By Suleiman Tajudeen
…Continued from last week
are resolved informally and do not enter official statistics. Emerging trends include increased female participation, cybercrime recruitment, and cult activity in junior secondary schools.
Causes
It is said that generally there is no single factor that causes delinquent behaviour. However, researchers support an ecological model that comprises peer, family, societal, and individual factors.
Peer influence: Adolescents are highly susceptible to peer approval. Delinquent peer groups provide social rewards, financial incentives, and perceived protection. In Nigeria, school-based cult groups and yahoo yahoo networks actively recruit with promises of wealth and status.
Family factors: Neglect, exposure to domestic violence, parental substance abuse, and parental incarceration increase risk. Prolonged absence of supervision, as seen during events such as national university strikes, leaves adolescents vulnerable. Harsh physical discipline without reasoning is associated with higher aggression and secrecy.
Societal and environmental factors: According to the National Bureau of Statistics (2023), 63% of Nigerians are classified as multidimensionally poor. Poverty, youth unemployment, and lack of recreational facilities create conditions for idleness and recruitment into crime. Media content that glorifies fraud and violence, combined with weak enforcement of laws restricting alcohol and drug sales near schools, also contributes.
Personal factors: Academic failure, learning disabilities, untreated attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and poor impulse control are individual-level risks. Adolescents who experience repeated academic shame may seek status in delinquent groups.
Exposure to family violence: Children who witness or experience domestic violence model aggression as normal conflict resolution.
Broken or unstable homes: Death of a parent, divorce, or parental imprisonment reduces monitoring and emotional support.
Parental criminality or substance abuse: Children learn behaviour by observation. A parent involved in crime normalizes illegality.
Poverty and economic deprivation: The National Bureau of Statistics 2023 reports 63% of Nigerians are multi-dimensionally poor. Hunger and material need push some youths toward theft or fraud.
Youth unemployment and idleness: Secondary school graduates without jobs or admission may see cybercrime as a viable income source. Prolonged ASUU strikes leave undergraduates idle.
Media and social influence: Music, videos, and social media that glorify fraud, drug use, and violence shape attitudes toward quick wealth and aggression.
Weak community systems: Absence of playgrounds, youth centres, and consistent law enforcement allows delinquent groups to operate openly. Bribery weakens deterrence.
Effects
Social: For the juvenile, outcomes include school dropout, criminal records that limit future employment and travel, and social stigma. Families experience shame, financial strain from legal processes, and secondary victimization. Communities experience increased insecurity, reduced business hours, and intergenerational transmission of delinquent norms.
Social legal: A criminal record restricts access to visas, government jobs, and some private employment. Stigma follows the family.
Social family strain: Families face shame, legal costs, and threats of retaliation from victims, leading to relocation or isolation.
Social community security: Increased fear of movement at night, early closure of businesses, and the emergence of vigilante groups.
Psychological – self-concept: Juveniles internalize labels such as bad or thief, producing low self-esteem and identity foreclosure.
Psychological – anxiety and trauma: Fear of arrest, rival gangs, or abuse in detention produces chronic anxiety. Custodial violence can cause post-traumatic stress.
Psychological – victim impact: Victims of juvenile offences may develop post-traumatic stress disorder, school avoidance, and long-term mistrust.
Medical – injuries and mortality: Cult clashes and risky behaviour lead to injuries and death. Lagos State recorded 15 teenage deaths from cult violence in 2023.
Medical – substance damage: Methamphetamine use is linked to brain damage and kidney failure. Codeine abuse causes liver damage. Injection drug use increases HIV and hepatitis risk.
Medical – reproductive health: Girls in delinquent networks have higher rates of sexual exploitation, leading to sexually transmitted infections and adolescent pregnancy. Overcrowded remand homes present risks of tuberculosis and skin infections.
Prevention
Positive parenting programs: Teach caregivers to provide daily attention, consistent rules, and non-violent discipline. Fifteen minutes of daily listening reduces risk.
Parental monitoring of peers: Parents should know the names and addresses of their child’s three closest friends and maintain contact with those parents.
School-based life-skills education: Curricula that teach refusal skills, anger management, and decision-making help adolescents resist peer pressure.
Access to school counselors: Each secondary school should have at least one trained counselor for early identification and intervention.
