Thousands of policemen are attached to politicians, public office
holders, and other dignitaries despite cries of shortage of personnel
deployed for regular police duty by the authorities, Daily Trust investigations have shown.
The Nigeria Police Force recently said an average of 221 policemen is attached to a Nigerian governor.
There are about 300,000 policemen in Nigeria with a population of
182 million people, according to the Inspector-General of Police Ibrahim
Idris.
The Nigerian situation is far below the United Nations’ 1:400
police-population ratio. The Nigerian cops are overwhelmed by internal
security challenges that include robbery, kidnapping, ritual killings,
herders-farmers clashes, ethno-religious and political violence.
Analysis by Daily Trust revealed that about 7,956 policemen are
attached to the 36 state governors in the country. This number is more
than two-third of the number of cops recruited last year.
221 cops per governor
In April, the spokesperson of the Nigeria police force, Jimoh
Moshood said 221 police personnel were attached to Governor Nyesom Wike
of Rivers State for personal protection.
Moshood was reacting to Governor Wike’s claim that the Inspector
General of Police Ibrahim Idris had ordered that he should be
killed. The police spokesperson said the 221 personnel are more than the
number of cops in some state police area commands in the country.
Moshood, an assistant commissioner of police, said: “It is
incumbent on the Nigeria Police Force to educate the general public and
draw the attention of the Governor of Rivers State to the facts and
figures available for press and members of the public to verify, that
there are 221 police personnel attached currently to His Excellency, Mr.
Nyesom Wike, the Executive Governor of Rivers State for his Personal
and office protection.
“The breakdown is as follows: one ADC (SPO), one CSO (SPO), one
Unit Commander (Special Protection Unit) SPO, one Unit Commander
(Counter Terrorism Unit) SPO, one Escort Commander (SPO), one Camp
Commander (SPO), one Admin officer (SPO) to administer the Police
Personnel, 54 Inspectors of Police, 136 Police Sergeants and 24 Police
Corporals.”
Daily Trust investigations revealed that the 36 ministers in the
country have an average of five policemen each, totalling 180, attached
to them for protection. A minister has an average security convoy of two
vehicles consisting of anti-riot cops and operatives of the Department
of State Security (DSS).
Special Advisers (SAs) and Senior Special Assistants (SSAs) to the
president are currently having at least one police detail attached to
them for personal security. Some of them have more than one.
Members of the National Assembly also have police protection.
Senate President Bukola Saraki, for instance, has 67 police personnel
attached to him. About 80 are said to be attached to his deputy Ike
Ekweremadu. The 106 other senators have at least one cop each for
personal protection.
In the House of Representatives, Speaker Yakubu Dogara has an
average of 30 cops attached to his office. His deputy and other
principal officers have more than two each, while the remaining 360
members have an average of one each.
State legislators, commissioners, local government chairmen and
heads of state agencies, among others, all have police personnel
attached to them. For instance, the speakers of the 36 State Houses of
Assembly maintain a convoy of security personnel.
The judiciary is also having a large chunk of the cops for the
protection of judges. The Chief Justice of the Federation (CJN), the
President of the Court of Appeal, chief justices of the Federal High
Court, the FCT High Court, Sharia Court of Appeal, Customary Court of
Appeal, National Industrial Court, all have police personnel attached to
them for protection.
Also, the 22 Supreme Court justices, the 66 Court of Appeal
justices, the 69 FHC judges, 38 FCT High Court judges, and the 20 judges
of the National Industrial Court, all have at least a cop each attached
to them.
Apart from these judicial officers, the 36 states and the Federal
Capital Territory (FCT), equally have hundreds of judges with police
protection.
Protection for big cats
The heads of the 480 federal agencies, commissions, parastatals and
inter-ministerial committees have between one to five police personnel
attached to them. They comprise of group managing directors, managing
directors, directors general, executive secretaries, executive chairmen,
chief executive officers, chief medical directors, executive vice
presidents, among others.
The number of police personnel attached to these heads of agencies
is based on their category and grades. For instance, the GMD of NNPC,
Governor of CBN, EVC of Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC),
managing director of Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), EFCC chairman,
among others have more police personnel attached to them compared to
those attached to heads of teaching hospitals or NTA, FRCN.
Even the police chiefs maintain a retinue of large police personnel
for protection. The Inspector General of Police has a large motorcade
of security detail consisting of about ten vehicles. The Deputy
Inspectors General (DIG) of police, Assistant Inspectors General (AIG)
of police, as well as Police Commissioners (CP) maintain a moderate army
of policemen for protection.
The traditional rulers in the country also have their own share of
the cops for protection. There are more than 100 first- class emirs and
chiefs in the country, and they maintain a huge retinue of security
convoy that comprises police personnel. There are more than that number
of second -class and third-class chiefs that have between three to two
cops attached to them.
9,000 cops retire yearly
All this is happening at a time the country is under-policed because of the shortage of personnel.
The chairman of the Police Service Commission, Chief Mike Okiro
recently told Daily Trust in an interview that the Nigerian police force
loses an average of 9,000 personnel annually.
“From last year to date, we have lost about 9,000 people,” he said. “For
five years, there’s been no recruitment, and the police lost almost
40,000 people due to retirement, death and so on before we got the
marching order to recruit 10,000 every year, which we did last year,” the former inspector general of police, said.
100,000 cops as orderlies
Despite all this, about one-third of the police population are
illegally deployed as orderlies, escorts, and guards to individuals not
entitled to such privileges.
This was the disclosure made in the middle of 2009 by the then Inspector-General of Police Ogbonna Onovo in Abuja.
Addressing a press conference, Onovo said close to 100,000
policemen were at the moment illegally serving as guards to individuals
who are not entitled to such privileges.
The police chief at that time ordered all such policemen working
with individuals to withdraw and report back to their police formations
within seven days or risk dismissal.
The police force has a total of 377,000 men and officers at that
time. “Most of the police escorts and orderlies were assigned
illegally,” he said.
The Federal Executive Council in March 2009, directed the
withdrawal of police personnel attached to Nigerians who were not
entitled to such privileges.
On August 19, 2015, President Muhammadu Buhari ordered the then
Inspector-General Solomon Arase to withdraw cops attached to dignitaries
and redeploy them to regular police duties.
More than two years later, both the police authorities and the
dignitaries seemed to have defied this directive. The police officers
remain on their illegal duties and they were never delisted and no
dignitary was prosecuted for keeping a cop as escorts illegally.
Public officials entitled to escorts
Political and public office holders entitled to special police
security include the President, Vice President, Chief Justice of
Nigeria, governors, deputy governors, Secretary to the Government of the
Federation and Head of Service of the Federation.
Others are ministers, president of the Court of Appeal, justices of
the Supreme Court, judges of the Court of Appeal, Chief Judge and Grand
Khadi of a state, president of the Customary Court of Appeal, chairman
of a local government/area council, vice chairman of a local
government/area council and chairman of the Independent Corrupt
Practices Commission (ICPC).
Also entitled to police guards are President of the Senate, Deputy
President of the Senate, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Deputy
Speaker of the House of Representatives, Speakers of State Houses of
Assembly and Deputy Speakers of State Houses of Assembly.
Force Headquarters keeps mum
For more than one week, this reporter tried to obtain comment from
the police spokesperson Moshood for the story. Moshood didn’t answer
several calls to his mobile nor replied text messages sent to him.
In only one occasion, someone who said he was Moshood assistant answered the phone and said the spokesperson “was attending a meeting but will get back to you.” But subsequent calls and reminders to the mobile of the police image maker were left unanswered.