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Scholarly works on crime and policing are yet to accord much attention to the phenomenon of juju practice and criminality. Indeed, while accounts of survivors of juju-oaths and juju-using criminals have been considerably documented, limited empirical studies have attempted to examine the awareness, beliefs, perception and experiences of law enforcement officers in their dealings with criminals that deploy the use of juju for protection against apprehension. Therefore, an exploratory approach was used to to fill in the gaps in existing knowledge on police belief and response to the use of supernatural powers for the perpetration of crime and crime-fighting. The methodology employed qualitative data obtained through interviews with investigative police officers of selected divisional offices within Ogun state. Results suggest a high level of awareness, belief and positive perception of police officers to juju practice in criminalities and crime-fighting. Police officers‟ adoption of juju powers as a counterforce to combat juju-using criminals appears to be on the increase while they advocate for the recognition of the potency of juju rituals by the criminal justice system. Government and police authorities should recognize, orientate, regulate, and engage juju practice and priests, and maintain sound police-community relations in tackling juju-using criminals.

Aborisade, R.A. & Adedayo, S.S. (2020): Nigerian Police Officers’ Perception of the Power and Potency of Juju (Black Magic) For Criminalities, KIU Journal of Social Sciences, 6(2) 147-159

This research investigates the deployment of juju rituals by criminals to perpetrate crime, ensure invincibility, avoid injury or death, subdue victims, and evade police apprehension. Existing studies have predominantly focused on the use of juju in relation to human and sex trafficking; however, this current study takes a more generalized approach to examine usage across Nigerian-organized crime. It explores perceived potency and exploits of juju-using criminals, police personnel’s encounters and experiences in effecting their arrest, and accounts of juju priests on the conducts of juju rituals and spiritual fortifications for their clientele. Qualitative research techniques involving ex-convicts of violent crimes, police personnel and juju priests were adopted. The findings confirm a high level of beliefs in the power and potency of juju rituals, in spite of affiliations to orthodox religions. Police personnel admitted the efficacy of juju rituals which enables criminals with charms to have a supernatural edge over them during arrest operations. Consequently, this study advocates for the recognition of juju practice by the justice system, in order to regulate witchdoctors’ activities and provide the necessary support for police personnel.

Aborisade, R.A. & Adedayo, S.S. (2021): ‘Catch me if you can’: the myth and reality of criminals’ use of juju to evade arrest from the Nigeria police, Police Practice and Research, 22(1) 74-89. DOI: 10.1080/15614263.2019.1689132

In response to the global COVID-19 pandemic, the Nigeria police was entrusted with the responsibility of coordinating local shutdowns, encouraging social distancing, enforcing stay-at-home mandates, and supervising compulsory wearing of face masks. Drawing from procedural justice theory, this study explored accounts of unlawful use of force, human rights violations, and other police misconducts that resulted from the enforcement of COVID-19 measures. Using a victim-centred approach involving qualitative, in-depth interviews with 71 people, who perceived their encounters with the police enforcing COVID-19 measures as bordering on their rights, were conducted, and a thematic analysis of the narratives carried out. Participants reported significant variety of police aggression directed towards them: including actual threats of physical violence, hostility, intimidation, extortion, and punishment. Female participants reported incidents of sexual harassment, unwanted sexual advances, and assault. The study concludes that the militarized option adopted by the police to enforce COVID-19 measures drew deeper divides between the police and communities than previously existed. This stresses the need for Nigeria police to train officers, reprimand erring officers, and deploy procedural justice principles in enforcing COVID-19 measures.

Aborisade, R.A. (2021) Accounts of unlawful use of force and misconduct of the Nigerian Police in the enforcement of COVID-19 measures. Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology, 36(3) 450-462 DOI: 10.1007/s11896-021-09431-4.

The COVID-19 pandemic transformed the many intersections between policing and public health, illuminating profound effects of the interactions and collaborative efforts between both sectors in Nigeria, which culminated into an industrial action by health workers in protest of police harassment and extortion. This study, which represents one of the first attempts at empirically examining inter-sectoral collaboration between police and healthcare personnel in the promotion of public health, explored health workers’ experiences with the police officers coordinating local shutdowns and enforcing stay-at-home mandates. Sixty-two health workers, comprising medical doctors, nurses, pharmacists, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, clinical and patient services assistants, were interviewed in a qualitative study and a thematic analysis of the narratives was carried out. Findings indicated that participants were subjected to different forms of aggression and extortive behaviour from police officers at checkpoints, which negatively impacted on their official functioning as responders to the pandemic. Occasionally, these aggressive and extortive behaviours were specifically targeted at health workers based on officers’ impressions and prior unpleasant experiences with health institution and itsbpersonnel. These findings have important policy and practical implications, if the physical health and emotional wellbeing of frontline health workers are to be recognised and met, in supporting them in their role of combating COVID-19.

