CJTF

By Abdullahi Mukhtar Algasgaini

Community Policing is a strategy that focuses on developing relationships with community members. It is a highly personal philosophy of full-service policing in which an officer patrols the same area for some time and develops a partnership with citizens to identify and solve problems.

Community Policing came to Nigeria in 2004. The main aim of launching the pilot scheme was to bring the police closer to members of the public and, by extension, get prompt information that the earlier concept of this initiative resulted in the formation of vigilante groups in communities and cities across the country, ostensibly to combat rising crime waves in the face of the police’s inability to deal effectively with armed robbery and other violent crimes.

Examples of such operations include Civilian JTF in Borno State, Amotekun in Lagos State, Zemda Initiated by Zazzau Emirate, and police constabulary in some of the majority parts of the Nigerian police headquarters and divisions across the nation.

The question here is, in whose interest is Community Policing? People have different views on the question above, and their answers vary based on their perceptions. Some see it as in the government’s interest, some in the community’s interest, and some in the interest of both parties (government/community).

Firstly, the side of the community will have a more favourable view of their local police department in the sense that they will be able to check the activities of the police department with the help of the newly emerging community police. It is believed that the Nigerian police force often releases or cooperates with criminals. 

Secondly, on the government side, it will help collect more accurate information from residents regarding criminal activity in the community. Many public safety agencies use technology to engage their residents better and boost their community Policing initiatives. 

Implementing community policing will change the policing structure and management. The partnership that develops over time can help the police discover the underlying causes of crime within the neighbourhood. By involving the community, the police have more resources to assist in crime prevention. Officers who familiarise themselves with community members are more likely to obtain valuable information about criminals and their activities.

Some of the benefits of community Policing in Nigeria include: 

First and foremost, community Policing provides an expanded Outlook on crime control and prevention. Working together, the community and the police would proffer solutions to incessant crimes and insecurity. 

Similarly, community Policing improves the quality of life of everyone in a community and helps police work more efficiently and effectively in curbing the outbreak of crime in a community.

Since the implementation of community Policing in 2004, has this policy had any implications (positive or negative)? Given the nation’s current situation, we can say that the policy has achieved nothing because the level of crime is constantly increasing and penetrating all the nooks and crannies of the nation.

Community policing can only be developed in Nigeria if the government and politicians stop using it to achieve their goals. Members must undergo physical and excellent selection before joining vigilante groups, and the community must support the people who sacrifice themselves for it.

By Mukhtar Ya’u Madobi

Subject to its wider ramifications, the burden of maintaining security is too cumbersome to be single-handedly by a solitary institution in a heterogeneous country like Nigeria.

Thus, the multi-stakeholders’ approach is often more necessary where there is a rise in security challenges. Therefore, security should be a collective effort of the government plus other state and non-state actors, including the private sectors.

The word ‘security’ simply implies the protection of the lives and properties of people from various forms of threat. It occupies the highest level of priority in the hierarchy of responsibility by the government as one of the core values that the state cherishes as non-negotiable and that does not admit compromise.

The contribution of private sectors in ensuring security can be rendered through various channels, including the construction of security facilities, donations of logistics to security services and providing equipment at their disposal during emergency response situations such as fire outbreaks, accidents, building collapse and natural disasters such as flooding, earthquake, etc.

Other alternatives include community participation in securing their locality in collaboration with police, i.e. the neighbourhood watch or vigilante group, involvement of religious and traditional leaders in disputes resolution among their followers and services provided by the business enterprises to their host communities through corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives.

To that effect, the role being played by the famous Civilian Joint Task Forces (Civilian JTF), through collaboration with the security agencies in countering the violent extremism of Boko Haram terrorists in the North-East (Borno), is very commendable. Such volunteer groups provided invaluable intelligence that led to the uncovering of many deadly terrorist cells and their subsequent elimination.

Now that the terrorists are surrendering, community leaders, civil society groups and NGOs have a greater job to embark on sensitizing the mindsets of the public in de-radicalization, rehabilitation and reintegration of the repentant terrorists into society. This will go a long way in maintaining the security of lives and properties of people.

It is noteworthy that the CSR initiatives of the Aliko Dangote Foundation donated 150 operational vehicles to the Nigeria Police Force in 2018, which was described as the single most significant gift ever by a private sector operator to the police.

In the Niger Delta region, where the problem of insecurity is mainly attributed to the feeling of anger and frustration by host communities due to negligence of CSR initiatives, the oil companies have turned a good leaf by changing the narratives.

Multinational corporations are now actively involved in providing infrastructural facilities such as schools, hospitals, roads, and water supply to their host communities. In the long run, they also designed a special scholarship scheme for the indigenes. They are provided with tuition fees and reading and learning materials to further enhance their educational careers. This initiative has undoubtedly contributed immensely to reducing the militants’ activities and other security tensions in the oil-rich Niger Delta region.

Moreover, several societal figures and organizations were known for their efforts in constructing and rehabilitating security outfits across the country. Recall that, immediately after the #EndSARS protests in which several lives of both civilians and security personnel were lost, many properties were destroyed, police stations looted, their firearms carted away and subsequently destroyed.

The giant private sector-led Coalition Against COVID-19 (CACOVID) procured new equipment for police officers and pledged to rebuild the burnt police stations destroyed during the civil unrest to restore security to the affected locations across the country.

Even the traditional institutions were not left out as Oba (Alhaji) Dauda Ajolola Adebimpe Akinfolabi of Ayedade Local Government Area of Osun State built a divisional police headquarters and the office for the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) office. The monarch noted that the gesture was necessary to protect his people and ensure safety in his community, considering the rising insecurity in the country.

In addition, private security companies are also part and parcel of the security architecture of every country. The responsibility of a private security guard is ‘securing the lives and properties of the client’. The client may be an individual, organization, private institution, government, etc. However, experience has shown that guards can perform additional functions other than just protecting the lives and properties of the client.

Their large number and widespread presence make them a critical part of the security system of the nation. The NSCDC is the ultimate regulator of all private guard companies in Nigeria and has so far licensed over 1000 companies. Almost all residences, offices, schools, shopping malls, parks etc., especially in the city, are staffed by private guards securing their location. To that effect, their number has even exceeded that of the entire Police Force in the country.

Therefore, the government and the security agencies can take advantage of this opportunity to collaborate with private guard companies, especially in areas of intelligence gathering and sharing, training and joint task operations towards securing the country from the activities of criminal forces.

Sequel to that, Nigeria’s Policy Framework and National Action Plan for Prevention and Countering Violent Extremism, produced by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), retired Major General Babagana Monguno have succinctly acknowledged the role of the prominent private sector in national security.

As they say, Emergency Management is everyone’s business.

Mukhtar sent this piece from Kano. He can be contacted via ymukhtar944@gmail.com.