Ideo-discursive representation of the Nigeria Police in selected Nollywood films

The Nigeria Police, a key institution in the country, performs a wide range of functions aimed at ensuring a safe society for the citizenry. As such, the institution and its officials have been variously ideo-discursively represented in Nollywood films. This study seeks to critically examine the discursive representations/portrayals of the Nigeria Police in selected Nollywood films, with a view to describing the ideologies behind these portrayals. Furthermore, the study explores how the representation of the Nigeria Police reflects the attitude of the general public towards the institution and the implications of such in terms of public trust, social behaviour and citizens‘ cooperation with the institution, geared towards the general safety of the Nigerian society. Data were purposively drawn from five movies (Brotherhood, The Black Book, One Too Many, Police is Your Friend, Ogidan 3). The films were selected based on their graphic representation of the Nigeria Police through their characters and characterisation. The data analysis was guided by Dijk‘s ideology and Norman Fairclough‘s Critical Discourse Analysis. Findings reveal that the Nigeria Police and its personnel are represented as instrument of the elite, law breakers, fetishists, power-conscious individuals, lie fabricators, and purveyors of corruption. These representations are ideologically marked through linguistic choices.