What sort of reforms do the police need in today’s Nigeria. Why are those reforms essential? How should it be done? Ogbonna Chukwumerije and Emmanuel Olukanni point the way in this letter to the Minister of Police Affairs and the Acting Inspector General of Police
Introduction
The effect of insecurity and the overt highhandedness of security agencies on the citizens of a country and her economic development cannot be overemphasised. Apart from creating a hostile environment for business development, it creates uncertainty in the minds of prospective investors about investing in businesses operating within the country. This discourages domestic and foreign direct investments, reducing competitiveness between business organisations, and occasions a decline, or at best, static in the employment rate among the citizens which eventually leads to stunted economic growth.
Naturally, investing in policy reforms to tackle this issue should be of utmost concern to the government of any country. The International Peace Academy (IPA), in its policy report titled “Challenges in Police Reform: Promoting Effectiveness and Accountability”, interestingly said that: “Some development agencies and international financial institutions have recently overcome longstanding resistance to involvement with armed institutions and have supported… police-reform projects. Under the rubric of ‘security-sector reform’, these projects reflect interest in enhancing the environment for economic development, removing impediments to foreign investment, and reducing the costs of crime and violence…”
Nigeria as a country, is bedevilled with an avalanche of security issues. Since the emergence of democratic governance in 1999, the Federal Government has made little effort to improve human rights protection and secure the lives and properties of its citizens. Ranging from sectarian clashes, which continue to claim hundreds of lives within the country, to terrorism, electoral violence, and corruption among others, the government has demonstrated a lack of political will or interest in investigating the cause(s) of these incidences or better still, making necessary reforms, especially within the various security agencies to address the issue. Members of the security forces have on numerous occasions, been implicated in incidences of extrajudicial killings, torture of suspects, and widespread extortion and corruption without being investigated or held accountable.
The wide acceptability of the rule of law as a pivotal tool in aiding the growth of an economy is critical to every nation’s development. This is because, fundamentals, which are crucial to the development of any business, like owning land and property, transportation, and importing raw materials, among others will not be possible without proper enforcement of laws regulating these areas. Ignoring corrupt practices by top officials in security agencies, turning a blind eye to the collection of bribes, extortion and neglecting to address the overriding issue of insecurity within the country are contributory factors to the downward spiral currently being experienced by Nigeria’s economy.
In this article, we will be discussing the incidences of corruption within security agencies, police highhandedness and its impact on the country’s economic growth, and the lack of an enabling environment for successful functional reforms. We will also suggest workable reforms the Nigerian Government can immediately implement geared towards promoting economic development.
The Police and Economic Development: The Impact
It is evidential knowledge that security is essential in the economic development of any democratic country. A secure environment is conducive for investment, trade and innovation. What is more, it allows businesses to operate without fear of theft, violence, extortion by security forces, violation of fundamental rights and policies and disruption of business activities. Also, it promotes social cohesion and stability.
Of significant importance is the role of security agencies like The Police, in securing the environment for both local and foreign businesses to thrive. They work to prevent crime, protect people and their properties, uphold the rule of law and respond to emergencies when required. Gathering intelligence on threats to the sovereign integrity of the country, terrorist activities and suspicion of crime are all part of what security agencies in various countries do to make such countries fertile for foreign direct investment and create a breathing room for local businesses to operate without disruption.
One study conducted by the World Bank in 2016, found in its report, that countries with better-functioning police forces experience a reduction in crime and criminal activities, which inevitably creates a more secure environment for businesses to operate. Another study by the National Bureau of Economics Research, titled: “Police Force Size and Civilian Race”, reported that police reforms that reduce racial bias can lead to increased economic growth. The study found specifically, that its finding above was because racial bias in policing can discourage investment in minority communities, which can lead to lower economic growth.
Furthermore, there is proof that countries that tend to invest in security agencies and policy reforms in that respect usually witness more domestic investment because such reforms lead to ease of doing business within the country. Such countries also attract more foreign investors than their counterparts.
