THE incidents of unjustified brutality, abuse of power, and the constant use of excessive physical force to resolve minor offences allegedly committed by the public by security personnel have continued to escalate despite public outcry.
While some Nigerians have described the officers’ disposition as misconduct, others see it as an act of impunity because of their uniform and powers conferred on them by the Constitution or the Act establishing a particular body, like the Nigeria Police Act of 2022.
The latest act bordering on misuse of power and professional misconduct happened recently at Abraka, Ethiope East Local Government Area of Delta State, when operatives attached to Operation Delta Sweep, an anti-crime patrol team in the state, while in chase of a suspected internet fraudster, allegedly shot and killed a middle-aged pregnant woman. She was a passenger in the white Mercedes-Benz driven by a suspect.
The circumstances under which the woman was shot are still sketchy, but a viral video from the scene exposed uniformed personnel helping the victim into a waiting motor vehicle. She was pronounced dead on arrival at the Eku Baptist Hospital. Unfortunately, neither the police nor the Army authority has reacted to the development, which ignited tension in the area.
However, we welcome the position of the Delta State Governor, the Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori to the incident. The governor, on receiving the information about the incident, condoled with the family of the deceased, urging security personnel to exercise maximum restraint by strictly adhering to established operational standards to prevent unnecessary harm to the public.
Similar condolences and submissions were made by other leaders of thought and public commentators who condemned the incessant departure from the rules of engagement by the security personnel.
Cases of this nature are abounding in parts of the country where citizens have suffered unjustly as a result of injuries inflicted on them by the police or the Army. But that is for those who escaped death, as many could not live to tell their stories.
From the years preceding the #EndSARS protests, primarily ignited by needless assaults on the public, cases of misuse of power and authority by uniform men have caused several losses of lives and property. While others, like the Army and Navy, among others can be linked with pockets of such incidents, the police are more connected to such incidents.
For instance, in Delta State, no fewer than six such cases were linked to the police over the past 24 months, some of which involved an upcoming musician and a GSM telephone dealer.
In a recent report compiled by the Ministry of Police Affairs, National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Complaint Response Unit of the Nigerian Police, and the Public Complaints Commission (PCC), covering 2021 and the first quarter of 2024, it was revealed that no fewer than 2,421 complaints of misconduct were received against policemen in the country. The complaints include harassment, extortion, unlawful arrests, unjust detentions, and the killing of citizens.
This act of professional misconduct and utter disregard for the laws and rules of engagement is reprehensible and smacks of lawlessness and lack of training. We condemn such violent and brutal disposition of the uniform men as those deployed to manage crimes should not always target innocent citizens to prey on.
While we acknowledge the untoward attitude of some civilians who attempt to undermine officers on patrol and the law, we disagree with the use of force as a corrective tool. We also despise the use of intimidation to coerce the public into succumbing to the vicious tendencies of some security personnel.
Consequently, we demand the arrest and prosecution of the personnel who caused the death of the pregnant Nigerian woman at Abraka. Officers on crime patrol should always abide by the rules of engagement, be made to undergo periodic briefings, submit to regular evaluation of mental health, and be monitored closely by superior officers.
We sympathise with the family of the deceased woman and commend the governor and all those who have followed up through condolences and visits. But these intermittent killings and grievous assaults must stop.
