For a viable police force

At a dangerous time like this in Nigeria, it is disheartening that our police force is beset with several factors that have emasculated its ability. One of them is under-funding, which has adversely affected this all-important law enforcement agency through lack of requisite manpower, (personnel), infrastructure, tools for crime prevention and control like forensic and […]

At a dangerous time like this in Nigeria, it is disheartening that our police force is beset with several factors that have emasculated its ability. One of them is under-funding, which has adversely affected this all-important law enforcement agency through lack of requisite manpower, (personnel), infrastructure, tools for crime prevention and control like forensic and fingerprint facilities, patrol vans, arms and ammunition, anti-riot kit, bulletproof jackets, communication gadgets (including phones and walkie-talkies). This is not to mention poor salaries and allowances, which have dampened the morale of the police personnel and made some of them easily prone to temptations of bribery, corruption and connivance with criminals. Related to this is lack of adequate welfare and motivational packages in the Nigeria police, in terms of duty allowance, decent offices, barracks, meritorious service awards for exemplary staff, promotion of officers and men as and when due and compensation for those who die or sustain injuries on active service. There is also the problem of inadequate training, re-training and re-orientation of some of the police men and women in modern law enforcement/anti-crime techniques, especially now when criminals are becoming more organised, sophisticated and brutal in their nefarious activities.

The near atrophy or neglect of the intelligence arm of the NPF (i.e, Force Criminal Intelligence and Investigation Bureau (FCIIB) over the years is another factor militating against the force in its poise to nip crimes in the bud. The contagion of bribery and corruption is also blameworthy for undermining the credibility and service delivery capability of the police force. Added to this is frequent abuse of human rights by few bad eggs in the police, as observed through harassment, unlawful arrest or detention, torture and extra-judicial killings – awful acts that have attracted opprobrium and negative image to the force. Also critically affecting the Nigeria police is lack of full cooperation between the force and other security agencies on crime control, which is attributed to rivalry and role conflict. Similar situation can be glimpsed from the lacklustre police-public relations – a disturbing development arising from mutual suspicion and distrust between the two groups. Not helping matters in the search for a virile and vibrant NPF is creation of parallel bodies that duplicate the extant functions and powers of the force, especially the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).

For a viable police force in Nigeria, all the factors throwing spanners in the works of the force should be squarely addressed. On this account, the Federal Government (FG), as the custodian of law and order in the country, is well-advised to go the whole hog of repositioning the force. As a matter of priority, the FG should pump more funds in the police force for both institutional and capacity building, including establishing/maintaining police stations nationwide, providing befitting shelter for personnel, procuring necessary accoutrements for crime detection, prevention and control, paying attractive salaries and allowances and implementing new training and re-training programmes in the force.

As a matter of urgency, the government should look into the highly controversial issue of the recent elevation of the NSCDC to a full-fledged law enforcement agency with the possibility of bearing firearms. Without being economical with the truth, this measure is likely to infringe on the constitutional mandate of the Nigeria police and other relevant security agencies that are vested with the powers of stabilising our internal security situations like the Department of State Security (DSS). Already, this has generated bad blood between the police and the Civil Defence Corps, as witnessed in their frequent brawls, even physical confrontations, over conflicting functions. Moreover, the existence of the corps, as presently constituted, is akin to operating two police forces in Nigeria. This development is not only unhealthy for a formidable police force in the country, but also has the potentials of producing a dysfunctional security system in the form of incoherent national security policy, duplication of functions, waste of scarce resources, inter-agency rivalry, poor co-ordination, lack of accountability and ineffective oversight. Even the proposal to arm the NSCDC is inadvisable, as similar outfits in advanced countries like the United States, Japan, Australia and Singapore do not carry arms, but help in disaster response situations like storm, earthquakes, wildfires and suchlike. There are also palpable fears in many discernible quarters that arming the corps would lead to serious abuse through intimidation of members of the public, extra-judicial killings and “accidental discharges,” in addition to contributing to the scourge of small arms proliferation and the associated violent crimes and insecurity. In view of all this, the FG should take full advantage of the Report of the Stephen Oronsaye Committee on the Rationalisation and Restructuring of Federal Government Agencies and Parastatals to consider how to merge the NSCDC with the NPF. Alternatively, the Civil Defence Corps could be joined with the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) or be left as a civil organisation it appears to be, without being issued assault rifles.

As part of efforts to empower the Nigeria police, the government should view with utmost concern the renewed clamour in certain quarters for creation of state police. This is for three cogent reasons. One, Section 214(1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999) states that: “There shall be a police for Nigeria, which shall be known as the Nigeria Police Force, and subject to the provisions of this section, no other police force shall be established for the federation or any part thereof”. Two, the country is not yet ripe for state police, mindful of our tense and volatile political and ethno-religious situations that could make it susceptible abuse as a sectional force. And three, the Nigeria police, just like our armed forces, should be maintained as part of our unifying national institutions.

Making the NPF to fulfil its potentials would also require a deliberate and sustained effort to inculcate sterling qualities of honesty, integrity, accountability, discipline, selfless service, civility and reliability in the personnel of the force. Building such an enviable police force would involve ensuring that the process of recruitment into the police is transparent, honest and meticulous in order to sieve out applicants who are not qualified or who have questionable characters.. Interestingly enough, the prospects of engendering a police force with admirable qualities in Nigeria have heightened with a number of reassuring steps of the Acting Inspector General of Police, Mr Mohammed D. Abubakar, who is reputed to be a top-class and no-nonsense cop with a proven track record. So far, Mr Abubakar’s recent pronouncement that stopped the mounting of police roadblocks/checkpoints across the country – in most cases seen by some members of the public as axis of extortion – has earned him a groundswell of public accolades.

Emeh wrote from Abuja