By OLUSOJI DAOMI
There is a question that confronts the ordinary Nigerian whenever a police patrol vehicle pulls alongside a commercial bus, an officer knocks on a citizen’s door, or a young man receives a telephone call directing him to report at a police station. Will the encounter bring protection, justice and reassurance, or will it introduce a new source of anxiety? It is an uncomfortable question, but a nation serious about security and democracy must not be afraid to ask it.
The Nigeria Police Force occupies a difficult and indispensable position in our national life. Its officers confront armed robbers, kidnappers, violent criminals and other dangers that threaten lives and livelihoods. They are expected to act in moments of emergency, often under pressure and with limited time to make consequential decisions. Yet, because the police exercise powers capable of depriving a person of liberty, searching a home or using force, their conduct must be measured not only by what they achieve but also by how lawfully they achieve it.
The police need the confidence of the people, but that confidence cannot be commanded at gunpoint. It must be earned through competence, fairness and accountability.
The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, as amended, establishes the constitutional framework for the Nigeria Police Force under sections 214 to 216. Section 215 addresses its command structure, while section 216 deals with its operational organisation and related matters. The Nigeria Police Act 2020 supplies an important statutory framework for its functions and operations. Section 4 identifies responsibilities that include preventing and detecting crime, apprehending offenders, preserving law and order, protecting life and property, and enforcing laws within the police mandate. The Act also expressly recognises accountability, transparency, human rights and cooperation with host communities as essential principles of effective policing.
These provisions are not decorative language for a statute book. They define the public purpose for which police powers exist. An officer is not authorised to act according to personal irritation, private interest or an appetite for domination. The uniform carries authority, but it also carries obligations. Where an officer acts unlawfully, the uniform cannot convert the unlawful into the lawful.
Chapter IV of the Constitution reinforces this principle. Section 34 protects human dignity; section 35 safeguards personal liberty; section 36 guarantees fair hearing; section 37 protects privacy; and sections 39 and 40 protect freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, subject to the Constitution and applicable law. These rights are not an invitation to criminality or an instruction that police officers should stand helplessly before genuine threats. They are safeguards against the arbitrary exercise of state power. The challenge is to protect public safety without treating every citizen as an enemy of the state.
Consider the familiar case of a businessman who owes money under a private agreement. The creditor becomes impatient, makes a complaint and insists that the debtor must be arrested until payment is made. The police must investigate any genuine allegation of crime, but they are not a private debt-recovery agency. Section 32(2) of the Nigeria Police Act 2020 provides that a person shall not be arrested merely for a civil wrong or breach of contract. That provision does not immunise fraud or other criminal conduct merely because it arises from a business transaction. It means that the facts must disclose a proper legal basis for criminal investigation; the mere existence of an unpaid debt is not enough.
The same distinction matters in land disputes, family disagreements and contractual quarrels. A genuine dispute over ownership should not be transformed into a criminal case simply because one party has better access to influential people or can mobilise the police to intimidate the other. Equally, a person cannot escape a legitimate criminal investigation by labelling every allegation against them a civil matter. The police must examine the evidence impartially, distinguish the issues and act within the law.
Arrest and detention demand particular care. Section 35 of the Constitution protects personal liberty and permits deprivation of liberty only in circumstances and in accordance with procedures recognised by law. An arrested person is entitled to be informed of the reason for the arrest, subject to the applicable legal exceptions, and must be brought before a court within the constitutionally prescribed reasonable time where the relevant conditions apply. The applicable Administration of Criminal Justice Act or state Administration of Criminal Justice Law must also be considered, depending on the jurisdiction. Under the federal Act and applicable state laws, safeguards include access to legal assistance and restrictions on unlawful detention and the arrest of one person in place of another. Citizens should not assume that every procedural detail is identical in every state, but neither should anyone be told that arrest automatically suspends all their rights.
