Popular perceptions about the police and policing in Nigeria have always been steeped in misconceptions, distrust, apprehension and a sizable portion of dislike. The cliché ‘police is your friend’ remains a philosophy that largely exists only on dusty paper clippings hanging idly from sweat-stained walls in police stations but distant, in meaning and practice, from the general consciousness of the citizenry. The reason for this is not far-fetched and draws, perhaps, from the history of the Police Force in Nigeria.

When the concept of formal policing was first introduced during colonial times in what is today referred to as Nigeria, the Police was constituted to reflect the brutish master/servant relationship that characterised a colonial society. Built on the philosophy of ‘strangers policing strangers’, policing was then used as an instrument of oppression, subjugation and exploitation. Protecting and serving the people was nowhere near the core objectives of the colonial police. Post-colonial policing, also did very little to change this situation, particularly with the militarization of the police during the long, hard years of military rule in Nigeria.

However, with democracy came fresh hopes for change in many sectors of Nigeria, including the police and their delivery of policing services. In response to this, successive leaderships of the Police made several policy attempts at reforming the Police and bringing policing closer to the people. But recent reports show that some contemporary policing activities by the Nigeria Police alienate them from, rather than endear them to, the people they seek to serve. CLEEN Foundation, in its recent National Crime Victimization and Safety Survey, found that although there were marked reductions in crime rates, more than 50 percent of those who reported to the Police said they were dissatisfied with their service. In a 2010 report, titled Criminal Force, published by the Network on Police Reforms in Nigeria (NOPRIN) and the Open Society Justice Initiative, issues of extortion, extrajudicial killing, torture, extortion, abuse and rape were spotlighted as prevalent practices in the Nigeria Police.

However, the Police are a reflection of the society it polices. It is therefore either as good or as bad as the society. This is because the police is constituted of human resources drawn from the very fabrics of the society in which it operates. Hence, faults in the social fabric will invariably show up in faulty patterns in its law enforcement mechanisms. Thus, while we criticize the police for their failings, we must not forget the age-long African saying that they are because we are. This, nonetheless, does not diminish the responsibility of the leadership of the Police to revive and strengthen its internal accountability mechanisms to ensure, amongst others, that complaints from the public about police misconduct and abusive practices are adequately addressed.

Every so often, we tend to neglect or consciously forget the harsh and inhuman conditions the Police themselves are condemned to operate under in maintaining law and order in our chaotic society. Very few people stop to give any attention to the plethora of problems faced by the police: poor equipment and training, inadequate funding, meager remuneration, exposure to political manipulations and other socio-economic factors in Nigeria, along with lack of compensation for losses suffered. According to official reports, the Police Force lost about 630 officers in the past year. Nobody asks what happens to their loved ones. Unfortunately, formal policing in Nigeria is neither attractive nor competitive. Also, policing a population of nearly 150 million persons is surely an overwhelming and daunting task for the approximately 378,000 persons that presently constitute the Nigeria Police Force.

We must realize that the demands of policing – which is the action or process of providing security and maintaining law and order - often extend beyond the constitutional institution called the Police Force. There are indeed various ‘informal’ yet effective policing arrangements ranging from small community-based watches to organised vigilante groups and private/commercial security setups. And though the Police Force is charged with the primary responsibility of policing, it does not exercise that function exclusive and independent of the people it polices. It is a given that the Police has its challenges, but some of these can be overcome with some help from civil society and the communities in which they operate. The Police leadership could, for example, hold periodic meetings with community leaders and select members of the communities in which they function to foster complementary relationships in policing by sharing their needs and developing effective strategies for maintaining local security. Ilupeju police station and policing services in that area would serve as a good illustration in this regard of what could happen, both for the people and the police, when there is police/community partnership. Another good example of the gains of partnership would be the forum organised by CLEEN Foundation, in collaboration with the Lagos branch of the Nigerian Medical Association and The Lagos State Police Command to iron out the differences between doctors and the Police in providing emergency treatment to victims of gun shot violence.

Until we give the Nigeria Police Force the dignity, both in resources and institutional support, it requires to function effectively, it would be unrealistic to expect adequate policing services delivery. While our fiery criticisms may result in slight motions towards attitudinal change in the Police, lasting change will only come when the people policed begin to partner with the people policing them. Until there is a paradigm shift towards police/people partnership in policing, we will continue to go the way of the biblical Cain who asked, ‘Am I my brother’s keeper?’ What we need is a people-oriented and a people-centered police. It behoves the leadership of the police to proactively move beyond numerical ‘point agenda’ and begin building mutually beneficial partnerships with civil society and the communities in which the police operates. This would be a sure step away from the colonial notions of ‘strangers policing strangers’ to a more civilized and effective approach of people policing people.


Chinedu is Manager, Accountability and Justice Programme, CLEEN Foundation, Abuja.