Killings of Traditional Rulers: Give Us Police Officers, Eze Agwu Begs IGP

From Nabob Ogbonna, Abakaliki

The traditional ruler of Okposi Autonomous Community in Ohanzara Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, Eze Onyiba Cosmas Agwu, has appealed to the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mr. Olatunji Rilwan Disu, to take urgent steps to address the persistent killings of traditional rulers across the 36 states of the federation, including Ebonyi State.
Eze Agwu made the appeal during a stakeholders’ meeting with the Deputy Inspector-General of Police (DIG) in charge of Logistics and Supply, Mr. Kenechukwu Onwuemelie, held at the Police Officers’ Mess in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State.
The monarch also urged the Nigeria Police Force to provide at least one police officer to every traditional ruler for personal security and protection.
According to him, the increasing attacks and killings of traditional rulers have become a serious source of concern.
“I will urge and strongly suggest that every traditional ruler be assigned at least one police officer to stay at his palace or accompany him wherever he goes.
“The issue of killings is becoming too alarming. Even yesterday in my area, we averted a situation that could have resulted in the loss of lives,” he stated.
Eze Agwu further identified inadequate logistics, shortage of manpower, lack of operational vehicles, and insufficient office materials in police divisional headquarters across the 13 local government areas of Ebonyi State as major challenges hindering effective policing and security operations” he said.
According to him, these deficiencies have significantly affected the ability of the police to respond promptly to security threats, especially in rural communities.
“The police do not have adequate logistics to effectively tackle internal security challenges. The Force is seriously lacking manpower, and that is one of the major problems confronting the Nigeria Police today.
“Sometimes when you go to a police station, officers ask complainants to provide writing materials. The police are operating under very difficult conditions.
“In the past, we used to have standby police officers in every division, but these days, you are often told that there is no manpower.
“This situation is affecting rural communities. When people report cases, they are told there are no vehicles, no manpower, and sometimes even no writing materials to process their complaints,” he observed.
Speaking at the event, DIG Onwuemelie, who represented the Inspector-General of Police during the engagement, said his visit to Ebonyi State was part of ongoing efforts to interact with officers and critical stakeholders on ways to strengthen security across the South-East and the country at large.
He noted that improved collaboration between security agencies and communities, intelligence gathering, information sharing, and trust-building remain critical to addressing security challenges and enhancing public safety.
The meeting was attended by traditional rulers, Chief Security Officers (CSOs) from various communities, religious leaders, political office holders, and community leaders. The stakeholders’ engagement was convened at the instance of the Inspector-General of Police as part of efforts to foster stronger partnerships between the police and the public in combating crime and insecurity.