LAST week, I started my examination of the time-honoured phenomenon known as human life and how over time man had instinctively struggled to preserve life and property from the hostile environment throughout the stone age, bronze age, iron age and the present industrial revolution age. After the partition of Africa by the Europeans in 1884, the British who were “allotted” the area named Niger Area which had been changed to Nigeria also found that Nigerians have their own system of preserving human life and property. They found that the Yoruba had their Akodas while the Hausa had Dogaris. In the last edition, I stated that as primitive as the Akoda and Dogari phenomenon might seemed to have been, the fact remained that they were respected as the agents of the throne and indeed as security agents and law enforcement officers for the larger society. In addition,they also acknowledged the high qualities inherent in the traditional security system which included high discipline, honesty, sincerity, commitment and efficiency. This week, I will examine the history of how the British Colonial Masters introduced the modern police system.
Police and policing
First, what is police or policing? The Chambers Dictionary (new edition) defines police as “A body of men and women employed to maintain order etc” “Its members collectively”, “The system of regulations for the preservation of order and enforcement of law” and “The internal government of a state. The Black’s Law Dictionary 7th Edition defines police as “a governmental department“The governmental department charged with the preservation of public order,the promotion of public safety, and the prevention and detection of crime”and “The Officers of members of this Department”. From the above definitions and taking into cognizance the modernisation of the “police”, the word can mean, generally, the arrangement made by all civilized countries to ensure that the inhabitants keep the peace and obey the law. It is also denotes the force of peace officers employed for this purpose’
Now to the origin. The British police has its origin inextricably woven in tribal history and unavoidable circumstances. It is based on costs for securing order through the medium of appointed representatives. Simply put, the people indeed were in essence the police. According to British history with special emphasis on the police, the Saxons brought this system to England and improved and developed the organization. This innovation entailed the division of the people into groups of ten, called “tythings” with a tything-man as representative of each; and into larger groups, each of the ten tythings, under a “hundred man” who was responsible to the Shire-reeve, or sheriff of the given country. After contact with Norman feudalism, the tything-man system changed considerably but was not wholly destroyed. In due course, the tything-man became the parish constable and the shire-reeve the Justice of the Peace to whom the parish constable was responsible. This system which became widely established in the 17th and 18th Centuries, comprised, generally, one unarmed able-bodied citizen in each parish who was appointed or elected annually to work for a year unpaid; same as a parish constable. This parish constable worked in co-operation with the local justice in securing observance of law and maintaining order.
Additionally, in towns, responsibility for the maintenance of order was conferred on the guilds and later, on other specified groups of citizens. These supplied bodies of paid men, known as “the Watch”, for guarding the gates and patrolling the streets at night. The Industrial Revolution of the 18th century brought about the beginning of tremendous social and economic changes with attendant consequential movement of the population from rural communities to towns. This population shift was to have permanent effect on the towns in particular and the entire society in general. The policing then was not spared. Thus, the parish constable and “watch” systems failed woefully and completely while the obvious impotence of the law-enforcement machinery became a serious menace. The aftermath of this development was that conditions generally became intolerable which situation eventually led to the formation of the “New Police”. In 1829, the first Metropolitan Police Act was passed and consequently the Metropolitan Police Force was established. This new modern development occurred when Sir Robert Peel was Home Secretary. This new force superseded the local watch in the London area but curiously enough, the city of London was not covered enough even within the Metropolitan Police District. There still remained certain police establishments, organised during the 18th century outside the control of the Metropolitan Police Office, viz:- 1. The Bow Street Patrols, mounted and foot, the latter commonly called the Bow street runners”. 2. Police Office Constable attached to the offices, of and under the control of the Magistrates. 3. The Marine or River Police By 1839, all the aforementioned establishments had been absorbed by the Metropolitan Police Force. In the same year, the City of London Police was set up and till this day has remained an independent force.
History of Nigeria Police Force
The nucleus of the Nigeria Police Force was found in Lagos in 1861. The British Consul, Mr. William McCoskry, who had before this time performed basic police duties complained that his work load was heavy. This necessitated the British Government to give approval for the establishment of the Consular Guard which initially comprised of 30 men.
