THE relationship between members of the Nigerian public and the security agencies has always been frosty. The latter are usually accused and are often guilty of brutalising and violating the rights of the former at the slightest provocation or none at all. Somehow, the situation, though detestable, was manageable until a few years ago when the escalation of violent crimes caused the police to introduce a special unit, the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), to curb the menace of dare-devil felons. The unit in the immediate period of its establishment lived up to the expectations of the people, but it later derailed and morphed into an instrument of brutality and extortion. Apparently, virtually all the other security agencies took a cue from the unit to engage in rights abuses, perhaps because SARS almost always got away with its crimes. And since then, the country has continued to witness worsening civilian-security agent relationship.
It is rather saddening that not even the citizens’ revolt that manifested by way of #EndSARS protest has been able to sway the security agents to turn a new leaf. The sheer enormity of the carnage that attended the protests, especially when hoodlums intervened, and the fear of future repeat ought to have recommended a lesson or two to the most impervious and incorrigible security agent. But apparently, that is not the case, otherwise the public space would not have been suffused with stories and cases of rights abuses by the security agencies even after the catastrophic event. For instance, recently, a watermelon vendor was reportedly shot and killed by a soldier in Sokoto. Her offence was that she had dared to ask her assailant to pay for the goods bought from her. The panel commissioned by the General Officer Commanding (GOC) 8 Division, Major General Usman Yusuf, to investigate and unravel the circumstances that led to the death of the lady has also yet to turn in its report.
Also, few days ago, a 26-year-old nursing mother, Helen Abubakar, was reportedly beaten to stupor and dragged on the floor by some undisciplined police personnel attached to Nyanya Police Station, Abuja Municipal Area Council of the Federal Capital territory (FCT). She had allegedly incurred the wrath of the errant officers because she demanded to see the Divisional Police Officer in charge of the station, apparently because the officers handling her case had not resolved it to her satisfaction. The narrative in the public domain was that the woman had gone to the police station to see her brother-in-law who was caught and arrested for being in possession of N1,000 counterfeit notes said to have been paid to him by customers at the lounge where he worked. The bone of contention was the discovery by the woman that the real perpetrators of the crime had been arrested, detained and released while her brother-in-law continued to be incarcerated, hence she sought to have audience with the DPO. But she was visited with utmost violence that rendered her unconscious and landed her in hospital.
It is yet unclear the manner of altercation and provocation that could have pushed trained police officers to beat a nursing mother to stupor and drag her on the floor. What is unusual about the woman wanting to see the DPO, a public officer? It is really concerning to witness the speed at which security agents have relapsed into the pre-EndSARS era as if no lesson was learnt from the horrific event. This is surprising and worrying against the backdrop of the fact that they suffered collateral damage during the protests, being targets of ghoulish attacks by hoodlums. Could it be that they have a short memory and have forgotten so soon that their brutalisation of innocent citizens triggered the regrettable protests in the first place? Could it be that they have become so neck-deep in rights abuses and the sadistic pleasure derived therefrom that they cannot let go? Or they are simply deluding themselves that #EndSARS cannot happen again?
Whatever factor that predisposes security agents to violating the rights of citizens with reckless abandon will only further alienate them from members of the public. It is tantamount to adding insult to injury for security agencies to be engaging in the brutalisation of innocent citizens at a time when violent non-state actors of different hues are literally having a field day killing, maiming, kidnapping and extorting law-abiding citizens. The agencies that have the statutory mandate to protect lives and properties would rather unleash terror on innocent citizens instead of taking the war to the real criminals. There is no gainsaying that the country is beset with a litany of challenges on all fronts, including grave security issues, and the security agencies would need the collaboration of the citizenry in their war against criminals. But they can hardly get such vital cooperation under a regime of incessant violation of citizens’ rights.
It is evident that the leaderships of the security agencies in the country still have a lot to do to get their officers and men to embrace international best practices, including community relations, while executing their mandates. Meanwhile, we urge the relevant authorities to launch painstaking inquiries into the two cases mentioned above and ensure that the culprits are served their just deserts in accordance with the law.
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