Egbetokun: Making A Positive Start With Police Reform -By Adewole Kehinde

A police officer, trained and equipped by the Nigerian state, should no longer be reduced to a domestic servant or enforcer for individuals. Morale is low, and self-esteem has taken flight. Attached to former and serving public officials, who sometimes redistribute them to their wives and children, police officers have been sighted carrying bags for celebrities, opening car doors for businessmen, picking children from school, adjusting chairs for civilian public and private persons, blaring sirens, chasing other motorists off the roads for private individuals, and other degrading domestic chores.

A former Assistant Inspector-General of Police disclosed in 2018 that only 20 percent of police officers are engaged in the core police duties; 80 percent provide security for individuals, businesses, and government officials.

Also, a former IG and ex-Chairman of the Police Service Commission, Mike Okiro, confirmed that more than half of police officers are concentrated in private guard duties.

He particularly deplored the practice of some former ministers retaining police escorts many years after leaving public service.

Policing is a state service paid for by the state itself through taxes and other revenues, and it is for the benefit of all Nigerians rather than the exclusive preserve of a few.

Section 214(1) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) provided for the establishment of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF).

Section 4 of the Police Act empowers it to prevent and detect crime, apprehend offenders, preserve law and order, protect the lives and properties of citizens, and enforce laws and regulations with which they are directly charged, within or outside Nigeria.

Neither the Police Act nor Section 214(1) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) allow the police to provide any “specialized escort and guard” duties to individuals.

So, I was not surprised when Acting IGP Egbetokun came up with the idea of a “Special Intervention Squad.”

According to Egbetokun, the special squad will consist of 40,000 specially trained elite officers. He further reiterated that the Squad will be formed by selecting officers from the pool of existing Police Mobile Force personnel and all tactical units in the country.

These officers will undergo intensive pre-deployment training to make them combat-ready for frontline operational duties in all the states of the Federation, with a particular focus on areas plagued with unrest and turmoil.

This dedicated force will bolster the police’s capacity to respond swiftly and decisively to security threats, ensuring that their presence is felt and their response is effective in every corner of our country.

I am strongly in support of the IGP’s decision to withdraw Police Mobile Force personnel from VIP escort and guard duties.

The Police Act 2020 is very clear on the use of supernumerary police officers to protect individuals, VIP escorts, etc.

Sections 22, 23, 24, and 25 are very clear, which I have reproduced below:

22. The appropriate authority may, at the request of any senior police officer, appoint any person as a supernumerary police officer at an appropriate level in the Police Force for the administration or maintenance of premises occupied or used for the purposes of the Police Force, but shall not do so in any particular case unless he is satisfied that it is necessary in the interest of security or discipline that the persons discharging the duties in question are subject to the provisions of this Act relating to discipline.
23. (1) If; at any time, the Inspector-General of Police, with the consent of the Police Service Commission, is satisfied, as regards any police area, that it is necessary in the public interest for supernumerary police officers to be employed in that area, he may authorise the appropriate authority to appoint persons as supernumerary police officers in the Police Force in accordance with the authorisation.

(2)   Every authorisation under this section shall be in writing and shall specify the police area to which it relates and the maximum number of supernumerary police officers who may be appointed under that authorisation.

(3) Every supernumerary police officer appointed by an authorisation given under this section shall not:

(a)  bear arms; and

(b) be covered by the provisions relating to pension as stipulated in section 15 of this Act

24. (I) The appropriate authority may, at the request of the Inspector-General of Police or Commissioner of Police of a State, appoint any person as a supernumerary police officer in the Police Force for attachment as an orderly to:

(a)  a Minister;

(b)  a Commissioner of the Government of a State; or

(c) a police officer of, or above, the rank of Assistant Commissioner. (2) Every supernumerary police officer appointed under this section, shall:

(a)  be employed exclusively on duties connected with the activities of the person to whom he is attached;

(b)  while so employed, have, throughout Nigeria, the powers, privileges and immunities of a police officer;

(c)   may be trained to bear firearms with the approval of the Inspector General of Police;

(d)   subject to the restriction imposed by paragraph (a) and section 20 of this Act, shall be a member of the Force for all purposes and shall be subject to the provisions of this Act, particularly the provisions relating to discipline.

25. (1) Every supernumerary police officer is, on appointment, enlisted to serve in the Police Force from month to month, and a supernumerary police officer may, at any time, resign his appointment by giving one month’s notice in that behalf to his employer and senior police officer in charge of the police area in respect of which he is appointed, and his appointment may be determined by the appropriate authority on:

(a)   one month’s notice in that behalf; or

(b)   on payment of one month’s pay instead of such notice.

(2)   The ranks to which supernumerary police officers may be appointed shall be prescribed by the Inspector-General of Police with the consent of the Police Service Commission, but shall not exceed the rank of Commissioner of Police throughout his life time.

(3)   There shall only be one Supernumerary Commissioner of Police at a time in the Federation.

(4)   The badges of the ranks of the supernumerary police shall be the same as that worn by general duty or regular police.

(5) A supernumerary police officer has no claim on the Police Reward Fund, and, without prejudice to any liability under the Employee’s Compensation Act, to be paid compensation to or in respect of any person by virtue of his employment as a supernumerary police officer, a person’s service as such shall not render him or any other person eligible for any pension, gratuity, or annual allowance under this Act or the Pensions Reform.

So, by relieving the Police Mobile Force of VIP escort and guard duties, the Force can redirect their focus and efforts toward addressing critical security concerns that affect the communities at large.

The withdrawal will also free up regular police officers to focus more on frontline policing duties across the nation.

The acting IGP should develop strict guidelines spelling out those entitled to and rules for police officers on personal security duties.

Police officers are a creation of the Nigerian constitution; they must never again be cheapened! Policemen are entitled to dignity.

Adewole Kehinde is the publisher of Swift Reporters and can be reached at 08166240846. kennyadewole@gmail.com