Funding the Police

By Julius Oweh

THE primary function of government is the security and welfare of the people. In  the case of internal security, the role of the police is indispensable. This is why countries round the globe go to great length within their resources to adequately fund the police in the task of crime detection and prevention and making sure that law and order reign in such societies. The case of Nigeria should not be  different. And that is why apart from the funding by the federal government, because the police is a federal institution, state government, local government and corporate bodies also help in funding the police periodically.

However, these efforts are not enough. Available records revealed that there are about 300,000 police officers and men managing the internal security of 182 million Nigerians which is far beyond the United Nations, UN, stipulation. According to the UN’s recommendations, one police man should take charge of 400 people. Nigeria is really lagging behind Egypt with a population of 80 million and one million police men and officers. That is why the federal government should embark on aggressive recruitment into the police so that soldiers are removed from our streets. Political scientists and constitutional experts agree that the presence of soldiers to perform internal security duties is the greatest expression of the inability of the police to carry out their constitutional role.

It is against this backdrop that the Inspector-General of Police’s advocacy for the Police Trust Fund should be understood and situated. Speaking recently to reporters in Abuja, Ibrahim Idris said that the proposed Police Trust Fund will address its funding as the money will be got from the first line charge before the national revenue is allocated among the federal, state and local governments. This is how the police boss made the case for the Trust Fund: ‘The Nigeria police as an organisation is faced with many challenges. I can say that the greatest challenge is funding. The organisation is poorly funded and that is why we are seeking the establishment of the Police Trust Fund… We believe that with the establishment of the Trust Fund, all tiers of government will contribute to the funding of the police. Federal, state and local government areas will contribute as first line charge. Even private sector operators will also contribute and by so doing, we will have enough resources to adequately equip the police to discharge their responsibilities‘.

Nothing could be more patriotic than that. It only beats the imagination that the police trust fund bill has been with the National Assembly since 2009 and is yet to see the light of the day.  One therefore appeals to our  legislators to look into this  bill  with a view of passing it into law. It goes without saying that a properly funded and equipped Force with the state of the art security equipment, is to the benefit of all Nigerians including the legislators. After all, it is a reality that some police men and women provide security for these legislators and one would not be asking too much to give such people the fertile environment to carry out their constitutional duties.

The Police Trust Fund is an idea which time has arrived. In 2015, the police requested for 71 billion Naira but got five billion Naira. In 2016, the police asked for 16 billion Naira as capital budget but got 4 billion Naira.  The funding picture of the police is very gloomy and that is why some state governments and corporate bodies are available to lend a helping hand.

According to police sources, from May 29 2015 till date, the police received 548 patrol vehicles from nine state governments. The police also received within same period, 530 motor bikes, 19 armoured personnel carriers, 3 choppers, 2 gunboats and 3 ambulances.  The highest donor to the police is Lagos State. Lagos State gave 295 patrol vans, 450 power bikes, 3 helicopters, 2 gun boats and 15 armoured personnel carriers.

The donations of the state governments are laudable as the governors are the chief security officers of their states. But there is the fear that these donations may compromise the activities of the state. And this is how Gbanite, a security consultant views such donations: ‘If a state governor donated vehicles and other items to the police, it is very clear what will happen if the governor conducts local government polls. You don‘t need a clairvoyant to tell you that the police will take sides with the party of the governor‘. The proposed police trust fund would eliminate such fears and conflicts of interest with regard to state government funding of the police.

Since the country  still operates a federal police structure, the best option in funding the police is the trust fund where the money is deducted from the federation account before it is shared among the various tiers of government.

The ball is now in the court of our national legislators to give practical vent to the police trust fund so that the police, indeed and in truth, can carry out its constitutional duties of internal security and  the military can be restricted to the external defence of the nation. All Nigerians of goodwill should support the police leadership in making adequate funds available for its operations and the nation would be better for it.

 

*Mr.  Oweh, a journalist ,wrote from Asaba, Delta State.

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