No doubt, in the last few years , Nigerians are increasingly losing hope and confidence in the nation’s police force, especially the Special Anti-Robbery Squad,  a Nigerian Police Force unit popularly known as SARS that is expected to maintain law and order as enshrined in the constitution due to unethical or unprofessional conduct of some erring officers.

However, there are some major factors hindering the efficient and excellent performance of the Police and they are as follows:

1. Inadequate funding : Sufficient funds are not always made available to the Nigeria Police to enable it meet the ever increasing challenges springing up on a daily basis to ensure an excellent policing of the country. It is a notorious fact that the budgetary allocation of the entire Police Force in 1999 before the swearing in of the democratic government was just four billion naira; an amount that was grossly insufficient and unrealistic.

2. Lack of sophisticated equipments: Policing is more often than not the efficient gathering, collation and use of intelligence. To achieve this objective, sophisticated and modern equipments coupled with monitoring devices are needed. These are not readily available to the Police.

3. Lack of adequate compensation : Policemen who are victims of attacks from armed robbers and other criminals when they are on duty. Sometimes such policemen are left to foot the hospital bills and other expenses incurred for treatment.

4. Lack of interest in the job: The job of a policeman is professional in nature. Some young men only enlist or get recruited because of lack of employment and not due to the interest they have in the job.

5. Shortage of manpower: The present number of the officers and men of the Nigeria Police is grossly inadequate to ensure an efficient policing of the country. To this end, the directive of the federal government that 40,000 men should be recruited yearly is a welcome development.

6. Training and retraining : The inadequate or lack of training and re-training of some officers and men of the Nigeria Police make them rustic and their duties boring, dull and uninteresting.

7. Posting policemen outside their states of origin: The posting of non natives outside the places where their local language is spoken could be a hindrance to an efficient performance of a policeman’s duty. This is more so if he is an investigating Police Officer. A Fulani or Hausa man posted to a police station in a remote Yoruba or Igbo area will surely be requiring the service of interpreters.

Sometimes, it is easier to police a well known terrain that one is quite familiar with.

8. Lack of promotion to the next rank: Some officers and men of the Nigeria Police have been on the same rank for ten to fifteen years without promotion. This sometimes leads to deep frustration and the tendency not to put in their best into their jobs.

9. Undue pressure from the government and other powerful individuals: On the police to find perpetrators of crimes by all means as quickly as possible sometimes put investigators on edge and lead to avoidable mistakes

10. Tribalism and other cultural and traditional influence: This has been aptly labelled ‘Na my brother syndrome ‘. The desire to protect and please kinsmen sometimes hamper policemen in the performance of their legitimate duties.

The post 10 Major Factors Militating Against Efficient Policing In Nigeria | By Idowu Ayodele first appeared on MegaIcon Magazine.

The post 10 Major Factors Militating Against Efficient Policing In Nigeria | By Idowu Ayodele appeared first on MegaIcon Magazine.

The Command’s spokesman, Bala Elkana, in a statement explained that the suspects were arrested by a team of policemen on patrol on Thursday.

“On 22/08/2019 at about 0730hrs,  Anti-Crime patrol team from Mushin Police Station led by Inspector Atipi Agasa while on patrol along Olorunsogo Bus Stop, Mushin intercepted one Omisogun Mathew ‘m’ 25 years old and Yetunde Lawson ‘F’ 28 years on a motorcycle.

“On sighting the police team, the hoodlums attempted to escape but were given a hot chase,”

He  added that one locally-made double barrel pistol with two live cartridges was recovered from them.

He stressed that the suspects belong to a five-man armed robbery syndicate operating in Mushin, Ikotun and Igando areas of Lagos.

The Police Public Relations Officer said the duo have been transferred to the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) for discreet investigation saying that,  they would soon be charged to court.

The post Lagos Police Arrest 2 Robbery Suspects first appeared on MegaIcon Magazine.

The post Lagos Police Arrest 2 Robbery Suspects appeared first on MegaIcon Magazine.

The cultists were among the 30 suspects paraded on Thursday by the Commissioner of Police in the state, Mr. Shina Olukolu, at Eleyele, Ibadan, the state capital.

Items recovered from the suspects include 3, 519 ammunition, two arms, 24 bags of corn, 20 telephone handsets, two cutlasses, three knives, one sledge hammer, and weeds suspected to be Indian hemp, and foreign currency among others.

