ARE WE ARMING MAD MEN!!??

It was another hot day in Lagos sate. The 17^th of October 2013, just a few days after the Independence day celebration. Those of us with no meaningful thing to do as a result of the ongoing ASUU strike sat in our houses, too scared to venture into the sweltering sun. The rest of us however had to venture out, continuing the daily hustle, or just visiting friends. In my case, I had ventured out to get an attire I had already made a down payment for, and like any girl, I was excited at the prospect of a new cloth hanging in my wardrobe. I live along the LASU axis of Lagos and had taken a bus going towards EGBEDA. The usual madness of danfo drivers ensued; bad driving, sudden stops, etc. oh well, I don’t have a car so I have to make do. On one of these stops however at AKESAN bus stop, I noticed an ensuing altercation between a young man, not more than 25 and an otherwise older man, maybe about 35. Like every nosy Lagosian, the driver parked the vehicle wanting to “separate” this altercation. The argument took place in the local dialect (Yoruba), so I couldn’t be entirely certain of what was going on. Before we knew what was happening, a police vehicle arrived on the scene, and the few of us who still had a little faith in the police breathed a sigh of relief, at least they were keeping the peace in accordance to their duties.

But this was not to be, for on their arrival, they immediately joined in the altercation and started beating up the young man with their fists and batons. They were now about 5-6 men beating this unarmed man. Of course, every other person backed away, “nobody wants trouble”. Within a short amount of time, the boy was bleeding from several openings and was almost unconscious, but this was not the end. They eventually resorted to firearms and shot the boy, killing him immediately. Then they jumped into their truck and zoomed away. It was over in the shortest possible amount of time.

I stared on in shock and disbelief. NOO!! This did not just happen. NOO!! FOR HEAVENS SAKES, THE POLICE CAUGHT PEOPLE WHO PARTICIPATED IN “JUNGLE JUSTICE” I thought to myself. This did not just happen!!

But it did. And an innocent life was lost.

Again at the hands of those tasked with our safety.

THIS PICTURE WAS NOT TAKEN AT THE SCENE OF THE CASE IN QUESTION.

‘Law enforcement officials shall not use firearms against persons except in self defence or defence of others against imminent threat of death or serious injury, to

prevent the perpetration of a particular serious crime involving grave threat to

life; to arrest a person presenting such a danger and resisting their authority or

to prevent his or her escape and only when less extreme means are insufficient to

achieve these objectives. In any event, intentional lethal use of firearms may only

be made when strictly unavoidable in order to protect life.’

(Principle 9, United Nations' Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by law Enforcement

Officials. Adopted by the Eight United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and Treatment of

Offenders, Havana, Cuba, 27 August to 7 September 1990.)

The above caption is a question I have continually found myself asking. It is a question more people should be asking. I mean, what is going on with this people given the task to keep us safe, to keep our streets safe, our roads… are they truly taking advantage of this situation? Or is it all just talk? We have degenerated to the point where it is now a norm, dare I say an accepted norm, where the extra judicial killings of individuals by the police force has become “another normal occurrence in Nigeria”, a stage where we shake our heads in pity and lament on how the men that make up this commission are at it again, business as usual, then we move along and continue our day.

Is this the way our great Independence fathers, the men that gave their lives for our freedom, that fought without fear for a land that was taken from us, that salvaged our pride as a nation, and gave us back our God given land and heritage envisioned the future? We celebrated that independence gotten, and we still celebrate every year upon a land we now daily desecrate with the blood of innocent men at the hands of the very people tasked with the duty to protect and serve.

The lawlessness of our police officers continually skyrocket. Violence and lawlessness meted out by the Police has been a recurring problem in Nigeria since colonial rule. An endemic that has plagued the nation from time immemorial, an endemic that gets worse every day, and yet, no meaningful legislation has been put in place to right these numerous and ever increasing wrongs. Violence by the Nigerian Police, is not only widespread, but is also manifested in several ways. An estimated study involving accused peole have shown that their arrests involved insults or abuse by the police. Roughly 35.9% were rough handled or slapped; 7.4% were beaten with a baton; and 3% were threatened with a gun.  As to why force was used on them, 24.2% said they did nothing to warrant the use of force, 3% resisted arrest, while 1.6% returned verbal abuse. 5.2% were assaulted because they questioned police behavior, and 22.5% were assaulted because they either refused to admit to the offence or make a statement.

Quite honestly, in the majority of legal systems, the major role of the police is to maintain order, keeping the peace through surveillance of the public, and the subsequent reporting and apprehension of suspected violators of the law. They also function to discourage crimes through high-visibility policing, and most police forces have an investigative capability. The  Police have the legal authority to arrest and detain, this authority provided for in the Police Act. Police officers also carry out routine community policing with the intent of keeping our communities and streets crime free and safe.

