Nigeria Police, world’s most neglected force –Alobi, ex- FCT CP

[Mirror]

Lawrence Alobi, a former Commissioner of Police in the Federal Capital Territory, in this interview with OMEIZA AJAYI, says while President Goodluck Jonathan may not have done badly security-wise, it was high time the police reviewed its operational strategies if it must halt the growing wave of attack on its personnel and formations.

What is the origin of this trend of hostility towards the police?

It is very unfortunate that Nigerians have resolved to kill their security operatives who are paid to protect them, maintain law and order for the well-being of the people. Rather than cooperating with policemen and other security agents, some miscreants, who do not understand the functions of the police or who are just beastly in their actions, have taken to such attacks. Section 24 of our constitution provides that it is the duty of the citizens of this country to assist the security agencies in the maintenance of law and order. So, it is incumbent on every citizen of Nigeria to assist the police.

Look at the recent bombing in Boston, every American citizen rose in support of the police, saying the perpetrators must be detected. But look at us here. In Bayelsa they were ambushed. The same thing in Nasarawa; they came under attack even while on a legitimate mission and they were just massacred like goats. It is very beastly. It is criminal. It is unacceptable anywhere in the world. I consider the attack on police as an attack on the sovereignty of Nigeria; an attack on the entire Nigerian people and an attack on our nation.

So, Nigerians should rise up to the clarion call. Our national anthem begins with "Arise O' Compatriots, Nigeria's call obey". The killing is heinous and I am sure that the culprits would be fished out soon.

What is responsible is the fact that Nigerians don't seem to recognise the role of policemen. Even when there is a distress call and the police are called in, you will discover that people would still be antagonistic. We should be ashamed of our actions. We have to ask God to forgive us and we ought to apologise to the Nigerian police because they are there to serve us even under very harsh conditions.

We can also trace this public antagonism towards the police to the colonial era and the military era in this country and how previous governments have treated the Nigeria Police Force. The Police have been so neglected in terms of proper remuneration, proper motivation, accommodation and general welfare. The Nigeria Police is the most impoverished in the world, though, interestingly, we are rated the best outside the shores of this country. Why the situation is like this is because we are operating in an antagonistic environment.

What is responsible for this trend?

This all started during the colonial era when the people saw the police as agents of the colonial masters who were out to protect such interests and legacies. The police was repressive and people saw them as agents of government.

After that came independence and not too long, the military took over even when Nigerians were yet to fully dust themselves of the vestiges of colonialism. The military contributed a great deal to what is happening to the police today. The military refused to empower the police. It was President Shehu Shagari who tried to empower the police. We need to tell ourselves the truth, rather than playing to the gallery. This country belongs to all of us and we all have a stake in it. Previous governments tried to undermine the police force. Rather than empowering them, they impoverished them by reducing the powers of the police and proliferating many agencies who usurp some of the functions of the force.

The military made decrees that were anti-people. So, the police were placed in an environment where they saw the people as unfriendly and where the people also saw them as violent. That lack of harmony between the two has continued even till today. The public see the police as enemies and now with this kind of attack, how will the police view the public? The public should know that they are the prime beneficiaries of a safe and secure environment. When the police do not perform well as a result of this antagonism, the public has to share in the blame. Most times, the police are not well-funded and the people who approve these budgets do not even know what the police are going through or what their problems are. Some people now take joy in castigating the police and even writing nonsense about them.

The police are the symbol of governance in this country; a symbol of unity. When the people attack the police, it is an attack on the whole nation. My heart bleeds for this country that we have gotten to this stage where the police who sacrifice their lives for others are now being killed. Is it that the policeman does not have a human right? They also have the right to live, but today I have not seen any human rights group coming out to take any action. The human rights society must also condemn these attacks because policemen are human beings too.

Don't you think the number of policemen deployed in the Nasarawa operation was too high?

The police have a duty to protect other citizens; they also have a right to protect themselves. The police should also look at its own operational strategies too so that they do not make themselves susceptible to these kinds of attacks because self-preservation is the first natural instinct.

Really, before you embark on any operation, you are to plan the operation, read the situation and as well anticipate crisis because if you don't do that, it might snowball. If they only went to arrest only one person – which of course I do not know except based on what was reported in the media – I think that number was unwieldy. But if they went with this number and they were killed like this, then you need to ask yourself what would have happened if they had gone with a lesser number. We have to look at it holistically. But there could also have been some operational lapses or failure of intelligence. There could have been lapses in terms of command and control or in terms of deployment.

I would not really know since I was not there. Again, I do not know if the men were sufficiently briefed about the kind of operation they were going for. I really want to advice that there is need for the police to look at its operational strategies again. We should learn from our mistakes. What lessons have been learnt from this incident? Not just the police, all security agencies must learn from this current wave of attacks on the police.

How do we curb the trend?

First, there is need for massive education on peace and security, democracy and human rights. In Mr. President's 2010 Democracy Day speech, he said the challenge before us is that all institutions must re-orientate their personnel on democratic values and culture. Even most of our religious institutions no longer talk about peace. They preach about prosperity and conversion. There has to be good governance too.

We must create jobs. We must create wealth and we must fund our educational institutions. Our leaders should focus on good governance and think less of how to capture power. The founder of the Baha'I faith said the peace and well-being of mankind is unattainable until unity is firmly established. We need to ensure the unity of this country.

How equipped are the police to tackle this trend?

Section 217 of the constitution empowers the government to equip the armed forces. Policing is expensive and requires tremendous tact. It is not like conventional warfare where you know your enemy's position and you are commanded to shell such bases. In policing, you cannot shell the people. This is more challenging because you do not even know who is an enemy or a criminal. The police are terribly under-funded and underequipped. There is no real effort at institutional capacity building. Instead of doing that, they now create different security agencies who now see the police as a rival and even try to compete with them.

National Mirror