CIVIL SOCIETY JOINT STATEMENT ON THE CONSTITUTION OF THE NIGERIA POLICE TRUST FUND BOARD OF TRUSTEES BY PRESIDENT BUHARI
The constitution of the Board of Trustees for the Nigeria Police Trust Fund by President Buhari was announced on May 6, 2020 by Garba Shehu, Senior Special Assistant to the President (Media & Publicity).
The undersigned Civil Society Organisations in Nigeria welcome the eventual composition of the Board of Trustees of the Nigeria Police Trust Fund by President Buhari, 'pursuant to the Nigeria Police Trust Fund Establishment Act 2019'.
The President signed the Nigeria Police Trust Fund (Establishment) Bill into law on 24 June 2019, and the Board needed to have been constituted for the fund to take off with federal government's initial grant.
The Police Trust Fund Act aims to provide a legal framework for the management and control of the Police Trust Fund. The Trust Fund covers all personnel of the Nigeria Police Force including its auxiliary staff in Nigeria and abroad and the Trust Fund is to operate for a period of six years from the commencement of the Act, after which it would cease to exist unless extended for any further period by an Act of the National Assembly.
The constitution of the Board was unduly delayed after the trust fund was passed into law in 2019 - nearly a year ago - to address the urgent need for alternative funding sources for the Nigeria Police to address the funding and equipment deficits and enhance the operational capability, training, welfare and morale of its work force.
By the undue delay in constituting the board, nearly one year of the Trust Fund's six years tenure is already lost.
Section 5 of the Act outlines the purposes of the Trust Fund which includes training, overall improvement of personnel of the Nigeria Police Force in the discharge of their duties, purchase of equipment, machineries and books and the construction of police stations and living facilities for the Nigeria Police Force.
Apart from the delay in constituting the Board of Trustees and providing the initial take off grant by the federal government to enable the fund take off, we are concerned by a number of other issues arising from the constitution of the Board and the composition of its members
1. Breach of the Federal Character Principle
The appointment of retired Inspector-General of Police, Suleiman Abba, as Chairman, Board of Trustees of the Nigeria Police Trust Fund, and the appointment of Ahmed Aliyu Sokoto as the Executive Secretary of the Board breach the Federal Character Principle and Law. They both come from the same geopolitical zone. Section 14(3) of the Constitution provides that " The composition of the Government of the Federation or any of its agencies and the conduct of its affairs shall be carried out in such a manner as to reflect the federal character of Nigeria and the need to promote national unity, and also to command national loyalty, thereby ensuring that there shall be no predominance of persons from a few State or from a few ethnic or other sectional groups in that Government or in any of its agencies".
2. Appointment of a former Inspector General of Police (IGP) to Chair the Board of Trustees
The Penchant by successive presidents to appoint retired Inspectors General of Police to head institutions or mechanisms simply because they have to do with the police has proved to be a misguided and costly mistake. Is being a former IGP the only criteria or qualification for appointment as Chairman of the Trust Fund? How well has the Police Service Commission fared under successive retired IGPs as Chairman? A Trust Fund needs to be chaired by an experienced private sector administrator with integrity and expertise in financial management. It also needs to be insulated from politics and bureaucracy. The Lagos State Security Trust Fund owes its success to this fact and the inbuilt system of transparency and Accountability in the management and control of donated funds. Moreover, the Act does not specifically indicate in the composition of the Board of Trustees in Section 7, who shall be chairman.
3. Non consultation with key stakeholders and critical interests in the appointments
There is no evidence of consultation by the President before appointing people purported to represent various interest groups and key stakeholders. An example is the appointment of one Dr. Michael Bamidele Adebiyi to represent Civil Society. This appointee, his organisation, work and experience are unknown in the civil society community in Nigeria, especially among groups working on police and criminal justice reform issues. We therefore wonder who in civil society was consulted before he was appointed.
Civil society played a prominent role in the process leading to the passage of the Police Trust Fund Bill into law. Thus, the law’s provision for the inclusion of a civil society representative, among other key stakeholders, in the Board of Trustees. A representative of any interest group or key stakeholder such as civil society must have the endorsement and support of that interest group. Such a person should and can only be accountable to the group s\he represents if s/he has their mandate. This cannot be the case with the President’s appointee who was not nominated and therefore cannot be said to represent civil society in the Board.
The appointment of members of a Trust Fund should be preceded by wide consultations. In fact, we believe that the Police Council ought to have been involved in the process considering that State Governors who are critical stakeholders bear the greater burden of funding the Police far more than the Federal Government whose responsibility it is.
4. Need for Professional Management of the Police Trust Fund
The appointment and composition of the Trustees of the Police Trust Fund should be beyond primordial considerations. It must inspire trust in the police, potential donors and the general public. If it does not, then the Trust Fund is dead on arrival.
The Trust Fund is essentially established to serve the interest of every police officer, enhance police operations and by extension promote the safety and security needs of the Nigerian populace who feel the impact of a failed system. Therefore, the Police Trust Fund will be best overseen by credible members of the private sector who are well known for their professionalism and efficiency. This is the only way our officers will trust the Board and have faith in the ability of its members to deliver on the mandate of the board.
