Nigeria Police Exam cheat sheet

Synonyms share meaning; antonyms oppose it - test by substituting the word into the sentence.

Subject-verb agreement: singular subjects take singular verbs; ignore interrupting phrases like 'along with'.

A pronoun must agree with its antecedent in number and gender; 'everyone' and 'each' are singular.

Active voice: subject performs the action; passive voice: subject receives it (formed with be + past participle).

Common antonym prefixes: un-, in-/im-/il-/ir-, dis-, non-, mis-.

Analogy types: synonym, antonym, part-to-whole, cause-effect, function, category-member.

Direct speech uses quotation marks; reported speech shifts tense back one step and changes pronouns.

Homophones to distinguish: their/there/they're, its/it's, your/you're, affect/effect.

Percentage change = (new − old) ÷ old × 100%; increase is positive, decrease negative.

Simple interest I = PRT/100, where P is principal, R the annual rate, T the time in years.

Speed = distance ÷ time; to convert km/h to m/s multiply by 5/18.

Area formulas: rectangle l×w, triangle ½bh, circle πr², trapezium ½(a+b)h.

Mean = sum ÷ count; median = middle value when ordered; mode = most frequent value.

Ratio sharing: total parts = sum of ratio terms; each share = (its term ÷ total parts) × amount.

Number series: check differences, then ratios, then alternating or squared patterns before guessing.

Profit/loss percent is calculated on cost price unless the question states otherwise.

Nigeria's capital is Abuja (since 1991); Lagos was the capital before.

Nigeria has 36 states plus the Federal Capital Territory, grouped into 6 geopolitical zones.

The naira (₦) is Nigeria's currency, issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria.

Nigeria became independent on 1 October 1960 and a republic on 1 October 1963.

The UN was founded in 1945; its headquarters is in New York; Nigeria joined in 1960.

ECOWAS was established in 1975 with headquarters in Abuja; Nigeria is a founding member.

The African Union replaced the OAU in 2002; its headquarters is in Addis Ababa.

Current-affairs questions test recent officeholders, so verify names against the latest official source.

The Berlin Conference of 1884–85 set rules for European partition of Africa, including Nigeria.

Amalgamation of the Northern and Southern Protectorates occurred in 1914 under Lord Lugard.

Indirect rule was formalised by Lugard in Northern Nigeria using traditional rulers.

The 1946 Richards Constitution introduced regionalism; the 1954 Lyttleton Constitution created a federal structure.

Nigeria gained independence on 1 October 1960 under Prime Minister Tafawa Balewa.

The military first seized power in January 1966; the civil war ran 1967–1970.

The Aba Women's Riot of 1929 protested direct taxation of women in the east.

The 1979 Constitution introduced an executive presidential system; the current 1999 Constitution restored it.

Separation of powers divides government into executive (implements), legislature (makes laws), judiciary (interprets).

Checks and balances let each arm limit the others, e.g. judicial review of legislation.

Federalism shares power between central and state governments, each with defined exclusive/concurrent lists.

A constitution is the supreme law; any law inconsistent with it is void to the extent of inconsistency.

Rule of law: everyone is equal before the law and no one is punished except for a breach of law.

Fundamental human rights include life, dignity, fair hearing, freedom of expression and association.

Civic duties include obeying laws, paying taxes, jury/service obligations and respecting others' rights.

Democracy requires free, fair, periodic elections and majority rule with minority rights protected.

Photosynthesis: 6CO₂ + 6H₂O + light → C₆H₁₂O₆ + 6O₂, occurring in chloroplasts.

The human body has 206 bones in adults; the heart has four chambers.

Malaria is transmitted by the female Anopheles mosquito; prevention includes nets and clearing stagnant water.

Water boils at 100 °C and freezes at 0 °C at standard atmospheric pressure.

Blood groups: A, B, AB, O; O-negative is the universal donor for red cells.

Vaccines work by stimulating the immune system to produce antibodies without causing disease.

HIV is transmitted through blood, sexual contact and mother-to-child; it is not spread by hugging or sharing food.

The three states of matter are solid, liquid and gas; changes of state are physical, not chemical.

Deductive validity: if premises are true and the form is valid, the conclusion must be true.

Contrapositive is logically equivalent to the original: 'if P then Q' equals 'if not Q then not P'.

