THE ROLE OF NIGERIA POLICE FORCE IN NATIONAL ELECTIONS 1964 - 1993.

Abstract

One major problem that has affected Nigeria since independence is political instability arising from frequent changes of governments in the country. This has made it difficult for the country to evolve a sound democratic culture which could facilitate conducting free and fair elections at the end of each government's tenure of office. The stiff competition for elective offices between political parties centre around power and privilege. No wonder many politicians in Nigeria take elections as a do or die affair in which they introduce various dishonest practices in order to win. Viewed against this background, the role of the Nigeria Police, as the agency established by law to ensure law and order, as well as protect life and property in society extends into national elections, more so than any other agency or institution. This role implies that the Police- must ensure that law and order are maintained during electioneering campaigns, and during the voting periods. It also implies that the Police must provide security for the distribution of election materials to polling booths and collating centres, as well as escort of personnel carrying results from one centre to another. The object of this paper is to examine the performance of the Nigeria Police Force during the national elections of 1964 - 1992/93. Particular attention is devoted to the successes and failures achieved by the Force, and those factors that enhanced or hindered effective and efficient performance of the Force during elections. Information for the essay was obtained from Police Force Headquarters, Lagos, existing publications, conference papers, newspapers and magazine articles from the libraries of the Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, Kuru, and elsewhere. The author also relied substantially on his personal experience and observations spanning over thirty two years in policing in Nigeria.