Nigerian Police And Arbitrary Charge

By Apata Akinsemoyin Mukaila

Fellow Nigerians, whether we like to admit it or not, we have a group of untrained and ill-equipped, intensely corrupt persons of questionable competence and doubtful integrity charged with responsibility of prevention and detection of crime.  This assertion does not need any probing question. We all know it. Police should be advised that “Don’t’ take a case to court unless you are sure you have concluded your investigations and have very huge chances of securing a conviction”.

At this juncture, I must express my displeasure against the abuse which has worsened of late and inundating so many courts and the office of the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) with cases of nonsensical nature like arbitrary charges of armed robbery, murder, kidnapping, etc.

It is high time government called the police to order and cautioned the police against arbitrary arrest of individuals on the streets or in their respective houses on spurious grounds in which the release of the victims are normally secured with payment of money, otherwise they will be charged with trumped-up criminal offences. The amount requested from their victims depends on the level of the alleged offence.

It is common nowadays to see people being arrested for armed robbery in order for the police to demand for a very huge amount ranging from N150,000 upward, and where you cannot meet up with their demand, you will be charged to court on holding charge of armed robbery unsupported by any evidence whatsoever and requested the court to remand you in prison custody pending the DPP Legal advice. This is one of the factors responsible for prison congestion.

This arbitrary charge is very common nowadays and no official action was ever taken against the erring policemen despite the frequency with which most of these cases are being thrown out in courts for want of evidence or lack of diligent prosecution coupled with so many cases thrown out by the DPP on the ground that no prima facie case has been established against the suspects. But the suspects would have already suffered untold hardship in prison custody for several years or months before their release without compensation.

Restructuring the police force to meet the challenges of the global best practices is long overdue. As situation is now, there is urgent need to check the rot and unethical practices in the police by sanctioning any officers that charge people to court arbitrarily simply because they refused to pay the bribe demanded by the police. Records of decisions on such complaints should also be kept and periodically released to the media and interested members of the public to keep them informed about what the police are doing about officers’ misconduct.  This is absolutely necessary now, in order to encourage public familiarity with the police and address their grievances and conflicts before they are expressed in violence and confrontation with the police.

For a person(s) to be charged for armed robbery, the following ought to be considered; “That a person commits robbery if in the course of taking any property of another person from his person or immediate presence and against his will, such person threatens or uses force against any person with intent either to coerce surrender of property or to prevent resistance to such person taking or retaining it”.

While armed robbery requires proof of the following two things: first, “that a person committed robbery” and secondly; that a person or an accomplice was armed with a deadly weapon, simulated deadly weapon, firearm or used or threatened to use a deadly weapon, simulated deadly weapon dangerous instruments.

Proof beyond a reasonable doubt, therefore, is proof of such a convincing character that you would be willing to rely and act upon it without hesitation. However, it does not mean an absolute certainty. The standard that must be met by the prosecution’s evidence in a criminal prosecution is that no other logical explanation can be derived from the facts except that the accused committed the crime, thereby overcoming the presumption that a person is innocent until proven guilty.

A proof having been met if there is no plausible reason to believe otherwise. If there is a real doubt, based upon reason and common sense after careful and impartial consideration of all the evidence, or lack of evidence, in a case, then the level of proof has not been met.

The purpose of transferring a case of armed robbery to the state CIDs or Special Anti-robbery Squad (SARS) is to investigate to the extent necessary to confirm or dispel the original complaint or suspicion.

This requirement serves to prevent individuals from lodging complaints arbitrarily based merely on hunches or unfounded suspicions.

If the investigation confirms the officer’s initial suspicion or reveals evidence that would justify continued detention of the suspect(s), the officer may require the person detained to remain in detention by charging him to court on holding charge and request for his remand in prison custody until further investigation is complete. In some cases, the investigation may develop sufficient evidence to constitute probable cause.

We should bear in mind that the necessity of proof always lies with the person who lays charges. But if the initial investigation of the person arrested dispels suspicion of criminal activity the officer must end the detention and allow the person to go about his or her business.

Unfortunately here in Nigeria, in most cases, these standards are not met; they are based simply on mere suspicion and that is why the police have unwittingly established for themselves the notorious reputation of being a sadistic organisation. As a result, thousands of innocent persons are in prison custody today, awaiting the DPP legal advice. Why are they in prison custody in the first place? They are arraigned in court on holding charge of armed robbery, murder, or kidnapping, without any evidence. And what happens next: based on the police request, the court then orders their remand in prison custody pending the DPP’s legal advice. In most cases, the allegations are not sufficiently proved to meet the required standard of proof beyond all reasonable doubt in a criminal case. At times, some of the suspects die in  prison custody, while some contract serious diseases. The families that experienced these unfortunate events are yet to recover from the loss of their innocent loved ones. No compensation, no apology.

Example of cases in which I am privy to are:  COP VS: Fatai Alade and 15 others;  COP VS: JELIL ADENIRAN and 2 others; COP VS Raheem Eletu and 6 others;   Chinedu Godwin and one other; STATE VS: Ifeanyi Okeke and 6 others. Some of these cases were arbitrary charges of armed robbery and murder simply because their parents could not meet up with the demand of police, they were subsequently charged, but the matter was thrown out based on insufficient evidence after the suspects had suffered in detention. Others are State Vs: Sikiru Saka; COP Vs: Yusuf Sholanke;  COP VS: Antonia Afolabi, etc. These few examples are among arbitrary charges of murder in which the accused were remanded and later released based on the ground that the police failed to prove the cases beyond reasonable doubt. These examples are just a tip of the iceberg, The truth is that, police in the first instance did not mean to prosecute the case but were only embarking on politics of deception to frame someone up with the aim of extorting money from their relatives. Police knew in advance that there was not enough evidence to implicate them; but because they failed to pay the amount demanded, they are roped in. Clearly these incidents are among those that have left public perception of the police force substantially dented or worse still, damaged.

