Okechukwu Nwanguma is the national coordinator of Network of Police Reform in Nigeria (NOPRIN). Before he joined NOPRIN in 2008, he was with the Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO). In this interview with Reporter, MARY OGEDENGBE, the activist explains why the police in Nigeria are ineffective. Excerpts…
Sojourn into NOPRIN
Okechukwu Nwanguma
I joined NOPRIN in 2008. Before then, I was with CLO. I left CLO after I went for a fellowship with the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), formerly the Reagan Faselle Democracy Fellowship in Washington DC. It was while I was there doing my fellowship that I was asked to raise the profile of NOPRIN. I have been here since 2008 and I am still here.
About NOPRIN
NOPRIN is a network of 46 civil society organisations spread across Nigeria and committed to promoting police accountability and respect for human rights. It was established in 2000 to provide opportunities for civil society involvement in police reform and the enhancement of safety, security and justice.
Level of crime in Nigeria today, particularly Lagos
If you are talking about Lagos, the more accurate assessment will have to be based on statistics. It has to be based on scientific investigation, and I know that the Centre for Law Enforcement Education (CLEEN) Foundation has been doing some assessment of crime rate. If you base on that report of the CLEEN Foundation crime victimisation survey, comparing Lagos to other states, Lagos is not one of the high crime areas. But there is a perception by those living in Lagos that crime is on the rise. I must concede that the effort of the government to support the police through the Lagos State Security Trust Fund has helped to improve the state of crime and violence in the state. There still is a level of crime going on. But, no doubt, I think it would have been worse if not because of the Lagos State Security Trust Fund.
Performance of the former Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Abubakar, and the current Commissioner of Police in Lagos, Umar Manko
If you want to assess the former IGP, the first thing to note is that he came in at a time his predecessor was perceived as being unable to deal with increasing crime, particularly Boko Haram. So, it was expected that he has a certain ability to deal with crime, to perform better than his predecessor.
Now, there was widespread outcry which came from the background that when he was in Plateau State as the Commissioner of Police, he was indicted by a panel over an allegation that he supported a religious group in the Jos crisis; that is, protecting the Muslims against the Christians. So, he was indicted by a panel that was set up by the government. People looked back and said he was not fit to be the IGP, but the government defied all that. Of course, those who knew him in places he had served previously said he had some good records. Looking at what was when he came in and what is now, I obviously do not think he has a pass mark. The reason is that as it is now, the police are completely incapable of dealing with crime; everywhere you go, it is the military, even in the North. So, that tells you that the police have completely failed Nigeria.
Reason for police failure
The reason is that the police lack the training, the discipline and the operational capability to deal with crime. Funding is poor, morale is low and then corruption is ingrained in the police. Aside that the fund made available to the police is inadequate, the little one that comes is pilfered; hence every police division in this country is left on its own to raise money to run its operation. When you see police men on the street mounting road blocks and extorting money, it is authorised by the Divisional Police Officer (DPO).
When you go to the police station to report a crime, you are required to provide money for investigation. Both the complainant and the accused are required to provide money. As a complainant, if you cannot provide money for them to go and investigate, your case is dead on arrival. That is the level of corruption that is entrenched in the Nigerian police, coupled with the lack of commitment on the part of the leadership to reform the force.
NOPRIN’s modus operandi
We receive daily complaints. When we receive such complaints, we can resolve it by just calling the DPO in that division and we can get things sorted out. There are cases that require us writing petitions either to the division or the Commissioner of Police. But we have discovered, on the average, that the Nigerian police are reluctant to deal with and resolve public complaints as a result of what I have already explained.
The personnel recruited into the police are people who do not have any career interest in the police. They came in with the mindset of making a living out of it. So, they are not actually interested in investigating crime.
NOPRIN and illegal detention
What happens is that failure to pay bribe can land a suspect in jail. We are very familiar with these cases. But our work does not extend to the prisons. Those people you find in prisons are normally processed through the police, and you discover that two-third of prison inmates are people who are awaiting trial. A lot of them are there for offences that either do not exist or are too minor. Most of them are there because they are unable to pay bribe and the police framed them up. Some people are there for 10 years awaiting trial for no offence, and if there is any offence at all, it would be very minor to warrant anything.
