Kudos to Nigeria Police Force.

Though I have been preoccupied in recent times, I could not begin the week without commending the various units of the Nigeria Police Force who took the fight against crime and terror to the criminals’ forested hideouts last week. I find this to be a welcome development, given the growing insecurity ravaging different parts of the country. It is always my belief that security agencies don’t have to sit and wait for the criminals to attack first. Instead, they are to go after them in their hideouts and deal with them before they could unleash havoc on vulnerable communities and road users.

Although the relationship between the Force and the citizens they are supposed to protect has always been complicated, the reaction of many Nigerians to the news of the audacious raid seemed skeptical if not dismissive. Some were even asking “where are they 250 bodies”? But I am certain these same individuals will have believed the news had it been it was the other way, when police officers are the victims. Isn’t it insulting to mock those who’ve risked their lives to ensure others live and travel safely”? But that shows you the lack of trust between a lot of Nigerians and this important institution. Nonetheless, I remember when Nigerians were angry at the criminal killing of some of the Force finest men, who were members of the  IGP’s Intelligence Response Team, by soldiers in Taraba while they were conveying notorious kidnap kingpin Hamisu Wadume. It shows the relationship could improve with assurances, cooperation and good gesture from both sides. As they say, actions speak louder than words. So, rather than engage in bribery, extortion, and harassment of innocent citizens as displayed by rogue police officers, the Nigeria Police Force needs to reinvent itself in order to deal with the challenges posed by rising criminality in the country today. Nevertheless, it is good to commend the Force whenever it does something good, just like the way some are quick to criticise and condemn police officials whenever they do anything illegal.