Four respected criminal justice scholars and educators imagine a future Nigeria in which policing is part of the solution to insecurity rather than making the problem worse
One result of the Black Lives Matter movement has been to focus attention on police brutality in all its forms around the globe. Nowhere is the situation more dire than in Nigeria where the now infamous SARS (Special Anti-Robbery Squads) have, for years, inflicted excessive abuses on Nigeria’s citizenry. In response, many young people have taken to the streets to demand an end to the brutality in the now historic #ENDSARS nationwide protest.
Community Policing in Nigeria is a timely and much-needed intervention into the policing problems in Nigeria. Written collaboratively by four authors with deep knowledge of Nigerian policy and of criminal justice more broadly, the book examines models of community policing around the world and points out best practices and flawed practices that may serve as guides for Nigeria and the rest of Africa.
Contributing, Ihekwoaba Declan Onwudiwe of Texas Southern University, averred that “Community Policing in Nigeria is well timed, especially when Nigeria is descending into a state of security failure. Not only do the authors trace the history of policing in Nigeria, they offer comprehensive strategies for community policing that would help Nigeria maintain peace and order, as well as prevent and apprehend the various kinds of criminal elements that menace the streets of the country. Most important, the book demonstrates that acceptable policing practices were bracketed and ubiquitously practiced in regions of Nigeria before the European invasion and the subsequent introduction of a state militarized police system. This book is a must-read for policy-makers and Nigeria’s educational sectors.”
Community Policing in Nigeria is published in the United States by Virginia Tech Publishing and in Nigeria by Fourth Dimension Publishing. In order to reach the widest possible readership, the book is available as a free eBook and an affordable paperback edition. Information on both can be found at https://doi.org/10.21061/community-policing-nigeria.
