The CSOs noted that President Buhari had also ordered that if found culpable, appropriate disciplinary actions, must be meted out to the erring officers in the Adamawa debacle, which includes Barde.
Some civil society organisations (CSOs) in Nigeria have called for the immediate redeployment of the Imo State Commissioner of Police (CP), Mohammed Barde.
The CSOs made the call in a joint statement issued in Abuja on Sunday. They accused Barde of partisanship and other unprofessional conduct in the line of duty, especially while superintending violence and misconduct during the Adamawa State governorship election.
The statement was signed by the Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC), Lagos; Human Rights Social Development and Environmental Foundation (HURSDEF), Rivers; Better Life Community Initiative (BECOLIN), Imo; International Peace and Civic Responsibility Centre (IPCRC), Anambra; PMNeighbourhood Initiative for Women Advancement (NIWA), Ebonyi, and Initiative for Safety, Security and Educational Development in Nigeria Network, Enugu.
Others are Foundation For Environmental Rights, Advocacy and Development (FENRAD), Abia; African Youths Initiative on Crime Prevention, Lagos; Grassroots Democracy Network, Lagos; African Centre for Human Rights Advocacy and Wholesome Society (CEHRAWS), Abia State, and Difference Newspapers, Lagos.
The groups also asked that Barde should be investigated for his role in the bloodletting in Imo State.
The statement is titled: "Mohammed Ahmed Barde Commissioner of Police, Imo State Police Command Should be Redeployed from Imo State and investigated for Presiding Over Rogue Policing as CP Imo and for his partisanship, Superintending over Electoral Violence and Misconduct during the Adamawa governorship election."
It partly reads: “We, the undersigned CSOs across Nigeria, have noted President Muhammadu Buhari’s commendable directive to the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Director General of the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Commandant General of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC) to investigate the role of their officers in aiding and abetting the conduct/actions of Hudu Yunusa Ari, the Adamawa Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), during the March 18 governorship election."
The CSOs noted that President Buhari had also ordered that if found culpable, appropriate disciplinary actions, must be meted out to the erring officers in the Adamawa debacle, which includes Barde.
They noted Barde’s role in the electoral charade that marred the Adamawa governorship election, leading the Inspector General of Police to withdraw him from the state and, in his stead, dispatched the CP of Gombe State, Etim Equa.
Equa was transferred to Adamawa to restore order and ensure the peaceful conclusion of the disrupted election. The groups said the report "is fully out there in the public space, and needs no rehashing."
The statement reads, “Barde also displayed partisanship during the Presidential and House of Assembly elections in Imo in utter violation of the Standard Operational Guidelines for Law Enforcement Agents on Election Duty.
“That a CP, who was detailed to ensure electoral security in a state could be withdrawn midway from that state, owing to his involvement in electoral crimes and malfeasance, which undermined the process, speaks volumes.”
Accusing Barde of being a hatchet man for the Imo governor, Hope Uzodinma, the CSOs noted that some police officers in Imo under Barde had been implicated in several unprofessional and criminal conducts, including harassment, intimidation and attacks on political opposition members.
“They have been involved in framing opposition politicians with false charges with some ending up being remanded over baseless and frivolous allegations of terrorism,” they alleged.