ENDEMIC corruption within the Nigeria Police Force remains a grave concern for most Nigerians. Recent evidence, captured in a viral video, shows a police officer at a checkpoint on the Benin Bypass in Edo State demanding five litres of fuel or N5,000 from motorists. This is disgraceful.
The motorists’ only “offence” was failing to provide proof of Electronic Central Motor Registry registration. Yet, the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, had already suspended ECMR enforcement for vehicle owners in 2024 following public outcry.
Police authorities have since identified and summoned the officers involved in the saga to Abuja. The Force Public Relations Officer, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, insisted that the Force will not tolerate any act of indiscipline or unprofessionalism.
Unfortunately, checkpoint extortion is widespread in Nigeria. Despite official bans on illegal checkpoints, police authorities cannot credibly claim ignorance of their continued existence. Many suspect that officers on the road make returns to their superiors.
Officers often search travellers’ bags, phones, laptops, and other electronic gadgets under the guise of looking for criminal activity. Those who refuse to pay bribes are typically delayed for hours.
Tragically, some citizens have been killed for refusing to bribe the police. In October 2023, Ibironke Harrison, a judge of the Lagos State High Court, sentenced Assistant Superintendent of Police Drambi Vandi to death by hanging for killing Bolanle Raheem, a Lagos-based lawyer and expectant mother, in December 2022.
Outraged by such abuses, Nigerian youths in October 2020 protested against the now-disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad at the Lekki Tollgate in Lagos. The #EndSARS protests led to the deaths of many citizens, including scores of police officers, and the burning of over 200 police stations nationwide.
Regrettably, the police have not learned from these events. Officers routinely demand money from crime victims, witnesses, and even accused persons to conduct arrests and investigations. Recently, Linda Emone reported that police collected about N500,000 from her to help track her missing brother, Augustine Emone, who disappeared on December 20, 2024. Despite this large sum, there has been no tangible progress in the case.
The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project’s Corruption Perception Survey, conducted between September and December 2018, found the police to be the most corrupt public institution in Nigeria. A 2019 Transparency International report confirmed this perception.
Police corruption is also linked to poor funding. The Executive Secretary of the Nigeria Police Trust Fund, Mohammed Sheidu, reportedly stated that each police station receives only N45,000 per quarter, or N15,000 per month, as imprest to cover operational costs. This is incredible.
Therefore, the Nigerian police require urgent and comprehensive reforms. They are ill-equipped, underpaid, and most live in squalid barracks. The government’s failure to properly care for police officers has driven many to exploit their coercive powers to extort the public.
An audit released by the Auditor-General of the Federation in September 2021 revealed that about 178,459 different types of firearms and ammunition went missing from the police armoury in 2019, with suspicions that these items were sold.
This leaves the police unable to match the superior firepower of criminals. Between January 2023 and October 2024, at least 229 police officers were killed by criminals.
Mounting checkpoints to extort people under the guise of checking vehicle papers is obsolete and crude. Even in Israel, a country at war, checkpoints are rare. Licence plate scanners can detect offenders, and fines can be imposed by SMS or mail.
What Nigeria needs is a professional police force focused on preventing, detecting, and solving actual crimes, rather than engaging in roadside shakedowns.
Officers should be well-trained, well-paid, and properly equipped. The recruitment process must be strengthened to filter out dishonest individuals. Establishing state police will address some of these persistent problems.
