Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo laid the foundation for the Crime and Incident Data Base Centre at the Force Headquarters in Abuja yesterday. In his speech at the event, the VP said: “The Nigerian Police is one of the best we have anywhere in the world and I say so because I have worked with law enforcement agents for many years.”

The VP added that he served in the UN mission in Somalia for about a year and he saw police forces from across the world. While the VP’s remarks might sound a bit preposterous, most of us have not been to or worked with any United Nations mission, so who are we to disagree? Because we don’t want to call our VP a liar, here are some of the reasons why the Nigeria Police Force may actually be one of the best in the world *shrugs*:

1. A recent survey by the Justice for All Programme, Nigeria rated the Nigerian Police high in handling cases of sexual assaults. If the number of sexual assailants that have been arrested by the police in the last few months is anything to go by, then this rating might be actually accurate. There’s been a significant increase in cases of paedophilia and sexual assault across all parts of the country and the Nigerian Police has been effective at bringing assailants to book.
2. The Nigerian Police is currently in the process of recruiting 10,000 new personnel and it has taken its recruitment process to the next level by introducing lie detector tests for successful candidates. This is definitely novel in Nigeria and though it has been criticized by analysts, it’s still worth the try. What is also commendable is the fact that the police is working towards rubbing shoulders with the FBI and the CIA in the United States.
3. The Police Force is going through an internal cleansing to rid itself of corruption. The Inspector General, Ibrahim Idris made this known sometime in August when he said all police officers have to pass through a mandatory asset declaration process. The IG has declared his commitment to resurrect the dead image of the police force.
4. The Nigeria Police Force is finally ready for smart policing. This is the essence of the Crime and Incident Data Base Centre that is to be built in Abuja. The centre is supposed to have a back-up base in Lagos and its aim is to record arrests as it will be connected to all police stations in Nigeria. The data base will also be linked to communication agencies in the country to ensure widespread participation.

Without discrediting Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, the Nigerian Police may not be one of the best in the world but from what we see, it sure is on its way there.