Lockdown and police extortion

As many Nigerians predicted, the mounted check points deployed by the Nigerian Police Force as a primary measure to ensure Nigerians adhere to the Covid-19 checkpoints have been converted to extortion centres. This is the reality of being Nigerian, having nothing but fear and disdain for law enforcement agents who seek every opportunity to exploit the average citizen.

Reports from across the country suggest that police officers and army personnel are undermining the efforts to prevent movement of people across state borders by demanding bribes to determine who gets to move around and who doesn’t.

These accusations of extortion are especially heinous considering the lockdown has put many people out of a job and others unable to make income in these difficult times. To be extorted by policemen who are supposed to keep the peace and assist citizens feels like a double insult on the plight of the average Nigerian.

Putting thousands of lives at risk in exchange for a N200 bribe seems like a poor compromise, but this is the reality of Nigeria. You would think the Federal Government  would understand that now more than ever, law enforcement officers need to be compensated properly, first for risking their lives by manning check points and second they have all the incentives to overlook rule breaking in exchange for bribes. But Nigerian politicians are committed to holding on to an unrealistic view of the country, which results into worrying situations like this.

Our primary challenge now should be ensuring that the law enforcement officials who are an integral part of our response to the Covid-19 pandemic begin to take their responsibilities seriously.

Indeed, we are facing an unprecedented medical crisis that is already applying pressure on all corners of the global economy and on individuals and families around the world. Mandatory stay-at-home orders have resulted in record high unemployment, jeopardized the sustainability of small and large businesses, and left many uneasy with their own mortality. Unfortunately, corruption, which, put simply, is the use of one’s official position for personal gain, thrives in times of tragedy, especially in areas with limited transparency, high levels of pre-crisis corruption, limited free press, poor education, and/or weak law enforcement and anti-corruption measures.

Much like Covid-19, corruption doesn’t discriminate, impacts everyone regardless of social class, economic status, color, creed, or religion. Countless ordinary Nigerians attempting to make precarious ends meet as taxi drivers, market traders, and shop keepers are accosted on a daily basis by armed police officers who demand bribes and commit human rights abuses against them as a means of extorting money. Those who fail to pay are frequently threatened with arrest and physical harm. Far too often these threats are carried out.

Police corruption affects nearly every Nigerian, though it disproportionately impacts Nigeria’s poor. Those in precarious economic situations, scraping out a living day to day, are more susceptible to police extortion because of the profound effects that unlawful detention, or the mere threat of arbitrary arrest, have on their livelihoods.

The Nigerian government, including the National Assembly, and the anti-corruption commissions should improve transparency and accountability in the police force by reforming and ensuring better coordination of oversight mechanisms; and authorities should investigate and prosecute without delay police officers implicated in extortion, embezzlement, and human rights abuses.

Ademola Orunbon

[email protected]

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