Invitation to the Media Presentation / National Award Ceremony of the Police Station Visitors’ Week 2010

The CLEEN Foundation a non governmental organization aimed at promoting public safety, security and accessible justice in Nigeria. The organization in collaboration with Altus Global Alliance wishes to invite you to the media presentation and the National Award Ceremony of the Police Station Visitors’ Week 2010.

We would appreciate it if your organization could be represented at this event.

 Details are as follows:

Date: Wednesday 16th March 2011

Time: 9:00am prompt

Venue: CLEEN Foundation Resource Centre, 21 Akinsanya Street, By Taiwo Busstop, Ojodu Berger

Kindly confirm your availability by sending a mail to Mr. Rapheal Mbaegbu  on raphael.mbaegbu@cleen.org or 08063292096 and/or Mr. Gabriel Akinremi on gabriel.akinremi@cleen.org 08023704048 on or before Tuesday 15^th March 2011.

REPORT OF THE ONE DAY NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON GENDER MAINSTREAMING IN THE NIGERIA POLICE FORCE ORGANISED BY CLEEN FOUNDATION IN COLLABORATION WITH FREDRICK EBERT FOUNDATION ON MONDAY, 7TH MARCH, 2011, AT BOLTON WHITE HOTEL, ABUJA.

 Preamble  
The security of lives of the citizens and property, maintaining rules and order are parts of the core constitutional duties of the Nigeria Police Force. This has made the clamour for an effective, accountable and responsive Nigeria Police central in national discourses in the country. However, to achieve such a high expectation, the need for a gender sensitive Police Force is equally crucial. There are increasing concerns about the discriminatory approach to gender issues within the Nigeria Police Force. In other words, women are not seriously considered in gender mainstreaming. Women are not only poorly represented in the Force, female officers are not adequately protected as well as given equal opportunities like their male counterparts . As a critical segment of the society, it is a major deficiency that needs to be urgently addressed.



It is in view of the above that CLEEN Foundation, which has been at the fore front of the campaigns for effective policing and social justice system in Nigeria, has taken the lead in advocating for the need to establish a gender conscious police organization as a major aspect of the proposed police reform. That is why the theme of this conference, “Gender Mainstreaming in the Nigeria Police Force”, was apt timely. This international conference which drew participants from the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), State Security Service (SSS), Sierra Leone National Police, Liberia National Police, Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC), media and other organizations was in collaboration with Fredrick Ebert Foundation. The agenda of the conference was to deliberate on this challenge with a view to providing practicable solutions for appropriate action.

 Key Observations Made at the Conference
1.      Gender Discriminations in the Nigeria Police: There are organizations where women have suffered discriminations like the Police Force. It was confirmed that women officers are not allowed posting to head State Commands of the Nigeria Police Force.

2.      Culture-induced Discriminations: There are cultural notions or perceptions that prevent women from assuming some sensitive positions in our society or actualizing their potentials. For example, in politics, participation in political activities is mainly seen as an exclusive reserve of the men. In order words, women are not easily considered as fit for such volatile contest considering their physiological nature. there are also some jobs that women are not considered fit because of the thinking that such jobs prevent them from handling their primary responsibilities properly to their families.

3.      Policy of Exclusion: The conference observed that there are institutional policies that exclude women from taking certain positions in the society, especially in the Police Force. For instance, a married woman is not permitted to seek enrolment into the Nigeria Police Force.

4.      Uneven Marital Rules: It was observed too that for a woman police officer to get married, she must seek the permission of the Inspector-General to get married. this was considered as unfair and insensitive rule because it does not apply to the male officers.

5.      Outdated Rules: Some of the policies in use in the Nigeria Police are outdated and made during the military rule. Some of them have been in existence since 1941 and need to be reviewed.

6.      Inferiority Complex: Women contribute to their problems. It was noted that in several circumstances, women have turned down certain challenges thereby admitting their feminist and perhaps, inferiority.

7.      Sexual Mistrust: It was observed that women also encourage discriminations among themselves. For instance, some First Ladies and highly placed female government functionaries prefer to work with male officers than female officers for the fear of unholy attraction of female officers to their spouses or for some personal  reasons.

8.      Language Factor: The conference noted that the use of language in the Nigeria Police discriminates against women. For example, the use of the word “officers and men” is ambiguous. Also, the use of the words such as “he”, “himself” and “his” exclude women from the mainstream.

