Crime and Security Survey

Southwest
Nigeria
August 2014
Introduction
nsecurity has been identified as one of the major factors hampering development in Nigeria, which
indeed does not exclude its constituent units, one of which is the Southwest Geo Political Zone. As
observed by Nwanegbo and Odigbo (2013), security is evidently the pillar upon which every I
meaningful development could be achieved and sustained, which certainly makes it imperative for any
country desirous of development to ensure that its environment and society is peaceful and orderly.
Akintokunbo (2011) noted that increased tendencies of insecurity is likely to or indeed affect the
legitimate social and economic activities in a country.
Southwest Nigeria in a strategic effort towards creating conducive environment for its people, businesses
and visitors has clearly identified the promotion of a safe, secure, law and order space as one of its regional
aspirations. In achieving this objective, it has become imperative to explore the perceptions of the people,
of the Region, a necessary exercise for containing insecurity tendencies in the Region. Major discussions
on security in Nigeria have identified ethno-religious conflicts as a major cause of insecurity in the
country, Jega (2002), Salawu (2010), Onyishi (2011), Ezeoha (2011), Lewis (2002). This has obviously
manifested in the current rampaging of the Boko Haram sect, whose terrorism act has claimed over 20,000
lives in less than 6 years of their continuous massacre.
In order to facilitate an evidence-based discussion at the Commission's forthcoming Security and other
Legislative Stakeholders Workshop scheduled to hold next month, the Research and Analytics
Department of the Commission conducted an online survey, which is expected to improve the
understanding of Governments of the Region as regards security matters and also to help strengthen the
Region's capacity in combating current and anticipated crime and insecurity challenges.
Southwest Nigeria Crime and Security Survey
DAWN Commission Research.
|August 2014
Page | 01
Southwest
Severity
of murder
in
Nigeria
Findings
Very High
High Low Very Low
10.3%
41.1%
38.3%
10.3%
s revealed above, 41.1% of
total respondents agreed
Ato the fact that murder
tendencies in the Region is low
while 38.3% believe it is high.
10.3% of the respondents think
that murder in the region is both
very high and very low. On a High-
Low scale, 51.4% believe the
severity of murder in the Region is
low, while 48.6% think it is high.
Southwest
Severity
of Rape/Sexual
Violence
in
Nigeria
h i l e 4 3 . 9 % o f
respondents agreed
t hat r ape/s exual W
violence is high in the Region,
33.6% believe it is low. 18.7% and
3.8% believe it is very high and
very low respectively. On a high-
low scale, 62.6% saw the severity
of rape/sexual violence to be high,
while 37.4% believe it is low.
High-Low Scale
High
Low
62.6%
37.4%
High-Low Scale
High
Low
51.4%
48.6%
Very High High Low Very Low
18.7%
43.9%
33.6%
3.8%
Southwest
Severity
of Terrorist
Attacks
in
Nigeria
v e r h a l f o f t h e
respondents believe the
Oseverity of terrorist attack
in Southwest is very low, with
57.9%. 37.4% believe is low. While
l ess than 1% bel ieves the
seriousness of terrorist attack is
very high, only 3.8% believe it is
high. On High-Low Scale, 95.3%
believe the severity of terrorist
attack in the Region is low
compared to just 4.7% who
believes it is high.
High-Low Scale
High
Low
95.3%
4.7%
Very High High Low Very Low
0.9% 3.8%
37.4%
57.9%
Southwest
Severity
of Armed
Robbery
in
Nigeria
67.3% of the people who took part
in the polls think that the rate of
armed robbery in the Region is
high, while 13.1% think it is very
high. On the flipside, 17.8% of the
respondents bel i eve armed
robbery in the region is low, while
1.9% believe it is very low. On
High-Low Scale, 80.4% believe it is
high while 19.6% believe it is low.
High-Low Scale
High
Low
80.4%
19.%
Very High High Low Very Low
13.1%
17.8%
1.9%
67.3%
Southwest Nigeria Crime and Security Survey
DAWN Commission Research.
|August 2014
Page | 02
!
!
Southwest
Severity
of Kidnaping
in
Nigeria
Findings
Very High High Low Very Low
6.5%
32.7%
44.9%
15.9%
idnapping in Southwest
Nigeria does not seem to
Kbe a prevalent crime, as
44.9% of respondents believe its
prevalence is low, compared to
32.7% who believe it is high. Also,
6.5% think it is very high, while
15.9% think it is very low. On a
High-Low Scale, 60.8% think
kidnapping severity in the Region
is low, while 39.2% believe it is
high.
Southwest
Severity
of Religious
Intolerance
in
Nigeria
el i gi ous i ntol erance,
which is a likely cause of
Runrest in the country, is
found to be low in the Region, as
53.3% and 33.6% believe its
severity is very low and low
respectively. 9.3% however
believe religious intolerance in
the Region is high and 3.8% think
it is very high. On a High-Low
Scale, 86.9% believe the severity
of intolerance is low while 13.1%
believe it is high.
High-Low Scale
High
Low
86.9%
13.1%
High-Low Scale
High
Low
60.8%
39.2%
Very High High Low Very Low
Southwest
Severity
of Cyber Crime
in
Nigeria
ybercrime in the Region is
found to be high, with
C31.8% and 38.3% of
respondents affirming that its
severity is very high and high
respectively. While 29% believe it
is low, about less than 1% think
cybercrime severity is very low. On
High-Low Scale, 70.1% believe
cybercrime is severe, while 29.9%
think it is low.
