In late 2023, Nigeria’s international image further plunged when rogue police officers intercepted and openly demanded a bribe from a female Dutch biker. A video that went viral showed how Noraly Schoenmaker, aka ‘Itchy Boots,’ was waylaid by Nigeria Police personnel on the Moniya-Iseyin Road, Oyo State, who unashamedly demanded money from her. There have been many
Only recently, a retired Nigerian police officer’s appeal to review his asylum refusal was denied by Madam Justice Ngo of a federal court in Ontario, Canada, on the ground that the Nigeria Police Force is notorious for extortion, bribery, and other vices that vitiate the ex-officer’s case.
Following two asylum rejections, the first by the Refugee Protection Division (RPD) and the other by the Refugee Appeal Division (RAD), Martins Peter Nwokolo sought the court’s assistance to review the unfavourable decisions of the immigration agencies, citing unreasonableness and breach of procedural fairness.
But Ms Go, in October 2024, dismissed Mr Nwokolo’s grievances as ill-conceived, stressing that the RPD and RAD were right to deny him asylum given a section of the Canadian law forbids the issuance of refugee status to persons who have committed “serious non-political crimes” before coming to Canada.
The justice said that Mr Nwokolo, who retired as a traffic warden under the Nigerian police, fell into this category of non-political criminals because the Nigerian security outfit was infamous for “extortion and bribery.”
“On April 11, 2022, the RPD found serious reasons to consider that the Applicant committed, under Article 1F(b) of the Convention, serious non-political crimes prior to entering Canada, namely extortion and bribery,” Ms Go said in her ruling on October 23, 2024.
Ms Go determined that officers of the force contribute significantly to Nigeria’s corruption.
“The RPD found that the police force as well as the traffic wardens are highly corrupt and that members of these forces are expected to contribute to this system of returns,” the justice stated.
Mr Nwokolo refuted the accusations, saying he neither collected bribes nor extorted citizens during his years in active service. However, Ms Go said the RPD had strong reasons to believe otherwise.
“Even though the applicant alleges that he has never taken any bribes or extorted people as a traffic warden, the RPD found that there were serious reasons to consider that the applicant participated in those activities,” Ms Go said.
Mr Nwokolo, a pastor at the Chapel of Power Ministries since 2005, told the RPD that he was offered the position of chief priest in Nigeria. He rejected the position, a move that he claimed triggered his persecution in 2018.
He first relocated to another part of Nigeria and eventually japa to the U.S. in 2018. It was from America that he moved to Canada to file for asylum.
Due to the tarnished image of Nigeria’s police abroad, several asylum applications by former security operatives have fallen through.
In November, a police officer was detained for stealing N10 million from a resident in Bayelsa State.
Four policemen stole N1 million from three corps members in Lagos State in September, another N360,000 from a petty trader also in Lagos, N119,000 from a content creator while N140,000 was taken from a student in Niger State.
Ogwu Chijioke, an X user, also revealed on Saturday that Delta State police stole N750,000 from his brother in-law weeks ago via PoS terminal.
Meanwhile, on December 4, Muyiwa Adejobi, the spokesperson for the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), announced that four officers had been suspended in connection to the stealing of N43.16 million.
The money was said to have been stolen from a total of N74.95 million recovered during an unauthorised arrest in Abuja in 2023. Instead of reporting the actual recovered amount, they reported only N31.79 million and concealed the remaining.
“Forensic intelligence showed that this group of officers conspired and stole part of the money, amounting to N43,160,000, and tasked one of them to move the cash out of the FCT for hiding pending when the heat blows over,” said Adejobi.
According to PUNCH Newspapers in an 18 December 2023 editorial titled Tackling habitual corruption of Nigerian policemen…
Though familiar with the atrocious behaviour of some of their police officers, Nigerians were also shocked at the impunity of the errant cops. President Bola Tinubu, the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, and the Police Service Commission should begin the long-overdue reform of the police force.
The scandal reflects the systemic corruption, and incorrigibility in Nigeria’s principal law enforcement agency. Although the officers were later arrested after public backlash, it is another dent on Nigeria’s global profile, and its investment and tourism allure.
Egbetokun must tackle police corruption through more radical and proactive means. Apparently, current measures are inadequate. Very likely, the errant cops will be punished. But such penalties have failed to deter many other cops from such felonies. Stamping out the systemic rot therefore requires a more extensive top-to-bottom overhaul to instil a culture of discipline and rectitude.
A 2019 report by the UNODC said Nigerian police officers collected 35.7 per cent, the largest share of all bribes in Nigeria, while public utility officers account 19.3 per cent.
Frustratingly, despite a commendable positive response to malfeasance, including reprimands, demotions and outright dismissals initiated by the immediate past IG, Usman Baba, and sustained by Egbetokun and the various police commands, impunity, corruption, brutality, and brutish extortion by officers on the field remain prevalent.
The IGP should extend penalties to senior police officers, from patrol team leaders to divisional police officers, area commanders, state commissioners and zonal commanders. Henceforth, new rules should be made and enforced to hold supervisors responsible for the serial misdeeds of their subordinates.
Despite the worldwide attention beamed on their atrocities by the 2020 #EndSARS protests, many police officers have since resumed their oppression of Nigerian youths. In March 2022, a young Youtuber accused the police of shooting him for alleged “rudeness” and for questioning his arbitrary arrest at Mile 2 Bus Stop, Amuwo Odofin, Lagos. A 49-year-old phone repairer also reported how officers from the Ajiwe Police Command in Ajah, Eti-Osa LGA, Lagos, unlawfully arrested, detained him for eight days, and extorted money from him over a phone theft case involving another repairer.
Egbetokun and the PSC chaired by Solomon Arase, a former IG, should undertake an extensive investigation into the roots of endemic corruption in the Force and why punishment is having limited deterrent effect on field operatives. Criminals within the system must be identified, prosecuted and dismissed.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, and former IGs Sunday Ehindero, and Mike Okiro, had separately alleged that over the years, criminals were recruited into the Force. They must be flushed out. The police provost department should be strengthened to monitor, deter, and swiftly interdict rogue officers.
Egbetokun recently estimated Nigeria’s police-to-citizen ratio at 1:1,000 citizens, compared to the UN-recommended ratio of 1:400. Yet, he is hesitant to withdraw and redeploy the over 150,000 officers attached to VIPs, from a total strength of 371,000 officers. The police should emplace a system to recall, redeploy and retrain officers who have been out of core police duties.
Police welfare must also be prioritised. Periodic psychiatric evaluations should be standard…
Additional reports from the Gazette.ng
