Title:  Law on Prevention and Detection of Crimes by the Police in Nigeria

Author: Solomon Arase

Publisher: Malthouse Press, Ibadan.

Reviewer: Prof. dominic badaiki

The justification for the title of the book is the realisation that security is fundamental to the existence of Nigeria like any other country and security is intertwined with good governance and development. The author shares with Robert McNamara, a former United States of America Secretary of Defence, the idea that “The correlation, therefore, underscores the importance of security to a nation and the well-being of her people”.

Although the book deals substantially with duties of the police to prevent and detect crime, its approach extends to analysis of other police functions that are ascribed to the force by section 4 of the Police Act. These are the apprehension of offenders, protection of life and property, preservation of law and  order, the  enforcement  of  laws  and  regulations with which they are duly  charged and the  performance  of  such  duties  within Nigeria as may be required of them or by the authority of the Act.

The author observes that these latter functions overlap the preventive and detective functions of the force. He eminently shows throughout the book that the legislative framework and, indeed, the law on police crime prevention and detection is “not intended to be seen as creating strictures or constrictions in a compartmentalised manner, but includes enforcement of the criminal laws and the problems, as well as the prospects that thereby emerge for purposes of assessing the future of policing in Nigeria”.

The book contains thirty-two (32) preliminary pages and 304 pages of text including the Appendices, bibliography and index. It is remarkable to observe that out of the 304 pages of text, there are forty (40) pages of very rich appendices and fifteen (15) pages of bibliography. The appendices are properly cross-referenced with the relevant pages in the main text; this makes for easy reading and understanding. Part of the preliminary pages is a four-page Table of Contents graphically arranged in headings and sub-headings that bring out easily all the aspects of the subject of law on policing and the respective scope covered.

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It is satisfying that in these days of increasing number of emergency authors of books, including law books, the author of this pleasant-looking blue coloured fairly voluminous but handy book is in all modesty very competent. A brief biography of the author appears at the back cover of the book. These antecedents and his qualifications quoted by his name in one of the preliminary pages are a pointer to the competence of the author to venture into writing the book. The author’s balanced mixture personality of academic and practitioner of policing at a very high level gives utmost credibility to his competence to write the book under review.

In the opening sentence of the preface, the author points out the necessity for the book: “Enormous internal security problems currently beset Nigeria, and explanations are being sought for the role that the Nigeria Police Force plays in maintaining public safety, order and peace in the country”. Since law is the foundation of all changes in security matters, he reveals that his focus is the legal framework for the prevention and detection of crimes by the Nigeria Police Force in Nigeria. Accordingly, the objectives for writing the book are stated to include “identifying the constitutional role of the police, examining and evaluating the duties and powers of the police in crime prevention and detection in Nigeria.”

Generally, the layout, the choice of subjects discussed and how the discussion was carried on by the author, are quite apt to the title and aim of the book. The book is divided into eight chapters of interrelated and interwoven details.

It is shown throughout the book that Police-community relations pervade the reality of police performance of their duties. The author stated some of the reasons why the use of this social device has not achieved the desired objectives. While reiterating the courtship by the police that “police is your friend” he enumerated reasons for the public perception of the police and accordingly prescribed some remedies. In particular, he commended the establishment of the Nigeria Police Force – Complaint Response Unit (NPF-CRU). This is a community-oriented complaint management system mechanism by which reported citizens’ complaints, concerns and queries regarding policing activities  can  be  addressed  twenty-four  hours  a  day  including  weekends and public holidays.  The successful take off of the NPF-CRU, the brainchild of the author, is remarkable.

The refining and predominant reliance on intelligence-led policing in defacto police prevention and detection of crimes in the country is a major thrust in the book. He gave exhaustive definitions of “intelligence” and “intelligence-led policing”. He defines “intelligence” as including “information including data that are obtained, analysed, evaluated and interpreted, and are useful for purposes of security and crime control planning, organizing, decision-making and policy-making”.

The book under review is a product of an intellectual with the tapestry of professionalism in police services. The author sets an objective to bequeath a legacy of legal knowledge to the police community and indeed humanity. He achieved his objectives for writing the book which traverses all the essential areas in the chosen title.

On the whole, the author is commended for contributing to the knowledge of law on crime in Nigeria. The book is an academic research compendium of immense practical value. It is highly recommended to the police, other security agents, legal practitioners, members of the Bench, legislators, politicians, administrators, corporate executives, businessmen students of police academy and colleges, law students and the general public.