ABSTRACT

Few days after Nigeria attained the sexagenarian status on October 1, 2020, the country has once again become a subject of unusual discourse both home and abroad. This is due to the protests by disgruntled youths against the activities of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad; a unit of the Nigeria Police Force, which has been accused of brutality, human rights violation, sexual abuse, torture, and extrajudicial killings among others. This study adopts a qualitative approach which draws data from reports of reputable international organisations, juried scholarly articles, working papers, and newspaper articles. The study concludes that the police adopts brutality, abuse, and violations as its tactics due to its inadequate equipment for investigation which makes officers deploy torture as a means of extracting the truth. This is further complicated by an ingrained culture of corruption, inadequate funding, political interference, inadequate personnel, and a pro-elite orientation. As a result, it is recommended that a sincere and comprehensive reform of the police be carried out to improve the welfare of the police; encourage the use of extensive technology, and improve police-community relations.

摘要

在尼日利亚于 2020 年 10 月 1 日获得六十多岁的身份几天后，该国再次成为国内外不同寻常的话题。这是因为有不满的青年抗议打劫特别小组的活动；尼日利亚警察部队的一个单位，被指控犯有暴行、侵犯人权、性虐待、酷刑和法外处决等罪名。本研究采用定性方法，从知名国际组织的报告、评审学术文章、工作论文和报纸文章中提取数据。研究得出的结论是，由于调查设备不足，警方采取残暴、虐待和违规行为作为其策略，使得警官以酷刑作为提取真相的手段。根深蒂固的腐败文化、资金不足、政治干预、人员不足和亲精英倾向使情况变得更加复杂。因此，建议对警察进行真诚和全面的改革，以提高警察的福利；鼓励广泛使用科技，改善警民关系。