The Inspector General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba, on January 3, 2022, issued a directive to all police commands on police investigations, an issue that is at the core of the failure of the administration of criminal justice in Nigeria. The new measures being put in place are targeted at eliminating duplication of investigations as a result of indiscriminate petitions and even transfer of cases from one command to another, or one state to another.

The implications of such practices are that there are usually multiple or parallel investigations into cases taking place at the same time. Such investigations lead to conflicting arrests of parties, and ultimately causing confusing outcomes, even when some cases are conclusively investigated and charged to court.

A statement on the new directive, signed by the Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, said, “The Inspector General of Police has… warned that transfer or taking over of cases from commands/formations to force headquarters-based outfits must only be carried out upon approval of a written petition to the IGP which will serve as authority for any such action. The IGP equally appeals to members of the public to be on the same page with the police leadership in its bid to sanitise the process and strengthen our criminal justice system. He has similarly warned that officers found culpable of colluding with lawyers of, or indicted parties to abuse police investigative process will be sanctioned accordingly.”

We commend this vital step being taken by the IGP, considering the fact that the administration of the criminal justice system in Nigeria cannot attain its objective of quick dispensation of justice if there are flawed investigations by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the police. Flawed or warped investigative reports by Investigating Police Officers (IPOs) would hamper the work of state prosecutors who have the responsibility of taking cases to court. A poorly investigated case or multiple investigative reports would limit the role of the judiciary in quickly dispensing cases.

One of the causes of the problem is indiscriminate transfer of IPOs from one station to another, an administrative step that is usually taken without recourse to what stage an IPO is in the investigation of criminal cases assigned to them. If a case is still at its early stage, its investigation could be handed over to another IPO, but if it has been completed, and the prosecutor has filed it in court, the IPO who did the investigation would be required to appear in court to testify whenever they are required to do so. In practice, this rarely happens, leading to many adjournments of cases, and frustrating the speedy delivery of justice.