TRANS-BORDER CRIMES: IMPACT AND IMPLICATIONS FOR NATIONAL SECURITY IN NIGERIA
Rotimi Goodness, Kester Onor and Rotimi Mercy
Volume 1 Issue 1
Abstract
The emergent challenges of trans-border crime have become a contentious issue that has gained credence in modern scholarship. The porous nature of Africa’s national boundaries coupled with the post-colonial states bequeathed to Africans at independence with its cross-cutting cleavages has made the continent prone to this menace. The inability of state managers to provide good governance and allocate scarce resources equitably to the wellbeing of all citizens has further alienated the masses thereby eroding their confidence on the capacity of the government to proactively ameliorate and perhaps, eradicate their suffering. Hence, a large army of unemployed youths have engaged themselves in illicit activities which cut across national boundaries to survive. These scenarios are prevalent in West Africa where many unemployed youths have engaged in drug trafficking, cybercrime, human trafficking, hostage taking, kidnapping and abduction. These nefarious activities grossly undermine both human and national security. This paper is centered on trans-border crimes specific to the Seme border with reliance on secondary data to examine the impact and implication of this imperil on both human and national security of Nigeria. The study revealed that several factors are responsible for crimes across the borders concluding that good governance and a more effective border management strategy amongst others are prerequisites for the preservation of human and national security. The study recommends that proactive measures must be undertaken by the government in addressing these problems. Good governance should be entrenched so as to open up political and economic space. The government should provide an enabling environment through the establishment of empowerment programs for youths. Friendly policies should be made so as to enable private businesses to thrive thus leading to massive employment. Keywords: Border, Border Security, Crimes, National Security, Nigeria, Trans-Border
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