National Security Policies of Nigeria and Benin Republic as Strategies for Curbing Cross-border Crimes
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Abstract
This study interrogates the constantly changing national
security policies of Nigeria and Benin Republic in response
to the cross-border security threats that are currently ravaging
the two West African countries. The common focus in extant
literature is on the diverse transnational organised crimes,
with little or no attention paid to the manner in which the
security threats have substantially shaped the national security
policies of the two states. The study is guided by critical
human security theory. Data was collected from primary
sources; 13 interviews were conducted in Nigeria and Benin
Republic, which were complimented by direct observations
at the Nigeria-Benin borders. Some data were also derived
from secondary sources, and the analysis of data generated
was essentially qualitative, using descriptive and content
analyses. Findings show that the security policies of both
countries are encapsulated in an array of different documents
and that they are, essentially, reactions to the constantly
evolving security threats. The study calls for the
harmonisation of border security policies of the two
neighbouring countries in order to successfully rein in on
cross-border criminal cartels.
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