Usman Baba: Trust Deficit Between Police, Public High

*Clears air on tenure controversy, commends force on 2023 polls

* Declares ENDSARS was founded on falsehood

The Inspector-General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba, has lamented the trust deficit between the police and the public as low, saying the situation was informed by the public’s perception of the police, orchestrated by many environmental factors.

Baba, who shared this position in an exclusive interview with THISDAY, also spoke on the controversy about his tenure, saying although he recently turned 60 years old and had served the country for the mandatory 35 years in service, he still has two more years left before the expiration of his tenure.
He also dwelt on the roles of the police in the just concluded general election and held the view that despite misgivings in some quarters, the police did well and were so acknowledge by external bodies, who monitored the elections.
In the same breath, the Baba, who shared his views on the ENDSARS crisis of October 2020, maintained that the protest turned out the way it did because it was founded on falsehood in the first place.  

Speaking extensively on trust deficit, he explained that, “The police job is as risky as any other job that a citizen can venture into. To my mind, it is even more dangerous than a military job. You see, the type of society that we are, the police, will always behave in tandem with society. That is one.
“Two, crime and criminality have made the police endangered species, because it is prevalent. There are fewer punishments, and the process of even awarding the punishment is even more cumbersome. On technical issues, you see not only the police, you see, criminals have their way out.
“The punishments are not commensurate with the crime that can serve as deterrent. You see somebody assaulting a policeman and he is charged to court and he is fined N100 or N200. So a lot of factors need to change. The behaviour of the police or the level of acceptance or level of deficit in the good relationship between the police and the public is also another thing. But I believe. There are a lot of issues. And of course you know if are a strict disciplinarian in your house, you will not be well liked.

“So, your relationship with the police in a society, where crime and criminality are prevalent because of many other factors, you don’t expect. The process of recruitment, the process of training, where you are living, which you have spoken about, what kind of person you are, how does the government even come out to protect you? So, there are a lot of issues.”

Addressing the rivalry between the police and the Police Service Commission (PSC), he said, “It is not true that we have never worked in harmony. We have worked in harmony, and for a very long time, nobody has heard the Police Service Commission or the police complain.
“Recently, or in the last two years, the last management, my predecessor’s time, the Police Service Commission, had issues of misunderstanding on recruitment. The police had been doing the recruitment together with the Police Service Commission, but there came a time when the Police Service Commission said they were the ones to do the recruitment.

“My predecessor did not think so because recruitment and appointment are two different things. Police refer to the officers’ cadre. You recruit people from a lower cadre of the police, and therefore there was some misunderstanding to the extent that this went to court.
“The police went to court, and they had the judgment that the IG should do recruitment just like any other organisation does. The Police Service Commission went on appeal, and they were also given judgment in favour that recruitment and employment are synonymous. When I came in, the real issue I realised is that whether it is recruitment or employment, it can be done together.

“Everybody can have a role to play. For instance, it is not only the Police Service Commission. The Federal Character Commission is there, ecause when Mr President is approving the recruitment of up to 10,000 policemen, you hear the recruitment must be based on Federal Character and, therefore, we must take applicants from 774 local governments.
“The Police Service Commission is a body that is empowered in part to employ all officers except the IG. Therefore, they have a role to play. But the police know who they want to employ in terms of fitness. They do a lot of things. That was synergy – everybody brings his own  contribution to the process. That was the situation before that altercation.

“So, when I came in, I said, ‘Why don’t we go back to the drawing board and do as we have been doing?’ Everybody has a role to play. So, let’s play this role in synergy. That was what we did and we did the recruitment. For now, we are looking at not only how we can solve the issue of recruitment but our differences completely.”
Putting a seal on the controversy around his tenure, he said, “I turned 60 on the 1st of of March and have put in 35 years by the 15th of March, 2023. But the appointment letter that was given to me after confirmation of my appointment is for me to serve for four years.
“The appointment letter quotes some sections of the new Police Act, which says the person appointed as IG will now spend four years. As far as I am concerned, I have put in two years, and I still have two more years.

“But this depends upon the government, and also depends on how the cases in court play out eventually. I think we should let the court interpret things and for the government to look for what is wisdom in that. The law is not a dogma. The law cannot cover everything. There are loopholes. I remain grateful to serve Nigerians. That is very important.”

In dismissing insinuations about the roles of the police in the 2023 elections, he stated that, “I don’t think the police have been heavily criticised. There are criticisms coming from some quarters. As far as the 2023 general election is concerned, we have been commended. If not for anything, one, the issue of violence, two, we have been able to checkmate our officers.

“Certainly, there are some infractions for which appropriate disciplinary measures must have been taken. In the case of Rivers, which you said, we have been able to identify the officers involved. For instance, Adamawa, where the commissioner took part in a declaration, is still under investigation.
“The commissioner has been recalled to the headquarters, and the investigation is ongoing. Generally, as far as the 2023 general election is concerned, we have improved on what we have been doing. But there is still room for improvement.”

The EndSARS movement, Baba claimed “was started on falsehood,” saying, “Go back and investigate very well. EndSARS started in Delta, particularly in Ughelli, where the police action was misinterpreted. But before that, I think society has been charged, many didn’t like the activities of the tactical unit, which is called SARS – Special Anti-Robbery Squad.

“It was just an opportunity for people to revolt against them. EndSARS shifted the goalpost from dealing with the police situation to the government. I think we have learnt our lesson by observing that we have an acceptance deficit because of our activities, but we are taking measures, introducing a lot of community policing – other grievances that are beyond the police. The government has also taken steps.”