Policing Reality in Nigeria: Economic Chokehold
The existence of a large functioning police force in a country should ordinarily connote that the cost of doing business will be reduced, and properly regulated.However, the case is reversed in Nigeria. It is common knowledge that the police in Nigeria significantly undermine the rule of law. Studies have shown that 36 per cent of police bribes are paid to circumvent and speed up usual procedures, 29 percent to avoid fines and 10 per cent for no specific purpose than to “cut corners” and avoid paying the expected taxes and dues that might have otherwise generated revenue for the government. For example, because of how easy it is to bribe securities agencies in Nigeria, investors and manufacturers sometimes find it easier to avoid paying taxes and tariffs on imports and exports which might have otherwise generated revenues for the government to invest in public infrastructure capable of boosting the Nigerian economy.
Similarly, there are various instances where even if these investors and business owners are willing to pay the necessary dues, the police officers will prefer bribes. It will be almost impossible for businesses to transport goods within the country, especially from the various ports across Nigeria without setting aside some amount of money for bribes at police checkpoints in addition to paying the necessary dues.
The agricultural sector is not left out of this conundrum. A large percentage of trucks/lorries transporting agricultural produce across the country are forced to pay bribes to transport the goods across state borders. Nigerian police officers are known for demanding unmerited compensation at every roadblock, checkpoints and intersections. In utmost absurdity, the rise in food prices currently being experienced within the country has been partly attributed to the Nigerian Police. Evidence abound of Police officers demanding levies for food produce transported by road by farmers and food importers. Logistic businesses that operate large and medium-scale food deliveries are not left out. Their drivers have reportedly complained of having to go along with large sums of money in bribes whenever they are transporting food products from large-scale farmers and ports to bribe police officers at checkpoints. It is the view of the authors that these acts of bribery not only affect the price of foodstuffs but will also negatively affect the logistics companies that will be forced to charge humongous amounts to transport agricultural products. This may lead to a loss or reduction in demand for services for the logistics companies.
The ongoing racket going on at Apapa and Tin Can Port in Lagos is such example of bribery and corruption among security agencies and government officers. A cankerworm which has eaten deep into the fabrics of morality among the Nigerian police officers. The process known as ‘fast track’ witnesses truck drivers parting with between N250,000 to 500,000 per delivery, depending on the value of the products being cleared and transported to avoid their trucks being delayed.
Drivers who are unable to pay might have to watch their produce, (especially where such products are perishable) get rotten and spoilt to the point that by the time they come to claim their trucks, there is usually little to nothing left of the imported food products.
Now the effect of the expose above is that retail sellers, restaurant owners, farmers and traders who deal in food products to compensate for the huge sum of money they pay in bribes will ordinarily pass on the cost to customers. This extortive practice fans the embers of the economic hardship currently permeating the country. Farmers who operate on a large scale which arguably contribute immensely to the country’s economy, are met daily with more reasons to look for a more conducive market for their products or to think twice about their profit margins and decide whether to continue with the business or fold it up and invest in some other ventures.
Little wonder why The Guardian (a Nigerian Daily Newspaper) in an article titled “Nigerian Police, Roadblocks and the Ease of Doing Business” by Senator Sam Ohuabunwa, published on March 12, 2018, stated that if there is one place, we as a country need urgent and revolutionary change, it is the Nigeria Police (Force or Service). This is because the Nigerian Police is fully symptomatic of what is troubling Nigeria and her economy. According to the write-up, our perennial low position on Transparency International’s global Corruption Perception Index (CPI) is strongly influenced by the pathetic picture of our Policemen extorting money from drivers in the full glare of the public. The good Senator also pondered how “…this practice of our Police on our roads improve our ease of doing business rating or global competitiveness?
What does this mean for Nigerian companies and investors who wish to do business in Nigeria? It means higher costs in time and money for companies carrying on businesses within the country, low or zero inflow of direct investment as the economy becomes less attractive to foreign investors, and an alarming rise in the price of commodities. Apart from corruption and bribes, a general lack of security in itself is a chokehold on the economy.
