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CRIME REFLECTS NOT JUST THE VALUES OF CRIMINALS, BUT ALSO THOSE OF
THE SOCIETY AS A WHOLE. DISCUSS WITH RESPECT TO THE CONTEMPORARY
VALUE SYSTEM IN NIGERIA

When the Oba of Benin, Erediuwa Okpolokpolo recently gave a monarchical order to his high
priest to rein curses on all criminals operating in his Kingdom with impunity, one could rightly
say that the Oba understood that crime had indeed, eaten deep into the fabric of his society, one
that could make a cankerworm seem like a soother. There had been reports of kidnapping,
burglary, armed robbery and all sorts of vices, one which has gone on for a long time and made
the kingdom virtually unhabitable and unfit for business. The exercise was to make sacrifices to
the local gods and perform other traditional rites which went as far as women protesting naked in
market places, all geared towards driving the criminals out of the kingdom. A report in the daily
tribune claimed that many of the indigenous criminals and their cohorts where disgruntled
individuals from the south-south, either students who have been dismissed due to cult activities
or offshoots of those militias who are not willing to fully integrate into the amnesty program of
the federal government. Even if this analysis by the paper isn¶t completely true, there is a fact-
intense crime exists in Benin Kingdom and it is surely a product of a norm, unchecked event and
at large, a broken society.

The society can be referred to as a highly structuredcsystem of j
 

for large-
scale community living that normally furnishes protection, continuity,  
, and a 



cfor its members (dictionary.com). The points that relate to this discussion in the above
definition are boldened and italicized to project the chain relationship that exists between the
values that hold the populace together (national identity), values of society( human organization)
and the net security it will enjoy if it is indeed, highly structured. I believe key to this discussion
is my ability to answer the reason why crime rate differs from place to place, even sometimes
within the same locality. Traditionally, it bothers on economic inequality, unemployment value
system crisis, dry quest for material wealth acquisition e.tc., but these problems transcends the
geography of contemporary Nigeria, however; the south-east and some parts of the north where
Islamic sects and all sorts of religious fanaticism exist are hotspots for more crime, the south-
south has been recently eased up by the federal government¶s amnesty program. Why do these
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areas exhume higher crime rates than other parts of the country? Not that the other calmer geo-
zones are peace havens, its just a case of relativity.

The south east of Nigeria has become an amphitheatre of intense brigandage, with kidnapping
and armed robbery high on the log, there have also been recent killings reported especially at
road blocks in the states of Anambra and Imo. It is estimated that about 600 persons were
kidnapped between 2007 and 2010 of both high and low class personalities and relatives. The
criminals could make up to70million Naira from the super-rich hostages while the latter could
produce ransoms up to 1million naira. The captors are very sophisticated and professional
financed by very affluent business moguls who obviously want more. Top security personnel
also provide them the needed cover and hideouts. In the same vein, some of them are not so
advanced and well supported, and this category is drawn from street urchins or ex vigilante
groups. Other cases of felony and misdemeanor are also on the rise. The criminals in this region
were not born to be such; they are simply a product of a norm, unchecked events and broken
society as stated earlier. Abia and Anambra are the most devastated as per violent crimes and the
reason is not far- fetched: they were pioneer states of Vigilante groups popularly supported and
known as Bakassi Boys, obviously for political and economic reasons. The south eastern states
also charge lots of money to investigate a criminal complaint, with some police units in Anambra
charging the sum of 150000 naira while their counterparts in Abia, Enugu, Ebonyi and Imo
charge 250000 naira for similar investigation. When the Nigerian police dislodged the bakassi
boys group in 2000 and 2002; it was reported that over 20000 arms in their possession were not
recovered, no disarming, demobilization and re-integration were carried out. Therefore, the
southeastern society at large, augmented by the corrupt Nigeria Police Force had practically
imbibed this value of crime into the criminals.

The most disturbing aspect of this is that lessons still haven¶t been learnt. Recently, the
authorities in Anambra state admitted that there are 592 recognized or registered vigilante
groups, operating in various parts of the state. Independent sources believe that over 1000 armed
registered and unregistered vigilante groups operate, and that their numbers are increasing on
daily basis, a trend that surfaces in the run up to elections. Unfortunately, there are little or no
control mechanisms put in place by the authorities. The sources of arms for these groups are
believed to be illegal arms vendors scattered in Onitsha and Aba markets. About 800000 to a
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million illegal arms may be in circulation in Abia and Anambra states. By and large, this crime
clearly emanates from a broken society, supposedly protected by a corrupt police. This is further
underscored by the police crime of extortion as well as commercialization of criminal
investigations and an end to ceaseless proliferation of armed vigilante groups in the southeast,
many of who become potential kidnappers and armed robbers, and are called criminals.

The Northern areas of the country are known for extensive religious and ethnic fanaticism, from
the ancient city of Kano, through Kaduna, Jos to Bauchi and beyond.

The broken Nigerian society also facilitates other crimes such as carjacking, home invasions, and
most importantly financial fraud popularly called X
.(not finished)

Violence against women as a social problem in Nigeria [µs