POLICE CORRUPTION AND COST OF GOODS AND TRANSPORTATION IN DEKINA LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF KOGI STATE

The study examined the influence of police corruption on the cost of goods and transportation in Nigeria, using Dekina Local Government Area of Kogi State as a case study. The study set out to examine the factors that are responsible for police corruption; investigate the implications of police corruption on the cost of transportation and goods and suggest ways of curbing police corruption in Kogi State. The study employed descriptive research design. The population for the study comprises all the 351,700 resident of Dekina Local Government Area of Kogi State, North central Nigeria. Two hundred and fifty-three (253) respondents were selected for the study using the convenience sampling technique. A questionnaire tagged: “Police Corruption and Cost of Goods and Transportation Questionnaire (PCCGTQ)(r= 88) was the main instrument used for the study. Data was analysed using descriptive analysis. The findings show that factors such as greediness on the part of the police force, and the Nigerian government’s failure to fight corruption using modern technology are one of the major causes of police corruption in Kogi State; Police corruption has effects on the price of goods and the cost of transportation and corruption can be reduced by using technological devices such as drones and satellites to monitor police activities on our roads and to discipline corrupt police officers in the presence of their family. Based on the findings, it was recommended that the government encourage the police force by making the condition of service attractive and the police authority should discipline officers that are involved in corruption in the presence of their families, as well as prosecute any citizen who offers a bribe to the police.