THE NIGERIA POLICE FORCE AND ABUSE OF CITIZENS RIGHTS’

THE NIGERIA POLICE FORCE AND ABUSE OF CITIZENS RIGHTS

CHAPTER ONE

INTRUDUCTION

1.1: Background of the Study:

Human beings are unique from other living creatures. This uniqueness stems from the fact that they are sensible and are usually guided by the moral principles or ethical codes. This means that they have conscience and they are naturally remote by their thoughts concerning what is right or wrong. However, considering the fact that man as a socio-political animal could take wrong steps to achieve his selfish ends. Because of that nature of man, some scholars argued that there will be need to prescribe and define clearly the ethical or moral code that will guide individuals in their daily social interactions so as to curtail their excesses in the discharging of their statutory obligations in their different fields of endeavors.

Ethics and morality are crucial and indispensible elements of a genuine and functional society, but has called for concern within the preview of the police force in Nigeria and Ebonyi state in particular with regards to the way and manner they trample on the rights of innocent citizens in some areas of the Abakaliki metropolises. This of course means that the police are empowered by the constitution to handle the primary functions of protection of lives, property and punishment of offenders but because of the instrumentality of coercion vested on them, the ethical and moral decadence associated with their roles lacks implementation and application despite its entrenchment in the constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria. It is against this back drop that the police force have failed to embrace some viable ethical and moral principles that crusade for renowned virtues like: honesty, hardworking, truthfulness, accountability, respect and modesty in words and in actions. Rather all the virtues are thrown on the dust by the Nigerian police force by way of intimidation and bribery for their selfish interest.

 

The research work tries to x-ray the major concern of the police force and how they perform their roles in the Nigerian state with evidence in some measures like indiscriminate arrest, torture, intimidation and violation of the rights of the citizens in Ebonyi state and also to offer proffering solution that will enhance ethical restoration in the Nigerian police force. The scenario of the negative attitude of the force has put much record before the people that everybody is either directly or indirectly affected by such incidents in the state. The fact also is that, the abuse of rights of citizens have necessitated the prevalence of unethical behavior in the Nigeria police force even among other forces of the federation to the extent of making it suffer a defect, as those viable virtues that induce efficiency and effectiveness in the police force have become more or less theoretical concept rather than practical.

In the same vein, the Nigeria police force have their own principles and policies that streamline them towards perfect achievement of their separate goals, but the reverse is now the case as those principles and codes of conducts exist only in theory and not in practice. Because of the rampant unethical behavior of the Nigerian police force, they have been subjected to series of criticism despite the imperative of their statutory roles.

Okonkwo (1966:5) asserts that the relationship between the police and the public cannot be said to be cordial. Because instead of protecting the citizens, they have turned to be their enemies with the slangs “bloody civilians” as that has led to insecurity  and without compromise but rather bribery and corruption continues to escalate among the members of the police force. More so, the Nigerian police force is an organized institution of able-bodied men and women that are recruited, trained, uniformed and recognized as a public institution established by law and empowered to master mind the primary role of maintenance of law and order, the force has colonial origin, but after independence, they became the Nigerian police force with their power spelt out in the constitution of the land, the 1999 constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria.

The police increasingly developed the sense of arbitrary and disregard on the rights of the citizens in the country particularly Ebonyi state (Igwe, 2009). In view of this argument, the violation of the rights of the citizens by such agencies or institutions made to protect it, could be described as being very unfortunate and unacceptable too. Such ill attitudes from the police to the citizens are seen by some scholars as poor training and low educational background of the personnel in the service. Others attribute them to the role of our political leaders, socio-economic, and ethno-religious factors being also some of the factors that predispose them to such behavior.

The importance of leadership role and education in any organization is crucial as it determines the caliber of persons to be recruited and trained to police and ensure order in the society. It may be as a result of incompetent or unskilled personnel recruited with low level of educational background, coupled with the role of our leaders who use their power to let the police act in some manner not recommended in the society that make some people face intimidation and abuse in their inalienable rights.

