The Nigeria Police as Bribe Takers
Few days ago, I read a foreign newspaper from Japan as I randomly do to keep abreast with developments from around the world since we now co-habit in a global hall.
In reading this online version of one of the most prominent Japanese dailies, I came across a very intriguing topic which tells the story that half of the entire police operatives are not fully occupied.
These police operatives are not lazy or functionally redundant but can’t find enough criminals to occupy their times.
With the disappearance of criminals or rather rapid reduction in crime in Japan, it has become inevitable that the nation doesn’t need the number of law enforcement officers on their official roll.
The news story further stated that it was looking increasingly possible that Japan may have to export her law enforcement officials to another country that needs such critical services given that the crime rate in Japan has radically dropped.
In that same week, I read a story of a certain central European nation whereby the government has run out of options on what to do with the many unoccupied prison facilities simply because the crime rate in the European nation has fundamentally dropped. Netherlands is also reported as witnessing massive reduction in crime rates.
Conversely, the rate of crime in Nigeria is said to be on a steady rise and sadly, the number of detention facilities are grossly insufficient and substandard, given that these prisons were built many years back. The number of trained and professionally competent operatives is in steady decline.
Another unfortunate statistical fact about the crime rate in Nigeria is the near absence of skilled, disciplined and professionally committed persons to engage in the arduous task of policing Nigeria.
The argument that with over 300,000 officially accredited police operatives are not near enough to police a population of over 160 million Nigerians is plausible but debatable because of the lacuna that exists in the recruitment process. One time President Olusegun Obasanjo once disclosed that armed robbers and prostitutes have paid their way into the Nigeria police force. The process of commercialising and politicising the entry points into the police has eroded the capacity of government to attract the best hands unlike in civilised climes where potential recruits are critically analysed and their biodata scrutinised forensically to eliminate the chances of recruiting criminal elements.
Even as we bemoan the dearth of professional police operatives to sufficiently enforce the laws in Nigeria, another worrying dimension is the widespread cases of bribery and corruption amongst the rank and file of the Nigeria police. Police operatives who are not occupying higher positions aren’t commensurately remunerated and yet work under a lot of stress. The facilities housing police training institutes and police barracks/ stations are substandard and derelict.
The lack of facilities to house police operatives means that they are to make personal arrangements to secure houses for themselves and their families. The ordinary police are not compensated adequately should they suffer disabilities whilst working and the administration of police pensions is shrouded in massive corruption, meaning that police operatives who retire after working for 35 years most likely won’t be paid their rightful post-retirement benefits because these monies have been stolen by government officials and top police officers. The immediate consequence is that most police operatives who work under such conditions do resort to such self -help measures like demanding and receiving bribes before enforc- ing the law. This distortion creates serious lack of integrity of the policing institution and loss of public confidence. Without public confidence the police can’t carry out successful policing because information of actionable quality is needed for the prevention of crime and for combating crimes when they occur.
There is a consensus that corruption is the father of crime and if those who should maintain law and order are found wanting, it means that anarchy would be triggered in the society. That is the state of policing in Nigeria and this has just been confirmed by a report done by the United Nations office on crime and drugs in conjunction with the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics which found out the notorious fact that police operatives are the highest bribe seekers. Ironically, the North East and North West are ranked the highest in the occurrence of these bribery cases.
The broad implication of this report of high incidence of bribery in the police force is that the apparatus of law enforcement is tainted, meaning that Nigeria needs to reform and restructure the policing institution for proficiency and effectiveness. This is because government has the primary duty to provide security and ensure the enforcement of the rule of law.
The damning and extensively damaging report on the Nigeria police force vis- a- vis the involvement of the personnel in demanding for bribes as captured by the United Nations is however not to say that the police in Nigeria are an organised crime gang. The report should serve as a tonic for Nigeria to practically reform and restructure the NPF.
Even in the United States of America, the various departments of police are contending with one issue or the other.