By Kayode Ketefe
Any honest student of history will readily admit that the Nigerian police have always been partisan. Right from the colonial era through the early years of independence till today, the predilection of the reigning powers to stymy the police neutrality by hijacking its machinery in pursuance of parochial, partisan cause, has been well-documented in the pages of history.
In the colonial period, the Police, understandably, were used to further the cause of colonial powers by enforcing their whimsical and capricious decisions.
After the independence, the loyalty-to-government-of the-day syndrome continued unabated. Matter came to a head in the second republic with the idiosyncrasies of Mr. Sunday Adewusi, whose tenure as the Inspector-General of Police became a reference point when talking of a politicized police force. As a matter of fact, people were beginning to ask if the Nigeria Police Force had not then become an organ of the then ruling National Party of Nigeria.
In this republic, the Nigeria Police Force has already attracted odium to its name with the ethically questionable role it has played so far in Rivers State political and judicial crisis.
Now, if the withdrawal of the security details attached to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Aminu Tambuwal, came to many as a shock (for police is conceived as a service institution to all citizens irrespective of the party you belong to) the recent pronouncement by the Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Sulaiman Abba, that he no longer recognises Tambuwal as the Speaker of the lower House on the grounds that there is a case in court on the issue, will definitely be a bombshell! It is tantamount to turning the logic upside down.
If a person defects from a party on the platform of which he/she won election, the question of whether or not the person can continue to hold a public office he later gained as a result of that election is surely a legal question which only the court of law can interpret.
The role to interpret the law is the exclusive prerogative of the Judiciary. These powers are bestowed on it by section 6 of the 1999 Constitution which says the judicial powers of the federation shall be exercised by the Nigerian Courts.
However, it will be hypocritical to cite the rule against matter subjudice as a ground for deliberate, selective action. It is egregiously wrong for the IGP to arrogate to himself the right to interpret the law and take executive action on the basis of his interpretation. In other words, Mr. Abba has no right to make a unilateral pronouncement on whether or not to recognise the Speaker.
You don’t need to be a lawyer to know that the correct logic in this instance is to observe the status quo, that is he should just leave the matter as it is until the court gives contrary directive(s) and not to follow his own interpretation first and await the court orders later. By analogy, suppose somebody is challenging the legality of Mr. Abba’s appointment in court, will it be right to say he should cease to hold office as IGP from that day until the matter is resolved?
Be that as it may, let the court make its pronouncement on the recurring vexed issue of rights/privileges/ liabilities that attend defection from one’s political party. The pronouncements will enrich our jurisprudence on this subject.
Meanwhile, instead of wading obtrusively and invidiously into the political terrain, let the Nigeria Police concentrate its efforts on how to improve on its operations efficiency and methodology. Let it be concerned on how to launder its image that seems unsavoury both locally and internationally.
The illicit practices by our police were succinctly echoed by no less an institution than a globally respected human rights organisation, Human Rights Watch, when it stated inter-alia in one of its reports thus. “Impunity is one of the biggest single obstacles to the reduction or eradication of torture and other serious abuses by police in Nigeria.”
More recently, another global non-governmental organisation, Amnesty International, (AI) released a report entitled “Welcome to hell fire: Torture and other ill-treatment in Nigeria” which roundly castigates the Nigerian security forces especially, the police. The authorities promptly rose in defence of the police and other security forces and denounced the report, but most Nigerians know where the truth lies.
The orientation of our people must change for Nigeria to move forward, and the primary milieux for social reformation should be public institutions.
One of the problems ravaging third world countries like Nigeria is lack of strong institutions that upholds the tenets of democracy, unfortunately, it appears that it would take a great deal of time for strong institutions that would be neutral and uncompromising in pursuance of patriotic service to the country, to emerge.
Sectional interest, tribalism, personal ego, vanity, partisanship and religious cleavages are some of the obstacles that stand in the way.
You can follow the writer on twitter @Ketesco
You can follow the writer on twitter @Ketesco
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