Journal VOL. 1 NO. 2, July. 2022, ISSN: 2811 - 2393
Mass Media Reportage of Police Harassment and Brutality of Nigerians in a Democratic Dispensation (A Study of the Punch and the Guardian Newspapers)
Amuno Jonathan Emamuzo, Odunlami Olusegun Abimbola, Boma Stella Erekosima, Ake Oluwaseun Omofoaye
ABSTRACT
The mass media serves as a vital component in the day-to-day life of the public as helps to keep the members of a society, community, state, country well informed about what is happening around them. When mass media organisations are unable to carry out their duties to the public objectively, this causes public distrust in the media. In view of this, this paper focuses on mass media reportage of police harassment and brutality of Nigerians in a democratic dispensation with special attention to The Punch and The Guardian newspapers. This paper borders on giving insight to the issue of police harassment and brutality of Nigerians and how the media portrays/reports such negative activities of the Nigerian Police to the general public. This study is premised on Social Action, Social Conflict and Agenda Setting Theories. The paper adopted content analysis and a multi-stage sampling technique, that is, simple random and systematic sampling techniques to conclude on the sampling size. From coding guide developed, it was discovered that there are gaps in newspaper reportage and even contents on Police harassment and brutality of Nigerians. The study discovered that less prominence is given to this issue of social menace that could degenerate into violence and unrest in the country. The paper therefore recommends that stories on police brutality and harassment of Nigerians should be given more prominence and frequent reportage in order to build public trust in the mass media as an agent of positive societal change.
Keywords: Mass media, Police, Police Harassment, Police Brutality, Nigerians
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