The Nigeria Police Force at the turn of last week held its Awards ceremony. Event was colourful, regal. It was the maiden show. Thanks to the inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun. A colleague had argued, why should the police be the one scoring itself and endorsing same with awards? My retort was, why not?

The concept of police awards or awards by military and paramilitary agencies to honour their personnel for gallantry, innovativeness, integrity and other ethos is not novel. It’s a global culture. Men and women in uniform who put their lives on the line for others deserve honour. Those who stay awake while others are sleeping in any community should be made to walk on confetti of precious metals. The United States Marine Corps honours its men and women.

The China Police do same. Early this year, in January, just ahead of the 4^th  Chinese People’s Police Day (Chinese People’s Police Day holds every January 10, corresponding with the country’s emergency call number of 110), China honoured 20 outstanding primary-level frontline police officers for their passion, efficiency and devotion to duty that helped the police authority to fulfill its mandate to the public.

The Communist Party of China Central Committee’s Publicity Department and the Ministry of Public Security, the two offices that organized the awards ceremony did not hold back. They released the names of the “role models and their stories to serve as an inspiration to the country’s police force,” reports the China Daily. The awards celebration was approved in 2020 in recognition of the efforts of the country’s public security guardians.

The China security authorities said those honoured this year serve in various posts, including those fighting on the frontline against crimes and natural disasters, those dedicated to ensuring security in communities and at major events, and those stationed in border areas of the country. There are many other jurisdictions that garland their police and security personnel annually for their extraordinary roles in peace-keeping and law enforcement. In some cases, some security personnel were honoured for enforcing humanity over the law.

Whichever barometer we use, the Nigeria Police Awards is well-thought out. Indeed, one of the best initiatives to have come out from the police fraternity. A good 16 cops of various ranks were honoured.

IGP Egbetokun said the award was to showcase the meritorious but guiding principles that should shape the daily actions and decisions of police officers. A kind of compass for all cops, both young and old.

He said: “Recognition will be given to disciplined officers who diligently carried out investigations and prosecutions. Their efforts have brought offenders to justice, delivered closure to victims and reinforced the rule of law, transforming justice from a mere concept into a tangible reality for all.

“It’ll also be presented in 16 distinct categories, including community, policy, investigation, gallantry and integrity…

“The Awards Night serves not only as a platform for celebration but also as a reminder of the importance of accountability and responsibility within law enforcement.”

Put simply, the police awards and commendation ceremony is a wake-up call to all police personnel that there is a reward for excellence, diligence, ethical values and professionalism.

Step forth for recognition: CSP Odeyeyiwa Oladimeji – Crime Buster of the Year; Grade III Alabi Kayode – Traffic Warden of the Year; Corporal Abbey Yetunde – Police Sportsman of the Year; CP Muhammed Gumei  – Community Policing Advocate of the Year; SP Haruna Abdullahi (Kano State PPRO) – Police Public Relations Officer of the Year; ACP Dere Olalekan (Medical Officer, Ondo State Command) – Police Medical Personnel of the Year; ASP Nnamdi Egbunike – Cyber Crime Buster of the Year; SP Kasumu Oluropo – Investigator of the Year; Inspector Onyia Everistus (State Criminal Investigation Department,  Enugu Command) – Detective of the Year;  Patrol Team from 40 PMF (Taraba Command)  – Patrol Team of the Year; CSP Shaba Aliyu – Divisional Police Officer of the Year; ACP Muhammad Musa – Area Commander of the Year; ASP Madaki Emmanuel – Police Legal Officer of the Year; SP Elaigwu Augustine (Commander, Counter-Insurgency/Joint Operation FOB, Aguata Anambra Command) – Award For Gallantry; SP Idris Ibrahim, SP Okoi Iferi (Counter Intelligence Unit) – Award For Integrity; and CP Olatunji Disu – Commissioner of Police of the Year.

The list is non-discriminatory, a mix of the high and the low and cutting across diverse divides of personnel and policing: medicare, public communications, cybercrime, investigation, gallantry, community policing, counter-terrorism, traffic management, sports, administration and integrity. Aside being decorated with medals, there should be promotion or monetary rewards, or both, attached to these honours. It will motivate others to step up their games. Nigeria Police personnel have always excelled outside the country, either while participating in training programmes in globally competitive environments or while on policing duties.

Just this month, some officers of the Nigeria Police Force brought honour to Nigeria and the Police authorities when they excelled in the U.S. Special Program for Embassy Augmentation Response (SPEAR) team mission held in Amman, Jordan. The training, conducted from March 10th to April 3rd, was to enhance the team’s skills in responding to diverse emergencies and to sharpen their skills in dealing with tactical situations. The training was led by US Navy Seals. The Nigerian contingent emerged the best as they showed dedication and outstanding performance during the training.

In 2019, a contingent (159 of them) of Nigeria Police personnel participating in the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) excelled in their duties and were so recognized and honoured for adherence to the core values of Africa Union peace-keeping operations which include respect for diversity, team spirit, impartiality, integrity, efficiency and professionalism. The same police personnel cannot be said to be bad cops in their country. They deserve their diadems.

President Bola Tinubu who was represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima at the event declared the first week of April as Police Week and the last day of the week, April 7, as National Police Day. Perhaps, to honour this special day, April 7, subsequent Police Awards should hold every April 7.

I commend Egbetokun for this novelty. It will galvanise police personnel to a higher realm of devotion and professionalism. I recommend that with as much zeal, the IGP should humanise the welfare of police personnel. Better pay, better compensation to the families of those who died in active service, improved medicare and effective, mandatory insurance for all police personnel. Every good cop deserves the goodness of life. President Tinubu is right: we need to humanise our police. And having done that, we also need to sanitise the police. There are still corrupt and crooked elements in the police family. I have been a victim several times and I have read stories about bad cops stinking up the fold. They say the police is as corrupt as the nation. And now that we are beginning to sanitise the nation, let us also sanitise the police. All said, it’s still congratulations to IGP Egbetokun and his team.

First published in Sunday Sun