Youths accuse police of leaking intelligence to criminals in Ogoniland

By Brave Dickson

The Nigeria Police has been accused by the National Youth Council of Ogoni People (NYCOP) of also being responsible for the violent crimes in Ogoniland, insisting that the police are the ones leaking intelligence to criminals.

Speaking with our correspondent, the President of NYCOP, Dr Young Nkpah said there are several incidents where these criminal suspects vowed to attack some well-meaning residents of the area because they were sure of the intelligence the police leaked to them.

Dr Nkpah said the police personnel, especially in Bori town, should not be seen as professionals, adding that the security agents have betrayed the confidence reposed in them by the public.

The President of the group also urged the federal government to checkmate the activities of artisanal refining popularly called Kpo-fire as a lot of gang clashes in the area are traceable to illegal refining of petroleum.

He said there are power tussles going on within the business of artisanal refining by operators who want to gain control of the business and have gone to arm cultists for the actualization of dominance.

The group leader, therefore, urged the federal government to convert the Kpo-fire business into modular refineries and put them in the hands of right-thinking citizens to manage, maintaining that such step would help reduce violent crimes in the area.

His words: “On the issue of the police reporting information they have gathered to these criminals is very common in Bori, the headquarters of Khana Local Government Area of Rivers State. We have had situations where information was given out to security agents and at the end of the day, we were so surprised to see criminal suspects threatening to deal with those they believe reported them to the police.

“There is no trust and confidence-building in the security system as far as security agents especially the police in Ogoni are concerned. It was on this note we insisted that all security agents who have been in Ogoni for the past 15 years and above should be redeployed. We have written relevant authorities to that effect and we hope to see our demands being met.

“On the issue of artisanal refining, it was once perceived as coming into existence due to developmental neglect of the region but it has today degenerated into some power play between rival groups resulting into territorial fights among cultists. Because if you are not strong, you can’t control the oil business. We, therefore want the artisanal refining business to be regulated, streamlined and curtailed. It should be channelled into proper use such as modular refineries.”