ISSN 2348-3156 (Print) International Journal of Social Science and Humanities Research ISSN 2348-3164 (online) Vol. 10, Issue 3, pp: (310-326), Month: July - September 2022, Available at: www.researchpublish.com
Obstacles to Effective Policing in Nigeria Edime Yunusa1, Abdulkadri Usman2 1,2 1,2
Department of Sociology
Kogi State University, Anyigba, Nigeria
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7010030
Published Date: 19-August-2022
Abstract: This paper aims to investigate Nigeria's challenges to efficient policing. Reviewing books, journals, and online papers served as a secondary means of data collection. Utilizing content analysis, the extracted data was examined. Based on the examined literature, the report identified a number of causes for Nigeria's apparent high crime rate, including widespread unemployment, extreme poverty, and political intolerance. The police have developed techniques including surveillance, information gathering, undercover operations, stop, search, and detention, among others, to reduce crime and criminal behaviour in response to what appears to be a high prevalence of crime in Nigeria. These tactics were nevertheless found to be not very effective, and this was attributed to the numerous difficulties the Nigerian security system faces, including the general lack of cooperation on the part of the populace, inadequate crime prevention and control tools, poor pay, corruption, a lack of manpower, and inadequate funding, among others. As a result of the foregoing, it was suggested that the government focus its efforts on addressing the root causes of crime, i.e., removing the factors that encourage crime as a worthwhile option to following the law. Police officers should be trained and retrained because they also require higher pay. Keywords: Obstacles, Effectiveness, Policing, Nigeria.
1. INTRODUCTION In order to ensure the safety of community members and conformance to societal norms and values, policing as a concept refers to the measures and actions taken by a range of institutions and groups to regulate social relations and behaviour (Reiner, 2000:3). So, it is a subset of control procedures that includes making a monitoring system and threatening to punish people who don't follow the rules. For example, in Nigeria, policing must take into account the actions of the Nigeria Police Force, the military, at least eight paramilitary units, several palace guards, a large number of quasi-official units in different states, and various thugs who work for strongmen (Heap, 2000; Ismail, 2008). It has become vital to explore for causative explanations that go beyond simple semantics in the light of the continuously occurring acts of lawlessness, social disorder, armed robbery, and pointless vindictive assassination, among others (Achebe, 1959). One of the biggest issues Nigeria is now dealing with is crime. This is shown by the fact that the national dailies always have news about some kind of crime, such as murder, forced rape, aggravated assault, kidnapping, gang violence, gunmen, and suicide bombers, whose recent killings have left many homes crying and gnashing their teeth (Okunola, 2002:32). The seeming lack of security of life and property in Nigeria has prevented both domestic and foreign investors from seriously considering making large-scale investments across the whole nation. Without a doubt, this situation represents a warning sign for the progress of the country. Modern technical growth and enormous communication advances have made it easier for criminal operations to be committed, utilizing sophisticated equipment in one location while escaping to another location, making crime as complex
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