No less than 190 policemen who were mobilized for the war against Boko Haram have dumped the country’s police force and fled for their lives.

The fleeing policemen, who were part of the 2,000 Police Mobile Officers mobilised for the training preparatory to their deployment for combat against Boko Haram insurgents in the North-East, absconded from the ongoing training at the Special Forces School (SFS), Buni-Yadi, Yobe State.

It is understood that the 190 missing cops bailed out of the SFS because they did not want to participate in the counter-insurgency operations.

Clearly unhappy about the development, the Force Headquarters, Abuja, has ordered for the arrest and prosecution of the officers.

Sahara Reporters quoted a security source familiar with the matter as saying that the said officers were to be sent to battle without appropriate training, and also observed that nearly all of them are southerners and Christians.

“Those are the names of policemen who were mobilised without any serious training to be sent to the front lines to fight Boko Haram who ran away,” said the source.

“Nearly all of them are southerners and Christians; 96% of the total number mobilised are southerners and Christians too. This has raised so much dust and outcry in the NPF.”

However, the Police countered this as a wireless message sent from the Force Headquarters to MOPOLS in 22 states, said the policemen were being trained at the Special Forces school, Buni-Yadi, where they absconded from.

Speaking on the deployment, Force Public Relations Officer, Jimoh Moshood, said the policemen comprised personnel of the Police Mobile Force (PMF) and Counter Terrorism Units (CTU), as well as those of the Force and the Sniffer Dog Sections.

Moshood also stated that the new deployment was consistent with Section 4 of the Police Act and Regulations.

The section, he said, “specifies the general duties of the Nigeria Police Force as follows: The police shall be employed for the prevention and detection of crime, the apprehension of offenders, the preservation of law and order, the protection of life and property and the due enforcement of all laws and regulations with which they are directly charged, and shall perform such military duties within or outside Nigeria as may be required of them by or under the authority of this or any other Act”.

“The deployment is also to support the strength of the military to defeat the Boko Haram insurgency,” he added.

“Before now, the Nigeria Police Force has on ground 47 PMF units (63 X 47 = 2961) in Borno State in addition to the Police Mobile Force (PMF) Squadron in Borno State. Twenty-six units (63 X 26 = 1638) on ground in Yobe State in addition to the Police Mobile Force (PMF) Squadron in Yobe State.

“Eighteen units (63 X 18 = 1134) on ground in Adamawa State in addition to the Police Mobile Force (PMF) Squadron in Adamawa State.”