Image of Police in Nigeria: An Introduction
- November 13, 2019
- Posted by: RSIS
- Categories: IJRISS, Public Administration
International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) | Volume III, Issue X, October 2019 | ISSN 2454–6186
Image of Police in Nigeria: An Introduction
Charles Chidi Eleonu, Phd1, Madume, Winston2
1,2Department of Public Administration, Port Harcourt Polytechnic, Rumuola, Rivers State, Nigeria
Abstract: – The police are the physical visible arm of the criminal justice system and the principal law enforcement agent in Nigeria. This paper therefore examines how the police as the chief law enforcement agent in Nigeria soil their image by the abuse of the rights of citizens in the course of performing their statutory functions. The research found that in Nigeria, the police have in their daily functions of policing and law enforcement violated the rights of Nigerians. Other findings include the issue of lacking credibility in the police force and that due process as neglected work ethics was prevalent. Again there is the finding that the issue of police image has generated interests in the nation today and that it is observed that the police system in Nigeria as inherited at independence was militaristic. This approach to policing and law enforcement has remained so till today. In this research emphasis was placed on the fundamental rights to life, dignity and liberty as the basis for other rights which affects the image of the police during rule implementation. The research concludes that proper orientation to respect of law and strict adherence to law enforcement rules will result to a positive change to redeem the image of the Nigeria police.
Keywords: Statutory functions, Militaristic, Enforcement agent, Implementation, Orientation.
I. BACKGROUND
The police are the principal law enforcement agent of the state. According to Alemika (1993 31-32), the police are the agents of the executive empowered to enforce the law and ensure social order through the legitimized use of force. The police as an agency of government are men and women organized by the state as a paramilitary force with the sole purpose of defending the status- quo. This explains that the police is to enforce the laws, values and ideologies that justify, legitimize and defend prevailing distribution of power and wealth in society. According to Opolot (1995), policing on the other hand, has to do with protection. It means the protection of people’s rights to life, dignity, liberty and property usually against criminals or law-breakers. Policing is a phase in every modern criminal justice system, and functions to curb or eliminate crime in society. In a criminal society like Nigeria, policing is indeed a tasking endeavour. It requires a good deal of training, skills and experience to be functional and effective in crime prevention. As the principal law enforcement agent of the state, Opolot further explains that policing as the one aspect of police work requires so much sacrifice from the police, which may also include their lives. Of course, the nature of any police and the form of policing in a given society is a reflection of the state that established it. During the colonial rule, the police and policing style was highly paramilitary in nature.
