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“While sanctions are healthy for the effective operation of the force, the type of sanction meted out is yet very vital. It is almost as though any act of unprofessionalism from the police officers gets met with dismissal from the force. While not holding brief for the condemnable acts of the officers, the question we need to ask ourselves is: when these officers – most of them having family members to feed – are dismissed and sent to the street, who bears the brunt? The people. The people they were supposed to protect in the first place now get exposed to these men and women with no job but mouths to feed.”
For long a time, the issue of professionalism among officers of the Nigeria Police Force has been a bother to both the citizenry and the leadership of the force. As much efforts go into training and re-training of the officers, pockets of unprofessional practices still occur here and there, causing dismay to both the authorities and the people of the state.
It is, however, expected that in an establishment, not all will be upright and dutiful to the teeth; there will be some who run afoul of professional dealings, and deface the noble image of an establishment. The NPF is not denuded of this as many a time, officers found to be contravening the rules and bringing disrepute to the reputation of the force have been duly dealt with in a bid to serve as deterrent to colleagues and protect the dignified image of the force.
The latest ethical malfeance was the unbecoming act of three police officers of the force detailed to escorting Rarara, singer of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dauda Kahutu. The officers could be seen in a viral video shooting towards the sky serially as a form of salute to the singer who entered a vehicle drove off the scene.
The Force Public Relations Officer, Muyiwa Adejobi confirmed their arrest, disclosing that the officers, Dahiru Shuaibu, Abdullahi Badamasi, Isah Danladi, were tried and found guilty of misuse of firearms, abuse of power, gross indiscipline and wastage of live ammunition.
While sanctions are healthy for the effective operation of the force, the type of sanction meted out is yet very vital. It is almost as though any act of unprofessionalism from the police officers gets met with dismissal from the force. While not holding brief for the condemnable acts of the officers, the question we need to ask ourselves is: when these officers – most of them having family members to feed – are dismissed and sent to the street, who bears the brunt? The people. The people they were supposed to protect in the first place now get exposed to these men and women with no job but mouths to feed.
We must be careful in ensuring that while fixing a problem, we don’t end up opening a cankerworm of others. There are hierarchies of sanctions in accordance to offence committed. There are verbal warnings, written warnings, final warnings, probations, demotions and then dismissal. Depending on the weight of offence, the first point of sanction should be verbal or written warnings. When the offence in hand outweighs it, then it can be ignored for higher levels of sanctions. Personally, I think, dismissal from the force should be the last resort when all possible sanctions have been deployed.
There are also correctional sanctions where erring police officers could be transferred to places where they could be remolded into what professional policing should be all about. They could also be made to undergo compulsory and sometimes extended reorientation courses that could help in reshaping and retooling them for optimum service.
There is also the case of suspension which I will suggest for officers found to have been indiscriminate in the use of firearms. They can be suspended with a withdrawal of benefits they were getting while in office, and then made to undergo rehabilitation courses to have them reintegrated back into the force when certified fit to return.
We don’t have to always take the ‘baby with the bath water’ approach, which more often ends up creating more problems that can be avoided for the force and the society, at large. Dismissal sends a good message to the public and personnels within the force that unprofessional behaviours are highly frowned upon, but what about exploring other means of sanction that punishing yet corrective.
Proverbs 11:14: Where there is no counsel, the people fall; But in the multitude of counselors there is safety.
Professor Ofonime Emmanuel Bassey is a Security, Peace and Conflict Resolution coach with decades of experience in the practice and promotion of Law Enforcement, Peace and Security through the Nigeria Police and the United Nations.
He is a professor in Leadership, Peace and Conflict Resolution, a certified United Nation’s Trainer, and currently the Director of ICOF Institute of Leadership, Peace and Conflict Resolution in Africa.
Prof. Bassey has served and interacted at the top-level management of the Nigeria Police as well as internationally as a United Nation’s Monitor/Mentor in Kosovo, Europe.
With his marks well-established in Peace Leadership both in Nigeria and Africa, he is currently the President, NISSI Safety Management Institute: An Institute of Peace Leadership.
To his many humanitarian acts, he currently spearheads a campaign tagged “The Next Peace Leaders” billed to run from 2022-2023 with a target of training 37,000 young peace leaders.
For peace and security tips, consultations and trainings, reach him via:
Facebook: Dr. O.E Bassey
LinkedIn: Dr. O.E Bassey
Twitter: Dr. O.E Bassey
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