Why is it so Hard to successfully fight organized Criminal Groups? A Case study of Nigeria

Why is it so Hard to successfully fight organized Criminal Groups? A Case study of Nigeria

Abstract: Being the most populous country in Africa today, Nigeriaaspires to be a 21st century financial powerhouse however many of itsinhabitants still live below the poverty line, with large number of peoplemoving from the rural areas to the city in order to “make it” more oftenthan not greeted with hardship, and are forced to stay in the slums ofthese cities, these slums provide a ready made army of alienatedimpoverished and disadvantaged people who are eager and more thanwilling to be recruited to serve criminal organizations. In Nigeria variouscriminal groups exist with varying degree of sophistication, areas andtime of operation, the challenges in fighting organized crime in Nigeria isnot far fetched as corruption, poor leadership and governance, poorcoordination within and between various agencies that are supposed tooperate in synergy, globalization, lack of and poor deployment ofappropriate technology and involvement of the government amongstother things hampers the fight against organized crime.

Introduction

Organized crime is considered a threat to global security,

with the growth of international links between criminal

organizations brought about by globalization it has

transcend borders and geographical boundaries, organized

crime today is broader and has global perspective (Godson &

Wilson 2011). Continually evolving, it has become one of

the most serious challenges facing governments all across

the globe. It affects social, political and economic

development especially in developing and fragile states.

Similarly it can also blight the development of thriving

states (Wright 2005). Globalization of organized crime has

allowed criminal groups the latitude to operate in extra

territorial ways, ease of movement, easy access to arms,

growth of international market, financial system,

information and communication system amongst other things

are working towards the advantage of criminal organizations

(Marion 2007). Similarly, Williams and Godson (2002)

identified economic, political and legal factors as enabling

factors that are conducive for the growth of organized

crime. Accordingly Marion (2007) observed that organized

crime today is characterized by profit, violence,

corruption, loyalty, restrictive membership, violence, non

ideological goals amongst other things, while their

activities includes and not limited to extortion, money

laundering, prostitution, drug, arms and human trafficking,

gambling and kidnapping.

In Africa the threat of organized crime is massive because

of the presence of weak and developing states, which serves

as perfect breading grounds’ for organized criminal

activities. Shaw and Wannenburg (2005) and Vorrath (2013)

contend that there is no clear boundary between formal,

informal and criminal business organizations this is

attributed to the fact that regular and irregular economies

are always closely interwoven in developing countries where

bulk of the economy takes place in informal sector with

little or no formal intervention from the state. Similarly

Shaw and Wannenburg (2005) explained that organized crime in

West Africa has its origins in the breakdown of state

institutions in Nigeria in the late 70s. Smith (2010) and

Roth (2010) observed that weak institution; corruption,

alienation, injustice and inequality characterize the rise

of organized crime in Nigeria. Today Nigeria is synonymous

with the number “419” named after the Nigerian penal code

punishing the crime of advance fee fraud commonly

perpetrated by Nigerians over the Internet, similarly

Nigerians are know all over the world for their involvement

in drug and human trafficking amongst other crimes. Against

this background, this essay will look at the enabling

factors and root causes of organized crime in Nigeria,

secondly it will analyze the challenges in fighting these

organized criminal groups and lastly it will look at the

nexus between the state, politicians and organized crime.

Factors Responsible for the Emergence of Organized CriminalGroups in Nigeria

Diverse explanations have been put forward for the emergence

of organized criminal group in Nigeria. Dambazau (2014)

contend that factors such as unemployment, weak government

institution, corruption, and extreme poverty amongst other

things which all boils down to poor governance and

ineffective leadership gives rise to not only criminal

groups but also insecurity in Nigeria. Similarly Williams

(2014) identified poor governance, high level of corruption,

weak civil society and multiple ethnic and tribal groups as

root causes for the emergence of organized criminal groups

in Nigeria, Williams further explained that the poor

economic conditions for the vast majority of the populace

has significantly contributed to the continuation and

expansion of organized criminal activities (Williams, 2014).

