No fewer than 2,421 complaints of misconduct have been filed against personnel of the Nigeria Police Force between 2021 and the first quarter of 2024. These complaints were reported by various government agencies, including the Ministry of Police Affairs, National Human Rights Commission, Complaint Response Unit of the Nigerian Police, and the Public Complaints Commission.
The alleged misconducts cover a wide range of issues such as harassment, extortion, unlawful arrests, unjust detentions, and killing of citizens. However, the actual number of complaints could be much higher, as many cases remain unreported.
A breakdown of the data shows that in the first quarter of 2024, the Public Complaints Commission received 459 complaints from the public against police officers. Similarly, the Complaint Response Unit recorded 287 complaints of professional misconduct in the first quarter of 2022.
In a separate report, the Ministry of Police Affairs handled 431 complaints between July and September 2022, resulting in disciplinary actions for 81 officers, including the dismissal of seven of them. In 2021, the CRU recorded a total of 1,244 complaints against police officers nationwide.
Lagos State Police Command topped the list with 327 cases, followed by the Federal Capital Territory Command with 210 complaints. Throughout the period, at least 45 police officers were dismissed for various offenses, including extrajudicial killings, extortion, and brutality.
On Friday, three policemen were dismissed for allegedly killing one Qoyum Ishola in Kwara state. The Executive Director of the Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Center, Okechukwu Nwanguma, lamented that little has changed despite government promises and the establishment of judicial panels to investigate police violence.
Nwanguma emphasized that the disbandment of the SARS unit did not eliminate police brutality, as similar rogue units continue their abusive practices, including arbitrary arrests, torture, and extrajudicial killings. He called for genuine reform, including insulating law enforcement from political influence and ensuring competent leadership within the police force.
