Content area
Full text
Introduction
The Nigeria Police Force, which was a creation of the British colonial rulers, had its origin in Lagos (the then Federal Capital City) in 1861 through the establishment of a 30-man Consular Guard. This 30-man Consular Guard was later known as "Hausa Guard" and "Hausa Constabulary" in 1863 and 1897 respectively. Further historical development took place on 1 January 1896 with the creation of the Lagos Police Force which existed alongside the "Hausa Constabulary". Prior to 1896 creation of the Lagos Police Force, the Niger Coast Constabulary with headquarters at Calabar was established in 1891. This was later merged (for socio-political expediency) with the Lagos Police Force to form the Nigeria Police Force in 1906.
In consonance with what obtained in Southern Nigeria, the Royal Niger Constabulary headquartered at Lokoja was established in 1886 to cater for the policing needs of Northern Nigeria. Thus, there were two separate Police Forces in Nigeria till 1 April 1930 when a full fledged and unified Nigeria Police Force headquartered then in Lagos was established.
It was from this socio-political and historical development that the Nigeria Police Force struggled with public acceptance. In particular is integrity, which places a great moral burden on the image of police personnel. [35] Onyeozili (2005) submits that allegations levelled against the institution and its personnel, some of which have proven to be true, include arbitrariness in exercising its power, corruption, perversion of justice, and delays in the administration of justice. All these culminate into integrity problems, but the most recurring of them, which the Nigerian Police are always accused of, is corruption. [2] Alemika (1999) reiterates this by contending that the most significant source of negative police-community relations is corruption. In the same vein, [18] Elechi (2003) asserts that while corruption pervades the entire Nigerian Criminal Justice System, it is corruption within the police that is most visible and which Nigerians find most bothersome. In making these comments, [2] Alemika (1999) and [18] Elechi (2003) are of the opinion that Nigerian Police integrity is poor as a result of the problem of corruption. Generally, the Nigerian Police has not fared better in public ratings. [34] Okereke (1993) submits that the image many Nigerians have of the police is that of a lazy,...