We did not misappropriate police fund - Kenny Martins

Chief Kenny Martins, National Coordinator,
Police Equipment Fund

Chief Kenny Martins is the National Co-ordinator, Police Equipment Fund (PEF). In this interview with Adelowo Oladipo, he speaks on the order given to banks to acquire bullet-proof bullion van, the plans and achievements of the Police Equipment Fund (PEF) and the reported invitation by the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) on the running of the affairs of the Fund. Excerpts:

The Nigeria Police and and some financial institutions seem to be having problems over the acquisition of Armoured Cash-in-Transit Vans (ACTV). What is the situation now?
I don’t see why they should be having problem because the banks have said that the notice given to them by the Inspector General of Police, Mr Mike Okiro, was too short and unacceptable to them. Left to me, the banks cannot say that the notice given them was short, because a year ago, when the Ukraine government invited the Police Equipment Foundation to Ukraine, that was when they promised to supply us with about 500 units of Armoured Cash in-Transit Vehicles and that we could pay for them in the next two years. We, therefore, introduced the offer to the immediate past Inspector General of police, Mr. Sunday Ehindero, who saw no need to take up the offer.

But when Mr Mike Okiro came on board, he said the Nigeria Police could not afford to be losing its officers everyday as a result of the frequent attacks on bullion vans by armed robbers who target cash in transit, and one of his first decisions was to ban the use of pick–up vehicles for cash transit across the country by banks. That was when it became imperative for banks to get armoured bullion vans. So, our foreign partners who understand the Nigerian situation very well said all the banks needed were bullet-proof bullion vans. These foreign partners introduced us to four international sources where the funds have been given to finance the manufacture of bullet-proof bullion vans for the use of Nigerian banks. They promised to supply us with 2,000 armoured bullion vans so that the cash could be delivered safely at their intended destinations, while at the same time, save the lives of policemen who are escorting such funds from one bank to the other.

What is the security role the Police Equipment Fund is playing in the present dispensation?
Our concern is how to make the country a safer place for all citizens. And in doing this, we must ensure that our policemen who are the guardian angels of all Nigerians are empowered, equipped and enhanced so that they would be able to perform optimally. In this regard, we have been raising money from sources, both nationally and internationally, to supplement police’s budget from the Federal Government, in an attempt to ensure that all the things the cannot be acquired because of shortage of funds can be provided by us. That is why we are going to provide 100,000 housing units to the police on owner-occupier basis. This is because once a policeman owns a house and he has a grace of about 10 years to pay back on an instalmental basis, he will realise that he is a bonafide Nigerian and will put in his best in discharging his or her duties. This will further enhance his or her morale and allow him or her to perform better. We also want these police officers and men to own their personal cars. That is why we are putting about 2,000 vehicles at their disposal. As a matter of fact, we have facilitated it and we have a car manufacturing company that is joining us in this venture while some banks are also collaborating and co-operating with us on the issue of finance.

In addition, the police management has given approval for these programmes and for the first time in Nigeria, the policemen will be able to own cars, while the pay-back period is between three and five years. We have also made it a matter of policy that whereever we secure loans to assist the police, the interest rate must be on a single digit. And we have found a private sector formular to ensure this happens in every aspect of intervention.

We have also said that all policemen must be equipped. Even, in the case of the armoured bullion vans being provided for the banks, the policemen are the utmost beneficiaries since they are the ones who follow the cash from one point to the other. We have also resolved to provide the Nigeria Police with armoured personnel carriers because the level of robbery and the sophistication of robbery in the country have gone very far. Unfortunately, the capacity of the police to cope with the expediential increament in crime has been in opposite. While the criminals are carrying AK 47 magazines, policemen don’t even have performing guns. Therefore, we believe that there is a need to provide our police with body-armoured vests, ballistic helmets and armoured personnel carriers to be able to withstand the onslaught from the men of the underworld.

