Criminological Reflection on the Political Economy of Deregulation and Privatization in Nigeria

This study examined criminological reflection on the political economy of deregulation and privatization in Nigeria. The study, which draws on Marxist and State Crime theories, demonstrates how neoliberal reforms that were supposed to increase productivity, encourage private investment, and lessen state power have instead had intricate social and economic repercussions. The study uses a descriptive research design to examine systemic outcomes across the financial, power, telecommunications, and petroleum industries, primarily relying on data from sectoral developments and recent policy actions between 2015 and 2025. The study uses a descriptive research design to examine systemic effects in the financial, telecommunications, power, and petroleum industries. The results show that while reforms have helped the private sector grow, especially in digital finance and telecommunications, they have also made elite capture, corruption networks, inflationary pressures, and socioeconomic inequality worse. Deregulation has also raised living expenses, sparked public outcry, and encouraged survivalist crimes like cyber fraud, oil theft, and black market activity among underprivileged groups. The study comes to the conclusion that rather than reducing economic crime and social harm, Nigeria's reform agenda has frequently reorganized them. To make sure that reforms advance justice and public welfare rather than escalating systemic injustice, it suggests more stringent regulatory oversight, open privatization procedures, and the inclusion of criminological viewpoints in economic policymaking.