NEWS > 14 November 2005

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Daily Independent - Ikeja, Lag
14 November 2005

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Why corruption persists in Nig

To an average Nigerian, the most corrupt organisation in the country today is the Nigeria Police Force (NPF). What with the horde of policemen, mostly the rank and file (comprising constables, corporals, sergeants and inspectors), who daily troop to the highways to collect illegal tolls, derisively referred to as egunje?

And to add credence to the belief of this school of thought, the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC), the anti-graft body in Nigeria, led until recently by retired Justice Mustapha Akanbi, passed a verdict that the police and the National Electric Power Authority (NEPA) now Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) were the two most corrupt organisations in the country.

However, a recent investigation by Daily Independent has revealed many factors have come to account for the perceived corrupt tendencies of the police.

Poor state of police stations

In almost all the police stations in the country, the officers and men work under debilitating conditions, using antiquated furniture in crammed offices. It is common sight in these offices to see benches and desks akin to what obtains in primary schools.

None of these offices has a functional administrative unit where secretariat matters could be speedily carried out. Also, none of these stations can boast of a manual typewriter, not to talk of an IBM electric typewriter or computer system.

But these are items the police need to function effectively in carrying out investigations. Therefore, to make out for these shortcomings, they resort to illegal means of getting the job going. That is why, though bail is by law free, policemen investigating cases insist on suspects parting with some money before they are granted bail. Such monies are collected and put into a common pool to run administrative costs and expenses, and oftentimes to feed inmates in police cells.

Another worrisome development in most of the police stations is that the officers are quartered in woodsheds as offices, and to worsen the situation, all information pertaining to statements from accused persons (suspects) are kept in disused wooden boxes, which make these police stations look like students� dormitory or like a museum of antiquities. In the event of a fire outbreak, these records and sometimes lives, are lost.

Poor welfare

Against the general belief that the least paid policeman (constable) takes home about N17,000 every month, what they get is a paltry N8,000. With the harsh economy in the country, this amount cannot sustain any family, so the option is to look elsewhere for extra income.

Besides, officers and men on transfer are not paid any entitlements contrary to what obtains in the civil service, though the organisation is supposed to be operating a civil service structure.

For instance, an officer posted from Lagos to Akwa-Ibom State or any other part of the country is left to fend for himself. It is the officer�s responsibility to source transport fare to his new destination and when eventually he arrives there, nobody cares how he sleeps. Sometimes, the officer sleeps in make-shift offices, which he shares with others until such a time he is able to source money to secure accommodation. In the meantime, if such an officer was quartered in the barracks, as soon as his posting is out, his accommodation is re-allocated to another person since other officers are always on queue for accommodation.

It is because of this poor welfare arrangement that one sees policemen, especially mobile policemen, popularly called MOPOL constantly on the highways, extorting money from motorists to cater for themselves.

Lack of working tools

��It is common sight in police stations to see investigating officers asking complainants to buy stationeries to facilitate the arrest and processing of suspects� prosecution.

Statutorily, these are supposed to be provided by the authorities, but this is not the case.

Thus, such investigating police officers adopt whatever means possible to have the job done.

Immobility

Except for the efforts of some state governors and corporate bodies, the police force is grossly handicapped in the area of mobility. Though the administration of Tafa Balogun was able to beef up the fleet of vehicles in each police command by 1,400, the situation is still precarious.

In most police stations, vehicles impounded for minor traffic offences are held up for operational use for too long. In most cases, where functional vehicles are not found, police officers storm the roads to commandeer commercial vehicles for the purpose. In situations where the vehicles are available, provision is not made to service or fuel the vehicles and the consequence is that junior officers have to collect illegal tolls on the highways to meet this need.

Stagnation of rank

Until the tenure of Tafa Balogun as the Inspector-General of Police, policemen remained on a particular rank for upward of 10 years. The reason then was that promotion was based on quota system and this brought about frustration on the affected officers who felt the way out was to resort to extortion since they had no other prospects.

The situation is gradually changing, as there has been massive promotion in the force and promotion is now based on merit and seniority.

Lack of refresher courses

One interesting phenomenon in the police force is that officers of the junior rank are not involved in refresher courses to prepare them for higher responsibility. It is believed that if officers of this cadre come together once in a while and are told of the negative impact some of their actions have on the image of the force, corruption would be minimised.

For now, when an opportunity arises, only the senior officers (Supols) are allowed to from the benefits.

The junior officers last year told the Senate Committee on Police Affairs in Lagos that they demand bribe from fellow Nigerians to augment the operational costs incurred in protecting lives and property.

The committee led by Senator David Mark, which was on a visit to the Zone Two Police Command Headquarters in Lagos, was jolted when in an interactive session with the junior officers, they said: �They accuse us of collecting bribes, and we wonder why? We maintain the patrol vehicles attached to us to combat crime, we fuel them and if any of us is injured in any operation we tax ourselves to treat that person.

�But if he is unlucky and dies in the process, members of the non-commissioned officers would tax themselves and contribute money, because we don�t know who the next victim would be.

�They said there is N20,000 for burial expenses and we read that the Inspector-General of Police said there is another N500,000, but we have had at least eight cases of dead policemen and the family members have not received a kobo since June last year, we have not received the said N20,000, talk less of the N500,000.

�If the Federal Government can pay us good salary, if they see anybody on the road collecting bribe, whatever they want let them do to that policeman.

�We are protecting the lives of civilians, but the Federal Government is not protecting our lives. We don�t know what our tomorrow would be. We are Christians and Muslims in the police and we know that God does not support bribery and corruption, but if the Federal Government fails to take care of our basic necessities and operational materials, how do we survive without the so-called bribe?

�A policeman on patrol uses his money to buy fuel for the van, repairs it and caters for his medical expenses. The policeman has to be responsible for investigation of cases assigned to him and it takes at least, a minimum of N3,000 to conclude a case file. We buy bail bond forms and other writing materials including stationeries. In effecting arrest, we use our money to take care and feed the suspect in detention.

�We also buy our uniforms from the open market, because any policeman leaving the college gets only one set of uniform, but if you are not satisfied you have to buy from the market. Be it beret, button, boots, from head to toe, we buy them from the open market and we pay the police tailors to sew or give any other tailor we prefer outside.�

That is the lot of the average policeman. However, the good news is that the present administration of Sunday Ehindero has promised to tackle these problems headlong and it is expected that very soon the police would be reformed to earn the respect of Nigerians

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Article sourced from

Daily Independent - Ikeja, Lag14 November 2005

Why corruption persists in Nig

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Daily Independent - Ikeja, Lag
14 November 2005