ANALYSIS OF BUILDING SECURITY COMPONENTS AND NEIGHBOURHOOD CRIME IN MINNA, NIGER STATE

Abstract

Criminality rate  relating  to  urban  insecurity  keep  mounting  on  daily  bases  due  to government failure to provide adequate security. Cities inhabitants have been victims of one form of crime or the other and over half of the crimes occurred in our neighbourhoods. Provision of building security components has long been associated with reduction of crime due to its involvement in prevention of unauthorized access or damages to life and property. The aim of the study is to examine building security components and neighbourhood crime in Minna. The study employed quantitative approach using structured questionnaire. A total of 420 residences were randomly sampled from eight (8) neighbourhoods in Minna. The study found that four (4) building security components emerge as the most provided security components for crime control in Minna and are according to their order of availability by the mean score value. These components are door/window burglar proof (M = 2.91) rank 1st, security lights (M = 2.85) rank 2nd, security fence (M = 2.58) rank 3rd and security/entrance gate (M = 2.30) rank 4th. The study found that economic, demographic and social factor influences neighbourhood crime in Minna, and each factor achieved level of reliability determined by the Cronbach’s Alpha value >0.70, economic (0.83), demographic (0.79) and social (0.75). The study also revealed that between 2015 to 2020 cases of serious crimes: Abduction (2.1%), murder (1.9%), armed robbery (0.9%), rape (2.8%) and kidnapping 0.5% are relatively low, indicating low level of urban insecurity in Minna. The study found that there is a moderate negative significant relationship between provision of housing security component and neighbourhood crime rate in Minna (rho= -.396, p= <.01). This implies that the higher the provision of housing security components the lower the neighbourhood crime rate in Minna. The study therefore recommends that, failure in the provision of adequate building security components is a driving force to high crime rate.

CHAPTER ONE

1.0      INTRODUCTION

1.1      Background to the Study

Urbanization has created numerous problems among which are urban insecurity and crime that has become a common phenomenon in all urban areas in both developed and developing nations of the world (Ghani, 2017; Muggah, 2012). The rate at which contemporary cities are growing as a dividend of rapid urbanization has given birth to the widespread conditions of insecurity of urban areas (Bako et al., 2018). The dilemma facing cities today is the high rate at which people abandon rural to urban area which posed greater challenges to infrastructure, therefore resulting in the diverse growing challenges of urban residential neighbourhood security in the developing countries of the world.

Urban insecurity and crime has increased worldwide in the last decade at a rate that has largely surpassed  that  of  urbanization  (Olajide  and  Kolawole,  2013).  About  half  a dmillion (437,000) crime committed globally, 31% occurred in Africa (United Nations Office on Drug and Crime, 2014). In recent times, Nigeria has witnessed a high level of insecurity. This has made the national security threat to be a major issue for the government and has prompted huge allocation of the national budget to security (Bako et al., 2018). The United Nations unveiled that most countries of the developing economy spend an average of between 9% and 14% of their annual budgets on crime prevention and security of lives (Olajide and Lizam, 2017).

In every five years, 60% of cities inhabitants have been victims of one form of crime or the other and over half of these crimes occurred in our residential neighbourhoods (Emmanuel and Lizam, 2015). The consequences of crime affect residents, the entire

neighbourhood, government activities and in particular housing investment (Olajide and

Lizam, 2016).

Building owners or users are often prone to various form of insecurity that includes man- made insecurity which constitutes mostly properties and violent crime (Olajide and Lizam, 2017). It is important to note that security of any residential properties is worth dealing with irrespective of whether it has an access gate with necessary control measures, fence mounted with appropriate cameras or security guards in check, users or occupiers within any property often feel secure knowing that they are protected against any ill issues.

Considering the levels of insecurity and crime, building owners or users relied on some security components to protect their lives and properties (Downing, 2007). Building security components which ranges from simple to sophisticated has surfaced over the years across the globe, such as restrictive barriers (high fencing and access gate), electronic security (Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) monitors, alarm systems, panic buttons, home automation, temperature, spikes floor and water sensors), security personal (24 hours security guard, vigilantes, trained dogs) and any type of anti-intruder perimeter control systems (Radetskiy et al., 2015). According to Olajide and Kolawole (2013), protecting a residential building, its inhabitants and valuables secure and safe cannot be overemphasised. Therefore, this study is to examine building security components and neighbourhood crime in Minna.