Studies have found that the most important determinant in attracting foreign investment is “trade openness”. For a country that is not an open economy, it then makes sense that investment by foreign investors will be near impossible. Likewise, for middle-income countries like Nigeria, one most important contributor to economic growth is safety and security. Where such a country suffers from insecurities, then it becomes less attractive to investors, leading to a vast reduction in foreign exchange inflow, a massive blow to the country’s economy.
In addition, it has been the experience of the authors that more often than not, expatriate clients have complained about police officers coming up with scrupulous and scandalous petitions with the singular aim of extorting money from them. Expatriates who own and carry on major business enterprises within the country are invited by agencies on baseless petitions only to be asked to pay huge sums of money in bribes on getting to the office on threat of arrest or disruption of business operations. This, in our opinion, will only operate to discourage other expatriates who may otherwise be willing to carry on businesses in Nigeria from doing so.
The Tech Ecosystem: The “Young Money Syndrome”
The infamous act of the police officers in targeting young individuals in the tech industry, under the false claim and assumptions that they are involved in illegal activities as a result of their earnings or because they carry their laptops around have had a somewhat disproportionate effect on the tech ecosystem. This is not to deny the ever-present evidence of internet fraud orchestrated by a minuscule number of Nigerian youths both within and outside the country. What is evident from a proper observance of the activities of these security agencies is that because of the bribes they might have otherwise obtained from these internet fraudsters, they tend to go after those who are making honest living in the tech industry, forcing them to pay huge sums in bribes. Anyone who witnessed the harrowing experiences of influential startup founders, Yele Badamosi and Adegoke Olubusi at the hands of the now-disbanded SARS, will think twice about investing in the tech industry or starting up a tech company in Nigeria.
This highhandedness of the police in harassing and victimising young-bright minds, arguably responsible for one of Nigeria’s fastest-growing industries is part of the major contributory factor to the brain drain currently being experienced in major sectors of the country’s economy. An effect which is not only limited to the tech sector but also the education, health and medicine, oil and gas and renewable energy, among others.
The Oil Sector
As earlier mentioned, the oil sector is not left out of the overbearing effects the actions and inactions of security agencies have on the country’s economy. Kidnapping, oil thefts, vandalism, and police corruption are recurring themes in this sector. This has occasioned some International Oil Companies to divest from onshore activities and focus more on challenging onshore ventures because of the level of corruption and insecurity being experienced.
According to the Guardian Newspaper, in 2012 in a leaked international financial data, nearly 40 per cent of Shell’s total security expenditure over the three years totalling the sum of $383m (244m euros), was spent on protecting its staff and installations in Nigeria’s volatile Niger Delta region. In 2009, $ 65 million was spent on Nigerian Government forces and $75 million on “other” security costs, believed to be a mixture of private security firms and payments to individuals. According to Ben Amunwa of London-based Oil Watchdog Platform, “It is staggering that Shell transferred $65 million of company funds and resources into the hands of soldiers and police…” You will agree with me here that, no company or individual will be happy to invest in an economy where the bulk of the profits and proceeds from such investment will be spent on security and bribes for government agencies.
Need for Reforms
According to Marenin O. in a specially issued article on Public Administration and Development titled: “Style of Policing and Economic Development in African States” published on the Wiley Online Library;
“Economic development, at the minimum, requires threshold conditions of social order, political stability and governmental performance. Economic development will not occur without a societal environment that is able to provide minimal security to all, inspires confidence that the political system (the overall decision-making processes that distribute powers, resources and rights) will follow basic rules and norms with integrity, and provide the belief that the routines of life are protected and predictable to some degree.
What this means in practice is that the general populace and salient groups have confidence that the system will not be undermined by private self-interests, fraud, crime, corruption, the use of force or the general mismanagement of the economy by government and private companies. That confidence is reinforced if the public believes that there exist, and will be brought to bear, effective accountability and control mechanisms to limit the inevitable temptations experienced by people inside the political and economic systems to exploit their positions and powers for private gains.”
From the panoply of discussions as presented above, it is quite evident that at this juncture in our country’s economic journey to unobstructed development, there is a need for a clarion call for reforms, especially within the police force. This is not only necessary to address the prevalent issue of insecurity and corruption pervading the country, but also, to prevent the country’s economy from being further cauterised by the continued highhandedness of security agencies and their officials.
