Colonial Policing in Nigeria: British Tactics of Economic Control and the Hypocrisy of Order, 1900-1930
type: CreativeWork
description: The British colonial government, after the conquest of Nigerian societies, effectively utilized colonial policing to maintain its authority and exploit Nigeria. As a pivotal administrative apparatus, the police provided coercive support for colonial rule in Nigeria and Africa. Scholars have examined the violence associated with the British suppression of indigenous resistance from the late 19th to the 20th centuries. This research broadens the understanding of colonial violence beyond the initial conquest by examining the police’s lesser-known role in regulating economic activities through threats and collective punishments. Additionally, the research highlights how Britain, as a capitalist empire, reflected its culture of racial superiority through the organization and operations of its police force. As a colonial construct and an important constituent of the racial system, the study of the police force in Nigeria deepens understanding of the racial structure and violence within colonized communities. The research contends that the order the police enforced was intentional in the sense that it primarily protected Britain's economic interests. Through objective interpretation of archival sources and extant literature, this thesis analyzes society through the lens of policing, thus shifting focus from viewing the police as a separate entity to recognizing it as an integral part of the colonial system of prejudice. Again, it will demonstrate how the British colonial police, while striving to maintain order and ensure continued economic operations, especially during unrest in Nigeria, consistently exploited the local people within the colonial realm.
abstract: The British colonial government, after the conquest of Nigerian societies, effectively utilized colonial policing to maintain its authority and exploit Nigeria. As a pivotal administrative apparatus, the police provided coercive support for colonial rule in Nigeria and Africa. Scholars have examined the violence associated with the British suppression of indigenous resistance from the late 19th to the 20th centuries. This research broadens the understanding of colonial violence beyond the initial conquest by examining the police’s lesser-known role in regulating economic activities through threats and collective punishments. Additionally, the research highlights how Britain, as a capitalist empire, reflected its culture of racial superiority through the organization and operations of its police force. As a colonial construct and an important constituent of the racial system, the study of the police force in Nigeria deepens understanding of the racial structure and violence within colonized communities. The research contends that the order the police enforced was intentional in the sense that it primarily protected Britain's economic interests. Through objective interpretation of archival sources and extant literature, this thesis analyzes society through the lens of policing, thus shifting focus from viewing the police as a separate entity to recognizing it as an integral part of the colonial system of prejudice. Again, it will demonstrate how the British colonial police, while striving to maintain order and ensure continued economic operations, especially during unrest in Nigeria, consistently exploited the local people within the colonial realm.
author: Ugwu, Abel Tobechukwu
keywords: Police, Policing, Africa, Nigeria, Law, Colonialism, African History, Cultural History, History, Military History, Social History
date published: 2025-08-01T07:00:00Z
date modified: 2026-07-24T05:45:55Z
provider: University of Southern Mississippi
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: University of Southern Mississippi