How Nigerians harass, disrespect police officers

The basic duties of a police officer as stated by Section (4) of the Police Act include detection and prevention of crime, apprehension of offenders, preservation of law and order, protection of life and property as well as due enforcement of all laws and regulations which they are directly charged with. But while carrying out […]

The basic duties of a police officer as stated by Section (4) of the Police Act include detection and prevention of crime, apprehension of offenders, preservation of law and order, protection of life and property as well as due enforcement of all laws and regulations which they are directly charged with. But while carrying out the duties and other tasks within their jurisdiction, they sometimes suffer harassment and attacks in the hands of some people, Daily Trust Saturday reports scenarios in some states.

For some Nigerians, the popular slogan: “Police is your friend” does not hold water. Findings by our correspondents indicated that whenever they get offended by any action by the police, they fight back with bouts of harassment and attacks on them.

Our correspondents also gathered that when officers are harassed or attacked by any member(s) of the public and a fight ensues, they (officers) would be at the receiving end.  One of such scenarios, it was learnt, had cost an officer his job.

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In Kano, there were cases of harassment, attacks on and disrespect for officers. A retired police officer, Ahmed Mato, who confirmed this, told Daily Trust Saturday that such situations occurred in the hands of political office holders, especially when the job of a police officer involved them and their relatives.  

A serving police officer who spoke on the condition of anonymity said one of his colleagues lost his job because he shot a notorious and wanted criminal who was terrorizing a community in the state but on the payroll of a lawmaker.

“While the police and community members were happy that a notorious criminal had been shot, the poor police officer lost his job for doing his job right,” he said.

Idris Bodo, a resident, said there were moments when members of the public saved the police from being harassed by political thugs.

“In Kano State, the public respect the police but it is very sad to see how these innocent Nigerians are being harassed by those who are supposed to be their leaders,” Bodo said.

The relationship between civilians and security agencies, particularly the police, is not usually cordial because the civilians always blame the police for harassment and intimidation.

The police also accused the people of disrespect when they are on duty.

Mr Kamal, a policeman in Kaduna, said his relationship with the civilian was not cordial because they disrespect the police as “they see us as bad people that deny them their rights.

“People fear us a lot because they always accuse us of harassment and intimidation. When some of them see a police officer, their hearts beat.

“People call us different names based on their encounters with the police. They see us as very bad people,” he said.

On how he resolved misunderstanding among members of the public, he said: “We have the constitutional rights to protect their lives and property. We always consider that and whenever people misbehave, we overlook it because we are working for them and our country.”

“I once had a problem with a car driver who violated the law through overload.  I confronted him to reduce the load.

The man argued that he didn’t do anything wrong and the people there supported him. But I allowed them to go. My concern was about their safety,” he said.

Mr Usman, another policeman, said he suffers from harassment and disrespect from the public.

He explained that the perception and actions of some members of the public affect them (the police) as a people. “I can’t say we are all bad because there are good policemen among us. Therefore, the police should be treated as friends of the people. Some of us always try to demonstrate that,” he said.

He added that whenever he had an encounter with civilians, he endeavoured to be fair to them and did not harass or intimidate them.

“I believe that being fair to the people can change the level of negative misperception they have towards us. It is ironic that the people whose lives and property you are protecting have a different perception about you,” he said. Usman, however, said that he was not discouraged by any negative perception about the police because he always stood by the oath of the police force to work for the people and nation.

In Bauchi State, police traffic wardens face harassment and assault from residents who, our correspondent gathered, inflicting various degrees of injuries on them.

They also suffer attacks, including insults and threats from drivers and keke NAPEP, motorcycle operators as well as private and commercial drivers in the state.

On the condition of anonymity, a traffic warden who lost a finger from an attack by a tipper driver in Bauchi metropolis told Daily Trust Saturday that despite precautionary measures applied in discharging their duties, drivers, especially those of trailers and trucks, had developed the habit of attacking warders in the state.

“One day, a tipper driver cut off one of my fingers with his tipper door because I stopped him to allow other vehicles coming to another direction,” he said.

“Although the driver was arrested and detained for some moments and was compelled to pay the medical bills for my treatment. I was advised to withdraw the case because most of such cases are not thoroughly treated to serve as a deterrent.”

He attributed the increase of the trend to lack of proper prosecution of offenders. He added that majority of the cases ended up at the table of the senior officers as a result of which offenders continued to harass and disrespect traffic wardens with impunity.

A traffic warden who sustained a head injury from an attack by a tanker driver said people always disrespected police wardens because of the wrong impression they had about them.

“We are not getting the necessary regards from members of the public because they don’t consider us as law enforcement agents. When they attack us on duty, they use money to get out of it. I remember when a tanker driver assaulted me with a whip and inflicted injuries on my head. When the case was forwarded to our O. C in charge, he only  paid my medical bills and went away.”

“Even the police institution does not accord deserved respect to traffic wardens. That is why majority of them end up with the rank of sergeant. Only very few officers get to the rank of inspector. Since the institution does not give necessary respect to them, how do you think the public would not disrespect them,” he added.

Another police warden who doesn’t want to be named also disclosed that traffic wardens faced double challenges which include accidents and attacks. 

“Recently, the state’s police command directed all traffic wardens to work till 10:00 pm but did not provide them with working tools such as torch and reflective jackets to minimize accidents. The directives have increased attacks on and harassment of officers from motorists and other road users,” he said.

He added:  “Some road junctions have no street lights, while available ones have developed technical hitches. This exposes wardens to danger, especially at junctions that have less activities at nights.”

Bauchi State Commissioner of Police, CP Sylvester Alabi, said the state police command had recorded many cases of assault and harassment of police officers, especially traffic wardens by members of the public.

“We have instances where people who are involved in cases of assaulting our personnel were arrested and charged to court because the law is there. When you assault a police officer, it is a serious matter and we can not sweep it under the carpet,” he said.

“It is always police against the public and nobody ever addresses members of the public harassing the police, but we are handling it,” he added.

“In fact, let me make it clear that one happened at the Government House where a female corporal police officer was assaulted. The culprit was arrested and remanded in the prison’s custody. We are dealing with it the way it is supposed to be. This will send messages to others who might want to follow the ugly trend.

We are not playing with it at all. It is being taken care of professionally and I can assure you that anybody who goes out of his way to assault any member of the police force on duty will be dealt with,” the CP said.

While reacting to the non-provision of working tools, he said: “We told our traffic wardens to extend their duty period to 10.00 pm. But if they are telling you that they don’t have working tools, that is not true because some of them, out of negligence, are not handling the tools. The O.C in charge of traffic and other officers are currently on improved monitoring.”

Clement Adeyi (Abuja), Ibrahim Musa Giginyu (Kano), Mohammed I.Yaba (Kaduna) & Hassan Ibrahim (Bauchi)