain law and order and not to make or criticise same.

“That the IGP would have the audacity to blame a law made to ensure peace in the state and call for its repeal amounts to taking sides with lawless groups that gave notice to invade and carried out their threats.

“No wonder, the police ignored petitions for the arrest and prosecution of leaders of the Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, the masterminds of the current invasion and the attendant massacre.

“If the Inspector General of Police, Mr Idris is not competent to help bring an end to the invasion and killing of innocent people in Benue and other states by herdsmen, the noble thing to do is to resign instead of twisting facts to suit his objective.”

Carnage in Benue State have been going on for some time between herdsmen and Benue farmers, which has led to lost of lives and property worth millions of Naira.

http://infobase.com.ng/2018/02/06/breaking-police-pro-calls-gov-ortom-a-drowning-man/

The PRO displayed what l see as plan to protect herdsmen against Benue indigenes. This whole thing is not a clash between herdsmen and Benue people., it is an outright attack on Benue people.
If you peaceful stay in your house and someone open your door and start shooting at you, it that a clash or an attack?

The role of the police is to maintain law and order. There is a grazing law in Benue prohibiting open grazing, if the police is not partial, let them enforce this law because it is their duty to maintain law and order.

It's a shame that the Nigerians police can be openly taking sides with terrorist over constituted and elected state govt , this show how much Nigeria has sank into the nasty and Brutish under Mr Buhari

I watched it this morning.... That PRO was just blabbing... Baseless assertions.... Attacking the person, instead of the issues.... I'm still trying to get the work description of the Nigerian police, doing their work (protecting lives of the citizens) or attacking the Governor?... I rest my case

please where is the Police PRO from ?

We had democracy under Gej,now we have cowtocracy under a herdsman in chief.

Shameful and embarrassing by the IGP and his men.

nawa

The Name Jimoh Moshood is an Ass licker MFK

I watched the program and could not believe what the police pro was saying, my hope for this country just almost got wiped out, I am now on a scale of 0 - 100%, only 10% hopeful that Nigeria can be salvaged. that a police officer of his status, will be talking like he did, is quite disappointing. God help us.

@ OP;
you stated what the Chief Press Secretary to the governor said but what was missing was the rebuttal by police PPRO hence your write-up is bias and objectionable.

What a statement!
The police IGP blamed anti-open grazing bill for the violence upon farmers but forgot that farmers didn't enact that law or influence it.

tonyzaks:
@ OP;
you stated what the Chief Press Secretary to the governor said but what was missing was the rebuttal by police PPRO hence your write-up is bias and objectionable.

Strange . . .

The disgraceful IG should resign his position and seek a political appointment since he has shown where his loyalty lies.

Our present security architecture is messed up due to Buhari's clannishness and nepotism.

Security of Nigerians can't get better under such circumstances. It's a big shame to democracy.

the fact of the matter is that past and successive benue government out of political expediency created deadly militias, armed them with dangerous weapons and they became the provokers of fulani attacks,they rustle cows,engage in kidnapping,killings and armed robberies only useful during elections for violence and political assasinations. they even engage in gang wars sacking communities but the state government is underplaying it but keep shouting fulanis,who has been arrested for all the killing going on in zaki biam and katsina ala area,ortom is a big mess.there is state sponsored terrorism in benue.

tonyzaks:
@ OP;
you stated what the Chief Press Secretary to the governor said but what was missing was the rebuttal by police PPRO hence your write-up is bias and objectionable.

And your point is

deadkamalu:
the fact of the matter is that past and successive benue government out of political expediency created deadly militias, armed them with dangerous weapons and they became the provokers of fulani attacks,they rustle cows,engage in kidnapping,killings and armed robberies only useful during elections for violence and political assasinations. they even engage in gang wars sacking communities but the state government is underplaying it but keep shouting fulanis,who has been arrested for all the killing going on in zaki biam and katsina ala area,ortom is a big mess.there is state sponsored terrorism in benue.

