BY DR. IBRAHIM H. ALKALI
The Nigerian Police needs to be more proactive than reactive. The police must of necessity, pursue the dogged criminal-minded kidnappers and abductors into their enclaves and hideouts. Rather than more or less waiting for them to come to the major highways of the nation — especially in the North — to kidnap, torment, and subject their innocent unwary victims with a lot of mental anguish. This is followed by the kidnappers marching their unfortunate victims to their desolate hideouts and enclaves in the bushes and forests, before the Police start running helter-skelter to save these victims, with little or inadequate success by the Police so far.
Some or even many of these unfortunate victims even either instantly or eventually get killed and wasted away by the kidnappers, with or without the money demanded by the kidnappers from their relatives and loved ones, as the case may be. Usually, it takes days to weeks — even months, in some cases — before some of these victims are saved by the Police. While others get “wasted” or killed by the kidnappers.
So far, the relatively minimal success recorded by the Police in fighting the kidnappers has been virtually, in respect of only a relatively few “high profile” individuals, who have been saved by the Police from the hands and torment of the kidnappers. All other unfortunate victims are seemingly left to be on their own, either to save themselves if they can, or be damned, doomed, and /or “wasted” by the kidnappers.
In the meantime, the victims continue to be subjected to not only mental, emotional, and psychological torment, but also all kinds of torture. As well as hunger, starvation, and general lack of freedom. These victims continue to be tortured with all kinds of physical punishment by the kidnappers.
Lamentably, more and more of the unfortunate victims continue to be killed on an almost daily or weekly basis, especially in Northern Nigeria. This occurs most specially where the huge sums of money (usually amounting to millions of Naira) which the kidnappers blackmailed the relatives, friends, and loved ones of the victims are not paid. Indeed, even worse, where the blackmailed money is delayed. And in some cases, even worst so, where the money is paid to them, the nonchalant, cruel, and hardened criminals of kidnappers still kill their victims.
Why can’t the Nigerian Police therefore deploy more helicopters on a continuous basis, to trace the whereabouts of these hard-hearted and hardened kidnappers in the bushes and forests of Nigeria, especially in their known hideouts and enclaves? Why can’t the Police therefore engage the kidnappers and flush them out there, once and for all? Rather than more or less always only waiting for the kidnappers to come to the major highways and expressways of the North in particular, and Nigeria as a whole in general, to kidnap and abduct their victims, before engaging them there only? In the meantime, a majority of the kidnappers are actually hiding and taking cover along with their unfortunate victims in the bushes and forests all across Nigeria.
The federal government therefore needs to provide special and adequate funds to the Nigerian Police for a more effective and efficient policing of the kidnappers in particular, and policing of all crimes and all kinds of criminals in general. Better still, to prevent the possibility of these needed huge funds allocated to the Nigerian Police being embezzled, misappropriated, or even corruptly, brazenly, and out-rightly stolen, the federal government should directly purchase these special Police helicopters and other weapons to be imported from abroad. This is necessary, in order to satisfactorily fight a good war against the doggedly criminal and very troublesome unyielding kidnappers.
There is also the need for the government to purchase more latest Arms and Ammunition for the Police, in order for them to be able to fight a good war against the kidnappers. These include the latest available modern and sophisticated machine guns, sub machine guns, assault weapons and rifles, bullet-proof protective body covers, etc.
Above all, the welfare of the Nigerian Police must be continuously improved upon by the federal government. This should be supplemented and complemented by the state governments, and even the local governments should make their own contribution in this respect.
Among other welfare packages for the Nigerian policemen, from the lowest rank and above, a provision of accommodation for all policemen in newly built and much more available police barracks; provision of grants of motorcycles and cars (depending on the cadre and rank); or at least a 0% interest direct motorcycle and car loans.
A further reasonable and adequate upward review of the salaries and allowances of the Policemen is also necessary. So also provision of more and reasonable upward review of duty, special duty, bonus allowances, “disturbance”, “risk”, and “hazard” allowances, and other allowances.
Also, free education up to at least the secondary school level for all the children of the policemen and policewomen, without exceptions or conditions; free health care for the policemen and all members of their families; an adequate and immediate upfront grant provision of gratuity and monthly pension for life,etc. As well as and continuous free education and health care for the wives (and husbands) widows (or widowers) of the policemen killed while on duty and in active service to the Police. There is also the need for better and more regular training of all the police men and police women in both Nigeria and abroad.
Other necessary issues which are germane to a more effective, efficient, and proactive Nigerian Police, especially as regards fighting the kidnappers in particular, as well as banditry, among other crimes, is ample provision of all modern equipment and facilities, and update of their mostly obsolete and old ones. These should include equipment for finger-printing, lie test detectors, graphology test, blood tests, genotype tests, DNA testing and analysis, blood testing and analysis, etc.
Moreover, the Nigerian Police also need necessarily improve its Intelligence Services and training on a continuous basis. As well as information gathering from both official and formal, and empowered and personal and informal individual and group informants in Nigerian communities and localities nationwide. Likewise, there is the need for the Nigerian Police authorities to make the various “Police-Community Relations Committees” (and such other Committees in which members of the public are inducted and involved, along with the assigned police officers concerned) much more effective and efficient.
There is also the urgent need for the Police to procure and deploy Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to the fullest, in fighting crimes in the Nigerian society. The Police also need to continuously procure and deploy all the modern communication equipment, facilities, and gadgets that are essential, adequate, efficient, and effective for modern policing of Nigeria, as obtains in other countries, especially the developed countries. These include among others, the need for up-to-date high performance and high-powered modern “walkie-talkies”, for ease of communication among and between themselves.
Only if and when such necessary provisions are made for the Nigerian Police by governments at all levels, especially the federal government, may the Nigerian Police Force be enabled and empowered to become truly proactive for Nigerians. And responsive to the contemporary crimes challenges posed by all kinds of criminals, including kidnappers, in Nigeria, as obtains in other countries.
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The OPINION / COLUMN is authored by independent contributors to the National Accord Newspaper. While contributors adhere to our editorial guidelines, they are not employed by the National Accord Newspaper. The perspectives and opinions expressed herein are solely those of the author and do not represent the views of the National Accord Newspaper or its staff.