There is a case we are doing now of a 12-year-old girl who was raped by her guardian’s son, who is married with three kids. We wrote a petition to the DPO of the station which is Satellite. The DPO has been reluctant in investigating the case and the reason is basically because the victim’s aunt does not have money to give the police. They claimed to have gone to the scene to interview the landlord and that they could simply call him on phone to ask him to come. We wrote to the Commissioner of Police and the matter was transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (CID) at Panti Street, and it was the same story.
So, you find it is frustrating. This is why Nigerians have lost confidence in the police and why there is high rate of people resorting to self-help. Of course you know that the emergence of vigilance groups and community efforts emerged because people could no longer afford the police and they decided to help themselves. Unless the government addresses the issue of police reform in terms of funding, discipline, addressing the issue of corruption and human rights abuse, our democracy is under threat. A rotten police force is the single most dangerous threat to democracy.
NOPRIN’s reaction to deadlock
We work in collaboration with some government agencies that have oversight powers in such cases, for example the Police Service Commission (PSC). But the most effective is the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC). When we get to a stage where our interface with the police hits a deadlock, we get the NHRC involved. So, the commission takes up such cases. For instance, in Benin a few weeks ago, the police murdered a young man. We wrote to the Commissioner of Police and they invited the family and tried to settle the family. And what is the settlement? They tried to give them little money, maybe N100,000. But when we saw that they were bent on comprising the case, we called the NHRC.
Channels available to NOPRIN
We also do interactive television discussion on the issues of police reform; we have people listen to it. We have our e-mails accounts and phone numbers also on our website. Other organisations know about us. There are occasions when people refer victims to us; they either come here to lay their complaint or send us message.
Expectations of NOPRIN from the new IGP
The first problem is that an IGP is supposed to be a person who has leadership qualities and who has passed through public scrutiny. He should be a person with good record. There is need to reform the appointment procedure. What we are recommending is that persons are nominated, and those nominated should go through a public hearing, so that people will know who these people are. Very soon, those who know this new IG will start raising issues about him.
People should be able to scrutinise them, to know if they are capable. But the president simply appoints, and this appointment is based on certain considerations – like where he hails from? Which ethnic group? And I do not think that a sensitive position such as the IGP should be based on all those mundane considerations. It should be on competence, on leadership qualification. No matter what happens, the fact that those factors that hindered the former IGP to perform are still there, so I do not expect so much from him.
NOPRIN and other civil society organisations working on the same project
NOPRIN is a network of organisations. At the moment, there are 46 organisations that make up the network. So, we work as a coalition. There was a time we organised public tribunals; we were doing it in zones. What that means is that we invite victims of police abuse to come and testify publicly. We are doing it together with the NHRC, PSC. We have a panel. If we are going to do it in the South East, for instance, we will involve our member organisations in there in mobilising participation and in organising all the necessary things they need to do.
We also get referrals; victims go to organisations and they refer them to us. If we come across a case that requires going to court, we refer to our member organisations.
NOPRIN’s achievement since 2008
I do not know if I can assess myself. But I think we have been able to let the police know that there is an organisation somewhere that is watching what they are doing and will always publicise it. I also think that has worked because most of the times we called DPOs, we have got some positive response. People have been detained for no reason, and when we call the DPOs, they discharge them without charging any money. It is not perfect yet, but I think that it would have been worse if we were not there.
How NOPRIN is funded
Every NGO depends on grants and donations from private foundations like the MacArthur Foundation. We also have the international government bodies that provide support. The NED, which is a United States agency dedicated to support democracy and the promotion human rights, supports us. Currently, we are also being supported by the Justice for All, which is a Department for International Development (DFID) programme supporting organisations.
Basically, we have not been able to access any support locally; it has just been international private organisations or governments that support democracy and human rights.
Succession in NOPRIN
We have the members of the network and we have what we call the Annual National Convention where all the members of the organisations send delegates. That is the highest and decision making body. We have Board of Governors which we call Board Meeting Committee; it is made up of elected executives from member organisations. We have the national secretariat headed by the national coordinator. If I decide to leave or I am asked to leave, what they do is to advertise. Of course, it is also possible that they know somebody somewhere who they believe, by his background and track record, will be suitable. For instance, that is how I came. I did not have to be advertised; I was asked to come because there was some gap that needed to be filled. It depends on the circumstance. But ideally, this office (national coordinator) is an appointive office. You go through interviews. But for the members of the board, they are elected bi-annually.
