Abstract
ABSTRACT This study examines the pragmatic appeal inherent in the deployment of contradictions in police- suspect interactions (PSIs). Anchoring Grice’s Cooperative Principle as theoretical model, ten purposively selected interrogation sessions on murder, felony, conspiracy and unlawful conversion, observed at the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department, Ìyágankú, Ibadan, Nigeria, were analysed. Suspects consciously violate the cooperative maxims to seek exoneration. Contradictions are constructed through denials, deliberate omissions, inclusion and rewording. The use of contradictions generates context-driven implicatures in a bid to initiate, maintain, sustain and contest power in PSIs. The study notes that power is contextually erected in PSIs.
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
