Failure to Reform the Nigeria Police Threatens Our Collective Security 

Our Police In a Free Fall 

Icannot count how many times I have written on the need for successive governments since 1999, to undertake fundamental and not cosmetic reforms of our Police Force. Just searching through my laptop, I counted 29 papers and briefing notes that I presented at several consultations on the state of the Nigeria Police, and the need for reforms. In all these writeups, I have consistently said that our failure to reform the Police will one day constitute a clear and present danger to our democracy. I take no delight in saying that, I fear that day is upon us. How is it possible that every government since 1999 failed to realise that our Police Force is in a free fall, the effect of which will be near total incapacity to live out the true meaning of its mandate? It is beyond belief that from 1999 to date, we have adopted the easy way out of a problem so fundamental to our very existence. 

Committee System as Official State Policy

We have adopted as official State policy, the tragic practice of setting up Committees to advise government on what needs to be done to reform the Police. The existence of a plethora of previous reports on this issue by government established committees appears to be of little to no consequence, including the fact that the very notion of implementation, seems to be antithetical to the reasoning behind the setting up of these committees.  Many of us would have bet our entire life savings, on the assurance that the Tinubu Administration will not go down that route. We were wrong. Stunned into disbelief, when in October last year, at the end of a meeting of the Police Council chaired by Mr President, it was resolved to set up another Committee on Police reform to advise government on how to proceed. What is even more upsetting, is that this Committee was set up in the aftermath of ‘#EndSARS’ protest – a nationwide protest that we barely survived. Surely, one would be justified in thinking that the #EndSARS protest was a call to action for Police reform. Obviously not.

Need for Political Humility 

The truth that is self-evident, and that has been so since 1999, is that the Nigeria Police in its present state lacks the ability to protect either our lives or property. Therefore, to continue to hope that the Nigeria Police Force will one day rise up to fulfil its calling without a fundamental change in direction, is a tall order wrapped in wishful thinking. To put it plainly, there is nothing that needs to be said about what needs to be done to achieve the Police Service, not Force of our dreams that cannot be found in the many reports and recommendations of committees established from 1999 until 2022. What we need at this time, is the political humility to revert to these reports and put together an immediate to long term action plan. To be sure, the reform of the Nigeria Police will not be an event. It will entail a painstaking process, with a vision to transform the Nigeria Police into a true public servant capable of elevating the sense of security of Nigerians. Doing nothing is not an option. Indeed, it would be fatal for us to overlook the urgency of the moment and insist on business as usual. It is again worth restating that the main obstacle that we need to overcome in any discussion about our Police is the public perception of corruption, impunity, absence of accountability, incompetence, and failure to control the law and order situation. Somewhere within this perception, is the growing fear that an increasing number of our Police officers are themselves in partnerships with criminals.   

Our Police Reform Journey

A significant step in Nigeria’s Police reform journey, was the enactment of the Police Act 2020 to replace the outdated Act. The provisions of the new law in broad terms emphasises public service delivery, human rights, transparency, and enhancement of community policing. It has been said that the law is not self-enacting, and will require a conscious effort on the part of the Police high command with the support of the Federal Government to ensure that, beyond the letters of the law, the vision is accomplished. 

The goal of achieving a professional Police service as envisaged by the Police Act, will not be achieved without focus on the human resources at its disposal. A repeated recommendation of the reports of all the committees on Police reform established by previous governments, is the need for a holistic review of the conditions of service of Police officers to undercut the incentive for corrupt and criminal behaviour. These reports recommended the upward review of Police salaries and allowances across board, including ensuring that entitlements are received consistently and when due. These reports identified  other welfare benefits including – improvement of police medical facilities, housing, insurance and Police; Police schools to be refurbished and upgraded to enable it cater for the children of Police officers; Police insurance and pension benefits to be improved and made easily accessible to the next of kin, to mention a few. Directly linked to the issue of welfare, must necessary be the need to stop the practice of housing Police stations in improvised accommodations. Majority of Police stations in Nigeria, do not meet minimum conditions for Police work, including the detention and processing of persons who come into conflict with the law.

