The Police College Ikeja Brouhaha and the Exigency of a Sweeping Police Reform in Nigeria (Recommendations)

By

Don Okereke

‘’Nigerians Unite Against Insecurity and Terrorism’’ (NUAIT)

Channels TV’s Whistle-blowing
Recently, Channels TV aired a documentary which brought to limelight the unprecedented decay in the Nigeria Police College Ikeja.

Rather than being petty, indulging in unnecessary vituperations, blame game and lambasting phantom enemies cum Channels TV for the noble and patriotic job they did, one is of the notion that they deserve kudos and an award for their doggedness and patriotic act. The Channels TV documentary has opened a Pandora box which has the propensity to catalyze the much touted transformation cliché bandied by the present administration. Nigeria is in dire need of more of such exposé and whistle-blowing if that is what will spur our leaders to action. What Channels did is not anomalous, it is akin to what the BBC ‘’Panorama’’ program epitomizes.

The problem with this part of the world is that constructive criticism and engagement are seldom appreciated. No matter how apolitical and well-intentioned you are, invest your time, energy, intellectual and material resources in articulating and proffering solutions to domestic problems, those in the corridors of power that benefit from the status quo will dub you an ‘Opposition’ or enemy of government. By asking the federal government to explain what happened to about $67bn the Obasanjo administration allegedly bequeathed to Yar Adua/Jonathan administrations, Mrs. Ezekwesili has unwittingly earned herself an enemy of the State. Rather than offer cogent explanation as to how the money was spent, the federal government has just remembered that she needs to explain how she spent N458bn education fund that was allocated to her office while she was minister. So if Mrs. Ezekwesili had not voiced out, the federal government would not have remembered she has some explaining to do. The government of the day prefers every Nigerian to be a praise-singer. Even if Mrs. Ezekwesili is culpable, nobody will believe the government, people will rather say it’s because of her allegation that the government is witch-hunting her. Somebody has been outclassed here.

It is common practice in Nigeria that when the President or a high-ranking government official visits a government establishment, prior notice is given to the establishment of the impending visit which gives them ample time to sex up the serenity of the establishment. Even when the august visitor arrives, he or she is constrained to specific areas. Employees/staff are strictly forewarned not to ask embarrassing questions. This tendency is inherent in the Nigerian system. For instance, it is common knowledge that before the National Universities Commission (NUC) visits some academic institutions for accreditation; many of those institutions borrow equipments etc to showcase to the NUC that they have the wherewithal only for those equipments to grow wings after the institution gets the coveted accreditation.

Mr. President need not be shocked by what he saw because the Police College fiasco is just an eye-opener and symptomatic of the inherent decay, neglect and unprecedented corruption in many government establishments. That the President is shocked cut no ice with many Nigerians because the condition of the Police College is no news at all. This brings to fore the vast disconnect between Nigerian leaders and the citizenry. Imagine the condition of other Police Colleges in Nigeria since Police College Ikeja is reputed to be the best in the country. So rather than buck-passing, heads should be rolling by now. What happened to the huge budgetary allocations all these years to the Police College? As usual a committee has been set up to look into the mess. Subsequently, another committee will be set up to study the findings of the first committee and a third committee will be assembled to harmonize the findings of the preceding two committees. With the passage of time, the mêlée subsides and it is business as usual again. What a country!

