"GHOST SQUAD," HOW REALISTIC? A few weeks ago, I wrote an article - INVESTING IN NIGERIA (AND AFRICA): THE SECURITY QUESTION, in which I called for a revamping of the Nigerian Police Force for the purpose of ensuring the security of lives and property in the Nigerian society in order to encourage foreign investments as well as the return of Nigerians in the Diaspora. It is therefore delightful that within the past few weeks, the Nigerian Police Force has undergone a significant overhauling of its organizational structure touching areas of remuneration, promotion, and orientation. Prominently, 'operation fire for fire' is touted to have yielded much result with the arrest of several criminals, particularly armed robbers in Lagos State. As the new wave of 'operation fire for fire' began to sweep across the nation, I was concerned that the unfortunate trend where a few Nigerians would hijack genuine and objective projects for selfish gains may prevail. We need not go too far into history for us to find examples of situations where groups or organizations that started with the intention of protecting the rights and properties of the people ended up unleashing mayhem on innocent victims, sometimes to satisfy selfish motives such as greed, jealousy, and power. In some cases, these groups or organizations have turned out to be willing tools in the hands of some well-placed individuals for achieving ulterior objectives. I therefore sat down to write an open letter to the new Nigerian Inspector General of Police (IGP), Alhaji Tafa Balogun, to plead with him to personally ensure that a few members of the Nigerian Police Force or the general public did not abuse the noble intentions of 'operation fire for fire' protection of lives of police officers and the public from murderous criminals/robbers. The Nigerian Police has been reputed to have some trigger-happy officers who quickly resort to the excuse of 'accidental discharge' or 'self defense' after a victim's life is taken. That informed my concern that a directive permitting police officers to shoot suspects when a police officer's life is or 'seems' to be at stake could be providing too much leeway for unlawful killings by police officers. Such could easily amount to a police officer being both the Prosecutor and the Judge. Worse still, the victim (if dead) would be nowhere around to make his case against the shooting police officer. Justice is not served if one single innocent individual is killed in the bid to eliminate a 'suspected' criminal. I say 'suspected' because a person is innocent until proven guilty, and to find a person guilty is the exclusive function of the judiciary. Fortunately, before I would publish my article (on The Likely Danger of 'Operation Fire For Fire'), the Inspector General of Police came up with a 555-man anti-corruption squad, code named "Ghost Squad" charged with the responsibility of checking corruption within the Police Force. The squad is to "arrest, detain, and prepare for prosecution, any police officer found to have compromised the ethics of the profession for personal gains." Furthermore, the IGP charged the squad to go to "police stations, police offices, and roadblocks, stop and search men and officers of the force with a view to arresting those involved in extortion of money from motorists and suspects for bail." (Guardian On-Line April 23, 2002) The idea of a "Ghost Squad" has all the elements of a realistic approach in the treatment of the malaise of corruption and irresponsibility that has plagued the Nigerian society. It addresses one of the main roots of the problem lack of exemplary discipline and accountability within the rank and file of government and law enforcement (or peace maintenance) arms. To that end, this article calls on other arms such as the Army, Customs, SSS, etc. to also instill a new internal cleansing mechanism. For a crusade to be successful, it must start from within, and then reach out. For a new secure Nigerian society, all hands must be on deck, not just the Police Force. The IGP is credited with other efforts to instill a new culture and orientation into the Nigerian Police, such as the "sir culture" whereby police officers are expected to show respect and refer to members of the public as 'sir' or 'madam' as the case may be. In the same vein, custom officers should not treat every traveler like a 'smuggler' (only to eventually allow real smugglers to go through if some bribe is offered). Soldiers (the military) should not see other citizens as 'bloody civilians' who must be demeaned, harassed, and treated with contempt. The list goes on. The IGP must expect pressure from those who would want to quell this new onslaught on criminals and the eradication of corruption. Some will attempt to influence the officers of the "Ghost Squad." This is why it is essential to ensure that even the "Ghost Squad" officers are impartial and accountable in their actions. They must not be allowed to abuse their offices as is common in Nigeria. It is said that power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. In Nigeria, this saying has been proven to be correct in many departments - politics, government, management, and law enforcement. The new Inspector General of Police has shown commendable dept of knowledge in the manner he has handled the affairs of the Nigerian Police Force in his first few weeks in office. He has displayed a combination of prudence and promptness in the formation and execution of key policies so far, and I would be elated if he could beat this article like he did the other one. However, the IGP and his men need some time. It would take perhaps a couple of weeks or months for one to practically score the success or failure of both the "Ghost Squad" and "Operation fire for fire." Things will not get better overnight and the IGP must not relent in his zeal. As we approach the 2003 elections, the real test for the 'new' Nigerian Police Force is yet to come. |