This however cannot be honestly attributed to the Nigerian situation. On the contrary however, police sitings’ on our streets and in our communities always bring a sense of foreboding to citizens and criminals alike. This is because more than often, the presence of the police, though might limit or completely stop crimes in such community from culprits, would bring a whole new set of crimes by the police officers themselves, from bribery to outright shooting and killing of otherwise innocent civilians. This has often been the case, as almost on a daily basis, crimes involving police officers have been reported, though no meaningful measures have been put in place to curb this madness.

Numerous instances of police violence, brutality and otherwise, misuse of their power and weapons have continually been occurring in society. When I relayed this story to my brother last night, he angrily told me about another occurrence he witnessed just recently, still at EGBEDA. He noticed an ensuing argument with a man and a police officer just a few feet away from the bus stop, but he wasn’t close enough to make out what was being argued about. After a few minutes of heated arguments, the police officer possibly frustrated from not having his way, unhitched his gun and shot in the air severally! To what? Prove a point? I find myself asking, what if that bullet had hit someone innocently making connections on a PHCN pole or a passerby or a person in a building nearby? The family of the deceased would have had to come to terms with the senselessness of the death of its member.

Make no mistakes, a lot of families have lost people from “accidental discharges”. I know of a family of little kids and a young husband that lost their mother and a wife as a result of this madness.

A lot more instances where police officers have been reckless with their power and or have become judge and jury in matters while carrying out routine community policing have led to a loss of numerous innocent lives, and in most instances, snuffing out the breadwinners of families.

The use of excessive violence in quelling student disorders led the AFRC in June 1986 to direct the police to use only rubber bullets in containing student riots. Reports of police collusion with criminals were common, as were official appeals to police officers to change their attitude toward the public, to be fair and honest, and to avoid corrupt practices. In an effort to reduce bribery and to make identification of offenders easier, police officers on beats and at checkpoints were not allowed to carry more than N5 on their person.

In September 2005, Nigeria withdrew 120 police officers serving in the UN Congo mission because of accusations that they had engaged in sexual abuses. This is a serious allegation, disgraceful and enormously embarrassing! What happens when our “heroes” become stupid sex crazed tyrants?? Who do we turn to for protection?

The NPF is alleged to follow a policy of "Fire for Fire" in which many captured suspects die in police custody or are "shot while attempting to escape". Decades of police and official corruption and continued failure to train police officers properly has led to a situation where extrajudicial killing is an accepted form of dealing with people the police believe to be criminals. The most recent victim of which is Yusuf Mohamed, the leader of the Boko Haram sect in Nigeria, was alive when captured by the army.

 The police is said to have, through the years, relied on ‘Police Force Order 237’ to commit extrajudicial killings. The order allows the police to shoot any suspect or detainees trying to escape or avoid arrest.

Hiding under the cover of the order, policemen are said to have perpetrated unlawful killings of 7,195 persons in four years, out of which 2,500 were detainees.

The inspector general of police recently introduced a new policy into the force, with hopes of curbing some of these violence and tyranny occasioned by our men in uniform, the ‘Code of Conduct and Professional Standards for officers of the Nigeria Police Force’, launched on the 10th day of January, 2013. Its aim to create a disciplined and ethical police. This so-called Code of Conduct has no sanction for its breach, therefore, it is a red herring, a ruse. Almost 9months down the road, nothing has changed, rather than repair, it shows worsening ineptitude each passing day. The Nigeria Police Force is a farce of what any police force should be. It is dysfunctional and lax in its duties.

We can all recall the student riot at the University of Uyo earlier this year. A student had been shot dead by the police whose business there was to restore peace and order.

Some explain away police violence in terms of the pathology of officers emphasizing the deficit in their education, social relations' skill, and psychological and moral quality. In Nigeria, the average policeman is inadequately educated for the roles he is expected to play, he is inadequately trained for the police work, he is poorly paid and even more poorly equipped and resented by the public. To my own way of reasoning, this is no excuse for the thoughtlessness and violence meted out by these mad men.

I believe the government should take more interest in the activities of these men, actually hold them accountable for their actions, and gradually purge the entire police force of the stigma that has come to be associated with it. This may be achieved from careful selection of those accepted into the force, taking extra care to ensure that criminals are not admitted to later be given arms. A clinical or surgical view is to be taken from the very admission of aspirants to the promotions from junior to senior officers. Sanctions should be put in place, with bodies created to punish offenders. Recourse may be had to other forces such as the Army that try and punish offenders through a court martial set up for such purposes. This system may be introduced to the police force, as it may serve as the proper deterrence for officers in the future.

I am traumatized from the happenings of that fateful day. My faith in the present Nigerian Police force has greatly dwindled… but yet, all my feelings, my trauma, cannot be compared to the hurt and terror, anger and despair, that has now engulfed the family of that deceased young man. I can only pray the good Lord grants them the necessary fortitude to weather the storm our Police officers had plunked them in the middle of.