The recent leadership change at the Nigeria Police Force could not have come at a more appropriate time. With insecurity and other forms of criminality threatening to overwhelm the entire country, Nigeria’s foremost law enforcement agency, with the statutory responsibility for internal security duties, can make do with a breath of fresh air. Repositioning the force for vibrancy and efficiency, and regaining the confidence of the citizens have become somewhat compelling at this moment. These, in a nutshell, encapsulate public expectations from the new acting Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu.
Adamu, coming with a wealth of experience from local and international policing exposure, assumed the exalted position last week, following the retirement of Ibrahim Idris as the Inspector-General. As an AIG, Adamu has had to leapfrog some of his senior colleagues, including four Deputy Inspectors General of Police. It can therefore be assumed that President Muhammadu Buhari has marked him down as special and saddled him with a mission to remodel the police; this is no mean task.
The police force that the new helmsman is inheriting is one generally perceived to be corrupt, grossly inefficient, poorly equipped, inadequately remunerated and desperately in need of motivation. It is a force despised by society and viewed generally with suspicion. These perhaps are why, on many occasions, the police have come out second best in combats with armed robbers and other criminal gangs. For example, in a bloody robbery incident in Offa, Kwara State, last year, the hoodlums first sacked the police station before invading the town, killing, maiming and robbing several financial institutions, unchallenged.
On account of apparent lack of capacity, policing duties are being progressively ceded to the military, whose presence has been acknowledged in more than 30 states of the federation. Combining policing with combating extremism, banditry and militancy across the country appears to have taken its toll on the military. This was what a former IG, Mohammed Abubakar, saw when he lamented, “It is shameful that we bring in soldiers to guard police barracks. If we can’t guard ourselves, can we guard others?” Adamu has to provide a convincing answer to this question.
Another incident in which about 190 policemen due for deployment in combat zones absconded from training at Buni Yadi, Yobe State, mirrors the current state of the police. They are also not doing themselves any favours the way they make the protection of political office holders and other high net worth individuals a priority over the security of the rest of Nigerians. Past IGs promised to recall policemen on guard duties to their regular beats, but it always turned out to be a ruse.
It is often said that over 100,000 out of an entire force capacity of about 300,000 personnel are deployed in such duties. But an AIG, Rasheed Akintunde, shocked the world in February 2018 when he said that it was actually 20 per cent of the policemen that were engaged in core policing duties. “The remaining 80 per cent are just busy providing personal security to some ‘prominent people’ on guard duties,” he said. This is the height of absurdity, probably unheard of anywhere else.
To Nigerians, the leadership change should not just be the changing of the guard; it should be accompanied by far-reaching reform. The police deserve a rebranding. Fortunately, Adamu seems to have hit the ground running. One of his first actions has been to decentralise the operations of the notorious Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad. Although set up to fight violent crimes like armed robbery, kidnapping and cultism, SARS became an instrument of torture and extortion, especially of the youth. In fact, decentralisation is not enough. It should be reformed, root and branch, to be able to discharge its functions efficiently.
Adamu’s first real test will be at the general election, which is just three weeks away. As usual, politicians will want to test his mettle by trying to disrupt proceedings; but the way he responds should send a message to thugs and their sponsors. The new police boss should ensure that as many people as are caught committing infractions during the polls are tried and sentenced, if found guilty. Adamu should also ensure fairness and resist any attempt to be used as an instrument to rig the polls. Even though appointed by the President, the loyalty of an IG should first and foremost be to the nation.
Aside from withdrawing policemen on guard duty, emphasis should be placed on the training and recruitment of policemen. Nigerians long to return to the good old days when the country’s policemen and women won laurels on international duties. This is the time to bring professionalism and international best practices to bear on the performance of Nigerian police. Even though he has just two years to his retirement, he has to ensure that the police regain their pride of place as the foremost internal security organisation so that soldiers could return to their core duty of state-on-state combats.
In a country gripped by ethnic tension, especially following the killings in Benue, Plateau, Taraba, Nasarawa, Zamfara and Kaduna, there is the need to build confidence with the people. Although ours is a country that scorns state police, there is a lot of benefit in embracing community policing, which is the preferred approach in other parts of the world. When Michel Moor was appointed the new police chief of Los Angeles Police Department in June last year, his emphasis was on collaboration with the locals to prevent crime in a society replete with racial tension. In his first 90 days, he attended 170 community events just to interact with the people.
It is not to say that the police in Nigeria should spend all their time attending events, but getting closer to the community they police will make all the difference. Since the ordinary people know their environment better, getting closer to them will help, not only to combat crime, but to reduce the tension that leads to police killings of innocent citizens.
