Dr Oluwagbenga Akinlabi

Assistant Professor

School: Humanities and Social Sciences

Oluwagbenga Michael Akinlabi is Senior Lecturer in Criminology and Criminal Justice at Northumbria University in Newcastle, United Kingdom. He has PhD in Criminology and Criminal Justice from Griffith University in Australia. Prior to this, he had completed a Master of Philosophy degree in Criminological Research from the University of Cambridge, United Kingdom, Master of Science in Clinical Psychology from the University of Ibadan in Nigeria and Bachelor of Education in Guidance and Counselling (options in Geography) also from the University of Ibadan in Nigeria.

Within the past few years, Michael has worked as a university lecturer, an associate lecturer, and a university research assistant. During this period, he has provided lectures, coordinated and convened large undergraduate and postgraduate programs in intelligence and security studies, criminology, and psychology. He has successfully attracted more than 15 scholarships, grants, recognition and awards in Nigeria, United Kingdom and Australia; including the prestigious British Commonwealth Scholarships and Australian Postgraduate Awards.

Michael’s research interests include procedural justice and police legitimacy, policing the global south, police use of force, corruption and accountability, policing youths and BAME, crime and psychopathology, and stress in police. Specifically, his current research has been exploring how perceptions of justice and fairness, corruption, and feelings of trust, can go a long way to influence compliance and/or cynicism towards the law.

Campus Address

213
Lipman Building
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE1 8ST

+44 (0) 191 227 4448

Email Oluwagbenga

Key Publications

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
Afropolitanism, Corruption, and Trust in Government: A Postcolonial Perspective, Akinlabi, O. 31 Mar 2025, In: African Identities
Assessing Legal Socialisation in a Youth Sample: Procedural Justice, Legitimacy, and Popular Discontent in Nigeria, Akinlabi, O., Amagnya, M., Bello, P. 11 Mar 2025, In: Crime, Law and Social Change
Satisfaction with the Police in South Africa: Perspectives of University Students, Bello, P., Akinlabi, O., Amagnya, M. 1 Sep 2025, In: International Criminology
Policing and the Rule of Law in Sub-Saharan Africa, Akinlabi, O. 18 Oct 2022
Police officers’ assessments of factors that contribute to police corruption in Ghana, Amagnya, M., Akinlabi, O., Bello, P. 27 Jan 2025, In: Policing

Professional Activity

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
Invited talk: Inspire the Future 2018
Invited talk: Police Use of Force and the Problem of Accountability in Nigeria 2018
Oral presentation: The Police are Not Your Friends: Corrupt Policing and Implication for Trust and Cooperation with the Police 2017
Oral presentation: Police Deviance, Procedural (In)justice and Cynicism towards the Law in Nigeria 2016
Oral presentation: Dull Compulsion or Police Legitimacy? Assessing Why People Comply with the Law in Nigeria 2016
Oral presentation: Trans-cultural Relevance in Nigeria: Procedural Justice, Police Legitimacy, and Implications for Cooperation with the Police 2015
Oral presentation: Predatory Policing in Nigeria: Public Experiences of Police Corruption, Brutality and its Implication on Police Legitimacy 2013

PGR Supervision

Abbie Riley An Auto-Photographic and Narrative Exploration of Mixed-Race Individuals Navigating the Realities of White Supremacy and Racially Motivated Extremism Online and Offline. Start Date: 01/10/2024
Abbie Riley An Auto-Photographic and Narrative Exploration of Mixed-Race Individuals Navigating the Realities of White Supremacy and Extremism Online and Offline. Start Date: 01/10/2024 End Date: 17/10/2025