Michael Christopher Eraye, Zumve Samuel Iornienge

Key words: COVID-19, lockdown, professionalism, security agents, community spread

Abstract

The paper explores the nexus between COVID-19 lockdown and the conduct of security agents during the COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria. The activities of security operatives in enforcing lockdown restriction during the COVID-19 lockdown uncovered unprofessional conducts exhibited against civilians by the Police and Military deployed to enforce the lockdown restrictions. Through content-analysis of secondary data anchored on Routine Activity Theory, this paper discusses how conducts of security agents during the COVID-19 lockdown vitiate from constitutional provisions of security agents to protect citizens and ensure law and order in the country. The study’s results confirmed that extrajudicial killings, extortion of money from motorists, unwarranted and arbitrary arrest, torture of civilians and harassment were some of the unprofessional conducts exhibited by security agents against civilians during the COVID-19 lockdown in Nigeria. The paper concludes that these unprofessional conducts of the security agents, rather than inhibit, facilitate the spread of COVID-19 in Nigeria. Consequently, the paper recommends that security agents should be periodically retrained especially on how to enforce restrictions of government during periods of emergencies, while also adhering to the ethics of their profession. Unprofessional conduct of security agents must be resisted vehemently and culprits be made to face the full weight of the law; and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) must continue to speak up against all the negative activities of security operatives in the course of discharging their constitutional responsibilities.

Author Biography

MICHAEL, Christopher Eraye

Department of Sociology

Federal University of Lafia, Nasarawa State, Nigeria

ZUMVE, Samuel Iornienge

Department of Sociology

Federal University Dutsin-ma, Katsina State, Nigeria

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