By Godwin-Maria Utuedoye
Nigeria’s citizens are often subjected to various forms of intimidation, harassment and extortion by security personnel saddled with the responsibility of protecting and fighting against crime.
Extortion and intimidation have sky rocketed to the extent that is carried out with gross impunity and mostly unchecked. There is no arguments that hundreds of innocent road users suffer bitter tale of security excesses daily.
Citizens are detained daily for no clearly defined offenses or crime. Fundamental rights are bridged daily. Rights are being denied and abused. In all these, sometimes they justify and attributes their actions to poor funding, lack of provision for modern crime fighting equipments and poor remuneration by government. From faulty vehicles to lack of funds to fuel operational vehicles. Lack of provision for maintenance and modern sophisticated weapons to fight crime, as findings revealed that most a time, there are shortage of operational vehicles in most divisions, and the few they had are either old or faulty. With all these challenges before them, some security personnel have been frustrated tue poor innocent citizens and forcefully subject them to intimidation, harassment and gross extortion with impunity. It will not be astonishing to hear that as a vehicle owner, a police man at a check point can arrest and impound your vehicle and ask for a million naira to bail yourself for no just reasons.
Late 2024, a friend of mine who is a car dealer was on his way from Lagos where he went to purchase a Tokunbo Spider Camry for a client. Getting close to the PTI junction just by the PTI Conference Hall he was flagged down by a team of policemen. After the usual check of papers, the police officer asked the cost of the car which he gladly told him with the receipts, but to his surprise, the policeman told him that he is going to the station with them or he should bail himself and the vehicle with 2 million naira. He was surprised and asked what is his crime of offence, and for refusing to cooperate, he was taken to the Ebrumede Police Division where he was detained till the following morning. It was the calls of this writer and his DSS brother to some senior police officers that facilitated his release after extorting him the sum of Ten Thousand Naira. This is just one in a thousand that occurred daily. Many have been extorted out of greed, frustration, lack of funding, unchecked behavior and most importantly corruption.
To cushion this major hindrances to security operations, the Delta state Governor, Sheriff Oborevwori, on Wednesday, October 15, brought in stakeholders from across the length and breadth of the nation for the launch of the Delta Security Trust Fund were he seeks Private Sector Partnership.
The event, held at the Banquet Hall, Government House, Asaba, brought together captains of industries, security chiefs, community leaders, and top government officials, including the Group Chairman of Access Holdings Plc, Mr. Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, CFR, who chaired the occasion; Zenith Bank Founder and Chairman, Mr. Jim Ovia, CON, who served as Special Guest of Honour; and the Chairman of Tantita Security Services Limited, High Chief Government Ekpemupolo who served as Chief Launcher with a donation of N10 billion.
The Governor at the ceremony disclosed that the Security Trust Fund established by law in 2013 was designed as a collaborative platform for mobilizing resources from the private sector to complement government’s investment in security. He assured that the fund would focus on acquiring modern surveillance equipment, operational vehicles, and communication tools, as well as supporting the training and retraining of security personnel and community vigilante groups across the 25 local government areas of the state.
He also maintained that: “Security is not the sole responsibility of government, it is everyone’s business. Without adequate security, development cannot thrive, businesses cannot operate freely, and investors will be reluctant to commit their resources”.
More so, the Governor noted that his administration rebranded Operation Delta Hawk as Operation Delta Sweep and as a joint task force involving the Army, Navy, Air Force, Police, DSS, and Civil Defence Corps.
It is therefore glaring that State Security Trust Fund will in collaboration with Delta Security Personnel will ensure the safety and security of the citizens of Delta State. Their primary mandate is to combat crime and maintain law and order in the state, but not to harass innocent citizens in the course of their duties.
It is important for security personnel to focus on their mandate of crime-fighting and not engage in any form of harassment or intimidation towards innocent citizens. Any form of misconduct or abuse of power by security personnel under the guise of raising fund to either repair, fuel or acquire surveillance equipments is unacceptable and goes against their duty to protect and serve the community especially now that the state Governor, Sheriff Oborevwori has set the ball rolling in funding the sector.
It is expected that the State Security Trust Fund and Delta Security Personnel would prioritize training and oversight to ensure that their personnel are properly trained and equipped to carry out their duties in a professional and respectful manner. It is important for security personnel to build trust and cooperation with the community in order to effectively combat crime and maintain a safe environment for all citizens.
There are reports of alleged brutality and extortion by the Operation Delta Sweep on innocents Deltans. It is not a crime to drive a good car, and if, a car driven is suspected, due process and fundamental human rights must and should be respected until a suspect is proven guilty. The idea of using uniform to intimidate, harass and subjecting innocent young boys to torture and extortion should be avoided. Trust and cooperation should be built amongst security personnel and the people always.
Lastly, the purpose on which the fund was raised should be carried out transparently. Vehicles, modern surveillance equipments should be acquired. There is nothing wrong if helicopters, good drones and sniffers dogs are acquired and lives of security personnel insured under this trust fund. Government should supervise the disbursement of the funds and ensure the fund gets to the appropriate destinations were it will be used judiciously.