an expository essay on the activities of the nigerian police

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APPRAISAL OF THE ROLE OF THE POLICE IN THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM IN NIGERIA

The system of criminal justice in Nigeria today consists of the various institutions, practices, and procedures through which the accused are tried, convicted, and punished. This consists of law enforcement agencies, the courts, and correctional institutions. This essay focuses on identifying the roles of the police and assessing its performance of these roles, as a law enforcement agency in the criminal justice system in Nigeria. This essay shall rely on both primary and secondary sources of information. The primary sources include statutes such as the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), the Sheriff and Civil Processes Act 1999, the Police Act 2020, and the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015. The secondary sources include textbooks, journals, articles, opinions of legal luminaries, and the internet. This essay finds that the Nigerian Police is a principal agency in the administration of the criminal justice system of Nigeria, given the roles, powers, and functions given to it by various enabling laws. It also finds that the Nigerian Police has not fully lived up to expectations and is bedeviled with a lot of vices and challenges that limit its potential. The study concludes that there is a need to overhaul the Nigerian Police and position it strategically to enable it to contribute its best in an e system in Nigeria today.

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dalhat idris

The role of the Police in the administration of criminal justice in Nigeria is multifarious and multifaceted. The Police through the machinery of arrest and detention ensure that offenders are taken to custody. They carry out investigations and obtain evidence for trial purposes. In order to facilitate this, the Police are empowered by Statutes to search persons and enter premises for the purposes of conducting searches whenever necessary. It is also within the powers of the Police to grant bail to suspects in circumstances where the law permits them so to do. The Police also institutes and prosecutes criminal trials in Courts. The problem, however, is the failure of the Police to ensure that the overall objective of an efficient, fair and speedy administration of criminal justice is achieved. This paper, therefore, analyses the role of the Police in criminal justice administration in Nigeria with a view to identifying the constraints and problems militating against effective policing in the administration of criminal justice in the Country. The sources of information relied upon include relevant Texts Books, Statutes, Journals, Case Law and internet Materials. The Paper proffers some recommendations that will enhance the performance of the Police in the administration of criminal justice in Nigeria.

ijalana folayan

The paper examined the emergence and nature of the police with the various legal frameworks for the establishment and functions of the police in Nigeria with a view to assessing its meaning, foundation and scope as well as its essence and limits. These were with a view to undertaking holistic analysis and appraisal of the nature and extent of jurisdictional essence of policing Nigeria The study relied on primary and secondary sources of information. The primary source included unstructured interviews with relevant authorities, judicial decisions, statutory provisions establishing and providing functions for the Nigeria Police Force and rudimentary policing in Nigeria. The secondary source of information included books, journal articles, conference proceedings, newspaper publications and the internet. Information received was subjected to content analysis.The study found that the police is founded on a three-scope essence of (i) protection of life and property, (ii) maintenance of la...

adedeji akeem okemuyiwa zakare

In modern times, the pivotal role of the police in the process of criminal justice; right from detection of crime and arrest of suspects’ right up to the point of arraignment of the accused before the court and conviction has never been beyond doubt. This paper reiterates this integral role of the police, with a particular focus on Nigeria. The paper discusses the role of the police in crime prosecution before superior courts. It begins with the origin of police in Nigeria, it proceeds to do a jurisdictional survey; it further examines the personnel and institutions in public prosecution and finally the problems with the Nigerian police and useful suggestions thereof. The paper concludes that the relevance of the police to criminal prosecution; nay effective tackling of crime and efficient dispensation of criminal justice can never be over-emphasized.

GABRIEL IZOKPU OIKHALA

In Nigeria’s Fourth Republic, the police maintain good order for proper functioning of things. To do this, the police are guided by law especially; section 214 of the 1999 Constitution that recognised the police as the frontline agency to guarantee internal security. Section 4 of the 2004 Police Act and Regulations, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, described the police basic functions as prevention and detection of crime; protection of lives and properties; and apprehension and prosecution of offenders among others. Besides, sections 2, 3, and 7 of the Criminal Code, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 1976 defined crime, categorised crime, and described parties to crime respectively. This paper examined the relationship between the police crime management and national development. Data were sourced from relevant textbooks, journals, newspapers, and magazines. Descriptive and analytical methods were used to analyse the data. Using the Principles of Law Enforcement as the theoretic...

