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Author: MOZIMO, AMATAREOTUBO AMAS
Posted to the web: 4/25/2006 12:01:17 PM

THE NIGERIA POLICE: VICTORS OR VILLAINS? To talk about the Nigeria police is like raising dust in the midst of fog. The issue is bound to arouse a heated argument that could add more fumes to an already dreaded inferno. The reason is that the Nigeria police have got a battered image by her consistent brutality and exploitation of those that they are supposed to protect. There are cases upon cases of misdirected injustice that the public cannot help but burst out in their hues and cries whenever the black uniform of the Nigeria police is cited. The mere mention of the police sends shivers down the spine of the most loyal citizen and ignites a passionate excitement from the most dreaded criminal. This paradox has given many people concern and for me in particular, because it is my personal bitter experience with them that has compelled my writing this piece. The main objective of a police force is to protect the citizenry against criminals and to defend the rights of the masses. But the story in Nigeria is different. The police that are supposed to protect us have become the very ones mesmerizing the citizens. A whole lot of instances abound. In July 2005, the much celebrated case of the Apo SIX where six promising young men were brutally murdered by a gang of police patrol team in the fabricated tale that they were thieves when it came to the limelight. Also, the brutal clash between the police and the Army in Ojuelegba area of Lagos left much to be desired from forces that lack the credibility and public confidence to operate in any civil society.A drive along major Nigerian cities will give much evidence to the sorry sight of the men in black propping their guns at drivers, demanding for particulars that they are not too particular about. Their key interest is in the pockets of drivers, to dig deep into their pockets and dole out naira notes for as little as 20 naira for the most paperless driver to pass through and for the most paperful drivers to be kept haggling and prancing with the cliché: “do you know who I am?” The several road blocks on Nigerian major streets are of little use as the police are only there to enrich themselves and their bosses who post them there to get the returns for such lucrative postings!To take a case to the police station is like adding gun powder to an already loaded gun. Most people quickly shy away from taking their problems to the police station because it only means more cost for them. One needs to pay for a case file for as high as 2000 naira before the police will even desire to take up the case. Even when they reluctantly do so, they treat the suspect as well as the prosecutor as if it were a favour. Rather than see it as their rightful duty, the police treat cases with an air of nonchalance and undue favouritism that leaves one dismayed. The Police extort monies from all the parties involved in the guise of meting out justice and this scares the populace from ever taking a future case to the police even when it becomes expedient. The Police have become a measure of last resort to Nigerians as the panacea to their problems.Definitely these aforementioned scenarios are not new to many. But the question is why have these police brutalities gone on for so long? Does it mean that the authorities are not aware of these atrocities? On the contrary, there have been cases where the authorities have warned publicly against giving and accepting bribe from the police. There have also been dismissals from service to erring policemen. There have even been times when the federal government had had to order for the withdrawal of the police from major streets so as to stop this ugly trend. But the situation still persists with the police devising new means of achieving their ill got stipends from pedestrians, motor bike riders popularly known as ‘Okada’, taxi and bus drivers, private car drivers and other unfortunate citizens. Does this then mean that this problem is insurmountable? No, far from it, there is nothing that is impossible to achieve for as the saying goes: “where there is a will there is always a way”. Maybe if we really take a deep look at the many embarrassing consequences of this police corruption, it can help us all see the demeaning consequences of this trend on ourselves, our nation and our nation’s pride.As a consequence, people are not so much willing to keep the law because they believe that the police who are supposed to execute the law are not performing, so why should they bother? With this attitude, they have become mayhem and a total neglect of the law leading to more civil disobedience and unrest. To correct this trend the police have to change the tide and set the pace for others to follow. The corruption in Nigeria has increased because the police give others the much needed alibi: “if the police as the chief organ of enforcing the law can break it at will and abuse and make nuisance of the nations laws what then should be expected of the ordinary citizens?”With such police insensitivity, the guilty are let go at the expense of the innocent law abiding citizens that are brutalized, exploited, and often times murdered brutally at the hands of those who are supposed to protect them. What an irony? The nation’s image is not left out as the country’s image is dented while Nigerians- at home and in the Diaspora- are also branded as corrupt and lawless. Without any faith in the police force due to their inefficiency, anarchy is loosed upon the land; criminals are employed to fight against criminals, how can there be success? A house divided against itself cannot really stand.For this problem to have persisted for so long only goes to show that the governments (states and federal) are not seriously committed to solving this social menace. They have only succeeded in paying lip service to this police problem. They come up with policies about policing that can only bark without the desired bite. For the former Inspector General to be undergoing charges on corruption shows how deep the canker worm has eaten deep into the fabric of the Nigerian police; crawling and burrowing through all the rank and file; and all the nooks and crannies of the Nigerian populace.If the federal government has not compromised her responsibilities, the police would not be this way. The governments have been known to collude with the police to perpetuate and cover up crimes. How then can this same police be dismissed for something as trivial as police brutality or bribery scandal? The fear of the rightful authorities to dismiss erring staff is because at one level or another, those to be dismissed know too much about their misdeeds. So, to dismiss such policemen is to dig their own graves. The authorities’ hands are thus shortened, stranded and tied behind their own guilt smeared in bloody dirty deals at the expense of the tax payers plight.To show that the authorities are not ignorant of the problems and excesses of the police, a recent reaction by the Inspector General, Mr. Sunday Ehindero, on national network news defended his men passionately when they had to beat up concerned women protesters in Lagos who publicly exercised their fundamental human rights in protest against the incessant air crashes that plagued Nigeria in 2005. If the IG can support such callous abuse of human right in defense of his force, what more can one expect of a Commissioner or DPO in defense of his fishers of men sent to hang around street corners demanding arms from law abiding citizens? The panacea thus shows that the police force, irrespective of who is in charge, have little to offer the bulk of Nigerians demanding that justice should begin at home.Despite all these, I believe we can still smile at the end of the day to have a viable police force. First and foremost, let us see the problem as one that must not be left in the hands of the government alone to solve. All hands must be on deck to ensure that this evil root is uprooted without any distractions. Until we all as Nigerians see it as a collective problem, little can be done about it. Without this collective attack on the excesses of the Nigeria police, this piece leaves much to be desired.People should learn to first walk within the confines of the law; for it is only when one is innocent that one can boldly defend his or her right. In as much as we know that the police are also capable of abusing such rights of the innocent, it is still advisable that keeping the law by all and sundry is a welcome start. When this is done, Nigerians should learn to take up issues involving any police excess brutal behaviour to a higher authority. Report cases of police abuse directly to the DPO, the divisional headquarters or even the Commissioner of police. It will surprise some of us to know that most of these police abuses are kept from the knowledge of these higher authorities. People usually think that taking up such cases further is futile but the contrary is the case. Those high up in rank feel more of the consequences than those below, so they take such reports more serious than we can imagine. It is this negligence by the populace to report such excesses that has also contributed to the persistence of this police abuse of power.When the desired result is not got from the police authorities, the media plays another part in curbing this menace. People should be encouraged to go to media houses to report such cases of police abuse. No institution enjoys a battered image; when their image is constantly bastardized in the media, that inevitable change that we all crave for, thus becomes eminent. This issue must be kept burning in the press and on major discussions until we see the desired police of our dreams- no longer villains but true victors! mozimo, amatareotubo 08066001713