There shall be a Police Force for Nigeria, which shall be known as the Nigeria Police Force, and subject to the provisions of this section, no other police force shall be established for the Federation or any part thereof”. The Police Act, however, regulates the Force. Section 4 of the Police Act provides that, ‘”The Police shall be employed for the prevention and detection of crime, the apprehension of offenders, the preservation of law and order, the protection of life and property and the due enforcement of all laws and regulations with which they are directly charged— Sections 214 to 216 of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria provide for the Nigeria Police Force. Section 214 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
OFFICERS and men of the force are deployed across the 36 states of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja to fight crimes, criminality and ensure the maintenance of law-and-order vis-a-vis peaceful co-existence in the society. Ever since the establishment of the Nigeria Police Force several decades ago, they have been contributing their quota just as every other sector to the growth and development of Nigeria, by performing their constitutionally recognised responsibilities as entrenched in Section 4 of the Police Acts and Regulations. These include the prevention and detection of crime, the apprehension of offenders, preservation of law and order, protection of life and property, the due enforcement of laws and regulations with which they are directly charged, amongst others. No doubt, with many years of existence, the police force has achieved a lot, and many of the officers have received many national and international honours and awards for discharging their duties diligently. Without mincing words, the men in uniform have brought great honour to this nation in times past and even recently.
All these men deserve their accolades and the government and well-meaning Nigerians must be eulogised for always celebrating policemen who prove beyond reasonable doubt that there are still some angelic creature among police officers. For many years now, there have been a series of allegations and complains against the police force, particularly on inappropriate acts on our various roads and streets. They extort motorists and this seems not to be ending so soon, despite the very fact that several Inspector-Generals of Police condemned this inhumane act on the part of police officers, directing that all the illegal roadblocks often used by the police officers to carry out this illegal act be eradicated. Past Inspector Generals of Police such as Ogbonna Okechukwu Onovo (2009 – 2010) Hafiz Ringim (2010 – 2012) Mohammed Dikko Abubakar (2012 – 2014) Suleiman Abba (2014 – 2015) Solomon Arase (2015-2016) Ibrahim Kpotun Idris (2016-2019) Mohammed Adamu (2019-2021) Usman Alkali Baba (2021-2023) had in the past frowned on this disgraceful act and even given stern warnings to policemen guilty of the act. Unfortunately, their efforts didn’t bring about the expected results.
A few weeks ago, the acting Inspector General of Police, Olukayode Egbetokun, stated clearly that; “We are aware of the challenge posed by the continued presence of unauthorized persons on the various highways around the country, in the guise of revenue collection, who constantly constitute nuisance on the highways by obstructing the flow of traffic, and engaging in mischievous activities, such as the seizure of vehicles, collection of fines and other unlawful activities.” The IGP added: “To bolster accountability and transparency within the force, we have taken steps, such as reinforcing the IGP monitoring unit and the complaint response unit, CRU, based at the Force Headquarters, and efforts are ongoing to establish CRU offices in all states.” What do the police have to do with checkmating motorcycles, tricycles, and vehicle particulars, amongst others? This bothers me, as I don’t know if the aforementioned happen to be part of the modalities in protecting lives and properties in our nation. I relate this to Ijebu North Local Government of Ogun State where I have had and still have series of experience and encounter on a daily basis with men of the police force who are always on roads and even streets extorting money from commercial motorists (N100 or more) at different points: Itamerin, Mariam Junction, Ago Market, All Wayz filling station, Mini Campus, Ilaporu, Awa-Ijebu, Oru-Ijebu, Ijebu-Igbo and many other areas and unexpected corners in the street. It is heartbreaking to know that these policemen are tarnishing the esteemed profession that used to be the dream job of many Nigerians. It might interest you to know that at various police stations in Ijebu North Local Government, motorists contribute money monthly and disburse it among the stations. Failure to do so on a monthly basis warrants the wrath of the men in uniform as they will be requesting for several documents from the motorists, which I believe is not part of the duties expected of the police. This is unbecoming of the police officers in this area as the illegal action is negatively affecting the livelihoods and incomes of the commercial motorists, following the negative effect the subsidy removal is causing on their businesses.
This extortion on the part of the police officers is not limited to the aforementioned areas alone; it is a national issue. From New Garage in Ibadan, Oyo State to Ibadan Garage in Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State, you will come across nothing less than 16 checkpoints of policemen coupled with that of Federal Road Safety Commission, with all of them extorting money from commercial drivers and giving them series of numbers for identification based on bribery. Meanwhile, this seems not to really change anything as the drivers will again pay during the return trip. This menace must be quickly addressed by the authorities involved, particularly at a time like this when Nigerians are passing through a lot due to the economic issues. I implore all stakeholders of Nigeria Police Force and its Commission to do all that is necessary about this issue before people will eventually lose it totally, as was the case with SARS unit of the police in 2020. Today, illegal checkpoints have led to all manners of disruptions of movements of goods and people and are believed to have also hindered trade facilitation, apart from the negative image such action exposes the country to before regional and continental communities. It is high time the police authorities aligned with the statement of the Egbetokun. The force being used on the citizenry needs to be used in communicating with the officers to aid their understanding, especially now that the wages and other entitlements of the uniformed men have been increased meaningfully.
Policemen should do their jobs as stipulated by law. Maybe when this is done and the glory of the Nigeria Police Force returns to what it really used to be, Nigerian youth will be passionate about joining the profession, not because of the frustration of having no better option.
- Awojobi, a broadcast journalist and social commentator, writes in from Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State.
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