According to the state Commissioner of Police,  the names of the suspected cultists are Aremu Ayodele, 21, of Computer Science National Diploma II, The Polytechnic Ibadan; Adebayo Emmanuel, 23, of Political Science Department, University of Ibadan; Precious Ebuka, 21, of Agricultural Economic Department, Landmark University, Omu-Aran, Kwara State; and Busari Hammed, 27, of Business Administration Department, National Open University (NOUN).

Six purported students of Oke-Ogun Polytechnic, namely Raheem Jamiu, 21, of Accountancy ND II; Adeniran Oluwasegun, 21, of Business Administration ND II; Olatunji Kehinde, 22, of Public Administration, HND I; Akinola Tola, 23, of Accountancy HND I; Kolapo Israel, 21, of Public Administration HND II; and Koleoso Samson, 23, of Agricultural Engineering, ND II.

Also, Yekini Kazeem, 23, alleged dealer on trailer parts and weeds; Oyesoro Damilola, 25, a trailer motorboy; and Sanusi Mutiu, 23, who is said to be a bricklayer were among the three non-students.

During the parade, the state Commissioner of Polices explained, “On May 1, 2019, at about 17:30hours, information was received at Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) operational base, Saki that some members of a notorious secret confraternity, who have been inflicting various acts of violence and nefarious criminal activities on members of the public in Saki town and other areas in Oke Ogun axis of Oyo State, were sighted in their hideout beside Nighles Hotel in Saki.

“They had gathered to initiate new members into the secret confraternity. Based on this credible information, a team of SARS operatives headed by Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP), Olusola Aremu, was quickly drafted to the area and in the process, 10 members of the cult group, who confessed to be members of Eiye Confraternity were arrested. Three other members of the group who managed to escape were later arrested in Ibadan.”

One of the suspects, Olatunji Kehinde, confessed further,  “I am a cultist. We were having a meeting when we were arrested. It is not true that we wanted to do initiation when we were arrested because everybody at the meeting was already initiated. We all belong to Eiye Confraternity. I joined the group last year.”

Items recovered from the suspected cultists included one Jack knife, one live cartridge, two black caps, criminal charms and weeds suspected to be Indian hemp.

The Police Chief in the state said investigation was still ongoing to arrest other fleeing members of the group.

The post Alleged Cult Initiation : Oyo police arrest 10 students, 3 others first appeared on MegaIcon Magazine.

The post Alleged Cult Initiation : Oyo police arrest 10 students, 3 others appeared first on MegaIcon Magazine.

This is more or less a mockery of and sharp contradiction to the letter and spirit of the visible inscription one sees at the entrance of police stations that police are your friends. A lot of innocent lives have been whimsically taken away by the blood thirsty officers of the Nigeria Police by mere arguing with them. If you dare ask questions when you are stopped on the check points,you do so at your own peril.

The derision which results from the misconduct of some of the officers is not only contemptuous but it is exposing the entire force to ridicule.

Despite the frequent warnings by police authorities that any officer that engages in indiscriminate shootings or killing of innocent citizens will face the full wrath of law,we still hear reports of police massacres unabatedly daily. The guns which are meant for the protection of the citizens are being used to kill the helpless tax payers who are major contributors to common wealth from where government pay the police officers’ salaries and allowances.

In a  sacastistic manner, Abayomi Shogunle, head of the Public Complaint Rapid Response Unit of the Police (PCRRU), instead of outright condemnation of the dastardly act of the few disgruntled officers of the Nigeria Police has recently posited that it is better for Nigerians to communicate with police officers in Pidgin English for better understanding as a panacea to incessant police killings across the country.

Whatever his motive for the postulation,what can be deducted from the submission is that he wanted the public to see an average police officer as not having good communication skills.

If his counsel is anything to go by,it means that the crops of police officers in the country today lack communication competencies. This may appear to be a clever jest;however,he has lent a credence to the reality that the quality of the officers that currently constitute the Nigeria Police is abysmally low.

Instead of outright condemnation of killings of citizens by trigger – happy policemen, Shogunle said communicating with the officers in pidgin will aid better understanding and bound to reduce the cases of fatal shooting of the innocent citizens by the police.

