CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the Study

The police are the most visible agency of government, and the character of a government and its political system can be assessed to a large extent from how the police behave. The police are the guardians of the existing social order, and their role in any society is central. An effective police force supports individual self-realisation, social cohesion, economic development and democratic consolidation. The conduct of the police also reflects the political and economic character of the society they serve, and in particular what those in power are willing or able to tolerate. The goals, performance, problems and challenges of policing are therefore shaped by the social, economic and political structures of society. Where economic and political resources are distributed equitably and citizens can take part in shaping and implementing public policy, the police are more likely to respond to the demands of citizens, and where they are not, the police are more likely to serve the interests of those who control those resources.

The history of the Nigerian police helps to explain current perceptions of the force. Osuala and Yahaya (2023) trace the development of police brutality in Nigeria to the colonial creation of the force and the indoctrination of its officers, and they note that successive attempts to reform the force have achieved little. In the colonial period, the force was established mainly to maintain order and to protect colonial interests, and educated Nigerians had little interest in joining it. After independence, the first indigenous leaders made efforts to improve public perception of the police, but these efforts were short-lived, and the military regimes that followed did not change the culture of oppression. Over the years, the conduct of the police in their dealings with the public has also reflected the growth of corruption in the country as a whole. Agbiboa (2015) documents how corrupt policing and related abuses have become part of everyday life in Nigeria. The method of recruitment contributed to the problem, since unsuitable people were sometimes admitted to the force through personal connections, and people of integrity were reluctant to be associated with the police or to give them information.

Successive police leaders and governments have introduced a number of measures to change public perception of the force. The slogan "Police is Your Friend" was an early attempt to restore public confidence. As unemployment grew, many university graduates sought police jobs, though some did so mainly to earn a living and not out of a commitment to security work. Community policing was introduced to make the public partners of the police in addressing security challenges, on the principle that the police are the people and the people are the police. It is a policing philosophy that involves solving problems with the help of the community, through arrangements such as neighbourhood watches and citizens' crime watches. The programme has been hampered by inadequate funds. The force also introduced a police-public interactive radio programme, Police Diary, which has been broadcast on the network service of Radio Nigeria since 2007 and deals with extra-judicial actions, misconduct, extortion, arbitrary arrest, illegal detention and pension matters raised by listeners. In 2012, the leadership of the force, with the approval of the President, launched a programme to change the police uniform from black to neon-blue and camouflage, because some members of the public associate black with negative behaviour.

The evidence on whether such measures work is not encouraging. In a systematic review of studies on interventions to build public confidence in the Nigerian police, Ike et al. (2022) found scepticism, lack of trust and perceived ineffectiveness of community policing interventions. Otuu et al. (2025) found, in a study of Nigerians' awareness of community policing, that respondents were generally sceptical that community policing could improve police-community relations, increase the capacity of communities to deal with their problems, improve perceptions of safety or reduce crime. Ojo et al. (2023) examined the force's quest for community policing, and Akinyetun (2022) analysed the performance of the force from a socioeconomic, ecological and sociocultural perspective. Tiwa (2024) shows what distrust does to policing. He finds that public unwillingness to rely on the police for security and justice makes policing according to formal procedures virtually impossible, drives policing into informal processes that further erode trust, and may push the system past a trust threshold that leads to a collapse of policing. The #EndSARS protests of 2020 gave the problem a national dimension. The Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) was created in the 1990s to counter violent armed robbery, gradually lost public confidence, and was disbanded in October 2020 after weeks of protest (Omeni, 2022). Iwuoha and Aniche (2022) argue that the state's response to the protests, which included brutality against protesters, has implications for democracy, development and national security.

It is therefore evident that successive leaders of the force have recognised the need to improve how the public perceives the police, and have introduced several programmes to build public trust and confidence. It is in this context that the study assesses how the Nigerian public perceives the impact of these programmes, with particular attention to the management of crisis and conflict in policing.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

For many years, the Nigeria Police Force has suffered severe public criticism because of the inhuman and unprofessional conduct of some of its members. It is widely reported as one of the most distrusted institutions in the country, and complaints against it include extra-judicial killings, extortion, human rights abuses, inappropriate use of lethal force, illegal arrest and detention, and accidental discharge of firearms (Agbiboa, 2015; Ike et al., 2022; Tiwa, 2024). Inadequate infrastructure and under-funding contribute to the extent of police corruption, and to public perception of it, and they limit the ability of the police to manage crisis and conflict. There are also allegations that part of the money extorted from the public is passed upward to senior officers, which damages the reputation of individual officers and of the whole force.

This poor image reduces public co-operation, and members of the public are often reluctant to volunteer useful information to the police (Ike et al., 2022; Tiwa, 2024). Yet crime prevention, detection and prosecution cannot be carried out successfully without the co-operation of the public. Other allegations against the force include arbitrariness in arrest and prosecution, collusion with criminals, the use of crude investigation techniques and the perversion of justice.

In an effort to improve public perception and to encourage friendly co-operation with the public in policing and in the management of conflict and crisis, the leadership of the force, through the Nigeria Police Public Relations Department, has introduced a number of image-building programmes. They include the slogan "Police is Your Friend", community policing, the removal of roadblocks from highways, the change of uniform, the Police Diary radio programme and higher academic entry qualifications for recruits. Despite these programmes, many citizens still do not believe that the police can manage conflict and crisis in a way that citizens appreciate and support, and reports of high-handedness, torture, extra-judicial killings and other abuses continue to make police-public relations hostile and resentful (Iwuoha & Aniche, 2022; Omeni, 2022; Tiwa, 2024). The study therefore makes an in-depth enquiry into how the Nigeria Police Force manages crisis and conflict in policing in Ijebu-Ode Local Government Area of Ogun State.

