By Idris Miliki Abdul.
”War is an activity in which the contingent plays essential part. The result at which it aims can be achieved only if the nature of the enemy is kept constantly in view” – CHARLSE DE GAULL’
INTRODUCTION
Every state made of individual organized in a defined territory is expected to pursue the common welfare of the people and maintain law and order. Indeed the state using the government as its administrative organ is endowed with coercive power to maintain the social order. The state is unique in many respects especially as it is alone that has the right to exercise force to compel obedience to its orders including the imposition of any penalty like imprisonment, deportation or death.
In order to function effectively, a state must therefore ensure the protection of life and property, maintenance of national value protection of the environment and maintenance of good quality of life for it citizen. Therefore, anything that undermine these aspiration poses a threat to the security of the state and citizens. That the major duty of the police in Nigeria is the protection of lives and properties .seems not to be in 1 indeed which is common knowledge often cited particularly by the police. However what the police do not seems to known or seems to overlook is what public confidence is what guarantees effective policing and that police abuses grossly undermine public confidence and subsequently undermine public safety and security. The police in advanced democracies are concerned about the cause and effect of poor perception of the police and its performance on the part of the public, but the Nigeria police seems in my view to fuel it by continued human rights abuses.
Professor Etanibi Alemika , writing on police reform in Nigeria : Issues contentions and options” noted that in response to the challenges of police and policing in Nigeria there has been successive attempt to reorganize and reform the police system but with limited changes in the system, he concluded that scientifically driven comprehensive appraisal of the nation safety and security as well as criminal justice concerns needs to be critical components of economic and political development policies and programmes he posited that political reform in democratic societies’ are aimed at achieving respect for human rights of citizen by the police. Unfortunately, since the inception of democracy in Nigeria in 1999 this focus is far from reality.it was not surprising therefor when presidential committee on police reform confirmed that In Nigeria the relationship between the police and the public is largely characterized by mutual mistrust and hostility.
INVESTIGATION OF CRIME
According to the oxford advanced learners Dictionary investigation of crime is an official examination of the fact about a situation. Crime or criminality, e.g murder or even abuse of power that is why Police will always say the matter is under investigation. They may be have also completed investigated of crime, they may also be investigating an event or situation so as to find out the truth. It is the police and other security agents that have the power to investigate crime, but the journalist do go into investigation to assist them in their news report, that is why we often hear investigation journalism policing and in cause of investigation of crime, the Nigeria Police Force is characterized by the routine use of an alleged arbitrary and brutal forms of torture. For all these violation, NPF personal enjoy impunity. The government fails to institute or exercise due diligence in investigating or ensuring accountability for police abuse. The Police Service Commission (PSC) in Nigeria perform statutory police oversight mechanism, is hobbled by undue and justified self–restraint, inadequate resources, and resistance from police and political leadership. Judicial oversight, as it is reliant on ineffectual police investigation result to few convictions, as a result few police abuse are reported. The victims fear reprisal or do not have access to remedies for victims of police abuse reinforce impunity make NPF as an institution, predatory, unaccountable, an ineffective, corrodes police community relations.
SEARCHES AND SEIZURE
Section 44 criminal procedure code (CPC) allow the police to search an person arrested. Also certain investigation require some search to be conducted. It could be search of dwelling house, office premise or other buildings. The police have been granted power to conduct search in execution of their duties of investigation under section 28 of the police Act. In respect of the police a search should be by order of a court. This a case in which a search warrant may be issued under the Criminal Procedure Act (CPA) is the receipt of information on Oath by Magistrate who on reasonable grounds believe that there is in any building, ship carriage, receptacle or place:
a. Anything upon or in respect of which any office has been or is suspected to have been committed ; or
b. Anything which there is reasonable ground for believing, will afford evidence as to the commission of any offense; or
c. Anything, which there is reasonable ground for believing, is intended to be used for the purpose of committing offense, the magistrate then issues a warrant for search of such building, ship carriage, receptacle or place for such thing before the magistrate or some other magistrate to be dealt with according to law. And to apprehend the occupier of the house or place where the items were found if the magistrate think fit, to so direct on the warrant. However, procedures for search should be in the presence of the owner of the premise being search and at least two independent witnesses who will sign an attestation to the search and items recovered thereof and where they were found. Do the police in most cases comply with this particular procedure?