IOSR Journals

The problem of the world al! over is the issue of security. Security of life and property is Indispensable in every human society that is why there is law. But the law cannot enforce itself: it is enforced through human instrument. The essence of setting up an agency to enforce and Implement law is the need to prevent arbitrariness and to promote equity and fair play. The Nigerian police is an executive agency established by law to among others, ensure that the law as made by the Legislature are obeyed. A critical evaluation of the history of police in Nigeria, both pre and post colonial days reveal that corruption and inefficiency is the greatest challenge facing the Nigerian police. This could be as a result of the wide, unchecked and unregulated power vested in them. Suffice to say that Nigerian police is stocked with a bunch of uneducated personnel who only knows how to extort money from the publican of them serve as an engine for perpetrating fraud and fraudulent practices each day. In fact, the system is so corrupt that the synonym and the denotation for Nigeria police is corruption; even an infant knows this and grows with this notion. The government on its own part has failed in some respect. Insufficient and antiquated technologies are still being used by the Nigerian Police in the midst of the current global security challenges and insurgencies. This work recommends that the Nigerian Police should be restructured and totally overhauled to reflect the current global dynamics. Consequently, officers and men of the service should undergo proper training and retraining; there should be an accelerated improvement in the area of "infrastructure and technologies; a neutral investigative body should be set up to checkmate the anomie of corruption in the Nigerian Police, this is with the view of sorting out the bad eggs in the system. Anybody associated with bribery and corruption at whatever level should be properly dealt and severely punished to serve as a deterrent to prospective culprits. More so, there should be an improvement in the area of remuneration of police officers to reflect with the current economic realities. Above all the power vested in the Nigerian police is so wide and ambiguous hence should be properly checked and regulated. The public need to have confidence in the Nigerian Police; in fact the "police is your friend" conception should not be in theory only, but also in practical. There is no way this can be achieved save the system is properly and effectively revamped.

Terry Andrews odisu

This paper xrays the ability and strength of the Nigerian Police , its image and ability to fighting crime in Nigeria. The objectives of the study were to examine the nature causes and effects of the assessment of performance of Nigerian police by the populace. Study participants were randomly selected while data analysis was done quantitatively with simple frequency and percentage tables based on responses to the questionnaire which was the key instrument used. Generalizations were made on the sample drawn from the populace. The research findings revealed that the police was perceived as inefficient, corrupt and ineffective in crime control by respondents. Also they perceptions about ability of the police to provide overall security of lives and property in Nigeria. The study recommended for special seminars and workshop for police officers to stimulate discipline. Also, recruitment of more officials and corruption in the form of extortion and bribery should be discouraged. Furthermore, special police-public relations officers should investigate and serve complains about the police and endeavour to see cases to a logical conclusion.

Chief Editor

Journal of Law, Policy and Globalization

EMMANUEL IJALANA

The act of policing is very important in all societies whether developed or developing countries, due to the onerous task of maintenance of law, order and peace, and of course, the enforcement of security of life and property. Criminal activities over time have become highly sophisticated, multifaceted and diversified, and still advancing with technological development cutting across every strata and level of the society. This has necessitated the government establishing a number of other agencies conscripted to taking over some roles which hitherto exclusively belong to the police. However, in the performance of its constitutional function, the police has been somewhat incapacitated by some form of constitutional and administrative inexigencies, which forms the basis of our study in this article. This paper is divided into seven parts, beginning with an introduction and ends with a conclusion and recommendations. It examines how the establishment of these specialised agencies and t...

AFRICAN JOURNAL OF LAW AND CRIMINOLOGY

CHRISTIAN WIGWE

The Nigerian criminal justice system is bedeviled and fraught with a plethora of anomalies and institutional/bureaucratic bottlenecks. This stems from the over classification and proliferation of institutions and agencies leading to functional overlap and unnecessary rigidity and delay in the dispensation of justice. The nature of Nigerian criminal justice system caBs for a reformative approach to create a balance and strengthen the existing institutions in line with recent practices in other jurisdictions of the world. Nigeria must therefore benefit from and be able to draw a useful lesson from the dynamics that the vagaries of globalization provide in the nature of criminal justice system as practiced in Britain. There are many prosecuting agencies in Nigeria- the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, J.mnVgration Service, Nigeria Police, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, the Code of Conduct Bureau, National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, the Department of State Security (SSS), Custom Service and the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission, with the Nigerian Prison Services playing as host. The procedures adopted by them, though provided in their enabling instruments, have not been consistently followed, leaving room for defence lawyers to diminish the application or enforcement of the substantive matters. This also gives the judges room to venture into the journey of discretional law making.The judicial system has also been altered with advancement in the area of admissibility of electronically generated ev1denceby the amendment of the Evidence Act, enactment of Anti Terrorism Act and Cyber Prohibition Act

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The Nigeria Police and Internal Security Management in Nigeria

• First Online: 24 July 2019

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• Adebola Rafiu Bakare 4 &
• Gabriel Temitope Aderinola 4  

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4 Citations

Over the years, the relative peace that placed Nigeria among the most secure nations in the West African sub-region has been eroded and the country has suddenly metamorphosed into an abode of serial bombings, hostage-taking, kidnapping, armed robbery, cold-blooded murders and ethno-religious conflicts. The increasing nature of the indices of insecurity in the country is not only disturbing but also questions the effectiveness of the Nigerian security architecture, especially that of the Nigerian Police which is primarily saddled with the responsibility of providing security to the people. This has led to a series of debates and arguments on how best to reform the Nigerian Police in order to reposition it to meet the new wave of security challenges confronting the country. It is against this backdrop that this chapter attempts a discussion of the performance level of the Nigeria Police in the management of internal security in the wake of the challenge for the struggle for sustainable peace and the safety of lives and properties in the country. The chapter argues that the performance of the police, especially with regard to civil relations, is significantly influenced by the colonial legacy of its establishment. The security agency is highly centralized making it difficult for swift and dynamic decision-making needed to confront the trajectories of conflict and security challenges. The chapter identifies a number of challenges hindering the effectiveness of the Nigerian Police which include manpower shortage and elite policing, poor public perception, the issue of politicization, and overly centralized and non-meritocratic leadership. The chapter concludes that there is high prospect for the Nigerian Police to be effective if the challenges facing the institution are holistically addressed.

