POLICE CORRUPTION AND INTERNAL SECURITY IN NIGERIA
Abstract
This article examines corrupt practices among members of the Nigeria Police Force in the context of rising internal insecurity. Of particular concern was to determine the extent and dimensions of corruption within the police, the factors responsible for such practices and how they impact on the safety of lives and property of members of the public. The research combined both primary and secondary data which were collected through opinion survey (questionnaire) and content analysis of secondary materials (journals, articles, newspapers and internet materials) respectively. The study revealed that police corruption is a major contributing factor to internal insecurity in Nigeria. A commonly mentioned effect of police corruption on the society is the loss of lives through extrajudicial killings; arrest and illegal detention of citizens orchestrated by policemen and citizens’ unwillingness to report suspected cases of crimes to police making such crimes difficult to curtail. The causes of these anomalies included inadequate or irregular welfare packages for policemen, low level of professionalism within the force and political class interference.  On the basis of these findings, the study recommends that the authorities should recruit more and better educated police officers, improve logistics and welfare packages and move towards an independent and community police.References
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