NCJ Number
127172
Journal
Police Journal Volume: 63 Issue: 4 Dated: (October-December 1990) Pages: 312-320
Date Published
1990
Length
9 pages
Annotation
This story is based on data from a research study in a Nigerian police station in 1983 and 1984. The police station and a detainee who becomes the author's close companion are given fictitious names, and the order of events is rearranged to create a prose effect.
Abstract
The author starts with a description of the station. The front is littered with accident and stolen vehicles yet to be reclaimed. Inside, many of the detainees, including the companion, do not have cells and remain in the hallways. The main lockup facility in the station, "The Cell," emanates the stench of excreta. One of The Cell's three rooms, known as the "inner room," is accessible only through one of the other rooms. Detainees dread the inner room because of its poor ventilation and consequent extreme heat. Given these conditions and the country's tropical climate, most detainees wear only underpants. The author is witness as the "The President," a murder suspect most feared by the other detainees, brutalizes a detainee while the jailer bargains between the relatives and The President. The station's conditions and police corruption are typical of Nigeria and not by any means hidden from the public.