Stop Search Shoot

A few road trips over the last two months got me thinking about stop and search laws in Nigeria and the easy but illogical descent into violence and tragedy. On the way to Jos, road safety officials carefully located in a shady groove round a curve on the road ‘detained’ us for over twenty minutes because we did not have a road safety book. Of course they conveniently had copies for sale and although we tried to debate the authority which requires us to have a road safety booklet in our car, time and the extremely treacherous roads which make up our federal road network were not on our side…something I think the road safety officials were quite aware of.

The second time around it was not quite pleasant and I unfortunately had the very recent murder of Mr. Awosika on my mind. This time it was the men in black who stopped the car and after checking the driver’s license, the insurance documents, license & registration documents including opening the bonnet to check that the chassis number was indeed valid…eureka, they finally hit upon something. I did not have a copy of the ‘agreement’ between myself and the company which sold me the car. The transfer documents, including a police report did not satisfy them that the car was mine, they needed the agreement. After close to thirty minutes of trying to remain calm, I finally yelled at my protectors about money being legal tender; that I was a lawyer and there was no agreement and even if there was…there was nothing that required me to carry it with me two years after the transaction. Finally, they reluctantly let us go.

After the Apo Six and the ‘okada’ rider who got killed by a naval officer in 2005 for denting a car, we now have Ms. Uzoma Okere, the latest cause celebre in a long line of civilians brutalised by the army, the police, LASTMA and which ever tin-pot god happens to be wearing a uniform.

What is it that gives men in uniform the right to intimidate us? I would like to be able to sincerely ask the flip question: ‘and what is it about the sight of men in uniform which makes us cowed and subdued?’ But that would be hypocritical, because with their track record of violence only an absolute mad person would try to take them on…they have guns and we do not. They have the machinery to cover up, we don’t.

It is a laugh that the Police Act says the ‘police are employed for the protection of life and property’. The sad thing is that a 1957 report on police violence in Nigeria provides evidence that this issue of ‘uniformed brutality’ has been going on for a long time. When will it stop and what can we do to make it stop?

The obvious answer is to fight the system, like Ms Okere and to not keep quiet about injustice. But who has the heart, time and resources to fight the armed and uniformed establishment, especially when surviving each day is a struggle?

While not everyone can take on the ‘uniformed establishment’, our Police Act of 1st April 1943 (now part of the 1990 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria (LFN)) might just be outdated and in need of a review. Surely if enough people write, call or lobby their state representatives in the National Assembly we can ask them to take a break from Peugeot deals and the bill on ‘indecent dressing’ to regulate the ‘stop and search’ process?

There are only two provisions on search powers in the Police Act: Section 28 which deals exclusively with the search of premises for stolen goods and Section 29 which could cover motor vehicles because it allows police men to ‘detain and search on reasonable suspicion that the person is carrying stolen goods’.

In Britain where our current Police Act was undoubtedly derived, the Police may stop and search any person and vehicle; however, they must have reasonable grounds for suspecting that they will find stolen goods, drugs, weapons etc. There is an exception to this rule to take care of our own form of ‘terror alerts’ i.e., armed robberies.

According to English stop and search laws, in the case of a serious violent incident, the police can stop and search without reasonable grounds for suspicion but they must fill out "stop and account" forms when they do so. This would do wonders for road travellers in Nigeria because once one set of police obstacles have been crossed; vehicles could get a form to indicate to ‘road checks’ further down the road that their car has already been searched and obviously cleared. That way, instead to having the same conversation with six different sets of police men between Abuja and Jos, you can happily wave the ‘search’ form and continue on your way.
We need to adopt the requirement that when the police stop to search you; they must provide you with proof of their warrant card, information on police powers to stop and search, your rights, the police officer's name and police station, the reason for the search etc., and if they do not provide this information the search cannot begin.
On accountability, the Police Act does say that ‘every police officer shall be personally liable for any misuse of his powers, or any act done in excess of his authority’. This means we can sue, but what we need is something that goes further to address the state of emergency regarding uniformed brutality such as holding senior officers liable for the conduct of their men. We also have the United Nations Resolution 34/169 of 1979 on the Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials which sets a standard for member countries. It states that law enforcement officials can only use force when strictly necessary and the accompanying Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials says governments must ensure that the abusive use of force by officials is punished as a criminal offence. Arguably, this means if our government fails to address this issue and prosecute its agents, we can report the matter to The Hague for consideration. Maybe it is time that happens, because no one is taking this matter of the ‘rule by force’ seriously enough.

Published November 18 2008