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Human-wildlife conflict (HWC) has increased globally in recent years. This is true in the case of sub-Saharan Africa, particularly, Nigeria, a country rich in biodiversity. This study examines the types, nature and causes of HWC in Nigeria using Okomu National Park (ONP) and its host communities as a case study. Data were obtained through questionnaire administration and focus group discussions (FGDs). Four rural communities within five kilometers radius of ONP were selected using a simple random approach. Using the systematic sampling technique to select households, 224 copies of a questionnaire were distributed in these host communities. Convenient sampling was utilized to identify park management who were participating in FGDs. A total of ten FGDs were held, with each session lasting twenty minutes and engaging at least five participants. Information collected were analyzed using frequency distribution, mean score and content analysis. Respondents ranked crop damage as the commonest HWC while wildlife poaching, human settlements expansions and agricultural extensions are perceived as the main reasons for HWC in the host communities. Results show that a number of the host communities’ responses to HWC are not in the best interest of biodiversity conservation, safety and environmental health. The study concludes that HWC is apparent in the study area and this is likely to worsen in the near future. This study is of the opinion that effusively enforcement of wildlife poaching penalties, compensation plan, community enlightenment, sustainable land-use planning, and park management technology will do much as preventive measures to HWC in the study area.

Against the background of the solution-defying incidence of child labourers in Nigerian cities, this study examined the relationship between public spaces and incidence of child labourers in Ibadan Municipality, Nigeria. Data were obtained through direct counting of child labourers and cursory observation of the physical and environmental compositions of their places of operation. The direct counting was conducted for seven days of the week in the morning, afternoon and evening within defined activity-nuclei purposively selected across three densities of residential areas of the municipality: high, medium and low. The data collected were subjected to descriptive statistics. Findings showed that the incidence and categories of child labourers varied with public spaces and density of residential areas, and also followed the concentric, sector and multiple nuclei theories of urban land use. The study, therefore, recommended that urban planners and government have roles to play in offering lasting solution to the menace of child labour.

Activities in slaughterhouses result in complex multidimensional health risks and environmental pollution due to the high levels of organic waste produced that directly and indirectly can affect th...

Understanding the underlying forces of citizens’ support for public service is of utmost importance to public administration. Among the many areas of public services, the police are inimitable. Thi...

Purpose This study aims to examine the relationships among some important factors and perceived personal safety in public places, using Nigerian urban shopping centers as case studies. Following the evidence from previous studies, the present study hypothesizes that individual characteristics influence perceived personal safety in shopping centers, and users’ perceived safety is affected by the shopping centers’ environmental attributes. Design/methodology/approach Two shopping centers were selected as cases for the study. Systematic sampling technique was used to select participants. Respondents were asked to answer closed-ended questions pertaining to environmental-design satisfaction, socio-economic and demographic characteristics and shopping center use. In total, 784 users participated in the survey. However, only 440 users properly completed the interview: 219 from Aleshinloye and 221 from Gbagi. Environmental design, socio-economic and demographic characteristics and shopping center use are independent variables, whereas perceived safety is a dependent variable. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, factor analysis and Man–Whitney U and Kruskal–Wallis tests. Findings Results show that fear of crime is the most important factor, explaining 28.16 per cent of the total variance in perceived safety. Nevertheless, findings show that demographic factors have a significant impact on perceived safety as well. There is also a strong association between perceived safety and the use of shopping centers, as Aleshinloye, which is perceived safer, has been more frequently used than Gbagi. Furthermore, environmental design appears as a significant factor for perceived safety in shopping centers, as users of Aleshinloye’s facilities have a better perceived safety from crime, better way-finding ability and more environmental-design satisfaction than users of Gbagi. Practical implications The study recommends the provisions of design or security precautions that prevent the fear of crime and improve way-finding capacity and environmental-design satisfaction in urban shopping facilities. Specifically, it is important to have environmental security precautions such as closed circuit televisions, good and functional lighting and private security staff, especially for women and the elderly, in urban commercial centers as these precautions could enhance their sense of personal safety. Originality/value Previous studies on shopping centers’ security have mainly concentrated on the relationship between fear of crime, perceived safety and associated factors. No studies to date have explored how way-finding ability affects perceived safety of users of shopping centers. This study contributes to the existing literature, revealing way-finding anxiety to be another important dimension of perceived safety in urban shopping centers.

