By Ezekiel O. Kayode
Sir: “June 12: A Milestone of Democracy” is worth its weight in gold. Asiwaju Bola Tinubu must recognise that our democracy needs a ventilator to survive. “We must keep and nurture democracy not for its sake, but for ours,” he said.
He is right. But what does it mean for policing in Nigeria? To “keep” in this context means to look after something such that its essence is not eroded.
There is no such thing as a democratic society without a democratic police. And a democratic police is one that regards the rule of law, respects citizens and doesn’t violate their right by intruding without firm basis. Do our police imbibe these principles?
Policing in Nigeria has turned a left turn from the mantra “the police is your friend” and those in power are doing only little to check the excesses.
It is a good thing that the world is currently scrutinizing police conduct and advocating for better reforms. Nigerians have been patronized for way too long with flimsy police reviews and paper reforms that have yielded little or no result.
Read Also: That June 12 recognition may not be a hollow ritual
Twenty-one-year-old Kazeem Tiyamiyu, who played defence for Remo Stars, Sagamu, Ogun State, would be anticipating the end of Covid-19, like the rest of us, if Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) incompetence had not cut his life short in February.
Seyi Akinade took his own life after being a victim of such unchecked excesses. Seyi allegedly drank sniper because he could no longer deal with the Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) he had due to an encounter with the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) operatives.
Amnesty International had this to say after his death: “This lack of accountability in Nigeria Police breeds and perpetuates impunity, creating an environment where SARS officers believe they have the carte blanche to carry out acts of torture, extortion and extrajudicial killings.”
Kazeem Tiyamiyu and Seyi Akinade are not the only ones. Hamilton Obazee, a father of four, was unlawfully arrested by SARS operatives and deposited in a mortuary after he died in their custody.
There is the case of condemnable tortures in police stations. Stray bullets from police officers are killing innocent citizens every now and then. Needless “stop and search” are being done under the guise of combating cybercrime despite the IGP’s stance against such back in January.
Sometime in April, police took to the streets of Alapere, in Lagos, to rightfully arrest persons who violated the lockdown order to exercise. It got a bit ugly. And my surprise when police clamped on people who openly filmed the event as it happened.
I am not naïve to think the egregious brutality and bad policing lies within the ambit of a few bad eggs. Indeed, the system is the problem. The energy that went into fighting the proliferation of rape cases in the past weeks should be replicated in discouraging the culture of bad policing.
It must have been metaphorical for Tinubu to wish Nigeria “many more years of enduring democracy.” Because in truth, that is what we have been forced to do the past years: Endure democracy. And when I think of the future, it hurts to say “the signs are not too good.”
- Ezekiel O. Kayode, Lagos.
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