The book Law on Prevention and Detection of Crimes by the Police in Nigeria is not a self-published one. The justification for the title of the book is the realisation that security is fundamental to the existence of Nigeria like any other country and security is intertwined with good governance and development. The author shares with Robert McNamara, a former United States of America Secretary of Defence, the idea that “The correlation, therefore, underscores the importance of security to a nation and the well-being of her people”.
Although the book deals substantially with duties of the police to prevent and detect crime, its approach extends to analysis of other police functions that are ascribed to the force by section 4 of the Police Act. These are the apprehension of offenders, protection of life and property, preservation of law and order, the enforcement of laws and regulations with which they are duly charged and the performance of such duties within Nigeria as may be required of them or by the authority of the Act. The author observes that these latter functions overlap the preventive and detective functions of the force. He eminently shows throughout the book that the legislative framework and indeed the law on police crime prevention and detection is “not intended to be seen as creating strictures or constrictions in a compartmentalised manner, but includes enforcement of the criminal laws and the problems as well as the prospects that thereby emerge for purposes of assessing the future of policing in Nigeria”.
The book contains thirty-two (32) preliminary pages and 304 pages of text including the appendices, bibliography and index. It is remarkable to observe that out of the 304 pages of text, there are 40 pages of very rich appendices and 15 pages of bibliography. A two-page preface giving a summary of the eight chapters in the book marks the beginning of the book.
It is satisfying that in these days of increasing number of emergency authors of books, including law books, the author of this handy book is in all modesty very competent. The author’s balanced admixture personality of academic and practitioner of policing at a very high level gives utmost credibility to his competence to write the book under review.
In the opening sentence of the preface, the author was quick at pointing out the necessity for the book when he stated as follows: “Enormous internal security problems currently beset Nigeria, and explanations are being sought for the role that the Nigeria Police Force plays in maintaining public safety, order and peace in the country”. Since law is the foundation of all changes in security matters, he reveals that his focus is the legal framework for the prevention and detection of crimes by the Nigeria Police Force in Nigeria. Accordingly, the objectives for writing the book are stated to include “identifying the constitutional role of the police, examining and evaluating the duties and powers of the police in crime prevention and detection in Nigeria”. At page 10 the author further seeks to undertake a critical evaluation of the legal framework for the prevention and detection of crimes by the Nigeria Police Force with a view to dissecting the extent to which extant legal framework that regulates policing impact on the competence of the Police Force to attain its mandate in relation to the perennial internal security challenges confronting the country.
To achieve these set objectives, the author stated on the same page that doctrinaire research approach is adopted with the author bringing to use his enormously rich knowledge and experience in police studies and law. He seeks to test how applicable to Nigeria Packer’s twin theory of crime control and due process values in criminal justice. According to Packer, the criminal justice system is regulated by two conflicting values, which tend to illuminate the tendencies, patterns, processes and outcomes of the processes. In adumbrating the two theories, the author stated that the crime control value theory reflects an assembly plant conveyor belt that moves endless stream of cases unencumbered by legal technicalities or processes and the value system. The value system that underlies the crime control model is based on the proposition that the repression of crime is by far the most important function to be performed by the criminal process. Accordingly, crime control efficiency strategies, which place emphasis on high rate of apprehension and conviction of offenders, speedy dispensation of justice and efficient utilisation of limited resources, are encouraged and premium is placed on the concept of pre-trial finality. This presupposes that criminal cases should be dispensed with as quickly as possible at informal pre-trial level of the police, because, court processes are seen as wasteful, slow and capable of defeating the object of speedy repression of crime.
On the other hand, the due process value model is described as an obstacle course that places formidable legal impediments at every stage of the criminal process. It subordinates the criminal justice process and actors to procedures that are fair, reliable, and fully protective of the legal and civil rights of the suspects and citizens against possible abuses of State power. The model assumes that errors pervade the criminal justice process and that confessions by persons in police custody may be unreliable to the extent that they could be induced by intervening variables such as physical or psychological pressures by the interrogating police officers and mental disorientation occasioned by the poor and inhuman custodial environment. The due process model accords pre-eminence to the judiciary, and the appeal process while totally rejecting the concept of pre-trial finality. It assumes that the main objective of the criminal process is to prevent miscarriages of justice by protecting the factually innocent and convicting the factually guilty.