Shaw (2001) on the other hand argues that Economic

mismanagement, political instability and a failed structural

adjustment program couple with the decline and economic

crisis in the late 1980s are to be blame for the rise of

organized criminal groups and subsequently decline of the

state especially in west African states, accordingly Ebbe

(2012) observed that economic, political and socio -cultural

factors have created an incentive for the emergence of

organized criminal groups in Nigeria, especially the

political factor where the nation resources is seen by every

politician as something “up for grabs” this give rise to

different criminal-like organization amongst the political

elites in a bid to control the “national cake” (Ebbe, 2012).

Edward (2011) in his argument highlighted unemployment as

the major factor in the emergence and subsequent rise of

criminal groups in Nigeria, this argument is not far off

from the truth according to Trading Economics (2015)

Nigeria’s unemployment rate stands out at 23.90% one of the

highest in the world and considering Nigeria’s massive

population of 170 million people that is roughly about 40

million people actively looking for job, this according to

Edward has pushed many jobless Nigerians into various

criminal activities (Edward, 2011). Study has shown that

unemployed youths are more likely to be at the forefront

when it comes to criminal activities (Okafor, 2011), the

desperation and frustration caused by unemployment according

to Ajufo (2013) has created a fertile ground for crime to

thrive, this is exemplified by the rise of violent crimes,

kidnappings, emergence of organized crime, militancy and

terrorism, similarly reports has shown that most of these

criminal groups are saturated with youths most of whom are

unemployed (Epelle, 2010). Ebbe (2012) in his analysis

contend that migration of the young and old people with

little or no education from the rural areas to the urban

areas in search of non existent jobs form various criminal

gangs when such jobs cannot be secured, consequently he

avers that low standard of education couple with

unemployment create incentives for organized criminal groups

to emerge.

Furthermore, Ideyi (2005) observed that unemployment in

Nigeria that is now beyond quick fix has successfully

created an army of idle hands who are now a menace to the

same society that failed to provide them with means of

livelihood and dignity. They express their dissatisfaction

at the apparent oversight of their existence by living

outside the law subsequently, the rise of organized criminal

groups (Ideyi, 2005).

Another explanation put forward by researchers on the

emergence and rise of organized criminal group in Nigeria is

the widening Inequality and injustice between the rich and

poor, accordingly Oyeshola (2005) argued that transition

from military rule to civilian rule has failed to bridge the

gap between inequality and alienation of certain people in

the society especially the poor, if anything it has widened

the gap between the disadvantaged and those at the top, the

disadvantaged in the society continues to suffer from

social, economical and political exclusion. Similarly,

Osinubi (2003) Maintained that democracy in Nigeria has only

succeeded in creating a two Nigeria, the Nigeria for the

rich and powerful and a Nigeria for the weak and poor, this

argument is not far off from the truth for example spatial

segregation between the elites and the poor is glaring

across most cities in the country, while the poor live

mostly in deplorable conditions without access to basic

social amenities, the rich and elected government officials

on the other hand live in a posh secluded highbrow part of

the town locally know as Government Reserved Area GRA for

short (Ford, 2007; Oyeshola, 2005; Ogunleye-Adetona, 2010;

Ucha, 2010).

Alienation and marginalization based on tribe, religion and

ethnicity is common today in Nigeria. Katsina (2012)

explained that the seclusion and alienation of people has

led to increase in urban crime and growth of criminal

activities. For example the emergence of criminals groups

such as the Area Boys in Lagos, the Niger Delta Militants in

the south-south of Nigeria and the Yan daba, Yan Daukar

Amarya and to an extend the Boko Haram insurgency in the

northern part of the country is attributed to alienation and

marginalization of the people in the affected region.

