Abstract
This paper sought the opinion of 200 Nigerians on their willingness to cooperate with the police during the Boko Haram crisis. Public perceptions of police effectiveness during the crisis, residence location, gender and religious affiliation were used as moderators. Data was analysed using an explanatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling. Results indicated a strong association between perceived effectiveness and willingness to report to the police with respondents who question the effectiveness of the police being less likely to be willing to report criminal activity about Boko Haram. Further to this, the impact of religion on willingness to report was at least partially mediated by perceived effectiveness of the police with the results showing that Christian respondents perceived the police as less effective. Females and those living in the north were significantly less willing to report criminal activity to the police. The findings are discussed in relation to the BH crises and directions for future research are given.
Highlights
The Boko Haram (BH) belligerency in northern Nigeria erupted in 2009 as retaliation for the extra-judicial killing of their leader, Muhammed Yusuf
A new dimension to the extremist organisation surfaced on April 14, 2014 when BH abducted 276 teenage girls from a secondary school in Chibok, Borno State (Akinloye, 2014)
This research is aimed at investigating public willingness to help the police during the BH crisis
Summary
The Boko Haram (BH) belligerency in northern Nigeria erupted in 2009 as retaliation for the extra-judicial killing of their leader, Muhammed Yusuf It started with a series of bombings and gun attacks on police stations, government agencies, international organisations, schools, liquor houses, and media houses (Agbiboa, 2013; Murtada, 2013). A new dimension to the extremist organisation surfaced on April 14, 2014 when BH abducted 276 teenage girls from a secondary school in Chibok, Borno State (Akinloye, 2014). It took tremendous pressure from the international community, social groups, and the media for the government to respond (Hassan, 2014). The Chibok abduction became a major crisis for the government; yet most of the girls remain captured and negotiations for their release are still ongoing (World Watch Monitor, 2017) and Laureate Online Education B.V. is in partnership with the University of Liverpool
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
