Nigeria: when will the shameful image of the police force change?

Welcome to Nigeria where the police harass indiscriminately the very people they were paid to protect. It is so common an occurrence that most people try to avoid any confrontation with these force men even when necessary for crime to be averted. The profession of police in this end has become a money hunting venture where every crime including no crime has a price once the police apprehend you.

If you happen to report a case to the police station you will be charged a fee before action is taken regarding your case, you pay according to the weight of your case.

If your vehicle is stopped on the road and one of your document is missing “that is when they decide to check” you pay according to your status. If by chance every paper is intact still the smiling cop won’t relent till you part with a small bill. Numerous cases of bus drivers shot because they refused to part with as little as 20 naira has been swept under the carpet. Such action is even viewed upon as norm in our country and the families are left to bear the blunt.

The primary objectives of the police in this country has at no time received adequate attention from the men in uniform, in fact there were many cases of police aided crimes during the era of high way robbery. Thank God for the improved banking systems and transportation so that traders no longer have to travel with huge sums under risky conditions.

The several efforts of past administrations to reform the Nigeria police have woefully failed as our police has remained the same crime infested organization. So long as the thousands of little check points remain around every nook and cranny of this country harassing free moving citizens, exhorting them this shameful image of the police will remain.

N.B. we must not the fail to commend the efforts of few police men who have served the nation diligently. Men who have sacrificed their life so that the law could be upheld and human life protected, it is people like them that give us hope for a better police force in the future.