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If you deal with other security agencies in Nigeria, then you will understand the truth in the saying, “The Police is your friend.”
Nigeria appears to be one of the few countries in the world where arrests are sometimes made before investigations commence. The reason is simple: there are insufficient resources available for the police to conduct thorough investigations before taking action.
An average Nigerian police officer is like a national orphan. He uses his personal call credit to make official calls. There are no operational vehicles for most tactical units. When you see policemen collecting money at checkpoints with a van parked nearby, the money collected is often used to fuel and repair the same vehicle. If they do not collect those monies, there may be little or no policing at the local level in many areas.
Some officers attached to private individuals reportedly buy their own ammunition. The Nigeria Police Force is grossly underfunded. The fact that they are making inroads in fighting crime with such limited funding almost makes them appear like magicians.
There are no fully functional forensic laboratories in each state of the federation. There is no widespread deployment of CCTV cameras in public places. There is no comprehensive national biometric or forensic database. A person can commit a crime anywhere in Nigeria, leave biological evidence at the scene, and still evade justice due to the absence of modern forensic infrastructure.
Men and women of the Nigeria Police Force are among the few in the world still engaged largely in manual, physical policing without adequate technological support. Yet, when they die in service, meagre benefits are given to their next of kin—often after years of processing. A Commissioner of Police earns a modest salary relative to the responsibilities of the rank. One can only imagine what a constable earns.
We pay lip service to critical issues in this country. If you want a matter properly investigated by the police, you often have to bear certain costs—not necessarily because officers intend to extort you, but because investigative processes are poorly funded. You may have a strong case, but without funds to support investigation logistics, the matter can become “DOA” — Dead on Arrival. This is a serious systemic problem. Until we properly fund our police system, we will not achieve the desired results.
The police are ready to work when properly funded and motivated. The National Assembly should amend relevant laws to reform the police funding model. The Federal Government should consider crediting funds directly to police posts, divisions, area commands, state headquarters, and zonal commands—similar to the direct funding model recently adopted for the 774 Local Government Councils. This would ensure that funds reach operational units directly. The current centralized system is not delivering optimal results.
The Nigeria Police Trust Fund should be strengthened and fully backed by law. We must also attract structured private-sector funding and ensure transparency in the application of funds generated by the Police Special Protection Units (SPUs).
The business components of the Force should be revitalised:
Nigeria Police Microfinance Bank Limited
Nigerian Police Properties
The Police Pension Scheme
The Nigerian Police Cooperative
Officers and rank-and-file personnel must receive what is due to them. They should neither be underpaid nor denied their entitlements. The police pension structure should be aligned more closely with that of the military and other armed services. The current pension and gratuity system leaves much to be desired. Proper post-retirement care is one of the strongest tools for curbing corruption among serving officers.
The current system for auctioning police and abandoned vehicles should be reviewed to ensure open, transparent, and widely advertised auctions capable of generating more revenue for the Force. The police should also leverage forfeiture laws more effectively in criminal prosecutions.
Police lawyers deserve better institutional support. Many pay their practising fees, stamp and seal charges, and conference expenses (local and national) from personal funds. Some even fund litigation processes themselves. There are no structured incentives when cases are successfully prosecuted. From my experience, despite zero institutional support, police lawyers are performing commendably.
Police lawyers should be recognised as specialists—like doctors, EOD officers, pilots, and Canine Unit officers. Those within the rank and file should be sponsored in batches to attend the Staff College in Jos for their Officers’ Course, enabling them to become Senior Police Officers (SPOs).
We must encourage and properly equip our police officers. They are doing their best, save for a few bad eggs. If you engage other Nigerian security agencies, you may better appreciate the meaning of the phrase: “The Police is your friend.”
About the Author
Ogbankwa is the Convener of the Security Situation Room. He can be reached via douglasogbankwa@gmail.com.
