Ikorodu Robbery Arrest: Is The Nigerian Police Force Finally Living Up To It's Name?

Officers of the Nigerian Police Force are often derided as the "Most Corrupt Nigerian Professionals". This negative tag did not just come up, rather it has been there for ages and this is something no Inspector General of Police has
been able to shake off till date. Why is the Police a subject of abuse when there are other security agencies like Navy, Army and Air force?

Several reasons could be given for this unfortunate criticism and treatment but it is clear that it is self inflicted. To start with, it should be noted that the Officers of the Nigeria Police Force have resorted to uncountable extra judicial killing in different parts of the country. This is no longer news as there is never a day that passes by without an extra judicial killing by the Police on the same citizens they are meant to protect. They Police also  doesn't help their cause, by giving lame excuses like inadequate modern security equipments, inadequate welfare funding to mention but a few but it is clear that one cannot decipher the relationship between these excuses and their negative behaviors. Are primary and nursery school  teachers paid well or manual labourers or casual workers? And why haven't they resorted to the same negative acts of the police? It is clear that the Police are only telling white lies and glorifying their sinful acts , and not yet ready to turn a new leaf.

On a second note, Nigerians should commend the police when the deliver on a particular goal or case. By stating such , one needs not look far backwards to remember the recent arrest of the four robbery members that terrorised and robbed an Ikorodu Zenith Bank on June 24, 2015. They robbers it was reported injured some people in the bank carting away with more than #80 million in cash. The arrest of criminals isn't helped by the non-usage of DNA testing in Nigeria or lack of advanced technology apart from CCTV that the Western World uses to fish out criminals and maintain justice.

This makes it more interesting that four members of the robbery gang were arrested and paraded to news men a few days back. The tenure of Kayode Aderanti (Lagos State Police Commissioner) will be hence remembered as one that brought smiles to not only Zenith Bank,  but Lagosians at large, as these robbers were brought to book. This is because, one cannot deny the fact that their arrest sends a wrong message to the men of the underworld , acting as a positive externality such that criminals will now realize that they could be arrested when the commit any crime. The multiplier effect is that it will gradually lead to a reduction of crime in Lagos acting as a deterrent to other aspiring criminals.

This also fuels the point that with adequate funding and assistance from both the government and Nigerians, the police will only record more success stories in the country. One must hence commend the Officers of the Nigeria Police Force for acting fast and giving them praises where they are worthy recipients. We only pray that this is a sign of more good things to come from the police.