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Nigeria Needs A Trustworthy Police Force, Gbajabiamila

March 25, 2021
Lanre Oyetade
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 Femi Gbajabiamila, the Speaker of House Of Representatives on Thursday said Nigerians deserve a police force that they can trust.
The speaker revealed this at an ongoing public hearing on two Police laws that had to be changed to make the Nigerian police more functional, organized by the Police Affairs Committee, chaired by Hon Usman Kumo.

deserve a police force that they can trust.The speaker disclosed this at an ongoing public hearing on two Police laws that had to be amended to make the Nigerian police more functional, organized by the Police Affairs Committee, chaired by Hon Usman Kumo.

Gbajabiamila said the bills are timely as they will go a long way in reforming the Nigerian police Force.

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He said “a Bill for an Act to Repeal the Police Service Commission Act and Enact the Police Service Commission Bill, 2020 to strengthen the Commission to be more Functional in its Operations, and for Related Matters (HB. 1112); and A Bill for an Act to Provide for Establishment of the National Institute for Police Studies, to Provide for Administration and Management of the Institute and Determining the Standard of Knowledge and Skills to be Acquired by the Personnel of the Institute, and for Related Matters (HB.1048).

“Reforming the Nigerian security architecture, with specific emphasis on our policing system and law enforcement, is one of the cardinal commitments of the 9th  House of Representatives. “It is a commitment against which our tenure in office will be measured. When the time for assessment and judgment comes, we must not be found wanting. The Nigerian people deserve a Police Force that they can trust. They deserve a Police Force that acts within the limits of the law and respects the rule of law. We will do everything in our power to meet these expectations.

“During this public hearing, these Bills that we will review are good faith efforts at addressing the statutory deficits that have hindered the effective operation of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) over the years. Beyond statutory reform, there is a need for concerted efforts to address recruitment and training, funding and operational priorities. These issues are the responsibility of the Police Force administration and the executive. Nonetheless, the 9th House of Representatives will be part of those conversations around effecting changes in this regard, and we will do our utmost to ensure that everything that ought to be done is done and done right.

“The Police Service Commission (Repeal and Re-enactment) Bill, 2020 is the first attempt to institute an independent system for holding erring Police Officers to account for abuses of power and related misconduct in office. There are, let me quickly say, a zillion or gazillion good policemen, in fact, a good majority of our policemen are gentlemen and officers, upstanding professionals but we all know the popular saying that a rotten egg can spoil the whole basket. We must attempt to weed out the few rotten eggs that seem to give the police force, men and women who lay their lives and put their lives out there on a daily for you and I and that is why we are taking this bill seriously.

The Bill proposes changes to the composition of the Police Service Commission (PSC).

It further proposes reorganising the Commission to be public-facing and able to receive and investigate complaints against Police Officers. This Bill will increase the minimum requirement for recruitment into the constabulary and allow for the recruitment of more qualified candidates into the Nigerian Police Force (NPF).

These objectives are sacrosanct. The only question before us at this public hearing is how best to achieve them. Achieving them is non-negotiable, it is a roadmap on how to get there, that we are looking to address at this public hearing.

“I encourage all of you who have gathered here today to recognise that we are undertaking this assignment at a fraught time in our national history. We have a joint obligation to act in the public interest to restore faith in our security institutions and assure the Nigerian people that the government is still capable of meeting its first and highest obligation – to secure