THE ROLE OF THE NIGERIAN POLICE FORCE IN MAINTAINING PEACE AND SECURITY IN NIGERIA

Timbee Akuul

Department of Political Science

Benue State University, Makurdi, Nigeria

e-mail:timbeeakuul@yahoo.co.uk

ABSTRACT

The Nigerian police force is a security outfit of the Nigerian state established to combat crime and ensure security of lives and property of the citizenry. Experience over the years has shown that the force has lived below expectation. Some of the reasons explaining this failure include corruption, delayed justice, impartiality among others. This has made the people to see the police as an enemy rather than a friend. This paper contends that if crime is to be combated to guarantee security of the citizens, government should restructure the force to instil into it more positive values that could ensure more effective service delivery to the masses.