IS OPERATION FAMOU-TANGBEI BACK IN BAYELSA STATE?

John – a Public Intellectual wrote from Yenagoa
26/11/18

There is panic and palpable fear that the dreaded killer outfit, notorious for extra-judicial murder under the defunct regime of terror, operation Famou Tangbei is back in Bayelsa State.

The first tell-tale sign was the frequent deployment of Commissioners of Police to Bayelsa State. It is on record that eight (8) Commissioners of Police were deployed to Bayelsa State in three months. The frequent deployment of CPs was done with just one aim that of distorting the security architecture of the Restoration Administration. This sinister motive has been clearly achieved because we live in a Federal system where the States are treated as mere appendages, while the Centre controls all instruments of state power including control of the Police, the armed forces and other paramilitary outfits. In Nigeria, Security is in the Exclusive List.

The second move was the constant harassment of Bayelsans by law enforcement personnel deployed to the State by the Federal Government. In fact, the enemies of the State have mistaken Bayelsa State as as theatre of conflict. The over-militarization of the State is hidden under the cloak of “operation python dance or crocodile smile”. While the advocacy for State Police has reached its climax, the Centre is unnerved about such legitimate demands.

The third unsavoury action was for some past rulers of the State to sponsor cultism with monies meant for development. Some of the flashpoints are Twon-Brass and Yenagoa, capital of the State. Reports from some reliable quarters indicate that some politicians, in a bid to seize power by force, import military uniforms for their local militia thereby giving them a kill bill to coerce and terrorise innocent civilians.

All these moves are orchestrated for the APC-led administration to lay and minefield for chaos and brigandage as we inch close to the 2019 general elections.

Ony Yesterday Nov. 24, an Engineering Student of the Niger Delta University was believed to have been shot dead by yet-to-be identified Policeman.

Read excepts of the report.

Available information indicates that one person has died this morning from gunshots released by men of Akenfa Police station during a raid last night on a bar where citizens were watching football at Tinacious Road, Ede-epie. The unfortunate victim was one of many that ran away in order to avoid the extortion of money that they knew would follow their being caught up in the raid. 2 people were caught up in the raid and they were released after paying two thousand naira N2,000. each. The citizens are said to be contemplating a protest. Further information will be sought. This mode of killing has the signature of Operation Famou Tangbei which was perpetrated by the immediate past administration.Is This The Reason They Disbanded Operation Doo-Akpo? Are They Planning To Bring Back Famutangbei In Bayelsa State?

Anderson Nikade Wrote :

Akenfa Police Station brutally murdered my brother (our last born) close to our house at Tinacious rd, Edepie about 7pm Friday night, and escaped from the seen. TARIELA NIKADE’s blood cries out for JUSTICE!, the brother of the deceased lamented. (Picture of I deceased attached).

Read what the Civil Liberties Organization wrote about the defunct Operation Famou-Tangbei, OFT.

2011
WHY THE SPONSORS AND OPERATORS OF FAMOU-TANGBEI IN BAYELSA STATE SHOULD BE PROSECUTED

We wish to thank the President and Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces Dr. Goodluck Jonathan for ensuring the disbandment of the notorious Operation Famou-Tangbei in Bayelsa State. It is a decision that is long overdue to bring succor to the inhabitants of Bayelsa State. We believe Mr. President has once more demonstrated government’s responsiveness to the aspirations of the people.

We reckon that security is the first law of nature and no administration will do anything to compromise the security of her citizens. However, there are times political power holders because of overzealousness and the tendency to protect their personal estates, are tempted to use official security for their personal advantage. This is exactly what happened to Operation Famou-Tangbei, OFT in Yenagoa. OFT was established when militancy was at its peak and there was a need to reduce crime. It was for that same reason that the Federal Government initiated the Amnesty Programme in the Niger Delta Region. Now, with the Amnesty Programme, OFT has outlived its usefulness.

We represent seven Civil Society Organizations in the Niger Delta. When the issue of the excesses of OFT was reported to us, we conducted investigations into their activities. We discovered that while the outfit was established to reduce crime; it has rather exacerbated criminal activities. We therefore hereunder buttress the reasons for the timeous actions of the Federal Government.

There are several reasons why the OFT squad should not only be disbanded but its key sponsors and operator prosecuted. A few of these reasons are outlined:

1. OFT AS AN INSTRUMENT OF INTIMIDATION AND POLITICAL REPRESSION: The Operation Famou-Tangbe OFT outfit was an instrument of political repression and intimidation. The present administration has used OFT to intimidate, maim and harass members of opposition parties in Bayelsa State. This has been the complaint by the opposition Labour Party in the State during and after the April elections. Rather than maintain peace and security, OFT became an instrument of intimidation like the Gestapo.

2. OFT AND EXTORTION OF MONEY IN AND AROUND YENAGOA: There are reported cases where people paid undisclosed sums of money to OFT Policemen to beat people up for trivial matters such as boy friend – girlfriend relationship etc. OFT also played the role of debt collectors and settlement of matrimonial issues. These are civil and domestic issues that have no relationship with security.

