Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, is on a campaign to garner support for the establishment of the Nigeria Police Reform Trust Fund (PTF), otherwise known as the Police Security Trust Fund, to improve the funding of police operations in the country. He wants a speedy passage of the bill for an Act to Establish the Nigeria Police Reform Trust Fund and Other Related Matters, 2017, which is currently before the National Assembly.
The bill, which has undergone a public hearing, seeks to make police funding a first line charge, so that the Force is not subjected to vagaries such as the failure to release sums appropriated for its operations by the executive arm of government.
IGP Idris, who recently undertook a tour of some media establishments to seek their support, explained that the Nigeria Police, with a 300,000 workforce in a nation of 180 million people, is far short of the United Nations (UN) recommendation on the minimum number of officers and men required to adequately secure the country. He added that the Police need an additional 155,000 officers and men in the next five years, and funds beyond the police budget, to get the number of personnel, training, equipment and other infrastructure needed for effective policing. The PTF, when passed into law and assented to by the president, will constitute a “frontline charge from the state and local governments as well as the business communities.”
We share the IGP’s views on the need for a special measure to properly fund the police. This is more so in view of the fact that previous efforts to boost police funding after the 2008 Parry Osayande Committee and the MD Yusuf Reform Committee recommended a N2.8 trillion boost for the Force over five years did not yield the desired results. This sum, which amounts to N560 billion annually, is a far cry from the N16 billion allocated to the police for capital development in 2016, out of which only N10 billion was reportedly released.
We urge the National Assembly to speed up the passage of the PTF Bill. That the police force is inadequately funded is glaring, even to the man in the street. The physical appearance of our policemen and their sometimes bad temper, as demonstrated in their interaction with the public, speak volumes about their well-being and morale. With each passing year, the responsibility of the force keeps rising as new challenges are posed by criminals in our increasingly complex society. As the IGP explained, the numerous issues competing for the limited resources of the Federal Government ensure that the Police cannot get all they need and must seek help from other tiers of government as well as the public. Crime thrives when policing is weak. Police divisions oftentimes do not respond promptly to emergencies simply because there are no vehicles, or no fuel, to move their officers to crime scenes. This is regrettable and must be redressed.
It is, however, gratifying that since Mr. Idris’ tenure, we have had no embarrassing reports of police officers being owed salaries and allowances or retired cops not being paid their benefits. We also have no doubt that the force is undermanned and deserves a numerical boost. The ratio of 1 policeman to 400 people, as the IGP suggested, seems in conformity with global best practice. There should, however, be greater emphasis on qualitative enhancement of the force – laying more emphasis on the training of detectives and intelligence officers, especially to deal with communal conflicts in which good intelligence could pre-empt violence.
This is one reason we also think that community policing, as recommended by the 2014 Constitutional Conference, should be embraced by the Police and implemented by the Federal Government. Section 215(4) of the 1999 Constitution imposes dual allegiance on the State Commissioner of Police. He is to take directives from the State Governor, who is the chief security officer of the State. Such directives, however, must be cleared with the President, which makes the President the ultimate chief security officer of the state. The logic of community policing is so compelling, it is the common practice all over the world. Police officers fight crime better where they are familiar with the language, geography, culture and mores of the environment in which they operate.
We congratulate the Police on their recent successes with some of the kidnapping/cult gangs and urge all Nigerians to support the enactment of the PTF bill. This bill provides in its Part 2 for the training and re-training of policemen for improved proficiency in the use of operational equipment; purchase of equipment, including operational vehicles; construction of police stations and living facilities, and procurement of books and instructional materials for the Force. The bill also provides for the establishment of a board for the fund, which shall manage its funds which will come from all tiers of government, corporate organisations, non-governmental organisations and the like. It proposes a ten-year jail term for anyone who misappropriates the PTF, which will be in place for six years.
We look forward to the passage of the PTF bill so that the Nigeria Police can deliver on its mandate of securing the lives and property of Nigerians.