By Nehi Igbinijesu
The Nigeria Police is the national police of Nigeria with complete jurisdiction across the entire country. The history of the Nigeria Police is closely interwoven with the formation of colonies and protectorates that were later fused to become Nigeria in 1914.
It began in 1861 when Lagos became a Crown Colony of the United Kingdom with a thirty member consular guard. In 1879, a 1200-member paramilitary Constabulary was formed to police the Hausa speaking parts of Northern Nigeria while the Niger Coast Constabulary was formed in Calabar to police the newly proclaimed Niger Coast Protectorate in 1894.
The Lagos Police was established in 1896. In the north, the Royal Nigeria Company under the leadership of Lord Aberdare constituted the Royal Niger Company Constabulary in 1888 to police its territory.
At the proclamation of the Protectorates of Northern and Southern Nigeria in the 1900s, the many police outfits were merged into the Southern Nigeria Police and the Northern Nigeria Police which were further fused into one outfit in 1930, after the amalgamation of Northern and Southern Nigeria in 1914.