3. The OFT outfit became a handy tool in the hands of political office holders in Bayelsa State to seize land from the less-privileged and those who are not politically connected. It is not surprising that a Law maker and a Traditional Ruler could come out to condemn the disbandment of OFT. We also learnt that the present administration is desirous of using OFT to commit violence and rig the gubernatorial elections in Bayelsa State.

4. OFT IS A DRAIN ON THE BUDGET: The funding of OFT is a colossal drain on the budget of Bayelsa State. Officially, it is estimated that the sum of N150 Million is spent monthly to maintain the outfit. Research however showed that the Government spends the sum of N40 Million while the remaining N110 goes down the pockets of the sponsors and operators. Civil Society should pressure the Bayelsa State Government to account for huge sums of money spent to maintain the outfit.

5. SETTLEMENT OF DOMESTIC MATTERS SUCH AS MATRIMINIAL PROBLEMS: OFT operators saw themselves as above the regular police force. The head of the squad executed directives only from Government House and other corrupt government officers. The Commissioner for Police was not rich enough to give instructions to the body. If the operations of the squad are legal and within the ambit of law, why did the Commander refuse to take directives from the State Police Command?

6. SETTLEMENT OF PERSONAL SCORES: The death of the Plant Manager at Gilly-Helena Hotel Late Mr. Karina Frank-Oputu – who in Sept 2011, was beaten to death by OFT operatives in Yenagoa, is just one of several cases of unreported extra-judicial killings. Such cases are numerous in Bayelsa State and most of the victims could not complain for fear of been maimed or killed by OFT operatives.

7. SUPPORTING RIVAL CULT GROUPS and killing of opponents under the guise of curbing cultism. When you consider the circumstances of the killing of the 22 year old Freddie Philip Ockiya in Yenagoa, it is obvious that OFT operators behaved like cultists, who took delight in killing rivals. If they were fighting cultism, one would have expected that when somebody is arrested, the person is made to pass through due process of the rule of law as against summary execution. We are investigating several other cases of extra-judicial killings in the State.

Conclusion:
We interacted with some Bayelsa people who hailed the decision to disband the OFT outfit. In fact the announcement of disbandment kept so many Bayelsa people jubilating. The opinion of Bayelsa people was also sampled on facebook – the most popular social network. Among 200 views sampled, about 198 persons supported the disbandment of Famou-Tangbei. In fact a great many people are of the view that the sponsors and operatives should be tried for human rights violations against the background of sundry extra-judicial killings in the State. On the basis of this popular decision by the Inspector General of Police, it is ridiculous for a few persons to argue that the scrapping of OFT will bring back criminality are perhaps not aware of the strides government has recorded in the Amnesty Program. Amnesty has brought about relative peace in the Niger Delta Region and Bayelsa State is not an exception. We are grateful to President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan for taking proactive steps to stop the activities of the OFT killer squad.

Those who are raising eye brows about the disbandment of the notorious outfit in some national papers are beneficiaries of the nefarious activities of the squad. By implication, they are enemies of the freedom we all savour in a democratic system of government. Bayelsa State is Mr. President’s home State, which should be a reverting model of what the rule of law, stands for. The OFT outfit has exacerbated the problem of insecurity in Bayelsa State rather than Civil Society in the Niger Delta Region has started to document the numerous cases of killing especially the killings that subsume under extra-judicial murders or killing without the due process of law. When the compilation is done, the federal government will be furnished with more information on the activities of OFT. With such cast-iron evidence, human rights lawyers will determine whether or not the sponsors and culprits of such massive human rights violations will be prosecuted.

We the undersigned categorically call on the Presidency and the Forces Headquarters to immediately set up a panel to investigate their activities and bring the culprits to book for full restitution. We demand justice and the enforcement of the fundamental rights of all Nigerians including the people of Bayelsa State.

Barr. Eghosa Osaro
Civil Liberties Organization

Submission:

Peace and stability are preconditions for good governance. In recorded history, darkness has never overcome light. Therefore the resurrection of a murderous outfit such as Operation Famou-Tangbei is not only shameful but smacks of tyranny and a breach of the fundamental rights of Bayelsans.

It only shows how desperate some politicians can get when they discover that they have no electoral value. Elections are conducted and won through the instrumentality of the ballot box. APC desperadoes in Bayelsa State should not redefine elections to mean war, Elections are civil processes which requires acceptance by the electorate and no APC candidate can win elections in Bayelsa State because the Party has been acutely depleted through several gales of defections to the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. At this point, I appeal to the Inspector General of Police to do some deep reflections on the need to entrench peace and security in Bayelsa State.

This is the opinion of so many Bayelsans who witnessed the horrors of OFT. The State will use every lawful and legitimate means to entrench peace and security, and the cooperation of the Centre is essential. Never shall Bayelsans fold their hands to allow the re-enactment of the rule of terror in the State. Never Again!