Enabling a Culture of Accountability 

In my view, it cannot simply be about increase in Police pay; there must also be a focus on accountability. A culture that attaches no stigma to corruption, is an ingredient for inefficiency and abuse of power. The lukewarm enforcement of an efficient and credible performance appraisal system, linked with an adequate and transparent reward and punishment mechanism within the Nigeria Police Force, is an important concern.  Just like most Government institutions, the absence of an effective job appraisal framework, is a contributory factor to the frequently stated incompetence that regrettably dominates policing in Nigeria. Starting with the Inspector General of Police, the jobs of heads of Police formations at the zones, States and the divisions, must be tied to verifiable performance. The ability to prevent and solve crimes, should be key indicators of the job appraisal. Police officers at all levels must realise that, their jobs are tied to their performance. Accountability also includes responsibility. The spate of complicity of Police officers in serious crimes, including kidnapping and armed robbery must now be a matter of concern. A lot has been written about the institution’s flawed recruitment process in all its ramifications.  It is not sufficient, to arrest and dismiss the criminal elements with the Force. Again, the supervisory officers at the States and zonal levels must be held to account.

Policing the Police

I would also expect that the Inspector-General of Police will be held responsible, for any unlawful conduct of his Commissioners of Police and senior officers. In particular, Divisional Police heads should be held liable for the criminal acts of officers whom they are directly responsible. It is fair to assume that a Police officer on patrol duty who extorts money from citizens, including the now frequent cases of forcefully taking citizens to POS stations to withdraw or transfer money, does so with the full knowledge of his supervising officer. Accountability also includes complaints handling. 

The credibility deficit that currently plagues our Police, is largely as a result of its complaint-handling module. This is more so, when the offenders are Police officers themselves. The practice of investigating allegations of misconduct against Police officers by their own is widely regarded as unjust, and does not inspire public confidence. The public show of removal of uniforms of dismissed officers, has done little to reverse this citizens’ mindset. No Police accountability mechanism can be considered fair, if it fails to inspire public confidence. The trend all over the world is to set up complaint mechanisms under law, by establishing accountability  structures, which work openly, quickly, effectively, impartially, and invest them with resources and authority to guarantee independent and fair investigations.

Community Police without Community Support

With the heightened state of citizens mistrust of the Police, I find the hullabaloo about Community Policing ridiculous, and were it not a serious matter, laughable. How do you hope to Police a community, when a large swath of citizens hold a deep-seated mistrust of the Police? I have said elsewhere that  community policing is perhaps, the most misunderstood and frequently abused theme in Police management in Nigeria. Indeed, all manner of organisational tinkering has been labelled community policing. I have struggled to explain to my friends in the Police Force, that community policing is not a programme. It is a value system in which the primary organisational goal is working cooperatively with individual citizens, groups of citizens, and both public and private organisations, to identify and resolve issues which potentially affect the liveability of communities. Prevention and prompt response to crimes, are at the heart of this cooperation.  Without citizens trust and respect, one cannot but ask, what exactly is our version of Community Policing based on? 

A Plea for Mr President’s Intervention 

In all, I have restated some of the ‘things to do’ list,  for the consideration of the Tinubu administration concerning Police reform. For emphasis, everything I have said can be found in the reports of various Federal Government Committees on Police Reform. We don’t need another committee to show us the road to Police reform. It will be significant, if reform measures can start with the Police Council, Chaired by Mr President. As the highest external oversight mechanism of the Nigeria Police Force, it is responsible for the organisation and administration of the Force. There are presently no provisions in law and policy, for the meetings of the Council. The result of this, has been infrequent meetings. There is no institutional arrangement, for housing the Secretariat of the Council. Current arrangements, place the Secretariat within the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation. This has hampered the effective and efficient workings of the Council. 

Seven Months into office, Mr President should now lead. The enormity of the problems at hand, is beyond a Ministerial brief. The failure to implement urgent reforms in the Police, is today, having a profound impact on us all, especially our mental health. At home, the vast majority of Nigerians cannot sleep with their eyes closed. We worry about the safety of our children in schools, especially now that kidnapping children is the favourite pastime of our home-grown terrorists.  It takes a bold person to get on any of our roads without the fear of armed robbers, bandits and kidnappers, including those in genuine and fake Police uniforms.