Nigeria Police Force

A member of the Ibadan branch of the Nigeria Bar Association(NBA)Ibadan branch on Thursday 23rd  November 2023 accompanied by thugs broke into a building at 3, Kehinde Aderibigbe Street, Olorunsogo, Molete, Ibadan, Oyo state, Nigeria.

The trespassers placed a banner with the inscription, ''For Sale PROPERTY/LAND-contact-

The lawyer on 08057321344/0806762694, in a desperate attempt to sell off the property without the consent of the sole occupant.

Before this time, On Thursday 9th November 2023 at about 9.30 am at 3, Kehinde Aderibigbe Street, Olorunsogo, Molete, Ibadan, Oyo state, a lawyer with phone number-08053721344- alongside four thugs made an abortive attempt to serve a harmless citizen a letter in the midst of intimidation and threats from the thugs. However, the citizen bluntly refused to accept the letter.

This development was trailed by unthinkable actions of four operatives of the Nigeria Legion Corps of Commissionaires, who supervised the damaging of the padlocks of the two gates to the house and the pulling down of the doors of three flats in the building and making away with all the locks, two chains, and padlocks.

However, it is curious that the assailants opted to forcefully convey the only occupant of the building to the Iyaganku Central Police Station on a motorcycle after they concluded the lawless act.

At the police station, they were told by a senior female police officer that Olorunsogfo, Molete was not within the station's jurisdiction.

This turn of events made them quickly seek the assistance of the administrative officer of the Iyagnaku Area Command.

Sadly, at the administrative officer's office, threats, intimidation, and warnings were tools used by all those present to persuade the harmless citizen to sign an agreement, which he politely refused.

For so long, those in charge of law and order have acted contrary to what the law states in issues concerning members of the public. This has indeed made millions of Nigerians lose confidence in the law enforcement agencies.

The Nigeria Police Force has called on Nigerians to be conscious of happenings in their immediate environment and re-orientate the youth to have a positive focus.
This call was made  on Tuesday by a Chief Superintendent of Police(CSP), Usman Sharafadeen, who represented the Oyo State Commissioner of Police at a conference organized  by Shafaudeen-in-Islam Worldwide in collaboration with the Center for Religious Cooperation(CRCT)in Ibadan, Oyo state, Nigeria.

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''Nigerians must be conscious of their immediate environment. The fear of God is the basis of all actions. When we fear God, we have a positive mental attitude. When we fear God we will never do anything negative to our fellow human beings. Our youth is the focus. All Nigerians have their roles to play in society. The discussion on the lips of every Nigerian is the roles of  the youth in''Yahoo yahoo Plus and Yahoo. The youth must be re-orientated, Parents and Guardians must be cocnscious of their childrens' movements,'' the CSP concluded.

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In his remarks, the Founder, Spirutla Head and Grand Imam of Shafaudeen-in-Islam Worldwide, Prof. Sabiut Olagoke stressed that those in Those-in-Charge of the Government ought to pray for divine intervention.
''Those in Government should pray onto God to intervene, that is the advice Ican give them,'' Prof. Olagoke concluded.

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Globally, the impression is that the Police force was established to maintain peace and order in society and also ensure the safety of lives and property. Sadly, several incidents around the world have indicated that the opposite is the case. This situation is worrisome and a source of concern to the citizenry. Interestingly, unscrupulous police personnel in connivance with members of the public, who are also members of communities in the country, extort innocent Nigerian by proxy.In this interview, the Founder, Spiritual Head, and Grand Imam of Shafaudeen-in-Islam Worldwide, Prof. Sabitu Olagoke opines that all police personnel should be groomed to be role models on the issue of the rule of law to enable effective enforcement of the laws of the land. Excerpts :

What ought to be the roles of the Nigeria Police Force in a democracy?

The structure of democracy vis-vis justice, policy-making, and implementation that should be inclusive to the term of equity. These are expected to give the society a stable polity in an environment of respect for the fundamental human rights of all without discrimination or socio-classification for the purpose of achieving the streak of sustainable development. Any alteration to this arrangement will constitute a threat to the security of the state and its prosperity. The extreme can lead to a state of anarchy. To be able to achieve maximally, police personnel from the lowest to the topmost ranks need to be properly trained in recognizing the state of the environment with all readiness to offer selfless service which must be sustainable to prevent a crack in the wall of the state. The people, generally, must equally be sensitized to see the police as their immediate neighbor. The roles of the Nigeria  Police Force, therefore, must be clearly stated as defined and must be incorporated into the school curricula. For example, the prevention of crime is fundamental to the protection of lives and property. They must therefore be role models on the issue of the rule of law to be able to enforce it. The Police must be an embodiment of peace and must be trained not to be bullies, but humane and polite in going about the statutory charge of maintenance of peace and public order.It is unfortunate to note that the environment under which the Nigeria Police Force operates is a hostile one and the recruitment process is faulty. This is a set back for the police force because criminally minded people will easily join the force without detection for future havoc. Another problem that is equally intrinsic to the under-performance is government underfunding. Also, the environment of corruption and extortion has by polarization affected negatively the constitution and working operations of the police to the level of institutionalized corruption and extortion.The inadequate number of police personnel are shared among the state and the rich as most of them are attached to several political office holders and the elite, at the expense of the state.Police brutality and harassment of innocent citizens have made them become pawns of politicians, who sew or borrow police uniforms from them for the thugs to appear as government agents to deal with political opponents, maim and kill perceived enemies.

Community policing can only be effective in Nigeria when equity and justice become entrenched in the system.

This assertion was made by the Ezendigbo of Ibadan and Oyo state, whoa also doubles as the Vice President(South) Ezendigbo in Diaspora, Eze(Dr.)Alex Anozie.

‘’Community policing will work out easily if justice and equity reigns in our society. I repeat again, community policing will work out if justice and equity reigns in our society. Why I continue to hammer on justice and equity every time I comment on national issues, is because if people are happy, if Nigerians are happy, if all the ethnic groups in Nigeria are happy there won’t be anything to worry about community policing, there won’t be crisis everywhere. If justice and equity reigns there won’t be the need for community policing.’’

Eze(Dr.)Anozie maintained that Nigerians were not happy that was why insecurity in the country was on the increase saying ‘’if the people are happy, then if they see anything bad or evil taking place anywhere, they will committedly expose the bad or evil, but when people are not happy and everyday they live in fear, they are apprehensive, bad news is the order of the day, killings, armed robbery, rape and so on, who then are you policing ? The Government still has a lot to do, that is why those elected are in government. Government should try to restore orderliness and fight crime to a standstill, then people can now start talking about community policing and everybody will show interest’’.

‘’When people see evil everywhere, from the Government, from the top to the bottom wrung of the ladder, nobody is happy, community policing would be difficult, because everybody is minding his or her business. When justice and equity are in place, everyone would become his or her brother’s keeper. If I see someone from another ethnic group, I would show concern. But when the system is not right everybody is on his or her own. The Goverment is encouraged to do the needful by nipping in the bud the injustice, inequity and injustice that are all over the country presently’’, Eze(Dr.) Anozie concluded.