The Police that Can’t Police!

By

Victor E. Dike

vdike@cwnet.com

 

 

The problem with the Nigerian police is not new. Despite the deafening trumpet of how successful the reforms have become the security situation in the society remains dismal. Because each day brings horrendous stories of police extortion, torture and killing of the people that they are supposed to protect, and how the criminals kill and maim Nigerians in the watchful eyes of the police. Where is the hope if the police can’t police? This article examines the traditional functions of the police and why the Nigerian police can’t police.

 

What do the police do? It is the responsibility of the police to, among other things, protect, monitor, defend, guard, patrol, watch, supervise, check and maintain law and order in a society. The police (at least in advanced societies) protect those in danger, as they provide emergency medical services, deal with traffic problems (investigate accidents and write citations, etc) and call in fire fighters when needed.

 

Nigerians expected that the present civilian administration would bring a better life to them, but as the politically motivated killings started to unfold in 1999 the optimism turned into pessimism. The killers have not been arrested because the police, who were suspected to have connived with the political thugs to commit the crimes, have often attributed the assassinations to armed robbery.

 

There are many startling and shocking stories, but a few high profile cases, which aroused this writer’s curiosity, will suffice. In 2001, Bola Ige, the former Minister of Justice was killed in Oyo State and in February 2003, Harry Marshal was killed in his bedroom in Abuja and in February 2004, Aminasoari Dikibo. All these incidence took place before the police that couldn’t police. However, politically motivated killings tapered off after the ruling party had successfully rigged its way back into power, but menace from the daredevils continued unabated.

 

As the political gladiators are warming up for the 2007 elections, political thugs and gangs are again terrorizing the political opponents of their evil masters. Pam Dung Gyang (a governor-ship aspirant of the ACD in Plateau State) and Jesse Aruku (another politician) were abducted and killed. In the heat of the politics of unreason, the wife of Abubakar Rimi (chief critic of the present administration) was killed in their home in Kano. It appears that the ruling party has run out of the oppositions to kill, and, therefore, has turned its gun and dagger inward. The latest victim is Funsho Williams, who was strangled in his house in Lagos in the presence of police officers assigned to protect him.

 

Like those before him, whenever a political killing occurs, the Inspector General of Police, Sunday Ehindero, would rush out to tell the world that ‘the perpetrators of the heinous crime would be found.’ Embarrassingly, the killings remained unresolved and Nigerians have lost faith in the police. Consequently, the police that can’t police have employed the service of the British police to unravel the mystery surrounding the killing of Funsho Williams.

 

However, the story that gets this writer’s blood boiling was that in which a mob killed a lecturer who ran into a police station for safety, was killed by a mob, as the police could not police. According to the Guardian of July 27, 2006, the poor lecturer who was of the Nasarawa State Polytechnic, Lafia, was alleged to have “caused the disappearance of the male genital organ of a passer-by.” It is only in Nigeria that such a primitive falsehood could cause a human life.

 

Do the police prevent crimes? A police scholar of international repute, David Bayley, noted in Police for the Future that “The police do not prevent crime” but they “pretend that they are society’s best defense against crime.”  He noted that all the tactics employed by the police, such as visible patrols and investigation by detectives, et cetera have not been effective in reducing crime. Nobody is expecting the police to make Nigeria a crime-free society (no society is crime-free) but the Nigerian police have failed to provide its basic function to the people.

 

Why can’t the police protect the society? The poor performance of the police and their discontent is caused mostly by poor remuneration and lack of tools (logistics for anti-crime patrol, arms and ammunition, walks talkies, et cetera). The government that has failed to motivate and equip the police and their ‘command and control system’ has greater share of the blame. Without paying the police living wages, and without investing in human capital development, the few good officers are pushed into petty corruption. As it were, man must w-a-a-k? But, “the chain is as strong as its weakest link.”