The ‘New Police Code of Conduct’ and Police Reform
Beyond the rhetoric, razzmatazz and publicity stunt of the recently launched ‘’New Police Code of Conduct’’, the Nigeria Police urgently needs far-reaching reform and transformation if it must fulfill its constitutional obligations. Police Reform transcends sporadically changing the Police uniform by successive Police authorities or rejigging the leadership of the police to assuage the jingoistic yearnings of some sections of the country who feel it is their turn to produce the next I.G of Police. A lot has been bandied about Police Reform, Community Policing etc but nothing tangible comes out of the entire gobbledygook. The much talked about ‘Community Policing’ must be given some bite. More than one week after the launch of the much touted Police Code of Conduct, I searched online and specifically on the Nigeria Police website for an electronic copy of it but could not find it as it seems the Police Authority is yet to upload a MS-Word or PDF version of the said document on their website. One hopes the document is not ‘’Classified’’ or ‘’Top Secret’’. When we talk of Police Reform or transformation, we are talking of the Police being efficient and fit for purpose. In this age of proliferation of ICT and broadband internet technology, it does not cost or take much for the aforementioned document to be online in real time even as it is been launched or prior to it been launched. No doubt the current I.G of Police is doing his best given the bold steps he has taken-he dismantled illegal roadblocks by the Police. He also made available his personal phone number so that Nigerians can reach him directly. All hands must be on deck, the rank and file of the Police must compliment the effort of the Police hierarchy otherwise nothing much will be achieved.

The litmus test for the so-called ‘’New Police Code of Conduct’’ will be when bail is free across all the Police formations in the nook and cranny of Nigeria and when the Police stops taking bribes.

Recommendations on Reforming the Nigeria Police
The following are burning issues that the Police Reform or transformation must encompass:

1. There are compelling reasons for the Ministry of Police Affairs to be scrapped. It is an unnecessary bureaucracy with its attendant replication of duties and waste of resources. Unless the idea is for politicians to provide enough jobs for political jobbers, the office of the Inspector General of Police has the capacity to run the Nigeria Police. Instead of a full-fledged ministry, an alternative will be for a Police Affairs department to be established under the Ministry of Interior headed by a Permanent Secretary. Imagine the replication of roles and waste of resources inherent in the status quo where we have a substantive Minister of Police Affairs, a junior minister and their coterie of Special Advisers and aides.

2. The Police Service Commission (PSC) must be restructured. According the PSC (establishment) Act 2001, ‘’the Chairman and other members of the Commission shall be appointed by the President subject to the confirmation of the Senate’’. With this arrangement, the PSC has been effectively reduced to a mere rubber stamp of the Presidency. As they say, he who plays the piper dictates the tune. The Police Service Commission must not be an appendage of the executive arm of government. Recall the infamous role the PSC played in dismissing Nuhu Ribadu from the Police when they were said to be acting the Script of the Presidency under late President Umar Musa Yar Adua. The same PSC recanted their action and ate their words when Goodluck Jonathan became president.

The PSC is seldom at the forefront of the fight against the unprecedented extra-judicial killings by Police officers. More often than not, the only time activities of the PSC comes to the fore is when they are called upon to do the bidding of the Presidency in ratifying list of officers to be promoted or demoted. There are serious allegations that the PSC does not adhere to transparency, seniority and competence in promoting officers. Discipline is thrown to the dogs when a junior officer is promoted over and above his senior for no justifiable reason.

I hereby advocate that Nigeria’s Police Service Commission be structured after United Kingdom’s Independent Police Complaint Commission (IPCC) or Australia’s Crime and Misconduct Commission that is accountable to the Legislative Assembly (equivalent of Nigeria’s National Assembly). The key ingredient here is that in both countries, the Police ombudsman is not the apron strings of the executive arm of government. They enjoy independence, neutrality and have public representation and input.

3.‘’State Police’’-To be or not to be? The Nigeria Police epitomizes a classic example of the over-concentration of Power or Authority at the centre. Imagine where all the 37 State Commissioners of police (Abuja inclusive) in Nigeria and all the rank and file of the Police in Nigeria are answerable to just one man-the all-powerful I.G of Police. With this status quo, it is not surprising that successive I.G’s of Police in Nigeria are overwhelmed by the dictates of their office.

This federal police thing in Nigeria is also a clog on the wheel of Justice in Nigeria. Imagine this scenario: an incident/crime takes place somewhere in Sokoto state. The IPO handling the case being a federal agent is transferred to Lagos state via orders from Abuja, the case is transferred to another IPO who starts all over again and before you know it, the case is jeopardized. Suspects stay on awaiting trial for upwards of ten years probably because their case file has ‘disappeared’ or the investigation has been bungled.

