Nigeria's police minister has launched a scathing attack on the 
force, accusing officers of killings, robbery and other abuses.
Ibrahim Lame said the lack of security was "condemnable and unacceptable".
Human rights groups have frequently accused Nigeria's police of abuses and corruption but it is rare for
the government to make similar charges.
The national police chief blamed the security problems on poverty, corruption and religious tension.
Mr Lame told a meeting of police commanders: "The current rate of crime across the nation, rising cases of extra-judicial killings, human rights violations, robberies, high-profile assassination and deliberate failure to comply with government directives are testimony to the sheer incapacity or wilful defiance of police high command" to government directives.
Inspector General of Police Ogbonna Onovo said the police were "operating under unbearable conditions", reports the Vanguard newspaper, adding that criminals were often better armed than the
police.
Last year, a BBC investigation found that staff in the mortuary in the south-eastern city of Enugu were unable to cope with the large number of bodies the police were delivering - many of whom had been accused of being armed robbers.