Generally, the layout, the choice of subjects discussed and how the discussion was carried on by the author, are quite apt to the title and aim of the book. The book is divided into eight chapters of interrelated and interwoven details. In chapter one, which is the introductory part of the book, the author lays a foundation on security dynamics in the country. He re-echoes the growing concern of the public about security threats and the need for crime control. With statistical evidence, he enumerated various offences that pose numerous security challenges in various facets of life in the country. While citing section 14(b) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, (as amended) as placing prime security responsibility on the State and effect given to the realisation of the security and welfare of the people by the establishment of the Nigeria Police Force by sections 214-215 of the Constitution, the author bemoans the lack of alignment of law on policing functions with new sets of threats to the internal security profile of the country. In his words: “Unfortunately, in grappling with these challenges, it does appear that strategic policing stakeholders are yet to fully appreciate the importance of adapting the country’s policing laws to the dynamic nature of crimes. This, in itself, constitutes a major threat to internal security”.
In further justifying the choice of the subject matter of the book, the author reviews some relevant local and foreign literature as well as theories. In dissecting the essence of policing and law enforcement in any society, the author engaged among others, Thomas Hobbes’ social contract theory and John Lock’s political theory that “no man can be subjected to the political power of another without his consent”, as well as Rousseau’s idea of a state of nature. Even more pungent and direct is the author’s use of Packer’s crime control value theory and due process value theory.
For a clearer exposition of the use of some words including ‘security’, ‘insecurity’, ‘police’, ‘policing’, ‘crime prevention’, ‘crime detection’, ‘intelligence’ and ‘intelligence-led policing’, which though are commonly employed in day-to-day ordinary usage, they are treated as technical terms and legalese and are so defined by the author. Of particular interest is the author’s analysis of the four perspectives of scholars’ definitions of the “police” as ‘symbols of law’, ‘epitome of State power’, ‘socio-political order agents’ and ‘risk managers’. While not agreeing with all of them in toto, the author argues that “the legal, ideological, sociological, and political frameworks which guide police operations in Nigeria are not only faulty, but also combine to create a policing system that engenders miscarriages of justice within the Nigeria policing space”.
Chapter two explores the historical roots of the modern Nigeria Police Force and historical antecedents to police development in the country. It periodises the historical evolution of the Force into pre-colonial, colonial and post-colonial era. In such centralised pre-colonial societies as the emirates in the North, Yoruba kingdoms and Benin Kingdom, the author reiterated, that pre-colonial police system was formalised, whereas, in the non-centralised societies, policing arrangements were not quite formalised in many cases. To him, on the eve of British contact with pre-colonial Nigeria and imposition of colonial rule, there was low crime-profile, relative peace and security in virtually all the societies. His explanation is that it is the result of the effectiveness, confidence and trust in the traditional police system. While the community-centrenedness of the police system partially accounted for the relative tranquility, the author was restrictive in identifying such other factors as the value system of the age and low level of heterogeneity of the societies.A close nexus is shown to exist between imperialist ideology of British rule in the country and the transplanted Forces at the disposal of the colonial government and which metamorphorsed into the modern Nigeria Police Force. According to the author, colonial ideology and objective with exploitative, coercive and oppressive strategies reflected in some aspects of the applicable laws, and remained the bane of the Force for a long time. Colonial police, though of British origin with supposedly a history of advancement in policing culture and people-oriented approach, its philosophy, goals, operation and organisation served British hegemonial interest, and created a gulf between themselves and the people. Inevitably, the local police forces of the period were seen as agents of the colonial government. Little wonder therefore that after independence, the police found it difficult to extricate itself from colonial approach to policing which was British and ought to possess the standards of the British Police who are generally acclaimed to be a role model for the world, but was uncivil, disrespectful to human rights and protective of the powers that be. In a sense, part of the hangover is the historical colonial coercive orientation of the police. Without any fear of contradiction, however, the author’s research findings reveal that the role which the police play in the country cannot be anchored exclusively on consensus-functionalist theory or conflict theory, but as he rightly stated, police duty is a double-edged sword protective and oppressive to maintain social order.
