By Osazee Edigin
One of the major reasons a police officer could extort a citizen is that the majority of Nigerian citizens don’t know their rights, and they are not willing to know them. A lot of Nigerians occupy themselves with irrelevant stuff, which ranges from TV shows with nudity to social media trolling events.
I can bet you, 80-90 per cent of Nigerians have never used the Internet or data to check the status of the law on issues they face or complain about daily. You can complain from now till eternity, but there won’t be any change until you take a deliberate decision to equip yourself with the requisite knowledge.
One of the things knowledge does is to give you boldness and tenacity in the face of challenges or oppression. It emboldens you to confront the oppressor. The oppressor will not beat a retreat except met with an opposing power backed by knowledge and understanding.
Another issue I have observed with Nigerians is that they don’t have the patience and time to follow through with their own problems. They are always in a self-inflicted hurry and looking for someone to stand in for them while they go about their personal businesses. Life doesn’t work like that.
While I will make an attempt to give a quick step-by-step process of how to seek redress of extortion by police officers, it’s more important that you develop yourself on the aforementioned recommendation.
If you feel you have been extorted by a police officer or group of police officers at gunpoint or with frivolous accusations. Keep your calm at all times, but try to do the following thereafter, as I will outline them herein.
The police institution is structured in a way that every police officer operates from an office or department. Every police formation has a jurisdiction. We have Force headquarters, which covers the entire country – that is where the Inspector General and his management team (DIGs) are. We have the Zonal Headquarters, which oversees the collection of state police commands, and then we have State Police Commands with a Commissioner of Police in charge.
Under the State Police command, we have Area Commands headed by an Area Commander, which oversee Divisional Police Headquarters, which are headed by a Divisional Police Officer (DPOs). We also have District Police Headquarters headed by District Police Officers (DOs). These are under a Divisional Police Headquarters to assist when a division has a large area to cover, for administrative and operational convenience.
Police officers know the area they cover, and they don’t leave their jurisdiction to another without approval or notifying the visiting area in case of investigation activity of their presence. For instance, if police from Abuja come to Edo state, they must inform the commissioner of police of their presence. If officers are to move from one Divisional Headquarters to another, they must inform the DPO in the area they have entered for investigation activity..
Having established the following, let’s look at the following ways you can have a redress if you have been extorted by a member of the police force.
1. Try as much as possible to know the name of the area or police department where the incident and extortion took place.
2. Pay attention to the names on their uniform and observe the type of vehicle used. Look out for the number plate, inscription on the vehicle and other markings. It’s easier if it’s a marked vehicle, which is the standard requirement.
3. Also ask them which police department they are from, as Abuja police can operate in any part of the country, just the way state police command can operate in any part of the state. For whatever reason, they are found there, and the appropriate authority is aware of their operation. As a matter of fact, the local police office usually second at least one of their officers to them if it’s an interstate operation.
4. If the extortion took place at the level of a police division, go to the station and ask to see the DPO. Same with the Area Command, head of the unit/department or the Commissioner of Police. These people are accessible any day, any time. If the head is not available, ask to see the second in command. It will shock you to note that most heads of police formations don’t even sleep at night. They can pick up your calls in the dead of the night to respond to an emergency. You either call or send them a text message.
5. You can also report any case of extortion to your state or zonal public relations officers.
6. If you also want to go by way of a petition, you can write and address it to the appropriate office and head. It will be looked into without you needing to bribe anyone to get it approved. If they didn’t attend to it, escalate it to a higher office. For instance, the DPO didn’t respond to your complaint, and you escalated it to the Area Commander.
7. There are also social media channels and phone contacts that have been provided for members of the public by the police authority. Take advantage of them to advance your grievances.
8. You can lodge your complaint with the X-squad unit. This unit was established to police the police. Another unit you can lodge your complaint with is the Provost’s unit. This unit is the disciplinary unit of the force. They conduct the orderly room trial and decide which punishment is due for any unprofessional conduct of police officers.
9. Always insist that bail is free. Don’t always be in a hurry to part with money. Be patient and expect the worst, which won’t be more than 24 hours, and you will either be left to go or be charged to court and get your bail at the court with your lawyer. If you are prosecuted maliciously because you refused to part with money and the case comes out in your favour, the law provides that you can sue the police and claim damages.
NOTE: Don’t carry the mindset that they are sent by their Oga at the top. Ask to see that Oga at the top and let him tell you to bring money himself. When the chips are down, the Oga at the top will do everything within his powers to save his head. Every man to himself, and there must be a scapegoat.
Leftist Osazee Edigin AICMC writes from the Useh community in Egor Local Government Area of Edo state. osazedigin@gmail.com
