An “Unpoliced Force” 

-By Halima Sadiya Mamud

A society without a policing entity is as dangerous as the one with a police that is largely unmonitored or (un) policed. I have heard police stories before, I have heard about people getting shot for refusing to part with paltry bribes sums as little as N20; I have read about innocent citizens detained indefinitely for standing on the wrong side of the road; I have learnt that the police station is a bank where you can collect change after offering appropriate bribe, I know what the police officer means, when they demand “particulars” from motorists at the road block, the story about “substitution” of innocent persons for criminals is well known. No matter how you look at it the Nigerian police is both a force and a farce surrounded by urban legends. The police stories are unending as much as they are unsettling. The police are so cruel in carrying out their duties, so much it leaves one wondering if they are not the real source of the insecurity that bedevils this nation. In most societies the police are responsible for law and order but in our society they create the disorder and breach the laws of the land. Many Nigerians have had to face these terrors, at one time or another. Having an encounter with the police can make you go insane if you live to tell the story. 

The police can be so horrible you can’t imagine humans could actually be that mean. Even I have never been that unlucky to face the uglier police encounters (and I pray that I never run out of luck) But police trouble is double trouble. Not like in nations where the police are kind and highly trained. The Nigerian police have remained one of Nigeria’s greatest problems as a public institution. Trying to rehabilitate the system would probably mean wiping the whole police structure and replacing it with one that truly stands for law and order and the good of the citizens in the Nigerian society. 

I recently had an encounter with the police, don’t get me wrong I did not commit any crime whatsoever, I had misplaced my phone, I must have dropped it and a motorcyclist picked it up with no intention of returning it to me, luckily for me he had a passenger on his motorcycle who felt he should return it , the motorcyclist argued that it was his lucky day. On getting down from the bike the passenger snatched the phone from the motorcyclist, insisting that the phone be returned to the owner. The scene drew the attention of some three guys who were drinking beer by the roadside they came to the scene, and asked what was going on, claiming to be police officers. The passenger did not believe them, snatched the phone and ran away with it. Unfortunately for him one of the so-called police officers had recognized him. 

I used my friends phone to call my phone and the guy picked up, he said he will return the phone the next day, and that I should call in the afternoon. I did not want the guy to know my house so I arranged with him to meet me in front of a super market. I got my phone back and I thanked the young guy, I thought he was going to ask me for monetary reward for getting the phone back to me, to my surprise he did not. I was really glad to have my phone back, but the trouble that was to follow was not anticipated. 

I got a call from a stranger, saying he needed to see me urgently that his friend was detained at the police station and my presence was needed at the police station, here, in Gwagwalada. I ask him why and he could not give me any tangible reason. Calls from strangers claiming to be friends and relatives of the guy who had returned my phone kept pouring in. I was so scared thinking they were fraudsters; this made me switch off my phone. The next day some guys came to my house asking after me, I asked my roommates to tell them I was not in. Now I was thinking how they got my number and how in heavens’ name they located my place. The guys claimed to be there on behalf of their friend who was in police custody. He needed to be bailed out, and that would happen on the account that I come and identify him and show the returned phone. I overheard conversation with my friends that were so desperately trying to protect me.  

So, I thought this Good Samaritan guy did not deserve to be in police custody for returning my phone back to me, he must have done so through the wrong means, but his actions did not deserve what he was going through. I was terrified at the thought of going to the police station, and so were my friends. My friend Nafisa Tukur agreed to go with me a gesture was responsible for my deep respect for her, she was really supportive. We got to the station. On approaching the counter, my first feeling was what in heavens’ name is going on in Nigeria? Are the police truly responsible for maintaining peace and order in the society? If they are, and work under such conditions in carrying out their duties, then this country was doomed for good from the law enforcement standpoint! 

