Police
By Aminu Garko
Kano, The Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) has highlighted the challenges faced by the Nigeria Police Force in responding to early warning signals due to underfunding.
According to CISLAC’s Executive Director, Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, the police force has remained underfunded in both operations and salary, despite Nigeria’s per capita income of $2,085 .
Rafsanjani noted that thousands of police officers receive poor pay, with the worst affected being the rank and file who spend decades in service without promotion, accommodation, or decent pay.
As of 2020, a police recruit’s basic salary was N9,019, which was later increased by 20% in 2022, albeit with a significant delay due to insufficient funds ¹.
The police payment system also has unexplained irregularities, where citizens are often expected to pay for logistics and mobilization before the police respond to early warning signals.
These challenges have discouraged community-level reporting and negatively impacted response efficiency ¹.
Effective early warning and response systems can influence policy making, conflict prevention, peace-making, and support peace building and development.
Therefore, it is essential to address the funding challenges facing the Nigeria Police Force to enhance their response to early warning signals.