Furthermore, in an empirical study, it has been reported

that the alienation couple with unemployment and poverty of

these people especially the youth has increased the number

of aggrieved youths and also resulted in the emergence of

organized criminal group who targets the very society that

marginalized them (Ibrahim, 2006, Okafor, 2007b). In his

remarks El-Rufai (2011) concurs that the only noticeable

feature of democracy in Nigeria today is the level of

poverty, inequality and unemployment, which is highlight

further by the rise of crimes and violence in all part of

the county. A study by the UN-habitat has shown that socio-

economic inequality and lack of opportunities are some of

the root causes of crime the study estimated that over half

of the people living in slums are predominantly youths and

are primarily victims of social exclusion through poverty,

unemployment, lack of access to basic amenities (UN-Habitat,

2008). This is further highlighted by the Oxford Research

group study which links lack of education, employment

opportunities to the employable and disadvantaged people in

the society to the increase of crime because they provide a

breeding ground for criminal organizations and terrorism

(Rodgers, 2012),

Accordingly Ideyi (2008) maintains that injustice

perpetrated in almost very sector today in Nigeria has a

boomerang effect, for example many qualified graduates are

denied job based on tribe, lack of godfather, religion and a

host of other inconsequential factors, similarly the

disparity in income where there is a big gap between the

highest and lowest public servants creates ill-feeling,

anger and resentment which drives some people into crime,

this is not far fetched because today in Nigeria the minimum

wage is less than $100 while the pay of an elected federal

lawmaker is well above $1.2million dollars annually which is

outrageous, this and other factors creates a feeling of

animosity between the masses and elites, which in turns

makes the country vulnerable to crime and also a breeding

ground for organized criminal groups to thrive (Ideyi,

2008). Accordingly the income disparity between those in

the rural areas and those in urban areas has increase the

dimension of poverty in the country which subsequently leads

to social and economic problem such as poverty, corruption

and the rise of criminal groups (Oluwatayo, 2008).

Finally the above factors though not exhaustive have

highlighted some of the ways organized criminal groups

emerge in Nigeria, some other equally important factors such

as political instability, corruption, poverty, ignorance and

globalization not fully discussed here equally give rise to

organized criminal groups.

Challenges in Fighting Organized Criminal Groups in Nigeria

The challenge of fighting organized criminal groups today is

one faced by many countries. Today both the developed and

developing countries are plagued with the menace of

organized criminal groups. While some of the challenges

facing law enforcement agencies are universal like the

globalization of crime and the rise of information

technology. Other challenges however, are peculiar to

certain countries especially in developing countries

characterize by conflicts and incessant wars (Roth, 2010).

In Nigeria, one of the biggest challenge face by law

enforcement agencies is the issue of corruption, Already

embedded in the political, economical societal fabric of the

society, Williams (2014) observed that corruption and

organized crime are synonymous in the country, Transparency

International index raking of world most corrupt country

ranks Nigeria as 15 most corrupt country in the world

(Transparency International, 2015). Of course this not far

off from reality, corruption have continued to hamper the

progress of the security agencies.

Ucha (2010) maintained that corruption is deeply rooted in

the government and the society in most place it has already

become an acceptable way of life. Organized criminal groups

have found a way to manipulate this to their advantage,

Lyman and Potter in their analysis explained that criminal

activities of organized criminal group can go undetected

once they have a carefully placed corrupt individual in

government (Lyman and Potter, 2010). Adebakin and Raimi

(2012) in their argument contend that corruption has found a

place in the management of the nation’s budget, they argued

that money budgeted for national security meant for fighting

organized crime, violence and terrorism related activities

are diverted by government bureaucrats and top military and

police commanders to their personal use thereby tactically

fuelling more insecurity in other parts of the country to

get more money to enrich themselves and this circle

continues, despite the huge sums budgeted each year to fight

against insecurity, there has been anything but security

instead the opposite is the case (Adebakin and Raimi, 2012).

