New Police salaries

It is, indeed, a welcome development that the long-delayed review of the salaries and allowances of the Nigeria Police Force has been finally approved. The Inspector General of Police, Mr. Mike Okiro, who first broke the news last year, had said that the Police authorities were still working out modalities and details of the new salary scale. The new pay structure, which is up to 100 per cent increase with one year arrears to go with it, has since been implemented.

From a previous salary of about N10,000, a police constable now earns between N22,000 and N27,000 depending on his length of service and accommodation plan, while a sergeant’s pay has gone up from N15,000 to about N30,000. And from a pay slip of about N22,000, a Police inspector now earns at least N50,000 monthly.

The new salary structure is part of the 13-point welfare programme the IGP promised officers and men of the Nigeria Police Force recently. Other noteworthy aspects of the programme include provision of decent housing, payment of the backlog of outstanding police contributions to the National Housing Fund, clearance of outstanding promotions, allowing deceased police officers’ families to remain in the barracks for at least six months, and giving more attention to manpower training and development.

Before now, the usual mantra by the Police authorities was that the officers and men were demoralised, poorly kitted and lacked the wherewithal to fight crime. It was argued that the Police welfare package, including allowances, had remained poor over the years, made worse by inflation. The result was that the Police Force acquired the reputation of the most corrupt public agency in the country.

Through official graft, the leadership of the Police compounded the plight of its personnel. A former IGP, Mr. Tafa Balogun, was jailed for stealing about N13 billion belonging to the Nigeria Police;  and on the day the immediate past IGP, Mr. Sunday Ehindero, left office, about N21 million cash suspected to have been stolen was recovered from one police treasurer. As the Police leadership wallows in corruption, the rank and file resort to extortion and, sometimes, criminal activities in desperate moves to survive. Several national and international reports have rated the Nigeria Police as the country's most corrupt institution.

The challenge therefore is to ensure that the new salary structure is used as a tool to improve productivity and discourage extortion. The leakages in the Police accounts should be plugged for efficient utilisation of available funds. In addition, the IGP should make sure that other items in his welfare package for the Force are rigorously pursued and implemented. Arming the Police to defend themselves against violent criminals and secure the lives and property of other citizens has become imperative amid the rising crime wave.

A proper accounting system should be put in place in order to preserve the gains of the new salary structure. A more transparent system will minimise the loss to corruption and other forms of abuse. Already, there are allegations that the payment of the 11-month salary arrears in some Police formations is riddled with corruption. In the present information age, it should not be difficult to curb illegal deductions of Police salaries and allowances through transparent record-keeping.

The new pay should therefore serve as a morale booster to all policemen and women. From now on, the Police should no longer have any excuse for failing to “police with integrity.” Any form of corruption should be severely dealt with by the relevant Police authorities. Illegal arrests and detentions for extortion should be seriously discouraged. While all illegal check-points mounted for bribe-taking should be dismantled, there must also be a continuous effort to purge the Police of corrupt men and officers. The effectiveness of the Police should rise with the new salary structure.