The Lagos State Police Command on the 23rd of August 2023 came alive beyond the ordinary daily routine of policing.
It was the first maiden visit of the Acting Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun to the state since his appointment by the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Many people said that the visit was Egbetokun returning to his natural habitat since he has served in Lagos State Police Command for years and worked in various capacities.
According to some police personnel, the preparation for the visit of the number one policeman in Nigeria has been on top gear for weeks. Policemen were pulled from their primary postings and deployed to special duty due to his forthcoming visit. It is not every day that the Lion leaves his Louise Edet lair at the Force Headquarters in Abuja to come down to Lagos State.
The Lagos State Police Command, Idowu Owohunwa, who hosted him, made that the preparations were top-notch and only fit for a king and Egbetokun must have been truly wowed.
Although people said that the IGP came for a mere tour of the state, he, however, insisted that he came for other far more serious and important matters.
Two such matters were the launching of the Lagos State Police Command Complaint Response Unit (CRU) and the state-of-the-art hospital newly built inside of the 22PMF in Oduduwa, Ikeja, GRA, Lagos.
The occasion witnessed the appearance of many dignitaries, including white-cap chiefs, human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, SAN, the immediate past president of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Mr Olumide Akpata, the President of Women Arise, a human rights group fighting against abuse of women, Dr. Joe Okei-Odumakin, Dr. Seyi Adetayo from Airtel, Kenneth Ofili of 9Mobile and a host of others.
However, these influential Nigerians did not leave the comfort of their homes and offices to come and watch Egbetokun make nice speeches, but to applaud the strides he is taking in putting instruments that will protect civilians from Police brutality and hold erring police personnel accountable for their actions.
Some personnel in the Nigeria Police Force have absolutely refused to conform to the human rights law concerning the citizens they had sworn to serve and protect, rather a good number of them continue to act with impunity, jettisoning and seemingly turning their noses on the rights of the citizens, thereby always sneering on the Police Code of Conduct.
The flagrant abuse of citizens’ rights has been a major challenge for the Police hierarchy and a source of concern for members of the civil society organisations (CSOs) in Nigeria.
When Egbetokun was appointed as the IGP, one of the promises he made was to ensure a framework for promoting Police-Citizens’ accountability. To this end, he had instructed that the Complaint Response Unit should be established in all Police Commands across Nigeria.
Owohunwa, who is known for his dedication and cerebral nature, without wasting time, along with his lieutenants hit the drawing table, mapping out strategies and soon the CRU berthed, making the Lagos State Police Command the first among all the commands to establish this unit.
Egbetokun, who sounded impressed by Owohunwa’s quick steps in establishing the CRU, said that other Police Commands in the country were expected to replicate the same in their states soonest.
The IGP said the CRU was not established, “to witch-hunt officers, but to provide police-citizens accountability, build confidence among members of the public, engender information sharing between the police and the citizens and also make the police to be transparent.”
He further stated: “We no longer want the actions of the Police to be reported on social media, but to the CRU, officers that will man the CRU will be impeccable characters. They will be trained and get to be trained overseas. I urged everyone to support these efforts and ensure that the CRU is established in their states. It is good for the Police and for the citizens.”
Owohunwa beaming with pride, explained how he and his management team worked, with support from some organisations and Nigerians to ensure that the CRU materialised.
He said: “In line with the provisions of Sections 131-133 of the Police Act, 2020 and in compliance with the directive of the IGP, I am proud to confirm that Lagos State Police Command has taken the lead in establishing the State Compliant Response Unit (SCRU) as a framework for promoting Police-Citizens’ accountability and as a centre for the receipt of complaints on police officers’ service inadequacies from the public, coordinate immediate response, facilitate the investigations and disciplinary processes where necessary, and render feedbacks to the citizens.
“I must clarify that this initiative is not meant in any manner to witch hunt our officers as they will also be duly protected, and their rights fully asserted if their dignity is also violated or false and malicious information passed against them by misguided members of the public in the line of their official engagements. The establishment of the centre is, for all intents and purposes, a fulfilment of statutory provisions that are intended to enhance police accountability and engender professional police service delivery, rather than witch hunt or unduly malign our dutiful officers.