The guy was bailed out; he said he was arrested by the men who alleged they were policemen the night before. He was in a terrible state only, God knows what the police men had done to him, and I did not want to ask for I was already nauseated from the stenches of the air in the station. The police thought I was someone they could extort, started asking for receipt of my phone and asking me all sorts of questions that were not relevant to the case. Thinking they could find any information to incriminate me. The whole ordeal made me want to leave the phone for them and just walk out of the station; maybe that was what they even wanted. Finally the DPO asked his boys to release the phone and the guy if no other person was contesting that the phone was theirs. That was how I left the station; almost crying after two hours of dragging with the police trying to prove the phone was mine, with text messages, pictures and all in the phone. The policemen were even bold enough to ask for money. I told them to their face I wasn’t bribing any one and certainly not paying for a job not well done. 

As I walked out of the police station, I could not, but imagine the conditions at the police station; a part of me does blame the police for being unprincipled and not law abiding being the ones with the sole responsibility of maintaining law and order in our society. But I don’t blame them for not carrying out their duties well giving the conditions in which these people are trained, live and work. I did not see a bunch of healthy looking persons at the police station, physically and mentally. There was no photocopying machines in sight, no computers nor electricity, I can’t remember seeing an ordinary type writer either. It was just stench oozing from only God knows where and constant screaming of detained persons pleading to be released while the police officers occasionally ask them to “shut up, bastard, you go die there”.

May be looking out on the street and our esteemed offices occupied by decent criminals, you think perhaps, every nation creates its police force or better still deserve the kind of police they get. The police are frustrated, there are corrupt practices at all levels of the system and this makes things a whole lot worse for them and the rest of us Nigerians. 

The bitter truth is that the police formations have become meeting points for criminals, both in uniform and those not privileged to wear uniforms. It had become a place for hardened criminals, not a place to tame them. It had become a place largely responsible for punishing innocent people as opposed to protecting them. In talking about innocent citizens, I could not help but think that those police officers who have become like hounds perhaps were once “innocent people” who simply wanted to advance their careers in the law enforcement sector. What would turn a family man into such brutal beasts who pummels a fellow who snatched a handset worth less than N10, 000 to the extent that you keep seeing cakes of blood from his nostrils after two days of release from unjust incarceration? The police are not seen as humans anymore, it is like God created humans and then Nigerian police. What is going on? What can be done to resolve this problem? How can the largest police force and the most important on the African continent, be the most neglected, disrespected and disdainful. Something must have gone wrong somewhere.  

I can imagine how many murder, rape, arson; theft and “hit and run” cases would have been solved, if the police did their jobs well, people would have cooperated with the police at no cost. Nigerians give easily when they know they would get something in return. Important information that will help burst a case could be given, if the security of the informant can be guaranteed, but we know that can’t happen for now, if you dish out information to the police you’ll have to go underground for the rest of your life. 

Robot  Villager

# 1 ...Read the full article. Posted by Robot| 14.09.2006 23:51

Kabikala  Villager

# 2 I sympathise with you my sister. What I have not really understood is why this regime, with all its posturings on Police Refoms, have not been able to make any difference to the Nigerian Police in spite of the monumental amount of oil revenue accruing to the country by the day. The Police Barracks are still the same decrepit old structures that they have been, the Police Stations are even worse, and I learnt that the takehome pay of a Police Constable is poor. Did you really expect to find a Computer inside the Police Station? Unless it's among stolen exhibits! The Police scenario is a case of garbage in, garbage out. You can't reap what you have not sown. We can't get a good Police without investing in one. Posted by Kabikala| 15.09.2006 05:03