High-Low Scale
High
Low
70.1%
29.9%
Very High High Low Very Low
Southwest
Severity
of Communal
Violence
in
Nigeria
53.3% think that the severity of
communal violence is low in
Southwest Nigeria compared to
16.8%, who believe it is high.
While 29% believe it is very low,
less than 1% believe it is very high.
On a High-Low Scale, 83.3%
believe the severity of communal
violence is low, while 16.7% think
it is high.
High-Low Scale
High
Low
83.3%
16.7%
Very High High Low Very Low
3.8%
9.3%
33.6%
53.3%
31.8%
38.3%
29.0%
0.9%
0.9%
16.8%
53.3%
29.0%
Southwest Nigeria Crime and Security Survey
DAWN Commission Research.
|August 2014
Page | 03
!
contd.
Southwest
Severity
of Electoral
Violence
in
Nigeria
Findings
Very High High Low Very Low
13.1%
45.8%
36.4%
4.6%
a j o r i t y o f t h e
respondents (45.8%)
Mbelieve the severity of
electoral violence is high in the
Region compared to the 36.4%
who believe it is low. 13.1% of the
respondent also believe is very
high, while 4.6% believe it is very
low. On a High-Low Scale, 58.9%
believe the severity of electoral
violence is high while 41.1%
believe it is low.
Southwest
Severity
of Human
Trafficking
in
Nigeria
he graph shows that the
i nci dence of human
Ttrafficking in the Region is
less severe, with 43.0% and 20.6%
agreeing that it is low and very low
respectively. However, 29%
believe it is high, while 7.4% think
it is very high. On a High-Low
Scale, 63.6% believe human
trafficking severity in the Region
is low while 36.4% believe it is
high.
High-Low Scale
High
Low
63.6%
36.4%
High-Low Scale
High
Low
58.9%
41.1%
Very High High Low Very Low
Southwest
Severity
of Child Abuse
in
Nigeria
he result shows that
50.5% think the rate of
Tchild abuse is high while
27.1% think it is low. 10.3%
think it is very high, while 12.1%
think it is very low. On a High-
Low Scale, 60.8 think it is high
while 39.2% think it is low.
High-Low Scale
High
Low
60.8%
39.2%
Very High High Low Very Low
Conclusion
Following from the above, the perception of crime by the respondents of the poll shows that crimes such as
rape/sexual abuse, armed robbery, cybercrime, electoral violence and child abuse are high. On the other hand, the
crimes which the respondent say are not so prevalent in the region are terrorist attacks, murder, kidnapping,
religious intolerance and human trafficking.
7.4%
29.0%
43.0%
20.6%
10.3%
50.5%
27.1%
12.1%
Southwest Nigeria Crime and Security Survey
DAWN Commission Research.
|August 2014
Page | 04
!
!
contd.
Methodology
The Southwest Nigeria Regional survey was conducted via online polls. The respondents are specifically
restricted to stakeholders (investors and inhabitants) in the Region.
The questionnaire was administered via electronic mail (e-mail) and was sent to the Commission's regular e-
mail. All together, the mail was sent to 1,100 respondents. Our analysis reveals a 10% response rate. With this
sample size, we can say with 95% confidence that the results obtained are statistically precise within a range of
9.35%.
Disclaimer
The report is prepared by the Research and Analytics (R&A) Unit of the Development Agenda for Western
Nigeria (DAWN) Commission, a dedicated technocratic institution for Southwest Nigeria.
The R&A Unit hereby certifies that all opinions expressed in this report largely reflect the views of respondents
surveyed for the poll, which are deemed useful if the date of the document is current. The views and opinion
expressed herein may not reflect the Commission's thinking/opinion on the subject matter if the date is not
current. No representation is made that it is accurate or complete. Whilst every care has been taken in preparing
this report, no responsibility or liability is accepted for actions taken as a result of information provided herein.
This report is for private circulation only and may not be reproduced, distributed or published by any recipient
for any purpose without prior express content of DAWN Commission. We only request that DAWN Research
be acknowledged as author whenever and wherever our poll results are used, cited or published.
References:
Akintokunbo A.A (2013), The problems and Challenges of Insecurity in Nigeria, Newsdairyonline, December
16, 2011.International Journal of Humanities and Social Science Vol. 3 No. 4 [Special Issue February 2013]285
Jega, I. (2002). Tackling Ethno-religious Conflicts in Nigeria, Newsletter of Social Science Academy of Nigeria,
September, vol.5, No.2, pp.35-38.
Lewis, P. (2002), Islam, Protest, and Conflict in Nigeria. Washington: Center for Strategic and International
Studies (CSIS), Africa Notes No. 10.
Nwanegbo, C. J., &Odigbo, J. (2013). Security and national Development in Nigeria: The Threat of Boko
Haram, International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, Vol. 3 No.4 [Special Issue- February 2013]
pp287-291
Salawu .B. (2010), Ethno-Religious Conflicts in Nigeria: Casual Analysis and Proposal for New Management
Strategies. European Journal of Social Sciences Volume 13, Number 3 (2010).
Southwest Nigeria Crime and Security Survey
DAWN Commission Research.
|August 2014
Page | 05
Content Development
Data Analysis
Creative & Graphics Design
Adedotun Victor Seyingbo
Adegbenro Ayodeji Coker
Folahanmi Olufemi Oyatorisa
Iwaoya Pogoson
DAWN Research & Analytics
Contact:
10th floor, Cocoa House, Dugbe,
Ibadan, Southwest Nigeria.
DAWN Commission
info@dawncommission.org
+234 (0) 709 8212 309