Policing Without Accountability: Understanding the Issues

Rachael Eni

October 20, 2021 made it one year since the brutal event that claimed the lives of young Nigerians protesting police brutality and the many cases of harassment perpetuated by security agencies. While the Nigerian government has on many occasions denied that youths were shot at Lekki Toll Gate, the Lagos Judicial Panel of Inquiry in its report on the Lekki shootings confirmed that the Lekki Massacre wasn’t a figment of our imagination. It was a massacre that claimed the lives of innocent youths.

One thing however is absolutely certain, no lesson has been learnt so far by the Nigeria police. The change of name from Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) to Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) Team was only to diffuse an already tense situation. In actuality, there has been no changes since the protests happened. The Nigeria police continue to display the high-handedness and human right abuses that spurred the protests in the first instance, affirming the validity of the protests.

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Only recently, a video of popular comedian and actor, Debo Adedayo, popularly known as Mr. Macaroni surfaced online. In the video, police officers said to be attached to the Ogudu Police Station allegedly extorted a youth. Mr Macaroni, who was reportedly driving when he observed the situation, stopped, disembarked from his vehicle and confronted the cops, questioning the reason behind the extortion. He instructed a man at the scene to capture the face of the cop alleged to have collected the money.

The video which has been shared across diverse platforms have led to a barrage of comments from young Nigerians who have forcefully parted with money after being threatened by the Police, who ironically are tasked with the responsibility of safeguarding the lives and properties of Nigerians.

The Lagos State Police Command has promised to investigate the allegation of extortion levelled against some men of the command, emphasising that the police has zero tolerance for corruption. But we know that is hogwash. It is almost certain that even as you read this article, an innocent Nigerian somewhere is currently being extorted.

Unlike before when officers’ accounts were unchallenged and complaints were unprocessed, there has been, in recent times, well-documented instances of police officers extorting money from youths. Across Nigeria, police violence continues to traumatise the marginalised and innocent, while repeatedly turning a blind eye to the powerful. In most cases, it remains unaddressed until the abuse is illuminated to the public. Even then, it is still uncertain if justice will eventually prevail and therein lies the problem — brutality simply persists because weak systems of police accountability offer impunity, even to repeat offenders.

Like Abba Kyari, a decorated and revered police officer who was accused by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) of being an accomplice of arrested Nigerian fraudster, Mr. Igbadode Rahman popularly known as Hushpuppi; like CSP James Nwafor, who allegedly supervised multiple extra-judicial killings in Anambra State, the Nigeria Police Force continues to show time and time again that it will continue to protect rather than prosecute erring police officers.

Several studies commissioned by the Nigerian government over the course of 15 years have consistently highlighted these weaknesses and emphasised the country’s need to create stronger external and internal mechanisms to hold these abusive officers accountable. The National Human Rights Commission, for one, at the request of the Acting President, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, constituted a Panel on the Reform of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) on August 15, 2018, following the wide public outcry against the alleged human rights abuses by officers of SARS across the country.

As with most panels constituted, some key recommendations of the panel included a significant improvement in the funding, kitting and facilities of the Nigeria Police Force; strengthening Information and Communication Technology of the Force; and institutionalising a Special Investigation Panel to annually hear and determine complaints on alleged human rights violations against operations of the Nigeria Police Force. The problem, however, has been the unwillingness of successive governments to muster the will to implement these critical changes.

What then is the solution to this cantankerous problem of police impunity and brutality that continues to plague Nigerians?

The Nigerian government must put in the work to improve the relationship between the police and the people and communities where they work. If the damage of abuse, especially from specialised units like the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) is to be repaired, the government must go beyond paying lip service to ending police brutality and impunity.

There is an urgent need to address the systemic abuse of civil and political rights by the police and other government agencies. All law enforcement officers need to undergo intensive human rights training and should be regularly appraised on their human rights compliance. Reports of violence, extrajudicial killings, and torture must not be treated with kid gloves but with the severity it deserves. Such reports must be duly investigated through transparent means such as public inquiries, and erring officers must be punished to serve as a deterrent to others.

The government must ensure that the police are free from any political interference. It is also important to ensure that the police are not allowed to interfere with or monopolise investigations of crime and misconduct by their officers. This is all to ensure that cases of police misconduct are not overlooked because of political interference, or the expectation of it. This measure needs to be complemented by an external accountability mechanism from the National Human Rights Commission, the courts, the Police Service Commission and other state and federal officials. Every one of these organisations/commissions needs to take shared responsibility for making the police more accountable.

Until all of these are done, we are only postponing doomsday. The #EndSARS protest was a wake up call that needs to be heeded.

Rachael Eni is an editorial analyst based in Lagos.