Investing in security infrastructures and implementing functional reforms have proved to be an effective tool of economic development in both developed countries like the United States, and Post-Conflict Countries like South Africa, Kenya, and Liberia, among others.
Partially Successful Police Reforms in Africa and Beyond; Case Study
In the United States, the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks witnessed the United States Government, investing heavily in security through policy reforms and infrastructural upgrades, among others. This in retrospect, helped to create jobs and boost the country’s economy.
A study by the Brennan Centre for Justice found that states that implemented police reforms saw a decrease in crime rates and an increase in economic growth. The report concludes that considering the immense social, fiscal, and economic costs of mass incarceration, programs that improve economic opportunities, modernize policing practices, and expand treatment and rehabilitation programs, all could be a better public safety investment.
Similarly, investors became more amenable to investing in a country like Mexico, one of the high-ranking countries in notorious drug-related violence, because the government worked relentlessly to improve security, by developing security frameworks to address specifically, drug-related crimes and implementing policy reforms among its security agencies. This enabled the country to attract more foreign investment, thereby boosting her overall economic development.
In the same vein, there have been notable attempts at reforming the police in some African Countries in recent years. In countries like Kenya, the government has invested in security to protect tourists. This helped in reviving the tourism industry, a major source of revenue for the country.
“Kenya’s economy achieved broad-based growth averaging 4.8% per year between 2015-2019, significantly reducing poverty (from 36.5% in 2005 to 27.2% in 2019 ($2.15/day poverty line).”
According to Mr. James Kamula, a regional coordinator of Coastal and Marine Projects in Nairobi;
“The environment is under increasing stress due to continued overexploitation of resources. This threatens ecosystem productivity in the coastal area, and therefore economic growth. COSMAR is helping countries to include environment concerns in all development policies and actions,”
Also, according to a UN report analysing sustainable tourism in the country. The tourism sector creates jobs for 11 per cent of Kenya’s workforce. It diversifies the economy and boosts other sectors such as transport, food and beverages, entertainment and textiles. Investing in policing reforms to address security threats to tourists and those who might be interested in carrying out coastal projects within the country has contributed to Kenya’s economic growth.
Also, in South Africa, the South African Police Service (SAPS) witnessed a post-apartheid transformation which focused on three main issues, first, a change in the personnel composition and management of the SAPS; second, a shift in the underlying ideology of policing from protecting white rule to a community policing approach through the creation of community-based forums to partner with the police and to increase the flow of resources provided to black communities; what then followed is an institutional change, which witnessed the centralisation of control over the newly formed police in the post-apartheid government. The government made successful reformative policies due to the implementation of four factors as identified by Bayley (2008) , to wit; a political settlement, shared values of governance, administrative capacity and a vibrant civil society.
The South African Government enjoyed much external support due to these changes. Foreign Governments, private consultants, investors and NGOs eagerly sought to show that they were on the right side of history by carrying out aid projects and investments which inevitably led to the enormous growth of the South African economy.
Effective Police Reforms in Nigeria
Over the years, most international reformative efforts by the Nigerian Government have focused on selected aspects of policing such as improving control of transnational crimes, control of fraud, community policing reforms, and on developing professional skills in management. However, research by academics and local NGOs suggest that the performance and image of the Nigerian Police Force (NPF) have witnessed little change since the country’s independence in 1960, despite the focus on the above-mentioned reforms. This is as a result of a couple of factors. For one, politics still dominates the strategic and operational priorities of the NPF, especially in response to communal violence. The wishes of the political leadership, whether that leadership is the military or an elected civilian regime, still dominate. There is very little external capacity for oversight of the police, by civil society or established government oversight institutions, and the police enjoy widespread impunity.
Also, the fact that Nigeria, a country operating a Federal System of Government, composed of 36 states has one National police force centrally controlled creates numerous potentials for conflicts between the centre and the states, especially where the political parties in power at the federal and state levels differ. The sheer size of the country’s police force numbering about 340,000 also creates management and oversight problems, thereby vitiating well-intended reforms.