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Hausa Constabulary
In 1863, the numerical strength of the Consular Guard was increased to about 600 men. Most of the recruits were Hausas, which made the force to be known as Hausa Constabulary. In 1879, an Ordinance creating a Constabulary for the Colony of Lagos, was established. The Staff strength was increased to 1,200 men and the first Inspector-General of Police, IGP, was appointed. Even though the Hausa Constabulary performed civil Police duties, they concentrated more on Military duties.
Royal Niger Constabulary- Northern Nigeria Police
In 1886, the Royal Niger Company established an Armed Constabulary to provide protection for the company’s stations and interests along the River Niger, with its headquarters at Lokoja. In 1900, the Protectorate of Northern Nigeria was proclaimed and the Royal Niger Constabulary was disbanded while the Northern Police Force was established.
Lagos Police Force
The Lagos Police Force was established on January 1, 1896. This force was headed by a Commissioner of Police, who was also the Sheriff, Inspector of Weights and Measures and the Officer-in-Charge of Prisons. With the establishment of the Lagos Police Force, the Hausa Constabulary shifted its area of jurisdiction to the hinterland.
Detective Department
In 1898, a Detective Department was established to handle investigation of cases. This Department later formed the nucleus of the present-day Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID). The first person to head the Detective Department was Assistant Superintendent E. Colley Green, an African Police Officer, who was appointed in July 1898.
Niger Coast Constabulary
In 1891, a small Police Force was created to police the Oil Rivers Protectorate, with its Headquarters at Calabar. In 1893, the Oil Rivers Protectorate became the Niger River Protectorate and in 1894, the Niger Coast Constabulary was established. The area of jurisdiction of the Constabulary was Niger Coast area.
Southern Nigeria Police
In 1900, the Colony and Protectorate of Southern Nigeria was proclaimed, incorporating the Niger Coast and Lagos Region. The Niger Coast Constabulary was disbanded, with the majority of its men opting to join the army. In 1906, the remaining men of the Niger Coast Constabulary were merged with the Lagos Police Force to form the Southern Nigeria Police. The Force was headed by an Inspector-General of Police who also took charge of the Prisons. The Force performed like the present-day Police Force, as it carried out such duties as prevention and detection of crime.
Marine/Railway Police
In 1891, a “Night Water Police” was established in Lagos Area to combat the incidents of smuggling on the Coastal Area, piracy and rescue operations along the sea coasts. This has metamorphosed into the present-day Marine Police. In 1899, after the first Railway lines were constructed in Nigeria, a group of 16 men were assigned to patrol the Railway lines and performed other security duties along the rails. This gave birth to the Railway Police.
Nigeria Police Force
In 1914, the Protectorates of Southern and Northern Nigeria were amalgamated by Lord Fredrick Lugard to form the present-day Nigeria. However, the two Protectorates maintained their individual Police Forces. On April 1, 1930 under the Police Ordinance No. 2 of 1930, the Forces of the two Protectorates were merged to form the Nigeria Police Force. The Force was headed by Mr. C.W. Duncan (CBE) who served as the first Inspector-General of the Nigeria Police Force. In 1955, the Police commenced the recruitment of women into the Police Force. By 1956, 20 Police women had passed out from training and their number has increased. Immediately after independence, the Nigeria Police Force was not the only Police organization in Nigeria. The Constitution of the Federation of Nigeria 1960 permitted the establishment of Native Authority and Local Government Police Forces in the Northern and Western Regions respectively.
After the military coup of January 15, 1966, the Federal Government ordered that “all Local Government Police Forces and National Authority Police Forces shall be placed under the overall command of the Inspector-General of Police.” Since then, the force has existed as the one and only police force in the country. This is re-affirmed by section 214(1) of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 which states: “There shall be a Police Force for Nigeria, which shall be known as the Nigeria Police Force, and subject to the provisions of this section, no other Police Force shall be established for the Federation or any part thereof”.
AARE AFE BABALOLA, OFR, CON, SAN, LL.D (Lond.)
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