The appointment of acting Inspector General of Police, Mr. Suleiman Abba, by President Goodluck Jonathan on Thursday has a lot of implications for the polity, particularly with the forthcoming 2015 general election, which is barely seven months away. There are also security challenges posed by the deadly Boko Haram insurgency, kidnapping, the Niger Delta militancy, assassinations, armed robbery, among other heinous crimes.
Although we acknowledge the impressive performance of the immediate past Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Dahiru Abubakar, who pulled ou on Friday after spending the mandatory 35 years in service, much is still desired from the Nigeria Police Force (NPF).Given the ominous signs in the build up to the 2015 general election, it is disheartening that our police force is beset with several factors that have emasculated its ability. One of them is under-funding. The allocation to the police in 2014 budget witnessed a drastic cut in personnel cost, which fell from N292 billion in 2013 to N279 billion in 2014, i.e. N13 billion decrease; overhead cost for police formation and command dropped from N7.6 billion in 2013 to N1.2 billion in 2014.
The shortfall in police allocation is frightening because it is happening preparatory to 2015 election. The near atrophy or neglect of the intelligence arm of the NPF (i.e Force Criminal Intelligence and Investigation Bureau, FCIIB) over the years is another impediment to the force in its strive to nip crime in the bud. The contagion of bribery and the corruption is also undermining the credibility of police. Added to this is frequent abuse of human rights through harassment, unlawful arrest or detention, torture and extra-judicial killings – awful acts that have attracted opprobrium and negative image to the force.
Consequently, we advise the new police helmsman to go the whole hog in reviving the force. The institutional and capacity building, including establishing/maintaining police stations nationwide, providing befitting accommodation for personnel, procuring necessary accoutrements for crime detection, prevention and control, paying attractive salaries and allowances and implementing new training and re-training programmes in the force should be made a priority. There should also be a deliberate and sustained effort to inculcate sterling qualities of honesty, integrity, accountability, discipline, selfless service, civility and reliability in the personnel of the force. This would involve ensuring that the process of recruitment into the police is transparent, honest and meticulous in order to sieve out applicants who are not qualified or who have questionable character. Such a force should be people-friendly and worthy of attracting positive image and public support.
Drastic measures are required to stem the orgy of violence during elections in Nigeria. Reports from both local and international media during and after the elections better explain the pathetic state of Nigeria during elections. It is difficult to recall any election in Nigeria without shedding blood. Therefore, the Nigeria Police, established and empowered by Section 215 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), has the sacred duty, to among other things, protect the lives and property of all inhabitants of this country. Also, the Electoral Act mandates the police to ensure free, fair and credible elections.
The new top cop must ensure that these objectives are achieved by training and equipping its rank and file; emphasis must be placed on their duties on election days, in line with international best practices. The Nigeria Police must observe the rule of law in all their dealings, by giving every Nigerian equal protection in exercising their civic responsibilities, with a view to making elections acceptable to all Nigerians and the international community.
We wish the new IG good luck in his new assignment.
