The Nigerian Police::A Sad Way Of Life.

Nigerian Police, bribery, fraud and corruption
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By uyiedos


I can describe the Nigerian police as one of the most corrupt police forces in the world which has abandoned the main purpose and goals of the police which is provision of protection to thier citizens.In nigeria today it is common practice for a police man to collect bribe, torture and you can be arrested for no reason and even without a warrant. Cases of police abuse and other atrocities can be heard from the lips of most citizens of Nigeria as everyone has been a victim of one issue or the other, which they are innocent about. It is also common for you to call the police during an incident such as a robbery only for them to arrive at the scene about an hour later and start arresting innocent passerby who go to bail themselves at outrageous amount of money even when there is a saying which goes that BAIL IS FREE.

Nigeria has a history of brutal military and police behavior, ethnic divisions and economic inequality. In the years since democracy replaced military rule, Our presidents has sought to tackle corruption, liberalize the economy and elevate Nigeria's international profile.

But in that time, both violent crime and police abuses have worsened, Nigerians say. The size of the police force has more than doubled, but training remains poor and investigative tools such as fingerprinting and autopsies are uncommon. Even critics acknowledge that brutal police tactics are accepted, perhaps even expected, by Nigerians frightened of rising crime.

Nigerian police are a danger to public safety because they consider extra-judicial killings an acceptable policing method and bribe as a fringe benefit, a report by a Nigerian civil rights group said.The Network on Police Reform in Nigeria (NOPRIN) said it had monitored 400 police stations in 13 states for a year and found that killings, torture, extortion and rape had become routine because the authorities shielded policemen from the law.

The police deny that they practice torture, although former president Olusegun Obasanjo once recognised that they did."President Umaru Yar'Adua's commitment to the rule of law rings hollow as long as his administration takes no steps to bring an end to the epidemic of police killings and other abuses," said NOPRIN's co-ordinator Emeka Nwanevu. "A police force that kills people cannot guarantee public safety."UN experts have said the police often open fire when there is no reason to, get away with murdering innocent people by labelling them "armed robbers" and torture suspects by shooting them in the legs and letting their wounds fester.NOPRIN said it had found rapes by policemen were on the increase. It quoted a policeman interviewed in Lagos as saying he considered that raping sex workers was "one of the fringe benefits attached to night patrol.

I have personally been a victim of the Nigerian police and have been arrested in my room at my University without a warrant of which i was detained in thier cell before i was later bailed for about #15,000 naira (120 dollars).

You can visit my blogspot at naijapolicewahala.blogspot.com or my online furom at naijafreetalks.co.cc to post your own personal experiences and comments.

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