This article reports the pattern of perceived personal safety at urban recreation centers in relation to: socio-economic characteristics of the visitors; the design features of the site, and visitors’ avoidance behaviour. It is based on the analysis of a 20I7 Safety Survey conducted in Lagos, Nigeria. Findings show that visitors vary in their declared perceived safety. Visitors who are married declare feeling worried than visitors who are single. Respondents who are familiar with the sites feel safer than those who come to the sites less frequently. People born outside Nigeria are more worried about their safety; younger people are less worried; and those who declare feeling less safe are often female. While respondents are satisfied with their personal safety in restaurants, bars, cinema and parking areas, they are less satisfied in places like restroom, toilets, entrances, exits and corridors. Findings show that most crime incidents happen in the evening hours. Besides, crime rates are higher over the weekdays and rainy season. Visitors who feel unsafe tend to be more anxious during evening hours, weekend and dry season. Hence, crime occurrence at the sites does not equally translate to perceived safety since the results show a mismatch between when most crimes occurred and respondents’ declared perceived safety. Results show that 14% of the visitors avoid certain places in the study area while 54% declare avoiding certain times. The study advocates for safety interventions that are sensitive to users’ needs and adopt a holistic approach to urban recreation sites safety. Planning and future research implications are discussed. Management implications Management implicationsThe study assesses the perceived safety of visitors to recreational sites in Lagos metropolis Nigeria. The findings highlight that socio-demographic data on perceived safety are important to understand recreation behavior, use patterns and acceptance of urban recreation centers. For city planning and the management of recreational sites it is important to know that crime occurrence does not equally translate to perceived safety and should be studied separately. Here socio-economic conditions such as seasonal increase of unemployment, weather conditions and the likelihood to meet other people and guardians are influencing the situation. Finally the paper highlights the influence of design, the location of main infrastructure and the influence of environmental attributes of the recreational center.

This study evaluates crime and safety provisions (in line with Crime Prevention through Environmental Design [CPTED]) and identifies elements of environmental design that correlate crime incidences at a Nigerian tourist site. The study approach consisted of two steps: the on-site assessment of CPTED and an appraisal of crime incidences over a period of time. The on-site assessment was designed based on the international CPTED audit and site assessment specifications while crime incidences were collated from accessible information. Findings show that CPTED strategies (surveillance, access control, territoriality, activity support and image-maintenance) were applied on the site. Nevertheless, different places in the site did not meet CPTED standards except for activity support. Findings show notable spatial pattern variation in crime rate and this variation differs with regard to crime type and the varying environmental characteristics of the study area. Furthermore, significant relationships were observed for surveillance and theft; access control and robbery, fights, vandalism as well as theft; territoriality and robbery as well as fights and vandalism; activity support and theft. Findings show that there is still much to be done regarding environmental design elements on the site. Therefore, recommendations and future research implications are discussed. In a novel approach, this study builds on existing literature from an African perspective by conducting an on-site assessment of CPTED strategies on a foremost Nigerian tourist destination and possible links with crime.

Not much is known about spatial-temporal variations of crime in Nigeria. The gap is addressed by this study, having examined the pattern of assaults, break-ins, and robberies in the city of Ibadan, Nigeria. Multinomial logistic regression was used to estimate the odds that each crime will occur under the effects of weather conditions and spatial characteristics of residential neighborhood. Findings reveal that assaults and robberies are intense in the high-density areas, whereas the risk of break-ins is stronger in the low-density neighborhoods. Results show that the risk of assaults and break-ins is strong in the dry season, whereas, in the rainy season, robberies are more frequent. Similar to previous international research, findings in this study are largely in line with the frameworks of routine activities, social disorganization, and temperature aggression, which emphasizes that crime will always display an uneven distribution and that this variation is the result of the interrelationship bet...

