NIGERIA: CLEANING HOUSE AT POLICE HEADQUARTERS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 ABUJA 000823

SIPDIS


DEPT FOR AF AND INL
DOJ FOR ICITAP-BARR/BEINHART


E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/13/2017
TAGS: KCRM SNAR ASEC PGOV PINS NI
SUBJECT: NIGERIA: CLEANING HOUSE AT POLICE HEADQUARTERS


REF: ABUJA 708


Classified by Charge d'affaires Timothy D. Andrews for reason
1.5(d).



1. (C) Summary: The March 6 sacking of Police Inspector
General Musiliu Smith and his seven Deputies (DIGs) sent a
clear message of reform from the Presidency. Through his
newly minted Police Service Commission, the President is also
challenging the police old guard by reaching below the seven
DIGs he dismissed to find the new IG - a decision based on
merit rather than seniority - and bringing up a new batch of
second-tier managers. This overdue move may presage
much-needed reforms within the NPF. End Summary.


Out with the Old . . .
--------------



2. (C) During a rare March 6 meeting of the National
Police Council (which last met in June 1999),President
Obasanjo discussed the administration of the Police Force
with the country's 36 governors and the group agreed on the
dismissal of Inspector General of Police (IGP) Musiliu Smith
for his mismangement of the Force; he was present at the
three-hour meeting and was fired at its conclusion. Smith
reportedly was caught off-guard but cleared out his office
within hours. Obasanjo announced his new appointment for the
IGP position immediately after announcing Smith's dismissal.



3. (C) While adjourning for a private meeting with Police
Service Commission Chairman Okeke, President Obasanjo asked
Governors Makarfi (Kaduna) and Nnamani (Enugu) to represent
the Police Council in breaking the news to the media waiting
outside. Speaking extemporaneously, Makarfi declared that
"in carrying out the planned reorganization and revamping (of
the NPF) the government had considered it necessary to make
fundamental changes in the administration of the police
force." Makarfi also stated that the NPF had always been
given all funding it had requested, even more than its
budgetary requests. He noted that if the funding was not
adequate, the managers of the NPF should have pressed for
additional funding, which they did not do. (Comment: Many
observers see Makarfi's comments as a hint at corruption
among Smith and his Deputies - withholding federal funds
designated for rank-and-file salaries and allowances. End
Comment.)


. . . In with the New
--------------



4. (C) The new Inspector General, Tafa Balogun, was until
March 6 the Assistant Inspector General for the Kano Zone -
one of twelve police zones (each comprised of three states)
in the country. By most accounts, he is a respected leader
and is considered a reformer. According to the PSC Chairman,
who has had several meetings with him already, Balogun is
thoughtful, a "listener" and able to handle dissent. The
seven new DIGs, including popular former Lagos Police
Commissioner Mike Okiro, are cut of the same cloth.
According to Okeke,these seven were picked by the PSC and
approved by the President during the private meeting with
Okeke after the National Police Council Meeting. These DIGs
reflect the "federal character of Nigeria," with each of the
six geo-political zones represented (one represented by two
DIGs).


The new Agent of Change on the Block
--------------



5. (C) Behind the scenes of this major reshuffle is the new
Police Service Commission (PSC). Enshrined in Nigeria's
constitution, the PSC has been moribund since 1989 but was
re-inaugurated in November 2001, after passage of the Police
Service Commission Act in June 2001. Comprised of seven
members including a Chairman, the PSC is explictly charged
with sole authority for the appointment, promotion and
discipline of all Police personnel except the Inspector
General (who is appointed or dismissed by the President).
The Commission must have representatives from key sectors of
society: women; business, media, and human rights NGOs and
must include retired senior judge and a retired senior police
officer. The Chairman and Commission members are appointed
by the President for a term of five years and can only be
removed by a two thirds vote of the National Assembly.



6. (C) The members of the PSC appear eager to push the
Commission's mandate for reform aggressively. In discussions
with emboffs, Chairman Okeke and members Ayo Obe (head of
Civil Liberties Organization) and Aisha Abdulquadri (lecturer
at University of Abuja) have mapped out a rough plan to
reform the behavior of the police and make them accountable
to Nigeria society. Answering only to the President, the
group can oversee the Inspector General in a way the Minister
of Police Affairs cannot. According to Okeke, the President
wants the new Commission to have real power as an agent of
change and he has shown this trust by supporting Okeke's
choices in firing Smith's Deputies and appointing new DIGs.
Okeke and his fellow commissioners will next month be given
their first budget with which they plan to build an agency
with a staff of 300-400 in order to carry out its mandate
adequately.


