Trends and patterns of terrorist attacks targeting the police in Nigeria, 2009–2022

In Nigeria, terrorist attacks targeting police officers and police facilities have continued to gain momentum since 2009. However, in spite of the intensity of the problem, it is yet to command tangible scholarly attention. Against this background, this study investigates the trends and patterns of...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Usman A. Ojedokun, Noah O. Balogun, Muazu I. Mijinyawa, Oluwatobi A. Bolujoko
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SG Publishing 2024-03-01
Series:Journal of Community Safety and Well-Being
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.journalcswb.ca/index.php/cswb/article/view/344
_version_ 1797258866851840000
author Usman A. Ojedokun
Noah O. Balogun
Muazu I. Mijinyawa
Oluwatobi A. Bolujoko
author_facet Usman A. Ojedokun
Noah O. Balogun
Muazu I. Mijinyawa
Oluwatobi A. Bolujoko
author_sort Usman A. Ojedokun
collection DOAJ
description In Nigeria, terrorist attacks targeting police officers and police facilities have continued to gain momentum since 2009. However, in spite of the intensity of the problem, it is yet to command tangible scholarly attention. Against this background, this study investigates the trends and patterns of terrorist attacks targeted against the police in Nigeria between 2009 and 2022. An exploratory research design was adopted, and data were principally sourced through the content analysis of a corpus of two purposively selected Nigerian national newspapers’ coverage of the recorded incidents of terrorist attacks that were directed at police officers. The results showed that 455 cases of such attacks were recorded between 2009 and 2022. Incidents of terrorist attacks targeting police officers were recorded in nearly all the states of the federation, with Borno State having the largest share (42.9%). Also, the largest single share of the incidents (29.2%) happened in 2021 with the highest percentage of police fatalities (24.8%) occurring in the same year. The majority of the attacks (51.9%) occurred within police stations. Indigenous People of Biafra (32.1%) and Boko Haram (31.2%) were the terrorist groups responsible for most of the attacks on police officers. Terrorist attacks hold multiple serious deleterious consequences for the Nigeria Police Force. Thus, it is important for the law enforcement agency to develop a functional institutional framework through which police officers can be adequately exposed to professional counter-terrorism training and strategies. 
first_indexed 2024-04-24T23:00:21Z
format Article
id doaj.art-516c1914192944f39e8a415fb43b7a62
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 2371-4298
language English
last_indexed 2024-04-24T23:00:21Z
publishDate 2024-03-01
publisher SG Publishing
record_format Article
series Journal of Community Safety and Well-Being
spelling doaj.art-516c1914192944f39e8a415fb43b7a622024-03-17T14:00:09ZengSG PublishingJournal of Community Safety and Well-Being2371-42982024-03-019110.35502/jcswb.344Trends and patterns of terrorist attacks targeting the police in Nigeria, 2009–2022Usman A. Ojedokun0Noah O. Balogun1Muazu I. Mijinyawa2Oluwatobi A. Bolujoko3Department of Sociology, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria.Department of Conflict, Peace and Strategic Studies, Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State, Nigeria.Department of Sociology, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria.Department of Sociology, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria. In Nigeria, terrorist attacks targeting police officers and police facilities have continued to gain momentum since 2009. However, in spite of the intensity of the problem, it is yet to command tangible scholarly attention. Against this background, this study investigates the trends and patterns of terrorist attacks targeted against the police in Nigeria between 2009 and 2022. An exploratory research design was adopted, and data were principally sourced through the content analysis of a corpus of two purposively selected Nigerian national newspapers’ coverage of the recorded incidents of terrorist attacks that were directed at police officers. The results showed that 455 cases of such attacks were recorded between 2009 and 2022. Incidents of terrorist attacks targeting police officers were recorded in nearly all the states of the federation, with Borno State having the largest share (42.9%). Also, the largest single share of the incidents (29.2%) happened in 2021 with the highest percentage of police fatalities (24.8%) occurring in the same year. The majority of the attacks (51.9%) occurred within police stations. Indigenous People of Biafra (32.1%) and Boko Haram (31.2%) were the terrorist groups responsible for most of the attacks on police officers. Terrorist attacks hold multiple serious deleterious consequences for the Nigeria Police Force. Thus, it is important for the law enforcement agency to develop a functional institutional framework through which police officers can be adequately exposed to professional counter-terrorism training and strategies.  https://www.journalcswb.ca/index.php/cswb/article/view/344Terrorist attackpolice officerspolice fatalitiesNigeria Police ForceBoko HaramIPOB
spellingShingle Usman A. Ojedokun
Noah O. Balogun
Muazu I. Mijinyawa
Oluwatobi A. Bolujoko
Trends and patterns of terrorist attacks targeting the police in Nigeria, 2009–2022
Journal of Community Safety and Well-Being
Terrorist attack
police officers
police fatalities
Nigeria Police Force
Boko Haram
IPOB
title Trends and patterns of terrorist attacks targeting the police in Nigeria, 2009–2022
title_full Trends and patterns of terrorist attacks targeting the police in Nigeria, 2009–2022
title_fullStr Trends and patterns of terrorist attacks targeting the police in Nigeria, 2009–2022
title_full_unstemmed Trends and patterns of terrorist attacks targeting the police in Nigeria, 2009–2022
title_short Trends and patterns of terrorist attacks targeting the police in Nigeria, 2009–2022
title_sort trends and patterns of terrorist attacks targeting the police in nigeria 2009 2022
topic Terrorist attack
police officers
police fatalities
Nigeria Police Force
Boko Haram
IPOB
url https://www.journalcswb.ca/index.php/cswb/article/view/344
work_keys_str_mv AT usmanaojedokun trendsandpatternsofterroristattackstargetingthepoliceinnigeria20092022
AT noahobalogun trendsandpatternsofterroristattackstargetingthepoliceinnigeria20092022
AT muazuimijinyawa trendsandpatternsofterroristattackstargetingthepoliceinnigeria20092022
AT oluwatobiabolujoko trendsandpatternsofterroristattackstargetingthepoliceinnigeria20092022