Human rights activist Omoyele Sowore has said that the entire policing system needs a total overhaul.
He recently revealed that no police officer in the country should earn less than N500,000 per month.
Speaking during an interview on Channels Television’s Morning Brief, Sowore shared that enhancing police welfare is central to tackling insecurity, and the present condition of the force is directly linked to Nigeria’s widespread security failures.
According to him, the current underfunding and neglect of the police have weakened the institution’s capacity to provide internal security, which has resulted in the increased reliance on the military and the militarisation of civil issues.
He stated that N500,000 per month is definitely sustainable for every Nigerian police officer when you consider the cost of not properly equipping a policeman.
“Our position is that no policeman should be paid less than N500,000 per month. Before you ask if that is fiscally sustainable, you must consider the cost of not properly equipping or paying a policeman. Compare that against what we are currently spending trying to contain Boko Haram in just one state,” he said.
He further noted that major investment in internal policing will deliver long-term economic and security benefits for Nigeria, stressing that it will immediately reduce terror attacks, kidnappings and general crime across Nigeria.
Sowore concluded by saying that the Nigerian government sustains insecurity by failing to protect the people who are meant to protect the country.
“If you invest in policing, in a year you will get a reduction in terrorism by almost 70%, a reduction in kidnapping by almost 80%, and almost zero crime rate across the country
You cannot leave police in this condition and expect them to protect you. That is how to judge the investment that needs to be made—not to say, ‘Oh, how are we going to sustain it?’ The real question is, how are we sustaining insecurity?
Look at the value that policing and general security brings to communities. That is why Nigeria’s security system is broken today because we are failing to make the right investment at the right level.
You sustain insecurity when you fail to sustain the people who are meant to protect you,” he added.
