Police Overdrive And Civic Space Infringements

By Alabi Williams | 03 February 2025

Motorists may witness heavier police presence as men/women of the force roll out to enforce Third-party Motor Insurance policy. The enforcement actually began on February 1, 2025, as directed by the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun. The IGP, on behalf of private insurance companies, had emphasised that motorists must comply with the policy.

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A video, where the IG issued the order had been well circulated. It came after what looked like an advocacy visit by members of the Nigerian Insurers Association(NIA) to the police boss. Chairman of the insurers’ body, Mr. Kunle Ahmed, acknowledged the IG’s gesture, noting that the enforcement drive is not only a compliance issue, but vital in ensuring road safety and paying compensation as a result of damages and medication for victims of road mishaps.

Ahmed said: “The NIA recognises the immense potential of this enforcement to drive positive change in the insurance industry and the broader economy. With millions of vehicles on Nigerian roads, this move is expected to increase the number of genuinely insured vehicles, reduce the prevalence of fake insurance policies, and create a more robust safety net for motorists and road users alike.”

Indeed, many motorists as well as other Nigerians do not bother much with insurance policies. We rely heavily on divine intervention, which is fine, except that it denies insurance companies the capital they need to do business. Only a tiny segment of well-heeled and informed individuals and organizations take insurance policies seriously. We all should do for safety and rest of mind.

Without prompting, the media have for ages canvassed insurance compliance. There are insurance desks for weekly reports on the industry in different media platforms, as a matter of public education and business reportage. We know that compliance rate for Third-party Motor Insurance is low, just about 30 per cent. It was so when the base fee for private vehicle was N1,500. When it was jerked up to N5,000, it remained so. Now that it is N15,000, compliance has not improved. How the NIA and the police hope to increase compliance by force is what remains to be seen.

Self-respecting Nigerians who do not want to be harassed at police checkpoints faithfully comply with traffic regulations. They do not wait to be reminded. Not that they have so much money, but they are law-abiding, even as they have never bothered to visit insurance companies for compensation. There is a majority that is reluctant to comply, either because they’re negligent or they have little belief in the policy. Others are actually not buoyant enough, especially now that inflation and devaluation have eaten into their meagre resources.

Beyond enforcement, there may be other ways to drive the policy. Education on road safety is key. Section 68 (1) of the Insurance Act 2003, states: “No person shall use or permit to use a motor vehicle on a road unless a liability which he may thereby incur in respect of damage to the property of the third parties and or injury caused to third parties is insured with an insurer registered under this Act.” It is mandatory.
The third-party policy, according to the regulation entitles a claimant to compensation up to N3 million. Failure to enlist could earn one a fine of N250,000 or one year imprisonment, or both.The policy protects the motorist from financial loss in case a damage is done to another motorist. One’s thinking is that if motorists are properly educated on the advantages and disadvantages of motor insurance policy, the industry may not require the use of force to compel compliance. There could be more seamless ways to it as it is done in more organised places.

Tackling poverty could help compliance. With the harsh economic policies of this government, even used vehicles are no longer affordable as they were three years ago. The third-party cover could actually offer rest of mind after investing heavily in a Tokunbo vehicle. But lack of faith in the system is deep-seated. Some think since it is the police that check vehicle papers, the fees paid belong to government. Yes, government earns taxes from insurance companies and from agencies of government.

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Some road users think government should be the one paying for damages to vehicles and victims of accidents resulting from bad roads. They think government is responsible for petrol tanker accidents where hundreds of victims perish. Maybe, but that has to be litigated someday. But before then, more education.

A category of motorists, especially the commercial type, have become too familiar with checkpoints and have found ways to settle officers, without matters needing to be resolved in courts. This could explain why there haven’t been many prosecutions despite only 30 per cent compliance on third-party motor insurance. It suggests that the police are able to adjudicate and dispense with cases right there on the road.

Perhaps, the IGP and the NIA are aware of this and have factored it in their advocacy. They may also need to have mobile courts to swiftly deal with offences and save trial time in normal courtrooms. If they don’t, they should expect that officers and motorists would resort to mutual self-help (amicable settlement). That could frustrate the essence of the advocacy and its original purpose of road safety.