Villager

# 3 Hi Halima, It is simply not possible to describe the situation in the Nigeria Police Force. Of course, remember that the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria has on several occasions declared publicly that the Nigeria POlice has been infiltrated (if not 'taken over') by armed robbers. This has been re-echoed even by the ploice chief. The biggest problem is that there is simply no solution in sight. The solution would have been to scrap the present force and re-establish a brand new force, but you end up creating more problems out of that. First is that you would have released a swam of trained robbers into the society with unimaginable consequences and two, of course in re-establishing a new force, you are still definitively going to select the rank and file from the Nigerian populace. I have always argued that the situation in the Nigeria Police force represents the average situation in the nigerian society. This is not to say that there are no credible Nigerians remaining in Nigerian soil; far from it. You are probably luckier than I have been because I have enountered the police on some few occasion, and like you, the encounters were simply incidental. This was a few years before I left Nigeria. First case: It was a Friday morning, at about 4-5am. My family and I were in bed and we we woke up to a heavy bang on the door. We conluded the roobers were here! Of course among the Nigerian police, there is nothing like professionalism. They believe in subduing their victims by intimidation and brutal force. Many of them would have been in jail in advanced conutries! So, when they came in, they started searching my house. There wasn't even the courtsey of explaining to me who they were and why they were doing what they were doing. Asking a typical Nigeerian police a simple question is an afront on him and you will regret your life for daring him. At the end, it was the usual,'Oga, where the receipt' for almost every thing in my house, including my drinking cup. The next thing was, 'Ok, follow us to the station with the receipts'. Now, what was my offence? They told me that some one suspected to be a robber ran into our street and beacsue my house happend to be the first in the row, they had to search my house! I was just a civil servant struggling to keep my family going, and by every standard, I was not supposed to live in that house where they were over twenty tenants crowded in a 'face-me-I- face- you' fashion, at least with my good first and seond degrees in the Sciences, but thats Nigeria for you! At the station, I was made to pay for the paper that was used to write my 'statement'. The worst was that no receipt for any of the items was accepted by the police. It was either a 'T' was not properly crossed in one, or the 'I' was not dotted in the other. At last, it was settled the police way. But that was not the main issue! Exactly a week later, armed robbers stormed my house and I would have lost my life in it. My wife never recovered from the trauma until we left Nigeria. Case 2: I visited Nigeria and my friend drove me to the village. On stopping, a young lady in police uniform approached us and told us that we were not allowed to pack where we stopped. Meanwhile, we were not packing, we were only stopping temprarily to drive off. Even abroad, you are allowed to stop for a little while even in the marked areas provided you are not leaving the vehicle. In my mind, I was glad that things had improved that much even in the village. I then asked the young lady where we would be allowed to pack. That became an afront and the whole situation changed. Now, the matter was no longer packing or not packing, it changed to 'show me what you have in your boot'. In a matter of 2 minutes, so much crowd had gathered and I felt so embarrassed. I even volunteered to rather go with her to the situation and show her what she wanted, but she insisted it must be there and then. My friend who was a lawyer tried in vain to explain to this lady that it was not safe for us. Eventually, she had her way. That almost cost me my life! When we were driving back to the city,my friend's car had been marked by the robbers. But an instinct told us that we should not drive in the same car back to the city. Luckily I had changed to another car. Robbers followed my friend until they were sure that I was not in his car before they turned back. I broght my flight forward and left without completing my mission. My friend compalined to the DPO and he explained the situation away with the wave of the hand. That is Nigeria police for you. Honestly, if there is naything I am afriad of in coming home, it is the Nigeria police. Inuderstand that even the sight of a passport on you is an offence that could frustrate you. It is that bad! Posted by Villager| 15.09.2006 05:42

bennie  Villager

# 4 Halima, It is a well known fact some members of the Nigerian Police are criminals themselves. I believe their greatest problem is the lack of education. Education is liberating. It opens doors to opportunities but the Nigerian Police is so backward and ignorant that you wonder should their name not be changed to something else like you rightly said, "Unpoliced Force". They can quickly turn a plaintiff to an accused depending on one's ability to settle. The fear of the Nigerian Police indeed is the beginning of wisdom. The force indeed is a a true reflection of the ills in the Nigerian society. You do not want to hear my brother's experience with some of them. Thanks for this peice and have a good weekend free from Police wahala. Bennie Posted by bennie| 15.09.2006 06:17

Great story

# 5 Hi Halima, You have written very well. I do hope that, this nice article, coming from a female in Northern Nigeria will receive the necessary attention from the police hierarchy. I am a police officer in Abuja, there is no lie in your article. Our big ogas are just making noise, deep inside they are businessmen and women. If the police force is reformed, they will all be out of business. So forget about reform, may be if something serious happens in Nigeria as whole we may see a different police force. Any decent officer who insist on reform is usually posted out of circulation. It is very serious here. I work with a "VIP" in Abuja and we see all the crimes at the highest level, we escort bribes and help our oga with all his vices and habits, things we should ordinarily arrest them for. My sister, tell your generation to look elsewhere. There is little hope in the future. Thank you for standing up bold in this article. ASP K. Posted by Great story| 15.09.2006 08:42

