Colonialism and the criminal justice system in Nigeria

Otu, Noel

doi:10.1080/01924036.1999.9678646

Cited by 8 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…The colonial police force behaved ruthlessly; killing, maiming, and looting at the order of the British colonialists. As the people had no control over the plethora of police abuse and arbitrariness, some devised means to avoid contact with the police, some agitated for a reversal to the pre-colonial system, and some fatalistically conformed to police demands (Ahire, 1991;Alemika, 1993;Onoge, 1993;Otu, 1999).…”

Section: Nigeria In Context: History Policing and Popular Discontentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dull compulsion or perceived legitimacy? Assessing why people comply with the law in Nigeria

Akinlabi

Murphy

2018

Police Practice and Research

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Do people living in societies rife with police corruption comply with the law because they perceive police as legitimate or because of their feelings of endemic powerlessness (i.e., what Tankebe (2009) refers to as dull compulsion)? Prior studies have shown that compliance is driven primarily by perceptions that authorities and their laws are legitimate and entitled to be obeyed. Using cross-sectional survey data collected from Southwest Nigeria, this study found that perceptions of police effectiveness and procedural justice were related to Nigerians' self-reported compliance with the law. Importantly, and unexpectedly, neither dull compulsion nor perceptions of police legitimacy were related to Nigerians' self-reported compliance behaviour. The implications of these findings for policing in postcolonial African societies are discussed.

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Section: Nigeria In Context: History Policing and Popular Discontentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dull compulsion or perceived legitimacy? Assessing why people comply with the law in Nigeria

Akinlabi

Murphy

2018

Police Practice and Research

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“…The government and legal system in today's Nigeria are heavily influenced by its past as a British colony. During the 1800s, the British changed the justice system in Nigeria from locally controlled and informal to national and formal, consisting of the police, courts and jails (Otu, 1999). The formal crime control institutions were more to control the local Nigerian native population and protect British interests than they were to deter crime among Nigerians (Ebbe, 2003).…”

Section: Overview Of Nigeria and Nigerian Policementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Onyeozili (2005) argued that 'with the advent of colonialism came the distortion of the traditional institutions and values which had from time immemorial sustained harmonious relationship, peace, and security of lives and property in the pre-colonial African communities' (p. 33). Upon political independence, Nigeria retained the formal centralised criminal justice system (Elechi, Lambert, & Ventura, 2006;Otu, 1999).…”

Section: Overview Of Nigeria and Nigerian Policementioning

confidence: 99%

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An Exploratory Comparison of the Policing Views of Nigerian and US College Students

Lambert¹,

Elechi

2013

International Journal of Police Science & Management

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That the police have the onerous duty of maintaining law and order in society is not in contention; however, the extent to which the public are satisfied with police maintenance of law and order varies from society to society. There has been very little research on views about policing in Nigeria. Based on survey data collected from 758 college students, this exploratory study compares and contrasts college students' views of policing in Nigeria and the USA. The results uncover both intra- and international differences in views on various areas of policing, including general confidence in the police, trust in and support for the police, and specific attitudes toward police civility, effectiveness, accountability, aggressive policing and community policing.

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“…While there is a long history of various law enforcement functions, Western-style policing in Nigeria was started in 1861 by the British (Alemika & Chukwuma, 2004). During colonial times, the police were used to control the native population who were opposed to the colonial administration (Onyeozili, 2005; Otu, 1999). Alemika and Chukwuma (2004) pointed out that the “colonial police forces behaved as an army of occupation, killing and maiming, and looting.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Correlates of Support for Community-Police Partnerships in Policing among Nigerian and US College Students

Lambert

Elechi

et al. 2012

International Criminal Justice Review

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While there is a growing body of research on people’s views of community policing, there have been a very few cross-national studies, especially concerning nonwestern countries. In order to compare and contrast students’ views on community policing partnerships, 274 Nigerian and 484 U.S. college students were surveyed. Ordinary least squares regression analysis of the data revealed that the majority of respondents supported a partnership between the community and the police, with the Nigerian students reporting slightly higher levels of support than their U.S. counterparts. Both attachment to conventional society and general confidence in the police were positively related to students’ support for community policing partnerships in both nations. A belief that the police should be civil, a perception that the police were effective, and support for community oversight of the police were significant predictors of support for community policing partnerships among the U.S. students but not the Nigerian students. A perception that crime was a problem, a view that the public should support the police, and academic level had nonsignificant associations with community policing partnership support for both groups of students. Gender had a significant relationship with support for community policing partnerships among the Nigerian students (men were higher in their support), while age had a positive association among the U.S. students. Punitive orientation had a significant negative association with attitudes toward community policing among the U.S. students but was not a significant predictor among the Nigerian students.

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Colonialism and the criminal justice system in Nigeria

Cited by 8 publications

References 2 publications

Dull compulsion or perceived legitimacy? Assessing why people comply with the law in Nigeria

Dull compulsion or perceived legitimacy? Assessing why people comply with the law in Nigeria

An Exploratory Comparison of the Policing Views of Nigerian and US College Students

Correlates of Support for Community-Police Partnerships in Policing among Nigerian and US College Students

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