OLATUNBOSUN AWONIYI
The Christmas killing of Lagos lawyer Bolanle Raheem by the Nigerian police officers at a checkpoint in Ajaharea, Lagos state, Nigeria is one of too many police brutality and extrajudicial killings of Nigerian citizens they claim to be protecting.
Between January and September 2021 alone, 164 cases of police and civilian incidents were recorded, and Global Rights Advocates for Sustainable Justice, and Amnesty International documented 271 incidents between March and June 2021.
People continue to call for law enforcement reform and police training.
It is not out of context that the Nigerian police need extensive reform and training to be more dynamic and able to operate at their best as seen in other parts of the world, but the extrajudicial killings and harassment of civilians seem to be the hallmark of the police here in Nigeria.
It is known that recruits in Nigeria Police Force have always followed various training and courses at the Police Academy. Isn’t a recruited Nigerian police officer taught how to deal with civilians or when to use a firearm during induction and training?
I am sure that no police officer is enlisted into the Nigeria Police witout graduating from the police academy. Additionally, no police officer is trained to carry and use the AK 47 pistol at will, including shooting the civilians they are tasked to protest.
In Nigeria, we can see the police with AK 47 rifles walking around our street, on public transport and even in a beer bar.
A Nigerian police officer is seen on the street pointing a gun at a bus conductor or bus driver who has refused to pay N100 at a garage or checkpoint. There are many reports of police officers killing bus drivers who refused to pay when money was asked.
Whenever there is a confrontation between a police officer and a civilian in Nigeria, the next target is to point an AK 47 pistol at that civilian, resulting in death or injury to the civilian.
Uniformed men trained to protect citizens’ lives and property have now become agents of death. This heinous act occurred sporadically or at irregular intervals.
Considering the frequency of these killings in Nigeria and the reasons for these killings, which often involve petty disputes between police and civilian victims, it is easy to conclude that these men in uniform were mentally insane.
Aside from having mental health issues, how could a normal, sane person aim, shoot, and kill citizens who are not criminals, thugs, terrorists, or gangsters due to mere altercations or altercations with a gun?
Poverty levels in Nigeria are alarming, most citizens struggle with depression and depression leads to mental illness, and Nigerian police personnel are an integral part of Nigerian society as a whole.
Like other needy Nigerians living in extreme poverty, police officers face the same myriad problems, including being unable to feed their wives and children, being unable to pay rent and other much-needed assets.
The Nigerian government has failed to provide basic necessities to its citizens, including police personnel. Police barracks across the country are like a ghetto and a landfill. How can you expect someone who comes out of these barracks to behave normally? It’s like expecting a madman sleeping under a bridge, dumpster, or cabin to behave normally. That’s impossible.
In order to end the continued killing of Nigerians who are not criminals, the Nigerian government should urgently subject all mid-level police officers to psychiatric evaluation and testing to determine their mental status.
Now, psychiatric tests and examinations should be among the requirements for entry into the Nigerian Police.
In addition, the Nigerian government should increase the salaries of police personnel, renovate all barracks across the country, build additional barracks, and rehabilitate and train the Nigerian police force.
If all the above points are followed, Nigeria should be proud to have a dynamic, polite and friendly police force and the incessant killing of citizens by overzealous police officers will be a thing of the past.