ABIODUN SANUSI writes about the efforts of the erstwhile Inspector-General of Police, Usman Baba at instilling discipline through prompt sanctions against the bad eggs in the force
The moves by the Nigeria Police Force authorities to curtain the excesses of errant police officers and sanitise the system have not been un-impactful. The prompt actions taken against unruly officers by the immediate past IG Usman Baba have instilled a measure of discipline among the rank and file and also drew an ovation from Nigerians.
For decades, a large percentage of police officers demonstrated an appalling lack of discipline and professionalism, with many of them involved in extra-judicial killings, brutal assaults on citizens, drunkenness, extortion, and other vices. These incidents led to the 2020 #EndSARS protests, which rocked the nation, resulting in the killing of several cops and the destruction of police formations in parts of the country.
Though successive Inspectors-General of Police had made efforts to reform the security outfit and improve its capacity as well as its public perception, no significant change had been achieved due to various institutional and policy limitations.
But determined to reposition the police, the erstwhile Inspector-General of Police, Baba, made it clear right from his first day in office that his administration would brook no nonsense. He made professionalism and discipline his watchword to the admiration of Nigerians, many of whom had had unsavoury encounters with some bad eggs in the Force.
Baba would be remembered for weeding out of the Force several deviant characters and other malignant elements who had given the police a bad name. On June 18, for instance, two police officers said to be detectives attached to the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department of the Rivers Police Command were arrested and detained for alleged extortion of some citizens.
The arrest of the police detectives followed complaints that they searched some citizens’ phones against the express directive of the IG. Disciplinary actions were subsequently taken against the duo by the Rivers State Police Command.
Earlier in June, three police officers were also arrested for not protecting some women that were accused of witchcraft in the Roma community of Dumne, in the Song Local Government Area of Adamawa State. The personnel, including an Inspector, were seen in a viral video maltreating and assaulting the three women.
The state police spokesperson, Suleiman Nguroje, said the accused women were stripped naked and beaten mercilessly by a mob over the allegation of witchcraft resulting in the death of two of the victims.
In May, the Lagos State Police Command announced the dismissal of one Sergeant Ekpo Shimuyere from the Sogunle Division for extorting N98,000 from a young man. The Lagos State Police Command’s spokesperson, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, disclosed that Shimuyere was dismissed and disrobed by the provost department of the command. Shimuyere reportedly transferred the money from his victim’s account through a point of sales operator.
“Police got the complaint from the victim and the officer denied the crime when he was contacted. The command placed him under detention so that he will not tamper with the evidence.
“We wrote to his bank and obtained his statement of account. We were able to trace the money to where the PoS operator transferred it before transferring the money to the officer’s account.
“We followed due process to get his account. The victim was invited in the course of the investigation, and he testified. The PoS operator was also invited, and he said the officer requested him to transfer the money from the victim’s account to another one,” Hundeyin added.
Hundeyin further stated that Shimuyere was put through an Orderly Room trial in accordance with the law. The Commissioner of Police, Lagos Command, Idowu Owohunwa, reviewed the trial and approved the punishment of dismissal from the force.
A trigger-happy cop similarly got his comeuppance after he allegedly shot and killed one Onyeka Ibe over an N100 bribe while on stop-and-search duty. Inspector Ebri Uba, who was attached to the Delta State Police Command was also charged to court, according to the police spokesperson in the state, Bright Edafe.
Between October 2022 and April 2023, the police authorities reportedly dismissed no fewer than 21 cops and reprimanded over 40 for various offences ranging from abuse of power to gross indiscipline and extortion. Many others were also demoted by the Police Service Commission on Baba’s recommendation.
During its 20th plenary meeting in April, presided over by its Chairman, Dr Solomon Arase, the PSC approved the dismissal of three Assistant Superintendents of Police and the demotion of an Assistant Commissioner of Police, a Chief Superintendent, two Superintendents of Police, and one Assistant Superintendent of Police. The commission also severely reprimanded an ACP, a CSP, four SPs, two DSPs, and 12 ASPs.
A statement by the Head of Press and Public Relations, PSC, Ikechukwu Ani, indicated that the Commission equally reprimanded six other officers, including an SP and five ASPs for misconduct.
The statement read in part, “The Commission also approved the punishment of reprimand to six officers, one Superintendent, and five Assistant Superintendents. The chairman also called on the police to ensure that they work within the established laws guiding their operations.
“He assured them that henceforth disciplinary matters will be handled with dispatch so that officers, who are found wanting, will serve their punishments while those who are exonerated are cleared to continue with their career progression without hindrance.”
Another cop, Adejoh Siaka, was demoted from the rank of inspector to sergeant, following complaints and findings from video evidence widely circulated on social media on April 9, 2023. He was sanctioned for assault, discreditable conduct, and incivility to members of the public at Emuoha, Rivers State.
On December 22, 2022, the Imo State Commissioner of Police, Muhammed Barde, disclosed that his Command dismissed seven policemen for flagrant abuse of police standard practice.
A few weeks before his retirement from the police, Baba, during a conference with senior police officers and members of the Police Management Team, warned police officers against meddling in civil disputes.
He said the Nigeria Police Force would not tolerate officers’ involvement in civil cases, including property tussles, family, matrimonial, debt, landlord/tenants cases, and neighbours’ disputes already “pending in court.”
He vowed to apply severe disciplinary actions and sanctions including imposing the burden of garnishee orders solely on the individuals involved in such malpractices.
Addressing the senior officers, he stated, “You are hereby warned to instil this discipline in your officers and men so that you will not be held vicariously liable as well. In the same vein, the leadership of the Force will not condone the continuous violation of any of the Nigeria Police Force policies or regulations, especially the social media policy of the Force and the oath of secrecy in handling the confidentiality of our correspondences.
“In your own interest and for the good benefit of the organisation, you are all to make this a subject of lecture over and over again to your officers and men. Anyone caught in the act of disobeying the lawful orders will have themselves to blame.”
Baba, from Geidam, Yobe State, received a Teacher’s Grade II Certificate from Teachers College, Potiskum, Yobe State in 1980. He studied Political Science at Bayero University, Kano, graduating in 1985, before proceeding to the University of Maiduguri where he obtained a Master’s in Public Administration in 1997. Baba was a member of Course 22/2014 at the National Defence College.
Baba was enlisted in the Nigeria Police Force on March 15, 1988, and later became an assistant superintendent of police, before he was promoted as commissioner of police in January 2013. He served in the Federal Capital Territory as the Deputy Commissioner, Investigation and at the Staff College as a Directing Staff.
He served in Kaduna as the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Administration and Assistant Commissioner, CID, and in Ilorin as an Area Commander. His career had taken him to many parts of the country, having served in Kaduna, Yola, Jos and Gombe and others.
Baba was a former Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Zone 5, in charge of Edo State, Delta State and Bayelsa State. He is a fellow of the International War College and a member of the International Association of Police.
For his meritorious service to the nation, he was conferred with the national honour of Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic by President Muhammadu Buhari.
Baba may not have fully sanitised the police, but Nigerians would remember his efforts in instilling discipline in the Force and ridding the organisation of some uncouth and unprofessional operatives.