Notwithstanding, others have also most of the time reportedly reviewed the case of intimidation and torture by the police which has increased the fear and tension among people living in a social group for none knows what will be the aftermath of their gathering. That is to say that when injustice, oppression, exploitation and deprivation are daily meted out  on citizens by the police which is meant for their protection, then the loud outcry on the violation of their fundamental human rights by the police force cannot be held back as in the case of Ishieke in Izzi local government area of Ebonyi state.

The Nigerian police have a long history of engaging in unprofessional, corrupt, and criminal conduct, and using excessive and often brutal force. Fifty years after independence in 1960, the Nigeria Police Force has become a symbol in Nigeria of unfettered corruption and abuse. Through years of neglect and marginalization under military rule, followed by rapid expansion leading up to and during Nigeria’s civilian administrations, the police force has grown into an inefficient and notoriously corrupt institution that is largely unaccountable to the citizens it is intended to serve. Indeed, a 2006 nationwide opinion poll conducted by the CLEEN Foundation, a leading nongovernmental organization in Nigeria working on security sector reform, ranked the police force as the most corrupt public institution in Nigeria. The police leadership has on multiple occasions acknowledged the human rights violations committed by members of the force as well as the poor management and corruption that underlie police misconduct.

It is apparent that indiscipline, un-professionalism and widespread corruption have been the bane of the Nigeria Police over the years, a situation that has greatly hampered the quality of service delivery. Our image has been battered time and again, leading to a loss of confidence by members of the public.

Hence this study shall be focusing on the problems associated with recruitment of unskilled or incompetent manpower with low level of educational background, and economic factor in the nature and pattern of our leaders and citizens.

1.2 Statement of the Problem:

It is quite obvious, from the empirical observation and critical evaluation of the present Nigerian police force, that there is prevalence and pervasiveness of unethical behavior among the police officers which predisposes them to the denial of human rights among the citizens. This has drastically reduced the efficiency and encouraged low productivity in the expected result from the police service. In another sense, the Nigerian police is one of the biggest cog in the wheel of success in the Nigerian state, it even affect most of the third world countries. Because of their power to carry disciplinary measures in order to restore peace, the police have always abused such privileges anchored on their service and this has derailed the possible mission and vision for its establishment. It is the right of the police force to protect the citizens from being victims of ill circumstance but unfortunately, they have become victims of public condemnation. The police are the agent of state charged with the enforcement of law and maintenance of order.

 

However the security agency is facing myriad of challenges that impede its efficient operation. These challenges as identified by E.O. Alemika (2007) include the influence of the autocratic philosophy left by colonial administration with tendencies of incivility, brutality, emphasis on order rather than security and safety of citizens; Inclement Political Environment and Poor Economic Management and Performance. Not only that, because of want of wealth and other economic gains, the leaders uses unskilled and ill equipped police personnel in some civil issues to threaten, intimidate, oppress and exploit the citizenry as inequality between the people continues to widen. The Nigerian police force became indigenous in Nigeria as one of such instruments of coercion and seems to be serving the interest of our petty bourgeoisie and comprador bourgeoisie which are not different from the British that first formed it in 1861 who recruited and ill trained the personnel only to respect and protect them for their own interest and against other colonial rival lords.

Adding to this is that the image of the Nigerian force has been in a big mess which is due mainly to the unfriendly and nefarious behavior of some of the officers’ which might have risen out of illiteracy, unskilled personnel and influence of leaders in terms of issuance of order. Though the Nigerian police as a constituent force and part of the public service supposed to be guided by the national ethics or code of conducts as entrenched in the 1999 Nigerian constitution, (fifth schedule part I). Apart from code of conduct for public services, the Nigerian police force like that of Ebonyi state police force have their separate operational code or principles.

Kogam (1965:1), supported professional ethics by saying that, to act in terms of legal ambit alone is not quite good enough, something much more is required; a positive awareness of national goals and objectives, and an efforts to make actions conform as much as possible with the prevailing tides of moral principles that justifies such acceptance but the case of Ebonyi state police force is not accredited with such norms. Rather the dubious and charlatan character of torture, bribery, intimidation, illegal arrest and confrontations etc are the characters found among some police officers in the State.

