DANIEL OROBATOR

Insecurity in Nigeria has reached an alarming proportion affecting various facets of our national life. Lives are lost on daily basis, population depleted, businesses on the ropes, investments are nose-diving, multinational companies shutting down and vacating the country, unemployment soaring and the populace in fears. Clearly, insecurity poses a threat to governance and economic growth in Nigeria. Nigeria has experienced certain level of insecurity right from independence in 1960, however, the level of insecurity in Nigeria has increased drastically over the years, since the exit of the military from the political scene and the enthronement of democracy in Nigeria about twenty-four years ago, Nigeria has witnessed an unparalleled security challenges that have put Nigerians and foreigners on their toes. More particularly, since 2007, the state of insecurity in the country has assumed an alarming dimension as a result of the activities of different elements. Such activities include militancy in the South-South region, kidnapping in the South-East, violent armed robbery, political assassination, ritual killings and more recently, suicide bombings in some parts of the Northern region especially North- East.1 Other recent insecurity challenges includes: cyber-crimes, attacks by unknown gunmen, banditry, kidnapping, Herders-Farmers clashes, COVID-19 pandemic etc.

One of the foundations and fundamentals of every democratic society today is the entrenchment of fundamental human rights in its constitution and the protection of those rights. In fact, without such provision and protection, a state cannot be said to be truly democratic. Human rights in Nigeria are protected under the current constitution of 1999 Though it is frequently not given appropriate attention in its defense and application. Countless ordinary Nigerians attempting to make ends meet as taxi drivers, market traders, and shopkeepers are accosted on a daily basis by armed police officers who demand bribes and commit human rights abuses against them as a means of extorting money.1 Those who fail to pay are frequently threatened with arrest and physical harm. Far too often, these threats are carried out. Meanwhile, victims of crime are obliged to pay the police from the moment they enter a police station to file a complaint until the day their case is brought before a court. In the shadows, high-level police officials embezzle staggering sums of public funds meant to address some basic police operations. Senior police officers also enforce a perverse system of “returns” in which rank-and-file Officers are compelled to pay up the chain of command a share of the money they extort from the public.

This study examines the persistent and systemic violation of human rights by the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), a critical issue that continues to undermine the rule of law and democratic stability in Nigeria. Despite constitutional guarantees and international treaties to which Nigeria is a signatory, the NPF has been frequently implicated in grave misconduct, including extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests, unlawful detention, and widespread torture. The research adopts a multidisciplinary approach to analyze the socio-political and legal frameworks that allow these infractions to persist. Key findings suggest that a culture of impunity, inadequate oversight mechanisms, and the remnants of colonial-era policing structures are primary drivers of police brutality. Furthermore, the study evaluates the impact of the 2020 #EndSARS protests, highlighting the disconnect between government promises of reform and the lived realities of citizens. The paper concludes that while legislative frameworks like the Police Act of 2020 exist, they remain largely ineffective without a fundamental shift in institutional accountability and a robust independent investigative body. Recommendations are provided for comprehensive police reform, focusing on enhanced training in human rights standards, improved welfare for officers to curb corruption, and the empowerment of judicial and civil society oversight to ensure justice for victims of police abuse.

The discovery of coal in Enugu in 1909 has left an unprecedented impact as a significant source of heat and energy in Nigeria. It is one of the most important primary fossil fuels, a great source of heat and energy that has been used for generations dating back to 1000 B.C2 . Formed from the remnants of living organisms, the formation process can be described as the subversion of dead plant matter in an environment subjected to the geological forces of heat and pressure over millennials 3 National Geographic describes 4 coal ‘as a black or brownish-black sedimentary rock that can be burned for fuel and used to generate electricity. It is composed mostly of carbon and hydrocarbons, which contain energy that can be released through combustion (burning)’.

Cyber crime has grown to be one of the biggest problems facing law enforcement agencies as a result of the development of computer and the information technologies.¹ some of the few numbers of attacks carried out by cyber criminals in 2006 was about 3.24millions, in 2019 cybercrime was estimated to cost the global economy $2trillion, also the global average cost of a data breach was $3.86 in 2020.² Some crimes committed online even outnumbered the ones committed offline. However, researchers predict that around 90% of cyber crime get unreported.³ Criminal act is a dynamic phenomenon. Criminal have used a
variety of mediums over time to further there illegal goals. The development of computer technology opened up numerous option for commerce and communication, as well as numerous chances for traditional crime to be committed
daily.⁴ Government, industry and the general public all used the umbrella word “cyber crime" to describe a wide range of illegal activities and bad behavior involving the use of computers, the internet and the ICTs.⁵

Insecurity in Nigeria has reached an alarming proportion affecting various facets of our national life. Lives are lost on daily basis, population depleted, businesses on the ropes, investments are nose-diving, multinational companies shutting down and vacating the country, unemployment soaring and the populace in fears. Clearly, insecurity poses a threat to governance and economic growth in Nigeria. Nigeria has experienced certain level of insecurity right from independence in 1960, however, the level of insecurity in Nigeria has increased drastically over the years, since the exit of the military from the political scene and the nthronement of democracy in Nigeria about twenty-four years ago, Nigeria has witnessed an unparalleled security challenges that have put Nigerians and foreigners on their toes.

The Cold War was a conflict after World War II between the United States and the Soviet Union 1947-1991. Flaming described the Cold War as “a war that is fought not in the battle- field but in the minds of men; one tries to control the mind of the others”. It was a psychological warfare aimed at reducing the enemy’s areas of influence and increasing the number of one’s camp followers. The superpowers never fought each other but backed opposite sides in “Hot Wars”, offered aid to influence neutral countries and completed in a dangerous nuclear arms race