Policing deficits: Time to consider decentralised system for effectiveness

Policing Nigeria has become a subject of wild consideration, since population explosion began to face the Country in sight. However, the posture of the government authority handling the policing of the Country as of decades back remain a subject calling for deep concern. Maintaining a policing structure that was fairly tolerable decades back for the present, is largely counterproductive to the senses of responsive governance. The poor capacity of policing structure in the Federation has made the thrust of security of lives and properties a luxury that is gradually becoming too costly to have.

Recent realities have only come to reflect the Country is largely and fast becoming unsafe for peaceful coexistence. Cases of criminal tendencies of various sorts, at varying degrees have been on the high side of records, with disturbances which in their character are not only threats to peaceful coexistence, but strings against development.

The gaps in policing have left behind, open-ground for the misadventures of mischievous exploitations. Beyond the orientation defects within the policing ideology, the system has largely remained ill-empowered and poorly framed, and as a result, too imbecilic to confront the pressing demands of the realities of an exploding population. Although moves for upscaling Nigeria’s Police personnel base from 37,000 have been put in view, the response to same is still non-encompassing as a policeman-to-citizens ratio of about 1:1000 average is too inconceivable for a well organised society. Below the United Nations recommended 1:450 ratio, the personnel strength of the Nigeria Police for a population now put beyond 220 million is largely incommensurate and irreconcilable.

Threats of internal insecurity even within populated metropoleis in cities across the Country, have continued to pose strains not only to individuals, but also to households, organisations and businesses. Recently, it is increasingly becoming reflective that organised crimes have been emboldened to the height of confronting and, at critical points, displacing and overpowering security formations. Instances of dislodging security formations within police aided ventures have been rife. Of recent, attacks on bullion vans with displacement of police escorts have been taking toll.  Although, there have been a few cases of such attacks which were unsuccessful, it remains mindboggling the height of effrontery of armed robbers against escort empowered vans. Again, a bullion van driving from Mbaise to Owerri, was on Thursday noon, April 28, 2022, attacked by unknown gunmen in Aboh Mbaise Local Government Area of Imo state. The gunmen were reportedly said to have opened fire on the bullion van  unknowing to them it has effected delivery. Although no report of stolen cash was recorded, damages of properties and pandemonium were recorded as the driver of the bullion van in an attempt to escape, got the van tumbled severally, running into about four different vehicles packed in close proximity to the scene of event, causing damages to the vehicles.

Just as robbery as one arm of insecurity in the Country has been taking a tough blow, particularly in the South, the scourge of insurrection in the North has been much stormy. In lamentation, the Southern Kaduna People’s Union (SOKAPU) has alleged that within six years, insurrection in Southern Kaduna saw 148 communities attacked, displacing 200,000 natives.

The compounding reflections of such mishaps are threats against economic growth.  The worsening of business environment has remained a deterrent against investors. Where the confidence of investors are not ascertained in terms of adequate security, the posing reflections are strains of redirection of capital, signals of deterrence to foreign investors, relocation and/or liquidation/closure of existing ones. Such, are in their full weight, bad omen in all undesirability for the troubled economy of the Country.

The structure of the Nigeria Police organisation consisting of 36 State commands and Federal Capital Territory (FCT) grouped into 17 zones and eight administrative organs is, by and large, infinitenisinal to adequately cater for the pressing population explosion in the Country, amidst the corresponding clusters of challenges accompanying same. As the Country’s population blows off, the compounding realities of rousing complexities have outgrown the strength of the Nigeria Police in its present architecture design and manpower. The strength of its personnel base, which too long hovered at 37,000, has been provoking. Moves to upscale the strength to over 650,000 is still too insignificant to address the plethora of internal security challenges bewildering the Country.

Far below the United Nations (UN) recommended ratio of one policeman to 450 persons (1:450), deficits in policing have left unsavoury narratives behind. The varying degrees of policeman-to-citizens ratio by state categorisation as shown by statistical representation, reveals large disparities to the tune of some States having as worse as 1:1000 ratio.

The deficits in policing in the Federation have continued to leave a ravaging blow on the fabrics of the Country.

Where the sensation of panic is the prevailing posture of citizens, productivity is challenged as caution and fear are factors of restraints to freely carry-out daily activities with confidence of assurance. When economic activities are premised amidst panic, achieving optimum results from coordinated efforts become a facade, as disturbances and the proclivities of disruptions at intermittent successions are strings of deformities to businesses.

It is high time the Government, particularly the Federal under whose preserve the responsibility of policing currently lies, to rise to the task of the demands of policing the Federation firmly. The prevailing situation across the Federation is no less than a reflection of collapse of policing – a situation where organised criminal gangs are increasingly carrying out their escapades unchallenged. It is more a rationality that the call for decentralised police structure is fast becoming the pragmatic way to go.  While the Federal Government’s disposition to same seems more hostile, it is pertinent to rationally state that it is hara-kiri for  the central government to stay put unto the preserve of policing, where all appears crumbling before its nose. Interest of the nation demands that where the policing demands of the Federation has grown beyond the watch of the central government, decentralising the architecture remains sacrosanct.