Security Of Nigeria's Border, Arms Smuggling And Criminalities In The North West And North Central Nigeria.

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Abstract

This study undertakes a comprehensive examination of the intricate relationships between border security, arms smuggling, and the escalating levels of criminality in North West and North Central Nigeria, through the lens of the Failing State Theory. The specific objectives were to; examine the impact of border security on the increasing level of criminality in the North West and North Central Nigeria and also investigate the impact of arms smuggling on the escalating criminality in the region; The sampling technique adopted was cross-sessional survey where a combination of stratified and simple random sampling techniques was used to select 400 respondents from 1,902 sampled population. The sample size of 400 was determined using Taro Yamane. All together 450 questionnaires were administered to the selected respondents and 400 were retrieved. Six key informants were interviewed physically out of which three came from North West and the remaining three from North Central. A simple linear regression was used to analyze the data collected on each of the variable while multiple regression was used to conduct analysis on the comparism that exist between the dependent and independent variables used in the study. The study recommends establishment of a robust border management agency through The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) which will further promote a reliable security at the border. More so, The Nigeria Custom Service (NCS) should help to improve intelligence gathering, and targeted economic empowerment programs, aim to inform evidence-based policy interventions to mitigate the devastating consequences of arms smuggling and criminality in Nigeria. The research also underscores the need for community-based initiatives by the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) to address socio-economic drivers of criminality, such as poverty, unemployment, and inequality. Ultimately, this also recommends that The Nigeria Armed Forces(NAF) should facilitates effective strategies to combat arms smuggling, banditry, and related criminality in Nigeria, and promote regional and global security