By Ibrahim Abdul
Miffed by the rising spate of crimes in Mayo –Belwa local government area of Adamawa state, residents have called for immediate sacking of the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of the area Zubairu Chul for alleged collision with certain vigilantes to perpetrate sundry crimes.
The residents in a petition to police Command Zone 3, Area accused the embattled police DPO of dereliction of duty and allowing the head of local vigilante to usurp the duty of the police in the area.
The residents under the auspice of concern citizens of Mayo-Belwa alleged that , due to the tacit support by the DPO ,the head of the vigilante group one Ibrahim Boka -Fire has become a law unto himself committing atrocities at will without being challnage by the police.
The petitioners alleged that, ‘’ cases of cattle rustlings are reported at the police station in Mayo-Belwa on weekly basis but summarily discharged.
‘’of recent over 20 cows were reported missing in the area out of this number, Ibrahim and his men were found to slughetred two,while the remaining cows are still unaccounted for, and it was unfortunate,after they were arrested police decided to release him without been arraigined.
‘’ the development led to a corros of indignation and considerable disquiet in the area which nearly degenerated into a massive conflagiration, and seen the situation at hand the police later re-arrested the accused Ibrahim and arraigned him along side two of his accomplishes before a magistrate court in Mayo-Belwa,’’ they said in the petition signed by the chairman and secreatray of the concern group,Muhammad Danladi and Ibrahim Musa respectively.
They further noted that buoyed by the support of the DPO the vigilante ring leader was alleged to have murdered a resident in October last year, ‘’ and to the constanation of all and sundry the vigilante leader was never prosecuted,in fact the police didn’t make feebles effort to investigate let alone prosecute him.
‘’ This vigilante has constitute himself as defacto –security chief in the area as he operate detention cell where he unilateraly detains and torture his victims without recourse to justice.
‘’ So,we are appealing on the inspector general of police to as matter of urgency look into the matter before security eludes the area,’’ they urges.
In the meantime,efforts to get the embattled DPO proved abortive as his GSM lines switch-off, while the state police spokesman SP Othman Abubakar said, ‘’ I am in meeting now,I will call you later please. I am yet inform about the petition.’’
