Nigeria is gradually becoming impossible to live in, especially since 2015 when ‘evil’ officially decided to make Nigeria it home. Apart from the fact that Nigerians are so divided on ethnic and religious lines, it appears as though the government held a meeting where it was agreed that untold hardship be unleashed on the masses in the form of insecurity. It appears as if Fulani Herdsmen were suddenly unleashed on the Middle Belt and Southern axis of the country, it has never been this bad. In addition to the herdsmen crisis, every single item that is vital to sustenance of life in the country has quadrupled in price – petrol, rice, sugar, yam, garri to mention a few. Nigeria has never been this bad since 1961, more Nigerians have made their way to Lagos with the sole intention of jumping off any of the multiple bridges across the state than at any other time in our national history.

The Nigerian Police that ordinarily should be a peace making organisation, have particularly stood out notably amongst all the evils confronting the nation. Although, the Police have always stood out as one of the worst organisation in the country since independence but in recent times the rate of lawlessness, barbarism and brutality unleashed on Nigerians seem to be growing by the day. No day passes without a newspaper caption on accidental discharge, police brutality, bribery and cover up. No wonder in 2016, the World Internal Security and Police Index International, rated Nigerian Police as the worst in the world.

According to Premium Times, the 2016 report rates the Nigeria Police Force the “worst” globally in terms of its ability to handle internal security challenges. The report was released by the International Police Science Association, IPSA, and the Institute for Economics and Peace, a nonprofit organisation that brings together experts, researchers and scholars concerned with security work from all over the world.

The indices used in accessing 127 countries from four key areas, namely, capacity, process, legitimacy and outcomes, aim to measure the ability of the security apparatus within a country to respond to internal security challenges, both now and in future. Nigeria police performed worst on the index on all the four domains, with a score of 0.255 ranked 127 below Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Uganda and Pakistan.

As expected, the Police Authorities in Nigeria condemned the report rather than investigate the findings with a view to finding lasting solutions and inculcate discipline in the police force.

Only a few days ago, a policeman shot to death, a female youth corp member celebrating her completion of the compulsory one year NYSC exercise. The young lady, Nkechi Igwetu was heading out to a party with her male friends when officers opened fire at their vehicle, leaving her critically wounded. Eye witness report was that the shooting occurred around Cedi Plaza in Central Area at about 3:00 a.m., the lady eventually bleed to death at General Hospital, Garki where hospital staff refused to treat her.

Only a few days ago, information circulated online stated that a young student, Richard Peter Gora was beaten to death by police officers for purchasing a stolen phone for 10,000 Naira, the young man was reported to have died in police custody shortly after he was arrested. Earlier last week, a video emerged online where police men were seen hitting a young lawyer, Olakunle Kareem for demanding to be paid for services rendered after a disagreement with his employer. In the video, the police officers were seen repeatedly hitting the young man,while attempting to arrest him, a practice which is typical of an arrest scenario by Nigerian Police, people will usually be slapped, beaten or stripped naked before arrest.

The reason why Nigerian Police brutality and their barbaric acts towards civilians will continue for many years to come is because members of the National Assembly, who ordinarily should have made laws to prohibit the continued practice of police officers hitting civilians have refused to do that which is required of them. Many National Assembly members do not feel the pains of ordinary Nigerians due to the privilege position they occupy, hence, their family and friends seem to enjoy some sort of immunity against police harassment. It is therefore, the responsibility of Nigerians to ensure that those who represent them at the National Assembly are those that are easily approachable, people who can feel their pain and sympathise with them when the need arise. Nigerians must now stand up and demand for a better police force through an act of legislation which must attach a minimum prison term to any form of police brutality towards civilians.

https://whistletimes.com/2018/07/08/nigerian-police/