IGP Idris: His advocacy for Police Trust Fund

In his presentation at the public hearing on a bill to establish a Police Trust Fund, PTF, at the House of Representatives, on 11th July, 2017, Mr Ibrahim Kpotun Idris, gave the picture of an Inspector General of Police, IGP that is thoroughly perturbed about the sorry state of the Force and passionately craving for […]

In his presentation at the public hearing on a bill to establish a Police Trust Fund, PTF, at the House of Representatives, on 11th July, 2017, Mr Ibrahim Kpotun Idris, gave the picture of an Inspector General of Police, IGP that is thoroughly perturbed about the sorry state of the Force and passionately craving for a feasible, enduring and an all-encompassing solution to thevariegated predicaments of the Institution. To drive home his campaign for the Trust Fund, Mr. Idris reeled out a catalogue of challenges hindering impressive performance of the statutory responsibilities of the Force.

The presentation of the IGP, which took the form of presentation of facts and a comparative analysis of the situation in other countries, was a depiction of a picture of a Police Force that is indeed, in urgent need for vigorous reforms almost in all of its departments. For instance, for an estimated national population of 180 million people, the Police Force has manpower strength of 340,000. This, according to the IGP, translates to mean that, as against the United Nation’s recommended ratio of 1:400, a Nigerian policeman has 609 citizens to police.  For effective policing, especially in the wakeof increasing rate and sophistication in crime and criminals, it is in the nation’s best interest to go along the IGP’S proposal for the “recruitment of 30,000 police officers yearly, for the next five years.”In fact, it is to the credit of the Police Force and must be commended accordingly, for accomplishing the much it has been doing, in spite of the gross shortage of manpower.

There is also, the visibly clear evidence that, the Police Force is bedeviled with the challenge of barracks and offices or, stations. While the IGP’S figure of 7000 Police formations needs to be drastically expanded, the fact that only a mere 7% of the “personnel of the Force are currently provided with barracks/quarters accommodation” there is also, the fact that, most of the existing barracks and offices, are in dilapidated conditions. Therefore, the estimated sum of N700 Billion Naira for rehabilitation and construction of new barracks and stations does not appear to be an exaggerated sum. That will be in addition of course, to the sums that must be sunk into the provision of operational vehicles, modern communication gadgets for enhanced mobility and crime investigation and detection. As it stands today, the entire Nigerian Police Force has less than 15000 operational vehicles and even more bereft of otheroperational facilities long in use by Police elsewhere in the contemporaryworld.

Very significantly, Mr. Ibrahim Idris made the pathetic revelation that, comparatively, “the Nigeria Police officers are the least paid “in the world. For instance, the least police salary (in Naira) per annum in Nigeria is N468,619. His counterpart in Ghana, earns N593,802; in South Africa, N2,597,999; in Kenya, 1,173,552, and in Singapore, N9,521,819. How do we expect the Police to give his optimum and resist temptations to demand for gratification or, inducement, when his take home wage does not literally, take him home? Something will have to be done not just for the purpose of boosting morale of those in the service but, to as well, make it attractive to the young high quality graduates. It is a fact that the Police Force is only chosen as a career as a last option for those of our youths whose intelligence would have been best manifested in the service.

The Police Force, like a number of other agencies and departments of government, has been a victim of the yawning disparities experienced in the funds allocated to them in the annual budgets and, the actual amounts released into their accounts. In the 2016 budgeting allocation for capital projects for example, the Force received N10, 026,818 000 instead of the 16, 107, 277, 000 appropriated. For overhead cost in the same year, N9, 250,565,307 was appropriated, but the actual amount that was released was 6, 369,343,519.18. While the Police Force requires an average 19.98 billion Naira annual fueling cost for vehicles, the government made available, the paltry sum of 809 Million Naira. Any wonder that the State Commands of Force, practically go cap in hand soliciting for financial aids from the state governments. This is no doubt, an unhealthy situation that must be checked.         

This writer is in total agreement with the IGP that draft bill should be reviewed by the legislators in some of its provisions. For example the draft in section 2 (2) restricts the Police Trust Fund to last a period of six years. This should not be so because, we should be looking ata lasting solution and not a stop gap, adhoc solution. In his words: “The Fund once established should be sustained in the interest of National Security and not to be time bound. The word duration should therefore be expunged from the bill.” One is also in accord with suggestion by the Chief of Defence Staff that a penalty of a ten year jail term should be provided in the Bill for anybody who commits the crime of stealing from the Fund.    

On the whole, there should be no gain saying the fact that the nation’s foremost security agency is in dire need for reforms which, in turn, requires a review in the amount and mode of its funding. The proposed Police Trust Fund appears to be the most plausible, logical and enduring panacea. The nation’s lawmakers have therefore taken the appropriate steps by coming up with a bill that will see to its actualization. It is only to be hoped that the process will not be too long in coming so that the much awaited legislation will be concluded before the expiration of the tenure of the 8th National Assembly. That, to most patriotic citizens, will be one of the most outstanding piece of legislation to come out of the hallowed green and red chambers. And, Mr. Ibrahim Kpotun Idris will certainly have gone down in history as the Inspector General of Police who fought for the rebirth of the nation’s foremost security agency. What a glorious legacy, and indelible foot marks in sands of time!        

Ahmed wrote this piece from Sokoto.