From George Onyejiuwa
Southeast journalists at a Media Town Hall meeting have advocated for the total prohibition of the sale of alcoholic beverages at the Mami markets situated across all the police barracks.
The reporters raised concerns about Section 100 (2) of the Nigeria Police Act 2020, which stipulates a fine of N50,000 against anyone who sells or gives alcohol to a policeman on duty.
The Media Town Hall meeting, which ended on Friday in Enugu, was organised by the Rule of Law and Empowerment Initiative, also known as Partners West Africa Nigeria (PWAN).
The Executive Director of the Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC), Mr. Okechukwu Nwanguma, made a presentation on the Police Act.
While the participants drawn from the five states of the Southeast seemed at peace with other provisions, they strongly disagreed with slamming a fine on a civilian who sells alcohol to a policeman on duty. Instead, they called for the prohibition of the sale of alcoholic drinks at the Mami markets, where it is rampant.
Some argued that civilians should not be made to pay for any policeman’s act of irresponsibility.
They were of the view that if a policeman who has gone through training with taxpayers’ money refuses to abide by that training, and if the authorities fail to checkmate him, why should a civilian be made the scapegoat?
Others submitted that the provision was proper in order to compel citizens to be responsible.
Mr. Okechukwu Nwanguma stated that the new Act is a great improvement on what the country inherited from the military-era police act but observed that it is still subject to amendment.
In a welcome address, Nnem Okeke, on behalf of the Executive Director of PWAN, Kemi Okenyodo, said PWAN is a women-led non-governmental organisation dedicated to enhancing citizens’ participation and improving security governance in Nigeria and West Africa broadly.
“This, we achieve through Rule of Law, Citizens’ Security, and CSO strengthening programme areas. The organisation does this through research, collaborative advocacy, capacity building, dissemination of information, and integrating the implementation of government policies such as United Nations Resolution 1325, Women, Peace and Security Second Generation National Action Plan (NAP2), Prevention and Countering Violent Extremism National Action Plan (P/CVE NAP), Administration of Criminal Justice Act/Law (ACJA/L), UN Resolution 2250, amongst others which are complementary to our strategic objectives.”
“Historically, Nigeria has faced systemic issues in its policing, characterised by allegations of corruption, misuse of power, and a significant disconnect between police operations and community expectations. These problems have been exacerbated by a lack of comprehensive understanding and inconsistent implementation of policing laws among the officers and management of the NPF.”
“To address this, PWAN, with support from the Foreign Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO), is implementing the project ‘Enhancing Police Governance: Deepening Understanding of the Police Act 2020 and Regulations’ across the six geopolitical zones, specifically in Kano, Plateau, Lagos, Edo, Enugu, Borno, and the FCT.”
“The project seeks to address critical gaps in the understanding and application of the Police Act 2020 and the accompanying regulations within the Nigerian Police Force (NPF). PWAN aims to achieve this through capacity building for senior police officers, sensitisation of the public on the provisions of the Act, and media town hall meetings on the provisions of the Act and media sensitisation.”
“This will improve the knowledge of the police officers and citizens of recent changes and reforms within the police force and further improve human rights application as contained in the Act,” she submitted.