Nigeria Police Force Has Performed Averagely Since the Appointment of Current IGP

PRESS RELEASE: The Nigeria Police Force has performed averagely since the current IGP took over office

PRESS RELEASE

The Nigeria Police Force has performed averagely since the current IGP took over office

Abuja, Nigeria. February 18, 2013 – Latest weekly poll results released by NOI Polls Limited have revealed that 43% of Nigerians are of the opinion that the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) has performed averagely in providing security since the current IGP, M.D. Abubakar, took over office. Also, the most significant issues affecting the performance of the Nigeria Police Force are corruption in the rank and file, as well as poor salary and welfare package. These were two key findings from the recent poll conducted on the Police Force in the week commencing February 12th 2013.

Respondents to the poll were asked five specific questions. The first question sought to establish the performance of the Police Force since the current Inspector General of Police (IGP) assumed office. Respondents were asked:
In your opinion, how has the Nigeria Police Force performed in providing security since the current Inspector General assumed office in July 2012?

The results indicate majority (43%) of the respondents are of the opinion that the Police Force has performed averagely since M.D. Abubakar took over as IGP in July 2012. This is followed by 28% who think they have performed well, and 17% who said they have performed poorly. Only 8% think they have performed very well, while 3% think they have performed very poorly. Overall, the proportion of Nigerians who think the Police Force has performed well (36%) are more than those who think they have performed poorly (20%).



Respondents were then asked the following question: Would you say the Nigerian Police Officer is your friend? From the results, majority of those polled (52%) responded “No” to the question, implying that they do not consider the average Nigerian Police Officer as a friend. This is followed by 38% who answered “Yes”, and 10% who were not sure how to respond to the question; stating “Not really”. While it may seem that about half of Nigerians do not consider Police Officers as friends; 4 in 10 Nigerians (38%) do consider them as friends.



The third question sought to establish the opinion of Nigerians regarding the general wellbeing of the Nigerian Police Officer. Respondents were asked: How do you perceive the general wellbeing of the Nigerian Police Officer (In terms of work motivation, salary & benefits, accommodation, pension etc)? Results indicate that majority (40%) of respondents are of the opinion that the general wellbeing of Nigerian Police Officers is “Average”; followed by 24% who think it is “Poor”. A further 16% think their wellbeing is “Good”, while 6% think it is “Very poor”. While a small 2% think it is “Very good”, 12% simply replied “Don’t know” to the question. Despite the average perception of the wellbeing of police officers, the poll clearly shows that respondents who perceive their wellbeing as poor (30%) outweighs those who perceive their wellbeing as good (18%).



Next, respondents were asked the following question: What would you consider the most significant issue affecting the performance of the Nigerian Police Force? In response, majority (29%) of the respondents are of the opinion that the most significant issue affecting the performance of the Police Force is “Corruption in the rank and file”. This is followed by 22% who think that “Poor salary and welfare package” is the most significant issue affecting the performance of the Police Force. Other significant issues mentioned by respondents are “Inadequate training & work equipment” and “Poor orientation & work ethics” with 20% each. In essence, this finding on corruption in the rank and file of the Police Force sheds some light on the recent documentary by Channels TV that highlighted corruption as one of the factors responsible for the dilapidated state of Police Training Institutions across the country.



Finally, respondents were asked: Which of the following do you consider the top 3 issues that need to be addressed immediately in order to promote a more credible and efficient Nigerian Police Force? From the results, the top three issues that require immediate attention for enhancing a more credible and efficient Police Force include: Better training facilities (22%); Improved working equipment (21%); and Improved welfare package (21%). Also mentioned are: Education of police officers (16%); Integrity of the officers (8%) and Police Uniform (8%). A further 3% of the respondents were of the opinion that the Police Force should address other issues such as the orientation of police officers, corruption, motivation and moral values.



In conclusion, while this latest poll has revealed that most Nigerians think that the Nigerian Police Force has performed averagely since the current IGP took over office in July 2012; only about 4 in 10 (38%) Nigerians consider police officers as friends. The poll found that while about 40% of the respondents perceived the wellbeing of Nigerian police officers as average, a further 30% perceive their wellbeing as poor. Also, “Corruption in the rank and file” and “Poor salary and welfare package” has been identified as the most significant issues affecting the performance of the police force. Finally, issues such as training facilities, work equipment and welfare package of the officers have been identified as the three top issues that requires urgent attention in order to enhance a more credible and efficient police force.

Survey Methods
The opinion poll was conducted on February 12th to 15th 2013. It involved telephone interviews of a random nationwide sample. 1,025 randomly selected phone-owning Nigerians aged 18 years and above, representing the six geopolitical zones in the country, were interviewed. With a sample of this size, we can say with 95% confidence that the results obtained are statistically precise - within a range of plus or minus 3%. NOI Polls Limited is Nigeria’s leading opinion polling and research organisation, which works in technical partnership with the Gallup Organisation (USA), to conduct periodic opinion polls and studies on various socio-economic and political issues in Nigeria. More information is available at www.noi-polls.com

Disclaimer
This press release has been produced by NOI Polls Limited to provide information on all issues which form the subject matter of the document. Kindly note that while we are willing to share results from our polls with the general public, we only request that NOI Polls be acknowledged as author whenever our poll results are used, cited or published.

NOI Polls hereby certifies that all the views expressed in this document accurately reflect its views of respondents surveyed for the poll, and background information is based on information from various sources that it believes are reliable; however, no representation is made that it is accurate or complete. Whilst reasonable care has been taken in preparing this document, no responsibility or liability is accepted for errors or fact or for any views expressed herein by NOI Polls for actions taken as a result of information provided in this report. Any ratings, forecasts, estimates, opinions or views herein constitute a judgment as at the date of this document. If the date of this document is not current, the views and content may not reflect NOI Polls’ current findings and/or thinking.


Press Contact
The Editor
Email: editor@noi-polls.com

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