There is another side to this enforcement drive that is important to stress. As policemen go on overdrive to enforce, there will be more encounters with motorists. On a normal day across major cities, a motorist would encounter up to three, four checkpoints, where different officers demand for same vehicle papers.

The same police that claim not to have sufficient numbers (boots on ground) to tackle crime have the luxury to populate city roads with hundreds of officers, just to check vehicle papers. There are also Vehicle Inspection Officers (VIOs), doing their own thing, including officers of the Federal Road Safety Commission. Why can’t all of these efforts be synchronized with technology to achieve efficiency, less physical contact and enhanced flow of traffic?

Sadly, there is no innovation to approach and mannerism at traffic checkpoints. Barking of orders from a prejudiced mindset that every motorist is a law breaker is what we see. No real intention to secure city roads, more of a routine assignment with the intention to negotiate. That mindset must change.

When the Police Force issued a warning on January 12, 2025, emphasising the importance of cooperating with officers in the discharge of lawful duties, probing minds envisioned a clampdown was in the offing. In the statement, signed by the Force Public Relations Officer, Muyiwa Adejobi, which was shared via X (formerly Twitter), the police highlighted sections of the Criminal Code Act and the Police Act 2020, that outline punishment for obstructing police officers.

Section 197 of the Criminal Code Act says, anyone who obstructs or resists a public officer in the course of their duties can be imprisoned for up to two years. Section 42 of the Police Act, 2020, says citizens are bound to assist judges, magistrates, police officers, or other authorised persons in arresting or preventing the escape of suspects.

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The police added Section 98 of the Police Act, 2020, which states that assaulting, obstructing, or resisting a police officer in the discharge of their duty can result in a fine of N500,000 or imprisonment for six months, or both. Refusing or neglecting to assist a police officer in danger could cost a citizen N100,000 or imprisonment for three months, or both, paraphrasing Section 99 of the police Act.

In enforcing these provisions of law, the onus rests on the police to allege and also provide the evidence. Together with the nebulous Cybercrimes Act, rights activists and the media have postulated that the police is now unduly armed to infringe on citizens’ rights at the slightest or no provocation.

It didn’t wait long to prove that. Activist and politician, Omoyele Sowore, posted a video of an encounter he had with policemen at a notorious checkpoint in Lagos. Later, there was a report that the police had launched a manhunt for him over the video. The police followed that up with an invitation for Sowore to report for an interview with the Deputy Inspector General of Police, Force Intelligence Department (FID), at SPO’s Room 212, 2nd Floor, FID Complex, Shehu Shagari Way, Area 11, Abuja on Monday, January 27, 2025.

The activities for which Sowore was to be interviewed as stated in the invitation letter are: “Resisting and Obstructing Public Officers, Disobedience to Lawful Order, Acts of Intended to Cause Grievous Harm or Prevent Arrest, Compelling Action by Intimidation, Reckless and Negligent Acts, Refusal to Assist Public Servants and Cyberstalking, in which your name featured prominently.”

Sowore was a guest of the police last week. We saw the back and forth and his rejection of the administrative bail crafted by the Police. Sowore faces 17 counts of cybercrime, including accusations of calling the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, an “illegal IGP,” on his verified X handle. Justice Musa Liman of the Federal High Court, Abuja, granted the activist bail in the sum of N10 million.

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So far, a number of activists and journalists have had their day with the police over similar charges. As 2027 unravels, more of these invitations will be dispatched to other actors within the political space as the police engage more in self and regime protection other than the protection of citizens from increased insecurity. Abuja suburbs are not safe any longer. Bandits knock on doors to take away citizens from what ought to be the safety of their homes. Police arrive hours after the kidnappers had gone with their victims.

There are challenges and we acknowledge efforts by the police to step up. But taking their eyes off the ball to chase after soft targets and minor misdemeanours is not the way to go in the 21stcentury policing. Let the police remember that we operate a constitutional democracy.
Citizens have rights!

Note: This article was first published by The Guardian Newspaper.
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