The errant officers should be brought to justice

Unchecked police brutality is still on the loose. Last week, the acting Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, disbanded a police team in Ekpoma, Edo State, caught in a viral video running over a handcuffed man with their patrol vehicle. According to the police, the middle-aged man was driving an unregistered car and demanded the vehicle particulars. Others stated that the man was brutalised over his refusal to allow the police go through his mobile phones. In the aftermath, the victim was left with several bruises on his body. “I don’t think a normal human being can do this. To crush a man with a car? This is unbelievable. We need to take urgent action on this. It is strange to me as a person,” Force spokesperson, Olumuyiwa Adeyobi, said.

While we sympathise with the victim, reportedly recuperating in the hospital, the incident has again highlighted the issue of police brutality and reinforces a vicious cycle of violence currently taking place in the country. Nigerians are familiar with several cases of ill-treatments, torture of suspects by police operatives which have resulted in wanton loss of lives. Despite the high-level rhetoric on police reform, particularly after the December 2021 EndSARS protests, no concrete actions have been taken.

Section one of the “Anti-Torture Act” imposes an obligation on the government and law enforcement agencies to ensure that all persons, including suspects, detainees and prisoners are always respected and that no person under investigation or held in custody is subjected to any form of physical or mental torture. Yet, our security operatives are notorious for physical assaults on suspects in the bid to extract information or to subdue them. The indiscriminate use of brutal force, as the Ekpoma incident suggests, inevitably creates a vicious cycle, and draws attention to the pathetic state of the Nigerian Police in terms of training and operational tools.

The root of these human rights violations is an embarrassing ignorance on the part of security operatives of the basic rights of citizens in a democratic society. This newspaper has said repeatedly that we stand by the men and officers of the Nigeria Police because we believe what they do is a dangerous job as they confront the brutalities that the rest of society only imagine or watch on television from the comfort of their homes. There is therefore the need to strengthen the Nigeria police to be effective and efficient–both in terms of its professionalism and structure, so that it sustains the capacity to carry out its constitutional responsibility of maintaining law and order.

But it is important to let the police know that treating people with contempt, hostility, or applying excessive force does not in any way advance the cause of law enforcement in the country. The police authorities must deal with the impression that those who carry arms on behalf of the state are licensed to act above the law. Across the country, many citizens are molested and brutalised by the police, soldiers and sundry security personnel who carry on their duties with impunity.

Police training should not be restricted to the use of firearms skills, there should be vital exposure to non-lethal weapons and conflict management. No matter the extent of provocation, a person in uniform must not resort to taking the law into their own hands.

It is heartwarming that the police operatives involved are currently facing disciplinary charges and administrative procedures for their unprofessional conduct. The acting Inspector General of Police must regularise and standardise security operations across the country and restore public trust in the police. Additionally, the outcome of the inquiry should be made public in order to hold the errant officers accountable and ensure justice for the victim.

Update news