I finally carried out my social experiment. I drove around Ikeja at about 11:50pm, in mufti, in a private car. I passed through two police points. I spent five seconds at the first without a word from the police officer. He simply waved me on.

I spent thirty seconds at the second. Officer: You be Uber? Me: No. it’s my personal car. Officer: Find me something na. Me: I no get anything. Officer: See as you fine. Find me something na. Me: (silence). Officer: Oya, dey go.

On both occasions, immediately I was flagged down, I switched on the cabin light and wound down the glass on my side. I greeted first. In addition to this, in the second scenario, I smiled and deliberately appeared friendly.

Note: They did not recognize me; neither did I identify myself. It never got to that. Papers weren’t even asked for. I am positive there are many people with similar experiences out there. Different strokes for different folks, I know. One thing is sure, however.

Respect is reciprocal. Appreciate those who stand out there all day and night for lesser pay. Don’t be condescending. Don’t be unnecessarily aggressive. Don’t be docile too. Always be firm with your rights. And don’t resort to taking the laws in your hands.

There isn’t Utopia anywhere. Report the few bad eggs and we will continue to do internal cleansing. Thought to share my social experiment. Will tinker with the variables next time.

https://twitter.com/BenHundeyin/status/1573058149657071621?s=19

Nigeria is a tough country to survive with a minimum wage of 30,000 naira (less than $ 100 USD per month).

To cater for one's family in Nigeria as a civil servant, one has to increase their income through begging or sharp practices while engaged in the civil service.

Go to Universities and Polytechnics, lecturers are selling handbooks to students. Some of these lecturers will teach you well and mark your papers well whether you buy their handbooks or not. Other lecturers will not teach well and score you low if you do not buy their handbooks. We don't spit on the lecturers because education is important.

Go to Immigration offices across the country. Staff are collecting huge sums to process passports. People even beg them to collect bigger amounts to process their passports faster. We don't spit on the staff because traveling is important.

Go to file court processes even in the court registry, you have to pay the staff extra money so that they can handle your files happily. We don't spit on the registrar because getting justice is important.

Try to book an appointment with a prominent person who has a busy schedule. You have to appreciate his P.A or secretary with money and airtime. We don't spit on the them because seeing the big man is important.

It is same at every government department in this country.

When the student returns from school and the lady leaves the immigration office to encounter a police officer at a checkpoint, he/she spits on the police officer because security is not important and the police was standing under the rain sun unlike the others.

Just like almost every lecturer sells handouts, most police men just beg for 100 naira or 200 Naira to complement their 45,000 naira a month without seeing their families. Not all of them are like the lecturers who victimize students who don't buy the handbooks.

Ask the drivers whose cars were auctioned in Lagos Last week, they'd be praying a police officer had asked them for 5000 naira or 10,000 naira at the spot instead. Ask G-boys wey dey EFCC custody, they will tell you they wished a police officer asked them for little at a checkpoint instead.

When e reach police officers we dey form sane clime. If police dem follow form sane clime tow people car wey default go station, car for finish for Naija. Though there are bad officers, let's appreciate the good ones please.

Double standards everywhere.

Which kind useless social experiment is this?


The police extortion have been existing ever since the police force was handed to the Nigerian by the British colonial government and Ben will not tell me that he's never been aware of it until he carried this stupid social experiment to come to this lame conclusion.

Go and sleep jor

You only went through two police check points na,so you can't conclude

How can SP Benjamin Hundeyin pass through only TWO police checkpoints and tag his brief experience a social experiment with a conclusion drawn? That's a bit poor from a police officer with masters degree in Legal Criminology and Security Psychology. I mean two police checkpoints can never constitute a sample size in any credible social experiment more so in a state as Lagos. Any conclusions drawn from two checkpoints out of hundred of checkpoints in Lagos State is rather scandalous.

For this experiment to be credible, the following have to incorporated:
- It has to be in at least 50% of the local government areas in the state.
- It has to cover particularly the notorious police extortion areas of the state. And if he wants to know these areas, he should request for suggestions.
- It should be done during the day and in the night.

Excuse me SP Hundeyin, it is important that Nigeria Police should incorporate undercover operation in its quest to sanitize the police. These undercover officers should go around to police stations ( notorious ones as Igando station) as complainants and suspects, vehicle passengers, carry lap while on jeans, transport home appliances duly receipted, etc.

Oh really! You for try do dread lock and put on some nice gold chains while u drive a Mercedes Benz c300 and then see how they will rush u like lions. Nonsense experiment!

Does the Nigerian police force even have internal affairs?? This is to some extent, commendable but I’m sure that there are more notorious checkpoints.

Nigeria must be great.