There is another issue that deserves candour: police effectiveness. Nigerians need more than assurances that crime is being fought. They need investigations that identify offenders, evidence that can withstand scrutiny in court, timely responses to reports of danger and professional treatment of victims and witnesses. Arresting a suspect may be necessary, but an arrest is not a conviction. A confession is not a substitute for a proper investigation, and the number of people paraded before cameras cannot, by itself, establish that a police command is effective.
It would nevertheless be unfair to discuss policing without recognising the conditions under which many officers work. Security operations can be dangerous. Equipment, transport, communications, forensic capacity, training and welfare all affect performance. Government and police leadership have a responsibility to provide the resources and supervision required for professional service. But hardship cannot excuse extortion, torture, unlawful detention or the abuse of a person in custody. The state must protect its officers from avoidable operational failures while ensuring that citizens are protected from misconduct.
Nor should the public approach the subject with sweeping prejudice. Not every police officer is corrupt, just as not every allegation against an officer is necessarily true. There are officers who perform difficult duties with courage and integrity. There are also allegations of misconduct that deserve prompt, independent and credible investigation. A mature society must be capable of appreciating the sacrifices of honest officers without using those sacrifices to shield wrongdoing by others.
The law and institutional mechanisms provide avenues for accountability. Nigerians who allege police misconduct can consider the Police Complaint Response Unit, the Police Public Complaints Committee, the National Human Rights Commission and other competent oversight bodies, depending on the nature of the complaint. The Ministry of Police Affairs provides information about the Police Public Complaints Committee, while the Nigeria Police Force maintains a Complaint Response Unit for grievances involving officers. A person may also seek legal advice about appropriate court proceedings where fundamental rights have been violated.
A complaint is more useful when it is supported by particulars. Where it is safe and lawful to do so, the complainant should record the date, location, names or identification details of the officers involved, witnesses, relevant messages, medical evidence and other available material. The account should be factual, not embellished. No complainant should assume that filing a petition automatically establishes guilt, and no officer should assume that a complaint is an attack on the entire institution. The proper response is impartial investigation and a fair decision based on the evidence.
Accountability must also be matched by responsible citizenship. Members of the public should report genuine crimes, preserve relevant evidence, avoid bribery and refuse to take the law into their own hands. They should comply with lawful directions and avoid obstructing legitimate police operations. But cooperation is not the same as surrendering one’s dignity. A citizen may respectfully ask why they are being arrested, seek legal advice and pursue a lawful complaint against misconduct. Peaceful criticism of a public institution should not automatically be treated as hostility to the state.
Recent developments indicate that police reform remains on the national agenda. The Federal Government announced the Nigeria Police Regulations (Amendment) 2026 as a framework intended to strengthen professionalism, accountability and service delivery. In October 2026, the Presidential Working Group also reported progress on a proposed National Policing Bill and related constitutional changes concerning state policing. At the time of writing, the proposed framework was still undergoing further constitutional and legislative steps; it should not be mistaken for a fully operational state-policing system merely because progress has been announced. The real test of reform will be whether it produces better protection, more effective investigations, transparent discipline and a safer environment for citizens.
Nigeria does not need a police force that is feared but ineffective, nor one that is popular but unable to confront crime. It needs a professional service that can act decisively against criminality while respecting the limits imposed by law. It needs citizens who understand their responsibilities and know how to defend their rights. It needs political leaders who support lawful policing without demanding personal or partisan favours from officers. Above all, it needs an accountability system in which credible complaints are investigated, proven misconduct attracts appropriate consequences, and honest officers are supported rather than abandoned.
The relationship between the police and the people is not a contest in which one side must defeat the other. It is a social compact founded on security, legality and mutual responsibility. The police need public cooperation to investigate crime; the public need a police service worthy of that cooperation.
A badge can command attention, but only integrity can command lasting respect. The measure of successful policing is not how many citizens tremble at the sight of a uniform. It is how many can turn to that uniform in a moment of danger and reasonably expect protection, fairness and justice. That is the standard Nigeria must insist upon—not as a favour to the people or an insult to the police, but as a constitutional obligation and a national necessity.
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