Senator Adams Oshiomhole has faulted the Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, for appearing apologetic over shooting of criminals, insisting that security operatives should shoot armed criminals without hesitation.
The Edo North lawmaker spoke on Monday during an interview with TVC News.
“That’s why when this IG was saying he didn’t say ‘shoot at sight,’ Why is he apologetic? Shoot at sight. If you see a criminal, shoot on sight,” Oshiomhole said.
Wuzup Nigeria reports that the Nigeria Police Force recently clarified that the IGP did not issue a “shoot-on-sight” order, saying he was referring instead to Force Order 237, which governs the legal and operational conditions for the use of firearms by police officers.
Oshiomhole commended the Department of State Services for appealing a court judgment that handed life imprisonment instead of death sentences to convicted offenders.
“I have said that judges should implement the law, not their personal sentiment. I’m also happy that the DSS is doing its job. They have appealed the judgment where people who should have been condemned to death were given life imprisonment,” he said.
Asked what he considered the President’s biggest political risk ahead of next year’s election, Oshiomhole said insecurity remained the only obstacle standing in the way of Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid. He urged the President to give the service chiefs a firm deadline to end insecurity.
“I would tell him to do everything he can to direct the armed forces to ensure that the service chiefs understand that they have a duty to terminate insecurity within the next few months,” he said.
Oshiomhole said there had to be a benchmark to measure what the military was given against the results produced. He insisted the President should hold the service chiefs firmly accountable.
“There has to be a benchmark to measure what we give them and the results that we get, and whether it’s commensurate. It is better he beats down their necks than anything else,” he said.
The former Edo State governor said Tinubu had already put the necessary macroeconomic tools in place, leaving insecurity as the only limiting factor.
“See, the president has put all the necessary macroeconomic tools in place. The only limiting factor is this insecurity. And unfortunately, again, it’s an issue that has reached a certain stage that you cannot terminate overnight. But Nigerians want to see consistent, deliberate effort,” he said.
On claims that Tinubu has not been visible enough in office, Oshiomhole dismissed the perception, saying he had seen the President address forums, preside over meetings and comment widely on Nigeria’s political economy.
“That the president is not visible enough. I don’t understand what is meant by visibility. Because I see the president addressing various forums. I see him receiving and presiding over meetings. I see him commenting on a wide range of issues that have to do with the Nigerian political economy and society,” he said.
He added that the opposition was entitled to criticise the administration, but warned that the ruling party would respond in kind. He linked the emergence of Peter Obi as a political force to public anger during the last election cycle, which he attributed to the tenure of the late former President Muhammadu Buhari. “Last time they voted in anger. That is why I brought up the issue of the former president. I’m not blaming him, he’s no more. May his soul rest in peace. But that situation is what produced Obi,” he said.
