Mode of Operation of Female Armed Robbers: An Exposition of Female Enactment of Armed Robbery in Nigeria

Christiana Urowoli Ebobo; Richard A. Aborisade; Adewole A. Atere

Open in new window

Title (eng)

Mode of Operation of Female Armed Robbers: An Exposition of Female Enactment of Armed Robbery in Nigeria

Author

Christiana Urowoli Ebobo

Department of Criminology and Securities Studies, National Open University of Nigeria

Richard A. Aborisade

Department of Sociology, Olabisi Onabanjo University, Nigeria

Adewole A. Atere

Department of Criminology and Securities Studies, Osun State University, Nigeria

Description (eng)

Armed robbery is a quintessential violent male crime perpetrated across the globe. The changing roles and behaviors of females have come to include their commissioning of armed robbery over the years. As violent as the crime appears, females are practically involved in the planning and execution of the act. This paper therefore examines the modes of operation by which females enact armed robbery in Nigeria. Anomie theory by Robert K. Merton (1968) was used as its theoretical underpinnings. Being a descriptive and qualitative study, it made use of in-depth interviews as its instrument of data collection from 61 convicted female armed robbers focusing on three purposefully selected Southwestern states in Nigeria: Lagos, Ogun and Oyo in 2022. Data gathered was transcribed, coded and thematically analyzed using Atlas ti version 2.0. The study revealed that female armed robbers in Nigeria leverage on the general notion that females are ‘weak, harmless and needing help’ on one hand and their ‘sexuality’ on the other to rob their victims. It also shows that the enactment of armed robbery by females is strikingly unique.

Keywords (eng)

armed robberyfemale robberscommissioningenactmentNigeria

Subject (eng)

ÖFOS 2012 -- 602001 -- African studies

Type (eng)

journal article

Language

[eng]

Persistent identifier

https://phaidra.univie.ac.at/o:2092776

Is in series

Title