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Adebola Rafiu Bakare & Gabriel Temitope Aderinola

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Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution, Abuja, Nigeria

Oshita O. Oshita

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Ikenna Mike Alumona

Department of Political Science, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nsukka, Nigeria

Freedom Chukwudi Onuoha

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Bakare, A.R., Aderinola, G.T. (2019). The Nigeria Police and Internal Security Management in Nigeria. In: Oshita, O.O., Alumona, I.M., Onuoha, F.C. (eds) Internal Security Management in Nigeria. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-8215-4_20

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DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-8215-4_20

Published : 24 July 2019

Publisher Name : Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore

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Online ISBN : 978-981-13-8215-4

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Addressing Police Brutality in Nigeria – A Crisis of Non-Implementation

by Zinat Jimada | Oct 22, 2021

About Zinat Jimada

For weeks in October 2020, young Nigerians held nationwide protests denouncing years of extra-judicial killings, torture and other ill-treatment by officers of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) unit of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF). These youth-led protests were organised under the banner of #EndSARS and quickly gained international support as part of the global movement for the recognition that Black lives matter everywhere. #EndSARS also became an avenue for young people to voice dissatisfaction with the bad governance that has contributed to Nigerian officials’ widespread lack of accountability for misbehaviour.  The protests ended abruptly on 20 October 2020 when security forces shot at peaceful protesters at Lekki toll gate in Lagos, reportedly killing at least 12 and injuring many others. Widespread looting and property damage ensued, and curfews were declared in several states. In response to the protests, President Muhammadu Buhari disbanded SARS and promised extensive police reform . Judicial panels of inquiry were also set up to investigate allegations of police brutality, including the toll gate incident, and make recommendations for restitution to the government. These, however, are only the most recent in a long line of attempts at addressing human rights violations within the broader context of police reform in Nigeria.  

Pervasive Use of Torture and Impunity for Perpetrators

Torture is an intrinsic part of the functioning of the NPF as documented extensively by local civil society organizations , international NGOs , media investigations and UN human rights mechanisms . Police regularly use torture to extort money , obtain information and coerce confessions during criminal investigations. Despite substantial evidence of violations, implicated police officers are very rarely prosecuted for their crimes. In its most recent report on human rights abuses by SARS, Amnesty International documented 82 cases of torture and ill-treatment over three years and found no instance of a police officer being prosecuted. Instead, officers were transferred to other units, allowed to retire or even appointed to positions in State government .

Non-Implementation of Existing Laws and Failed Attempts at Police Reform

Nigeria is a party to multiple treaties declaring the absolute prohibition of torture, including the Convention against Torture (CAT) that places an obligation on states to take effective measures to prevent acts of torture in their jurisdiction. Nigeria’s Constitution also prohibits torture, and the Anti-Torture Act imposes a penalty of up to 25 years imprisonment for perpetrators. There are legal safeguards against arbitrary arrest and detention and mechanisms for oversight of the NPF. Yet, the use of torture is still widespread, demonstrating the apathy of Nigerian authorities regarding the implementation of legal standards. Previous attempts at police reform by presidential panels and independent committees under successive administrations have yet to yield results because of a lack of political will to implement recommendations fully. Moreover, the NPF as an institution has yet to fully reckon with its colonial foundation as a force for the brutal subjugation of local communities and suppression of challenges to British colonialism. Deliberate sabotage by post-independence military administrations during Nigeria’s turbulent journey to democratic rule compounded this inherited criminal culture. The result is a crippled police force with an abysmal human rights record.  

#EndSARS and the Future of Police Reform

Black Lives Matter inspired Nigerian youth to demand real change from the authorities that pledged to serve them. SARS was emblematic of the Nigerian security forces’ general lack of respect for dignity and disregard for human life. Disbanding the unit will remain merely symbolic until the change urged by #EndSARS occurs. Regardless of disagreements on the nature of the protests and concerted efforts by the authorities to disparage the entire movement , it is clear that the NPF needs a systemic overhaul.

An essential first step is to end the culture of impunity by prosecuting implicated police officers under the Anti-torture Act. The government must also take deliberate steps to implement reform recommendations and relevant laws, including the new and improved Police Act that repealed the previous colonial-era law. These will show a serious commitment to changing the status quo. Recent civic space restrictions do not inspire much confidence in this and will only further prevent redress and accountability for victims of torture . All eyes are on the judicial panels and how the government will respond to its latest batch of recommendations.

This post forms part of our series Black Lives Matter: What Next After 2020, the remaining post in the series can be found  here .

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