Take Away
The takeaway here is that changes in organizational arrangements and priorities are not likely to have an impact on street-level policing, in the absence of a clearly expressed and continuously enforced policy by effective central and local reward and sanctioning management policies, oversight and anti-corruption efforts. Second, as elsewhere, police reforms have to be supported by political will, in a political environment that grants the police some operational autonomy.
What then can be done to create a conducive environment for functional police reforms to be effective?
Suggested Approach to Functional Police Reforms
The major preconditions for any successful reform are an overall political agreement and sustained political will. This applies majorly to functional policing as they majorly challenge the major power holders in the country.
1. Re-orientation and Effective Enforcement of Fundamental Rights and Riot Control
There is a specific need for awareness sensitisation among police officers as to the behemoth value technology holds in our modern-day economy. researchers estimate that the digital economy is worth $11.5 trillion globally, equivalent to 15.5% of the global GDP, and has grown two and half times faster than global GDP over the past 15 years. The Nigerian Police force needs to be made aware of the need to promote the development of digital technology as a springboard for the country’s economic growth and the important role the Nigerian youth has to play in this sector. The traditional mindset that a young vibrant youth cannot legally amass wealth should take a back seat in the enforcement of our security policies. Technology is highly rewarding, and the possibilities achievable through its utilisation are endless. Incessant clamping down on young entrepreneurs should be revisited. Proper investigations and findings should be made to ascertain incidences of financial fraud. This will ensure that more individuals are encouraged to invest in the technology sector.
Similarly, the tenets and core values of the police force and other security agencies should be re-engraved in the minds of every officer. Upholding the rights of every citizen and enforcing laws and statutes regulating the operations of both local and foreign businesses should not be left on the pages of the Constitution and other relevant regulations. Active steps should be taken towards ensuring that every officer plays by the book. All hands must be on deck to ensure that wherever riots break out within the country, security agencies and riot control units operate in a way that does not encourage further riots and destruction of properties as inept and brutal riot control tends to do.
2. Increase Salaries and Entitlements
There is no gain saying that the salary of an average police officer in Nigeria is nothing short of atrocious which leads to deflation in the morale of affected officers. A police officer below the rank of Inspector General of Police earns less than 80,000 naira per month. While this does not excuse the incessant bribes and corruption within the police force, an increase in remuneration and benefits will go a long way in easing the poverty rate among the officers, thereby eradicating the need to constantly demand bribes or extort businesses.
We also recommend that the Federal Government ensures beneficiaries of the Group Life Insurance Scheme provided for Police Personnel can claim same without the hassles of red tape/bureaucracy. This will go a long way in encouraging the police officers and men/women who have been working hard to ensure the security of lives and property across the country.
3. Investing in More Stringent Anti-Corruption Policies
Economic mismanagement, fraud and corruption are tightly linked to ineffective policy reforms. Addressing this will require strong investigative capabilities by the police and other security agencies as well as the political will to allow investigations into cases of corruption and mismanagement and the ensuing sanctions to run their course. This can be done by putting in place more stringent anti-corruption policies and backing them up with effective enforcement and sanctions. Also, the control of high-level corruption and organized transnational crime requires sophisticated investigative techniques, equipment and skills.
4. Border Controls and Improved Habour and Airport Security
Control of borders and improved harbour and airport security are essential to control smuggling and protect commercial import and export activities. Harbours are often controlled by armed gangs who loot ships and warehouses. At airports, gangs have been known to stop planes as they taxi and empty their cargo holds. Appropriate equipment and the use of specially trained units could assist in dealing with these sorts of specific security threats to international and local economic activities.
5. Rigid and More Rigorous Procedure for Selection of Members of the Police Force
The procedure for qualification and admission into the Police Academy for members of the police force is somewhat lax and too flexible in Nigeria. There is a need to make this procedure more rigid so that whoever is going to be admitted into the Nigeria Police Academy would have gone through some rigorous scrutinization process and background checks before being admitted into the academy. It will also help if the curriculum at the academy is revised to include more humanitarian and functional courses that will equip graduates from the Nigerian Police Academy with the necessary skillset to be able to address the security challenges within the country.