Try as I can, I just cannot see why ‘’State Police’’ will lead to the disintegration of Nigeria as been bandied about by the proponents of the current arrangement. Just like every human creation, no doubt ‘State Police’ will have its own shortcomings but we cannot afford to throw away the baby and the birth water. If I recall correctly, Nigeria once had regional Police or something like that in the 60’s. We say we practice Federalism and we seldom adhere to the dictates of federalism. When it is convenient and it suites our personal, selfish aggrandizement, we see the United States as a role model but when our greedy personal interest is at stake, we tell tales of how and why we must not do everything that the Americans do. Granted.

The United States of America, the United Kingdom and so many other countries have their variant of State Police. We hear of the ever-popular Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), the New York Police Department (NYPD) etc. In the United Kingdom, there is Scotland Yard (for London), Scottish Police (for Scotland); Welsh police (for Wales) West Midlands Police etc. The last time I checked, these countries have not disintegrated.

On funding, I have heard a lot of wishy-washy arguments purporting that many States in Nigeria cannot cope with funding their own Police. This argument does not hold water. Again, let us use the United Kingdom as a Case Study. In the U.K, the various Police agencies are funded through Council Tax payments that each house or business establishment under their domain pays every month. It’s not rocket science! With this type of arrangement, No. 10 Downing Street does not have to earmark staggering amounts of money every year to bankroll a central U.K Police formation.
Coming back home, we can also borrow a leaf from the Lagos State government’s Police Trust Fund. Mutatis mutandis, such an arrangement can comfortably take care of the Police in a particular state of Nigeria.

Given the arrogant and dictatorial tendencies of our politicians, governor’s et al, a clause can be enshrined in the law establishing ‘State Police’ which ensures that politicians will not use it as an instrument to terrorize their opponents.

4. The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) should concentrate on its forte- fighting crimes/law enforcement. The NSCDC Act No. 2 of 2003 and Amendment Act of 2007, empowers the NSCDC to supervise and monitor Private Guard Companies in Nigeria. The NSCDC, a Para-military outfit is presently encumbered and overwhelmed with the onerous responsibility of law enforcement/fighting crimes, chasing Crude Oil pipeline vandals etc and does not have the time, adequate manpower to manage the Private Security Industry and make it more competitive and Professional. Realities on ground confirm that as far as their oversight function over the Private Security Industry in Nigeria is concerned, the NSCDC is not fit for purpose. It is high time they (the NSCDC) concentrated on its forte (law enforcement).

In addition to other sundry levies, every Private Guard Company in Nigeria pays N100, 000.00 to the NSCDC for registration. Is the NSCDC, a revenue collecting arm of the federal government? Is this money remitted to the federation account?

Sequel to global Industry standard and best practices, one is of the considered opinion that there is a pressing need for a full-fledged, self-funding autonomous civil ombudsman peopled with Security Experts that know their onions. I hereby propose the establishment of the Security Industry Authority of Nigeria (SIAN) that will regulate the activities of Private Security and Investigation Companies and Operatives in Nigeria.
The government has nothing to fear or lose but everything to gain from this arrangement as the proposed Independent Regulator will thrive without government funding. This will invariably enhance Standards, Professionalism, instill discipline and create jobs.

5. In most Western democracies and other countries where the rule of law holds sway, it is anomalous to see Police officers guarding Private individuals, banks or other commercial establishments. The reverse is the case in Nigeria. Successive IG’s of Police pay lip-service to ensuring that the Police rigorously carries out its statutory and constitutional role. It is an open secret in Nigeria that Police (MoPol) escort or protection is for the highest bidder. Imagine all the bank branches alone in Nigeria having say 3-4 Police (MoPol) officers on their payroll and a large chunk of Police officers attached to our politicians, how many are out there in the streets fighting crime. Commercial establishments and private individuals in Nigeria must put in place their own Security network.

