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Retired Commissioner of Police Fatai Owoseni has said that the average Nigerian police officer has been “demeaned completely” and forced to operate under conditions that make them appear like beggars.
Owoseni explained that officers often lack basic resources such as vehicles, uniforms, and medical support for suspects, making it difficult for them to perform their duties effectively.
“The average policeman has been demeaned completely. He has been made to look like a beggar. He has to buy his uniforms; he has to buy everything,” Owoseni said on Thursday during an interview on News Central’s programme, A Place at the Table.
Owoseni also touched on cases where police had to request money to transport suspects to correctional facilities after court adjournments, saying officers are often left in difficult positions due to a lack of state support.
“I have been in a situation where I had to use 2 million naira to treat a suspect before we could take him to court,” he said.
He also recalled that when he joined the force in 1984, officers were provided with working equipment, but today, however, officers are expected to fund much of their work themselves.
The commissioner noted that many of the challenges faced by officers are systemic rather than personal and called for Nigerians to sympathise with officers.
Owoseni also noted that while “every institution has bad eggs”, the majority of police personnel face structural challenges beyond their control.
“Nigerians need to sympathise with the police; the whole criminal justice administration and the whole security sector have to be reformed holistically.
“The police carry the burden of society. That is the angle I want Nigerians to see. There are no bad eggs. Every institution has bad eggs. But this situation, the police has found itself an average policeman; please pity him. It is not his fault, once it is not provided.”
