Enclaves of Banditry: Ungoverned Forest Spaces and Cattle Rustling in Northern Nigeria
Ifeanyi Onwuzuruigbo
Abstract
Abstract Parts of northern Nigeria are becoming enclaves of banditry for gangs of cattle rustlers who maraud largely ungoverned forests. Extant studies of banditry shy away from serious interrogation of cattle rustling and ungoverned forest spaces in northern Nigeria. Onwuzuruigbo investigates the connection between cattle rustling and ungoverned forest spaces, highlighting the role of criminal groups in creating their own governance structures. The upswing in cattle rustling may thus be attributed to poor forest governance, which effectively keeps the government and its agents away from forests. Inclusive forest governance is one path toward addressing cattle rustling in northern Nigeria.
Topics & Concepts
Extant taxonGovernment (linguistics)Corporate governancePolitical scienceBusinessEvolutionary biologyBiologyPhilosophyLinguisticsFinanceConservation, Biodiversity, and Resource ManagementMining and Resource ManagementNatural Resources and Economic Development