It is against this background that the author discuses in chapter three the constitutional role assigned to the police. This is identified to include prevention and detection of crimes which are critical in ensuring the security and welfare of the people. To achieve this purpose, the command of the Nigeria Police Force is put under the Inspector-General of Police. It is shown in the chapter that by the tenor of section 215(3) and (4) of the Constitution, a bundle of expectations, from the Nigeria Police Force, are created. In a most professional manner, sometimes diagrammatically presented, the author elucidated the constitutional provisions on supervisory, operational and administrative system of the Nigeria Police Force. He shows how, within the constitutional framework, different structures are established. The significance of these structures, are shown to be useful in determining the nature of control and the authorities that have control over the force. In a rather dogged and relentless manner, but with the benefit of experiences in some foreign jurisdictions, the author canvassed an argument for a monolithic, federal-controlled Nigeria Police Force. Basing his view on historical evidence and what he calls lack of sufficient maturity by many political actors, he emphasised the futility, for now, of the clamour for State Police Forces which may be mere instruments of oppression in the hands of some overbearing Governors. The author’s escape from the protagonists of state police lies, however, in his rather middle course position that while state police is not an anathema, constitutional permission to establish such forces can be contemplated in due course. He suggests that, for now, all stakeholders should unite to properly fund the Nigeria Police Force and rid the Force of corruption and other vices and abuses in order to achieve effective policing.
Chapters four and five are devoted to examination of legislative framework of prevention and detection of crimes. In opening discussion in chapter four, the overlapping nature of crime prevention and detection is given as a reason for discussing the two police functions conjunctively. This style is further justified on ground that the various relevant legislation do not make distinct and separate provisions on crime prevention from crimes detection. The author specifically and copiously cited a plethora of legislative instruments including the Constitution, Police Act with Police Regulation, Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015, Administration of Criminal Justice Law (ACJL) 2007 of Lagos state, the Criminal Procedure Laws of States without equivalent of ACJL, Criminal Code Law of Lagos State 2011, Criminal Code Laws of other States in the South, Penal Code Laws of the States in the North, Evidence Act 2011 and Traffic Laws of the States. These statutes with relevant judicial authorities are discussed for the purpose of assessing police exercise of powers and authority largely in the broad areas of powers of preventive justice, arrest and detention, search and seizures, interrogation, powers to grant bail, take measurement, photograph and fingerprint impression, to regulate assemblies, meetings and procession to ensure compliance with the Road Traffic Laws, to conduct prosecution and enforce orders and judgments.
In discussing powers of preventive justice special space is devoted to the crime of breach of peace and a number of offences in which such an ingredient is required. Of contemporary relevance is the legal framework on how a police officer should deal with an assembly, a meeting or procession for which licence is or not issued, in order to prevent serious public disorder. He stated rightly that since the Public Order Act does not repeal the provisions of section 42(2) of the Trade Unions Act, “the police have no power to disturb any peaceful picketing”, but not when the police officer reasonably believes that the picketing or gathering even though peaceful, may likely cause a breach of the peace or lead to other unlawful acts. It is to be commended the balanced argument by the author on the constitutionality of the Public Order Act. Moreover, the relevant cases including those of All Nigeria People’s Party & Others v. Inspector General of Police and Chaukwuma v. Commissioner of Police are cited and critically analysed. As a way out, the author suggests that rather than provide for an application for permit, the law should be amended to notify the Governor and the Police authority of any plan to have an assembly, meeting or procession in order to enjoy police protection.
Having lucidly examined the law on police powers of arrest and the relevant safeguards against abuse, the author entered into an intellectual duel with Professor Amadi and posited that there is no police detection without arrest, debauching Amadi’s view that police detain people as a matter of routine.
Chapter five continues the discussion of the legislative framework for the detection of crime in the country. The focus of discussion is on the legal rules on police powers of search, seizure, to grant bail, interrogate and to take fingerprint impressions, photographs and measurements as well as ensure compliance with Road Traffic Laws.
