How Can Nigeria Police Be Reformed?

Successive governments in Nigeria have come out with different agenda aimed at reforming the police. But the problem we have is that there is no continuity. I don’t see any reason why we should still be talking about police reform in Nigeria by now. Why do we keep going back and forth?

In 1983, I was a member of the police reorganisation committee under the late AIG Abayode Cole (retd.). At the end of it, the report of the committee was swept under the carpet. What we need now is state police. That is the only way crime can reduce because whoever is policing a community will know the residents. A policeman that is posted to a particular place and has stayed there over a period of time will know the people and the terrain well. If a policeman is posted from here to a strange place, say Maiduguri to work, such a person will face many challenges. One of such is language barrier; then there is religious barrier.

I am of the opinion that we go into state police; that is the only realisable reform now. This is because policemen consider some states lucrative, so they lobby to be posted to such states. But if the law establishing state police is enacted, nobody can lobby to be transferred to another state. You know once a state employs you, you work and remain there.

Let me also give a piece of advice: the authorities should improve on the welfare package of policemen. The police should be well funded. Currently, the men are not well taken care of. The police authorities leave the welfare of officers and men in the hands of state governors, whereas it is the responsibility of the Federal Government.

• Mr. Tony Oghoghorie (Executive Director, Trapex Security Consultants Limited)

A police reform programme will have to go deeper into treating the manifestations of what is wrong.  We have to look at the structural and strategic factors that have bedevilled the Nigeria police. One of the first steps will be to review the Police Act that defines how the police operate. A serious look at this document should redefine their powers and limits/units of operation. This step will address issues about the foundation; it then becomes the pivot upon which a proper reform programme for the police will be executed. We can then look at the structural requirement such as personnel recruitment. Proper steps should be taken to scrutinise the quality of recruits, both officers and men.

Again, those recruited should be thoroughly trained to face future challenges. We have a lot of challenges within the system that we still have not come close to dealing with. The world’s global social structures are changing and the Nigeria police must move along that direction. How prepared is the Nigeria police in dealing with cyber crime?

From there, we can look at the issue of funding. This is also critical so that they do not have to start looking for unethical means of funding their operations. So, training and funding of operations are key.

One other area is that of oversight function. How are they monitored? We need to look at that. If proper attention is paid to what I have listed, we will be able to reconnect the gap that exists between the police force and the community, and we will begin to see a reformatted police force.

• Mr. Salaudeen Hashim (Secretary, National Peace and Security Forum)

I  think reforms in the Nigeria police must begin with its bureaucracy and decision-making process.  The architecture of the Nigerian police as currently configured is faulty. That is why the issue of response time to distress calls bordering on criminality in various communities is becoming very slow. If you recall, the police is the parent body of every security organ in this country. Unfortunately, the issue of capacity has been going down and that is because of years of neglect by policy makers. They have given priority to the Army, Air Force and Navy, because there have been some structural challenges that have adversely affected the Nigeria police. They include recruitment and manpower; the issue of corruption, which affects even the posting of personnel, recruitment and wages. Thirdly, issues that border on the incapability of the people that manage the police in its entirety.

If you want to reform the police, you must first look at the issue of bureaucracy.  You have the Force Criminal Investigation Division and the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad.  Why don’t we begin to look at a process that will address the structural and infrastructural dimension of the police force? Until we change the entire police architecture, we may not get the desired results.

There is also the issue of the appointment of the Inspector-General of Police, and the leadership of the Police Service Commission. There should be a good succession plan that will provide for a clear-cut process of selection. This will go a long way in removing the partisanship which usually trails such appointments. This will also help to boost morale and help us achieve efficient and effective police system in this country.

There is also the issue of infrastructure, equipment and training. If you look at our various police training institutions across this country, they are simply an eyesore. Some years ago when a committee set up by the then President Goodluck Jonathan visited the Police College in Ikeja, what they found is now public knowledge. When you have a police college that cannot provide an atmosphere for learning, it is a recipe of corruption.

Go to the various police headquarters in states, and you will discover that they are at the mercy of the philanthropists. How do you intend to have an efficient system of policing when policemen sometimes rely on criminals to help them with logistics to perform their jobs within the community?

• Gabriel Osemwekhai (A Benin-based legal practitioner)

In a situation of this nature, there should be a body to monitor the activities of police operatives. Policemen should be well-guided and retrained. I think there should be a police reform committee. Such a committee should be made up of private security experts, legal luminaries and some senior police officers.

That some police personnel are not acting in accordance with the rules does not mean that a special police unit should be expunged. What brought the Special Anti-Robbery Squad into being is still there; the rate of robbery in the country is still alarming.

• Andrew Mbula (A retired police officer)

If the government wants to reform the police, it must address the shortage of manpower because the Force is currently facing manpower constraints. The population of Nigeria has increased to about 180 million, but the number of policemen is not up to 400,000.

The government must also look into the issue of adequate funding. For example, policemen don’t receive leave allowance and even their salaries are not paid on time. Accommodation is another critical issue that should be looked into. If you go to Yola and Adamawa states, you will see policemen recently transferred to the states sleeping in mechanic workshops, motor parks, mosques and churches, because they have nowhere else to stay. If the police transfer you to a new command, they don’t provide accommodation for you and your family; this is not good enough.

Training and re-training is also critical to make the police more efficient. When I was in service, we went for different courses and acquired sound knowledge and skills in policing duties. I expected the police leadership to engage retired senior police officers as instructors in police colleges and academics, but this is not the case. I once approached the police leadership about it, but they said there was no money to engage seasoned instructors in police training institutions. I don’t know why they are reluctant to invest in training and knowledge acquisition for police personnel.

Discipline among policemen is also important because currently, the level of discipline in the Force is low. This is because some policemen got into the Force by buying their way in. Fighting corruption among senior officers and rank and file will succeed if they are paid on time and the necessary disciplinary measures are taken against errant policemen.