VIOLENCE AGAINST POLICE PERSONNEL
Those who carry arms on behalf of the state should be friendly with the people
Recent reports that no fewer than 229 personnel of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) were killed between January 2023 and October 2024 should be of concern to relevant authorities. While 118 police officers of various ranks were reportedly killed last year, 111 fatalities were recorded between January and October this year as men in uniform become sitting targets for extermination by sundry criminal cartels. Not only is it tragic that citizens would turn against the very people who are paid to protect them, this is particularly worrying because it signifies on one hand a breakdown of confidence between the people and security agencies of the state and on another, a flirtation with anarchy.
Perhaps because they are hardly brought to justice, these criminals are becoming more daring in their bestial acts against agents of state hence an urgent need to confront the situation. A deputy superintendent of police was once beheaded following an ambush during the Rivers State legislative rerun elections. Three years ago, a group of bandits attacked a mining site in Anka Local Government Area of Zamfara State and disarmed the six policemen on duty, killing one in the process. More audacious and savage was the invasion of Afuze Divisional Police Headquarters in Owan East Local Government Area of Edo State where the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) and three junior colleagues were murdered. The message being sent is simple: If people saddled with the protection of lives and property get mauled down so easily on the streets by criminal elements, how can citizens repose confidence in the abilities of such agencies to protect them? That precisely is why we should all be worried.
Over the years, we have repeatedly canvassed the need to ensure the police are well-prepared for their primary duty of securing the nation. But the NPF remains undermanned, underequipped, and their personnel mostly ill-trained. Unfortunately, men and officers of this critical institution of state do not get much sympathy from the people because their officials behave as if their uniforms entitle them to treat Nigerians shabbily. Besides, because of the serial acts of corruption by many uniformed men on road duty, many Nigerians no longer see otherwise lawful and legitimate exercise in the performance of their duties. In several instances, officers prefer to encourage rather than prevent offences from being committed, all in a bid to extort.
Apparently because citizens find all these very frustrating, they tend to react negatively to officers of the law. Indeed, many policemen, while on duty across the nation, act in unprofessional manner. Some officers sleep behind the counters while others walk around in slippers, in acts that are suggestive of indiscipline. But all these cannot continue. We need a comprehensive security sector reform to reshape the police, especially in the areas of policy and doctrinal changes, manpower recruitment and retraining, equipment, remuneration and welfare as well as civil relations. In addition, the various calls for the establishment of state police deserve urgent constitutional attention.
In the interest of national security, there is also an urgent need for government and its security outfits to roll out a comprehensive confidence building strategy that would rekindle the trust of citizens in them. This begins with a change of attitude towards law enforcement, which should emphasise crime prevention rather than enforcement. Those who carry arms on behalf of the state should be friendly, taking time to explain to citizens why the law must be obeyed in the interest of the society. A friendly security agency will be fed with more intelligence to combat crime than one that is inherently cruel. But above all, the authorities should investigate how and why those who are meant to protect the people have become vulnerable to violent attacks.