1.2      Statement of the Research Problem

According to De Biasi (2017), crime have a negative impact on the emotional, physical, and social activities of residents and neighbourhoods. The security of the people is one of the fundamental purposes of the Nigerian government, according to the constitution

of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, which was adopted in 1999. Except for individuals in high-ranking government positions who are normally governed by all sorts of security measures, this constitutional mandate has long failed to create a safe and secure environment for properties, lives, individual everyday operations, and economic events (Okonkwo et al., 2015).

The disturbing insecurity level in Nigeria has increased crime rate in different states of the country with Minna not excluded. The crime rate across the country keep breeding destruction of live and properties as well as increasing fear of insecurity. Neighbourhoods which include residential property otherwise known as housing is ranked high among other classes  of properties,  since it  serves  as  living accommodation  and  source  of investment among others. Therefore, its sustainability becomes non-negotiable (Olajide and Lizam, 2017). Unfortunately, in recent time apart from the natural disaster, housing has been in continuous trouble by a man-made disaster of which is well-known among others is insecurity and crime, which come in the forms of burglary and theft, incivility and street crime, vandalism, robbery and violent crime (Olajide and Lizam, 2016).

According to Gibbon (2004), prevention of crime has taken a significant part of our lives, as many people in our cities and neighbourhoods today worry about crime, ensuring doors are locked when leaving the house, installing CCTV and security alarm or avoiding a high crime neighbourhood. According to Alapata (2012), the concentration of crimes in major urban centres has been an indicator of the breakdown of our urban systems. Every city needs its strategy or approach to tackle the menace. Therefore, there is a need for every individual city to establish a unique and effective framework to prevent neighbourhood crime (Alapata, 2012).

Numerous researches have been carried out on crime prevention but building security components on crime prevention has been less researched. This study will therefore, examine the provision of housing building security components and neighbourhood crime rates in Minna.

1.3      Research Questions

1.  What are the types and provision of building security components in Minna?

2.  What are the factors that influences neighbourhood crime in Minna?

3.  What are the types and rates of neighbourhood crime in Minna between 2015 to 2020?

4.  Is there relationship between the provision of building security components and neighbourhhod crime rates in Minna?

1.4      Aim and Objectives

1.4.1   Aim

This study aim to examine provision of building security components and neighbourhood crime in Minna, with a view in curbing the prevalence of urban insecurity.

1.4.2   Objectives

The study has the following objectives:

1.  Examining the types and provision of building security components in Minna.

2.  Examining the factors influencing neighbourhood crime in Minna.

3.  Identifing and examining the types and rates of neighbourhood crime in Minna between 2015 to 2020.

4.  Examining the relationship between provision of building security components and neighbourhood crime rates in Minna.

1.5      Research Hypotheses

To address the research questions the following hypotheses are set:

H0: There is no statistically significant relationship between the provision of building security component and neighbourhood crime rate in Minna.

H1: There is a statistically significant relationship between the provision of building security conponents and neighbourhood crime rate in Minna.

1.6      Significance of the Study

Urban insecurity that includes neighbourhood crimes, has been portrayed as a global problem in recent years (Hastings, 2008). Governments from all around the world have stepped up their efforts to reverse the trend of social evils through city and neighbourhood police, funded research, and policy formulation. According to studies, governments in various economies around the world have earmarked a significant portion of their annual budgets to combat crime over time (Emmanuel and Lizam, 2015).

The rate of reported crime cases in Nigeria urban areas, the police periodic crime and violence review bulletin, clearly indicates that robbery, houses and shop breaking, car theft, wilful murder, kidnapping, bombing, suicide and homicide, cases of breach of trust are rising at alarming rate and speed. Research of this nature is justified based on the fact that government spend a huge amount of money on insecurity. Therefore, there is the need to understand the dimension of the problems and to seek ameliorative measures.

1.7      Scope of the Study

The study covered different selected residential neighbourhoods in Minna. Namely: Bosso Town, Saka Kahuta, Maitumbi, Tunga, Jikpan, Bosso Estate, F-Layout and GRA.

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Selections of these areas are based on the density types: high, medium and low. The study only covered provision of security components in residential houses and crimes in residential neighbourhoods in Minna. The study firstly examines the types and provision of building security components in Minna, Secondly, it examines the factors influencing neighbourhood crime in Minna, followed by examining types and rates of neighbourhood crime in Minna between 2015 to 2020, and finally examines the relationship between the provision of building security components and neighbourhood crime rates in Minna.

