Banditry and Violent Conflict in North Central Nigeria

The relationship between banditry and violent conflict in North Central Nigeria was examined in this paper. The escalation and persistence of banditry in Northern states of Nigeria between 2014 to present affects the domestic security of the country. This is reflected in the increased rates of armed bandit's attacks, killing, robbing and rustling cattle in every nook and cranny of the region. Bandits' activities have become a serious threat to the livelihoods of rural dwellers and to the entire people of the North. The study adopted the Queer Ladder Theory (QLT) which is the notion that organised crime thrives in contexts where the government’s capacity to dictate, sanction and deter crime is poor; where public corruption is endemic; and where prospects for legitimate livelihood opportunities are slim. The study was based on secondary method of data collection and analysis. It was discovered that violent conflicts arising from banditry have destroyed huge infrastructures and private properties and displaced numerous people or denied them sources of livelihood, leaving them to embrace armed resistance or criminal violence as means of surviving. Based on this, the study recommends that the Nigerian government should strategise to create meaningful employment for the youths trapped in the phenomenon through the creation of programmes which aim at addressing the endemic poverty in the north central in particular and the country in general.