6. Encouraging Interests in Local Politics by Foreign Investors and International Reformers
The most essential element for functional policy reform to be effective in promoting economic development is the need for investors and international reformers to learn how to play local politics. For such players to be successful within the country, they cannot refuse to be drawn into local events. According to Donais T. (2008), Police reforms are political reforms for they alter the existing distribution of authority, powers, benefits and rights. Policing reforms will always be resisted by some and supported by other local stakeholders. There will be perceived losers and winners. Reformers and implementers need to play hardball with those who oppose reforms and not let them become “spoilers.” Reformers need to find or create supportive stakeholders and promote them as much as possible.
Policing reforms will only become effective in promoting economic growth in a country like Nigeria if the minimal threshold conditions for social order are achieved. A community implementation of all the above suggestions is subsumed into these threshold conditions, and it is only after this threshold has been crossed, that policing reforms will become functional, sustainable and legitimate.
7. Implementation of State Police/Policing
In order to complete law enforcement and policing triangle, it is suggested that state police be implemented. States already have divisions of High Courts, Magistrate Courts, and Customary Courts. The State is in a ready position to establish state policing in order to address the high incidences of insecurity in various states across the country. The clamour for state police is made more prominent in the various news reports periodically published by Nigerian Newspapers, one of which is a recent publication by Guardian Newspaper in what can be described as an open letter to the president, titled “Mr President, We Need State Police”. Establishing State Police as part of the country’s security architecture will go a long way in ensuring prompt response to issues of insecurity especially cases of emergencies. What is more, states can raise revenues and make local policies to regulate Police operations within the states.
8. Amendment of the Nigeria Police Act 2020 to include Independent Investigating Bodies
Nigeria can take a page out of the United Kingdom’s (UK) policing policies by amending the Nigeria Police Act to include the establishment of an independent investigating body or ombudsman infused with the powers to investigate allegations against erring police officers. For example, the UK’s Policing and Crime Act 2017 and Police Reforms Act 2002, grant separate powers to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), a non-departmental public body, which succeeded the erstwhile Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), to oversee the police complaint’s system in England and Wales, investigate the most serious matters relating to police conduct, and improve police practices through shared learning.
Also, there are countries like Northern Ireland, among others who have established the Office of Police Ombudsman with the statutory duty of securing an efficient and effective independent complaint system, saddled with the responsibility of receiving and investigating complaints and allegations against conducts of police officers.
It is expedient that Nigeria amends her Police Act to include similar independent bodies to address issues of police highhandedness and conduct unworthy of the uniform, independent of the Nigeria Police Force as a body. The Nigerian Police Act 2020, only makes provisions in its Part XV, granting the Director General of Police the power to establish a Police Complaint Response Unit to be headed by an officer not below the rank of Chief Superintendent of Police. This, in essence implies that the receipt of complaint, investigation and recommendation as to disciplinary actions are all treated within the police force and supervised by police officers.
Establishing an independent body to investigate complaint’ and allegations against police officers will not only ensure that the investigations are carried out without prejudice, but will also replenish the already depleted trust and confidence in public policing, while ensuring that erring officers are adequately investigated and disciplined.
9. Discipline of erring officers
Increased disciplinary measures will also help in discouraging involvement in extortive practices. Disciplinary measures cannot be successfully implemented without focusing on eliminating external safe havens for large-scale corrupt gains. This will ensure that High-level politicians, the so-called big men and women and high-ranking police officials who are in the position to steal massive sums from public treasuries and take huge sums as bribes have no safe havens to spend their ill-gotten gains. Every bank account should be investigated upon such officials leaving office, and every property and asset should be audited.
Ogbonna Chukwumerije Esq., is a Team Lead at Pinheiro LP, his core areas of interest and practise are Intellectual Property Law, Technology Law and Environmental Law.
Emmanuel Oluwaseun Olukanni Esq , is an Associate at Pinheiro LP, his core area of interest and practice are Technology Law, International Trade and Investment Law, Litigation and ADR.
