SOAS Research Online

Abstract

Studies on security and governance are widespread across the global south and often focus on how power is distributed and transferred from states to nonstate actors. However, they rarely examine actual governance practises or the more specific logic or content of the relationships between states and nonstate actors involved in security governance. As a result, rather than concentrating on institutions and what they do or do not in particular contexts, this research examines what social and political structures are present and how they interact. Additionally, this research sheds more light on emerging indigenous strategies and non-state mechanisms of crime fighting and management in Nigeria, particularly within regions with a long history of crime and violence (the northern part of Nigeria). It also examines the role and relevance of non-state actors in providing security within the country, with the goal of contributing to academic and policy debates about the future of African security and governance system. To understand and analyse the proliferation and effectiveness of non-state informal policing security systems within various communities in northern Nigeria, the study used a case study approach (Kaduna) and a mix method research approach combining both quantitative and qualitative research methods to understand and analyse the proliferation and effectiveness of non-state informal policing security system within various communities in northern Nigeria. The findings of the study revealed that, in addition to the state institutions in charge of security in Nigeria, there are other policing structures and actors that compete with, accommodate, complement, or substitute the role and responsibility of the state/formal policing organisation, particularly in areas where there is little to no formal policing presence in most cities in Nigeria and Africa. Findings in the study area also revealed that they have a complementary as well as a substitutive relationship, particularly in areas with little or no formal policing presence. The study concludes that in order to combat crime and restore overall security and public safety, the state should collaborate with local actors, who are equally effective in crime management and prevention due to their community roots, local knowledge, familiarity with the language, geography, and socio-political terrains. In the end, the discourse in this study does not suggest that one system is better than another or that the role of the state in working to ensure the safety and social welfare of the populace is insignificant. It however makes an effort to highlight how crucial local insights, responses, and comprehensions are to reducing crime and security across the nation. Working with communities and non-state customary institutions is just as important as working with central state institutions and governments, as local knowledge, responses, and understandings are crucial in battling crime and insecurity within Nigerian cities.