9.      Pregnancy Factor: The conference was not impressed with the fact that pregnancy, which is a product of natural reproduction and sustenance of human race, has become a recurrent factor used as an excuse to discriminate against women in the Police Force and several other organizations.

10.  It was however acknowledged that, statistically, in the State security Service (SSS), the tendencies for gender discrimination are highly minimal. It was observed that the organization is gender sensitive as there are no discriminations on the basis of sex. For instance, the organization has fifteen (15) state chiefs who are women. Out of seven directorates, three are women.

The West African Experience 
1.      The relative experience of gender insensitivity in Sierra Leonean Police is not quite different from that of the Nigeria Police. For example, it was observed that the Police Force is meant for men and not for women in that country. This is reflected in the wide gender population gap of the Police Force in Sierra Leon in the ratio of 84percent and 16percent.

2.      The sentiments against women in political positions is not different from what is obtainable in other west African countries where women’s candidacy are not encouraged or supported; people still prefer to vote men politicians than voting women.
3.      In Liberia also, the situation is comparatively similar. In order to confront these challenges, the country came up with some policies aimed at enhancing gender sensitivity.

4.      Some of the challenges militating against gender sensitivity in Liberian Police are stereotyping of roles and responsibilities, male chauvinism, sexual harassments, intimidation and victimization. This point was equally highlighted in the experience shared from the courses and operations of the Koffi Anan Institute for Peace, Training and Cooperation (KAIPTC).

5.      The centre identified sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA) committed on civilians as key issue in peace and security agenda preventing gender mainstreaming which the centre hopes include it as a core course. However, there are fears that this problems will persist unless relevant institutions concerned with crucial matters of peace and security take gender sensitivity seriously.

6.      The centre, as part of its activities towards promoting gender sensitivity, created gender, peace and security programme in 2010.

The Challenges to Reforms in Gender Mainstreaming 

The following have been identified as the major inhibitions to necessary reforms towards addressing the challenges of gender mainstreaming in the Nigeria Police Force:

Lack of political will from relevant authorities was identified as a major problems facing attempts at reforms to address this problem.

Poor implementation of policies: The lack of commitment of relevant agencies of government to implement policies aimed at correcting gender insensitivity.



Poor or Absence of Advocacy: It was noted by the conference that the campaign for gender mainstreaming has not really being impactful due to poor or absence of advocacy from the civil society organizations.

Male Chauvinism: The conference noted that since the society is largely male dominated in terms of beliefs and philosophies, especially in Africa where this perception is still very strong, it has been difficult to convince the police authorities on the crucial need for gender mainstreaming in the Force.

Poor Representation of women at committees and panels where decisions concerning women are taken.

Absence of institutional policies to properly address the challenges of gender mainstreaming in the Police Force.

Recommendations
1.      Equality of Rules: It was suggested that, the same laws and rules such as the rules of marriage, should apply to both male and female police officers.

2.      Review of Discriminatory Rules: All-inclusive policies that would help carry along female officers in the Police Force should be promoted so as to accommodate women who are a significant segment of the nation’s population.

3.      Equal Opportunities should be provided for both male and female officers in the Police Force. This includes the areas of recruitments, welfare packages, training, promotions, postings and others.

4.      Advocacy and Education: The conference strongly recommends a need for more advocacy by the civil society organizations with a view to educating women and enlightening people on the need to develop positive attitude on gender mainstreaming. This would enhance understanding which would towards accommodating women in organizations that may want to use feminity as a basis for discriminations.

5.      A Pro-active Approach to Recruitment in the Nigeria Police Force with regard to gender sensitivity should be urgently considered for a policy action.

6.      Self Defence for Female Officers: The female officers in the Nigeria Police Force should be equipped and armed to enable her defend herself like her male counterpart. Both male and female officers face similar dangers and so they respectively deserve equal opportunities for self defence. More so because women are more susceptible to coercion and harassments.

  

INTERACTIVE FORUM ON ENHANCING PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN THE YOUTH AND POLICE IN 2011 GENERAL ELECTION

As part of its efforts to promote public safety and security in Nigeria, the CLEEN Foundation in collaboration with Area D Police Command Mushin Lagos invites you to a one day interactive forum organized for the young people and the police.

The aim of this forum includes the following:

·         Promote partnership of police towards the young people during the 2011 general election.

