ARMED BANDITRY AND HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN SOKOTO AND KEBBI STATES

Abstract

The leadership, in developed societies of the world guarantees peace and security with a view to safeguarding the human rights of the individuals, among others but unfortunately what obtains in Nigeria negates this paradigm. This paper examined the role of armed banditry in the escalation of human rights violation in Sokoto and Kebbi states in Nigeria. The study adopted descriptive survey research design and used the instrument of questionnaire to elicit data. A population of 3,301,600 was derived from the affected areas, while a sample size of 370 was obtained using Miller and Dillman (2011) sample size formula. However, in line with Jeff (2011) perception of taking care of non-response rate, 500 copies of questionnaire were administered. 457 copies of administered questionnaire were retrieved indicating a 91.4% response rate. Two hypotheses were formulated and the data collected were analysed using Multiple Regression and ANOVA. The study observed that before the insurgence of armed banditry, human rights record has been appreciably significant, record of human rights violation has been abysmally low and the area has been relatively peaceful. The study revealed that the upsurge of armed banditry altered the human rights profile of the area. Findings indicated that there was a positive significant relationship between armed banditry and human rights violation in these states; and that the incidences of armed banditry have significantly impacted on human rights profile in these states. It concluded that institutional failure with regards to security agencies encouraged the bandits to abuse human rights with impunity. It recommends that the security personnel should be strengthened with sophisticated weapons and other equipment required for crushing the despicable activities of the bandits; Sokoto and Kebbi’s borderlands with other nations should be effectively monitored to curb the influx of illegal migrants and checkmate arms proliferation. Also, modern technology should be deployed to monitor the ungoverned spaces.