After-school engagement: Sports, debate, coding clubs, music, and vocational training reduce idle time. The Lagos Project Eko model showed reduced cultism after counselor deployment.
Community youth centres: Safe spaces for recreation and skills acquisition give adolescents prosocial alternatives to street gangs.
Mentorship programmes: Structured pairing with responsible adults from religious institutions, alumni groups, or professional bodies provides role models.
Economic support for at-risk families: Conditional cash transfers and school feeding programs reduce hunger-related theft and improve attendance.
Media regulation and education: Enforce restrictions on alcohol and drug advertisements near schools and teach critical media literacy to youths.
Government policy enforcement: Full implementation of the Child Rights Act, including free basic education and restrictions on child labour, addresses structural drivers.
Management
Avoid harmful punishment: Mob action and detention with adults increase trauma and recidivism. The Child Rights Act prohibits the imprisonment of children with adults.
Family courts: These courts specialize in juvenile cases and emphasize welfare and reform. Orders may include counseling, supervision, or community service.
Diversion programmes: For first-time and non-violent offences, divert the child from formal court to a structured program run by NDLEA, state ministries, or NGOs.
Psychological counseling: Individual therapy addresses anger, trauma, and substance dependence. Group therapy builds prosocial skills.
Substance abuse treatment: Medically supervised detoxification and rehabilitation are required for drug-involved youths. NDLEA Drug Demand Reduction units provide this service.
Vocational and educational rehabilitation: Skills training in tailoring, welding, barbing, ICT, or farming provides legal income paths. Re-enrollment in school or NABTEB is pursued.
Family therapy and reunification: Work with parents to improve supervision, resolve domestic violence, and rebuild trust. The home environment must change or relapse is likely.
Restorative justice: Where appropriate, facilitated meetings between offender and victim promote accountability and repair harm without prison.
Follow-up and aftercare: A designated social worker, teacher, or religious leader should monitor the child monthly for at least 12 months. The first six months present the highest relapse risk.
Institutional reform: Borstal homes and remand centres must meet minimum standards for education, health, and protection from abuse, in line with national and international law.
Key institutions in Nigeria: Christ Against Drug Abuse Ministry CADAM, NDLEA Counseling and Rehabilitation Centres, State Ministries of Youth and Social Development, Remand Homes, Freedom Foundation, and Family Courts in each state. In the same vein, rehabilitation facilities were also made available by NGOs and other concerned citizens.
Recommendations for stakeholders
Parents: Maintain knowledge of children’s friends and daily activities. Provide consistent, non-violent discipline and daily positive interaction.
Teachers: Adopt early referral to counseling rather than immediate suspension. Identify academic difficulties before they produce shame and dropout.
Religious and community leaders: Complement moral teaching with practical youth engagement such as skills halls and mentorship programs.
Government: Increase budgetary allocation for school counselors and community youth centres. Enforce existing laws on substance control.
Public: Report concerns to NDLEA 0800-1020-3040 or Lagos Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency 0800-033-3333 rather than resorting to mob action. Many juveniles in conflict with the law are also victims of abuse.
Conclusion
Juvenile delinquency results from multiple interacting factors and produces wide-ranging social, psychological, and medical harm. Evidence indicates that prevention through family support, school engagement, and community opportunity is more effective than punishment alone. When offences occur, management should prioritize counseling, skills development, and family restoration within the framework of the Child Rights Act. Coordinated action by parents, teachers, religious leaders, communities, and government can reduce juvenile crime and secure better outcomes for Nigerian youths.
Generally, a child who receives appropriate intervention today may become a productive adult tomorrow.
References
Child Rights Act. (2003). Federal Republic of Nigeria Official Gazette, 90(116).
National Bureau of Statistics. (2022). Crime statistics: Reported offences by type and state. NBS.
National Bureau of Statistics. (2023). Nigeria’s multidimensional poverty index 2022. NBS.
National Drug Law Enforcement Agency. (2023). Annual report. NDLEA.
Nigerian Correctional Service. (2023). Statistical summary of inmate population. NCS.
UNICEF. (2023). Children in detention: Global estimates. United Nations Children’s Fund.
For questions and medical consultations, contact: Dr. Suleiman Tajudeen, CEO and Director of Clinical Psychology, Clear Mind Psychological Consult, Km 15, Badagry Expressway, Ojo, Lagos. +234 803 402 4457
