Two weeks after the National Bureau of Statistics and the United Nations Office For Drug and Crime (UNODC) published a report indicting the Nigeria Police and the judiciary as leading corrupt government institutions, the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, has criticised the report.
According to the IGP, the premise upon which the report is based is wrong.
“For the last three years, up till now, you have not found any police officer found for corrupt practices, and involvement in corruption,” the IGP said in Abuja.
“From what our PPRO had said, he went into a programme that even the UNODC agreed that the format the adopted to come to that conclusion is a faulty format. It is not based on verifiable data.”
Consequently, the police boss dismissed the damning report, which says that Nigerians spend N400 billion annually on bribes to public office holders, with 46.4 percent of such bribes by citizens paid to the police.
“What I am saying is that, that assessment is faulty in its entirety and there is no truth in it,” he said.
Rather than fault the report, however, rights activists are of the opinion that the police should use the report as a mirror and rid itself of corrupt influences that threaten the integrity of the institutions.
“The Federal Government must act quickly in ensuring that the Nigerian Police Force is restructured and put in a better shape,” human rights lawyer Pelumi Olajengbesi, said.
When the IGP was appointed, Olajengbesi said, the expectation was that the Nigerian Police value system would be improved.
“But the Nigerian Police Force value system is on the decline every day, and we must be concerned about it,” he added.
Since the 2017 National Corruption Survey was released on August 16, analysts have continued to argue that the allegations in that document are too important to be treated with levity and should not be swept under the carpet.
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