History Beckons on Egbetokunto Tame Police Impunity

Ending police brutality, impunity and extra-judicial killings will be among the major challenges  for the new Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, writes Louis Achi

Almost three years after the #EndSARS protests, the devastating aftermath and the attendant negative effects on police-public relations, police brutality and impunity have continued unabated. It would be recalled that within a few days of the protests, in October 2020, the Nigerian Police Force announced the squad’s dissolution with immediate effect. But what has changed?

“I think that we need to go deeper in our analysis of the root causes of police violence, brutality and misconduct,” the Executive Director of Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC), Okechukwu Nwanguma, told THISDAY recently. 

“The Constitution gives the executive arm the responsibility for the police. Police reform seems not to be yielding the desired result and effects because the government has not mustered the political will to implement the proposed far-reaching reforms that should change the philosophical and operational doctrines of the police,” he added.

Shortly after his appointment as Acting Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun had humorously told Nigerians that “I feel like a tiger,” adding that he was anxious to start working. He said he would devise both human and technical intelligence to tackle the country’s security challenges.  Shortly, he communicated a decision to withdraw Police Mobile Force personnel from VIPs and guard duties. The Police Act 2020 is very clear on the use of supernumerary police officers to protect individuals, VIP escorts, and others. To many, this sounds like a familiar, favourite sing-song of new police bosses.

Clearly, by relieving the Police Mobile Force of VIP escort and guard duties, the Force can redirect their focus and efforts towards addressing critical security concerns that affect the communities at large. The withdrawal will also free up regular police officers to focus more on frontline policing duties across the nation.

A former Assistant Inspector-General of Police had made a startling revelation when he disclosed in 2018 that only 20 per cent of police officers are engaged in the core police duties. According to him, 80 per cent provide security for individuals, businesses, and government officials.

Also, a former IG and ex-Chairman of the Police Service Commission (PSC), Mike Okiro, had confirmed that more than half of police officers are concentrated in private guard duties. He particularly deplored the practice of some former ministers retaining police escorts many years after leaving public service.

Constitutionally, the Nigeria Police is the principal law enforcement and the lead security agency of the country. The force is typically responsible for maintaining public order and safety, enforcing the law, and preventing, detecting, and investigating criminal activities.

It is the first line of defence against crime and anarchy and the first sign of the strength of the state. Today, it’s indisputable that the role of law enforcement agencies – particularly that of the police force – has never been more important.

The Acting Inspector General of Police, Egbetokun assumed office at a very turbulent time in the life of Nigerians. It is undeniable that there are multiple threats to law, order and public safety. These challenges would obviously test the mettle of the new police boss.

According to RULAAC’s  Nwanguma, “the funds appropriated annually by the legislature for the police, apart from being grossly insufficient to meet the basic needs of the police, are also not fully getting to the police and the little that eventually gets to the police are not being accounted for. 

“Nobody is held responsible for the mismanagement of funds meant for police training, equipment, operations and investigation. How much does a DPO get quarterly to run operations at the divisions? Don’t you know that most police checkpoints are set up to generate revenue and those checkpoints most times turn out to be avenues for police harassment and extrajudicial killings?

Clearly, when the police are unable to professionally and effectively carry out investigations due to poor resourcing and capacity deficits, and therefore have to secure the majority of convictions through confession (meaning torture), part of the reason police brutality emerges. This must be stopped. The government beyond bland rhetoric must commit to improving policing resources, operational capabilities and welfare and deliberately rehumanise the police.

One of the remarkable actions Egbetokun has taken since ascending the saddle is to disband the police team responsible for recently running over a citizen in handcuffs in Ekpoma area of Edo.

According to the Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, the disbandment was in line with the IG’s move to address unprofessional conduct of some officers attached to the police command in Edo and to regularise and standardise police operations in the axis and restore public trust in the police.

He also revealed the operatives involved were currently facing disciplinary and administrative procedures. “This move underscores the commitment of the IG to hold officers accountable for their actions which will never be tolerated in the Nigeria Police Force.”

Egbetokun had also said the Force would establish a Quick Intervention Squad to tackle the menace of crimes and criminality and promised development of a comprehensive training programme that would prioritise attitudinal and behavioural changes. But there is so much more to be done.

It could be recalled that on December 25, 2022 (Christmas Day), a Lagos-based pregnant lawyer, Omobolanle Raheem, was shot dead in the presence of her husband and children by a police officer on a stop- and-search duty under Ajah Bridge in Lagos state. The senseless murder was not an isolated case of police brutality in Nigeria.

According to Human Rights Watch, a year after the October 2020 incident, Nigeria recorded about 164 cases of extra-judicial killings between January and September 2021. These scenarios appear unending.

On January 11, 2023, operatives of the Nigeria Police Force guarding the palace at Ilasan, Lekki Phase 1 were captured in the video assaulting a lady when she attempted to record them during a conversation with an Uber driver.

The lady’s phone was seized and she was also arrested. Responding to the incident, the spokesperson of the state police command, Benjamin Hundeyin said: “It is not a crime to record a policeman on duty as long as it does not obstruct duty.”

In March 2023, a mobile policeman, Sergeant Olalere Michael, killed a woman identified as Miss Tosin, suspected to be his mistress, and later shot himself dead on school premises in Ilorin, Kwara State.

On April 21, 2023, some armed police officers were secretly filmed using a machete to smack two unidentified persons in Imo State. In the 45 seconds clip, five officers were seen assaulting the two people in an open space while a sixth officer pulled out a machete from a parked SUV believed to be a police operational vehicle.

On April 6, 2023, there was tension in Asaba, Delta State capital, following the killing of a middle-aged businessman, identified as Emmanuel Onyeka, by a police officer after the deceased reportedly refused to offer him an N100 bribe at a checkpoint. In some cases, these persistent killings trigger a cycle of violence and reprisal attacks from members of the communities.

Clearly, a lot of police activities escape appropriate scrutiny. The centralisation of the police administration at the federal level means they are unable to oversee all police activities across the country effectively. The emerging consensus is that police must establish an internal control mechanism for investigating its officers’ excessiveness and misconduct.

It is imperative to decentralise internal control measures, such as a system for receiving and resolving complaints, internal investigations, and disciplinary actions. More importantly, external oversight is critical to maintaining sanity in the NPF. 

According to the oversight framework of the NPF, the police council has oversight functions on the activities of the NPF. However, the police council has been ineffective on the duty. The lag is due to a lack of collaboration among the president, governors, and inspector general of police, and ambiguity in the separation of power.

History beckons on IG Egbetokun to radically change the sad narrative of the police’s unflattering police image.