Does that means police are killing innocent people due to lack of communication skills. It sounds absurd and unthinkable that extra judicial killings and police brutality are trivialized as being aggravated by linguistic barriers or as problem of semantics gaps. Ability to speak pidgin alone may not actually immune one against brutality or murderous tendencies of blood thirsty police officers.

I insist that the panacea proffed by Abayomi Shogunle is incoherent giving the fact that instructional activities, legal instruments,Police Act, other relevant statues and training kits which are normally given to the officers in the cause of training in the Police College are never prepared and presented in Pidgin. I am aware what is lacking among some of the officers particularly ranks and files are emotional intelligence and good ethical conduct.

It is also presumed that every recruit into the Nigeria Police has the minimum of Senior Secondary School Certificate as entry qualification.

Expectedly, anyone with SSCE certificate should be able to read, write and speak simple and correct English.

In my view, there is no way we can get it right without the police showing evidence of true discipline,good value re -orientation,sound social relations and effective communication skills in writing and speaking. If the judgement of Abayomi Shogunle is correct and undisputable, it is high time the police authorities planned a comprehensive short and long-term training for officers of various police cadres on oral and written communication skills.

More  so, police officers need linguistic power and communication skills to interact and relate freely during every encounter with members of the public.

Police brutality and cases of indiscriminate shootings didn’t start today, it has been a common characteristics of Nigeria’s social life since Independence. During the recently concluded 2019 electioneering process in the Country, a lot of lives were wasted and unquantifiable property destroyed during politically motivated crises across the county.

In most of the crises, police are accused of either being the ones fuelling the crises or conniving with the perpetrators. As contentious this might sound,one is bound to give the accusation a second thought giving the past misconduct and illicit activities of some disgruntled elements among the officers of the Nigeria Police.

Of course, it is only the families of the victims that can really feel the effects of the onslaught and bear witness to the pains and agonizing effects of loosing the beloved persons to such recreant and dastardly acts of the police officers.

The family of Jubril Mobolaji who was shot in Lagos sometimes ago over one hundred naira will forever be nursing the wound. Despite the persistent public outcry against the extra judicial killings by murderous police officers, Ajegunle fatal shootings will make a good literature review for researchers on police misconduct in Nigeria in no distance future.
The wanton killing of Kayode Johnson by officers of SARS in Lagos State is a further proof that fatal shooting by police as become a social problem

.If not the intensive social media campaign launched, the unfortunate only son of a widow killed by the SARS officer would have died in vain. On this particular case, the Acting Inspector General of Police, Mohammad Abubakar Adamu needs to be commended for swift reactions and immediate initiation of process of subjecting the erring officers to internal disciplinary procedure. It shouldn’t stop at that, the culprits should be made to face criminal prosecution in the court of relevant jurisdiction.

Indeed, the spate of police killings across the country having reached an alarming rate is now being regarded as a social problem. What this portends is that with the escalation of fatal shootings every now and then with the attendant casualties,it calls for urgent collective action of the citizenry.

One other incident that cannot be forgotten in an hurry was the circumstances of brutal murder of Oga Jumbo, personnel of Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) early this year by a Police Officer.

Obviously, some of the officers who have been implicated in atrocious behaviours in the recent past were largely alcoholic, substance abusers and drug addicts. This demands that there should be mechanism to identify addicts and drunks among police officers do as to guide the authorities before effecting sensitive postings.

Therefore, if police will be seen to be citizen friendly, the officers must be truly courteous and polite in dealing with the civil populace. Not only that,every police officer should be exposed to continuous training and re -orientation on ethical conduct and values. It is not only by shooting, brutality and killings that the police can enforce law and order.

So, the issue transcends the semantics and psycho -linguistic barriers which is considered a predisposing factor for the incessant killings of innocent people by some deadly armed police officers in the country.

By Rahaman Onike Public Affairs Analyst writes from Oyo, Oyo State

The post Beyond The Semantics of Police Brutality And Fatal Shootings of Innocent Citizens || By Rahaman Onike first appeared on MegaIcon Magazine.

The post Beyond The Semantics of Police Brutality And Fatal Shootings of Innocent Citizens || By Rahaman Onike appeared first on MegaIcon Magazine.

The group comprising of young Nigerians and high ranked activists with the zeal of ensuring a better Nigeria on Friday said it was already mobilising members towards the rally.

