Investigation Shows FCT Police Patrol Teams Fuel, Maintain Vehicles With Personal Funds Despite FG’s N4bn Budget

If you have ever cringed at the sight of police operatives collecting money from motorists or levying complainants, you may do well to direct your anger at the Federal Government and authorities at the Nigerian Police Force.

THE WHISTLER recently embedded with a police patrol team in the Federal Capital Territory and saw how operatives are forced to protect residents at the detriment of their own welfare.

The reporter was allowed to embed after promising not to reveal the name of the police division and the identities of members of the patrol team.

The reporter joined the patrol team that took off from the divisional headquarters around 11am with four armed policemen led by an assistant superintendent of police.

The team drove through its Area of Concentration in the city to perform security surveillance. The team told the reporter they are officers of the Patrol and Guard, the unit that conducts patrol throughout the 24 hours of a day, every day.

To start the Toyota Hilux vehicle, the driver (a sergeant), had to connect two wires before revving it into life. It was a well-used vehicle without air-conditioning system or radio. The driver and passenger seats were badly damaged with the foam spilling out.

The vehicle was not in good condition for an emergency operation. “We have had several cases during midnight patrol when we tried to chase a criminal or respond to an emergency, and we couldn’t kick off immediately,” the driver said after seeing how surprised the reporter was.

 AS we drove through the patrol’s jurisdiction, the vehicle made cracking noise which was ignored by the occupants because it was a familiar sound. Then we got to a place designated as “dark spot” where crimes such as phone or bag theft, car-snatching or burglary and other forms of robberies are common.

The vehicle stopped at the roadside for a few minutes, allowing the operatives survey the scene for threats to security. This is what the team does daily, stopping here and there to assess situations and intervene to prevent crime or breakdown of order.

Like when a car trying to make a U-Turn collided with a motorcycle rider who was in a hurry. The situation had caused a mild gridlock. The car owner was surrounded by the rider’s colleagues when the team got there.

The police intervened, resolved the conflict and dispersed the crowd.

The vehicles moved slowly out of the scene in continuation of of surveillance. After about 250 metres, the patrol slowed and the vehicle moved to a stop by the road side close to another dark spot. It was time to conduct “stop –and-search.”

An officer revealed the team had recovered “guns, cutlasses and stolen cars” through such random searches.

When the operation proceeded again, we had spent nearly an hour and the vehicle was running out of fuel. The driver spoke to the team leader about it and everyone was asked to contribute money. The officers, except the driver, raised N4,000 to buy fuel from a Total Filling Station before the patrol continued.

When asked whether the station did not provide money for fuel, members of the team said the division, like others, does not receive any funding for vehicle maintenance and fuel, and every station has to source for funds.

“We spend nothing less than N3000 to N4000 daily and an average of N90,000 monthly to fuel this vehicle.. Even when we receive an order for joint operation with another Division, we will still fuel it ourselves,” an officer explained.

A patrol vehicle in crime-prone areas of the FCT works averagely 19 hours daily, totaling  133 hours weekly and 570 hours monthly. The schedule makes the vehicles break down often, especially where the station has only one or two, which is often the case.

“For a Division, you that you are given a vehicle you are the one to maintain it. And it is out of what you have you will use to maintain the vehicle,” the team leader explained in anger.

This reporter also observed the anger in the responses of the other members of the team, who seemed to speak with grudge.

 “Imagine a senior sergeant earning N63, 000 a month after 13 years of Service! And out of the salary, I will pay my rent, because the police barracks are filled, I will pay school fees, feed and take care of my children and still be maintaining car, Haba,” said one of the officers.

The police officers further lamented that allowances, including promotion allowances,  are not paid to some of the rank and file in the FCT Police Command.

Their grudges also include working 24 hours a day instead of 8 hours due to shortage of manpower in the FCT Command. “All of these cause stress for us and that is why you see some officers are very aggressive instead of being civil in their approaches to police work,” ASP explained.

After another 30 minutes of patrol, stop-and-search, the team headed back to the station to take a rest before another round of patrol. But on getting to the station, the team met a complainant who needed urgent intervention of the police in his office.

 After a brief discussion with the man,the police team immediately headed to the office. After resolving the problem between company and client, the complainant handed something that looked like cash to the leader of the police team and the patrol seemed to head back to the station.

.  But instead of going back to the station, the team started another round of patrol. But first, the officers decided it was time for lunch and they drove the vehicle to a restaurant.

It seemed the cash reward handed to them had gingered them. They sounded happier and relaxed as they settled to eat.

Done, we continued with the patrol, just going in circles around the AOC, till we finally returned to the station one hour later at about 1:30pm.

The team disembarked and went into the station to do other duties before going out again.

THE WHISTLER completed nearly three hours of patrol around the AOC of the police division. This website was told that other divisions in the FCT go through similar experience daily.

It is shocking that police personnel would be subjected to such discomfort in the discharge of their duties despite budgetary provisions.

The Minister of Police Affairs, Muhammad Dingyadi, had revealed in August that the Federal Government approved N4bn for fuelling of police vehicles. He said it was the first time the FG would make such a budget for the police. So where has the money gone?

– This report was produced in partnership with the Civic Media Lab under its Grass-roots News Project.