Police, Power, and Public Perception: Why Every Allegation Now Becomes a National Referendum

Sean
12 hours ago
3 min read

The moment an allegation touches the police in Nigeria, it stops being just an allegation. It becomes a referendum.

Not an investigation.

Not a press statement.

A referendum.

The recent controversy surrounding Papaya Ex did not trend because Nigerians were shocked that something might have happened. It trended because Nigerians have seen this film before.

And when you’ve watched the same film long enough, you stop waiting for the ending. You start predicting it.

That prediction is the real story.

Why Police Credibility Is Structurally Weak

“This is the deeper question beneath the headlines: why Nigerians don’t trust the police anymore.”

Credibility is not built during crisis. It is built before crisis.

In Nigeria, policing suffers from a long-running perception deficit. From colonial origins designed more for control than community protection, to decades of underfunding, poor training structures, politicized appointments, and internal disciplinary opacity — the trust account has been running on overdraft for years.

So when an allegation surfaces, the public doesn’t ask, “What happened?”

They ask, “How bad is it this time?”

That shift matters.

Because when citizens assume the worst before evidence arrives, it signals a deeper problem: institutional trust is no longer neutral. It is negative.

And once credibility becomes structurally weak, every accusation becomes confirmation bias waiting to be validated.

Institutional Reform vs Viral Outrage

Here is the uncomfortable truth: viral outrage is not the same thing as reform.

Hashtags can force attention.

They cannot redesign systems.

The #EndSARS movement proved that public anger can shake the state. But structural reform requires legislation, budget restructuring, internal accountability frameworks, and sustained political will. That process is slow, technical, and often boring.

Outrage, however, is immediate and emotionally rewarding.

So the cycle repeats:

Allegation drops.

Timelines erupt.

Memes multiply.

Official statements arrive.

Then silence.

“Outrage moves at Wi-Fi speed. Reform moves at bureaucratic speed.”

And in a country where patience is already exhausted, that mismatch fuels cynicism.

Why Nigerians Litigate Trust on Timelines

In stable institutions, disputes are settled in courts and review boards.

In Nigeria, disputes are settled first on timelines.

Twitter threads become court filings.

Instagram Live becomes cross-examination.

Screenshots become evidence exhibits.

Why?

Because many citizens believe the official accountability process is either compromised or too slow to matter. So the public sphere becomes the courtroom.

This is not just digital culture. It is institutional substitution.

When people don’t trust the referee, they referee the match themselves.

And once that happens, perception becomes as powerful as proof.

The Allegation → Outrage → Silence Cycle

We have seen the pattern so often it feels scripted.

An allegation surfaces.
It trends nationwide.
Officials respond defensively.
Investigations are “launched.”
Attention shifts to the next controversy.
Closure becomes ambiguous.

No definitive outcome.

No transparent follow-up.

No institutional learning publicly communicated.

The absence of closure is what keeps the cycle alive.

Because unresolved narratives never die. They just wait for the next trigger.

Systems Failure or Narrative Failure?

Here’s the deeper question: is policing in Nigeria primarily a systems failure or a narrative failure?

If it’s a systems failure, then the focus should be on structural overhaul — recruitment reform, independent oversight bodies, transparent disciplinary processes, and proper funding.

If it’s a narrative failure, then the issue is perception management — public communication, transparency updates, visible accountability.

The reality? It’s both.

A weak system creates bad stories.

Bad stories weaken public confidence further.

Weakened confidence makes every new allegation explosive.

“Trust is not rebuilt with press releases. It is rebuilt with predictable justice.”

Until accountability becomes visible and consistent — not episodic — every allegation will continue to feel like a national vote on the legitimacy of the entire institution.