COMMUNITY POLICING
Police institutions across the nations are moving away from the traditional model of policing in favour of a policy model oriented towards establishing a close working relationship with communities. The utilization of neighbourhood watch has become integrated into policing in many nations. Experience and practice has shown clearly that community policing can effectively contribute to reduce crime and promoting security.
In Nigeria the relationship between the police and the public is largely characterized by mutual mistrust and hostility as noted above. The general causes of the negative opinion on police by the public include the repressive nature of enforcement under authoritarian colonial and post–colonial government, general inefficiency of the police due to inadequate facilities, corruption, poor remuneration and conditions of services, insensitivity towards the public by the Police in Nigeria is the order of the day, which motivated the #End SAAR upraising in Nigeria.
THE HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATION
All human rights are universal, indivisible, interdependent and inter–related. The international community must treat human rights globally in a fair and equal manner, on the footing and with the same emphasis ” Vienn a Declaration of 1993 the universal declaration which has been an essential guide to the interpretation of human rights emanating from the inherent right of the individual which right it declares as the foundation of freedom justice and peace in the world. The International covenants manly focus on the duties of state towards the undertaking parties, and assurance by the state to each other that they will respect ”all people” exercise of the rights contained in the covenants. The new rights, which otherwise are known as group or people right cover some or all of the following; the right to self –determination, right to development, right to a safe environment, right of minorities and rights to democracy, right to life, etc. the word ”human”: is not controversial; neither should the rights which ever rights in which it defines or qualifies. All rights derived by human for the freedom and security of humans in their relationship with humans, nature or human institution are human rights. Being thus definitively and equally human; we may decide for practical purpose to sub–dividable, the right of state or institution, the rights of minorities, the rights of children the rights of development etc. the question of human rights arises basically because man is in interaction with man in society. Human rights are about man and woman in society and not simply about the state. To insist on divorcing man from society is to pry man and woman outside the reality of ordinary existence. Freedom to exercise individual rights within the context of social justices should be the directive principle.
STRATEGIC ORIENTED POLICING
As noted above, strategic policing is about adopting proactive and preventive method of crime prevention. The more police you have, the more crime would be discovered and not necessarily solved, and the more the citizen would compline about the intrusive behaviour of the police because of more regular contract. In many societies where crime rate is very low, contact with the police is minimal. In Nigeria level of crime rate is high. There is high level of insecurity among the citizens with rampant cases of armed robbery, kidnapping, Banditry, violence extremism etc. The citizen perception of the police is very poor. There are daily complaint of police brutality and extortion from members of the public force to become strategic in it approach to police to be able to overcome the challenges of policing in Nigeria. Despite the security challenges in Kogi State, the effort of the office of State Security Adviser, Commandant Jerry Omodara (Rtd.) with the support of the state governor, Ahaji Usman Ododo is commendable. The office of SSA in Kogi State is working with some Civil Society Organizations to develop state action plan on preventing and Countering Violence Extremism as a committee working on that PCVE was inaugurated on 3rd of June, 2025 by the Secretary to the state government Dr. Mrs Folashade Arike. A drift have since been develop and submitted to the National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) in Abuja for their input. And according to the NCTC, Kogi is the only State that have done that. This is a laudable achievement in the fight against insecurity in Kogi State.
CONCLUSIONSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
The police is the principal agency charged with the responsibility of internal peace and security of nations. In Nigeria, the NPF is constitutionally and legally empowered to police the country for peace and security. But the policing in Nigeria is bedevilled with a lot of challenges. Scholars and practitioners have identified the challenges facing the police in Nigeria. They include the problems of funding increasing crime wave, poor training corruption within and outside the police, lack of involvement of citizen in policing, poor public image, lack of inter-service and agency cooperation, poor condition of services and welfare of police officers.
We suggest that the Nigeria police force need to become more strategic in its approach to policing to be able to overcome these challenges of policing. The starting point is to identify the strategic issues that affect the organization, efficiency and effectiveness of the strategic issues that need to be addressed are in the recruitment, human capital issues development, change of attitude operations, corruption, image of the force, funding, leadership and management, monitoring and evaluation.
– Idris Miliki Abdul, a human rights activist, writes from Lokoja.
