Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-mkpzs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-23T09:53:51.844Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

A New Name for an Old Practice: Vigilantes in South-Western Nigeria

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 May 2011

Laurent Fourchard
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

It is often considered probable that the recent rise of vigilante groups in Nigeria means an erosion of the state monopoly of legitimate violence as well as a marked decline in state sovereignty over the national territory. However, this conclusion does not take into consideration the fact that in Nigeria ‘vigilante’ is a term initially proposed by the police in the mid-1980s as a substitute for an older practice known in the western part of the country since the colonial period as the ‘hunter guard’ or ‘night guard’ system. Hence, instead of looking at vigilante groups as a response to a supposed increase in crime or a supposed decline of the police force, we should consider them – initially at least – as a first attempt to introduce forms of community policing in order to improve the appalling image of the police. As such, in south-western Nigeria ‘vigilante’ is a new name for an old practice of policing that should be considered in an extended timeframe (from the 1930s onward), a period in which violent crime has been perceived as a potential danger. Finally, within the ongoing debate on the ‘privatization of the state’ in Africa, non-state policing in Nigeria testifies to a continuum existing since the colonial period rather than to the appearance of new phenomena in the 1980s or the 1990s.

On considère souvent qu'il est probable que l'essor récent des groupes de vigilantes au Nigeria signifie une érosion du monopole de l'État sur la violence légitime, ainsi qu'un déclin marqué de la souveraineté de l'État sur le territoire national. Or, cette conclusion ne prend pas en considération le fait qu'au Nigeria le terme ≪ vigilante ≫ a été initialement proposé par la police dans le milieu des années 1980 en remplacement d'une pratique plus ancienne connue dans la partie occidentale du pays depuis la période coloniale sous le nom de système ≪ hunter guard ≫ ou ≪ night guard ≫. Ainsi, plutôt que de considérer les groupes de vigilantes comme une réponse à une augmentation supposée de la criminalité ou à un déclin supposé des forces de police, nous devrions les considérer (du moins initialement) comme une première tentative d'introduire des formes de maintien de l'ordre communautaire afin d'améliorer l'image épouvantable de la police. En tant que tel, ≪ vigilante ≫ est, dans le Sud-Est du Nigeria, le nom nouveau donné à une ancienne pratique de maintien de l'ordre qu'il convient de considérer dans une période étendue (à partir des années 1930) au cours de laquelle la criminalité violente était perçue comme un danger potentiel. Enfin, dans le cadre du débat actuel sur la ≪ privatisation de l'État ≫ en Afrique, le maintien de l'ordre non-étatique au Nigeria témoigne d'une continuité depuis la période coloniale, plutôt que de l'apparition d'un phénomène nouveau dans les années 1980 ou 1990.

Type
Research Article
Information
Africa , Volume 78 , Issue 1: Perspectives on Vigilantism in Nigeria , February 2008 , pp. 16 - 40
Copyright
Copyright © International African Institute 2008