Katsina (2011) argued that corruption is so deeply rooted

that nowadays the question centers more on who is less

corrupt among public officials, he observed that its

unfortunate that the same people tasked with the

responsibility of maintaining the law are at the forefront

of violating the laws meant for fighting against criminals,

furthermore Albanese (2002) maintained that corruption

within the law enforcement agencies is not only extremely

serious but also undermines the public confidence in police

fight against organized crime (Albanese et al. 2002). A

typical example of that is the arrest of a former inspector

general of police in Nigeria who allegedly siphoned over

$150 million during his time as the head of the police (BBC,

2005). Today the police institution is plagued with

corruption, police in Nigeria are more than willing to look

the other way if “tipped” well enough this makes it easier

for criminal to have them in their pockets, subsequently

this undermines the public confidence. In the same vain, the

US department of state (2011) in their report observed that

corruption affects not only the political class and law

enforcement agencies, it also affect the judiciary, that

even where there is effective policing. Arrest and

prosecution of criminals often fail in Nigerian court

because of the massive corruption and intimidation, although

there have been some successful conviction of some

traffickers however; the numbers remains small (U.S.

Department of sate, 2008) thus, massive corruption and the

inefficiency of the judiciary has so far remain a major

challenge to fight against organized criminal groups (U.S

Department of State, 2011).

Another factor that hinders the successful fight against

organized criminal groups is the insufficient number of

adequately trained operatives and the limited number of

operatives to police the country, Babangida (2012) noted

that there is a clear mismatch considering the ratio of

security operatives to citizen, with a population of over

170 million, the nation could only boast of less than a

million combined security operatives this is definitely

inadequate in dealing with the ever increasing crime rates

in the country. Similarly, the relationship between the

police and the general public is anything but cordial. Today

in most states politicians and public elected officers in

order to maintain their political power allow criminal

friends to violate the law with impunity. They use the

police to intimidate the local people, the treatment and

negative perception of Nigerians makes them wary of going to

the police (Johnson, 2014).

Benjamin (2001) points out that the police have done next to

nothing in promoting their image before the public. A

reference point here is considering the fact that there are

so many case of assassination, murder, armed robbery and

other criminal activities that have lasted years without the

police arresting or prosecuting such groups or gangs. Jike

(2003) maintained that police emphasis on reactive measures

that include corruption, extortion, woeful performance in

the areas of intelligence gathering and analysis has greatly

affected the effectiveness and efficiency of the agency in

the fighting against criminals and organized criminal group

alike. Similarly, Odekunle (2004) argued that Nigerian

police fight against organized crime has fall short of

optimal performance this is manifested by inefficiencies,

bullying and over-use of legitimate force, however on the

other hand Alemika (2003) and Williams (2014) maintained

that inefficiencies of the police and other law enforcement

agencies in Nigeria, boils down to poor staffing, inadequate

resources, limited knowledge, lack of training, lack of

funds amongst other things which is diverted due to

corruption, this leads to unprofessionalism in the agencies

as evidenced by their performance and modus operandi. The

combination of these factors according to Dambazau (2014)

makes it impossible to rely on the police in enforcing the

laws. In Like manner the United state Department of state

suggest that the insufficient and erratic disbursement of

funds to the various law enforcement agencies and key anti

crime agencies in Nigeria shows lack of commitment from the

government in the fight against organized criminal groups

(U.S Department of State, 2008).