Converse ('if Q then P') and inverse ('if not P then not Q') are NOT equivalent to the original.

Syllogism check: a term distributed in the conclusion must be distributed in a premise.

Number/letter series: convert letters to positions (A=1 … Z=26) to reveal arithmetic patterns.

Abstract sequences commonly rotate (90°/180°), reflect, alternate shading, or add/remove elements per step.

Correlation is not causation; a claim that one event caused another needs evidence beyond sequence.

Counterexample method: one valid counterexample disproves a universal claim.

Core police functions: prevent and detect crime, maintain public order, protect life and property, enforce laws.

Community policing builds trust through partnership between police and the public rather than enforcement alone.

A suspect must be presumed innocent until proven guilty by a competent court.

Arrest should be based on reasonable suspicion or a warrant, and the reason must be explained to the suspect.

Use of force must be lawful, necessary and proportionate to the threat faced.

Evidence handling requires continuity: record who collected, when, where and how items were stored.

Traffic control duties include directing flow, enforcing road rules and attending to accidents.

Officers must record incidents accurately in official notebooks and reports, as these may be used in court.

Section 35 of the 1999 Constitution: a person arrested must be brought before a court within a reasonable time (statutorily 24–48 hours).

A search of premises generally requires a warrant unless a specific exception (e.g. consent, urgency) applies.

Miranda-style caution: inform the suspect of the right to remain silent and to legal representation.

Bail is a right in most offences; it may be denied for serious offences or where the suspect may flee.

Chain of custody breaks can render physical evidence inadmissible or weaken its probative value.

Physical screening commonly checks height, chest measurement, visual acuity, hearing, blood pressure and BMI.

Medical screening typically includes drug tests, hepatitis/HIV screening and general fitness assessment.

Corruption offences fall under the ICPC Act and EFCC Act; officers are bound by anti-corruption rules.

Cloze passages: read the whole passage first, then choose the option that fits both meaning and grammar.

Concord with collective nouns (e.g. 'the team') may take singular or plural depending on whether the group acts as one.

Idioms are non-literal: 'to bury the hatchet' means to make peace, not to hide an axe.

Punctuation: a semicolon joins related independent clauses; a colon introduces a list or explanation.

Spelling traps: 'accommodation', 'committee', 'occurrence', 'embarrass', 'maintenance'.

Inference questions ask what is implied, not what is stated; choose the most supported option only.

Compound interest A = P(1 + r/n)^(nt); compound exceeds simple interest after the first period.

Pythagoras: in a right triangle, a² + b² = c², with c the hypotenuse.

LCM × HCF = product of the two numbers.

Average of consecutive numbers equals the middle value; sum = average × count.

Probability of an event = favourable outcomes ÷ total equally likely outcomes.

Work problems: if A finishes in x days, A's rate is 1/x of the job per day.

Nigeria's three tiers of government are federal, state and local government.

The National Assembly is bicameral: Senate and House of Representatives.

Nigeria's police force is the Nigeria Police Force, headed by an Inspector-General of Police.

The World Health Organization (WHO) is a UN agency headquartered in Geneva.

OPEC, of which Nigeria is a member, coordinates petroleum policies among member countries.

The Commonwealth is an association of mostly former British territories; Nigeria is a member.

The Royal Niger Company administered parts of Nigeria before the British Crown took control in 1900.

Lord Frederick Lugard was Nigeria's first Governor-General (1914).

The 1963 republican constitution made the Governor-General a President and removed the Queen as head of state.

The Nigerian Civil War (1967–1970) followed the secession of Biafra; it ended with the 'No victor, no vanquished' policy.

The 1976 local government reforms standardised local government administration nationwide.

The June 12, 1993 election is widely regarded as Nigeria's freest and fairest; it was annulled.

The legislature's functions include lawmaking, oversight, representation and appropriation of funds.

Judicial independence is protected by security of tenure and fixed remuneration for judges.

A bill becomes law after passing both chambers and receiving presidential assent; an override requires a two-thirds majority.

Citizenship in Nigeria can be by birth, registration or naturalisation.

The electoral body is the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The Public Complaints Commission (Ombudsman) investigates maladministration against citizens.

The digestive tract order: mouth → oesophagus → stomach → small intestine → large intestine.

Insulin, produced by the pancreas, regulates blood glucose; diabetes results from its deficiency or ineffectiveness.