“In addition to its ethical complaint functionality, the Lagos SCRU has applications for e-crime reporting which enables citizens to report crimes from the comfort of their homes or offices without necessarily coming physically to the Police Stations. The process is that the Lagos SCRU model will act as a central criminal complaint clearing house which will electronically receive such complaints and process them to the relevant police Division, Department or Unit within the Command which will in turn contact the complainant to whom a reporting code would have been generated and issued, for investigative actions to commence.”
Speaking at the event, Falana said: “I want to warn all police officers to take cognisance of the Police Establishment Act 2023. Torture has become a serious offence and it now attracts 25 years imprisonment. If the suspect dies, whosoever is involved will be charged with murder. A Chief magistrate every month will be visiting police stations in Nigeria, and we are starting very soon.”
According to Falana, during the visit, the magistrate can grant bail, charge a suspect to a court or outrightly ask a suspect to go home.
He added: “The magistrate is also empowered to report any police officer who has breached the right of a suspect. Section 60 of the Police Establishment Act says that every Police Station shall have a lawyer assigned to it, to monitor human rights compliance.”
Falana, while applauding Owohunwa, stated that the creation of the SCRU was in line with the Police Establishment Act
I want to pledge here, that police officers here do not have to fear or worry over who will represent them in court. If you’re reported to the SCRU for frivolous reasons, I will defend you. I’m happy to make my intervention here, to let the IG know that I’m bringing to Abuja many judgements, in which we have won cases for policemen and women, who were dismissed illegally. If you must know, despite my shakara on television and this is not being arrogant, I have handled more cases for policemen and soldiers, more than any lawyer in Nigeria,” said Falana.
Falana said that he was not alone in fighting for police personnel, recalling that his wife had won two cases for Nigerian Policewomen.
His words: “One of them is that if you join the police, you cannot marry for three years and so we went to court and this was not applicable to policemen, and the court said that policemen and women are equal before the law. The second case is about a policewoman who got pregnant and was dismissed. My wife went to court and said that there were policemen, including a very senior police officer then, who had also impregnated someone outside wedlock. The court said the policewoman should go back to the Police Force.”
Falana promised to ensure and support the establishment of the CRU in his state and Abuja. “ I will take care of four states,” Falana pledged. “I will also get my friend and colleague Banire to do something.”
He also used the opportunity to praise Owohunwa for transforming the command through his beautification project, emphasising that the Lagos Police Command Headquarters had become cleaner and urged the Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG), in charge of Zone 2 Police, Onikan, Mohammed Ali Ari, to replicate such cleanliness in his formation.
The lawyer promised to give his utmost support to Owohunwa for his humility, dedication to work and innovative mind.
Apata who was among those supported to ensure the SCRU became a reality, promised to continue to support the Police.
He added: “God cannot come down to help or support the Police, we will continue to support them. I congratulate the entire Police Force on the successful execution of this project. Many ideas have been conceived on paper and never materialised due to one factor or another. I am aware of the level of hard work that went into the execution of this project.
“During my tenure as the President of the NBA, I was among those who advocated for the creation of CRU in line with Sections 131 to 133 of the Police Act of 2020 which was a dream come true for many of us.
Lagos State Police Command has emerged as the first command to establish its own CRU. Kudos to the leader of the team, Owohunwa, who from the first day I met him, I recognised him as an exemplary policeman, quietly efficient, with a steely determination to ensure the job gets done. I have been made aware that the IGP has issued a circular to other commands to immediately set up CRUs in their states.
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“When I got the request in my chamber to join hands in ensuring this CRU was established, I did not hesitate to give my support and it is a matter of patriotism. It is my hope that this unit, will amongst others, promote civil-police accountability and serve as a robust platform for engagement between members of the public and police authority. Young Nigerians of these days strongly want their voices to be heard and I believe that this CRU will bridge the communication gap and fill the void, which gave rise to the #EndSARS protest.
“I am also hopeful that this unit will boost public trust in the Nigeria Police as citizens will feel more secure and protected, knowing that the police are ready and willing to listen and to address all their complaints.
“I am also hopeful that the unit will be a platform for information sharing and data gathering, which is a crucial element of policing. I hope that the unit will bring the police closer to the people and boost police-community collaboration in line with 21st-century and global standards of policing. I commend the IGP for his solemn resolve in giving life to this all-important section of the Police Act, which is aimed at promoting civil-police accountability.”
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