But let Police ease up on the extortion and other civil servants too from Immigration to Customs, to other agencies and departments.

They perceived you. Or you must have been there while they were in a lighter mood. More so, try the ones at Mushin, Ajegunle, Orile, Shibiri… Oshodi…

Is he justifying taking a bribe? Because that's the only interpretation I can give to the thrash he wrote up there.

The fact that he started by saying we earn little amount of money as minimum wage is true, but trying to justify police extortion is laughable.

Good policemen are extremely rare; one may not find one in a thousand.

Good...Hundeyin for President!

Next time extend this your tour to other remote areas of Lagos so that we can confirm something. Police is your friend!

My Boss, Arthur U. At Umuahia, thought me that process long time ago. I discovered he always had his way even when the uniform men seems rigid on other drivers. one day I just ask him, oga how you dey take know all these people na and he said I no know any of them o, ah how come dem just dey allow you pass anywhere we reach? And he said, if you are playing music, as you approach them, turn it down, put on your inner light, great them with respect just like you great other people you respect, if possible ask them how is the work and family, then smile. If they no get any tangible reason to suspect or search your vehicle, you don get pass mark be that. Believe me this has been working for me too.
Note, I no carry dada hair and I no dey sag trousers so your own case fit dey different even after you apply those measures.

The bribe-requesting Police officer is still at the checkpoint.

With just 2 sample sizes you have already drawn conclusions and published your work?
Your degrees should be questioned if this is how you carried out your project/thesis

Impressive investigative work! We still can't rule out some level of bias anyway.

That said... He is right about most Nigerians being rude, condescending, and downright disrespectful and combative towards police officers at checkpoints.

This nation will not improve solely at the feet of those in office!

Go mile 2 laa

Respect is reciprocal, agreed. Talk about the corrupt policeman asking you for money.
And on your next drive, try to tell the policeman that "but you know it's not right" and let's see if you will not identify yourself in 2minutes before they shoot you.

.

Let him try same experiment as a passenger in a commercial vehicle.

There are still some few good officers but majority of them are crooks

..

JASONjnr:
Which kind useless social experiment is this?


The police extortion have been existing ever since the police force was handed to the Nigerian by the British colonial government and Ben will not tell me that he's never been aware of it until he carried this stupid social experiment to come to this lame conclusion.

You have a problem. You really really have a problem. Did Ben say the NPF is a perfect organization. He acknowledged that there are bad eggs amongst them and the hierarchy is trying to weed them out. Yet, you’re still complaining.

Do you think any police force of ANY multicultural country is perfect? Cut these guys some slack !

Good one. Police is your friend

N3TRAL:
Nigeria is a tough country to survive with a minimum wage of 30,000 naira (less than $ 100 USD per month).

To cater for one's family in Nigeria as a civil servant, one has to increase their income through begging or sharp practices while engaged in the civil service.

Go to Universities and Polytechnics, lecturers are selling handbooks to students. Some of these lecturers will teach you well and mark your papers well whether you buy their handbooks or not. Other lecturers will not teach well and score you low if you do not buy their handbooks. We don't spit on the lecturers because education is important.

Go to Immigration offices across the country. Staff are collecting huge sums to process passports. People even beg them to collect bigger amounts to process their passports faster. We don't spit on the staff because traveling is important.

Go to file court processes even in the court registry, you have to pay the staff extra money so that they can handle your files happily. We don't spit on the registrar because getting justice is important.

Try to book an appointment with a prominent person who has a busy schedule. You have to appreciate his P.A or secretary with money and airtime. We don't spit on the them because seeing the big man is important.

It is same at every government department in this country.

When the student returns from school and the lady leaves the immigration office to encounter a police officer at a checkpoint, he/she spits on the police officer because security is not important and the police was standing under the rain sun unlike the others.

Just like almost every lecturer sells handouts, most police men just beg for 100 naira or 200 Naira to complement their 45,000 naira a month without seeing their families. Not all of them are like the lecturers who victimize students who don't buy the handbooks.

Ask the drivers whose cars were auctioned in Lagos Last week, they'd be praying a police officer had asked them for 5000 naira or 10,000 naira at the spot instead. Ask G-boys wey dey EFCC custody, they will tell you they wished a police officer asked them for little at a checkpoint instead.

When e reach police officers we dey form sane clime. If police dem follow form sane clime tow people car wey default go station, car for finish for Naija. Though there are bad officers, let's appreciate the good ones please.

Double standards everywhere.

Well said brotherly

Abeggi

Sure but two check points are very very inadequate sample to make any conclusion in any way you want to look at it

If you really want to know the truth , Go undercover every night ...for say 3 months , different area every week maybe then you would have an adequate data to make conclusion