Re: A raid gone awry

Sometimes, I have the feelings that the elites in Nigeria are the most averse to the development and function of our government institutions. While reading Mahmud Jega’s sarcastic ‘A raid gone awry’ in one of Nigeria’s foremost dailies recently, I came away with the impression that the writer is given to celebrating what he may have perceived as the victory of bad over good.

The writer referred to “the raid mounted by the Nigeria Police in the Asokoro, Abuja home of former Gombe State governor Senator Mohammed Danjuma Goje” as “the strangest and so far the least successful.”

Whatever is ‘strange’ in searching the residence of a Nigerian citizen in whose the Nigeria Police have reasonable cause to believe that something illegal, unauthorized or incriminating is being kept. One would have thought that we all know that this form part of the duties of the police. And the search came with the requisite search warrant been sort and obtained from the relevant authority.

Now, what determines the ‘success’ of such a ‘raid’ in the estimation of the writer? From his piece, he may have thought that it is the extent of the money recovered, and that the bigger the amount, the more ‘successful’ the operation. That, surely, is a perverted way of looking at it for, to the police, every wrong doing is worthy of being prevented, intercepted, investigated and even prosecuted where necessary. That only ‘18m, $19, 850 and 9, 400 Saudi Riyals in cash as well as 38 files and six envelopes “containing documents”’ were found in Goje’s house was by no means demeaning. The Nigeria Police had the opportunity it required to look into some allegations it was considering based on intelligence reports.

In addition, it would amount to double standard on the part of the senator and the Nigeria Senate to brand such an operation as ‘failed’ because documents and not more money were found. Was it not the same Senate that wanted EFCC head beheaded partly because some documents were found in his possession that were not supposed to be with him at a particular time and place? In the intelligence world, documents are not taken with levity. They may contain information that would make the whole difference.

Part of the police job is to investigate thoroughly, not to incriminate at all cost. Where the police found that a person does not have a question to answer, it does not trump up one. What was found in Goje’s house was found. If it was enough to indict him on anything, the police should know. If not, he should not be bothered. I do not see how that would amount to a failure on the part of the police unless, of course, someone wants to be mischievous.

Supposing Senator Goje feels he had been unduly harassed or that his rights had been trampled upon in the cause of the ‘raid’, it would not be out of place for him to press charges against the police. This is democracy.

It is also imperative to point out that the Nigeria Police is not in any competition with other security agencies. What the police was primarily looking for in Goje’s house, it has not revealed for security purposes, even though it has made public what it found. It is therefore a bit worrisome that a public commentator would find it worthy of acclaim that a shrewd politician has successfully blackmailed the police who were only doing their job, and doing it with modesty and civility.

Mr Jega wrote with gusto: “Danjuma Goje is one of the toughest, shrewdest, most relentless and most ambitious politicians in Northern Nigeria. He also happens to be the Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, which is in the thick of compiling the 2017 federal budget. To worsen matters, the committee was billed to table its report before the Senate last Tuesday, for possible passage on Wednesday and quick transmission to the President afterwards. Getting the long delayed budget passed is the Buhari Administration’s top priority at this time and Goje is the main guy to get it passed. The police could not have chosen a worse time to tackle such a dangerous foe. On Wednesday last week, Goje made his move. With fellow senators cheering him on, he stood up at the Senate plenary and apologised for the Appropriation Committee’s inability to table the budget because the police raided his house and carted away budget documents. Both Senate and House of Representatives immediately set up ad hoc committees to probe the raid and they demanded that the police must return the budget documents. It was the worst possible blackmail and it left the police high command scrambling for an answer. Early the next day, Nigeria Police issued a statement denying that it removed budget documents from Goje’s house.”

Mr Jega also thinks that the police acted on false tip-off, a hoax. That might be so. Yet security operatives like the police do not consider this an issue. Intelligence gathering processes are not in any way fool-proof. Intelligence reports have been acted upon that have turned out to be inaccurate everywhere around the world. I really mean everywhere and often.

One would have thought that every Nigerian, except of course Mr Goje himself, his cronies, associates, beneficiaries and political sympathizers, would be more interested in whatever Goje may have done wrong that is capable of affecting the polity negatively, and assisting the police in getting to the root of the matter. And if Mr Goje comes out nice and clean, the police should earn some accolade for carrying out their investigative duty in civil manners.

Have we not witnessed situations where that narcotic chap in our neighborhood escaped the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) raid on his home or hideout, or where that drug baron had his warehouses raided without a single substance been found?

This simply means that the ones on the wrong side of the law also have their own very active and effective intelligence gathering mechanism. In addition, they have far more resources to work with in terms of money and equipment. They outnumber the police by far, and they have political clout. And now, it appears that they are also having more support and sympathisers among our educated elite. Such an awry situation!

Ibrahim wrote from Abuja this piece