This article investigates the correlation of space and time in the clustering of robbery incidents in metropolitan Lagos. Analysis was carried out on 781 selected robbery incidents in 2013. Using the Mantel index to correlate place and time intervals for pairs of robbery incidents, the results show that robberies are respectively concentrated in residential areas, transport nodes and public places, peaking at midnight during weekdays. The results further show that this concentration is most likely greater than what would be expected on the basis of a chance distribution. The study concludes that various factors may exist which cause clusters of robberies to occur in these places at these times.

The study identified predominant crime type and pattern of crime occurrence in Ile-Ife, Nigeria. The research used crime data, by type and location, from January 2005 to December 2010. The spatial distribution of crime types revealed that 68 cases (49%) of offences against individuals occurred in the core area of the city, 40 (29%) in the transition area and 31 (22%) in the suburban, while 184 (20%), 265 (30%) and 451 cases (50%) of offences against property occurred in the core, transition and suburban respectively. The study concluded that there was notable geographical variation in the pattern of crime locations and that this differs with regard to crime type.

Using crime review figures for four randomly selected states in Nigeria, this study examines cases of kidnapping and its implications for the national economy. The findings reveal that kidnapping is consistently on the increase in Nigeria and is not evenly spread across regions. It is shown that 15 cases were recorded in 2005 and 43 cases in 2008. In 2009, 138 cases were officially recorded, of which 22% and 76% occurred in Rivers and Edo states respectively. Findings further showed that modern kidnapping in Nigeria is triggered by resource control disputes directed both at oil expatriate workers and at prominent citizens, politicians and members of their families. The crisis, which came to the fore in 2005, has forced oil production shutdowns of up to 800 000 barrels per day. The study concludes that kidnapping is becoming a serious crime in Nigeria with significant negative implications for foreign investment, national foreign exchange earnings, and revenue generation.

This article examines the experience of residential burglary and the characteristics of “burglary proofing” among the residents of a traditional Nigerian urban center. The study area was stratified into the core, the transition, and the suburb. Every tenth house (10%) was selected using systematic sampling to sample a household representative person of aged 22 and above. The distribution of residential burglary reveals that 62%, 72%, and 81% of residents in the core, transition, and suburb had experienced residential burglary in the last six months and 54%, 72%, and 78% of this crime, respectively, occurs during the weekdays' day time. Given the choices of burglary proofing available to the residents, the demographics of households who had experienced residential burglary were examined. The time that the burglary occurred, how the burglary occurred, loss to burglary, feeling of insecurity, level of education, and house type were found to have a higher functional coefficient. Nonetheless, feeling of insecu...

This article provides some suggestive evidence that crime risk increases at the intersection of offender awareness and victim unawareness spaces using data from a crime survey. This is evident as 31.7% of self-reported victimization occurs more than 10 min away from the victim's home. About 78.2% of personal theft and 0.20% of burglary (both including attempts) occurred outside the victim's immediate locality. These figures reveal a stronger link between victim movement and certain types of crime. Furthermore, they presumably give evidence that while personal theft occurs frequently, burglary only occurs in rather rare and specific circumstances at some distance from the victim's home. The study therefore concludes that it is the intersection of the offender's and the victim's movements at a time and in a given place that presents the opportunity for crime to occur. The study suggests that where both victim and offender have traveled short distances and/or are locals, community-related approaches may plau...

This study examined spatial pattern of crime and residents’ fear and feeling of insecurity in Ile-Ife, Nigeria. To obtain the primary data, Ile-Ife was stratified into four residential zones namely traditional town centre, middle income, high income and post-crisis residential areas. Sample was selected using systematic sampling from each zone. Level of insecurity perceived by residents in the night and day time showed that post crisis residential areas of the town recorded relative insecurity index (RII) of 4.71 in the night. The RII of traditional town centre in the night was put at 3.74. RII of 2.43 and 2.14 were computed for middle income and low income residential areas of the town in the day time. Using stepwise regression analysis, it was discovered that 86.5% of the total variance in residents’ fear and feeling of insecurity could be explained by independent variable observed. The study concluded that significant variation exist in the residents’ level of insecurity feeling in different residential zones of the study area as rate of occurrence of criminal activities in different residential areas varied significantly. Key words: Crime, Fear, Insecurity, Spatial, Risk, Victimisation.