NEWS > 11 April 2007

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AllAfrica.com - Washington,USA
11 April 2007

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Nigeria: Ehindero and His Poli

The Nigeria Police Force is one of the oldest state institutions in Nigeria and yet one of the least developed establishment. In developed countries, the institution symbolises security services provider for the citizens. In Nigeria, the "police force" means so many things to different people. Corruption is one of the first things that readily come to majority of Nigerians' mind when the word police is mentioned. To others, the institution symbolises twenty naira because the Nigerian taxi and bus drivers must drop twenty naira in all the police checking points they pass through on daily basis.

In confirmation of the above, few years ago, a research was carried out on Nigeria National Integrity System under the present Chief Olusegun Obasanjo administration. The following institutions amongst several others were critically and constructively examined to ascertain the hierarchy of corrupt practices among the Nigerian public institutions: the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), Nigeria Electric Power Authority (NEPA) now Power Holding Corporation of Nigeria PLC, the Custom and Immigration Services etc. It was not a surprise that the Nigeria Police Force was documented to be the most corrupt institution in the report. To confirm this, Alhaji Tafa Balogun, the then Inspector-General of Police and the self-confirmed "Jagunmolu" of the corrupt Nigerian Police Officers was indicted by the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) of gross corruption and subsequently retired from the institution by the federal government.

President Olusegun Obasanjo cannot be wrong at all times in his policies and programmes. Some political analysts and social commentators had attested to this fact. He was indeed right and progressive in his intervention at reforming the Nigeria Police Force. He set up a committee to study and make recommendations on how to re-position the Nigeria Police for better services. The committee called for memorandum from the public on how to reform the Nigeria police. Individual Nigerians and corporate organisations responded to the committee's call. I spent sleepless night to write my own memorandum in UK and it was submitted to the committee. Below are few of my analyses submitted to the committee.

"Poorly motivated Force -A newly recruited constable for instance earns N8,000 per month and most of them are family men and women. Honorable members of the Nigeria Police Reform Committee, this is a ridiculous salary given the present economic situation in the country. It is absolutely impossible for officers collecting the above salary to risk their lives for their clients. Commitment of officers to duty under the above economic circumstances is going to be rare"

Poorly equipped Police Force- Finally, distinguished members of the committee, the Nigerian Police are ill equipped to combat crime. The country has witnessed many instances where the junior police patrol team had to abandon their vehicle, run for their dear lives as they could not confront criminals that have superior weapons. Many police stations in Nigeria do not have patrol vehicle and telecommunication equipments.

Thank God, the federal government has responded positively to some of the memoranda. The ridiculous junior police salary for instance has been increased. Officers from the rank of Assistant Commissioner of Police now ride new Peugeot cars, thanks to President Olusegun Obasanjo but these developments are not without sorrows and anguish in the Nigeria police community. Almost twenty thousands of the well trained Nigeria Police men and women had just been recently dismissed and unconstitutionally retired. To crown it all, Nigerian society has just been flushed with young energetic and well knowledgeable jobless AK 47 expert handlers.

I can boldly argue here that while corrupt policemen/women need to be discipline, those with serious health problems must be retired and compensated appropriately and bad eggs within the system must be purged, however all these must be carried out within the purview of the law. In other words, they must be done according to the lay down procedures (due process).

It was quite unfortunate that Mr. Sunday Ehindero, the Nigeria Inspector- General of Police was procedurally corrupt and constitutionally wrong in his recent retirement exercise. Some of the police officers that he retired and dismissed; their cases had been finalized by the immediate past Nigeria Police Service Commission. Some of them were recommended to be discipline while they are still in the system either through promotion delay and rank demotion. Some officers that Mr. Ehindero personally dismissed, their case files had not reached the Police Service Commission for decision, yet Mr. Ehindero, a lawyer disregarded the rules of law and unlawfully retired the affected police officers prematurely. The IGP was given discretion by the Police Service Commission after the Tafa Balogun's unpleasant experience in the force to discipline officers from the rank of Assistant Superintendent of Police to Deputy Superintendent of Police but Ehindero went beyond that delegated authority to retired assistant commissioners and deputy commissioners of Police without permission from the Nigeria Police Service Commission.

One of the new developments in the global community is the democratic control of the security establishments including the police service. The Nigerian case cannot be exceptional. We must imbibe the spirit of democratic principles in our security operations at appropriate time and when necessary. Mr. Sunday Ehindero's operations are under the control of the PSC and he cannot therefore disregard the commission's past decisions and policies. He cannot be above the law as he has recently demonstrated by unlawfully dismissed and retired some Nigerian police officers.

Section 153 (1) (m) of the Nigerian 1999 Constitution as elaborated in part one of the Third Schedule makes provision for the establishment of a Police Service Commission (PSC) as a federal executive body with powers to appoint persons to offices other than office of the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) and to dismiss and exercise disciplinary control over persons holding any office in the police force except the IGP. Similarly, the Police Service Commission (establishment) Act 2001, which came into force January 4, 2001 elaborates the constitutional provisions on which the PSC's establishment is based. Section 6 of the act provides that "the commission shall among other things be responsible for the appointment and promotion of persons to offices other than the office of the IGP in the Nigeria police; dismiss and exercise disciplinary control over persons other than the IGP in the force and be responsible for appointment, promotion, discipline and dismissal of officers of the Nigeria Police Force".

The essence of the Nigeria PSC is to entrench democratic and systemic check and balances in the Nigeria Police Force. However, it is unfortunate that the IGP in Nigeria has intentionally disobeyed the Nigerian 1999 Constitution and the Police Service Commission Act 2001. The Nigerian law makers, particularly members of the National Assembly need to summon Mr. Ehindero to the two chambers to answer the following amongst several other questions: Why did he disregard the PSC's decisions on officers that he prematurely retired, why did he single-handedly decided on cases that suppose to pass through the PSC. Other questions that Nigerian government need to critically examine and answer are, is Inspector-General of Police more powerful than the PSC, Is Mr. Sunday Ehindero above the 1999 Nigerian Constitution and the Police Commission's act, how can officers that are professionally upright but are ideologically opposed to IGP's personal belief be protected when the IGP is more powerful than the PSC. These are questions that need urgent answers for Nigeria to move it police service forward.

While I commend the House of Representatives for taking a giant step at correcting the IGP blunder, the Senate should also swing into action by calling on Mr. Sunday Ehindero to explain why he decided to make himself a god in the Nigeria police.

The way forward on how to right the wrong decision that Mr. Sunday Ehindero has taken is to revert his resolution and ensure that there is respect for the spirit and the letters of Section 153 (1) (m) of the Nigerian 1999 Constitution and the 2001 Police Service Commission's Act.

Two, all the past decision that PSC has reached and taken on the affected retired officers must be strictly adhered to and respected. Cases of senior police officers that were not referred to the PSC before IGP unilaterally took his disciplinary action and decision should immediately be transferrred to the PSC.

Finally, the President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo should intervene immediately by constituting a new PSC to investigate the cases of the affected officers. The police officers that Mr. Ehindero retired unjustly should be recalled back to the force immediately by the newly constituted PSC.

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AllAfrica.com - Washington,USA11 April 2007

Nigeria: Ehindero and His Poli

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AllAfrica.com - Washington,USA
11 April 2007