Still on the Police and Check Points By Ibrahim Dan-Halilu One has every reason to plea over and over again to the Inspector General of Police to revise his policy of mounting road blocs along our federal highways. The more one tries to understand the policy the more confused one becomes because it seems the policy is not serving the people. The other day, the IGP was answering questions from journalists on the same issue, Mr. Tafa Bologun has denied ever directing his men and women to mount any roadblock or check points along our highways. As far as he was concerned the policy only empowers each state command to set up pin down spots (PDS). By his definition, the PDSs are not road - blocks or check points. But as the name suggests they are spots meant to slow down motorists so that the police on patrol can identify them. But this has not been the case with our PDSs. If Mr. Balogun’s claim were to be taken seriously then his men on the highways have gone beyond their briefs. One has heard or seen cases where the policemen on highway patrol asked motorists to show them their vehicle particulars. Some even asked for Custom Duty Certificate and other documents. For commercial buses, taxis and truck drivers being stopped at PDSs means a different story. They are never asked to produce these documents. All they are required to do is to cooperate by parting with their 20 Naira as an imposed levy. In fact, most of them have made it a routine to set aside between 200 and 300 Naira from their collected fares for tipping the police on the highway. Those that failed to fall in line are intimidated by the gun-wielding policemen who point the gun at them ready to shoot. In other words, the Nigerian police personnel posted to these PDSs are using their arms to extort money from innocent motorists. And they are doing so with impunity. Not even the ongoing dismissal of those caught in the dirty act is checking the shameful display of corruption on our highways. A couple of weeks ago, a Daily Trust columnist, Idang Alibi has asked a very pertinent and valid question. “Who, in this land, will save us from our police?” My belief is that we can only save ourselves from this menace through change of attitude. We need to replenish our value system such that we confront the greed and truculence of our police personnel with highest of resistance and refusal to give bribe or “kola” as they call it. If they complain to us that they are hungry or they are thirty or they are here working for us, we should tell them point blank that we too are employees like them. We earn wages through dint of hard work. We should tell them that they receive salary every month for doing what they do. We should also learn to speak out against extortion by policemen either as passengers in a commercial bus or taxi, or as motorists driving our own vehicles. I have tried it several times, and dared the intimidation of the policemen. Others may argue that the action one person cannot change the entire police department. It is indeed true but it can make a difference in the sense that it keeps the police personnel whose hobby it is to extort money on their toes. It reminds them that some citizens are watching the dirty act they perpetrate. The act of resistance and defiance is a step forward in the fight against corruption.
As a recommendation to the IGP, I would like suggest that the entire policing system be overhauled to shift from the traditional policing system of mounting road blocks and check points to one of joint community-police surveillance and intelligence gathering, syndication on activities of criminals. This will reduce crime in our society much faster than mounting road - blocks on highways that most criminals follow. For the avoidance of doubt, most of the highway robberies recorded on our highways, the perpetrators ambushed their victims. Most of the robbers have hideouts in the bush and in small settlements along major highways. My belief is that only joint surveillance between communities and the police can effectively check crimes on highways. Deploying our policemen to major highways is only exposing security system to ridicule and tarnishing the already battered image of the Nigeria Police. Ibrahim Dan-Halilu10
Alkali Road Badarawa
– Kaduna
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