NCJ Number
139098
Journal
International Annals of Criminology Volume: 27 Issue: 1/2 Dated: (1989) Pages: 181-189
Date Published
1989
Length
9 pages
Annotation
The corruption of public officials and the abuse of authority are receiving increasing research attention; countries such as Nigeria show that this behavior goes beyond what is covered by the criminal law and that understanding it promotes understanding of criminal behavior in general.
Abstract
Landreville notes that the possibility of an abuse of power increased as the inequality in a power relationship increases. Abuse of authority is particularly apparent in countries that operate totalitarian or pseudo-democratic governments; Nigeria's military regimes have suspended the constitution or parts of it. Merton has used the United States as an example of a country in which success is defined in terms of wealth and in which difficulties in obtaining wealth promote deviance. In Nigeria, the glorification of money and the tremendous inequalities in opportunities to achieve success enables persons in powerful positions to manipulate their opportunities and to achieve wealth illegally and at the public's expense. Reports from the mass media and other sources have documented many cases of corruption of public officials in Nigeria.