First aid for burns: cool with running water, do not apply oil or butter, cover with a clean dressing.

Hepatitis B is transmitted through blood and body fluids; a vaccine exists.

Handwashing with soap reduces transmission of diarrhoeal and respiratory diseases.

The periodic table arranges elements by increasing atomic number.

Affirming the consequent ('if P then Q; Q; therefore P') is a fallacy.

Denying the antecedent ('if P then Q; not P; therefore not Q') is a fallacy.

Modus ponens: 'if P then Q; P; therefore Q' is valid.

Modus tollens: 'if P then Q; not Q; therefore not P' is valid.

In matrices, check row-wise then column-wise rules; the rule usually holds consistently in one direction.

Odd-one-out: identify the shared property of all but one option, then select the exception.

A police officer must identify themselves and state the reason for any stop or arrest.

Stop-and-search must be conducted respectfully and with regard to the suspect's dignity.

Statements taken from suspects should be voluntary; the right to silence must be respected.

Road traffic enforcement includes checking licences, insurance and vehicle roadworthiness.

Public order management favours negotiation and dispersal before any use of force.

Report writing should be factual, chronological, and free of opinion or speculation.

The Nigeria Police Force operates under the Police Act; recruitment is through the Police Service Commission.

An officer may arrest without warrant for offences committed in their presence or where reasonable suspicion exists.

A suspect has the right to inform a person of their arrest and to consult a legal practitioner.

Screening for entry-level recruitment typically includes a physical fitness test (running, push-ups) and a medical exam.

Vision standards usually require uncorrected acuity within a specified range; colour blindness is often disqualifying.

Officers must declare conflicts of interest and must not accept bribes or gifts that compromise duty.

Vocabulary in context: choose the option closest in meaning to the underlined word as used in the sentence.

Register: formal writing avoids slang and contractions; official police reports use formal register.

Cohesive devices (however, therefore, moreover) signal contrast, cause and addition respectively.

Comprehension: the main idea is the central point; supporting details are evidence for it.

Convert fractions to decimals by dividing numerator by denominator; multiply by 100 for percent.

Perimeter of a rectangle = 2(l + w); circumference of a circle = 2πr.

Volume of a cuboid = l × w × h; of a cylinder = πr²h.

Rounding: look at the digit immediately right of the target place value.

Nigeria's population is the largest in Africa; its official language is English.

The Nigerian flag is green-white-green; the coat of arms features two horses and an eagle.

The Supreme Court is Nigeria's highest court; the Chief Justice heads the judiciary.

The African Development Bank is headquartered in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire.

The Enugu Colliery shooting of 1949 increased nationalist agitation in Nigeria.

The NCNC, Action Group and NPC were major pre-independence political parties.

The first Nigerian President was Nnamdi Azikiwe (ceremonial, 1963).

The 1979 and 1999 constitutions both established a presidential system with a National Assembly.

A unitary system has one central government; a federal system shares power between levels.

A totalitarian system concentrates power and suppresses opposition; democracy disperses it.

Human rights are inalienable, universal and indivisible; they apply to all persons.

Voter registration is a civic duty that enables participation in elections.

The respiratory system exchanges oxygen and carbon dioxide in the alveoli of the lungs.

The nervous system's basic unit is the neuron; the brain and spinal cord form the central nervous system.

Malnutrition includes both undernutrition and overnutrition; a balanced diet supplies all nutrient classes.

Cholera spreads through contaminated water and food; boiling water reduces risk.

Assumption questions: the correct answer is a premise needed for the argument, not a restatement.

Strengthen/weaken questions: choose the option that most affects the link between evidence and conclusion.

Analogy in reasoning: identify the relationship precisely, then apply it to the target pair.

If-then chains: 'if P then Q; if Q then R' implies 'if P then R' (transitivity).

Officers must protect the rights of suspects, victims and witnesses throughout an investigation.

Crime scene protection: secure the scene, avoid contamination, record all persons present.

Community engagement includes school visits, neighbourhood watch and public sensitisation.

Officers must obey lawful orders from superiors and report misconduct through proper channels.

The Nigeria Police Force's motto emphasises service and protection of the public.

Discipline and integrity are core values; misconduct is handled through internal disciplinary procedures.

Physical screening often includes a timed endurance run and a minimum height requirement.

Medical screening may include chest X-ray, blood pressure and general physical examination.