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Breaking The Cycle: A Study of the Causes and Motivations of Banditry in Sankera, Benue State, Nigeria
Subject area: Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities · Area of research: Christian Religious Studies
DOI: 10.64388/ire1724458
Abstract
Banditry has become a major security and development challenge in Nigeria’s North Central region, with the Sankera axis of Benue State, comprising Katsina-Ala, Logo and Ukum Local Government Areas, severely affected. Although existing studies have documented the consequences of banditry for rural communities, less attention has been paid to the conditions that enable its emergence, the motivations of those involved and the processes through which violence persists. This study examined the structural and situational causes of banditry in Sankera, the motivations for participation, its effects on affected communities and possible interventions. The study adopted a qualitative case study design, drawing on interviews with 33 participants, nine focus group discussions and document review. The data were analysed using content and narrative analysis. The findings indicate that banditry is sustained by interacting factors, including poverty and youth unemployment, weak and distrusted security institutions, political patronage and corruption, the circulation of arms from earlier conflicts, the weakening of traditional authority and the militarisation of herder–farmer disputes. Reported motivations for participation include livelihood pressures, abandonment by political patrons, perceived impunity, income from coerced farming and distrust of government commitments. The findings further suggest that banditry creates a reinforcing cycle: violence disrupts livelihoods, displaces households and interrupts schooling, deepening socioeconomic vulnerability and weakening confidence in public institutions. The study argues that disrupting this cycle requires coordinated interventions that combine civilian protection and accountability with livelihood-based reintegration, youth employment, responsible community-based security, arms control, stronger traditional dispute-resolution institutions and sustained partnerships with religious organisations and civil society. It concludes that durable progress depends on addressing both the conditions that enable banditry and the consequences through which it may reproduce itself.
Keywords
banditry; causes; motivations; Sankera; Benue State; rural insecurity
References
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How to cite this paper
@article{1724458,
author = {Fanen Haazande PhD, Katyona Herbert Keghnen, Ackanyon Abraham Nyitar},
title = {Breaking The Cycle: A Study of the Causes and Motivations of Banditry in Sankera, Benue State, Nigeria},
journal = {Iconic Research And Engineering Journals},
year = {2026},
volume = {10},
number = {4},
pages = {5147-5161},
issn = {2456-8880},
url = {https://www.irejournals.com/formatedpaper/1724458.pdf},
abstract = {Banditry has become a major security and development challenge in Nigeria’s North Central region, with the Sankera axis of Benue State, comprising Katsina-Ala, Logo and Ukum Local Government Areas, severely affected. Although existing studies have documented the consequences of banditry for rural communities, less attention has been paid to the conditions that enable its emergence, the motivations of those involved and the processes through which violence persists. This study examined the structural and situational causes of banditry in Sankera, the motivations for participation, its effects on affected communities and possible interventions. The study adopted a qualitative case study design, drawing on interviews with 33 participants, nine focus group discussions and document review. The data were analysed using content and narrative analysis. The findings indicate that banditry is sustained by interacting factors, including poverty and youth unemployment, weak and distrusted security institutions, political patronage and corruption, the circulation of arms from earlier conflicts, the weakening of traditional authority and the militarisation of herder–farmer disputes. Reported motivations for participation include livelihood pressures, abandonment by political patrons, perceived impunity, income from coerced farming and distrust of government commitments. The findings further suggest that banditry creates a reinforcing cycle: violence disrupts livelihoods, displaces households and interrupts schooling, deepening socioeconomic vulnerability and weakening confidence in public institutions. The study argues that disrupting this cycle requires coordinated interventions that combine civilian protection and accountability with livelihood-based reintegration, youth employment, responsible community-based security, arms control, stronger traditional dispute-resolution institutions and sustained partnerships with religious organisations and civil society. It concludes that durable progress depends on addressing both the conditions that enable banditry and the consequences through which it may reproduce itself.},
keywords = {banditry; causes; motivations; Sankera; Benue State; rural insecurity},
month = {October},
doi = {https://doi.org/10.64388/ire1724458}
}