FRI, MAY 17 2019-theG&BJournal- A new public opinion poll conducted by NOIPolls has revealed that a large proportion of Nigerians nationwide disclosed that police brutality on Nigerians is prevalent. Sadly, 40 percent of those interviewed further reported that they have either been or know someone who has been recently brutalised by Nigeria police personnel.
In gauging the prevalence of police brutality in Nigeria, 77 percent of the respondents stated that the issue of police brutality in Nigeria is prevalent whereas, 23 percent claimed it is not prevalent. Analysis by geo-political zone showed that Nigerians residing in the South-South and South-West zones (87 percent each) accounted for the larger proportion of Nigerians who asserted that the issue of police brutality is prevalent.
Further findings revealed that a larger proportion of Nigerians (34 percent) cited ‘poor police welfare’ as the major cause of police brutality on citizens. Other mentions include ‘inadequate training’ of the Nigeria police personnel (17 percent), ‘lack of contentment and greed’ (11 percent), ‘lack of experience’ and the issue of ‘corruption’ within the Nigeria Police Force amongst other mentions.
‘’Therefore, there is need for the deployment of a strict measure to curb the menace. The onus now lies on the executive to assent to the Police Reform Bill as a matter of urgency to ensure that this act is put to an end. These are the key highlights from the Police Brutality poll conducted in the week commencing May, 6th 2019,’’ NOIPolls said.
The increase in the case of Police brutality has led to intense pressure from the public to reform the Nigeria Police Force. Senate passed the Police Reform Bill in April 2019 for presidential assent. One of the outstanding features of the bill is that it provides internal disciplinary mechanism for any police officer that maltreats or kills an innocent citizen.
The incidence of Police extra judicial killings pervades. A teenage girl was killed by a stray bullet in a shootout between policemen and some cultists in Ikorodu on the 16th of March 2019. Also, on March 25th, an Okada rider was shot dead in Kilo, Surulere area of Lagos while, on March 31st, 2019, late Ademola Moshood was shot dead by police personnel few blocks away from his house in Lagos state.
According to the survey report, Nigerians are increasingly losing hope and confidence in the Nigeria Police force owing to the recent brutality and killings by the operatives of the force. These include battering, shooting of innocent Nigerians, bribery, arrest of innocent Nigerians and unethical behaviors amongst others. For instance, the Public Complaint Rapid Response Unit of the Nigeria Police Force stated that Lagos, Rivers, and the Federal Capital Territory police commands recorded the highest cases of police misconduct. The unit also acknowledged that it received 137 complaints against policemen in Lagos, 89 in Rivers and 82 in Abuja.
‘’Police brutality in Nigeria seems prevalent, therefore, there is need for urgent and far-reaching measures to curb the menace. The passage of the Police Reform Bill by the Senate is commendable as the importance of this reform cannot be over emphasized.’’
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