Abuse of Power by Uniformed Officers
Thoughts on the wanton misuse of power by people who should know better
There’s something fundamentally wrong with the average person who believes that because they have some sort of power or access to it, they can take the law into their own hands and dispense what they consider to be justice. It’s upsetting to come across situations like this because it always makes it seem like people can just do whatever they want to do without consequences. I came across two stories that shed more light on this issue, both involving men in uniform.
Story One — The Naval Officers and the Laboratory Staff: A couple of weeks ago, a civilian laboratory staff of the Ministry of Defence working at the Nigerian Navy Base in Ojo, Lagos had an altercation with a lady who had allegedly been taunting him because he was taking care of a neighbour’s dogs. It was reported that, when he could no longer stand the provocation from the lady, he stepped up to her and told her he didn’t appreciate the bullying. The lady made to slap him and he tried to defend himself. He eventually restrained her and insisted that she apologise to him, which she eventually did. The lady, however, further went to call five naval officers to deal with the lab staff and they beat him up for over six hours. The pictures of his body after that incident were just too painful to look at. He eventually died two days after, at work. Why he still went to work after being beaten up, I will never understand.
Story Two — The DSS operative and the Tailor: Sometime last year, there were media reports about a Department of State Services (DSS) operative who had shot at a man in a market in the Garki 2 area of Abuja. What led to the shooting in an open market? A woman had given her clothes to her tailor who unfortunately didn’t have them ready by the agreed date. In her anger and quest to seek “justice”, the woman had called upon the DSS operative to deal with the tailor. The tailor wasn’t going to wait around to be dealt with so he quickly made to abscond but not before the DSS operative managed to shoot him in the leg. The other tailors in the market accosted and beat up the DSS operative together with some police officers who had come to rescue the operative. The DSS released a statement later about conducting investigations, further promising to release details of inquiries as soon as possible and ensuring that the concerned staff would be disciplined if found culpable.
In both of these stories, we see how uniformed officials, people who were not involved in the initial conflicts allowed themselves to be invited into matters that didn’t concern them. We also see how these people further allowed themselves to be weaponised when their job description did not include stepping into private matters. Shock is an understatement for how I feel about this considering that many more instances of abuse of power occur but do not even make the media.
Uniformed officers should not step into private matters but time and time again, we find them being invited and taking action on behalf of the people who invited them, no questions asked. They don’t even compel these people to seek justice through normal channels or decline to take action on their behalf. Why? Why does it seem so easy to get a man or woman in uniform to fight one’s battles? How do people who have gone through professional training lose their senses and become agents for hire in settling private issues? How does someone who goes through such strict training even debase themselves to the point of becoming a hired goon? I do not need to be told but I am most certain that no professional ethos includes this as part of the expectations of their members.
Many people in these parts find it easy to look for a uniformed official to intervene in their private disputes. I cannot count the number of times someone has asked if I had a police or military contact because they needed to resolve an issue. Indeed, many of us have come to see this as an essential connection whenever we are stuck in a jam. Ask them what they expect the uniformed official to do and there is no clear, justifiable reason. We know that men in uniform are more likely to act now and ask questions later which perfectly suits our selfish objectives. We want the people who have crossed us to feel the full brunt of our hurt and anger, and who else to call on to dispense this instant justice?
This behaviour of inviting uniformed officials into private matters is a carryover from the military days. When the military governments held sway, the rule of law was not often emphasised and people learned to work around things. It is painful to realise that that was twenty-five years ago but it may as well be today with the way some people carry on. Another reason is that we have become accustomed to leaning into self-help because the wheels of justice grind slowly. Who has time to seek redress through official means when it will most likely not come with instant justice? That is who we have sadly been for a long while. Many people do not also trust that the justice system would dispense justice fairly for reasons including the fact that one’s opponent may have access to the keys to justice.
People will continue to abuse power where there are no consequences for the abuse. If uniformed officials who step out of line are not properly dealt with, they will continue to support misguided people in achieving their vendettas. The civilians who also weaponise uniformed officials must also face the full extent of the law. No one must be spared. It is unacceptable and anything short of ensuring that people face the appropriate sanctions will just encourage the continuation of this cycle of power drunkenness.
We must always be civil in all of our interactions and proper behaviour should be emphasised and expected, both from uniformed officials and citizens. The onus, in my opinion, lies on uniformed officers to decline to fight battles that do not concern them. If they do not, they should be appropriately dealt with when found to be involved in matters that do not concern them. Another issue would be to ensure that officers undergo constant retraining and reorientation Rules must also be consistently enforced, this is extremely important. This is the way I see things today.