 

Because of lack of proper screening process during employment there are many criminals in police uniform. The police can patrol the cities and investigate crimes, and they can arrest and seize contraband goods, but would willingly let criminals disappear into the thin air when they are bribed. The court, which is colored by corruption, has worsened the situation. The public contributes to the poor performance of the police because they willingly grease their palm whenever they so demand. The police can’t “serve and protect with integrity.” More often than not, it can’t investigate public complaints or perform their primary function without being bribed by the victim. Consequently, since the police can’t police many of those who have been victims of crime do not bother to report their case to the police. They instead employ other ways to deal with their problem (this is common with the rural communities with police departments).

 

A weak economy breeds hardened criminals. The economy is incapable of creating employment to reduce the people’s suffering and hardship causing high crime rate and social insecurity. It is no longer news that the criminals the police are battling with are better equipped.

 

What would the society do to get the police perform their duties? The transformation of Nigeria should begin with the transformation of police because nothing will work, as they should, without basic security. The police, as presently constituted, do not possess the skills to operate in the rapidly changing society. Equipping, training and retaining the police to function effectively in a democratic setting should be the first step. The government should educate the people of their rights and set up an independent agency where the society could report any police who demands a bribe to perform his/her official duty. As we know, it takes two to tango.

 

It was interesting to read recently where the IG of police was complaining that things are not working because he cannot get the AIGs’ (and the police on the field) to dismantle the illegal roadblocks on the streets and to get the political gods to stop using the siren. The IG has failed since he is incapable of implementing his policies. And, he, therefore, should “butt out!”

 

The society should begin to hold the police responsible for their inability to police. The federal government or the police department should be made to pay for the officers’ negligence and human rights abuses and violations. Tracking public complaints and their outcomes would provide some insight into trends in police activities so as to properly to give credit or apportion blame. This writer is far from supposing that all police officers are misbehaving, as he admires and appreciates the good job the few good officers are doing in the society.

 

On political killings and violence, this writer would recommend those political parties whose members are involved in political assassinations and anti-democratic behaviors should be de-certified. This is because it is the responsibility of the parties to properly educate their members to operate on the ideological conviction of the party. And, individually, instead of arresting the thugs employed by the politicians to disturb public peace the politicians that hired them should be arrested and prosecuted, and if found guilty, should be barred from future participation in politics. There should be some laid down policy framework to measure police performance (and other public officials) and any person that fails to perform should fired without delay. The police are among the most important offices that should be administered by professionals.

 

How has the poor performance of the police and insecurity situation impacted of the polity? It is impossible to attract local and foreign investors in the economy with the worsening security situation. Since June 2006 Onitsha has been burning and the police can’t contain the lawlessness in the area. According to the Punch of July 28, 2006, death toll has gone up to about 12. The security situation of any society determines its economic activity. Not long ago commercial activities in the commercial city of Aba came virtually to halt when criminals terrorizing the city. Other cities in Nigeria have similar insecurity problems, such as the violence in the Niger Delta and the ethno-religious crisis in the North.

 

The government, which has failed to realize that safety should be a top priority, would not expect any sane person to invest in an unstable politico-economic society. Thus, because of the harsh economic condition, worsened by the absence of social security programs for the needy, the poor and hungry, including the youths, are involved in petty corruption. Crime prevention requires more than policing. The governments (federal, state and local) should holistically address the dismal security situation by dealing with the economic, social and political problems facing in the nation, as they contributed to convulsing the polity. The government should, therefore, get the public involved through social education and set up an effective criminal justice system and appropriate systems of oversight that should be complimented by appropriate social and economic policies. The government should support and encourage organized private security outfits to step in and fill the void created by the police’s inability to police the society.

 

Victor E. Dike, CEO, Center for Social Justice and Human Development (CSJHD), in Sacramento, California, is the author of Democracy and Political Life in Nigeria (2nd edition, ISBN: 0-595-40266-6, iUniverse, Inc., forthcoming 2006). Please send any inquiry about this book to book.orders@iuniverse.com; Toll-free: 1-800-288-4677; Fax: 402-323-7824 and International: 00-1-402-323-7800.