Also, the group hinted that participants are expected to converge at the University of Ibadan main gate, Agbowo by 9am.

“This is a common problem. Security is key to our peaceful coexistence as a state. People are coming out for this and we are proud of our people”.

In a chat with Mega Icon Magazine, the convener, Comrade Babatunde Badmus informed that the incessant killings, extortion, victimization and brutality of the SARS on Nigerians necessitated this development . He, however called on the Federal Government of Nigeria to always ensure that the security operatives operate within the ambit of the law.

“We are Nigerians and we can’t be a slave in our own Country”, he lamented.

While advocating strongly for police reform, the ex students’ union President, Badmus, however noted, “We can’t call for the proscription of SARS because they have done tremendously well in combating robbery, ritual killings amongst others, but we need a reform which should check the excecess of this group. They lack manners of approach, some of them will approach you pointing guns at you which is a bad development. They dress shabbily with earrings, tattoos, and bushy bears”.

The post #ReformSARS: Group leads mega rally against police brutality first appeared on MegaIcon Magazine.

The post #ReformSARS: Group leads mega rally against police brutality appeared first on MegaIcon Magazine.

‘Undoubtedly, the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) have been doing very well in fighting violent crimes such as Armed Robbery, Kidnappings and Cattle Rustling in the country in the recent time and this has resulted in drastic reduction of incidents of the mentioned violent crimes nationwide.

‘However, the Inspector General of Police, IGP Ibrahim K. Idris NPM, mni concerned with public interest and the need to reposition the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) for more efficiency and effective service delivery to all Nigerians and ensure that the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) operates based on International Core Value of Policing with integrity and make sure the rule of law prevails in the operations and activities of the outfit, the IGP has directed the immediate re-organization of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) nationwide and instant investigation into all the allegations, complaints and infractions levelled against the personnel of the Special Anti Robbery Squad across the country by the IGP X-Squad of the Force.

‘In the new arrangement, a Commissioner of Police is now the overall head of the Federal Anti-Robbery Squad nationwide under the Department of Operations, Force Headquarters Abuja. ‘The Police Zonal Commands, State Commands and Divisions will continue to operate anti-crime units/sections, crime prevention and control squads and teams imperative to prevent and detect crimes and criminalities in their Area of Responsibilities, and other crack squads necessary to sustain law and order and protection of life and properties in their Area of responsibilities (AOR).

‘Federal Anti-Robbery Squad (FSARS) will now exist and operate in the State and Zonal Commands under the Commissioner of Police (F-SARS) at the Force Headquarters. A Federal SARS Commander of a Rank of Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP) and not below Superintendent of Police (SP) will be in charge of FSARS in State and Zonal Commands across the Country.

All Commissioners of Police have been directed by the Inspector General of Police to comply with this directive with immediate effect and warn their personnel not to pose as SARS operatives. The IGP X-Squad has been mandated to go round the Commands and Police Formations nationwide to ensure strict compliance and apprehend any erring police officer.

‘Furthermore, a new training program to be organized by the Force in collaboration with some Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), Local and International NGOs, and other Human Rights Organizations on core Police Duties, Observant of Human Rights and Handling, Care and Custody of Suspects have been directed by the Inspector General of Police for all Federal SARS personnel nationwide with immediate effect.
‘However, aggrieved members of the public who have any complaint in the past or present of violation of their rights by any Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) personnel anywhere in the country are to report through any of the following channels for investigation and further actions.

i. IGP X-SQUAD 0902 690 0729 – CALLS 0903 227 8905 – SMS 0903 562 1377 – whatsapp

Email: integrityxsquad@gmail.com

ii. FORCE PUBLIC COMPLAINT BUREAU 07056792065 Calls/SMS/whatsapp 08088450152 Calls/SMS/whatsapp Email: bailisfree@gmail.com, pressforabuja@gmail.com Twitter: @PoliceNG www.facebook.com/ngpolice

iii. PUBLIC COMPLAINT RAPID RESPONSE UNIT (PCRRU) 08057000001 – Calls Only 08057000002 – Calls Only 08057000003 – SMS & whatsapp only Twitter: @PoliceNG_PCRRU www.facebook.com/PolicePCRRU

The post IGP bows to #EndSARS, orders immediate re-organization of SARS first appeared on MegaIcon Magazine.

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