ABSTRACT
Introduction
The Endsars protest in Nigeria was an offshoot of police brutality against Nigerians. The protest initially started as an online campaign in twitter with the hashtag #Endsars. The protest which kicked off in a peaceful manner later metamorphosed into a violent protest when hoodlums, thugs and perceived political hired assassins hijacked it. The result of the violent protest had its worst tolls on the members of the Nigerian police force. During the protest, police stations and police properties including vans was set ablaze by arsonist, guns and equipements carted away while some police officers were murdered in cold blood. The devastating effects of the protest on the officers morale was at a very low ebb. This work seeks to investigate the Psychological Effect of the Endsars protest on officers of the Nigeria police force.
Methodology
The study adopted a survey research design. The survey research design is the most appropriate because the researcher does not in any way control or manipulate the independent variable because they are not manipulatable. Two sources of data were utilized in the study. The study which was on current issue with historical antecedents demanded primary and secondary sources of data. The primary sources of data for the study included personal interviews, direct observations and structured questionnaire sent to the police officers who were the direct primary providers of information for the study. The secondary sources of data were collected from newspapers, articles and journals, scholars works and other relevant internet sources. To establish the population of this study, the researcher adopted deliberate non probality sampling method in selecting members of police officers from EDO state which recorded the worst violent against police stations. The targeted population cut across groups, age, sex, occupations, class, et cetera. As such, a careful measure was taken thereby ensuring a fair representation of the entire population. Adequate efforts was made to employ appropriate statistical methods of presentation and analysis. The frequency tables and simple percentages were utilized in presenting the data. The researchers utilized the SPSS statistical tools.
Recommendations
Based on the findings, the study recommends that Nigerian legislatures should enact a law that prohibits protesters staging protest near police staions. Also the study recommends for adequate compensations to be given to family of police officers who suffers casualties during protest. This will boast their moral.
