New Acting Inspector General of Police: Same old force

It is only to be expected that the new acting Inspector General of Police (IGP) Kayode Egbtokun would want to stamp his mark upon the force before retirement, as he made two declarations which should be examined in light of whether or not they are practicable or even necessary. 

Firstly, he declared that all mobile policemen (MOPOL) serving as personal escorts to individuals will be withdrawn. This is absolutely necessary for several reasons. Of primary consideration is the fact that MOPOL escorts aren’t trained to carry out VIP protection and have been reduced to personal assistants carrying handbags, briefcases or umbrellas and running errands. 

Their lack of special training, lack of bulletproof vehicles, and inadequate weaponry are responsible for the totally unacceptable rate at which they are being killed. This has reduced morale in the force, especially considering the unspeakable indignities police widows allege they go through in order to claim their dead husband’s entitlements. Another good reason to remove personal escorts is that the presence of mobile police inside a vehicle appears to be a license to disobey traffic laws with impunity, and an endorsement of the belief that all Nigerians are not equal under the law. 

Perhaps worst of all, the ability to pay for police escorts has enabled many criminal elements to move around freely. In one case bordering on the comical, fraudsters paid for police escorts and then drove to a car lot. The presence of the escorts gave the car dealers confidence in the transaction. The fraudsters selected the most expensive SUV allegedly valued at tens of millions and instructed the escorts to wait while they went for a test drive. That was the last seen of either the fraudsters or the vehicle! The car dealers apprehended the police escorts and insisted they be charged as accomplices! The redeployment of all MOPOL on personal protection duties is indeed necessary but unlikely to be practicable. 

The second major announcement by the acting IGP was the creation of a Special Intervention Squad (SIS) to comprise 40,000 specially trained elite officers who will be “combat ready” to respond to and address unrest. It’s pertinent to ask what exactly is the job of the Department of State Services (DSS), Anti-Terrorism Unit, Civil Defence and Nigerian Army, if it is necessary for the undermanned NPF to spend less time and energy policing criminality and more time policing political dissent! “Combat ready” policemen are neither necessary nor advisable. 

The records of officers commanding such special units engaging in criminality and becoming a law unto themselves are no secret.  What the force really needs is better training, better equipment, and better pay. With respect to pay, it was reported that some police personnel have expressed resentment over alleged indiscriminate and unfair deductions from their salaries. Meanwhile, it was also reported that police recruits have been begging on social media for the authorities to pay them their entitlements. 

With police morale at an all-time low, the acting IGP tasked the rank and file to exhibit professionalism, respect, courtesy and civility to members of the public as if this is not something they are taught to do in Police College. He also warned about the shabby investigation, which unfortunately, is the stock in trade of the NPF which rely far more on “voluntary confessions” than forensics or proper investigation. 

With regard to police professionalism, public outrage was invoked by a recent viral video which showed policemen in Ekpoma, Edo State driving their vehicle over a handcuffed suspect. This sort of well-documented unprofessionalism and police brutality is lowering the already low opinion that Nigerians have of the NPF. While the acting IGP has commendably ordered the errant officers to report to Abuja to be disciplined, he should also take on board the fact that such behaviour is almost routine amongst the rank and file who are only disciplined when concerned citizens video their heinous acts and post them on the internet! 

Security experts claim the police were at fault because the suspect was handcuffed with his hands in front of him. This is not the manner in which suspects are supposed to be restrained, as handcuffs only restrain individuals effectively when their hands are behind them. Between the police officers themselves and the handcuffed suspect, what transpired was the result of pure frustration and anger at the current state of affairs in the nation. 

The ill effects of the poorly implemented fuel subsidy removal and hyper-inflation have caused citizens to suffer unbearable hardships and put most Nigerians on edge. The simple truth is that uncompassionate governance is turning Nigerians against each other, and as frustration grows it will be no surprise that there will be more of such incidences especially as police rank and file officers appear to be immune to remorse, or obeying instructions. 

Every new IGP has banned checkpoints; decreed that MOPOL should not be used as personal escorts; said police have no business checking phones and vehicle particulars; and declared that bail is free, but nothing changed. The Oyo State Police Command recently assured a man that justice would be done after petitioning that he was forced to pay N25,000 to secure bail for his father who had been arrested over a land dispute and detained in a police cell for two days. The new acting GP evidently means well but he needs to find out why all his predecessors failed to instill discipline.