By Adewole Kehinde
“We have a zero tolerance for payment of money to free
suspect. I am appealing to members of the public, not to corrupt my men; it
takes two to tango. If they ask you for bribe and you refuse to give, and you
have avenues where your grievances can be ventilated, I do not see any reason
why you should give them bribe. The Commissioner of Police is there; the Area
Commander is there; the DPO is there; and the technical platform (to report
corrupt policemen) is there. We have opened ourselves to public accountability.
So, you cannot now say the whole problem should be blamed on the police force’’, those were the words of the former Inspector-General of Police,
Solomon Arase.
There are
many issues which have made the Nigerian Police to engross in corrupt practices.
These issues are the root causes behind every corrupt practice we see in the Nigerian
Police.
What makes
a Police Officer to collect bribe? Why do people bribe Police Officers easily?
Why is the public image’ about Nigerian Police not pleasant? What could be
responsible for this terrible image of the Nigerian Police in the public? These
are many questions the Inspector General of Police should be asking and finding
solutions to, if the problem of corruption in the Nigerian Police is to be minimized.
Corruption has eaten
deep into the fabric of Nigerian society and seems intractable, but the
situation can be remedied given disciplined and forthright leadership and a
citizenry that is united in its resentment to corruption. By March 1987, corruption
and indiscipline had been identified as the two most serious problems
confronting Nigeria since independence.
It is germane to note
that corruption had always being the excuse given by the military to take over
of political power, yet it continued however.
The Nigeria Police is perhaps
the most visible agent of government. This is because the Police are the caretakers
of the society. To a large extent, the growth, actions and behaviours of the Police
as an institution, not only reflect the political and economic character of
society, but also mirror what those in power are willing or able to endure or
perhaps even demand of the Police. It is rather mentioned merely to remind my
reader that corruption within the ranks of the Police owes its origins in part
to the wishes, desires and goals of its colonial creators.
Corruption exists in
the Nigeria Police much the same as it does in any other Police organisation
the World over, except perhaps, in terms of its extent and the organisation’s
reaction to it. Nonetheless, the issue of corruption in the Nigeria Police as
noted above cannot be treated in isolation of the larger society.
On a weekly if not
daily basis, the media in Nigeria reports on one act of corruption or other illegality
perpetrated by the Police somewhere in the country. Transparency International not
only listed Nigeria as one of the foremost nations afflicted by corruption, but
also ascribed to the Nigerian law enforcement a contributory percentage of the
activity that caused the rating.
The paraphernalia of
corruption are social and economic. Governments and communities suffer from the
malady as it makes them uneconomic in that less revenue is collected, with a loss
to government much greater than the individual gains; More money is paid for the
goods and services procured; Policies are misleading to maximize corrupt gains,
usually in favour of capital intensive spending; Resources are diverted away
from social and developmental priorities; Investment is discouraged; Society
becomes unstable, because people become angry, particularly the poor who cannot
afford to pay bribes and who get hurt the most, and others whose human rights
are violated; The rich bait antipathy, through wanting more riches and modest
their corrupt gains they make corruption a political issue; Society becomes
unsafe because bribes protect criminals and facilitate drug-smuggling,
gun-running, terrorism and other crimes; Bribes make the protection of society nose-dive,
because people pay bribes to avoid compliance with the requirements for health,
safety and the environment.
Corruption in the Police
is both internal and external which for apparent reasons draws greater
attention. By way of definition, corruption in Policing is the misuse of
authority by a Police officer acting officially to fulfill or achieve his
personal needs or wants.
It involves the
simultaneous presence of three distinct elements namely misuse of Authority; misuse
of official capacity and misuse of personal attainment. There is no reason to
believe that Police officers as individuals are necessarily of a stronger moral
fibre by upbringing or training than any other member of society. However, when
a Police officer is found wanting or violates the law, the disgrace expressed
by society is at its highest. This is simply because the nonconformity of a Police
officer let down the confidence and trust of society and worst still, blots the
entire organisation. The impact of this realisation may further be compounded
by the knowledge that corruption in the Police can invert the goals of the
organisation to the extent that Police powers encourage and create crime,
rather than deter it.
Corrupt behaviour as understood
by the ordinary Nigerian probably consists of: pay-offs to the Police by
essentially law abiding citizens for infringement of statutes such as traffic
laws; pay-offs to the police by organised crime or individuals who habitually
break the law to make money such as drug dealers or prostitutes; the receipt of money, favours or discounts for
services rendered; pocketing recovered money from the proceeds of crime; giving
false testimony to ensure dismissal of cases in court and the actual
perpetration of criminal acts to mention a few. The danger apparent is that in
extreme cases, Police are not just protecting criminals, but have become a
complicit part in the planning and execution of crimes.
How best do we fight corruption
in the Nigeria Police? In my own opinion, the Police force must take ownership
of the fight against corruption within its organisation and master the in-house
battles against graft. It is not so much the fact that officers are tempted by
money that is important, but whether an institutional culture exists to
discourage it. The fight to be effective must be taken on an operational and
policy level.