Williams (2014) highlights another challenge faced by law

enforcement agencies especially when dealing with Nigerian

organized criminal groups. He observed that the fluid

structure of the criminal organization allows them to

maintain low profile this reduce their risk of being exposed

or caught. The fluid network makes it harder for security

operative to infiltrate, disrupt or dismantle the criminal

group (Bjelopera and Finklea, 2012). Swart (2007) explains

that unlike the hierarchical structure of the mafia the

Nigerian criminal groups operate in cells of 10-12 members

which in itself is also dynamic, where roles assigned are

interchangeable, this and their ability to adapt to new

environment according to both Williams and Swart is their

main strength, their ingenuity allows them to bypass many

security measures put in place to stop them, for example

they have been known to use the ‘shotgun’ or ‘swamping’

strategy in trafficking drugs especially to Europe and the

United states, this is situation whereby those transporting

the drugs are booked on one flight and on arrival even if

the customs and law enforcement agencies were to arrest

some, others will still get through this proved to be a big

headache for law enforcement agents manning the borders

(Williams, 2014).

Although passing through some of these borders might be hard

especially borders of developed countries same cannot be

said of the porous borders in Nigeria. The porosity of the

borders and weak security measures put in place makes it

easier for immigrants and weapons from neighboring countries

to get in, today Nigeria is estimated to host about 70

percent of illegal weapons in west Africa (Edeko, 2011).

Onuoha (2006) confirmed there have been interceptions of

arms and ammunition worth over $30 million US dollars by the

Nigerian customs on a routine surveillance of the border

posts, this confirms the activities of criminal groups along

the border, the ease with which arms are gotten by organized

criminal groups highlights the difficult challenge security

operatives face today (Keili, 2008).

Accordingly Roth (2010) avers that the most challenging

problems facing law enforcement agencies in the fight

against organized crime today is the globalization of crime

and the rise of information technology related crime (2010:

34). Globalization broke down many barriers; it made

movement of goods and services easier, ease of communication

and explosion in international travel are some of the

advantages however, organized criminal groups have seen this

as an avenue to expand their illicit business, Chatterjee

and Police (2005) contend that globalization has

revolutionized licit and illicit commerce and that organized

criminal groups are becoming more entrepreneurial

accordingly Williams (2014) avers that globalization of

transport has helped expand the Nigerian criminal networks,

this argument is not totally unfounded as evidence show the

growing number of Nigerian traffickers in different

countries some of which include Paraguay, brazil Thailand,

Burma and Cambodia (UNODC, 2004). In the same way there are

evidence of Nigerian criminal groups involved in opium and

heroin trade from Afghanistan (Farah, 2006). With the

explosion in international travel criminals have many

choices of travelling routes and can arrange schedule that

minimizes risk and maximizes profit, this transnational

movement according to AIPA (2009) explains why it is

difficult for law enforcement agencies to combat them.

The globalization of communication, business and

technological advances has given criminal groups the

latitude to operate with impunity while staying anonymous

especially when using the Internet to perpetrate crimes

(Morselli, 2009). Criminal groups now have the capacity to

obtain, process and protect information through the use of

computers; this enables them to sidestep law enforcement

agencies in their investigation. The Internet has given

birth to what is now known as cyber crime, today Nigerian

criminal groups are known all over the world for using the

Internet to scam unsuspecting victims, commonly known as the

419 scam, this involves promising a potential victim

significant amount of money provided he pays a small amount

of upfront to allegedly pay off a lawyer or a banker

depending on the circumstance of the story, once payment is

made the fraudster either disappears or cunningly demand for

more payments (Chawki et al. 2015). Many have fallen victim

to this scam including a former US congressman Ed Mezvinsky,

in similar vain the globalization of the banking sector

makes it easier for them to transfer and launder their

money, with the sophisticated encryption of activities on

the internet today it has become difficult for law

enforcement agencies to monitor and detect such activities.

