PM NEWS
An Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), Zyad Ibn Isah, has hit back at Kemi Badenoch, leader of the UK Conservative Party, for accusing the Nigerian Police Force of theft.
Born Kemi Adegoke, the politician, who changed her last name after marrying a Scottish banker, has been saying uncomplimentary things about Nigeria since she emerged as leader of the UK’s main opposition party.
In an interview with The Free Press, a US media outfit, Badenoch said while British Police officers were professional, the same could not be said of those in Nigeria.
She said: “My experience with the Nigerian police was very negative. However, my experience with the British Police was very positive when I came to the UK. The police in Nigeria will rob us.
“When people say I have this bad experience with the police because I’m black, I say well… I remember the police stole my brother’s shoe and his watch. It’s a very poor country. People do all sorts of things. So, giving people a gun is just a licence to intimidate.
“But that’s not just the problem.
“That is not the bar we should use for the British police. When I was burgled, for example, the police were there. They were helpful before they eventually caught the person. This was in 2004… that was 20 years ago,” Badenoch had said.
But responding in a post on social media, Isah, who is media aide to the chairman, Police Service Commission, said while Nigerian Police Force was far from being perfect, reforms such as the ones introduced in Britain could bring about change.
“I would recommend David Rose’s “In the Name of the Law” to Kemi Badenoch. The truth is, the London Metropolitan Police was a mess in the 1960s, 1970s, and even the 1980s. It was through various reforms and even a change of name that they became what they are today.
“If the questioner had asked a British citizen in the 1960s or 1970s whether they trusted the British police, I doubt they would have said yes. The situation was that bad.
“Nigeria and its police force are not perfect—we know that. But we will rise from the ashes, just like the UK and its police force. Aunty Kemi should enjoy her new pastime of denigrating her fatherland while it lasts,” Isah said.
THIS ARTICLE ORIGINALLY APPEARED IN PM NEWS
