Policemen laugh at IGP’s reformation: “Corruption stops in the Nigeria Police Force because of the IGP reform policies? Never!

For ages now, one of the hydra-headed problems which had been plaguing the Nigeria Police Force is corruption.

A lot of atrocious acts, practices had come under the umbrella of that word, ‘corruption’; chief among them being bribery.

The issue of giving money to policemen had metamorphosed into different slangs, beginning with Kola, toll, roger, eguje, etc.

With the ascendance of the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Mohammed Abubakar as the number policeman in the country, people who knew him said he was going to wrought changes never seen before, like the man was supposed to be a magician, messiah or miracle worker.

What sort of changes?

There is supposed to be no more bribe or toll collections! Bail will become free and police stations will stop being ‘business centres’ and money generating avenues.

Indeed, to this effect, Abubakar had already started reformation of the Nigeria Police Force, putting some changes into place.

He had not only constituted committees that will come up with a blueprint on how to reform the police, but to underscore the fact that the tea party was finally over for corrupt policemen in the force, he had dismantled roadblocks and checkpoints, which a good number of Nigerians believed were the summit of brisk business activities for some policemen, with many of them brazenly demanding money, even handing over changes to motorists, like women selling crayfishes and maggi cubes in market squares.

Abubakar had also warned his men against allowing suspects to stay in cell past 24 hours without charging the person to court.  He had even promised to wave a magic wand and see how the welfare of policemen will improve.

But shockingly, some policemen in Lagos State are smirking at the IGP’s efforts, seeing it as an exercise in futility.  As far as they were concerned, he was leaving the ringworm, to treat the craw-craw.

Many of them natually spoke with the Nigerian Compass under condition of anonymity, since it is against the Nigeria Police rules and regulations to speak with journalists.

According to them, the joker to put an end to corruption in the NPF was for Abubakar to tackle corruption in the highest point of police echelon, beginning with the Commissioner of Police, in charge of budget!

They also insisted that the IG should try to persuade government and members of the public to begin to treat members of the Nigeria Police Force as human beings, not as animals or scumbags!

 One of them, an Inspector said: “listen, I sincerely like the fact that the IGP dismantled roadblocks, because our colleagues on the roads are the ones giving us a bad name! What can N20 or N100 do for somebody? Look, let me tell you, there’s no way corruption can stop in Nigeria, let alone in the Nigeria Police Force! It’s better to collect bribe in your office, than on the roads. There’s nothing a man who is working in Oil Company or a serving senator has in his home, which I don’t have in mine!

“Look at our politicians, people who are senators, they have everything, yet they still continue to steal and carry money in Ghana-must-go bags. The same thing with policemen. No matter the amount government decides today to begin to pay police; corruption will not stop in the Nigeria Police Force.”

Another officer angrily spats: “The government and members of the public treat us like animals! And many of us behave like one! We are human beings, not animals and not magicians. We have blood in bodies; we have needs, family, wife and children.”

A junior officer mockingly, “You’re talking about corruption? Who is corrupt in the Nigeria Police Force? Is it not the senior police officers? As long as the senior police officers are corrupt, the rank and file will not stop collecting bribe! No policeman will ever give bail for free and police stations will continue to be business centres, Bureau De Change offices, banking hall, market squares or whatever you civilians call it.”

Many of them argued that the Nigerian government does not want Nigeria Police Force to perform, which is why the federal government keep giving them substandard wears, even compelling them to squeeze money from their meager salaries to buy their uniforms, boots and bullets.

“Let’s talk about training in the police force first,” said a senior police officer. “If you go for police course training, you have to spend your money to feed yourself. But the rule is that the government is supposed to feed you. We are made to pay for our accommodations, buy our mattresses. And if you don’t go for these courses and training, you will not be promoted!  In the programme, you’ll find five of us in a room at Staff College. The room is supposed to be for one person, yet we’re forced to squeeze inside a room like sardines. We are supposed to be paid course allowances, but what happens to these allowances? We don’t get them and it’s not as if government had not paid these allowances! It goes into the pocket of the ogas in the police force. They sometimes collect our account numbers, but you’ll wait for years, they’ll never pay anything into the account! Many policemen who had gone on such courses, spent over N200, 000 just to make sure they take care of themselves and scale through! And you’re here talking about stopping corruption!”

Yet another told the Nigerian Compass that even in the recruit of ‘rank and file’, there is corruption because the ‘rank and file’ is compelled to pay through their noses (settle), if they ever hoped to pass their exams.

One of them alleged: “Before you pass the rank and file exam, you have to settle! There are ‘rank and file’ who didn’t go for course exams.  They’ll just go to the police, collect the form and go back to their road blocks, without sitting for the exam. Yet they’re the ones that will pass the exams they never sat for. If you don’t pay for promotion courses, you’ll fail! No matter how brilliant you’re.”

One of the policemen made some revelations concerning police salaries, hinting on the discrepancies in payment.

“There is corruption even in the payment of our salaries. Do you know that what a CSP, DSP or any other policeman collect in Lagos State as salaries are not the same thing their counterparts in other states collect? Most policemen in Lagos collect less, while their counterparts in other states collect more. What happens to the missing money? Sometimes we witness discrepancies of N5000. Commissioners of Police steal such money! They do it in collaboration with MMS in Ikeja. MMS are in charge of salaries.  Police salaries are not unified why?

“Allowances which are paid to officers who go on special duties, like to guard banks, beats are collected by senior police officers. And you talk of an end to corruption in the police force?”

Still another insisted that filthy practices in Nigeria Police Force will continue because the actions and practices of Divisional Police Officers (DPOs) and Divisional Crime Officers (DCOs) in various police stations, give room for the growth of indiscipline, corruption and insubordination.

“DPO and DCO are the ones spoiling the Nigeria Police force. They’re the ones who used to send these men to the roads, highway to mount road blocks. They even give them targets to meet. An investigating Police Officer (IPO) gives return to the DPO and DCO, so that they’ll be given favourable posting and cases. Let me tell you another candid truth. The police hierarchy and government are also to blame for the filth, corruption in police. They too have to change, if they want police to change. It’s the government that gives a police station two vehicles and will not provide funds to fuel and maintain them or change their tyres! And yet you want a policeman to go on patrol. Will he use his salary for police work for Nigeria, while his wife and children suffer? Where will the money come from to use in running the police stations?

“You won’t believe the numbers of policemen who had been killed by members of the Islamic religious sect, Boko Haram. What did the government armed these policemen with? Nothing with to confront these Boko Haram people! Even a common Walkie-Talkie, a policeman doesn’t have. They just go to north to be slaughtered! Some policemen have been in the north for more than five years, some even eight years. They are supposed to be redeployed, but they leave them there to be killed by Boko Haram because they don’t have god fathers. Is that not corruption?”

Amongst the many complaints, one recurring complaints was the allegation that corruption in NPF will not stop because of poor salaries and welfare packages.

It is however worthy to note that the most junior of police, which is a police constable, receives between N38, 451.75 to N41, 759.92, depending on his or levels.

This is supposed to be the monthly consolidated salary, minus monthly shift duty payment, which is between N2, 307.11 to N2, 505.60.

For almost all the ranks, they have levels one to 10.