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Abrahams, R. (1987) ‘Sungusungu: village vigilante groups in Tanzania’, African Affairs 86 (343): 179–96.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Abumere, S.I. (1987) ‘Urbanization and urban decay in Nigeria’ in Onibokun, P., Olokesusi, F. and Egunjobi, L. (eds), Urban Renewal in Nigeria. Ibadan: NISER.Google Scholar
Adebanwi, W. (2005) ‘The carpenter's revolt: youth, violence and the reinvention of culture in Nigeria’, Journal of Modern African Studies 43: 339–65.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Agbola, T. and Sobanjo, O. (2003) ‘The management of urban violence through traditional institutional processes: a case study of Ijebu-Ode’ in Fourchard, L. and Albert, I. O. (eds), Crime and Segregation in West African Cities since the Nineteenth Century. Paris: Karthala, and Ibadan: IFRA.Google Scholar
Akinyele, R.T. (2001) ‘Ethnic militancy and national stability in Nigeria: a case study of the Oodua People's Congress’, African Affairs 100 (401): 623– 40.Google Scholar
Akinyele, R.T. (2007) ‘The involvment of the Oodua People's Congress in crime control in south-western Nigerian cities’ in Fourchard, L. (ed.), Gouverner les villes d'Afrique: état, gouvernement local et acteurs privés. Paris: Karthala.Google Scholar
Akparanta, B. (1994) ‘Reasons for urban violence in post-civil war Nigeria’ in Albert, I.et al. (eds), Urban Management and Urban Violence in Africa, vol. 2. Ibadan: Institut Français de Recherche en Afrique.Google Scholar
Anderson, D.M. (2002) ‘Vigilantes, violence and the politics of public order in Kenya’, African Affairs 101 (405): 531–55.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Anderson, D. M. and Killingray, D. (1991) ‘An orderly retreat? Policing the end of empire’ in Anderson, D. M. and Killingray, D. (eds), Policing and Decolonisation: politics, nationalism and the police, 1917–1965. Manchester and New York: Manchester University Press.Google Scholar
Barber, K. (1983) ‘Popular reactions to the Petro-Naira’, Journal of Modern African Studies 20 (3): 431–50.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barnes, S.T. (1986) Patrons and Power: creating a political community in metropolitan Lagos. London: Indiana University Press.Google Scholar
Bénit, C., Fabiyi, S. and Owuor, S. (2007) ‘Le territoire contre le réseau? Fermetures de rues et nouvelles formes de gouvernance urbaine à Johannesburg, Nairobi et Ibadan’, Flux 66–67 (March): 19–39.Google Scholar
Brogden, M. (2004) ‘Commentary: community policing: a panacea from the West’, African Affairs 103 (413): 635–50.Google Scholar
Chalom, M. (1999) ‘La police communautaire de Peel à Goldstein. Détours et détournement’, Les Cahiers de la Sécurité Intérieure 37: 215–45.Google Scholar
Ebbe, Obi N. I. (1989) ‘Crime and delinquency in metropolitan Lagos: a study of “crime and delinquency area” theory’, Social Forces 67 (3): 751–65.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fabiyi, S. (2004) Gated Neighbourhoods and Privatisation of Urban Security in Ibadan Metropolis. Ibadan: Institut Français de Recherche en Afrique.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Falola, T. (1995) ‘Theft in colonial south-western Nigeria’, Africa 50 (1): 1–24.Google Scholar
Falola, T. and Oguntomisin, G. O. (1999) Yoruba Warlords of the Nineteenth Century. Trenton: Africa World Press.Google Scholar
Fleisher, M.L. (2000) ‘Sungusungu: state-sponsored village vigilante groups among the Kuria of Tanzania’, Africa 70 (2): 209–28.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fourchard, L. (2003) ‘Ibadan, Nigeria’ in The Challenge of Slums: global report on human settlements. London: UN Habitat.Google Scholar
Fourchard, L. (2003) ‘Security, crime and segregation in historical perspective’ in Fourchard, L. and Albert, I. O. (eds), Security, Crime and Segregation in West African Cities since the Nineteenth Century. Paris: Karthala, and Ibadan: IFRA.Google Scholar
Fourchard, L. (2005) ‘Urban poverty, urban crime and crime control: the Lagos and Ibadan cases, 1929–1945’ in Falola, T. and Salm, S. (eds), African Urban Space: a historical perspective. Rochester NY: Rochester University Press.Google Scholar
Fourchard, L. (2006a) ‘Lagos and the invention of juvenile delinquency in Nigeria, 1920–1960’, Journal of African History 47 (1): 115–37.Google Scholar
Fourchard, L. (2006b) ‘Les territoires de la criminalité à Lagos et à Ibadan depuis les années 1930’, Revue Tiers Monde 185: 91–107.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fourchard, L. (2007) ‘Violences et ordre politique au Nigeria’, Politique africaine, 106: 5–27.Google Scholar
Geschiere, P. (1995) Sorcellerie et politique en Afrique: la viande des autres. Paris: Karthala.Google Scholar
Glaser, C. (2000) Bo Tsotsi: the youth gangs of Soweto, 1935–1976. Oxford: James Currey.Google Scholar
Gore, C. and Pratten, D. (2003) ‘The politics of plunder: the rhetorics of order and disorder in southern Nigeria’, African Affairs 102 (407): 211–40.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Guichaoua, Y. (2007) ‘Les mutations d'une milice ethnique sous le régime civil d'Olusegun Obasanjo: le cas de l'Oodua People's Congress’, Politique Africaine 106: 92–109.Google Scholar
Haysom, N. (1986) Mabangalala: the rise of right-wing vigilantes in South Africa. Johannesburg: Centre for Applied Legal Studies, University of Witwatersrand.Google Scholar
