Armed Robbery Attacks and Everyday Life in Nigeria

This paper examined armed robbery attacks and everyday life in Nigeria as part of a victimization survey. The study noted that the phenomenon of armed robbery, like other organized criminal activities such as kidnapping for ransom, armed banditry, and terrorism, constitutes a big source of concern because apart from the resultant human losses, it constitutes a serious impediment to direct foreign investment as no investor would want to do business in an environment characterized by threat to security.  The study used 819 respondents spread across 4 geopolitical zones of the country, by means of the other-administered questionnaire method. The study indicated that over 39% of the respondents had experienced armed robbery attacks at least once, while 56% others knew at least somebody who was killed by robbers. Over 60% live with the fear of robbery attacks on daily basis. The paper observed that the nation’s highways have remained unsafe even as the security strategies devised by successive Nigerian governments have been largely ineffectual. These findings were considered very alarming by security standards. The paper disagreed with the usual notion which attributes the menace of armed robbery in the country to unemployment. Rather, it identified Nigeria’s weak security architecture with emphasis on method of policing and societal value system as areas that require a paradigm shift.