Two principal officers of the Senate have criticised President Muhammadu Buhari and the Nigeria Police for mobilising 30,000 officers for the forthcoming Ekiti election.
The Deputy Speaker, Ike Ekweremadu, and Deputy Senate Leader, Bala Ibn Na’Allah frowned at deployment of such huge number of officers at a time many parts of the country are facing security challenges.
They let out their grouses on Tuesday during a debate on the bill seeking to repeal and re-enact the Police Act.
The bill seeks to reform the current Police Act of 1943, which has been in existence for over 70 years without any amendment.
A statement by Police Spokesman, Jimoh Moshood, on Sunday in said the Deputy Inspector-General of Police (DIG) in charge of Operations, 30,000 personnel, two Patrol Surveillance Helicopters, five additional Armoured Personnel Carriers (APC), 10 Armoured Personnel Vehicles and 250 police patrol vehicles have been deployed for the election slated to hold on Saturday, July 14.
Mr Na’Allah was first to register his discomfort with the heavy security deployment.
“30,000 policemen to supervise an election in Ekiti while they could not mobilise 10,000 men to stop the killings in Zamfara and other places.
“Our party, the APC that I represent will frown at this, it is not part of our manifesto, it is not what we promised the people and I am sure that the president himself knows that this is not acceptable. Unfortunately, the police have already conditioned that service, ‘korokoro’ eye service.”
Mr Na’Allah said the reform of the Nigeria Police is important to prepare the force for better service.
“We would continue to tell the people that we will leave our promise, that is why we are before you for the reform. Let it not be a situation where a killing would be involved and we have 10,000 police and an election is going on and we have 30,000 police. I don’t like that situation. I appall it and I think that it does not represent what we stand for as a party and therefore we would seek the indulgence of our colleagues to reform this institution that is called the Nigerian Police.”
Corroborating his colleague, Mr Ekweremadu frowned at the huge number and the perceived fraud that usually follows such deployment.
“In response to this your last statement, I am also worried about the fact that we have 30,000 police men you can deploy in a state for election and the other issue here is the issue of sincerity in deploying 30,000 policemen and (if) it would ensure security of lives and properties, there is no problem with that.
“But sometimes, some of this statistics are misleading and it only goes to count when allowances are to be paid and nobody is sure how many people actually participated, meanwhile provision were made for that number; that is my warning here.
“But if we have 30,000 policemen that we can deploy them and pay them and it can be accounted for, I have no problem with that anyways. We need to ensure accountability. This is important not just dropping figures.
He said the Senate is working to find a “permanent solution to policing problem” through the bill.
The bill was thereafter passed for second reading and referred to the Senate Committee on Police Affairs for further legislative action.
Highlights of the bill as listed by Special Assistant to Senate President on New Media include:
1. The establishment of a service-oriented and modern police that will meet globally acceptable policing standards in a democratic setting.
2. The modernisation of the current Police Force (which was conceptualised and established in the Colonial environment to protect colonial interests) with a Police Force that is geared towards protecting and safeguarding the lives and properties of Nigerian citizens.
3. The establishment of guiding principles to ensure effective policing in Nigeria. These principles include efficiency and effectiveness; accountability, and transparency; protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms; and partnership with other security institutions.
4. Methods of dealing with abuse of weapons by police officers. The Bill also ensures that the police and police officers are held accountable in their actions especially in the areas of arrest and detention of persons and searches.
5. Clauses that mandate record keeping by the police and clauses that ensure that citizens are fully protected from abuse by Police officers.
6. The establishment of a Community Police and Boards in all the States of the Federation that will consist of broad representatives of the community and the State to ensure effective, efficient and participatory community policing.
7. The establishment of an independent complaint authority to receive and investigate and effectively deal with complaints against police officers misconduct from the public.
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