AN ASSESSMENT OF OPERATIONS OF LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES AT NIGERIA'S LAND BORDER POSTS

Abstract

The quest for effective and responsible monitoring of international boundaries of countries is a vital requirement for security and nation building. Creating a conducive environment for the pursuit of the economic aspirations of the citizenry is only realisable when the law enforcement agencies, amongst other organs of governance, have the capacity to perform efficiently and collectively. The formation of ECOWAS and the ECOWAS protocol on free movement of persons and goods have tended to increase cross-border crimes between Nigeria and her neighbours, p articularly Benin, Niger, Chad and Cameroon. Despite these problems, the law enforcement agencies, particularly the Immigration, Customs and the Police, continue to operate in isolation of each other, while criminal elements exploit the lapses and deficiencies created thereby. This study identifies the need for an integrated, holistic, collaborative approach to crime prevention and crime control at all levels and by all persons, if incidences of crime must be curtailed. A case for harmonization of operational activities such as joint strategic planning, joint exercises and networking aimed at stemming the tide of trans-border crimes amongst law enforcement agencies is being advocated. Lessons and recommendations from the September 11, 2001 attack on Washington and New York could be harnessed by security operatives in Nigeria. The researcher acknowledges the tremendous efforts of the various agencies on national security, and the need for government to set up a Federal Law Enforcement Academy where security operatives could go and learn at first hand, what other agencies are doing. There is need to establish a data bank where security information on all foreigners resident in Nigeria and Nigerians are stored. This should be made assessable to all law enforcement agencies whenever the need arises. The major constraints encountered was that, assessing the operational activities of all law enforcement agencies working at the Nigeria's land border posts and how their various roles affect national security is now a new subject on which little, if any, has been written.