Nigeria’s police chief on Thursday harshly criticised officers for failing to stop attacks blamed on Islamist sect members and suggested members of the force were tipping them off.
Hafiz Ringim, during a visit to the northeastern city of Maiduguri, where much of the violence has occurred, lashed out at officers over the attacks blamed on the sect known as Boko Haram, which launched an uprising last year.
Speaking to police with journalists present, he said it was a “disgrace” that they could not provide information on sect members’ whereabouts.
“Some tell me that some of you are their members,” said Ringim, who was appointed to his post in September. “I do not want to believe it, but how do they know our movements?”
Military and police patrols have been deployed to the city, but attacks have continued. In recent weeks, suspected sect members have engaged authorities in shootouts.
Ringim also took officers to task over the common practice in Nigeria of collecting small bribes at road blocks.
“These 20 naira (.13 US cents) you have been extorting distracts your attention from your job,” the police chief said. “As it is now, the public has lost confidence in you.”
Attacks in northern Nigeria in recent months have included shootings of police officers and community leaders by motorcycle-riding gunmen, as well as raids on police posts and a prison.
Last year’s uprising ended with a police and military assault that left hundreds dead and the sect’s mosque and headquarters in ruins.