Exxcuzme  Villager

# 6 Centralization of everything in Nigeria is what is killing us. If we can decentralized the police force with each locality and states having its own, we will be on the road of a police force instead of un-policed force. Decentralization will breed competition because if, for example, Lagos has a well trained, neatly looking and structured police force, the people of Ogun State would demand same if their police force is not up to par. What we should demand of our elected reps, unfortunately they were all selected, hence they only listen to the "owners of Nigeria", is to change the constitution that allows only a centralized police force. Posted by Exxcuzme| 15.09.2006 09:25

Odenigbo

# 7 Hi Halima, It is simply not possible to describe the situation in the Nigeria Police Force. Of course, remember that the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria has on several occasions declared publicly that the Nigeria Police has been infiltrated (if not 'taken over') by armed robbers. This has been re-echoed even by the police chief. The biggest problem is that there is simply no solution in sight. The solution would have been to scrap the present force and re-establish a brand new force, but you end up creating more problems out of that. First is that you would have released a swam of trained robbers into the society with unimaginable consequences and two, of course in re-establishing a new force, you are still definitively going to select the rank and file from the Nigerian populace. I have always argued that the situation in the Nigeria Police force represents the average situation in the Nigerian society. This is not to say that there are no credible Nigerians remaining in Nigerian soil; far from it. You are probably luckier than I have been because I have encountered the police on some few occasions, and like you, the encounters were simply incidental. This was a few years before I left Nigeria. First case: It was a Friday morning, at about 4-5am. My family and I were in bed and we woke up to a heavy bang on the door. We concluded the robbers were here! Of course among the Nigerian police, there is nothing like professionalism. They believe in subduing their victims by intimidation and brutal force. Many of them would have been in jail in advanced countries! So, when they came in, they started searching my house. There wasn't even the courtesy of explaining to me who they were and why they were doing what they were doing. Asking a typical Nigerian police a simple question is an affront on him and you will regret your life for daring him. At the end, it was the usual,' Oga, where the receipt' for almost every thing in my house, including my drinking cup. The next thing was, 'Ok, follow us to the station with the receipts'. Now, what was my offence? They told me that some one suspected to be a robber ran into our street and because my house happened to be the first in the row, they had to search my house! I was just a civil servant struggling to keep my family going, and by every standard, I was not supposed to live in that house where they were over twenty tenants crowded in a 'face-me-I- face- you' fashion, at least with my good first and second degrees in the Sciences, but that’s Nigeria for you! At the station, I was made to pay for the paper that was used to write my 'statement'. The worst was that no receipt for any of the items was accepted by the police. It was either a 'T' was not properly crossed in one, or the 'I' was not dotted in the other. At last, it was settled the police way. But that was not the main issue! Exactly a week later, armed robbers stormed my house and I would have lost my life in it. My wife never recovered from the trauma until we left Nigeria. Case 2: I visited Nigeria and my friend drove me to the village. On stopping, a young lady in police uniform approached us and told us that we were not allowed to pack where we stopped. Meanwhile, we were not packing; we were only stopping temporarily to drive off. Even abroad, you are allowed to stop for a little while even in the marked areas provided you are not leaving the vehicle. In my mind, I was glad that things had improved that much even in the village. I then asked the young lady where we would be allowed to pack. That became an affront and the whole situation changed. Now, the matter was no longer packing or not packing, it changed to 'show me what you have in your boot'. In a matter of 2 minutes, so many crowds had gathered and I felt so embarrassed. I even volunteered to rather go with her to the station and show her what she wanted, but she insisted it must be there and then. My friend who was a lawyer tried in vain to explain to this lady that it was not safe for us. Eventually, she had her way. That almost cost me my life! When we were driving back to the city, my friend's car had been marked by the robbers. But an instinct told us that we should not drive in the same car back to the city. Luckily I had changed to another car. Robbers followed my friend until they were sure that I was not in his car before they turned back. I brought my flight forward and left without completing my mission. My friend complained to the DPO and he explained the situation away with the wave of the hand. That is Nigeria police for you. Honestly, if there is anything I am afraid of in coming home, it is the Nigeria police. I understand that even the sight of a passport on you is an offence that could frustrate you. It is that bad! Posted by Odenigbo| 15.09.2006 09:54