Aborisade, R.A. & Gbahabo, D.D. (2021): Policing the lockdown: accounts of police officers’ aggression and extortion of frontline health workers in Nigeria, Policing and Society, 31(5) 565-582.

In the wake of pandemic policing occasioned by COVID-19, Nigeria police have been facing challenges of a lack of legitimacy, together with what is termed the militarization of police operations. This has impacted considerably on police–community relations. Meanwhile, early reports on the police response to the pandemic indicated high levels of lockdown violation, despite adoption of a militarized option in the enforcement of restriction orders. In reviewing one of the first police interventions on a public health crisis in Nigeria, a qualitative study was conducted among top-ranking police officers who supervised the enforcement of lockdown and other COVID-19 measures. Sixteen interviews were conducted and a thematic analysis of the narratives was carried out. Police unpreparedness for public health interventions, and public resistance to the use of repressive, force-led styles of policing were identified as major impediments to positive pandemic policing. Therefore, police officers are advised to ensure the application of procedurally just practices in their interactions with the public.

Aborisade, R.A. and Ariyo O.G. (2022) Policing the coronavirus pandemic: Nigeria police senior officers’ views on preparedness, response, legitimacy and post-COVID policing. International Journal of Police Science & Management, 24(1) 77-88.

The global calls for the decriminalisation of suicide have been intense, leading to several countries repealing laws against suicide and suicidal behaviour. However, this opened up a gap in knowledge on suicide policing in countries that maintained statutes penalising suicide. Drawing from the case of Nigeria, one of the countries where attempted suicide attracts prison sentences, this study explored the opinions and experiences of police officers as regards the criminalisation of suicide and enforcement of anti-suicide laws. Sixty-four (64) suicide investigating police officers in six zonal commands of the Nigeria Police Force were engaged in a qualitative study under an interpretative paradigm. Participants reported negative perceptions of anti-suicide laws and policing of suicide through communities’ display of lack of belief, low level of trust, lukewarm or negative attitudes, uncooperative postures, and low level of support. The study sample held that the anti-suicide laws are not effective in the country as evidenced by the low rate of apprehensions and convictions, despite increasing figures of suicide mortality. The study findings highlighted the need for the Nigerian government to consider the decriminalization of attempted suicide and be more responsive to socioeconomic factors driving the increase in suicide in the country.

Aborisade, R.A., Oyafunke-Omoniyi, C.O., Adeleke, O.A., Akindele-Oscar, Y., Olayinka-Aliu, D.A., Adeyemo, S.O., Bawalla, O.G., Adenuga, O.A. (2023) Policing suicide: Investigative officers’ views on criminalization and enforcement of suicide laws, Policing and Society, 33(4) 464-480 DOI: 10.1080/10439463.2022.2145286

Globally, questions have been asked on how police utilized additional powers created to manage the spread of the COVID-19 virus without negatively impacting police legitimacy. This was particularly a concern in countries that had hitherto recorded high incidents of police misconduct prior to the emergence of the pandemic. Using a victim-centered approach, a qualitative study was conducted to examine the dimensions of unlawful use of force, human rights violations, and other police misconduct which prevailed during the enforcement of the COVID-19 lockdown in Nigeria. In all, 82 interviews with victims of police violence were conducted, and a thematic analysis of the narratives was carried out. Findings indicate negative perceptions of police legitimacy to intervene in public health crises. In building better community relations that will engender public compliance with police directives, the police authority is advised to purge itself of its militarized system, with officers undergoing procedural justice training and imbibing its principles.

Aborisade, R.A. (2023) Policing the COVID-19 Outbreak, Accounts of Misconduct, and the Imperatives of Procedural Justice Training for Nigerian Police Officers. International Annals of Criminology, 61(3-4) 292-313 Doi: 10117/cri.2023.23