In relation to this is an observed inconsistency in the Act which may render it inoperable if legally challenged. Section 7 of the Act lists eight members to constitute the Board, whereas, Paragraph 2 of the Schedule to the Act provides that the quorum for the Board shall be the Chairman and ten other members, three of whom shall be from the private sector. It is unclear who the three private sector members being referred to are and why the required quorum is more than the total membership of the board.
Our Demands
In the light of the foregoing observations and concerns, we demand that the President takes the following immediate steps:
1. Review the composition of the Trust Fund to ensure that it complies with the requirements of the law, particularly, the Federal Character Principle.
2. Ensure adequate and wide consultations with critical stakeholders and interest groups to ensure that those who are appointed to represent them in the Board enjoy legitimacy, credibility and trust.
3. Ensure that the person to chair the Board is selected based on clear criteria which should include, among others, that the person comes from the private sector, has relevant experience, is suitable and competent in public management and has integrity and capable of inspiring trust.
4. Explain the inconsistency in references to board membership in the Act and consider an amendment to the Act to address the concerns raised.
Therefore, this is Signed by the following below:
1. Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC)
2. Civil Society Network Against Corruption (CSNAC
3. Social Intervention Advocacy Foundation- (SIAF)
4. Public Interest Lawyers League (PILL)
5. Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC)
6. Partners West Africa- Nigeria
7. International Peace and Civic Responsibility Center (IPCRC)
8. International Human Rights and Equity Defense Foundation (I-REF)
9. Centre Against Injustice and Domestic Violence (CAIDOV)
10. ACE AND Vanguard Legal Practitioners
11. Koyenum Immalah Foundation. (KIF)
12. Centre for Transparency Advocacy (CTA)
13. Independent Advocacy Project (IAP)
14. Foundation for Justice and Rehabilitation of prisoners. FJRP
15. Democracy and Human Rights Network
16. Nde Oduko Foundation
17. HUMAN RIGHTS, LIBERTY ACCESS AND PEACE DEFENDERS FOUNDATION(HURIDE).
18. COMPPART Foundation for Justice and Peacebuilding Akwa Ibom State.
19. People Against Corruption and Injustice
20. International Peace and Civic Responsibility Center (IPCRC)
21. Nana Nwachukwu
22. Centre for Peace Advancement in Nigeria (CEPAN), Jos
23. NOPRIN FOUNDATION
24. PCRC FCT Command
25. South East Civil Society Alliance for Public Accountability (SECSAPA)
26. Youth Forum for Social Change (YOFSOC)
27. SPACES FOR CHANGE
28. YOUTHS AND ENVIRONMENTAL ADVOCACY CENTRE (YEAC)
29. Centre for Community Empowerment and Poverty Eradication
30. Center For Liberty
31. Adopt A Goal For Development
32. Coalition in Defence of Nigerian Democracy and Constitution
33. The Art and Civic Table
34. Free Nigeria Coalition
35. Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC)
36. Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD)
37. Youth Alive Foundation
38. Global Peace Development
39. Media Rights Agenda
40. Human Rights Social Development and Environmental Foundation (HURSDEF)
41. Confluence of Rights, Abuja
42. Inibehe Effiong, Esq
43. Human Rights Advocacy and Monitoring Group (HURAMG)
44. Partnership for Justice
45. Rights Enforcement and Public Law Centre
46. OKE FOUNDATION
47. African Centre For Entrepreneurship and Information Development, Abuja
48. Women’s Right to Education Programme
49. Prison Inmate Development Initiative (PIDI),
50. Legal Resources Consortium (LRC)
51. Justice for Peace and Development Initiative (JPDI)
52. Godwin Odo Esq
53. Legal Assistance and Defence Project (LEDAP)
54. Habitatcare and Protection Initiative.
55. Initiative for Public Safety, Security and Educational Development in Nigeria (IPSSED)
56. Community Outreach for Development and Welfare Advocacy (CODWA)
57. Environmental Rights Action Friends of the Earth Nigeria
58. Prison Inmate Development Initiative (PIDI)
59. Coalition Against Corruption and Bad Governance. CACOBAG.
60. Yiaga Africa
61. Centre for Social Justice (CSJ)
62. Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD)
63. International Press Centre, IPC
64. Alliances for Africa
65. Vision Spring Initiatives
66. Campaign for Constitutionalism and Human Rights -CCHR
67. Citizens Gavel
68. Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR)
69. Center for Economic and Human Rights Advancement (CEHRA)
70. Grassroots Ideas and Development Trust. (GRIDDEVT)
71. Women, Law and Development Initiative (WOLDI)
72. IANSA Women Network Nigeria
73. Oasis Restoration Foundation
74. Women in Humanitarian Response in Nigeria Initiative
75. Gender and Environmental Risk Reduction Initiative.
76. Community Excellence (CENCEX), Zamfara State
77. Bauchi Human Rights Network (BAHRN)
78. Centre for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD)
79. Carmelite Prisoners' Interest Organization (CAPIO
80. Foundation for Livelihood Advancement
81. Echoes of women Butin Africa initiative
82. CRIME VICTIMS FOUNDATION
83, One love foundation and caring.