Oracle of Wisdom Journal of Philosophy and Public Affairs

The economic resettlement policy adopted by the Federal Government of Nigeria at the end of the Nigerian civil war led to huge economic displacement of the Igbo-speaking people of Southeast Nigeria. Their immediate economic progress in a short while after the civil war, reproduced side-lining in the political sphere and further increased their economic exclusion. This prompted massive external and often irregular migration of Igbo youths from Nigeria with risks of exposure to global criminal networks. Progressively, these resulted in an upsurge in crimes cynically tagged 'Igbo crime' among the other ethnic groups in Nigeria. Though, there is considerable lack of consensus among scholars on the exact impact of economic displacement on crime, this paper argues that the economic resettlement policy of the Nigerian government towards the Igbo people following their unsuccessful secession, and its attendant political exclusion, largely accounts for the involvement of Igbo youths in certain kinds of crime and extends also to the protracted proself- rule agitations within the Igbo-speaking parts of Nigeria. The study adopts the theory of differential association by Edwin Sutherland as its framework of analysis. It derives its data from documentary sources such as newspapers, journals, other publications, and oral evidence.

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