Emmanuel Ojukwu

Discovering the Police Emmanuel Ojukwu

That the police as an institution has come to stay is no longer a matter of debate or conjecture. It is not news either. It is an old reality, and oddly so; that the Nigerian people, nay citizens of the world, have to put up with the police, their police, is a settled matter. Various attempts at national perfection have been made in the Nigerian experiment; the constitutional document is yet perfect, but none has been concluded without touching on the essential necessity of security and the role of law enforcement. The desire has always been there to give the people a police force. So, it is not a matter of accident that the 1999 Constitution (as amended) still bequeathed to the people a police force. Indeed, if it was an accident, the same police would have been called upon to investigate, then either arbitrate between the parties, or charge the offender to court. And of course, the road would have been cleared for other road users, and should any of the persons be hurt, the same police would have applied First Aid and removed the victim to a safer place for more detailed medical attention.