The peculiar security challenges bedeviling Nigeria may have extenuated the penchant for the Police to abandon its statutory role. This status quo has been tolerated for too long and must not be allowed to continue or become a norm.
6. Recruitment into the Security agencies-the Police must not be for the highest bidder or shared amongst the cronies of politicians as was the case in the recent unpublicized and unadvertised recruitment into the Immigration. The recruitment process must be advertised/publicized and transparent. One hopes federal and state establishments have learnt some lessons from the recent scandal rocking the Nigeria Immigration Service which culminated in the sack of its Comptroller General-Mrs. Uzoma. Sale of Scratch cards or application forms into the Security Agencies must be banned because there are budgetary allocations made for the recruitment process. Besides, the prospective enlistees are coming to serve their fatherland so it will not be too much if they don’t have to cough out money to buy forms etc. One does not know of any advanced country where prospective recruits are required to buy Scratch cards or pay for application forms.

Efforts must be made to fish out bad eggs into the Security Agencies (Police) especially at the point of entry (recruitment). There is a plethora of cases of cultists, felons and terrorist sympathizers wangling their way into the Police and other Security Agencies. I had goose pimples when I heard that a notorious cultist and potentially a criminal during my university days is now a commissioned police officer. This underscores the essence of a Comprehensive National Crime Database where names of potential Police recruits can be fed into to determine whether they have a criminal history or not.

Still on recruitment, unnecessary bureaucracy in Police and Armed Forces recruitment must be scrapped. Asking prospective recruits to get a letter from their Baale/traditional ruler, Police DPO in charge of their municipality or a senior military officer of a particular rank etc exposes them to undue exploitation, stress and is of no pragmatic importance as it does not guarantee lack of criminal record. I know of a case where a potential recruit went to his Baale for a letter of recommendation and was asked to pay ten thousand naira before the letter will be issued. This same bloke took his Application form to the Police DPO to have it endorsed and they started tossing him up and down. They told him there was no stamp bla bla bla. Am sure you know what that means in the Nigerian parlance. They wanted him to grease their palms too. Any desperate and streetwise candidate can easily get such a letter arranged for him by a roadside typist or a business centre. Now imagine this scenario: in the Nigerian Army recruitment form, there is a particular section where ‘the DPO of the candidate’s municipality or jurisdiction is supposed to sign’. This particular prospective Army recruit was born and bred in Lagos though his parents were originally from Cross River State. To have this section of his Application form endorsed for him, he went to the nearest DPO’s office in Lagos but the DPO told him that he was supposed to take it to the DPO in his state of origin (Cross River) since the prospective recruit is not from Lagos state. This chap travelled to his village, met with the DPO in that area and the DPO refused to endorse the Application form for him citing that the chap does not reside in his domain and he has no information about him. Another prospective recruit travelled all the way from Lagos to Calabar for the recruitment exercise only for him to be told that his name did not appear in the list of prospective applicants. The application process was done online and the form was duly submitted with confirmations printed out, so why will the candidate’s name not be found in their recruitment list?

Please let the recruitment process be seamless and streamlined for these prospective recruits by doing away with all these unnecessary bottlenecks. You don’t collect money from candidates in the name of Scratch cards or application fee, make them go through unnecessary stress and treat them shabbily. I know Nigerian-born and Gambian blokes that enlisted into the British Army as Commonwealth citizens and others that enlisted into the United States Armed Forces and they were not asked to go and get a letter from their baale/traditional ruler how much more a Nigerian citizen enlisting into the Security Service in his own country. If these Western authorities know how to fish out the bad guys at the point of entry, why can’t our own people here.

