The Police, Extrajudicial Killings and Imperatives for Reforms in the Nigerian Fourth Republic

Abstract

Extrajudicial killings attributed to personnel of the Nigerian Police in the conduct of their constitutional duties and responsibilities have become prevalent in recent times. They have been accused of human rights violations, torture, brutality, and unlawful killings of varying proportions. This palpable, yet injurious trend has become a strain on effective policing and security in Nigeria. This paper examines the role of the Nigeria Police Force in extrajudicial killings in the course of discharging their duties since the return to civilian rule in 1999 and how Police reforms can help increase police accountability. The paper was anchored on the organizational theory of police behavior and adopts a qualitative approach by reviewing the literature on extrajudicial killings by the Nigerian police as available in peer-reviewed journal articles, government reports, media reports, newspapers, and international agencies reports. The findings show that the Nigerian Police have been largely complicit in extrajudicial killings. It also shows that organizational deficits such as corruption, lack of investigative infrastructure, lack of human rights training, poor working conditions, poor internal control, and the often-abused Order 237 are major factors that enhance the perpetuation of the incidence of extrajudicial killings by the Police. The study concluded that without a sincere approach toward reforming the Police, extrajudicial killings might become a dominant narrative. Therefore, the paper recommends that a comprehensive security reform of the Nigerian Police should be carried out in conjunction with the private sector and Civil Society Organizations in Nigeria.