“Everyone's in on the Game”
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Nigeria HUMAN “Everyone’s in on the Game” RIGHTS Corruption and Human Rights Abuses by the Nigeria Police Force WATCH “Everyone’s in on the Game” Corruption and Human Rights Abuses by the Nigeria Police Force Copyright © 2010 Human Rights Watch All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America ISBN: 1-56432-671-3 Cover design by Rafael Jimenez Human Rights Watch 350 Fifth Avenue, 34th floor New York, NY 10118-3299 USA Tel: +1 212 290 4700, Fax: +1 212 736 1300 [email protected] Poststraße 4-5 10178 Berlin, Germany Tel: +49 30 2593 06-10, Fax: +49 30 2593 0629 [email protected] Avenue des Gaulois, 7 1040 Brussels, Belgium Tel: + 32 (2) 732 2009, Fax: + 32 (2) 732 0471 [email protected] 64-66 Rue de Lausanne 1202 Geneva, Switzerland Tel: +41 22 738 0481, Fax: +41 22 738 1791 [email protected] 2-12 Pentonville Road, 2nd Floor London N1 9HF, UK Tel: +44 20 7713 1995, Fax: +44 20 7713 1800 [email protected] 27 Rue de Lisbonne 75008 Paris, France Tel: +33 (1)43 59 55 35, Fax: +33 (1) 43 59 55 22 [email protected] 1630 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Suite 500 Washington, DC 20009 USA Tel: +1 202 612 4321, Fax: +1 202 612 4333 [email protected] Web Site Address: http://www.hrw.org August 2010 1-56432-671-3 “Everyone’s in on the Game” Corruption and Human Rights Abuses by the Nigeria Police Force Map of Nigeria ............................................................................................................................ 1 Summary .................................................................................................................................... 2 Recommendations ..................................................................................................................... 6 Methodology .............................................................................................................................11 Background............................................................................................................................... 12 Historical Overview .................................................................................................................... 13 “The Forty Thieves” in Police Uniform during the Early Colonial Period ................................. 13 Establishing a National Police Force .................................................................................... 14 Structure of the Nigeria Police Force and Its Oversight Bodies .................................................... 18 Corruption in Nigeria .................................................................................................................. 19 Definitions of Corruption ............................................................................................................ 22 Human Rights Abuses Associated with Police Extortion and Bribery ......................................... 24 Extortion of Money at Police Checkpoints .................................................................................. 26 Arbitrary Arrests and Detention .................................................................................................. 31 Mass Arrests and Detention: “Raiding” ................................................................................ 35 Prolonged Unlawful Detention: A “Cash Cow” ...................................................................... 39 Extortion Using Threats and Acts of Physical Abuse ................................................................... 40 The Police “Bang You” for Failing to Pay.............................................................................. 40 Torture as a Tool of Extortion ............................................................................................... 42 Sexual Assault Associated with Extortion............................................................................. 44 Killed for Failing to Pay a Bribe ............................................................................................ 47 Extrajudicial Killings at Checkpoints .................................................................................... 50 Impact of Police Corruption on Rule of Law................................................................................ 55 Undermining the Criminal Investigation: Justice for Sale ............................................................. 55 Requiring Victims to Fund Criminal Investigations: Denying an Effective Remedy .................. 56 “Turning” the Case against the Complainant ....................................................................... 58 Police Protection for Sale: Unequal Protection under the Law .................................................... 62 Lack of Security and Abuses by Vigilante Groups ........................................................................ 65 The Vicious Cycle: Embezzlement and the Corrupt System of “Returns” ................................... 67 High-Level Embezzlement of Police Funds ................................................................................. 68 The Case of Former Inspector General Tafa Balogun ............................................................ 68 The Case of Kenny Martins and the Police Equipment Fund ................................................. 69 Other Corruption Scandals .................................................................................................. 70 Embezzlement Starving Police of Needed Funds ......................................................................... 71 Corrupt System of Monetary “Returns” ....................................................................................... 76 Police Recruitment: “All about the Money” .......................................................................... 77 Payment of Bribes to Obtain and Remain in Lucrative Posts ................................................. 78 Denial of Problem by Senior Police Leadership .................................................................... 81 Funding the Nigeria Police Force ............................................................................................... 82 Federal Government Allocations ......................................................................................... 82 State and Local Government Funds ..................................................................................... 84 Other Sources of Police Funds ............................................................................................ 84 Lack of Transparency and Financial Oversight of Police Funds .................................................... 85 Ineffective Accountability Mechanisms ..................................................................................... 87 Public Complaint Mechanisms ................................................................................................... 87 Lack of Confidence in Public Complaint Mechanisms .......................................................... 89 Internal Monitoring Mechanisms ................................................................................................ 91 X-Squad .............................................................................................................................. 91 Human Rights Desks ........................................................................................................... 93 External Anti-Corruption Commissions ....................................................................................... 93 Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal .................................................................................. 93 Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission ............................. 95 Economic and Financial Crimes Commission ....................................................................... 95 Police Disciplinary Mechanisms ................................................................................................ 96 Lack of Accountability ................................................................................................................ 97 Police Reform ............................................................................................................................99 2008 Presidential Committee ................................................................................................... 100 Acknowledgments ................................................................................................................... 102 Map of Nigeria © 2010 John Emerson / Human Rights Watch 1 Human Rights Watch | August 2010 Summary Countless ordinary Nigerians attempting to make precarious ends meet as taxi drivers, market traders, and shopkeepers are accosted on a daily basis by armed police officers who demand bribes and commit human rights abuses against them as a means of extorting money. Those who fail to pay are frequently threatened with arrest and physical harm. Far too often these threats are carried out. Meanwhile, victims of crime are obliged to pay the police from the moment they enter a police station to file a complaint until the day their case is brought before a court. In the shadows, high-level police officials embezzle staggering sums of public funds meant to cover basic police operations. Senior police officers also enforce a perverse system of “returns” in which rank-and-file officers are compelled to pay up the chain of command a share of the money they extort from the public. Those charged with police oversight, discipline, and reform have for years