By Amos Aar
CHIEF SUPERINTENDENT of Police (CSP) Justine Gberindyer, the Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Operation Zenda, a joint taskforce comprising the police and other forces in the state, has expressed concern over lack of commensurate reward system in the police force.
Gberindyer bared his mind Saturday in Makurdi during the public presentation/launching of his biography entitled: “Justine Terver Gberindyer, A Societal Vehicle for Justice,” authored by Lubem Agishi as part of activities marking the retirement of the JTF’s Commander.
He noted that if not as a result of alleged “politicisation of everything” in the police force, he would have retired as a Commissioner of Police, considering his unwavering sacrifices, commitment and dedication to the law enforcement policy.
“It’s unfortunate that the force doesn’t recognise those who have really made some sacrifices. If the force has recognised those who have made sacrifices, before I exit, I would have been a deputy commissioner of Police or a Commissioner of Police per se in quote”.
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Fielding questions on whether the police force has prepared another competent officer to fill the vacuum his retirement would create, Gberindyer doubted the willingness of some officers to sacrifice like him, pointing out poor motivation.
“It’s unfortunate that everything is politicised and I think it’s not everybody that can persevere, not everybody that can make the level of resilience, commitment and dedication to unwavering sacrifice for the society to make the society better, to make every member of the society sleep with his or her eyes closed.
“As a matter of fact, I made it as a duty as a person and my men in my unit to make sure that everybody in Benue State as a component unit in quote, as a state in the country sleep with their eyes closed.
“If this trend or precedent is being observed, it’s unfortunate that others will not take it”, he emphasised.
The outgoing JTF Commander who asked journalists to join him in observing one minute silence in honour of the Divisional Police Officer in charge of Otukpo, CSP John Adikwu, and other officers who lost their lives in confronting armed criminals who robbed five banks in the town on Friday, stressed that it’s one of the reasons why officers who have made “sacrifices, unwavering commitment and dedication to the nation, to the state and to the ideals of the law enforcement policy” should be encouraged so that others would not be disheartened.
In his goodwill message, the 2ic Operation Zenda, SP Felix Arumun Nomiyugh, advised that Gberindyer should not be allowed to go so that he would mentor young officers who are behind him, saying “he will be missed because he still has a lot to offer”.
Also speaking on the side line of the event, Benue State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Superintendent of Police (SP) Sewuese Anene, described CSP Gberindyer as pride of the command, disclosing that most of the successes recorded in the last two years in one way or the other connected to him, especially in the area of fighting kidnapping and banditry which she noted were mostly his specialties.
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“Those kinds of heinous crimes are the crimes that the command looks so much up to him to lead the various teams that have been placed under him to this success,” Anene said.
Asked to highlight the achievements of Gberindyer, Anene said, “if I start telling you about his successes, we will not be dismissed today”.