My man you went off topic completely here. the police pro. completely lost view of his place in the discussion and went on a personal attack on the person of the Gov. instead of addressing the issue. it is not the place a police officer to tell the people of Benue that their governor has failed. it is not the job of the police to tell a state government, which law to enact or not. if not that Nigeria is basically a failing state, the police pro is suppose to be trying to appease both sides not attack the governor of the state. I am very angry and disappointed at the way the police pro behaved this morning, basically taking sides in the conflict.

onojiwizardgmailcom:

My man you went off topic completely here. the police pro. completely lost view of his place in the discussion and went on a personal attack on the person of the Gov. instead of addressing the issue. it is not the place a police officer to tell the people of Benue that their governor has failed. it is not the job of the police to tell a state government, which law to enact or not. if not that Nigeria is basically a failing state, the police pro is suppose to be trying to appease both sides not attack the governor of the state. I am very angry and disappointed at the way the police pro behaved this morning, basically taking sides in the conflict.

You are right.

Unfortunately politics has robbed our security chiefs of sense of their duties to the extent they've become biased on the herdsmen terrorists killings.

All we've got now are political security chiefs.

engineerboat:



And your point is

try and state what both men discussed not cherry-picking in order to enlightened those that did not watch to understand and appreciate what has been discussed because solution is what everyone is looking

tonyzaks:

try and state what both men discussed not cherry-picking in order to enlightened those that did not watch to understand and appreciate what has been discussed because solution is what everyone is looking

The Police Public Relations Officer, Mr Jimoh Moshood has described Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State as ‘a drowning man’ that should not be engaged with issues.


Jimoh stated this when he and Ortom’s Chief Press Secretary, Mr Terver Akase, both featured as guests on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Tuesday.

Both men were speaking on the state of insecurity in the state while trading blames on each other on what may be perceived as lapses on either sides.

The State Government and the police authorities seem not to be on the same page on the latest killings that have sent many to their early graves.

While the police seem to have credited itself to having restored peace in the troubled state, the state, on the contrary, is calling for the immediate sack or resignation of the Inspector General of Police, Mr Ibrahim Idris.

But responding, Police Public Relations Officer, Mr Jimoh Moshood called Governor Samuel Ortom a “drowning man.”

“And that is why we felt you don’t join issues with a drowning man,” he said in an apparent reference to the governor calling for the immediate resignation or sack of the IGP.

To the police spokesman, the call made by the state government seems not to have gone down well as he considered it an affront to the police boss and the entire police officers.

He added, “It is a great disservice to the Inspector General of Police and the entire Nigeria Police Force for the governor to call for his resignation, the governor should resign first.

“What he has said, the document presented to the Senate is for action by the Senate. And nobody can make any part or complete document public until the Senate makes a decision on it and passes a resolution.”

In his response, the governor’s spokesman wondered why the IGP should not resign when the police under his leadership had failed to secure lives and properties as enshrined in the Police Act.

Section 4 of the Police Act, he explained, is the duty of the police to protect lives and maintain law and order.

Akase, however, regretted a situation whereby the police would seek clearance from the authorities in Abuja before taken any decisive action.

https://www.channelstv.com/2018/02/06/police-spokesman-blasts-governor-ortom-describes-him-as-drowning-man/amp/

Are u satisfied

Did the police PRO aware of killing of his men by recent attack in Yogbo are of Guma LGA by the same herdsmen.

The police have gone politically rougue

All senior officers of the police from superintendent upwards should be compulsorily retired

WooooooW

The force PRO has no right to disrespect a state governor no matter what. He should watch his tongue,no one knows tomorrow

every one knows Ortom is one of the most useless governor ever but this Fulani crises is s different case

P-protection
O-of
L-lifestocks
I-importantly of
C-Cows
E-expedient

Ladies and Gentlemen... Let's give it up for the Nigerian Police, The friend and protector of the masses

Truly, the Police is our friend