It is even more difficult in Nigeria where there is absence

of comprehensive legislation relating to crimes committed

through the use of technology especially laws that relates

to tracing, seizure and admissibility of computer generated

evidence. In the case of Nigeria even where such laws are

implemented the judges and law enforcement agencies lack the

knowledge and technical know how in prosecuting cases that

involve technology related crime (Ribadu, 2009). This is

attributed to the fact that the technology sector is still

young and developing in the country, therefore the lack of

knowledge on how to use the computer and Internet by the

various law enforcement agencies affords criminal groups the

advantage of having a field day. In similar vain technology

keeps changing by the day, the challenge to law enforcement

agencies is in keeping up with the changes, this means

updating their equipment and manpower constantly, in a

country like Nigeria the gap between the law enforcement

agencies and organized criminal group is wide, while the

criminals have sophisticated equipment that help them to

keep up to date with changes in the sector, the security

operatives on the other hand have low standard equipment

that can be easily counter-attacked by the criminals

(Williams, 2014).

The Nigerian State as Organized Criminal Group

The challenge in fighting against organized criminal group

in Nigeria is a complex one, the same state that is charged

with the task of fighting these groups is interestingly seen

as an extension of criminal organization. Shaw and

Wannenburg (2005) averred that there is heavy involvement of

state actors in criminal activities especially in Africa

where the state is weak and criminalized, furthermore the

activities of the state actors and criminal groups are

increasingly becoming almost identical, of course a recent

example is that of current serving minster who was accused

of rigging an election allegedly on the orders of the

president, in what was seen as prize for a job well done by

the current administration he was appointed a minister the

following month. Ebbe (2012) in his analysis noted that

organized crime in Nigeria is being headed by the president

himself, he controls the apparatus of government like a

mafia boss with each state running and operating like a unit

in a mafia set up.

In the similar fashion, Williams (2014) observed that the

state under the military regimes was turned into a glorified

criminal enterprise, where state officials were known to

have initiated criminal activities to enrich themselves.

This development he maintained, makes the fight against

organized crime a wild goose chase (Ebbe, 2012). The

argument, which sounds absurd, is not far off from the

truth. A classic case is that of a former governor Mr James

Ibori who in 1992 was convicted of fraud in the U.K only for

him to return home to be elected governor where he converted

the state resources to his personal use. With the backing of

the then president and being immune from prosecution, he

basically remained untouchable until he was arrested and

extradited to the U.K in 2011 where he was convicted of

money laundering charges (BBC, 2012). This is just one

example out of many, there are numerous cases of elected

officials and public officers being involved in shady

activities that are similar to that of organized criminal

groups and with the backing of the president who controls

the security apparatus of the sate, these officials remain

untouchable.

Conclusion

Organized criminal groups are today seen as a threat to

global security, while the fight against these groups is

more of a collective burden shared by many nations. However,

some challenges are peculiar to certain countries. Organized

criminal group generally thrive in places where good

governance is lacking. In the case of Nigeria it is shown

that bad leadership brings about the emergence and

subsequent evolution of organized criminal groups. The

resultant effect of bad governance has given rise to these

criminal entities, weak institutions, corruption,

unemployment and lack of political will by the government

have over the years continued to blight the fight against

organized criminal groups. Endemic Corruption has

effectively weakened the state anti-crime enforcement and

the judiciary; the top echelons of the law enforcement

agencies are siphoning budget meant for security. This in

turn affects the effective procurement of equipment, funding

and training of the security agencies. The anti corruption

agencies created by the government to fight corruption also

remain underfunded and lack the sophistication and technical

know how to fight the crime.

The infiltration or rather the involvement of government in

organized crime indicates the difficulty in successfully

fighting these groups, rewarding criminals with high

position in the government invariably encourage others to

take part in criminal activities, with the continued

impoverishment, alienation and marginalization of people in

Nigeria the end of organized criminal group seems more of a

myth than reality. The climate created and encouraged by

the government of today provide a fertile ground for

organized criminals to thrive if this trend should continue,

the economic, political and social development of the sate

will remain bleak. However, if there is strong political

will and implementation of sound policies which should

include eradication of corruption, creation of jobs, proper

funding, equipping, training and introducing a culture of

intelligence gathering and synergy between the various

security agencies then and only then will there be a ray of

hope for the Nigerian state fight against organized criminal

groups.

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