The author clears the misconception that a police officer cannot search a suspect unless that suspect is arrested. He contributes to the debate on what law empowers a search on things – citing section 4 Police Act and section 29 Police Act as giving direct and indirect authorisations respectively. In discussing the search of premises by the police, he raised complex issues and questions that commonly arise, especially the requirement of permission or consent of the occupier’s consent. It did not dwell extensively on the power of “security agents” to forcibly enter private premises or the time such an entry is permitted by law. Perhaps the oversight of detailed discussion of this matter is excused because the author did not envisage that such entry could be conducted by security agents even on judges’ premises and at what some may describe as an unholy hour of the night. In all modesty, however, at page 141 he stated that “a police officer can enter and conduct search on private premises where he has a warrant or any other statutory authority”. It would need to be incorporated as example of such statutory authority, in the next edition the import of sections 10, 12, 38, 39, 43(1) and (2), 148, 149 and 494 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015.
The author’s discussion of the powers of seizure, detention and disposal of items after search is significantly linked to the use to which such items recovered from search conducted by the police are put for purposes of prosecution of a defendant. In this connection, he delved properly into the reformed principles of relevancy and admissibility of illegally or improperly obtained evidence under sections 14 and 15 of the Evidence Act 2011.
Police powers to grant pre-trial bail are also the subject of lucid analysis in chapter 5. It rightly restricted such power to granting a suspect and not defendant (accused) bail. As regards the controversy whether an arrested suspect can be detained in the police custody for more than twenty four hours, the author leans in favour of the affirmative view represented by Ehindero as against the disaffirmative view represented by Amadi. He cited relevant statutory authorities including ACJA. The debate in respect of non-capital offence is left open by the interpretation of “reasonable time” in section 35(5) of the Constitution, section 30(3) ACJA and section 17(3) ACJL.
The introduction of counsel into pre-trial interrogation by section 17(2) of ACJA is seen by the author as a movement towards due process value model of modern policing in a growing world of globalisation and democracy. This, to him, became justified because over the years the police failed to regulate themselves even in their duty of interrogation which are fraught with several abuses. Such abuses which included oppressive and coercive eliciting of confessional statements and the high standard of proof (beyond reasonable doubt) for admissibility of such confessional statements under the Evidence Act 2011 form part of the discussion in the chapter. He left unanswered, however, the criticism by Ehindero that “it is ethically indefensible”, idealistic and serves no useful purpose than to delay and deny justice.
Administrative rules, direction and legislative rules formulated to regulate interrogation practice are also discussed. Other powers of the police to take fingerprint impression, photographs, and measurements are also analysed within the context of crime prevention and detection functions of the police. Traffic matters are not left out in the book.
Until the ACJL and ACJA were enacted in 2007 and 2015 respectively the rules bequeathed by the legislative framework for prevention and detection of crimes appear to be out of tune with the needs of modern policing in the country. He called on the many states that are yet to update their criminal procedure laws in terms of ACJA to do so. In his opinion, the legislative framework is neither weak nor irrelevant.
The author overlaps discussion on defacto crime prevention with defacto crime detection in chapter six. Crime Preventive and detective methods by the police are also discussed. Highlights of professional techniques for preventing and detecting crimes are given. Essentials of investigation in crime detection came out sharply in the book. Tools of an investigator, phases in investigation, criminal investigative powers as well as the laws that empower and enable the police to investigate alleged crimes are examined. In this respect, the author identified lack of professionalism and transparency as recurrent drawbacks. He recommends that a new legal framework in terms of the relevant Criminal Evidence Act (PACE) 1984 and Jersey Police Procedures and Criminal Evidence Law 2003 should be provided. It is also the findings of the research that the extant laws relating to crime investigation and detection do not substantially capture the complexities of electronic and cybercrimes associated with the contemporary revolution in electronic technology. More importantly, he pointed out the inherent contradictions in the extant reactionary security strategies. He equally adduced criticisms of crime preventive and detective policing laws in the country.
It is shown throughout the book that Police-community relations pervade the reality of police performance of their duties. The author stated some of the reasons why the use of this social device has not achieved the desired objectives. While reiterating the courtship by the police that “police is your friend” he enumerated reasons for the public perception of the police and accordingly prescribed some remedies. In particular, he commended the establishment of the Nigeria Police Force – Complaint Response Unit (NPF-CRU). This is a community-oriented complaint management system mechanism by which reported citizens’ complaints, concerns and queries regarding policing activities can be addressed twenty-four hours a day including weekends and public holidays. The successful take off of the NPF-CRU, the brainchild of the author, is remarkable.
