23rd July, 2010
Former Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu has disclosed that he fought armed robbers physically in Lagos in his early days as a policeman.
Ribadu, who spoke in Lagos, was giving an account of why he decided to join the police when he finished from the university and the Nigeria Law School in 1984.
“I see the Nigeria Police as a place for me to contribute my quota to national development. My first posting was in Mushin and then Kirikiri cell,” he stated.
Though, he was from a rich family and had opportunity to be employed in juicy jobs when he graduated, Ribadu said he joined the police because of the passion he had for the job and that he never regretted doing so. Rather, he challenged and encouraged every Nigerian to emulate his selfless disposition.
The former EFCC boss said he joined the police because of a police constable who really impressed him, though he did not know the name of the policeman.
Ribadu said he met the police constable in 1984 while he was a student at the Nigerian Law School, adding that his career as a police officer started when he saw an individual who was knocked down by a vehicle.
According to him, “someone, probably knocked down by a vehicle, was lying dead beside the road. The corpse was there for days. On my way to school one morning, I saw a police constable packing the now dismembered and decaying corpse and I joined him.
“We went to the general hospital to deposit the corpse at the morgue but it was rejected. So, I followed him to a cemetery at Trinity area of Kirikiri, in the company of another old man.
“I missed most of my lectures that day but the experience changed my life because I started seeing myself as a policeman from that day. I wish the man is hearing me today.â€
—Kazeem Ugbodaga