The ‘X’ Squad exists to
combat corruption in the Nigeria Police. It has to rely on information mainly
within the Force to achieve any significant impact. Over the years, there have
been few instances recorded as successes but, by and large it has been a
failure for two principal reasons.
First, Police officers are
extremely reluctant to inform on one another as this in itself is seen as a form
of disloyalty and secondly, the ‘X’ Squad Officers who themselves are somewhat scorned,
are reluctant to make sensitivities among their colleagues worst. Besides which
they are not immune from suspicion themselves. The lack of success of this
section though lends itself to an interpretation which unavoidably cast slanders
on the leadership of the force. The section needs strengthening, capacity
building and the full backing of the organisation in order to come out of hiding
and meet the expectations of its existence.
On a policy level the Police
must in principle have an organization committed fully to Openness, Transparency
and Impartiality in the conduct of its activities. To enhance transparency and
ensure consistency in policy guidelines on staff, administrative and
operational matters, a guideline must be created, updated and brought to the
attention of all Police officers. The guidelines should cover amongst others: Staff
recruitment, promotion and posting procedures; Job description/schedule of each
post; Keeping and checking attendance registers; Performance appraisals; Staff
complaints; Investigations; Operational procedures, and Disciplinary procedures
to mention a few.
Similarly, a Code of
Conduct for Police officers needs to be developed for the consumption of all
ranks to ensure that officers are committed to ethical practices in the
discharge of their duties. A breach of the code should attract stringent
disciplinary action. The code should cover these key elements: Corporate
governance and the mission statement; Rules on the acceptance of advantages; Guidelines
on conflict of interest and, procedures to declare conflicts; and to handle
such declarations; Rules on the acceptance of entertainment; Handling of
proprietary information; Use of organisational resources.
Corruption within the Police
like crime within society is unlikely to be eradicated. It can however be
controlled by the Police but with the assistance and support of society. At the
organisational level controlling corruption requires strong and determined leadership,
because corruption occurs at the very top as well as the bottom and all points
in between in the hierarchy. The top Police brass must make it clear that
corruption in all its forms will not be tolerated and furthermore will be
severely punished. If concerted and stringent action is not taken against
corrupt activity, the message down the ranks will be that of tolerance which
will only serve to increase corruption within the organisation.
Moreover, in training
institutions ethical behaviour and decision should be rewarded, promoted and
applauded because failing to make officers aware of the consequences of
corruption only serves to encourage it. Irrespective of the present effectiveness
of sections such as the ‘X’ Squad, it should be strengthened and encouraged as
its existence serves as a deterrent. The Public Relations Department of the Nigeria
Police should highlight educational programmes within communities that touch on
the negative effects of Police corruption. Communities must realise that even
the most basic form of corruption, gratification only acts as a catalyst to more
sinister forms of misdeeds. One further point, perhaps it is time that Police Officers
who have been proven to have known of corruption among their colleagues but
remain silent should be sanctioned by the Nigeria Police or the law.
Police management needs
to encourage regular anti-graft educational talks and seminars in which its
officers participate. These talks should be integrated in training programmes
for all cadres from the Training Schools to the Academy through to the Staff
College. The training session would cover anti-graft legislation, the effects
of corruption, and the problems caused by conflict of interest and indebtedness
as a beginning.
Case studies of
different scenarios involving Police work would be used to stimulate discussion
among officers on the ethical dilemmas the may face. Ultimately through these sessions
police officers will acquire the basic knowledge and skills to guard against
the temptations of corruption, while senior officers gain knowledge in managing
staff integrity.
Every Nigerian Police Officer should be provided with two
sets of complete uniforms and kits in a year; adequate provision of working
tools/logistics and operational costs that will make the average Police officer
be independent of complainants support in the investigation of reported cases
for instance; The outlook of most Police Stations are not encouraging, it must be
given the needed attention. With no decent chairs and tables, electronic
appliances and communication gadgets, it becomes difficult and uncomfortable
for the average Police officer to find the job interesting. Police Barracks should
be well-furnished for Police officers to occupy.
Police Stations should be encouraged to have dedicated petrol
stations to constantly fuel their patrol vehicles. They should also have their
own mechanic workshops and stores with all the relevant car spare parts to
regularly maintain their vehicles, both heavy duty and smaller vehicles.
Police
officers transferred from their duty post should be given enough funds to accommodate
themselves, immediately they get to their new stations. The Nigeria Police should
have Guest Houses well equipped, in each State of the federation to address accommodation
problem.
The
Nigerian Police should have their own separate yearly budgets that would
address all their operational needs and logistics that are not controlled or
dictated by government Executives.
You
will agree with the fact that it is practically impossible to have personnel of
the Nigeria Police to stay committed at their jobs and give her best and all
the skills they can muster, if their basic welfare and well-being in relation
to the jobs are not adequately taken care of or given the required attention.
I
am however glad that the new Inspector General of Police, Ibahim Idris is on
the same page with me and has ready set the motion to address most of these
issues I have raised here.
Additional information was
sourced from Independent Corrupt Practices & Other Related Offences
Commission
Adewole
Kehinde is a Journalist and Public Affairs Analyst based in Abuja and can be
reached via kennyadewole@gmail.com
