DUTIES OF A Nigerian Police Intelligence OPERATIVE
By
Cpl. Aliyu Jibrin
SIB Kano
THE NIGERIA POLICE INTELLIGENCE
The Force Intelligence Bureau (FIB), is a department of the Nigeria Police Force responsible for intelligence function, with the aim of preventing crimes and detecting criminals, so also create Intelligence for policy making and resources allocation. This department collects, collates, assess/analyse, evaluate and disseminate criminal intelligence on issues relevant to threat to safety of life and property which threatened the nation’s peace and security. Historically Nigeria Police first had the special branch known as ‘E’ Department dated back to 1948, where the Colonial Government used the Police ‘E’ branch to gather intelligence mostly on Nationalist Movement. The Police ‘E’ Department was later abolished in 1976, paving way for the emergence of the then N.S.O. (National Security Organization). The National Security Organization (NSO) was created under Decree No. 27 of 1976 by Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo, after the failed Dimka Coup which claimed the life of former Head of State Gen. Murtala Muhammad. The NSO was given a mandate of coordinating Internal Security, Foreign Intelligence and Counterintelligence activities. It was also charged with the detection and prevention of any crime against the security of the state, with the protection of classified materials, which is part of police duties. However, due to basic realities and out of necessity, the newly reformed Criminal Intelligence Bureau (CIB) presently Force Intelligence Bureau (FIB), has the Zonal and States Intelligence Bureaus (ZIBs & SIBs) as its branches responsible for overseeing intelligence activities at both the Zonal and State command’s levels. The NSO was created as a fall-out of the Dimka coup. Prior to the coup, internal security and intelligence was handled by the police Special Branch, while external intelligence was conducted by the Research Department (RD), a unit of the External Affairs ministry. The Special Branch had failed to obtain intelligence about the coup and the coup plotters before the coup was executed; the Inspector General of Police as at that time, MD Yusuf excused this failure as the inability of the Special Branch to police the military. The police simply lacked the legal backing to conduct intelligence operations on the military. At the time, there were rumors making the rounds alleging that a former head of state Gen. Yakubu Gowon had planned the coup from his hideout in exile. Gowon had been ousted in a bloodless coup led by the late Murtala Mohammed while he was in Uganda attending a meeting of the Organization of African Union (OAU), and had taken up temporary asylum in Togo as at the time of the coup. The ringleader of the coup plotters was Lieutenant Colonel Buka Suka Dimka, an in-law of Gowon and fellow member of the Angas ethnic group in Plateau State. Dimka had visited Gowon in exile in the UK and under interrogation claimed to have received Gowon's blessing for the coup; Gowon denied ever discussing the coup with him. The rumours of Gowon's involvement though unconfirmed might have eroded whatever confidence the executive had in the RD as an external intelligence agency. The new Head of State, Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo, created the NSO by merging the Special Branch with the RD and appointed Colonel Abdullahi Mohammed a former Director of Military Intelligence (DMI) as its first Director General. The new NSO set up offices in the 19 states of the federation and had its headquarters in the state house annexe in Lagos.
MAIN DUTIES OF FORCE INTELLIGENCE BUREAU (FIB) * Collection, collation, assessment/evaluation and dissemination of Criminal Intelligence affecting the activities of criminals with particular reference to organized crimes. * To serve as a think-tank or reservoir for information on identification of criminals, exchange of information, keeping of criminal records. * Identify criminal syndicates carrying out criminal activities using gangster techniques. * Disseminate criminal intelligence to various police formations and other relevant bodies on a continuous basis. Maintain surveillance on organized gangs, Identify members, associates, daily activities and method of criminal operation. * Maintain a system of criminal intelligence on roaming hardened criminals who specializes in cross border banditry. * Maintain intelligence on individuals and organizations of security interest. The then Criminal Intelligence Bureau of the Nigeria Police Force was formed in 1982 after the painful Maitatsine riot. The Nigeria Police Intelligence, (Criminal Intelligence Bureau) was formed in 1990, paving way for the emergence of agencies in other sister organizations like the D.S.S, N.I.A. and Naval Intelligence among others. The Nigerian Police Intelligence mostly laid emphasis and concentrates on organized crimes i.e. Armed Robbery, Drugs Trafficking, Trafficking in Fire Arms, Advanced Fee Fraud (419), terrorism etc.

WHAT IS THE MAIN PURPOSE OF INTELLIGENCE?
PREVENTION
This Includes gaining or developing information related to a threat or crime and using this information to apprehend offenders, harden targets either to prevent criminals from gaining access to their targets, or use policies/techniques that will eliminate or alleviate the threat.

PLANNING AND RESOURCE ALLOCATION In this regards, Intelligence are provided as information to decision makers about changing in nature of threats and emerging threat’s abnormalities for the purpose of developing a response strategies and reallocating resources, as necessary, to accomplish effective prevention.
Who is a Nigeria Police Intelligence Operative? Section 214 (1) of the 1999 Constitution created the Nigeria Police. The section states that, there shall be a police force for Nigeria, which shall be known as the Nigeria Police Force, and subject to the provisions of this section no other police force shall be established for the Federation or any part thereof. Section 4 of the Police Act and Regulations outlined the General duties of a police officer, and therefore a police shall be employed for the prevention and detection of crime, the apprehension of offenders, the preservation of law and order, the protection of life and property and the due enforcement of all laws and regulations with which they are directly charged, and shall perform such military duties within or outside Nigeria as may be required of them by, or under the authority of this or any other Act. Force Intelligence Bureau is a Department of the Nigeria Police Force with a specific task or responsibilities as mentioned earlier. These includes monitoring and gathering of all intelligence activities in areas of security responsibility/interest throughout the federation by Police Intelligence operative in local governments and other Key areas. This department is headed by a Deputy Inspector-General of Police and has senior Police officers as OCs in both Zonal and State commands levels known as ZIBs/SIBs who represent the Inspector-General of Police in discharging the above mentioned responsibilities.
Therefore, Police Intelligence operative need to note that: * He is a member of the Nigeria Police Force. * He is constitutionally employed to perform police duties according to section 214 and section 4 of the 1999 constitution and police acts and regulations respectively, especially monitoring and intelligence activities. * He is officially posted to perform Police duties in his area of jurisdiction. * He is subject for supervision by his superiors.