THE Nigeria Police (NP) has been described variously within and even outside the country, as one of the most corrupt in the world. Certainly, the decay in Nigeria's police reflects in the low quality of service delivery it provides in the communities. The agency has occasionally admitted the institutional flaws that hinder its efficiency.Speaking at the End of Year stakeholders meeting, Plateau State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Dipo Ayeni said "the police are ill-equipped, ill-funded and their training haphazard." It is often said a society gets the police it deserves. However, Nigerians have not experienced effective and secure or even decent policing. On the contrary, the police have displayed anti-people traits. According to a 2011 Report by Network on Police Reform in Nigeria (NOPRIN), there were 7,198 extra-judicial deaths in four years across the country. This has created a wide gulf between the police and the communities, breeding mutually-held suspicion and distrust. The inadequacies of the police and its operations have now reached frightening proportions and helplessness, with incessant high-profile acts of deadly bombings of churches, markets, social gatherings, army barracks, etc. To be sure, the bombing of the Nigeria Police Headquarters in Abuja last June, exposed the operational deficiencies within the structures of the country's law enforcement agency. We are calling for a massive structural overhaul of the country's policing system. Nigerians deserve better. Nigeria's Police requires urgent reforms to enable it perform its sacred role which is not only to maintain law and order, but also to protect the lives and property of the citizenry. The Federal Government, in conjunction with the Police Service Commission (PSC), should without further delay, institutionalise appropriate structures to breathe a new lease of life into the police. Conditions of service, better welfare packages for the policemen and women, to ensure they receive their salaries and emoluments promptly and regularly. Living conditions of policemen and women in crowded and run-down barracks, have long been identified as an area that needs attention. Imbuing patriotism into the police should be a vital component for institutional reforms. Strategies for service reorientation of the agency are also relevant for rebuilding professionalism, morale and better performance and interactions with the public; designing people-friendly services to build co-operation and trust from members of the public; and support in making communities secure and safer should be built into a new vision for the Nigerian Police. Strengthening the Police- Community Relations Committee initiative would also be a step in the right direction. It is critical to address the institutional indiscipline among the rank and file and the leadership must essentially lead by example. For effective and efficient policing, human capacity development in the Nigeria Police must receive sustained attention. Regular training and re-training of policemen and women to enable them meet new challenges posed by various forms of criminality including terrorism, is a sine qua non. The existing police colleges should be strengthened, expanded and equipped to function properly and deliver up-to-date skills, operational knowledge and professionalism. To do the job satisfactorily, maintain law and order, policemen and women must be adequately trained and equipped, protected and compensated for heroic acts. Proactive intelligence-gathering and sharing with other relevant security agencies is of utmost necessity. The Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Hafiz Ringim, should without further delay, step up strategies for gathering of intelligence to forestall criminal activities. Reacting to developments following the loss of innocent lives, is no longer acceptable; nor are shoddy investigations. Finally, the government must sufficiently fund its police to achieve the crucial mandate of securing lives and property of its citizens. If the prime law-enforcement agency is well-funded and its human resources well supported, the level of criminality across the country will be drastically reduced, and the people will be able to sleep, when they do, with both eyes closed.
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