The global rating of the Nigeria Police

THE World Internal Security and Police Index International (WISPI) recently rated the Nigeria Police as the worst police organisation in the world. The Nigeria Police recorded the most abysmal performance out of the 127 countries assessed in 2016. The report also rated Singapore as the best police force in the world, followed by Denmark and Finland. The report was released by the International Police Science Association and the Institute for Economics and Peace based on indices like capacity, process, legitimacy and outcomes which the assessors said were meant to measure the ability of the police  in a country to respond to internal security challenges now and in the future.

The WISPI rated the NPF as the worst in the world on all the four parameters with a score of 0.255. It ranked below the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Uganda and Pakistan. According to the report, “there are 219 police officers to every 100,000 Nigerians, well below both the index median of 300 and the sub-Saharan Africa’s regional average of 268. This limits the capacity of the force to measure up to its law and order mandate. In terms of process, legitimacy and outcomes, the story is not different, which makes the force to fall short of the required standard.”

This rating merely confirms the public perception of the Nigeria Police scientifically, even without including other well-known shortcomings like the proliferation of arms and ammunition in the hands of the wrong people, which compromises the strength of the police, and the poor and inclement training facilities from where the officers and men of the force are inducted into a basically bellicose relationship with the public that they are expected to protect and secure. Earlier, the Nigeria Police had also been named as one of the most corrupt organisations in the country. Again,  the organisation’s record for extrajudicial killings is well-known even though this was not part of the parameters considered by the WISPI. Arguably, the Nigeria Police is challenged by its unitary structure and it is not surprising that it has ultimately failed to serve the interests of the federation.

Successive administrations have not been able to muster the political will and courage to decentralise the NPF despite the fact that its structure and performance suggest the need for urgent reform. In many of our previous comments on the Nigeria Police, we have consistently harped on its essence being affected by its colonial orientation. Having been inherited from the colonialists, the Nigeria Police has yet to live down its entrenched mission and essence as a force designed to pacify the people. It has been difficult for it to function as a protector of a free and independent people.

We recall with remorse and indignation, the admission by former President Olusegun Obasanjo that the organisation had been infiltrated by criminals and the illegal roadblock once foiled by a now retired Assistant Inspector General of Police, mounted by men who had allegedly been dismissed from the force but who still were in possession of their uniforms. There can hardly be any doubt that the Nigeria Police desperately needs reinvention, first in the national interest and secondly to avoid shameful ratings by international organisations like the WISPI and others. The needed reform or reinvention must come from outside the force since it cannot reform itself. The time is ripe to decentralise the Nigeria Police for effectiveness. The worn-out argument about the possibility of politicisation is no longer sustainable since all the security agencies are not insulated from politics anyway and all human organisations must evolve in the direction of fulfilling the ideals and goals of the larger society, especially in a globalised world.

The response from the police spokesperson, Moshood Jimoh, was tepid and unfortunate even if it was expected. In a statement, he said the NPF had been rated the best in United Nations’ (UN) peacekeeping operations. Such a rebuttal only betrays a lack of understanding of the issues at stake since peacekeeping was not part of the variables under scrutiny. In any case, in peacekeeping missions, the Nigeria Police has no choice but to conform to the international standards. The attitude of denying the obvious is one of the distinguishing traits of the Nigeria Police which, to all intents and purposes, is not helpful. How can the force deny that it sorely needs help? The Federal Government needs to wade in now and relieve the force of its many albatrosses.