Nigeria Police Force: An Illegal 'Revenue Generating Agency', By Tony Osborg

Nigerian Police Force has become a revenue generating agency but unfortunately, the revenue they generate is illegal and therefore does not go into government coffers. Let me explain.

In Nigeria of today, the Police has taken over the duty of the judiciary and this has made them become one of the most corrupt (if not the most corrupt) federal institution in Nigeria. In reality, bail is not free.

The Nigerian police has a bail fee for every kind of crime; from theft to rape and even up to murder. This is exactly what I want to talk about today.

Ideally, if you commit an offence, lets say theft or rape and the Police steps in. What the law expects the Police to do is to get your statements and hand you over to the court for the next action. This is what the law says. But this is not what happens in reality.

In reality, the Police has discovered that the courts are a joke and as criminal as they are so they no longer see it as a smart move to hand over cases to the courts. What they do is that they simply act as the court right there in their police station (depending on the crime). They investigate, prosecute, deliver judgments and demand for fine (bail) instantly. The govt is not even aware of this.

The statistics revealed recently showed that over 70% of the prisoners in Nigerian prisons are awaiting trials! This is exactly why the Nigerian Police has decided to stop sending criminals to the courts. Out of the 56,718 prisoners in Nigeria, 39,037 are awaiting trials!

Examination malpractice for example attracts a five year jail term or an option of N200,000 fine. Now supposing my daughter is caught in an examination malpractice scandal and the Police steps in, will it not be smart for me as a father to pay the Police lets say a N50,000 bail fee and get my daughter out rather than watch them take her to court? This is how Police makes their illegal money! I have been involved in a situation where about half a million Naira was paid to the Police to ensure that a suspected rapist escapes going to jail. Half of the money went to the family of the rape victim while the other half went for the Police! Justice was simply delivered without the courts. Everyone is happy. Nigeria is a joke, right?

Ok. Lets talk about Police reform. This is how I think we can reform our Police system.

First, the Police arrangement must be decentralized. What are we even doing with an inefficient 400,000 federal police officers? There should be community police, state police and federal police. Federal police should be a small elite force. They should not have more than one office in each state. The state police need to be small as well but more visible. The real police work should be done by the guys at the community/city/town levels. Also, institutions like universities should be allowed to have their campus police system.

At the community police level, the customary courts should be part of the police system. In fact, they should share the same office space right there at the counter. Once Police receives a case, the court swings into action and deliver judgment in minutes (if possible). In my opinion, most crimes should have a fine. The community govt needs the cash! Note that community police is a property of the community based govt. They fund and manage their police system and should make money out of it. Crime pays in Nigeria! There should therefore be federal, state and community crimes! If a federal crime is commited in my village, the federal police steps in!

Now on prisons. This is how we should reform our prisons. There should be two types of prisons; federal and state prisons. Federal criminals to federal prisons and state & community criminals to state prisons! Our present arrangement where we have only federal prisons is wrong. It is wrong for state govts (judiciary) to be sending state criminals to federal prisons where the criminals will then be taken care of by the federal govt. Let me repeat it. Federal criminals to federal prisons and state & community criminals to state prisons!

Let me stop here.

Unfortunately for Nigeria, all of these reforms I have mentioned come with true federalism. What I have highlighted above is what the police system will look like if we restructure Nigeria and entrench true federalism. These are all in-built features of true federalism yet Nigeria and Nigerians are opposing true federalism.

Those who think true federalism is all about crude oil control should continue to oppose it in their ignorance. Nigeria will never work until we restructure.  If my above proposed reform on police, courts and prisons makes sense to you but yet you oppose true federalism & restructuring, then I am sorry, you are an ignoramus. You are the problem with Nigeria.

To be continued...

#RestructureNigeria
#TrueFederalism