Although the police in Nigeria and Ebonyi in particular have their own principles that streamline them towards perfect achievements of their separate goals, the reverse is now the case as these principle and codes of conducts exist only in theory and not in practice. The ethical and moral code has not affected much in the routine duties of officers in Ebonyi, although some of them have moral core. A nation like Nigeria today represents the unit within which the political, military, cultural and economic means of decision and power are organized by the leadership. It becomes obvious to posit therefore that the nature of Nigeria police force and the society with the level of the leadership structure and level of its educational background are reflections of the character of the leadership structure of the old state of nature where the might’s are always right. And the issue of human right  abuse being prevalent in Ebonyi state and that of the Nigeria state has failed to call to address hence there is increase in corruption, bribery, intimidation, torture, illegal arrests as the police have always engaged in Ebonyi state. This attitude of police brutality has now created upsurge feelings among the citizens that democratic principles have now been upturned to back roll on the floor of failure of bad governance. Because of the scenario also, most Nigerians are calling for proper intervention to address the issue else men will fall back to the state of nature.

A Local nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and international human rights groups accused the security services of illegal detention, inhuman treatment, and torture of demonstrators, criminal suspects, militants, detainees, and prisoners. Military and police reportedly used a wide range of torture methods, including beatings, shootings, nail and tooth extractions, rape, and other forms of sexual violence. According to reports, security services committed rape and other forms of violence against women and girls, often with impunity. Police used a technique commonly referred to as “parading” of arrestees, which involved walking arrestees through public spaces and subjecting them to public ridicule and abuse. Bystanders often taunted and hurled food and other objects at arrestees. Authorities sometimes held female and male prisoners together, especially in rural areas. In 2013 the Nigerian Prison Service (NPS) reported there were 847 juvenile inmates in juvenile detention centers, but prison authorities often held juvenile suspects with adults. Prisoners and detainees were reportedly subjected to extrajudicial execution, torture, gross overcrowding, food and water shortages, inadequate medical treatment, deliberate and incidental exposure to heat and sun, and infrastructure deficiencies that led to wholly inadequate sanitary conditions that could result in death. Guards and prison officials reportedly extorted inmates or levied fees on them to pay for food, prison maintenance, transport to routine court appointments, and release from prison. Female inmates in some cases faced the threat of rape.

The law prohibits arbitrary interference, but authorities infringed on this right during the year, and police entered homes without judicial or other appropriate authorization. There were reports of warrantless arrests of young men in the ISHIEKE, ONUEKE, OHAUKWU, UBURU, and other places of the Abakaliki town. on suspicion of having links with cult groups. In December 2018, for example, the Ebonyi State Government demolished houses in Abakaliki town. According to press reports, the demolitions left 700 homeless and at least two dead while freeing up the land for commercial development. According to Justice & Empowerment Initiatives, approximately 2,000 Agbaja people of Inyimegu in abakaliki area were rendered homeless during the state’s first attempt to demolish the settlement in November 2014.

NGOs and former detainees stated that starvation and other forms of torture by the police officers resulted in detainee deaths at police detention facilities, including Nigeria prison Abakaliki.

Such issue has provoked the researcher to pose the question or state the problem thus: is the violation of Citizens rights in Nigeria the consequence of inadequate training exposure and low level of educational background. Do the leaders shape the effectiveness of the police force in Ebonyi state? How have police embraced the privileges and rights of the citizens in the state? What is the nature of ethics and morality in the Nigeria police force? Have unethical behaviour in the Nigeria police force affected the functions of the police officers in Ebonyi state.

1.3: Research Question:

1. To what extent have the police violated the citizen’s rights’ in Ebonyi state?
2. How have the police officers in Ebonyi state embraced the privileges and rights’ of the citizens in Ebonyi state?
3. Do lack of training and low educational background cause human rights’ abuse in Ebonyi state?
4. How is leadership style of the country affecting police duties in Ebonyi state?

1.4: Objectives of the Study:

This research study has sets of objectives to achieve at the end. There is no doubt that for a scholar to take time and money to ensure the success of this type of academic research work, such person will not have objectives to gain. The research work is undertaken by the researcher with the intension to achieve the following objective.

