Nigeria Police Attitude On Duty And Its Effect On Insecurity

The Police Force was established pursuant to section 214 of the
Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and sections 1 and
4 of its enabling Act, 2020, for the protection of lives and
properties. Apart from that, they are employed for the prevention
and detection of crime, the apprehension of offenders, the
preservation of the law and order, and the enforcement of all laws
and regulations with which they are directly charged.

Along with food and shelter, security constitutes the most
essential of all man’s needs. According to social contract
theorists, security need was the basis of the social contract
between the people and the state (which gave rise to the state or
government), in which people willingly surrendered their rights to
an organ (government) that oversees the survival of all. In this
light security embodies the mechanism put in place to avoid,
prevent, reduce, or resolve violent conflicts, and threats that
originate from other states, non-state actors, or structural
socio-political and economic conditions. The opposite of security
is insecurity – absence of safety; danger; hazard; uncertainty;
lack of protection, and lack of safety.

These definitions of insecurity underscore a major point that
those affected by insecurity are not only uncertain or unaware of
what would happen but they are also vulnerable to threats and
dangers when they occur. Thus, the Nigerian Personnel are expected
to exhibit professional and ethical behavior which includes
avoiding bribery, falsification or removal of proofs, abuse of duty
amongst others.

Moving on, Regulation 370 of the Police Act (Cap 359)
particularly addressed unethical work behavior and it states “a
member of the force who commits any of the following acts shall be
guilty of a punishable offence; absence from duty or being late for
duty without leave  or reasonable excuse, corrupt
practice…”

Unfortunately, the Nigeria Police Force has a long history of
unprofessional and corrupt conduct which is characterized by their
attitude on duty especially at checkpoints, the act of extorting
countless ordinary civilians who are attempting to make precarious
meet. Those who fail to pay are frequently threatened with arrest
and physical harm. Consequently, these actions increase high level
of insecurity and it sabotaged our national security.  There
are also reports of policemen conniving with bandits and kidnappers
by providing them with weapons and support due to the
mouth-watering rewards they get from such shady deals at the end of
the day.  In order to correct this anomaly, there are some
certain issues which the necessary authority need to work on.

The Nigerian Police needs to be well equipped particularly by
providing sophisticated weapons, policemen becomes vulnerable when
they confront criminals brandishing superior weapons and also
recruit well-trained personnel who will be able to exhibit good
ethical behavior especially on duty.

Good remuneration may be an antidote for bribery and corruption
in the police. If Policemen are adequately paid, they may shun
bribery and extortion of citizens on the road.

Another thing is there is a need to ensure accountability and
transparency when it comes to allocation of weapons to Police
officers as it has been discovered that majority of guns and
bullets that are usually retrieved from the bandits were owned by
Police officers this shows that the allocation of weapons to police
officers are not closely monitored.

Training is very essential in an effort to reform the police.
There is need for training, retraining and reorientation of the
police. They need to update their knowledge and skills in the areas
of new crime detention and prevention at this time of herder-farmer
clashes, kidnappings, and insurgency

This work cannot be complete without making reference to one
fundamental thing that is completely tarnishing the image of the
Nigerian Police Force – enforcing contract or meddling into purely
civil transactions between parties. The interference of the Police
in purely civil matters is an abuse of the statutory powers of the
Nigerian Police. We are not oblivious to the fact that the Police
receive countless petitions daily alleging one crime or the other,
however, the Police is not a robot incapable of methodically
sieving through the Petitions to determine if there is criminal
element or not in each of the Petition before acting on same. See
Anubalu v. State (2019) LPELR-48088(CA). It does
not augur well for the society if the Police upon the instigation
of a complainant acts outside its statutory defined functions by
interfering in simple civil transactions between citizens. Simply
put, it is neither the duty nor the power of the Police to serve as
agents of any person, be it an individual or a corporate citizen or
even agents of Government at either the Federal or State or Local
Government level, to enforce commercial disputes, under any guise
or pretext of investigating a crime in a purely civil dispute
without any element of criminality. See Section 8(2) of the
Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015, wherein it is provided
thus: “A suspect shall not be arrested merely for a civil wrong or
breach of contract.

