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Security Agencies and Public Safety

Civic Education · WAEC · SS2 and SS3

This topic asks who keeps order in Nigeria, what each agency is actually empowered to do, and what the citizen is expected to contribute. Questions are usually functions-based, so confusion between agencies is what separates a full-mark answer from a half one.

What you need to know

  • The Constitution establishes the Nigeria Police Force as the only police force for the federation and forbids any other police force from being set up for the federation or any part of it. It is headed by the Inspector-General of Police, appointed by the President, with a Commissioner of Police in each state.
  • The core functions of the police are the prevention and detection of crime, apprehension of offenders, preservation of law and order, protection of life and property, enforcement of all laws and regulations with which they are charged, and the performance of military duties within or outside Nigeria as required by law.
  • The Police Act 2020 replaced a law dating from 1943. It reorients the force towards community policing, regulates the use of force, requires a suspect to be informed of the reason for arrest and of the right to silence and to counsel, and restricts the arrest of a person in place of a suspect, a practice that had been common.
  • Oversight of the police is shared. The Nigeria Police Council advises on general supervision and the appointment of the Inspector-General, while the Police Service Commission handles appointment, promotion and discipline of officers other than the IGP.
  • The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, established by Act in 2003 and strengthened by amendment, protects critical national assets and infrastructure, tackles pipeline and power installation vandalism, supervises and licenses private guard companies, and supports other agencies during emergencies and elections.
  • The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission investigates and prosecutes economic and financial crimes: advance fee fraud, money laundering, bank fraud, internet fraud, and the looting of public funds. The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, created by the Corrupt Practices Act of 2000, deals with bribery, corruption and abuse of office in the public service and also has a duty to examine and reform corruption-prone systems.
  • The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, created in 1989, investigates drug trafficking, seizes illicit drugs, patrols airports, seaports and borders, and prosecutes drug offenders. It also runs demand-reduction and counselling programmes.
  • The Federal Road Safety Corps, created in 1988, makes highways safe: it educates road users, enforces traffic regulations, removes obstructions, rescues accident victims, conducts vehicle inspection, and issues the national driver's licence and number plates.
  • Other agencies with named roles: the Nigerian Customs Service collects import and export duties and fights smuggling; the Nigeria Immigration Service controls entry and exit and issues passports and residence permits; the Nigerian Correctional Service, renamed from the Prisons Service by the Act of 2019, holds convicts and awaiting-trial persons and is charged with reform and reintegration; the Department of State Services handles internal intelligence and counter-intelligence; the Nigerian Army, Navy and Air Force defend the territory by land, sea and air.
  • Civil emergency bodies complete the picture: the National Emergency Management Agency coordinates disaster response, the state fire services fight fires and rescue victims, and the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control protects public health by regulating food, drugs, cosmetics and bottled water.
  • The Armed Forces exist to defend Nigeria from external aggression, maintain its territorial integrity, secure its borders and suppress insurrection when called upon by the President, subject to conditions prescribed by the National Assembly. Internal security is primarily police work, and the use of soldiers for routine policing is a standing controversy.
  • The citizen's own role in security is concrete: report suspicious persons, objects and movements; give accurate statements and serve as a witness; obey traffic rules and lawful orders; keep the environment clean and clear of hazards; refuse to shelter or finance criminals; join neighbourhood watch or vigilance groups lawfully; and know the national emergency number 112.
  • Jungle justice, the mob killing of a suspect, is itself murder. The law gives trial to the courts alone, and the citizen's duty on catching a thief is to hand him over to the police. Expect at least one objective or scenario question on this.
  • Obstacles to effective policing in Nigeria that earn marks in an essay are inadequate funding and equipment, poor welfare and training of officers, corruption and extortion at checkpoints, a low police-to-population ratio, poor forensic and intelligence capacity, public distrust that discourages reporting, and political interference.

Key terms

Security
Freedom from danger, threat or harm to life, property and the stability of the state.
Law enforcement agency
A body legally empowered to enforce the law, prevent and detect crime, and apprehend offenders.
Community policing
An approach in which the police work in partnership with the local community, relying on local information and trust to prevent crime rather than only reacting to it.
Jungle justice
The unlawful beating or killing of a suspected offender by a mob instead of handing the person over to the police and the courts.
Vigilance group
A locally organised body that assists in guarding a community, lawful only where it operates in support of and under the control of the constituted authorities.
Public safety
The protection of the general public from dangers such as crime, fire, road accidents, disasters and unsafe food or drugs.
Intelligence
Processed information about threats, gathered and analysed so that security agencies can prevent an incident rather than respond to it.

Worked examples

State five functions of the Nigeria Police Force and three ways the citizen can assist them. (11 marks)

  1. For the functions, take them from the statutory list rather than from films: prevention and detection, apprehension, order, protection of life and property, enforcement of laws.
  2. Keep the functions and the citizen's role under two separate headings so the examiner can find both sets.
  3. Make the citizen's contributions actions, not attitudes. Respect the police is weak; report a crime promptly is markable.

Differentiate between the functions of the EFCC and those of the NDLEA. (6 marks)

  1. Name what each is short for, because the full name already carries half of the distinction.
  2. State the subject matter each agency covers.
  3. Give one typical offence handled by each as evidence.

The mistake to avoid

Agencies get swapped. Candidates give EFCC the job of fighting drugs, or credit the NSCDC with prosecuting corruption. Fix each one by its full name: the name tells you the mandate. The second trap is listing the duties of a soldier under the functions of the police. Defence against external aggression belongs to the Armed Forces, and internal law and order belongs to the police.

In the exam

Write the full name of an agency once before using the abbreviation, because the full name itself often carries a mark. Functions questions want distinct, non-overlapping lines, so number them. If a question asks about the role of the citizen in maintaining security, give actions a secondary school student could actually take, and always include the point that jungle justice is unlawful.