1. To evaluate the level of ethics and morality in the Nigeria police force in Ebonyi state.
2. To examine the extent to which the police have violated the rights’ of the citizens in Ebonyi state.
3. To show the relevance of human rights’ protection in the state.
4. To provide solution to human rights’ abuse by the police in the state and also to address the leadership style on how it affects the citizens.

1.5: Research Hypothesis:

Hypothesis simply means a tentative statement that is open to confirmation or rejection when subjected to empirical verification (Obasi, 1999:129)

This argues that hypothesis is a gestural work that is subject for further investigation and which may or may not be accepted to proceed to theory.

H0: There is no effective ethical and moral code among the Nigeria police force in Ebonyi state.

H1:  There is effective ethical and moral code among the Nigeria police force in Ebonyi state.

H0: The police officers who frequently violate or abuse citizen’s rights’ are mainly those with low educational backgrounds.

H1: The police officers who frequently violate or abuse citizens’ rights are not mainly those with low educational backgrounds.

1.6: Significance of the Study:

The work is relevant to other researchers and personnel in different works of human life. Hence it will give support or further pathway for further research. Still in the Nigeria state and world all over, the research study will help to educate all the military and Para-military to exhibit the cordial relationships with the citizens than seeing them as prey in their means.

The Nigeria police force on its inception was composed of illiterate and unskilled personnel, which has always led to abuse of citizens rights’ in different measures. Such areas of ill functions are also traced to correct the abnormalities of police service in order to restore democratic principles in the state.

This research work is very significant in many dimensions. It will help in reorientation of the police officers to enable them understand the impact of ethics and morality on the effectiveness of their services. The research study can help to encourage sincerity and diligence in their services. This is because, through his research study, public servants will learn and be guided by the judgment of their moral conscience to discharge their duties or statutory functions without prejudice or compromise.

This means evident are made on reviewing the nature of police force in Ebonyi state while addressing possible options as solutions to the installation of police-civilians relationship in Ebonyi state.

 

 

1.7: Scope and Limitations of the Study:

In view of this research topic, ”NIGERIA POLICE FORCE AND ABUSE OF CITIZENS RIGHTS’ IN EBONYI STATE”, police service as one of the sectors of public service is very vast and embraces other Para-militaries of the federation like; inland police, marine police, mobile police, Road safety, civil defense, custom, immigration etc. All these areas under study will pose problems to the researcher on his data collection and that of the analysis. But to make the topic researchable, the researcher decided to limit this research work to researchable scope of Nigeria police command in Ebonyi state to help the reliability and validity of the data collection and analysis.

In the other hand, the limitations are highlighted below. Research limitations have to do with impediments and constraints that militated against the success of the research work. The research work is limited to this scope because of the incapacitation of the researcher in terms of knowledge, money and time constraints. This is because; the researcher has to combine it with his studies and other school activities cum his social life thereby competing for time and space.

Again, there was lack of reliable available materials for data collection and as well lack of technical tools for data analysis and interpretation of information generated during the study.

Not only that, the study work which attempts to x-ray the powers of the Nigeria police force vis a vis the rights of citizens, is rather an unwelcomed topic among the police officers or authorities who see the study as a bid to expose the ills of the force and a sort of indictment should they collaborate with what the public are criticizing about how they handle the citizens. Because of that, the expected information was withdrawn.

More so, the researcher could not get the cooperation of police abused victims. Owing to the fact that most of them are afraid of being rearrested should they review how there were treated in the first place. However, the researcher has taken all necessary measures to ensure that the data collected are enough to generate valid and logical conclusion for the study and for the reasons of the limitations, the researcher made it a stepping stone for further research rather than a concluded work.

1.8: Definition of Terms:

Ethics: the term ethics is derived from Greek word “Ethos” and is synonymous with “moral” both connoting custom, habits and accepted ways of behavior of an individual or a community (Uduigwoman, 2005:2). Ethics in view of A.R. Lacey, “is an enquiry into how men ought to act in general not as a means to a given end but as end itself”. It is a branch of philosophy which seeks to establish and rationally defend a universally valid theory of what is right or wrong, good or bad in general in which can be used as a set of principle by which men live or which binds a group of people together (Ekelegbe 1996:21). Intact, ethics according to the Cambridge dictionary of philosophy is, “the philosophical study of morality”.

