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Tribalism in the Nigeria Police Force

NCJ Number
166224
Journal
International Journal of Comparative and Applied Criminal Justice Volume: 20 Issue: 1 & 2 Dated: (Spring/Fall 1996) Pages: 129-146
Author(s)
R Rogers; A Tudeme
Date Published
1996
Length
18 pages
Annotation
This article examines Nigerian police officers' views about tribalism as a fact of life in their policing work.
Abstract
When officers in the Nigeria Police Force responded to a questionnaire survey, 72 percent indicated that they felt they had been discriminated against based on their tribal membership. These officers considered tribal influence to be pervasive within the Force. More specifically, they considered that tribal influence played an especially important role in hiring practices, post assignments, disciplinary actions, transfers, and promotions. Questionnaires were distributed to police officers in 10 of Nigeria's 30 states. However, of 250 distributed, only 14 usable questionnaires were returned. Fear of reprisal from superiors was the reason for the 6 percent return rate. When questionnaires were distributed to officers attending the Police College in Jos, capital of the Plateau State, away from the officers' superiors, 57 percent were returned. In all, 100 completed questionnaires were analyzed, using logistic regression, factor analysis with a varimax rotation, stepwise multiple regression, and multivariate regression analysis. Tables, references