·         Promote positive relationship between the young people and the police in Lagos state and by so doing reduce the number youths involved in electoral misconduct.

Date:                     Thursday, 10^th March 2011

Venue:                   Area D Police Command Mushin Lagos

Time:                     10am prompt

For more information please call Onyinye 08037511909 or Raphael 08063292096.

Project on Policing the 2011 General Elections.

Dear All,

CLEEN Foundation is recruiting observers to monitor the conduct of security agencies during the 2011 general elections using a simple to fill checklist. We are taking 10 observers per state/plus Abuja (3 per Senatorial District and 1 state Coordinator). So far we have the following states outstanding: Adamawa, Bauchi, Jigawa, Plateau, Kano, Gombe, Zamfara, Sokoto, Kaduna, Niger, Oyo, Ekiti, Ogun, Ondo, Kogi, Nasarawa, Osun and Katsina. Howeverm you can also volunteer to observer elections in any of the other states and Abuja.

Interested persons can send in their names and contact details but we would want to be sure who we are recruiting because they must be impartial, not partisan and objective.

Indicate by sending us an email to newsletters@cleen.org latest by 18th March, 2011.

Communiqué - Conference on Making Democracy Work for Nigerians Organized by CLEEN Foundation in collaboration with Ford Foundation West Africa Office at Imo Concorde Hotel, Owerri on 23-24 February 2011

Preamble

Different surveys have found that after twelve years of civilian government, Nigerians across divides are still asking questions about the dividends of democracy even as the level of satisfaction with the way democracy works in the country continues to plummet every year. Against this background, CLEEN Foundation in collaboration with the Ford Foundation West Africa office organized a two day national conference on Making Democracy Work for Nigerians. The conference which held at Imo Concorde hotel, Owerri, on 23-24 February 2011 was also the fourth and last of a series, organized to celebrate Ford Foundation’s 50^th anniversary of grant making on human rights and governance in Nigeria.

L-R, Innocent Chukwuma, Joseph Gitari,
Festus Okoye, Fr Nzeh, Frank Odita, ASP Paulinus Asogwa

The conference drew participants from representatives of government, security agencies, political parties, civil society groups, student bodies, academia and the media. The conference was structured to provide a forum for these state and non state actors to brainstorm on pertinent issues of making democracy work for ordinary people and formulating recommendations and action plans that would inform political contestation, governance and civic action. In particular, the conference was aimed at identifying core blockages for deepening democracy and delivery of democracy dividends and recommending high impact solutions for making democracy meaningful, worthwhile and rewarding for the Nigerian people by focusing on three issue areas. These are:  strategies for ensuring that the vote counts in the April 2011 general elections; strategies for engaging town unions and community development associations in ensuring accountable governance at the state and local government levels; and strategies for engaging the legislature in deepening democracy in Nigeria.

Core Blockages

Strategies for ensuring that the votes count in April 2011 general elections

·         Poor economic growth and mass youth unemployment that predispose youths to being hired to manipulate the electoral process.

·         The lack of ideology among political parties and the transformation of parties into mere platforms for contesting elections.

·         Very hazy constitutional and legal framework that allows room for manipulation of the electoral process by political interest groups.

·         Poor early warning systems and inability of the police to prevent electoral and political violence.

·         Poor delineation of constituencies and polling units that affects access to polling units especially in localities with challenging environment.

·         Inability of both domestic and international observers to deploy monitors to a significant number of polling stations. Currently observer teams cover less than 10 per cent of polling units across the country.

·         Slow pace of resolution of election disputes and growing loss of confidence in the election dispute resolution mechanism.

·         Failure of election management bodies to make adequate arrangements for the welfare of electoral officers and security agents during elections, thereby exposing them to manipulation by politicians interested in compromising their integrity.

Strategies for engaging town unions and community development associations in ensuring accountable governance at the state and local government levels

·         General alienation of the citizenry and civic associations from the political process and the political system.

·         Lack of autonomy of Town unions at local and state levels of association due to dependence on government and vested interests.

·         Incessant conflicts and lack of community cohesion.

·         Collapse of traditional community governance institutions especially those that promote accountability and checks and balances

·         Entrenchment of electoral malpractices that make popular votes irrelevant in determination of leaders of town unions.

