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Effects Of Insecurity In Nigeria: The Challenges And Relevance Of The Nigerian Police
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Corroborating the
aforementioned, a total of sixteen (16) policemen were arrested of
recent in Gusau, the Zamfara State capital by the Inspector General of
Police Anti-robbery Squad for allegedly releasing Police weapons and
ammunition to armed robbers terrorising people of the state. The
affected police officers are from various ranks, especially Inspectors
and Sergeants attached to Zamfara State Police Command. In the same
vein, the squad arrested a retired military officer based in Gusau who
specialized in selling ammunition and other sophisticated weapons meant
for the security personnel in the state to armed robbers and people of
Plateau and Kaduna States.
Subsequently, Aside from the bad eggs in
the Nigerian police force, the poor welfare of the police, military and
paramilitary personnel, with lack of adequate working tools, inadequate
personnel is another factor that promotes insecurity in Nigeria.
Olonisakin (2008:20) captures this when he posited that the police-
population ratio in Nigeria is 1:450. At a minimum, citizens ought to
have easy access to the police and feel safer as a result of the
protection they offer. Yet Nigeria has failed to meet the standard set
by the United Nations for effective policing.
Today the incidence of
police brutality, corruption, violence murder and abuse of power has
punctuated almost every aspect of the society. Armed robbery in Nigeria
operate almost freely in the society, using deadly weapons without being
challenged and detected by the police and where the police are dully
informed, they give flimsy excuse that they do not have weapons to fight
armed robbers. Even the ordinary man on the street who is expected to
be supportive of the police often have serious misgiving when confronted
with the massive mutual aids granted to the criminals by the police
force. Apart from the aforementioned, Incidence of shooting of innocent
people in retaliation to policing policies has also constituted a
serious problem that has impeded police efforts in crime prevention in
Nigeria.
Research have shown that most of police work is taken up in
responding to crime after it has taken place and the police force do not
have the resources to intervene in the circumstances which lead to
crimes being committed. The traditional approaches to crime prevention
also do little to address the causes of crime. They assume that the high
rate of crime is inevitable and that the public must endeavor to defend
itself against it.
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
Insecurity which
is a feature of the Hobbesian state of nature, when life was said to be
solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short, and the weak and common man
lived at the mercy of the strong. This trend is exactly the case in the
country today, if not close. According to Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) In
his book entitled Leviathan and published in 1651, he explicitly stated
that in the state of nature nothing can be considered just or unjust,
and every man must be considered to have a right to all things, even the
right to take other people’s lives. Hobbes says that the State of
Nature is a hypothetical state of affairs existing prior to the
formulation of 'society' (which arises with the signing of the
hypothetical 'Social Contract').In the State of Nature, Hobbes thinks
everyone acts selfishly. He calls it a war of all against all.
The
book looks at the structure of the society and legitimate government,
and is regarded as one of the earliest and most influential examples of
social contract theory. Leviathan ranks as a classic western work on
statecraft comparable to Machiavelli's The Prince. Written during the
English Civil War (1642-1651), Leviathan argues for a social contract
and rule by an absolute sovereign. Hobbes wrote that civil war and
situations identified with a state of nature and the famous motto Bellum
omnium contra omnes ("the war of all against all") could only be
averted by strong central government. Having rightly observed Thomas
Hobbes writings, it can be said then that Nigeria’s central government
is porous and weak to tackle her insecurity challenges which have been
endemic and endless, that is why there have been a lot of clamor for
state police in other to spread the security base of the Nation.
Furthermore
Thomas Hobbes work, explains why the police and Successive Nigerian
Government see Insecurity as a bane to the Nation’s economic and
political development and have at different times devised various means
to curb its menace. Consequently, these various means have not yielded
satisfactory result. The newest security challenge is the boko haram
militant Islamist organization, which have taken numerous lives and
properties. The battle between the federal government and this group
began on 26 July when Boko Haram attacked a police station in
retaliation for the arrest of its leaders. Police responded with their
own retaliation and a curfew fell on the area. The attacks spread and by
the next day corpses were located around the police stations. Nigerian
troops then surrounded the home of the leader of the sect, Mohammed
Yusuf in Maiduguri on 28 July after his followers barricaded themselves
inside. However the worst happened when Mohammed Yusuf was later extra
judiciously killed by the Nigerian police and ever since then Nigerians
have not known peace.
The socio-political implication of this
development can only be imagined, given the risks and agonies survivors
are currently going through.
According to Egburonu (2012:20)
We
are afraid of Boko Haram. Daddy and Mummy keep awake all night in case
the attackers decide to invade our home. They would lock all the doors
tightly, pray all Night and ask us to sleep. But we never can, for we
don’t know what will happen next... They said we would soon go home, so
we are waiting
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ABSRACT - [ Total Page(s): 1 ]This research work seeks to reveal the Causes and effects of insecurity in Nigeria and the challenges and relevance of the Nigerian police force as a panacea. It is on this premise that the study bases its emphasis on the Nigerian police force to appraise and ascertain efforts and limitation encountered in providing adequate security to Nigerians. The subject matter is both timely and pivotal in this era when Nigeria’s image and freedom internationally and locally is deteriorating due to ... Continue reading---
