COMMUNITY POLICING AND PROMOTION OF PEACE AND SECURITY IN KUJE AREA COUNCIL FCT

COMMUNITY POLICING AND PROMOTION OF PEACE AND SECURITY IN KUJE AREA COUNCIL FCT

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1. 1. Background of the study

The concept of community policing is rapidly gaining traction across the world, particularly in the 21st century. However, the fundamental aspects or central component of community policing are not something that is alien to or newly introduced in Africa. For instance, the pre-colonial Igbo society did not differentiate between the function of the society as a whole and police or the battle against crime. As a consequence of this, the function of policing in traditional Igbo society was dispersed due to the absence of specialized institutions whose major goal or primary task was to police or combat crime. Because of this, there is an old proverb that goes, "elders do not let goat to be strangled by the forest." This refers to the responsibility that rested on the shoulders of the whole community. Nevertheless, the age grade and the masquerade society were prominent in the role of policing as well as the task of policing and fighting crime, among other roles or functions. Furthermore, all adult male citizens are members of both the age grade and the masquerade society, which indicates that the responsibility of policing falls on the shoulders of the entire society (Aniche, 2018).

The arrival of European colonization, however, brought about a sea shift in everything, as the colonial police became estranged from the people they were sworn to protect. This trend persisted throughout the post-colonial or post-independent period of Nigeria. The expansion of vigilante security apparatus in Nigeria is a direct result of the major security issues that have arisen as a direct result of this alienation. By the year 2003, the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) had already sent a number of officers to the United Kingdom to get training in community policing there, with the intention of later applying what they had learned in Nigeria. The low human development indices (HDI) in Nigeria, on the other hand, are anticipated to provide significant obstacles to the possibilities of community policing, which has significant implications for the development of community in Nigeria.

According to Nnoli (2020), "national security" has become the treasured value of any country. It is related with the physical safety of people, groups, or nation States coupled with a comparable safety of their other most cherished values. Therefore, security refers to the state of being free from dangers, concern, or danger. Therefore, security is a value related with trust in one's own physical safety as well as other values held in the highest regard. The overarching national goals of a state and other associated variables might determine whether a state's security measures are short-term or long-term in nature. Maintaining law and order as well as protecting people's lives and property are fundamental responsibilities of the state, which may fulfill these duties via a number of different government security agencies, including the police, state security services, the armed forces, and so on. It is impossible to place enough emphasis on the role that law enforcement plays in the upkeep and preservation of safety within a civilized setting.

Despite the concerted efforts of numerous security agencies, particularly the police, in ensuring peace and security of life and property, it appears that criminal activity and general insecurity are on the rise in Nigeria in recent times. This is the case despite the fact that the police have been at the forefront of these efforts. The growing trend of insecurity is mostly reflected in the increasing incidences of armed robbery, abduction, human trafficking, assassinations, terrorism, militancy, and other related crimes in different sections of the country (Osakwe, 2019).

Without a shadow of a doubt, Nigeria's lack of safety is one of the most significant challenges it has faced, particularly during the last decade. This scenario is quite concerning when one considers the fundamental obligation of the government and state of Nigeria to protect the lives and property of Nigerians, as stipulated in the constitution that was written in 1999. (Federal Republic of Nigeria, 2018). In 2009, the World Economic Forum ranked Nigeria as one of the world's 15 most vulnerable countries (Sunday Nation, 2019; Ocholi, 2019).

This position not only validated the current state of internal security, but it also confirmed that respective governments are losing an increasing amount of their capacity to carry out fundamental developmental and security functions, despite the fact that they have repeatedly claimed to have huge budgetary allocations and expenditures for the protection of people's lives and property (Njoku, 2020; Newswatch, 2019).  In light of the aforementioned, the primary objective of this research is to examine community policing and promotion of peace and security in Kuje area council FCT.

1. 1. Statement of the problem

 The concept of community policing is neither foreign nor novel to Africa. This is due to the fact that long before European colonialism in Africa, the traditional political societies of Africa had already been policing and protecting themselves (Akuul, 2020). The African concept of community policing was replaced with a colonial police force that alienated the population as a result of European colonization.

This alienation persisted in postwar Nigeria, contributing to a deeper level of suspicion or mistrust between the populace and the police. Instead of engaging in community policing, the Nigerian police have been focused on policing the community, which has further estranged the country's populace (Garba, 2019). This lack of cooperation from the people has a serious consequence, which is the inability of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) to combat crime and tackle various security challenges in Nigeria, leading to the proliferation of vigilante security architecture, particularly in the form of vigilante militia groups.

This is a direct result of the failure of the NPF. But because of the animosity that exists between them and the police, the spread of these weapons has only served to make Nigeria's security situation worse ( NPF, 2017). Community policing in its current form in Nigeria has not, up to this point, been successful in supporting community development or ensuring the promotion of security, safety, or peace in the country. As a result, insecurity, criminal activity, and disorder have acted as a barrier to the communities' overall growth. This is in spite of the fact that a number of studies have been carried out, each of which has revealed the challenges that the Nigerian police confront in their efforts to fight crime ( NPF, 2017).

As a consequence of this, the objective of this research is to investigate community policing and the promotion of peace and safety in the Kuje area council of the Federal Capital Territory. This research has been done in other states in Nigeria, but not in the region that is now being studied for this project. In addition, the outcomes of this investigation will be compared to other research efforts that have been conducted in the past on the subject matter that is the focus of this specific study.

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