Street Traders and the Law: A Test of Vendors’ Encounters With Bribery and Extortion of Task Force Officials in Lagos State, Nigeria

Abstract

This article interrogates street traders’ encounters with the bribery and extortion by task force officials in Lagos State, Nigeria, using a mixed method of social research survey, in-depth interview and observation. The study found that poverty ( p = 0.000), gender ( p = 0.001), location ( p = 0.009), employment status ( p = 0.003), family pressure ( p = 0.008) and payment of remittance ( p = 0.000) are significant predictors of willingness to bribe task force officials ( p < 0.001). It also established that traders, who perceived the street trading law of Lagos as a deterrent law, tended to bribe task force officials in order to escape justice.