Beauty and the beast: Undisciplined policing

The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) is once again in the news as the Lagos State Police Command recently took action over the killing of Nigeria’s celebrated tennis star Beauty McLeod who was shot by a policeman at Victoria Island in Lagos. According to the Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) the perpetrator has been […]

The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) is once again in the news as the Lagos State Police Command recently took action over the killing of Nigeria’s celebrated tennis star Beauty McLeod who was shot by a policeman at Victoria Island in Lagos. According to the Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) the perpetrator has been detained and investigations are ongoing.

Initially there was an attempt to hide the truth with an outlandish story that the policeman and victim lodged in the same compound and were involved in a domestic dispute. This version of events was rubbished when the victim’s true identity became known. Beauty was lodging with her daughter in a nearby hotel after both of them recently arrived in the country. In addition to being a star in her own right Beauty’s protégé daughter who trains overseas is currently Nigeria’s number one international tennis player in her age group. Eye witnesses claim that because of her gender the policeman thought Beauty was someone he could deal with disrespectfully and in a beastly manner. Despite the differing versions of what actually transpired certain facts are beyond dispute. Firstly that Beauty was unarmed; secondly that she had committed no crime; and lastly that the policeman’s life was not under any threat whatsoever. The simple truth is that for whatever reason there was a personal altercation in which the policeman failed to control his temper and discharged his weapon. Regrettably this incident is just the latest in a long line of human rights abuses by Nigerian policemen. With disturbing regularity law abiding citizens are either physically assaulted by police, or worse still, become victims of gunshot wounds intentionally inflicted by armed officers who have inappropriately lost their tempers while interacting with members of the public. This is no doubt a reflection of the poor psychological training police recruits are subjected to, which in turn is an indication of the generally decrepit and poor state of Police Training Colleges. Inspector General of Police (IGP) Solomon Arase has continuously urged police officers to respect human rights and warned the rank and file that his command would not tolerate extra-judicial killings. In the same vein several of his predecessors acknowledged these problems and promised to address them. Unfortunately despite all the warnings and appeals over the years, there still is no real accountability and human rights abuses continue unabated. As recently as September 20th 2015 it was widely reported that the Force Criminal Investigations Department arrested and detained an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) and six other policemen over extra-judicial killings in Abuja and Benin City. In Abuja the Chairman Senate Committee on Defense lost his son who although unarmed was shot and killed by police who were subsequently indicted by an internal investigation. In Benin City four policemen who had travelled from Lagos to investigate a case of robbery, shot and killed the unarmed “suspect”.
There are two categories of extra-judicial killings. Firstly those associated with anti-robbery operations. The general public is well advised to be cooperative and courteous in their dealings with the Special Anti-Robbery Squad otherwise known as “SARS”. Dare devil criminals massacre police in murderous robbery operations on a regular basis, and it isn’t difficult to understand why SARS operatives may be trigger happy. It must be accepted that unfortunately in the hazardous and high tension nature of chasing and capturing armed robbers and killers’ there may be innocent victims otherwise referred to as “collateral damage”. What is completely unacceptable hoewever is the second category of extra-judicial killings in which innocent Nigerians like Beauty McLeod are killed by armed policemen, not as a result of any anti-robbery or crime prevention operation, but simply because they became involved in a personality clash. It’s a human tragedy whose numbers are increasing. Cynics claim that armed robbers are less likely to be shot by police than innocent citizens! This should really come as no surprise because truthfully pour police rank and file is poorly constituted, irregularly paid, poorly housed and work in atrocious conditions. Kept in such an unpleasant and distasteful position by police authorities over the years they take out their frustrations by maltreating unarmed innocent citizens and supplement their income by engaging in daily extortion. The Human Rights provisions in the Nigerian Constitution are meant to be the bedrock of our democracy. Even as it’s of utmost importance that authorities of the Nigerian Tennis Federation (NTF) do their best to follow up the case and ensure the perpetrator is brought to justice, it’s also vital that society at large takes up the mantle to ensure that putting a stop to the excesses of our police rank and file is brought to the front burner of national issues. The rule of law means that coercive power must be exercised in accordance with pre-determined rules, as opposed to used arbitrarily. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) states in its preamble that “whereas it is essential that if a man is not to be compelled to have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression, that human rights should be protected by the rule of law”.  The rule of law is condition sine qua non for the enjoyment of civil liberties in any nation. It’s a two edged sword, which doesn’t mean simply ensuring that government has the means and capability to maintain law and order, it also imposes restraints on the powers of government agents ensuring that citizens enjoy adequate safeguards against the abuse of power by those in authority. The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria guarantees citizens the right to freedom from torture or inhuman and degrading treatment. Government must continuously strive to ensure that law enforcement officers refrain from taking life without due process, and fulfill their obligation to protect lives and property.