What Is The Role Of The Nigeria Police Force?

The Nigeria Police Force is the principal law enforcement agency in Nigeria. Police personnel are deployed across the 36 states of the country and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in Abuja. The Nigeria Police Force is headed by the Inspector General of Police and it is divided into 8 administrative departments.

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A nation’s police help maintain law and order in the society and help enforce the constitution. According to the Nigeria Police Force website npf.gov.ng, the vision of the force is to make Nigeria safer and more secure for economic development and growth; to create a safe and secure environment for everyone living in Nigeria. The Nigeria Police Force has values such as protecting and upholding the rights of persons, building a lasting trust in the police by members of the public and delivering quality and accessible police service to the generality of the people. You can read all the values, mission statement and vision statement of the Nigeria Police Force as well as the force code of conducts and professional standards for police officers by clicking here.

Also, according to police.gov.ng, the Nigeria Police was first established in 1820. Section 214 of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution reads: There shall be a Police Force for Nigeria, which shall be known as the Nigeria Police Force, and subject to the provision of this section no other Police Force shall be established for the Federation or any part thereof.

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DUTIES OF THE NIGERIA POLICE FORCE

It is also the primary duty of the Nigerian Police to prevent an offence from being committed especially when there are threats of impending crime or security issues. The police ensure that its officers go to such area to forestall possible breakdown of law and order. Although, there are sometimes where the military also joins the Nigerian police in such instances. Section 4 of the Police Acts and Regulations lists the ⭐️duties of the Nigeria Police Force⭐️ to include.

1. The prevention and detection of crime

 The Nigeria Police Force is involved in crime detection. A department set up to detect and investigate criminal activities, identifying those behind crimes and bringing them to book is the Criminal Investigation Department known as CID department. The Nigeria Police Force is empowered to also prevent crimes in society. Crime detection is an important duty and task of every Nigeria Police Force officer in Nigeria. Each crime has to be investigated and related suspects questions to help find the real culprit that committed the crime. It is also the primary duty of the Nigerian Police to prevent a crime from being committed especially when there are threats of impending crime or security issues. The military do form a joint task force with the Nigeria Police Force to help achieve this goal when there is a national or territorial.

2. The apprehension of offenders.

The Nigerian constitution empowers the Nigeria Police Force with the legal backing to arrest offender that commits an offence against Nigeria laws. Officers of the Nigeria Police Force are meant to arrest offenders and not take laws into their hands by badly punishing the suspects. Other law enforcement organizations also work with the Nigeria Police Force to catch bad guys. The Nigeria Police Force can not arrest offenders that they do not have legal backing to arrest such as traffic offenders which other law enforcement agencies deal with.

3. The preservation of law and order.

The primary goal of the Nigeria Police Force is to maintain law and order in Nigeria. To preserve law and order, they must ensure citizens obey the law and when the law is broken, they have the responsibility to arrest the offender. The constitution empowered the Nigerian police force to compel citizens to obey law and order.

4. The protection of life and property.

The Nigerian police is responsible for the protection of lives and properties of the citizens of Nigeria. The men of the force are properly trained and equipped with weapons and ammunitions such as guns to help carry out this duty. This training helps them ensure that lives and properties of Nigerians are when a crime is being committed.

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Other duties of the Nigeria Police Force include:

• The due enforcement of laws and regulations with which they are directly charged.
• The performance of such military duties within and outside Nigeria as may be required of them by or under the authority of the police act or any other act.

Note that The Nigeria Police Force has no right to prosecute any case but are empowered to investigate any matter. After the investigation, they can sue any suspect they believe committed a crime for prosecution in the court of law.