Heald, S. (1986) ‘Mafias in Africa: the rise of drinking companies and vigilante groups in Bugisu District, Uganda’, Africa 56 (4): 446–67.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hills, A. (2000) Policing Africa: internal security and the limits of liberalization. London: Lynne Rienner Publisher.Google Scholar
Inyang, E.O. (1989) ‘The Nigeria Police Force: peace keeping in Nigeria’, in Tamuno, T. and Atanda, J. (eds), Nigeria since Independence: the first 25 years. Vol. 4 Government and Public Policy. Ibadan: Heinemann.Google Scholar
Jemibewon, D. (2001) The Nigeria Police in Transition: issues, problems and prospects. Ibadan: Spectrum.Google Scholar
Killingray, D. (1986) ‘The maintenance of law and order in British colonial Africa’, African Affairs 85 (340): 411–37.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kynoch, G. (1999) ‘From the Ninevites to the hard-living gang: township gangsters and urban violence in twentieth-century South Africa’, African Studies 58 (1): 55–84.Google Scholar
Kynoch, G. (2005) ‘Crime, conflict and politics in transition-era South Africa’, African Affairs 104 (416): 494–5.Google Scholar
Mabogunje, A.L. (1962) ‘The growth of residential districts in Ibadan’, Geographical Review 1: 56–77.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mabogunje, A.L. (1968) Urbanization in Nigeria. London: University of London Press.Google Scholar
Mamdani, M. (2002) Citizen and Subject: contemporary Africa and the legacy of late colonialism. Princeton NJ: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Marenin, O. (1985) ‘Policing Nigeria: control and autonomy in the exercise of coercion’, African Studies Review 28 (1): 73–93.Google Scholar
Marenin, O. (1986) ‘United States’ aid to African police forces; the experience and impact of the Public Safety Assistance programme’, African Affairs 85 (341): 509–45.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marenin, O. (1987) ‘The Anini saga: armed robbery and the reproduction of ideology in Nigeria’, Journal of Modern African Studies 25 (2): 259–81.Google Scholar
Maupeu, H. (2002) ‘Mungiki et les élections: les mutations politiques d'un prophétisme kikuyu’, Politique africaine 87: 117–37.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mbembe, A. (2005) De la postcolonie: essai sur l'imagination politique dans l'Afrique contemporaine. Paris, Karthala.Google Scholar
Meagher, K. (2007) ‘Hijacking civil society: the inside story of the Bakassi Boys vigilante group of south-eastern Nigeria’, Journal of Modern African Studies 45 (1): 89–115.Google Scholar
Murray, M.J. (1989) ‘The natives are always stealing: white vigilantes and the “reign of terror” in the Orange Free State, 1918–24’, Journal of African History 30 (1): 107–23.Google Scholar
Olaniyi, O. (2005) Community Vigilantes in Metropolitan Kano, 1985–2005. Ibadan: IFRA.Google Scholar
Onyeonoru, I.P. ‘Insecurity and the “Bakassi Boys” operations in Eastern Nigeria’ in Fourchard, L. and Albert, I. O. (eds), Security, Crime and Segregation in West African Cities since the Nineteenth Century. Paris: Karthala, and Ibadan: IFRA.Google Scholar
Pérouse de Montclos, M.A. (1997) Violence et sécurité urbaines en Afrique du Sud et au Nigeria. Paris: L'Harmattan.Google Scholar
Roberts, N. (2003) ‘Maintaining law and order in Nigerian cities: the case of the Babangida and Abacha regimes’, in Fourchard, L. and Albert, I. O. (eds), Security, Crime and Segregation in West African Cities since the Nineteenth Century. Paris: Karthala, and Ibadan: IFRA.Google Scholar
Rotimi, K. (2001) The Police in a Federal State: the Nigerian experience. Ibadan: College Press.Google Scholar
Ruteere, M. and Pommerolle, M.-E. (2003) ‘Democratizing security or decentralizing repression? The ambiguities of community policing in Kenya’, African Affairs 102 (409): 587–604.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sesay, A.M., Ukeje, C.Aina, O. and Odebiyi, A. (eds) (2003) Ethnic Militias and the Future of Democracy in Nigeria. Ile-Ife: Obafemi Awolowo University Press.Google Scholar
Smith, D.J. (2007) A Culture of Corruption: everyday deception and popular discontent in Nigeria, Princeton NJ: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Spear, T. (2003) ‘Neo-traditionalism and the limits of invention in British colonial Africa’, Journal of African History 44 (1): 3–27.Google Scholar
Tamuno, T. (1985) The Responsibility for Crime Control in Nigeria. Ibadan: Nigerian Institute for Social and Economic Research, Distinguished Lecture Series.Google Scholar
Tamuno, T. (1989) ‘Trends in policy: the police and prisons’ in Tamuno, T. and Atanda, J. A. (eds), Nigeria since Independence: the first 25 years. Vol. 4, Government and Public Policy. Ibadan: Heinemann.Google Scholar
Tamuno, T. (1993) ‘Crime and security in pre-colonial Nigeria’ in Tamuno, T.et al. (eds), Policing Nigeria: past, present and future. Lagos: Malthouse Press Limited.Google Scholar
Tamuno, T. (2003) ‘The Nigeria Police Force and public security and safety’ in Fourchard, L. and Albert, I. O. (eds), Security, Crime and Segregation in West African Cities since the Nineteenth Century. Paris: Karthala, and Ibadan: IFRA.Google Scholar
Vaughan, O. (2000) Nigerian Chiefs: traditional power in modern politics, 1890s–1990s. Rochester NY: University of Rochester Press.Google Scholar
Watson, R. (2000) ‘Murder and the political body in early colonial Ibadan’, Africa 70 (1): 25–48.Google Scholar
Watson, R. (2003) ‘Civil Disorder is the Disease of Ibadan’: chieftaincy and civic culture in a Yoruba city. Oxford: James Currey.Google Scholar
Young, C. (2004) ‘The end of the post-colonial state in Africa? Reflections on changing African political dynamics’, African Affairs 103 (410): 23–49.Google Scholar