1.8      The Study Area

1.8.1   Historical development of Minna

Minna is often regarded as an old settlement and referred to as a colonial town or a post-

1900s settlement. The town is a Gbagyi settlement which before the 1900s comprised of separated entities settled at the various hill-tops dotting its landscape today. It took time before these indigenous groups finally come down to live amongst the people (mostly migrant workers) residing at the low lands. This was at the eve of the birth of modern Minna when European contacts with the region began from all corners of the emerging regional capital (Inuwa, 2016).

1.8.2   Geographical location of Minna

Minna is a metropolitan settlement located in the southern Guinea Savannah vegetation belt of central Nigeria. The settlement is located on Latitude 9˚ 37‘N and Longitude 6˚

33‘E (FUT Minna, 2013) and bordered by the geographical coordinate of latitude 9°24ˈN‐

9°48ˈNorth and longitude 6°25ˈE‐6°45ˈEast (Kawu, 2016). Minna, is presently the administrative capital of Niger State, Nigeria, and, it is about 120km away from the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja through the south-eastern Minna-Suleja road.

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1.8.3   Physical characteristics of Minna

Besides Minna being a regional administrative capital of Niger State, Minna is also the headquarters of Chanchaga and Bosso Local Government Area (Umar and Kawu, 2011). Minna is a large metropolitan area that is housing over 317, 465 people on a land of about

6,784 square kilometre encompassing dozens of residential neighbourhoods and political wards (Kawu, 2016).

According to Lock (1980), the administrative settlement is majorly to the north-east of the town, on a geological base of undifferentiated basement complex of predominantly gneiss and migmatite, a more or less continuous steep outcrop of granite occurs. These physical characteristics, together with appropriate annual rainfall and fertile soil, have put the town in a unique position for urban farming and related enterprises.

1.8.4   Economic characteristic of Minna

Minna is mainly comprised of civil servants who are majorly lower cadre staff. This characteristic has given the metropolis the symbol of a settlement peopled by largely low- income earners (Yunusa, 2013) lacking any stack differentiation in economic or social status in the real sense. The indigenous Gbagyi populations inhabiting the city fringe settlements of Gidan Mangoro and Gidan Kwano are mainly engaged in farming activities with  Minna as  their major market.  These people are today increasingly facing  the problems of urban encroachment as city development continue to engulf and annex these settlements and areas of livelihood (Kawu, 2016)

1.8.5   Growth and development of Minna

The  history and  spatial  developments  of  Minna  is  closely tied  to  the  commercial, administrative and technological changes brought by the colonial and later by the

7 indigenous governments after the country‘s independence in October 1960 (Kawu, 2016)

1.8.6    Neighbourhoods and density of Minna

Minna neighbourhoods are classified into three densities low, medium and high that are based on population density and income levels. Minna has twenty-six (26) neighbourhoods (Badiora et al., 2017) that were identified based on population density, environmental qualities and other socio-economic attributes (Kawu, 2016).

High-density residential areas are usually located in the central area of pre-colonial neighbourhoods. These areas are often occupied by the first group of immigrants. It is usually with a density of over 300 persons per hectare (Coker et al., 2007). Such districts in Minna are Kpagungu, Tunga, Gwari, Maitunbi, Jikpan, Barikui Sale, Anguan Dagi, Tayi Village, Tundu Fulani, Shango, Bosso Town and Chanchaga (Badiora et al., 2017).

Medium-density residential areas are usually planned and laid out after the establishment of British  rule.  They were developed  to  satisfy the needs  of middle-grade income households in the formal sector. The Medium density residential districts are usually with a population density of 100 to 300 persons per hectare (Efe and Eyefia, 2014). Medium- density residential districts in Minna are Minna Central, Sabo Gara, Nassarawa, Makere, Limawa, Dutse Kura Gwari and Fadipe (Badiora et al., 2017).

Low-density residential areas are high-quality districts usually well laid out. They are not common in the old growing pre-colonial towns except those, which were once provisional headquarters. Low-density residential districts with less than 100 persons per hectare (Efe and Eyefia, 2014) encompasses such wards in Minna as GRA, F-

8 Layout and Bosso Estate (Badiora et al., 2017). Minna the study area and selected neighbourhood for this study is presented in figure 1.1

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