Precariously Perched: The Police Affairs Minister
-------------- --------------

7. (C) Bets are now on over how much longer Police Affairs
Minister Steven Akiga - or his entire Ministry - will last.
Akiga performed poorly in responding to January 31-February 1
police strike, showing little sensitivity to the real
grievances of the striking rank- and-file and instead
blasting them as "mutinous" and vowing to prosecute all who
participated. He was further discredited when his belated
pledge to release one billion naira to cover immediate salary
and allowance arrears was not realized. According to some
observers, Akiga feels threatened by the new PSC, which has
well defined powers in contrast to his vaguely articulated
mandate, which appears limited to some control over police
budgets. He has tried to control the PSC through access to
budgets and access to the President, but is losing. In a
recent meeting with the President at which the PSC was
discussing its start-up, the PSC Chairman noted that he had
written the President a letter on an important matter. Akiga
(also present) itnerjected that all PSC correspondence to the
President should go through him. According to PSC members,
the President scolded Akiga, "Shut up! He can write me
directly." Chairman Okeke reportedly then offered Akiga a
copy of the PSC Act so that he could determine the
Commission's authority.


Talking Tough in Lagos
--------------


8.(SBU) Balogun made a symbolic March 10-11 pilgrimage to
Lagos, the city whose name is synonymous with rampant crime.
He visited various police formations, promoted eight
policemen (among them a constable promoted to corporal,
ostensibly for exhibiting courage in asking the new IG a
question),and unveiled his agenda to reform the police and
tackle insecurity. His pep talk -- widely reported in most
Nigerian dailies -- included promises to review the condition
and well-being of the force and to revise promotion
guidelines. He also warned against corruption and exhorted
the police to cultivate a more positive image in the eyes of
a public long suspicious of their motives. He promised as
well to pick up the pace in the investigation of the
assassination of Attorney General Bola Ige.


9.(SBU) What made the headlines, however, was Balogun's tough
talk on crime in Lagos. In blunt terms, Balogun ordered
police to give armed robbers "fire for fire" when under
attack. When facing armed criminals the new IG told police
"not to waste time in firing back, don't wait for any order
from anywhere." (Note: RSO/Lagos sources report not less
than two dozen policemen -- and perhaps as many as 50 -- have
been gunned down by armed gangs in Lagos over the last month.
End Note) He also suggested the use of tear gas and other
crowd control materials as deterrents to violence.


10.(SBU) We asked Civil Liberties Organization Executive
Director Abdul Oroh for his interpretation of Balogun's
forceful message on crime. Oroh believes Balogun's remarks
were intended to boost the morale of the beleaguered Lagos
force. Balogun's "fight fire with fire" message was an
emotional reaction to the recent spate of attacks by armed
robbers and police on the Ikeja airport road between the
domestic and international terminals, occurred March 10 only
an hour after Balogun arrived in Lagos. According to one
ConGen Lagos source, the gun battle ended when the police ran
out of ammunition and fled. End Note.) But Oroh noted that
such remarks, particularly if they do not represent a shift
in policy, could send the wrong signal. Nigerian police are
not properly trained, he stressed, and should not be given an
implied green light to shoot suspected criminals with
impunity. Oroh said that the human rights community will
monitor such developments, though he was confident that the
new police leadership and the PSC would institute many of the
reforms needed to improve police performance and
professionalism.


The Strike That Wasn't
--------------
11.(C) Comment: March 11 passed quietly throughout Nigeria
despite earlier pledges by groups representing rank-and-file
policemen to strike over continued salary and allowance
arrearages. The sacking of IGP Smith and his Deputies
appears to have been the major reason the crisis was averted,
though continued discontent among the enlisted police staff
will only dissipate when the billions of naira (tens of
millions of dollars) are released to cover the arrears in
wages and benefits. For now, the police are willing to trust
the new IG to see this through.


12.(C) Comment Cont'd: Smith had clearly lost the
President's confidence with his botched handling of the
January 31 police strike. Under his three year tenure the
police have continued to suffer from inadequate or irregular
pay and poor discipline while reforms Smith promised in 1999
were never implemented. His departure and that of his
Deputies - who many see as more responsible for the sad state
of NPF affairs -- appears a victory for reformers in general
and the Police Service Commission in particular. The
Commission was already butting heads with a recalcitrant
Smith who would not give up usurped powers to appoint and
discipline subordinates. The new IG appears much more of a
team player and more open-minded. The transition paints a
much brighter future for INL's Police Reform project which
will need strong advocates of reform within and outside the
NPF. The PSC will likely become a major partner in this
effort.


Andrews