Police high command is facing intense pressure from politicians who have applied for policemen as security aides following reported cases of insecurity nationwide.
The politicians are reacting to ongoing heightened political activities throughout the federation.
The politicians who are said to be in their thousands have not only applied to the police authorities for uniformed and plain clothes policemen to be attached to them as aides, but are lobbying some police chiefs to consider their requests urgently.
The situation, Saturday Independent investigation has revealed, is made worse following recent spate of explosions in different parts of the country including Bayelsa, Edo and Delta States.
Sources close to some police commands in the states said some politicians have not only lobbied for security aides, but have been given.
They are said to have paid princely sums to have their demands met.
In Imo State such politicians have as many as five policemen attached to one person while the command has lost count of the number of applications for similar request. The state spokesman was not in a position to tell the figure of those who have applied.
Similar applications have also been received in Anambra, Delta, Lagos, Bayelsa, Kano and several other states in the north.
But the police authorities in Anambra State said the command prefers to provide security to areas where there is report of insecurity. The command�s spokesman, Fidelis Agboh, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) will also not disclose to this newspaper the quantity of applications so far received from politicians for security aides.
In Lagos, the authorities confirmed receipt of applications from politicians even though the command�s image-maker, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Olabode Ojajuni described them as “few”.
Ojajuni confirmed to Saturday Independent that the command had also approved some of their men to some deserving personalities (not necessarily politicians) based on the seriousness of their request and complaint.
Though he identified such deserving personalities as mainly government officials he said the request must be anchored on seriousness of issue.
However, he said the command has not abandoned the politicians as policemen are detailed to where they hold their events to ensure that there is no breakdown of law and order.
Investigations at the office of the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Sunday Ehindero showed that the Force Headquarters has received several applications from politicians over their security.
The applications are said to be in their thousands too.
The Force Public Relations Officer, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Haz Iwendi would neither confirm nor deny receipt of such applications but he told Saturday Independent that the security of live and property of every Nigerian is the concern of the police.
Iwendi said: “We have a duty to protect every Nigerian in case if anybody is complaining.”
He frowned at insinuations that the police have emptied their men on politicians to the detriment of the ordinary Nigerian saying “It is not true we have emptied our police on politicians� security.”
He also rejected the view that the police no longer have enough men to fight robbery and related crimes because of the attention the authorities are giving to the politicians because of election.
He said: “We are recruiting more men and we have the strength to meet the security needs of every Nigerian politician or non-politician.”
The Imo State police authorities also denied that robbers are having upper hand in the state due to the low number of policemen earmarked for that purpose in relation to the number attached to the politicians.
Meanwhile, Saturday Independent can confirm that the police hierarchy is back to the drawing board to seek way out of the spate of explosions in different parts of the country.
As first measure, the surveillance unit of the police nationwide is receiving a boost, according to a reliable source just as the Bomb Disposal Unit has received a special briefing from the IGP on how to confront the challenge.
As the unit is being readied for action, the Lagos State Police Command has said it is equal to the task. “We are on the ground. As situation unfolds so shall we confront it,” said Ojajuni.