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CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1    BACKGROUND OF STUDY

Criminality is part and parcel of human nature and society. That is why no society can claim to be completely free of crimes. But the types of criminal behaviour tend to follow the pattern of social and economic development of a given society. It is therefore not unexpected that a society at a low level of development tends to experience an upsurge in the rate of violent crimes such as armed robber, politically motivated killings, the use of illegal weapons, ethnic and religious clashes and the like (Ohijini 2005:1).

Crime causes loss of live and property as well as overwhelming fear of insecurity. These have serious consequences for democracy, economic development, social capital and associational life generally. Individual and societal aspirations for democracy, development, human rights, high standard of living are undermined by high level of crime.

Increase in violent crime and delinquency, is a common feature of countries in transition. This has been attributed to the uncontrollable nature of change in its formative stage, demobilization or dismantling of repressive security apparatuses used by previous authoritarian regimes in controlling crime and the unequal socio-economic opportunities brought about by economic liberalization programs. What differentiate societies in transition from one another with regard to increase in common crimes and disorders are the policies and strategies that have been adopted by the governments to address them. Countries that have invested more in social crime prevention and in finding peaceful solutions to their political problems through transparent processes appear to have managed rise in criminal deviance and discontent better than others. (Shaw 2001; Shearing & Kempa 2001 in Etannibi and Chukwuma, 2005).

The Nigerian experience cannot be different. The first four years of transitional democracy in the country witnessed perceived and real increase in violent crime and disorder, so much so that safety and security issues ranked very high among citizens’ priority concerns. Increasing incidence of armed robbery led to a paralyzing fear which in turn affected economic and social life in the country. As a result of the growing rates and severity of criminality successive governments in the country since the early 1980s introduced diverse crime control measures, but without much success.

Following the introduction of Structural Adjustment Programs (SAP) from 1984, the country started experiencing a serious contraction in the labour market. This resulted in a large proportion of youths, searching for jobs under the prevailing harsh economic conditions. The presence of this enormous pool of idle youths, who are both skilled and unskilled and sometimes homeless, created a fertile ground for deviant activities. This culminated in an increase in crime of different types, including drug-trafficking and drug abuse.

Based on the foregoing, the researcher felt the need to identify, describe and anlayse the trends in criminal activities in Edo State, considering its importance to national development.

 

1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Most Nigerians agree that crime rates and insecurity in the country are very high and that over the last years, the country has experienced a steep rise in crime. Organized and non-organized crime and attendant vices such as smuggling of contrabands, especially firearms, counterfeiting, money-laundering, armed robberies, kidnapping, car hijacking, and human trafficking have become sources of worry for the Nigerian government. Likewise, incidents of high profile crime and politically motivated killings and kidnapping have lately compounded the complexity of the crime situation in the country.

The South East zone of the country appears to be the worst hit. Newswatch Magazine (July 5, 2010: 11) in its editorial described the south east zone as a no-go area because of violent crimes which include kidnapping, robbery and assassination. Scroll Magazine (July 5, 2010: 13) in its cover page story stated that the region has become a goldmine for hoodlums and criminal elements who have mastered the art of abducting innocent individuals including children for huge ransoms. Newswatch Magazine (July 5, 2010: 11) in its editorial went further to state that all these have created one huge spectra of crime and criminality out of a region where people are known for hard work and living peaceful lives.

On the recent kidnap of four journalists in Abia State on the 11^th of July 2010 and the state of insecurity in the country. Agbese, Dan (2010) succinctly puts it this way.

“To state the uncomfortable and the obvious: we are all prisoners and potential victims of armed robbers and kidnapper. We live in cages surrounded by high walls and iron gates. We travel on our roads with two eyes in front and two at the back of our heads. The rich protect themselves with armoured vehicles and armed policemen or private security men. Our hearts are permanently in our mouths because whatever individual precautions we may take, we are collectively unprotected down the length and breadth of the country”

The government is on the verge of failing to uphold the sacred constitutional duty to protect the lives and property of the citizens. The increasing rise in crime wave around the country could undermine the current drive by the Federal Government to achieve the Vision 20 – 20 and the Millennium Development Goals if not checked.

Hence the problem of the study is on statistical analysis of criminal offences recorded in Benin – Edo state. from 1999 – 2018 (a case study of Benin police divisional headquarters, Edo state).

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1.3    OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The general objective of the study is to find out, describe and analyze the trends in criminal activities in Edo State. Specifically, the study seeks to:

1. ascertain the most prevalent form of crime in Edo State
2. ascertain if there are no differences in crime against persons and that against property.

• establish the trend between 1999 and 2018 period in Benin City, Edo

1. Make recommendations on possible ways of curbing criminal activities in the state.

 

1.4    RESEARCH QUESTIONS

The following research questions guided the study:

1. What are the factors that motivate people to commit crime in Edo State?
2. Which forms of crime are the most rampant in Edo State?
3. Is crime rate in Edo State actually increasing or decreasing?

 

 

1.5    RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS

The research hypotheses that guided this study are as follows:

1. H_O: There are no significant differences among various forms of crime committed in the State.
2. H_0: There is no significant difference in the crime against

persons and crime against property in the State.

3. H_0: There are no significant increases in the trend for crime as the year progresses

1.6    SCOPE OF THE STUDY

This is an empirical study on trends in criminal activities in Edo State. The variables understudies are; the causes/motivations for crime, most prevalent forms of crime in the State, and the trend pattern over the period understudy (i.e. 1999 to 2018)