7. Provision of state-of-the-art gadgets to the Security Agencies. Policing has gone digital. Advances in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) have revolutionized the concept of policing. In most advanced countries of the world, rather than brandishing archaic Ak47 rifles, it is common to see Police officers armed with Palmtops, Tablet PC’s, and latest telecommunication gadgets on their bits with which they relay information to their respective offices in real time. I hereby make a case for the provision of inter alia, Automatic Number Plate Recognition Systems for the Nigeria Police, the Federal Road Safety Commission and other sister agencies. Automatic Number Plate Recognition Systems is a surveillance method that uses Optical Character Recognition (OCR) on images to read vehicle registration plates. This can help determine who a particular vehicle was/is registered to incase a car is used for terrorism/crime. In addition to real-time processing of license plate numbers, an Automatic Number Plate Recognition System can store images, dates, times and GPS coordinates that can help to pinpoint a suspect at a crime scene. Its other applications include fishing out Car insurance defaulters, witness identification, electronic toll collection, road traffic management and monitoring border crossings.

With advances in military technology-Kevlar, airborne lasers, antimatter weapons, case-less ammunitions, electromagnetic weapons, and particle beam weapons, I cringe each time I see our Police officers struggling to move swiftly with their ‘’heavyweight’’ bullet proof vests.

In addition to this, the Security Agencies need constant and ongoing training and re-training on weapon handling etc. This will eliminate cases of the so-called ‘’accidental discharge’’ and extra judicial killings.

8. Establishment of a ‘’Cold Cases Department’’ in the Nigeria Police. There are so many unresolved crimes-killings, kidnappings, rapes in Nigeria. A lot of times, investigations are not carried to a logical conclusion. A crime is committed or an incident takes place, it is talked about for a couple of days or weeks. Committees are set up, the committee’s report does not see the light of the day and it is business as usual until a similar incident takes place again. Cases are swept under the carpet immediately there is a change of leadership, transfer or death of the Police Officer handling the case.

The proposed Department will deal/brainstorm on unsolved Cases. In Europe and America 100 year old incidents/cases are still been dusted up and investigated because their government and the populace wants to know the truth and what transpired. A lot of times this have resulted in convicted criminals been set free and the real culprits put behind bars because of new evidence and advances in Science-DNA technology.

If such a department is established in the Nigeria Police, it will definitely be a lot of hard work because most of the investigations are jeopardized ab initio. How ever, with the right expertise, forensic evidence can still be pieced together that will unravel the truth.

Former Attorney general of the federation and minister of justice, Chief Bola Ige was murdered in cold blood and more than ten years after there is no concrete evidence as to who was responsible. Chief MKO Abiola died mysteriously after he allegedly drank a cup of tea. Former Head of state-General Sanni Abacha died mysteriously after he putatively had an encounter with Indian prostitutes. Former NewsWatch Magazine editor, Mr. Dele Giwa was killed with a letter bomb and there is no official explanation as what happened or who was responsible except for widely circulated gist that the government of the day then, had a hand in it. The list is endless. Nigerians and posterity will like to know what really transpired. If these things are classified State Secret, we yearn to see them declassified sooner than later.

9. There is exigent need for seamless Inter-agency synergy amongst the Security Services. The Security agencies must work together towards a common goal- securing lives and properties. Inter-agency rivalry must be watered down. Information sharing will no doubt enhance the performance of the Security agencies. Sometime in 2012, Governor Adam’s Oshiomole’s aide-Mr. Oyerinde was assassinated. The Police and the State Security Service (SSS) paraded different sets of suspects with accusing fingers pointing in different directions. In the first instance, is it not a waste of tax payers money for two sister agencies to be simultaneously investigating a particular incident?

10. Much has been said and little has been done about the much touted ‘Community Policing’ and a specialized Police Intelligence School. It is commendable that the Police raised the bar on the minimum academic qualification for prospective enlistees into their fold. Henceforth, the minimum academic requirement for Police recruits is an Ordinary National Diploma (OND) or a NCE. This will inject the much needed enlightened candidates into the Police.

