CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1. BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Since the return of democracy in Nigeria in 1999, the security system of the country was challenged by the rise of insurgency in different parts of the country, so much so that, there was the emergence of various militant groups in the Niger Delta region and Boko Haram in the North East[1].

“Bandits” have emerged as the new bogeyman for insecurity in Nigeria, joining a long (and still growing list); that includes Boko Haram, cultists, herdsmen, kidnappers and militants. In different parts of the North-West, from Birnin-Gwari in Kaduna to Tsafe in Zamfara, bandits are offered as the trope for an intolerable carnage, and the inexplicable haplessness of a Federal Government that doesn’t appear to care for much else in an election season. As this lamentable state metastasises, it may be worthwhile to reflect on banditry in Nigeria.

In different parts of Nigeria, banditry is used to describe different variants of outlawry. In reality, the usage conflates two underlying problems – ineffective law enforcement in Southern Nigeria, and the crisis of ungoverned spaces in Northern Nigeria. Since Independence, successive governments have had to confront variants of these trends. The evidence over time suggests a link between governance, its failures, and banditry[2].

Very recent also, there is the emergence of armed banditry with its attendant crimes (kidnapping, culpable homicide and cattle rustling) in the North West region, an area which used to be the most peaceful part of the nation.

In This Present Darkness, his history of organised crime in Nigeria, Stephen Ellis traces post-independence banditry in Nigeria to “shortly before the civil war, when government broke down in some parts of the Western Region and there was a blurred line between political violence, crime, and organised insurgency.” At the end of the war, the military regime of Gowon failed to manage demobilisation. As demobilised combatants from the war returned home to nothing to do, outlawry became appealing.

In Southern Nigeria, which comprises a mere 29% of Nigeria’s nearly 924,000 km² of landmass, urban banditry ensued. Unsurprisingly, armed robbery in built-up areas of the country was an early manifestation. An early exponent of this was Ishola Oyenusi, a high-school dropout who chose to be called “the Doctor” and terrorised Lagos at the end of the Civil War. In response, the military government introduced mandatory death by firing squad for convicted armed robbers. The first set of public executions took place in front of Bar Beach, in Victoria Island, Lagos on April 26, 1971. Less than four and a half months later, on September 8, 1971, Oyenusi was executed at the same location.

1. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Nigeria over the years has been suffering from the security challenges. The most recent challenges faced in Nigeria is Armed Banditry. The prevalence of armed banditry is much in the northern part of Nigeria. There are several forms in which these bandits use to steal, kidnap and kill innocent citizens in Nigeria. The issue of armed banditry keeps growing because of poor security situation in Nigeria. Also the network situation for effective communication in most of the northern part of the country is very poor. Lastly few literature have captured the issue of armed banditry but the information is not detailed enough to educate the general public on appraisal of armed banditry in northern Nigeria from legal perspective; hence a need for the study.

1.3 AIM AND OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The main aim of this research work is to carry out an appraisal of armed banditry in northern Nigeria from legal perspective. The specific objectives of the study are:

1. to determine the causes of armed banditry in the northern Nigeria
2. to determine the form of armed banditry in northern Nigeria
3. to determine the effect of armed banditry on sustainable development in Nigeria
4. to ascertain the effects of armed banditry on the security situation in northern Nigeria
5.  to proffer solution to the above problem

1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

The study came up with research questions so as to ascertain the above stated objectives of the study. The research questions for the study are:

1. What are the causes of armed banditry in the northern Nigeria?
2. What are the forms of armed banditry in northern Nigeria?
3. What is the effect of armed banditry on sustainable development in Nigeria?
4. What are the effects of armed banditry on the security situation in northern Nigeria?
5.  What is the solution to the above problem?

1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The study on appraisal of armed banditry in northern Nigeria from legal perspective will be of immense benefit to the people in the northern part of Nigeria. The study will explore armed banditry, the causes and the preventive measure to be adopted. The study will also serve as a repository of information to other researchers and students that desire to carry out similar research on the above topic. Finally the study will contribute to the body of the body of the existing literature on appraisal of armed banditry in northern Nigeria from legal perspective

1.7 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The study will cover on appraisal of armed banditry in northern Nigeria from legal perspective

1.8 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This research work adopted the position of Merriam (1988) also supported by Marshall and Rossman (1989) that collection of data and analysis in a qualitative research is a simultaneous process. And as Schatzman and Strauss (1973) contended, data analysis in qualitative research is mainly entail the classification of things, persons and events as well as the properties which characterizes them. Jacob (1987), however posits that in a typical qualitative research, the researcher all through the data analysis process, code their data by using as many categories as possible. Furthermore, patterns and themes are identified and described (Agar, 1996). As such, data analysis in this study will be organized categorically and chronologically. It shall be reviewed and coded continually. In aligning with the view of Merriam (1988), there shall be a chronicling of the list of major ideas that surface. The aim was to find out the interplay of interests driving the debate on climate change between environmentalists and nationalists in the globe and this approach provides a useful way of understanding this phenomenon. Therefore the major source of data was obtained through literature survey of books, reports of dailies and periodicals, government publications, conference papers and seminar reports among other. Descriptive analysis was employed to analyse the data gathered which was presented in a narrative.

[1] E. Ogbozor, ‘Understanding the Informal Security Sector in Nigeria’ United States Institute of Peace Special Report 391, September, 2016,p.2

[2] Interview with Malam Usman Muhammad Jahun, Commander-General of Vigilante Group Nigeria,in Daily Trust Newspaper, Sunday,January 17,2016,pp.54-55