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Introduction: A Police Force Removed From Its People

In October 2020, as bullets rained down on peaceful protesters at the Lekki Tollgate, the world watched in horror. That event was not an isolated case but a mirror reflecting decades of a broken system — a police force not designed to serve its citizens but to control them.

This reality continues today. Across Nigeria, we witness riots, violent crimes, assassinations of public officials, and a general breakdown of law and order. While chaos spreads, one thing remains constant: the Nigerian Police Force (NPF) is failing — and failing spectacularly.

The police, long accustomed to decades of military rule and its oppressive style of governance, are now struggling in a supposed democracy, unable to fulfill their core mandate: crime prevention and public safety. It is painfully clear — our current police system is not equal to the task.

A Society That Has Refused to Evolve

While most of the world has moved forward — with improvements in healthcare, life expectancy, social welfare, and technological advancements — Nigeria remains largely stagnant. We have either refused to master the basics of modern governance or have deliberately misapplied knowledge for selfish ends.

In no area is this dysfunction more visible than in our system of policing — a system designed not to serve, but to subdue.

The Broken Mission of the Police

The core mission of a police force anywhere should be clear:

Protect life and property.

Preserve peace and order.

Enable the free and safe movement of citizens.

Provide emergency services.

Instead, our police today are overwhelmed, under-equipped, underpaid, and tragically misaligned with the communities they are meant to serve. Worse still, the very people demand protection from crime while simultaneously fearing those in uniform.

Who Should Police Us?

This is the fundamental question:
Who is better suited to police us?

A distant national force led by an Inspector General hundreds of miles away?

Or local police, made up of our own people — neighbors, kin, those who share in the daily consequences of crime and disorder?

The answer is self-evident. The current centralized national police system has failed — repeatedly, visibly, and catastrophically. It is time to decentralize.

Every local government that operates a council should have a corresponding police department — locally funded, locally managed, and locally accountable. Call it state police, community police, or municipal constabulary — the name is irrelevant; the function is what matters.

Any system short of this will continue to fail.

Policing Cannot Be Democratic Internally — But Must Be Accountable Locally

There is a misconception embedded in our constitution: the idea that democratic, participatory management applies within law enforcement structures. It does not. Just like the military, a police force cannot operate as a democratic collective internally.

Democracy and command leadership are inherently contradictory.

Great strides in any field — security included — come from strong, decisive leadership, not from committees.

The instinct to avoid conflict leads to indecision, paralysis, and ultimately, failure.

However, while the internal chain of command must be hierarchical, external accountability must be democratic. The chief of police should answer not to Abuja, but to the traditional Emir, Oba, Chief, Eze; the council chairman, or the elected community leader.

The ‘Peacekeeping Force’ Analogy — A Damning Reality

Our national police today resemble an occupying peacekeeping force, not a community law enforcement agency.

Like peacekeepers in Bosnia, Sierra Leone, or Liberia, they are disconnected from the people. They do not rely on the community for legitimacy or resources. Therefore, they operate with impunity — brutal when they can, corrupt when they must, and indifferent always.

This is not policing. This is control.

Voices From Within — A Commissioner’s Lament

As retired Police Commissioner Abubakar Tsav once wrote:

“It is a great pity that while other police forces in the world have gone scientific in the investigation of criminal cases, we in Nigeria still apply manual methods… Investigators are not keen on investigating cases to their logical conclusion but rather hurriedly arrest suspects, release them on bail, and dump the case file… Presently, policemen go cap in hand begging for money to fuel and service their patrol vehicles. This situation provides fertile ground for corruption.”

Corruption:

A Structural Problem, Not Just a Moral Failing

Corruption in the police is not merely the fault of “bad eggs.” It is baked into the structure:

Over-centralization breeds unaccountability.

Poor funding drives extortion.

Disconnection from the community removes any incentive for ethical conduct.

And the danger is unique: unlike other corrupt professions, police officers carry guns. They have the legal authority to detain, to harm, and — too often in Nigeria — to kill.

The Solution Is Not Complicated

1. Break up the centralized federal police.

2. Retain only a small, elite Federal Investigative Service — for terrorism, organized crime, and interstate crime.

3. Create fully empowered state, local, and municipal police departments, answerable to local governments.

4. Implement independent internal affairs divisions with community-led oversight boards.

5. Reform recruitment to prioritize education, local knowledge, and community ties.

6. Demand leadership that is accountable — not to a distant bureaucracy, but to the people.

Conclusion:

The Time for Pretending Is Over. The current Nigerian Police Force is a failed experiment. It does not serve the people; it enforces the will of distant powers. It operates like a foreign peacekeeping mission — but tragically, the battlefield is our own neighborhoods.

The choice before Nigeria is simple and urgent:

Do we want a police force that protects us — or one that controls us?

The time to decide is now.

Hf Dauda MoiSoro

June 29, 2025