This prevalent attitude of involving the Police in a purely
civil transaction under the guise of commission of a crime has
received scathing deprecations by the Supreme Court in a multitude
of cases. In Diamond Bank PLC v. Opara & Ors (2018)
LPELR-43907(SC), Per Bage J. S. C. Remarked at page 30 thus:

“…What is even more disturbing in recent times is the way and
manner the Police and some other security agencies, rather than
focus squarely on their statutory functions of investigation,
preventing and prosecuting crimes, allow themselves to be used by
overzealous and/or unscrupulous characters for the recovery of
debts arising from simple contracts, loans or purely civil
transactions. Our security agencies, particularly the police, must
know that the citizenry’s confidence in them ought to first be
ensured by the agencies themselves by jealously guarding the
integrity of the uniform and powers conferred on them.

“The beauty of salt is in its taste. Once salt loses its own
taste, its value is irredeemably lost. I say this now and again,
*our security agencies, particularly the police, are not debt
recovery agencies.* The agencies themselves need to first come to
this realization, shun all entreaties in this regard and they will
see confidence gradually restored in them. Where
we are now in this country is that place where our “Men in black &
blue” command almost no respect from the citizenry because of how
low we have sunk. But it is my belief which belief, I must
say I hold very dearly, that all hope is not lost, many women and
men of deep integrity are in our security agencies, and they only
need to rise now to the occasion.”

By way of conclusion, despite been dotted by several law
enforcement agencies  Nigeria has witnessed a rising wave of
internal security challenges in recent times. This situation has
been blamed on many institutional inadequacies found within the
security agencies, notable corruption.  This research finds
that although the Police Force is the preeminent public institution
established to assure the security of lives and property within the
country, the institution has ironically functioned more as an
enabler of corruption, insecurity, and perpetrator of illegality.
If the Police Force can work on the above-mentioned areas and also
conduct themselves in a respectful manner while carrying out their
duties, the  Police force will make headway in its fight
against insecurity and criminality in the society.

Nairalaw Editorial

The Police Force was established pursuant to section 214 of the
Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and sections 1 and
4 of its enabling Act, 2020, for the protection of lives and
properties. Apart from that, they are employed for the prevention
and detection of crime, the apprehension of offenders, the
preservation of the law and order, and the enforcement of all laws
and regulations with which they are directly charged.

Along with food and shelter, security constitutes the most
essential of all man’s needs. According to social contract
theorists, security need was the basis of the social contract
between the people and the state (which gave rise to the state or
government), in which people willingly surrendered their rights to
an organ (government) that oversees the survival of all. In this
light security embodies the mechanism put in place to avoid,
prevent, reduce, or resolve violent conflicts, and threats that
originate from other states, non-state actors, or structural
socio-political and economic conditions. The opposite of security
is insecurity – absence of safety; danger; hazard; uncertainty;
lack of protection, and lack of safety.

These definitions of insecurity underscore a major point that
those affected by insecurity are not only uncertain or unaware of
what would happen but they are also vulnerable to threats and
dangers when they occur. Thus, the Nigerian Personnel are expected
to exhibit professional and ethical behavior which includes
avoiding bribery, falsification or removal of proofs, abuse of duty
amongst others.

Moving on, Regulation 370 of the Police Act (Cap 359)
particularly addressed unethical work behavior and it states “a
member of the force who commits any of the following acts shall be
guilty of a punishable offence; absence from duty or being late for
duty without leave  or reasonable excuse, corrupt
practice…”

Unfortunately, the Nigeria Police Force has a long history of
unprofessional and corrupt conduct which is characterized by their
attitude on duty especially at checkpoints, the act of extorting
countless ordinary civilians who are attempting to make precarious
meet. Those who fail to pay are frequently threatened with arrest
and physical harm. Consequently, these actions increase high level
of insecurity and it sabotaged our national security.  There
are also reports of policemen conniving with bandits and kidnappers
by providing them with weapons and support due to the
mouth-watering rewards they get from such shady deals at the end of
the day.  In order to correct this anomaly, there are some
certain issues which the necessary authority need to work on.