11. Arms ‘Proliferation’ in the Police: A situation where almost every Police officer in Nigeria is armed impinges negatively on the populace. In many countries of the world, there is a Special Quad (like the MoPol in Nigeria) that is armed and responds to serious incidents. They are called upon when a particular threat or incident cannot be resolved by the regular Police. The reverse is the case in Nigeria where it is common practice to see especially the rank and file brandishing A.K 47 rifles even when they are on mufti making it difficult to differentiate between them and real criminals. Just recently I witnessed a couple of guys brandishing AK47 rifles while donning native babanriga (traditional wear). I was profoundly flabbergasted until I saw about two other Police officers on uniform tailing the ones in front. With all due respect, many Police officers lack ‘fire’ discipline and need refresher courses on rifle or arms handling.

During the course of my military career, there are standard procedures for handling arms and which must be strictly adhered to. For instance, we sign for arms say for Internal Security operations or guard duties etc and you must return your rifle at a specific time to the armoury at the end of that assignment. The Armourer takes not of the time you returned your rifle. There is a chain of custody. One is not sure this is the practice in the Police. You have cases where Police officers sign for rifle and take it home after their assignments. Don’t forget that many of these folks live in rented apartments amongst civilians. Our Police men are known to shoot indiscriminately because there is no strict requirement for them to account for the arms/bullets assigned to them. This propensity makes it possible for criminally-minded Police officers to ‘loan’ or sell arms/ammunitions to armed robbers or even engages in robbery themselves.

I recall with nostalgia, knowing a fellow student Police Officer during my university days that had a ‘permanent’ A.K 47 rifle assigned to him. He escorts luxurious buses (Coaches) from the South East to Lagos and back. Most times he keeps his rifle in the student hostel! That rifle was with that guy for the five years his degree program lasted. Imagine the crime implications and the far-reaching consequences if the aforementioned Police officer is criminally-minded.

12. Need for a ‘’Computerized/Digital Identity Cards’’ for the Nigerian Police-I guess the Police I.G or the Minister of Police affairs cannot confidently tell Nigerians the precise staff strength of the Police. Cases of ‘’ghost’’ police officers abound in the Police. It is also common practice to see dismissed Police officers donning their uniforms, flaunting their often torn I.D cards and extorting money from unsuspecting citizens. As I coalesced my thoughts for this article, I witnessed two incidents that will serve as case studies here. The current Police Paper I.D Card popularly known as ‘’The Nigeria Police Warrant I.D Card’’ can easily be counterfeited by any road-side business centre. I was in a business centre when a young man, say in his thirties waltz in, flashed a blank copy of the Police I.D and enquired if a manual type-writer was available to be used to input his details on the blank I.D Card. The Business Centre Operator simply told the young man that they lacked a manual type writer and off he went. The second encounter- I was sited in my office recently when a young man on mufti stopped by the entrance and harshly beckoned on me to come. I asked him to come right inside if he needed to see me. He told me he was a Police Officer and showed me an I.D card hung on his neck. I asked him if there was anything I could do for him. It took him a couple of seconds to recollect himself. I guess he gauged my countenance cum confidence and reasoned that I am not the type he could intimidate so he left and said he will be back to which I told him I will be expecting him. Meanwhile when I looked across the road, I noticed they have arrested and packed everybody across the street into an unmarked van for no reason. I also recall going to a nearby Police Station to report the loss of my wallet containing my I.D’s etc. After telling the Police Officer at the front desk that I have come to make an entry regarding my lost wallet, he told me they don’t have pen and paper to write my complaint. I did not have to be told the implication of what he meant; they needed me to ‘shake body’.

13. A Comprehensive National Crime Database to the rescue. Nigeria exigently needs a comprehensive National Crime Database that has the names and details of ex-felons and which can be assessed in real time by the various Police formations across Nigeria. The Police Forensic Laboratory must be strengthened, well-funded and peopled with qualified personnel.

14. Police salary and welfare- This has improved considerably compared to what it was few years ago. I guess Police Constables now earn upwards of fifty thousand naira or more. Good accommodation and Life Assurance Policy will help in this regard.

Don Okereke
(Security Analyst & Consultant)
February 2013
Abuja, Nigeria.
donnuait@yahoo.com
+2347080008285