Morality: This stems from latin word ”moralis” meaning custom or manner. Hence it means the concept of human ethics, which pertains to matters of right and wrong. That is to say that it refers to good and evil used within three contexts; individual conscience, system of principles and judgments sometime called moral values-shared within a cultural, religious, secular or philosophical community. It is used to mean what we call moral values or moral standards.

Unethical: A code of wrong norms that is not morally acceptable among people of group or philosophical community as being against the set principles of standards guiding them. Unethical behaviour encompasses all the unlawful behaviour that contravenes the peaceful business of the society. This pattern of behaviour resorts to dysfunctionality and failure of the social system. It is the total deviation from the generally designed and accepted code of ethics and standard way of things as associated with people’s culture or custom.

Police Force: This means the body of trained personnel, equipped, uniformed and guided by law and empowered with the constitutional role of protection of lives and property and categorized under the public service sector of the executive platform by the civil service bureau and the constitution of the country Nigeria, 2011 amended. It is the uniformed male and female, multi-religious, national integrated body of Para-military order of the country, empowered by the law of the land to carry out the statutory role of maintenance of law and order so as to restore, guarantee and consolidate peace in the society by way of proper policing of the affair of the state in protection of citizens rights’ with all that belongs to them.

Human Right: This is the inalienable right or privileges enjoy by every citizen of a country that is natural in human. Nature has made it real in the way that man should live up to in order to guarantee the freedom of one. Rights of citizens became necessary and came to limelight after the effect of world warII on the humanity with the universal declaration of human rights(UDHR) adopted by the united nation general assembly on 10 December 1948 at the palais de chaillot,paris in France. Although the social contract theorists hitherto discussed rights and obligations.

Human Right Abuse: The issue of abuse of citizens’ rights by the police and their likes is no longer a new thing among the youth and most citizens of the country. Ebonyi state to a great sense of horror has suffered this miasma. However, some officers of the police force keeps to the ethics of the police service but greater percent abuse the power for their own selfish interest. Hence human right abuse is the total disregard, negligence and disrespect on the privileges of the people in the society. This means when the citizens no longer entrust they  believes on the institutions of government because of the way and manner they conduct or deviate from the normal norms and ethics of standard as backed up by law. Human rights’ abuse is indiscriminate, unlawful, unethical or unconstitutional flaws from the natural privileges met for the citizens of a given society which causes breakdown of sustained chain-role, lack of social standard, intimidation, violation, torture, unlawful arrest, ill treatment and others by government institutions.

Democratic Consolidation: Democracy is peoples rule, participatory or inclusive government. Popular government in the modern era extends to representative government because of the complex nature of the society. Democratic consolidation in this regard refers to the total obedience to the doctrine of democracy within a political system. That is a follow up of the expectation for the reason for which the state is created and for the purpose of serving human conduct by being obedience to the ideas of constitutionalism which preaches rule of law, citizens participation, separation of power, human right preservation and protection.(Oluwaye, 2005:5)

Arrest: The aim of creating the power of arrest is to enable the police to maintain law and order. It is the first step towards bringing to justice any person suspected to have or to be about committing a crime. Arrest simply mean, ”the act of  taking or restraining of a person from his or her liberty in order that he or she shall be forthcoming to answer in alleged or suspected crime or offence”. It is either made on warrant issued by a court of competent jurisdiction or on the responsibility of person making the arrest. That is, without warrant. It is the beginning of imprisonment which is the legal confinement, locking or shutting up of somebody against his or her will.

1.9: Organization of the Study:

This research work is organized in five chapters, for easy understanding, as follows:

Chapter one is concern with the introduction, which consist of the (overview, of the study), historical background, statement of problem, objectives of the study, research hypotheses, significance of the study, scope and limitations of the study, definition of terms. Chapter two highlights the theoretical framework on which the study is based, thus the review of related literature. Chapter three deals on the research design and methodology adopted in the study. Chapter four concentrate on the data collection and analysis and presentation of finding.  Chapter five gives summary, conclusion, and recommendations made of the study.

THE NIGERIA POLICE FORCE AND ABUSE OF CITIZENS RIGHTS

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