Criminal Enterprise: Explaining the Emergence of Bandit Gangs in Nigeria

ABSTRACT:Since 2011, criminal activities of armed bandits in Northwest Nigeria have skyrocketed with enormous impact on lives and livelihoods. In the first seven months of 2019, the Nigerian government recorded over 330 attacks from armed bandits that resulted in the death of about 1,460 civilians. This briefing paper—which draws on relative deprivation theory— provides an account of the increasing cases of rampant banditry in the region, focusing on the motives and drives of armed bandits in the Northwest geopolitical zone in Nigeria. The account suggests a way forward to help resolve the disconcerting increase in conflict that has the potential to destabilize not only Nigeria but also the Sahel region.