Republican police and Beninese populations: Increasingly tense relationships

While the Republican Police are deployed throughout the national territory as part of their operation to control road offenses, cases of tensions with certain citizens are reported. The latest is the citizen who was molested in Natitingou by elements of the Republican Police.

A police officer who is trusted is a police officer whose treatment is respectful and fair.. Police officers who seriously listen to the public's version (the victims, but also suspects and witnesses), who demonstrate neutrality without imposing their point of view a priori (or valorize one party at the expense of others), who are respectful with all categories of the population, refrain from unprofessional behavior (from familiarity to excessive use of force), and present signs of confidence to those administered are thus likely to reinforce the confidence they benefit from (Conf study report from the think tank Terra Nova in France in 2016). In Benin, since a few weeks, the tension between police officers and citizens becomes more and more acute. This is because of the crackdown on traffic violations launched on March 1st. 2024 which already records its share of violence.

Reminders of some facts

Wednesday 3 avril 2024 in Adjohoun, following an incident occurring as part of the operation to suppress traffic violations, writes Banouto, the population rose up against the police. According to information reported by several media, Republican police officers wanted to arrest a motorcycle taxi driver with two passengers, one of whom was without a helmet. The motorcycle taxi driver would not have complied. The police then began to arrest him by force.. But the incident that occurred during the arrest provoked the anger of the population. She rose up against the disciples of Saint Andrew. The tension was so, learns the first deputy, that reinforcements were needed from the police to control the situation.

Thusday 11 last April in Parakou in the Arafat district 2, on the road leading to Kabô in Nigeria. According to information reported by “Le Parakois”, to the victims, a young man aged around thirty was on a motorbike and leaving Parakou for Kabo when he was caught in a chase by police officers for not wearing a helmet. This is how he received violent blows according to the same source to the point of losing consciousness after falling into the ravine..

And Nattingou, a police blunder has sparked indignation among the population since Friday 12 Avril. In a video that went viral on social media, reports beninwebtv, we see an individual on the ground surrounded by five police officers. One of the police officers gives him repeated dangerous blows in the ribs on the instructions of another police officer who orders : “kick him in the ribs”.

According to the facts which take place in front of a crowd of curious people stunned by the violence of the police, the victim was on his motorbike in front of his home when the police approached him to notify him that he was in violation. According to the same source, he is accused of not having worn a helmet.. Faced with his resistance to not giving up his motorcycle, the police officers decided to use violence to make him listen to reason. Republican police officers accused of blunders will be on Monday 15 April before the public prosecutor at the Natitingou court.

To see the deployment of law enforcement on the various roads and even in the alleys, confides a citizen “we see that the safety of road users is close to the heart of the police hierarchy. Never mind. But if this same enthusiasm and this same commitment are noted for the security of people and their property in villages and city neighborhoods, that would be even better. Otherwise the impression that emerges from the various operations carried out borders on something else”. Also he says, “The police must also know how to handle the case of unscrupulous people delicately so that they are not judged to be bad”.

What to do?

The trust that citizens have in the police is a condition of its legitimacy and therefore its effectiveness.. Promote contact policing, that is, policing that produces trust through fair treatment of the public. The policeman is, in the literal sense, a peacekeeper. Good police behavior, respectful and equitable treatment of the population builds trust. Redefine police modes of action by adapting to territories and making the police more accessible : encourage more varied modes of deployment of units ; promote the identification of police officers ; make identity checks fair and efficient. And in particular initiate awareness sessions to make people face their responsibilities so that they no longer consider the police as enemies.

However, it is up to the authorities to play this essential role so that the feeling that emerges is quickly dissipated.

Damien TOLOMISSI