The type of police we need is the police force that is committed to the enforcement of law and order; to protect life and property and to serve with integrity. It must be efficient and more responsive to operational needs and be able to prevent and detect crimes. It must grow with the development of the nation. It must have an intelligence section with analyst whose task is to identify and predict criminal threat. Unless Nigerian police can do that, Nigerian Police fails in its function and declines in its dignity and value.

Another horrible example I wish to bring to the attention of the Nigerian populace, is the current tricks being used by the police to ensure that innocent suspects are charged with armed robbery. In this country today, it is very easy to allege a case of armed robbery or kidnapping against any person whom you want to be detained for several years without DPP legal advice. All police needs do is to abuse  section 264(1) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Law of Lagos state 2011 which says: A person arrested for an indictable offence may be brought before a magistrate for remand and the magistrate is empowered to remand such a person for a period not exceeding 30 days, if the request form file by the police shows probable cause.

In most cases, the request for detention form is full of spurious information by indicating in the “Grounds for the remand form” that; Confessional statement was made, whereas the statement was written for the accused persons by the police and the person forced to sign through torture or under duress; That the suspects were identified by the victim; meanwhile the identification parade was conducted in contravention of the due process of the law; That offensive weapon(s) was found in custody or in the possession of the accused; meanwhile nothing was found and in some cases, a cutlass will be presented as weapons found.

At the date of arraignment, the plea will not be taken from the accused person(s), and no questions whatsoever, and the next thing is for the magistrate to approve the request for remand and the accused person will be remanded in prison custody pending the legal advice. The result of this holding charge is that the suspect(s) can be remanded in prison custody more or less indefinitely in a legal limbo based on little more than mere suspicion of criminal activity without any evidence. A situation that can endure for a decade and beyond which severely punishes the innocent person(s).

To further extend your stay in prison, police will not forward your case file to DPP on time; they might keep the file for another two years before forwarding it. This is why some people are in prison custody for years without legal advice, thereby contributing to prison congestion.

An example is a charge No: CR/MISC/B/26/2011. COP VS: BELLO GBENGA AND FOUR OTHERS. These suspects were arraigned before Magistrate’s Court 2 , Ikeja presided over by Mrs. A. O. Komolafe on 9 November, 2011 and their file was never forwarded for DPP advice until 2013, two years later. Can you imagine this?  There are other incidents like this and a disturbing aspect of this matter is the impunity enjoyed by those responsible for this nonsense. This is one of the factors that delay the issuance of legal advice by the DPP, thereby contributing significantly to the extremely high number of individuals in Lagos prisons who have not been formally charged.

Our prison is a place where human beings are held in appalling condition with many of the detainees have been  awaiting trial for years. The appalling condition breeds terrible illnesses such as tuberculosis, etc. leading to death in some cases. Shockingly, cases files are either missing or hidden like the one earlier mentioned. Many detainees suffer serious illness and are often not treated.

Police do not discipline or sanction their officers for whatever wrongs they do.  This is why police have been inflicting pains and punishing innocent citizens without batting an eyelid, without fearing the consequence of their actions.

If you complain against police action, in few instances the police authorities refer some of the complaints for investigation but this never results in punishment of the officers that violate human rights or crime simply because they have godfathers in the force. Invariably, the complaints grind to a halt in the face of obvious lack of police co-operation compounded by a clear lack of will to hold them accountable. Yet nobody is calling police to order!.

However, the key to stamping out various prevalent crimes on the part of the police would ultimately depend on government firmness and insistence that offenders should be made to pay the price. Old and bad habits die-hard.   If the efforts against the abuse of power are to remain convincing in the police, sanction must be swift and severe. The price to be paid for abuse of office must be raised so high that only the foolhardy would dare not to be compliant.

An unruly dog, if not securely chained to its own kernel, is prone to wonder into places where it ought not to be. To reposition the police and our armed forces to uphold the rule of law in all their actions and decisions, the government is hereby advised to establish an independent Complaint Commission (ICC). It should be a special prosecutorial organisation to ensure accountability for complaint of human rights abuse or criminal behaviour by the police. The outfit should be headed by a serving or retired justice.

The commission’s function among others is to make sure that complaints received against police infractions are dealt with effectively and also to set standard for how police should handle complaints and the practices reviewed from time to time. They are to investigate allegation of brutality or torture, extra-judicial killing and related crimes or misconduct by law enforcement officers against any member of the public. The commission should undertake regular monitoring, inspection, and visitation of police cells and any misdeed noted or observed should be addressed squarely.

The commission shall be empowered to conduct trial and pronounce punishments ranging from fine, demotion in ranks, suspension, or outright dismissal or refer the errant officers for criminal trial in court on any proven case.

If we can painstakingly diagnose these suggested remedies, then the war against law enforcement abuse will be as good as won.

•Akinsemoyin wrote from ADROIT Foundation For Public Liberty and Human Rights,Lagos.