ELAWALO  Villager

# 8 Hi Halima Typical of the Nigerian Police, the scenario described is not new in Nigeria. While my heart goes out to the guy who went a mile ( or even further !) to ensure your mobile phone was returned and got locked up in the process. I also feel the frustration and indignity you experienced in the course of events. Any one who has had dealings with our Policemen would have little or no good to say about them. The situation is pathetic. Those charged with the responsibility of maintaining law and order are actually the ones who create chaos and anarchy. They constitute a source of harrasment, and instrument of intimidation, they collaborate with armed robbers, if they are not robbing themselves. Yet we have a paradox of some sorts in that, here in the UK we accord the Metropolitan Police so much respect wherever they are and whatever one might be doing. For example you would keep an extra watch over yourself if you are driving and one sights a police van. One friend sarcastically put it that he wants the kind of respect that is accorded the metropolitan policeman in the UK. The Nigerian policemen does not symbolise order and authority like their British counterparts. Many reasons have been adduced for this. However the fact remains that those who end up in the highest office do not give two monkeys about their welfare. The state of the Nigerian police force is a true reflection of our collective ethos as Nigerians. Have you visited the police barracks to have an insight in to how they live ?. Talking about working conditions / environment, no matter where a swine inhabits it will always be or look like a sty!. Policeman in the UK have better living conditions, they are incorruptible because they are well paid. Their lives are insured due to the nature of thier duties. Although a few bad eggs exist among them they can be investigated internally and prosecuted. They are not above the law. Sir Ian Blair can be asked to give account if need be. Mr Sunday Ehindero does not have a clue, coupled with the fact that his force is cash strapped!, ill equipped and do not understand their civic responsibility! Any country (like ours) that pays lip service to the "Rule Of Law" ends up with the kind of police force we have. Our case is truely an abberation. As we place no premium on human dignity, our police force and their cohorts are using the opportunity to drive that point home. The only way one can be immune to this kind of abuse is if you are in the corridors of power. These men in black can be an instrument of coercion, or a tool for harrasment and intimidation. Sadly what makes it all worse is the fact that Nigerans have an ingrained culture of muteness in the face of outright wrong. Big men (Government officails & criminals ) have more rights than the ordinary man in the street. Poverty, ignorance, corruption both mental and moral constitute impediments that keep the wrong people in authority and so we have an inadequate law enforcement arm. What more can I say apart from the fact that we are indeed in trouble !! Posted by ELAWALO| 15.09.2006 10:25

Anike  Bibi ire: Agbe Gboko Rosu

# 9 =Great story;130446>Hi Halima, You have written very well. I do hope that, this nice article, coming from a female in Northern Nigeria will receive the necessary attention from the police hierarchy. I am a police officer in Abuja, there is no lie in your article. Our big ogas are just making noise, deep inside they are businessmen and women. If the police force is reformed, they will all be out of business. So forget about reform, may be if something serious happens in Nigeria as whole we may see a different police force. Any decent officer who insist on reform is usually posted out of circulation. It is very serious here. I work with a "VIP" in Abuja and we see all the crimes at the highest level, we escort bribes and help our oga with all his vices and habits, things we should ordinarily arrest them for. My sister, tell your generation to look elsewhere. There is little hope in the future. Thank you for standing up bold in this article. ASP K. ASP K It's nice to know that a police officer is paying attention to NVS, I hope you can help us understand a lot of ills that plague the Nigerian force. I understand that you said that the "big ogas" do not want reforms but I am curious about the officers. I think if you all make efforts in your own parts of the nation to enforce the law, as we expect you to, somethings may change. I mean, the police officers who stop drivers on the street for violating nonexistent laws and torture these drivers unless they are given common N20 are not the big ogas. Posted by Anike| 15.09.2006 14:03

docokwy  Villager

# 10 This ASP K is just a thieving, conniving cop. He is deep into the mess the Nigerian police has recently become. His response is plain hypocritical Posted by docokwy| 15.09.2006 14:19

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