1.3 Objectives of the Study

The specific objectives of the study are to:

1. determine the factors that inhibit the implementation of the police force's image-building programmes;
2. assess the contribution of the human and material resources spent on these programmes, and how they affect the management of crisis and conflict in policing;
3. determine the problems and prospects affecting the management of conflict and crisis in policing by the Nigeria Police Force; and
4. determine Nigerians' perception of the image of the Nigeria Police Force and of its capacity to manage conflict and crisis.

1.4 Research Questions

Based on the statement of the problem and the objectives, the study asks the following questions:

1. What factors inhibit the implementation of the police force's image-building programmes?
2. What contributions do the human and material resources spent on these programmes make, and how do they affect the management of crisis and conflict in policing?
3. What problems and prospects affect the management of conflict and crisis in policing by the Nigeria Police Force?
4. What is Nigerians' perception of the image of the Nigeria Police Force and of its capacity to manage conflict and crisis?

1.5 Scope of the Study

The study examines the management of crisis and conflict in policing by the Nigeria Police Force, from its inception to the present day. Geographically, it is limited to Ijebu-Ode Local Government Area of Ogun State.

1.6 Significance of the Study

The study is justified on the following grounds:

1. Its outcome will help in the comprehensive evaluation of past efforts by successive leaders of the Nigeria Police Force to improve the image of the force.
2. It will assist the leadership of the Nigeria Police Force, and that of other countries, to reposition the police for the management of crisis and conflict in policing.
3. It will help to inform the public about the causes, challenges and consequences of the problems of policing in Nigeria.
4. It will help to reduce the money, time and effort spent on policies that cannot be realised.
5. It will serve as a reference for scholars and students of public relations, marketing communication and development studies, since few studies of this kind have been carried out in Nigeria.

1.7 Limitations of the Study

The study examines the management of crisis and conflict in policing by the Nigeria Police Force. Several constraints were expected in carrying it out, in particular limits on time, finance and access to information.

Time constraints made it impossible to cover everything, and the availability of vital information for a comprehensive study was the main constraint. The respondents included highly placed Nigerians and experienced police officers who were knowledgeable about the programmes of the force. They had tight schedules, and it was difficult to book appointments with them. Limited funds also restricted the researcher's ability to carry out the study thoroughly and to obtain relevant information from knowledgeable people. Bureaucratic bottlenecks and organisational behaviour also hampered the study. In spite of these constraints, the researcher took steps to ensure that they did not compromise the goals, reliability and validity of the study.

1.8 Operational Definition of Terms

Image: In this study, the usual perception, impression, opinion and viewpoint that people hold about the Nigeria Police Force. It is a holistic assessment of the collective mental picture that different segments of the Nigerian public hold, based on the history, leadership, problems and achievements of the force from its inception to date.

Public perception: In this study, the totality of respondents' mental picture, knowledge, experience, impressions or interpretation of how the Nigeria Police Force manages crisis and conflict in policing, or of its failure to do so.

Reposition: In this study, the development and execution of well-planned, sustainable and systematic strategies, tactics and techniques that are effective enough to restore the Nigeria Police Force to a respected place among its counterparts. As a term from advertising and public relations, repositioning here means packaging fresh and suitable measures to project the force to a status that is befitting among police forces in the world.

References

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Akinyetun, T. S. (2022). Policing in Nigeria: A socioeconomic, ecological and sociocultural analysis of the performance of the Nigerian Police Force. Africa Journal of Public Sector Development and Governance, 5(1), 196–219. https://doi.org/10.55390/ajpsdg.2022.5.1.9

Ike, T. J., Singh, D., Jidong, D. E., Ike, L. M., & Ayobi, E. E. (2022). Public perspectives of interventions aimed at building confidence in the Nigerian police: A systematic review. Journal of Policing, Intelligence and Counter Terrorism, 17(1), 95–116. https://doi.org/10.1080/18335330.2021.1892167

Iwuoha, V. C., & Aniche, E. T. (2022). Protests and blood on the streets: Repressive state, police brutality and #EndSARS protest in Nigeria. Security Journal, 35.

Ojo, P. J., Alade, A., & Akande, O. (2023). Nigeria Police Force and the quest for community policing. Lead City Journal of the Social Sciences, 8(3), 67–84.

Omeni, A. (2022). Framing injustice: Special Anti-Robbery Squads (SARS) in Nigeria and the #EndSARS protest response from a social movement theory perspective. Modern Africa: Politics, History and Society, 10(2).

Osuala, U. S., & Yahaya, U. (2023). The trajectories of police brutality in Nigeria and the 2020 EndSARS protest. Kenneth Dike Journal of African Studies, 2(1).

Otuu, O. O., Anajemba, J. H., & Sahoo, D. (2025). Examining the awareness and concerns of Nigerians towards community policing, and their willingness to participate using technology. The Police Journal. https://doi.org/10.1177/0032258X251390796

Tiwa, D. F. A. (2024). Institutional distrust trap: An analysis of the effect of public distrust in the Nigeria Police Force. Policing and Society, 34(8), 846–860. https://doi.org/10.1080/10439463.2024.2341121