Deviant Behaviour And Criminality Among Youth In Lafia Local Government Area, Nasarawa State, Nigeria

Abstract

Deviant behaviour and criminality among youth constitute a persistent social problem with serious implications for community security and sustainable development in Nigeria. The objective of this study was to examine how substance abuse, engagement in gambling, and cultism contribute to criminality among youth in Lafia. The study was anchored on routine activity theory, which explained youth criminality as a product of unstructured routines, motivated offenders, suitable targets, and weak guardianship within everyday social environments. A descriptive survey research design was adopted, combining quantitative and qualitative methods. Data were collected from 372 valid questionnaire responses and 18 in depth interviews selected through multistage sampling across six wards in Lafia. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics, while qualitative data were thematically analysed. The findings revealed that substance abuse is widespread and strongly associated with theft, violent behaviour, gang involvement, and cultism among youths. Gambling was found to be highly prevalent and linked to internet fraud, robbery, and other illegal income generating activities driven by financial losses and addiction. Cultism emerged as a major facilitator of serious criminality, insecurity, weapon proliferation, and political violence. The study concluded that youth criminality in Lafia is driven by interconnected behavioural and structural risk factors that reinforce one another within weakly regulated social settings. It recommended strengthened drug prevention and rehabilitation programmes, stricter regulation of gambling activities, and intelligence led security interventions to dismantle cult networks, alongside sustained community and institutional guardianship to reduce opportunities for youth crime.