The refining and predominant reliance on intelligence-led policing in defacto police prevention and detection of crimes in the country is a major thrust in the book. He gave exhaustive definitions of “intelligence” and “intelligence-led policing”. He defines “intelligence” as including “information including data that are obtained, analysed, evaluated and interpreted, and are useful for purposes of security and crime control planning, organizing, decision-making and policy-making”. He refers to “intelligence-led policing” as simply meaning “the performance of security duties by the process, structure and product of intelligence in order to assist crime control strategies and decision-making”. It refers to the process by which information is collected, organised, analysed and utilised in a systematic manner in crime prevention and detection. It is described as a model of policing that the police is to prevent and detect crime rather than react to it; necessitated by the absence of a dedicated, specialised, well-trained, well-motivated and well-equipped criminal intelligence unit. It arises out of the need to fill “intelligence gap”, and make police truly proactive. It is pointed out, however, that the intelligence apparatus of Nigeria Police Force, like that of any other security agency, is not fool-proof because of challenges facing the Force and the nature of the Nigerian society. Despite the possibility of intelligence failure, the author confidently asserted that the capabilities of the Force Intelligence Bureau (FIB) are strong enough to give focus on intelligence-led policing to the Force. To him intelligence-led policing is geared towards outwitting criminals and restore confidence in the police.
In chapter seven, both internal and external institutional mechanisms are identified within the context of the legal framework for police duties of crime prevention and detection. The author correctly listed the institutions which directly affect the performance of the duties of crime prevention and detection by the Nigeria Police Force to include the Nigeria Police Council, Police Service Commission, Ministry of Interior, National Assembly/States Houses of Assembly, National Human Rights Commission, Judiciary, Police Community Relations Committee and the Media. In a carrot and stick style, the author shows in tabular form the promotions and confirmation of police officers between 2015 and 2016, as well as disciplinary cases, punishment awarded and appeals processed to the Police Service Commission during the same period. Of great importance is that the chapter assesses the measure of success of the institutional mechanisms in ensuring police accountability in democratic governance of the country. He brought to the fore the need to strengthen the oversight powers of the relevant bodies in guaranteeing adequate attitudinal change, proper training, adequate publicity of police activities, police image-laundering and reform of the Police Act and its subsidiary legislation.
The last chapter consists of concluding observations by the author. He cautions against allowing the threat to security in the country to snowball to the African and even global security complexities. In view of the apprehension by the public, the readiness of the police to effectively control crime is a fundamental issue that demands greater academic and professional response. To a large extent, from his assessment of the legislative and institutional frameworks, the police are positioned to play a dual role, as peace officers and law officers. But, as he frankly exposes, the performance of their functions are far from meeting the internally recognised standards of a modern police. In spite of the numerous positive activities and achievements by the police, the author highlighted the challenges the greatest of which include funding, poor equipment, political factors, corruption and poor perception of the police by the members of the public. Despite this poor perception, Dr. Arase doggedly states at page 240 that the police have not failed because they have successfully prevented and detected uncountable crimes in the country. He, however, advised that the police would need to move away from historical legacy of colonial orientation, adoption of crime control value model, reactive or traditional military response methods to the proactive or intelligence-driven as well as due process system of policing. He accepts that this desirable shift has commenced as a result of inter alia, recent reforms in the administration of criminal justice law and the Nigeria Police Force which provide for accountability and safeguards against abuse of police powers.
It is against this backdrop that the author gives numerous recommendations for true transformation and modernisation of the Nigeria Police Force in a fast changing Nigeria.
The book under review is a product of an intellectual with the tapestry of professionalism in police services. The author sets an objective to bequeath a legacy of legal knowledge to the police community and indeed humanity. He achieved his objectives for writing the book which traverses all the essential areas in the chosen title. Most of the relevant statutory and judicial authorities at the time the book was taken to the press were cited. The structure and presentation of the relevant principles of law, arguments and conclusions epitomise clarity and lucidity. Use of language in the entire book is impressive. Errors are insignificantly few and are mainly typographical.
