LAGOS MARCH 26TH (URHOBOTODAY)-Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Chieftain, Chief Sunny Onuesoke has condemned steps taking by the Inspector General of Police( IGP), Ibrahim Idris in handling the Ile-Ife crisis.
Reacting to allegation that Yorubas were arrested and paraded at Abuja, while their Hausas counterpart were left free over the Ile-Ife mayhem, Onuesoke who spoke to journalists at Ile-Ife, Osun State, lambasted the IGP for allegedly taking side in a fracas that involved two tribes.
Onuesoke who observed that Nigerians are disturbed by the massive media publications accusing the Inspector General of Police of ordering the mass arrest of only Yorubas when it is a fact that the crisis that engulfed the ancient Ile- Ife kingdom was between two major ethnic nationalities, said it is unfortunate that in a fracas that involved Yorubas and Hausas/Fulanis, the IGP which suppose to be neutral did not only arrested the Yorubas and their traditional rulers , but was reported to have foolishly and sentimentally paraded them in Abuja far away from the jurisdiction of the crisis.
The PDP Chieftain described the Police Boss action as divisive tactics of supporting one tribe against the other which is tantamount to heightening the crisis instead of seeking solution to make peace between the two factions.
He argued that at no time in the history of policing since after the thirty months civil war has the person holding the high office of Inspector General of Police accused loud and clear by respectable elder statesmen of adopting policing styles that criminalises some ethnic groups and treats a particular ethnic group as saints even when the contrary speaks louder than the loudest sound
“Idris did one sided tribal or lopsided arrest and he came out to tell us that crime does not know tribe. His action is total humiliation of the Yoruba tribe. Can they arrest Emir from the North and parade him the way they arrested the Yoruba traditional ruler? This action is not acceptable at all. We need to rise up and condemn the defense of Fulani Herdsmen by their IGP or else all of us will be in trouble whether we like it or not,” Onuesoke stated
He advised that the IGP must work much more professionally and transparently so no surreptitious Ethno-Religious agenda is associated with his term as police chief of Nigeria