The Nigerian Police needs to be well equipped particularly by
providing sophisticated weapons, policemen becomes vulnerable when
they confront criminals brandishing superior weapons and also
recruit well-trained personnel who will be able to exhibit good
ethical behavior especially on duty.

Good remuneration may be an antidote for bribery and corruption
in the police. If Policemen are adequately paid, they may shun
bribery and extortion of citizens on the road.

Another thing is there is a need to ensure accountability and
transparency when it comes to allocation of weapons to Police
officers as it has been discovered that majority of guns and
bullets that are usually retrieved from the bandits were owned by
Police officers this shows that the allocation of weapons to police
officers are not closely monitored.

Training is very essential in an effort to reform the police.
There is need for training, retraining and reorientation of the
police. They need to update their knowledge and skills in the areas
of new crime detention and prevention at this time of herder-farmer
clashes, kidnappings, and insurgency

This work cannot be complete without making reference to one
fundamental thing that is completely tarnishing the image of the
Nigerian Police Force – enforcing contract or meddling into purely
civil transactions between parties. The interference of the Police
in purely civil matters is an abuse of the statutory powers of the
Nigerian Police. We are not oblivious to the fact that the Police
receive countless petitions daily alleging one crime or the other,
however, the Police is not a robot incapable of methodically
sieving through the Petitions to determine if there is criminal
element or not in each of the Petition before acting on same. See
Anubalu v. State (2019) LPELR-48088(CA). It does
not augur well for the society if the Police upon the instigation
of a complainant acts outside its statutory defined functions by
interfering in simple civil transactions between citizens. Simply
put, it is neither the duty nor the power of the Police to serve as
agents of any person, be it an individual or a corporate citizen or
even agents of Government at either the Federal or State or Local
Government level, to enforce commercial disputes, under any guise
or pretext of investigating a crime in a purely civil dispute
without any element of criminality. See Section 8(2) of the
Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015, wherein it is provided
thus: “A suspect shall not be arrested merely for a civil wrong or
breach of contract.

This prevalent attitude of involving the Police in a purely
civil transaction under the guise of commission of a crime has
received scathing deprecations by the Supreme Court in a multitude
of cases. In Diamond Bank PLC v. Opara & Ors (2018)
LPELR-43907(SC), Per Bage J. S. C. Remarked at page 30 thus:

“…What is even more disturbing in recent times is the way and
manner the Police and some other security agencies, rather than
focus squarely on their statutory functions of investigation,
preventing and prosecuting crimes, allow themselves to be used by
overzealous and/or unscrupulous characters for the recovery of
debts arising from simple contracts, loans or purely civil
transactions. Our security agencies, particularly the police, must
know that the citizenry’s confidence in them ought to first be
ensured by the agencies themselves by jealously guarding the
integrity of the uniform and powers conferred on them.

“The beauty of salt is in its taste. Once salt loses its own
taste, its value is irredeemably lost. I say this now and again,
*our security agencies, particularly the police, are not debt
recovery agencies.* The agencies themselves need to first come to
this realization, shun all entreaties in this regard and they will
see confidence gradually restored in them. Where
we are now in this country is that place where our “Men in black &
blue” command almost no respect from the citizenry because of how
low we have sunk. But it is my belief which belief, I must
say I hold very dearly, that all hope is not lost, many women and
men of deep integrity are in our security agencies, and they only
need to rise now to the occasion.”

By way of conclusion, despite been dotted by several law
enforcement agencies  Nigeria has witnessed a rising wave of
internal security challenges in recent times. This situation has
been blamed on many institutional inadequacies found within the
security agencies, notable corruption.  This research finds
that although the Police Force is the preeminent public institution
established to assure the security of lives and property within the
country, the institution has ironically functioned more as an
enabler of corruption, insecurity, and perpetrator of illegality.
If the Police Force can work on the above-mentioned areas and also
conduct themselves in a respectful manner while carrying out their
duties, the  Police force will make headway in its fight
against insecurity and criminality in the society.

Nairalaw Editorial