In a move to fulfill some of the demands of the EndSARS protesters, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) recently approved a 20 per cent salary increase for officers and men of Nigeria Police Force. The pay rise, which is expected to take effect in January 2022, will enhance the welfare of police personnel.
The government also raised police duty tour allowance to six per cent. It equally approved the release of N1.2 billion for payment of uninsured benefits of police personnel and the release of N1.2 billion to settle outstanding allowances. The Minister of Police Affairs, Maigari Dingyadi, revealed this to newsmen after the FEC’s virtual meeting in Abuja. The minister also stated that N13.128 billion was earmarked to offset outstanding benefits of 5,472 police personnel while a tax waiver of N18.6 billion was approved for police personnel from Grade Level 1 to 14.
We commend the Federal Government for the salary increase for police personnel and urge it to do more to enhance the general welfare of Nigeria Police, especially those in the lower cadre. This is seemingly the first move by the Federal Government to reform the Nigeria Police Force following the EndSARS protest of October 2021. The protesters had, in their five-point demands, called for increase in police salary so that they can be adequately compensated for protecting life and property of citizens. They also demanded justice for all deceased victims of police brutality and appropriate compensation for their families as well as psychological evaluation and retraining of all disbanded SARS officers before they can be redeployed, in line with the new Police Act, among others. However, they added a caveat that this exercise must be confirmed by an independent body. The youths demand an increase in police salary hinged on the fact that officers and men of Nigeria Police Force are among the least paid in the world. That alone can account for the endemic corruption in the force.
Although the pay rise falls far below the expectations of some members of the force and the general public, it is a good beginning. It is expected to signal many good things to happen in the force in the years ahead. Therefore, we urge police personnel to reciprocate the good gesture with good conduct and enhanced operational efficiency. They should also eschew corruption in all its ramifications. Beyond the pay rise in the force and other enhanced allowances, reforming the police force should be more holistic. Apart from restructuring the force, which many prominent Nigerians have called for, the police staff strength must be increased in line with our increasing population and United Nations (UN) police ratio recommendation for adequate policing, which is one police officer to 400 citizens of a country. With our current police numerical strength put at 370,000, there is no way we can met the UN recommendation.
As at July 2021, Nigeria had police numerical strength of about 370,000 personnel. Assuming that this figure is still intact, it is not enough to police over 200 million Nigerians and foreigners in our midst. Earlier plan to increase the force to 650,000, which means adding 280,000 new recruits, has not been met. And there is no sign that it is going to be met soon.
Apart from poor welfare and equipment, the force is grappling with several problems, including nepotism, ethnicism, corruption and inadequate manpower, both in strength and expertise. It is also suffering from insufficient education and training. To overcome some of these challenges, the government should map out programmes for adequate training and retraining of our police personnel in line with global standard.
It has also become inevitable for the government to consider the request for the decentralisation of the police as obtainable in other federations. Our experience so far has shown that a centralised policing cannot work effectively for a federation as huge as Nigeria. The reformation of Nigeria Police Force should be a continuous exercise, for it to be far-reaching enough. It must go beyond the one-off pay rise.