Publication Details
Abstract
Terrorism is on the rise in Nigeria, which has resulted in an increase in policy debates and academic interest. The involvement of the Nigerian police in counter-terrorism operations in Nigeria was examined in this study. By sampling the opinions of police officers who have been active in combatting Boko Haram terrorism in North-East Nigeria, this study filled a knowledge vacuum by determining the function of police personnel within the created Joint Task Force in combating terrorism. This was done in the hopes of reorienting policy in a way that would eventually help to improve public safety. The study was conducted in Borno state of the Northern Nigeria, purposively selecting units such as Police Mobile Force (PMF), the Counter-Terrorism Unit (CTU), the Anti-Bomb Squad (EOD), the Sniffer Dog Section, and the “Crack Team’’ which are units believed to have men with relevant experience on police activities in counterterrorism. The population of these units as at 2021 stands at 5,500, from where 322 respondents were sampled for data collection using the questionnaire. The data collected through the questionnaire were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics such as frequencies, rating scales and multiple regression for testing of hypotheses. Findings show that there is insufficient use of electronic surveillance/reconnaissance by the Nigeria police in fighting terrorism. Nevertheless, the police still play their role in peace building/conflict resolution. Also, there is enough synergy between the police and the host communities, such that some more effort from the government can help them be more effective. In addition, Nigerian police face many challenges, among which are, lack of specialized training and retraining, misappropriation of funds and political interference among others. The conclusion and policy implication arising from these findings is the fact that the escalation in crime wave and insecurity has pushed back the frontiers of police role, going beyond their traditional roles of internal security, law enforcement and order maintenance, to include counterterrorism operations. This calls for a strategy for the retraining of the Nigerian police in counterterrorism particularly when they are selected to be members of the Joint Task Force fighting terrorism in the Northeast of Nigeria.