Similarly, we believe that communications is vital to the operations of the police and to make their operations easier, there is the need to ensure that the proposal we have before the Federal Government, the National Assembly and the Nigeria Police, which is on the command control system, should be the type whereby the Inspector General of Police will be able to monitor from his office every street in the country and the black spots nationwide. With this technology, the Police, like in Britain, would be able to monitor every street in the country, while communication among policemen in a situation where crime is being committed, would be made possible. This is reason why we need the command control system, which the Chinese are providing.

What is this report circulating about you being invited by the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) on the running of the affairs of the PEF?
No! I have not been invited by anybody, even by the ICPC for questioning over the running of the affairs of the PEF. If the media report was true, I would have shown you the letter of invitation by the ICPC just like you are asking me now.

The other time, we were at the office of the National Security Adviser to the President to process the end users certificate for the body armoured vests that we are bringing into the country when he said jokingly that he thought that we had been arrested by the Police or the EFCC and wondered how we would have been arrested without the knowledge of his office and that of Mr. President. I replied that that was the Nigerian media for him in action. We expected positive, accommodating, willing and supportive partners hip on the part of the media, in ameliorating the security situation in the country, but the reverse has been the case because we had the worst of our ordeal with the Nigerian media. We have also noted with dismay what looked like sponsored editorials in some newspapers and weekly magazines in recent times. We had seen in a spate of few days what looked like the same wordings of editorials in some of these media houses simply because they want to build up public hysteria towards a public hearing at the National Assembly in the next few days.

How do you think these editorials in the media would harm the operations of your organisation?
Well, I have received lots of telephone calls from concerned individuals, friends and relations alike, that it seems some people in their right senses have started wondering whether it was worth it at all for someone to want to die for this country. They are also of the opinions that there is no point for some patriotic citizens to want to do good for the country. They felt that rather than assisting Nigeria Police, they should give it a re-think or the possibility of joining the band wagon of some people who had misappropriated public funds and nothing has happened to them at the end of the day, as some of them are now above the law, walking freely on the streets. But having sworn that we shall not be distracted by our detractors, some of us have been in politics and the worst thing you can say against me is that I have misappropriated money, if you have evidence to that effect. In any case, we are a private sector organisation which has no access to public funds, not to talk of misappropriating it.

Why did the immediate past Inspector General Police, Mr. Sunday Ehindero, refuse to accept a car gift from the PEF?
It was as a result of the circumstances surrounding his departure from office. As at the time the vehicles were brought into the country, it was very close to his exit from the force after he had supervised the last April general elections. According to him, to have received the vehicles and distribute them across the nation and be held accountable later was his greatest problem. That was why he left it for the incumbent police boss, Mr Mike Okiro, to do. To us, it was a good explanation because we have valuable vehicles that are equally good for the operations of the Nigeria Police. He did not want to take delivery of the vehicles so that they would not tampered with. This was because he did not have a clear picture about what the vehicles considered as valuable assets would be used for after his exit from office. While some people were saying that we have distributed 250 BMW cars to the Nigeria Police, on our own part, we have only given out 55 BMW cars to the Nigeria Police as against their inflated 250 BMW cars. And when they said that the Police did not make any request for the BMW cars, I will show you the record in our office. They formally signed and requested for 100 BMW cars, 100 utility sports Land Rover cars(Jeep) and 1800 Toyota Hilux vehicles and Prado Jeeps, including 1004 pick up vehicles. Those are exactly what we are supplying to the Nigeria Police.

What company is in charge of the fund’s account?
One of the world’s biggest auditing firms is in charge of our accounting. We took the decision to appoint Price Water House Coopers as our auditor because Mr. Dafinone was a treasurer of the foundation. It was not possible for him to be the treasurer as well as the auditor at the same time, as there could be a clash of interests on his part. However, nationalism and patriotism are the things that have kept us going. We are unfortunate to have been beaten by it. It pains me that I was being addressed as a fraudulent person by my country’s media without adequate information to back-up the claim.