Strategies for engaging the legislature in deepening democracy in Nigeria

  L-R, Prof Nnoli, Dr Chidi Odinkalu, Prof Gyimah

·         Poor engagement between civil society and the legislature and a general disconnection of the people from the legislative process.

·         Overbearing influence of the governors and political parties on legislators

·         Capacity deficits in the legislature in performing both law making and oversight functions. Many legislators are not well equipped for the tasks of legislation.

·         Lack of effective legal framework for institutions for vertical and horizontal accountability.

·         Absence of effective constituency liaison due to lack of functional constituency offices.

High Impact Solutions

Government

Government at all levels should:

·         Open up the political space for participation by civil society and Nigerian citizens and include them in policy making processes.

·         Adopt and implement programmes aimed at generating rapid economic growth and providing employment for the mass of unemployed youths.

·         Streamline electoral laws to avoid confusion as a result of conflicting regulations during elections.

·         Ensure timely release of funds appropriated for all stages of the electoral process.

·         Allow independence and effective function of governmental institutions responsible for receiving feedback from the citizens.

·         Take measures to protect the autonomy and financial integrity of town unions and community development associations.

·         Collaborate with town unions and community development associations in social mobilisation, planning and execution of development projects.

·         Develop effective early warning systems for conflict prevention in communities.

INEC should:

·         Provide effective training for all electoral staff before elections.

·         Collate and publicise names of all electoral officers in 774 local government areas and 8,000 wards in the country weeks before the election to enable political parties and members of the public ascertain their independence and non-partisanship.

·         Make special arrangements for polling units located in challenging environments and provide supplementary voting units in polling units where the number of registered voters exceeds 500 voters.

·         Embark on extensive voter education of the public on the procedures of the modified open ballot system to guide voters on what to expect and what to do.

·         Effectively make use of information technology to address communications and logistic challenges.

·         Insulate its staff at all levels from influences of political parties and politicians and effectively monitor their activities.

·         Ensure that political parties comply with electoral laws and send in names and photographs of their agents one week before the elections for proper accreditation.

·         Provide an enabling environment and full cooperation with independent election observers and monitors.

The Nigeria Police should:

·         Provide effective training for officers to be deployed for elections.

·         Ensure that police officers get provisions for food, transport and stipends before deployment for elections.

·         Develop rapid response mechanism and ensure rapid response to early warning signals on election related matters.

·         Instruct police officers deployed for elections not to shy from invoking the Police Act to carry out their duties to prevent breaches especially when electoral officers decline to ask for police intervention.

·         Work with relevant authorities to grant police the power to accompany electoral officers and party agents from polling units to collation centres.

The Political Parties should:

·         Adopt ideologies and prepare manifestoes that provide real policy choices for the electorate.

·         Build up their organizational capacity for effective long-term engagement with the people and ensure the rule of law and practice of internal democracy.

·         Embark on effective voter education for the public to guide voters during elections.

·         Ensure that party agents are duly accredited by INEC and deployed with all necessary provisions to polling units during elections.

·         Perform oversight functions on all public officers elected on their platforms

·         Build capacity for mobilization of membership and collection of dues and contributions from members to reduce the overwhelming influence of some moneybags and office- holding party members.

·         Work with relevant authorities and the civil society to monitor activities of INEC and security agencies before, during and after elections.

Civil society should:

·         Take measures to put the citizens at the driver’s seat of advocacy and activism by embarking on capacity building activities aimed at enabling and empowering citizens to defend their democratic rights.

·         Collaborate with INEC and police authorities to build capacity of electoral officers and police officers to conduct free and fair elections.

·         Embark on innovative use of information technology to enhance election observation and early warning of possible breaches of elections.

·         Liaise with the media to promote issue based campaigning by setting agendas and providing platforms for political debates by aspirants and political parties.

·         Provide effective monitoring of party campaign, finance and deployment of agents during elections.

·         Study and understand the legislative process to enhance effective programming to promote law making, representation and oversight functions of the legislature.

·         Embark on aggressive enlightenment of the public on the role of citizens and community based associations in demanding transparency and accountability in government.

Town Unions and Community Development Associations should:

·         Embark on sensitization and education of their members on the rights and duties of citizens in a democratic society.

·         Create platforms for engaging aspirants and political parties with a view to developing a social contract between the community and political actors.

·         Rebuild their traditional governance structure to ensure accountability amongst themselves and to also demand accountability from the government and those elected to public office from their communities.

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