ASSESSMENT OF POLICE BRUTALITY IN NIGERIA (A CASE STUDY OF ENDSARS PROTEST)
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- 1-5 Chapters
- Quantitative
- Mean and Standard Deviation
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- NGN 3000
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Police brutality has occurred all across the globe and continues to be a serious worry for society and police agencies. This cruelty includes attacks, deaths resulting from the use of force, harassment, etc. According to Amnesty International (2019), it comes in two forms: physical brutality, such as attacks, and non-physical brutality, such as the use of abusive words. In practically every country on the African continent, incidences of violence are a reoccurring occurrence, but they are now accentuated since people are more aware of their rights and more people have access to cell phones and social media, which subsequently draw media attention (Amnesty International 2019).
The police are state employees responsible for "law enforcement and maintaining order" in society. In order to carry out these twin responsibilities, the police are authorized to use force and even violence. National constitutions and regulations, international agreements and standards, police department directives, and professional ethics control the use of force or violence by police. In spite of these rules, police in the majority of nations deploy excessive force and cruelty. This occurs in Nigeria as well.
It is evident that the typical member of the public has a poor opinion of the police officer and does not consider him a friend (Omilana, 2019). The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Police Act, international agreements, professional ethics, and other rules regulate and limit the use of force by police in the performance of their statutory duties. Despite these regulations, the police in many societies resort to using excessive force in carrying out their duties, grossly disregarding the rule of law and resorting to extra-judicial killings, torture, and subjecting civilians or citizens to all manner of inhumane and degrading treatment; sadly, these are the very citizens they swore to protect (Segun, 2016).
There is little doubt that the recent increase in police brutality is troubling. There are several security issues caused by police brutality around the nation, which has led to protests, the most recent being the "ENDSARS" protest, which was in response to the Nigeria police force's violation of human rights. Omilana (2019) went on to argue that the issues of insecurity have taken daunting proportions, compelling the country's political and economic leadership and the whole nation to lament the loss of loved ones, investments, and the absence of safety in the majority of the country. The daily rate at which innocent blood is spilled and the residents' show of pent-up rage continue to be causes for concern (Susan, 2019).
Police brutality, the use of torture, and other egregious abuses of human rights continue to be pervasive issues in the Nigeria Police Force, drawing widespread condemnation, reproach, and criticism (Amnesty International, 2015). As one of the most severe forms of violence, brutality has both psychological and physical repercussions. It is occasionally seen as a crucial questioning technique for collecting strategic knowledge (Amnesty International 2015).
According to Omilana (2019), police brutality has dominated the news in recent years. This torture goes beyond the norm for punishment. Extrajudicial executions are growing more prevalent. Before returning to their usual work, the police officers involved for the torture are not detained for long. According to studies, police utilize excessive force on the general public rather than criminals. The police deploy this force on suspects rather than the intended victims of the crime, namely the youngsters, and the resentment resulting from this conduct culminated in the October 2020 demonstration against SARS.
However, a number of people think that the excessive force and brutality is necessary to prevent additional crimes in the society. Therefore, it is important to analyze the disparate views on the two sides of this aspect.
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
There is barely a nation or region on earth where police violence and human rights violations are not committed with complete impunity. Police brutality, the use of torture as an interrogation method, and other egregious violations of human rights continue to be some of the most egregious defects of the Nigeria Police Force, which has drawn widespread public condemnation (Amnesty International, 2015; Ogunode, 2015). Recent agitations by Nigerian youths against SARS extra-judicial killings, which were recently reignited by a video showing a SARS officer abusing a young Nigerian in Delta State on October 3, 2020, were prompted by the rising brutality of the police and the violation of human rights. Subsequently, further images and videos depicting similar attacks and extortion by SARS police reappeared on social media alongside a hashtag designed to emphasize the concerns in national dialogues. This resulted in uncoordinated rallies by the youths advocating for the dissolution of SARS, which on October 8, 2020, morphed into a countrywide protest calling for the end SARS (Business Day, 2020).
Amnesty International (AI) identified 82 incidences of torture, ill-treatment, and extra-judicial killings by SARS personnel in Anambra, Enugu, Imo, and Lagos States between January 2017 and May 2020 (Amnesty International, 2020), demonstrating the prevalence of police brutality. Although the federal government has disbanded the SARS unit of the Nigerian Police and carried out some reforms, but has this been enough to curb police brutality? This study seeks to assess this.
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