By Adewumi Badiora, ACRC Lagos action research lead and senior lecturer in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning at Olabisi Onabanjo University

Nigeria is urbanising at a remarkable speed. Some of the world’s fastest growing cities are in the west African country.

With the current rate of urbanisation, Kano, Ibadan, Abuja and Port Harcourt will surpass the 10 million inhabitants mega city threshold by 2050. According to United Nations estimates, Lagos will be the largest city in the world by 2100, accommodating more than 88 million people, up from the present population of about 25 million.

The rapid urbanisation and other issues, such as climate change, limited public finance and extreme poverty, are putting pressure on the government to provide better basic public infrastructure, especially in informal settlements.

Streetlighting is one area of public infrastructure where there is a clear need, and potential, for improvement.

Streetlighting plays a crucial role in public safety and security, and it promotes inclusive social and economic development by boosting local commerce, street businesses and community engagement.

Conventional grid-based streetlights and other technologies like LED lights powered by solar energy have been installed in parts of Nigeria but are still lacking in many cities.

I have been researching various aspects of urban and community safety in Nigeria, particularly in the country’s south-west. I currently lead the African Cities Research Consortium safety and security domain action research in Lagos.

I co-authored a recent research report about the condition of streetlights in Lagos. I interviewed 17 key informants in a bid to understand the provision, challenges, quality and impact of streetlighting in Africa’s foremost mega city. Respondents included residents and community associations, state agencies, private sector companies, and nongovernmental agencies.

We found that streetlight provision by the state has been orientated towards elite neighbourhoods, while households in disadvantaged settlements have less access.

Nevertheless, low-income communities across the city have come together to drive progress. They have enabled residents to achieve some level of streetlight infrastructure in their neighbourhood by working with the local government, civil society organisations and NGOs.

We argue that solutions will only be found through inclusive engagements that push against established approaches to infrastructure development.

Multiple paybacks of streetlighting

Research was conducted in three selected communities: Ilaje-Bariga on the Mainland, Brazilian Quarters on the Island and Ajegunle-Ikorodu in the peri-urban area. The three communities have either past or ongoing streetlight projects being delivered via sponsorship or collaboration between the Community Development Association, state or nonstate institutions.

Economic and social benefits were particularly prominent. Residents feel safer going out after dark when streets are well lit, while workers feel safer walking to and from their homes early in the morning and at night.

Businesses on newly lit streets have seen increased revenue as a result of vendors and traders being able to operate for longer after nightfall.

A previous case study established that extending trading times beyond daylight hours could add tens of thousands of working hours daily to the economy.

A respondent commented: “Policing work is now better in the night and we do not need to rely on battery-powered torchlight while on street patrol or checks.”

Another added: “We used to have cases of robbery, but the streetlight makes everywhere lit like daytime … the hoodlums are no longer able to perpetrate their act.”

Hurdles of streetlight provisions

Some obstacles remain, however. Our research uncovered many reasons as to why streetlight projects are not long-lasting or are unsuccessful. Limited budgeting and politically driven procurement are key challenges.

We found that the high costs and limited state budgets mean that certain areas of the city are prioritised and other areas neglected. The ruling class receives more political and economic support.

Across the three communities researched, the average cost of installation of one solar streetlight pole is USD 200-800, compared to USD 1,150 for a conventional grid powered streetlight. The difference in operating costs is where the economics of solar powered, compared to conventional, streetlighting becomes most compelling.

Politically driven procurement spotlights the need to favour cronies on the selection, awarding and implementation of streetlight infrastructure. Projects are awarded in favour of individuals (usually party members and not necessarily an expert) in exchange for political support.

The lack of technical expertise at the local and state levels remains a critical barrier, according to our study. This is displayed in poor procurement processes, infrastructure maintenance issues and inefficient use of limited public funds.

Because of corruption, the full value of project allocation is rarely received by suppliers. As one respondent explained: “In most cases, the money allocated for projects does not get to us. There are bottlenecks here and there that will drain off most of the project fund.” This leaves limited capital to deliver quality infrastructure and streetlight projects are poorly delivered or abandoned before completion, for want of funds.

Other streetlighting projects are abandoned because succeeding regimes refuse to continue predecessor projects.

There is also the challenge of vandalism and theft involving streetlight equipment. There have been situations where “area boys” – Lagos street gangs – restricted streetlight installation and where equipment parts were stolen.

Overcoming the obstacles

The solutions can only be found through inclusive engagements. Our study recommends the following steps:

• Involve a wide range of players, particularly local communities, in planning and delivering streetlighting.
• Build an enabling environment for private-sector-led renewable solutions and investment in sustainable lighting technologies, such as LED lights.
• Create a robust regulatory framework to produce sustainable lighting technologies locally.
• Improve state budget and investment funding for streetlighting.
• Develop capacity in the public sector to plan, design, finance and deliver projects.
• Support low-income neighbourhoods and informal communities.
• Separate political, personal interests from good governance and ensure transparency in the procurement process in practice.

So far, the large-scale initiative involving the deployment of over 22,000 solar streetlights has engaged with residents in areas like Ikotun, Alausa, Ketu, Kosofe, Marina, Lekki and Surulere. Community feedback on the safety and environmental benefits has been integrated into the project. The project adopted LED lighting, which is more cost effective and energy efficient.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

By Adewumi Badiora, ACRC Lagos action research lead and senior lecturer in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning at Olabisi Onabanjo University

Criminal activities have developed into a security crisis in Nigeria. Alongside the responses of security agencies such as the police and military, there has been a huge local response, with community groups mobilising in the face of criminal attacks.

For example, communities in Zamfara State, north-west region, repelled a bandit attack, causing the death of 37 bandits in August 2024. In Sokoto State, north-west region, residents rescued kidnapped individuals and recovered the body of the deceased village head in August 2024. In Kwara state, north-central region, community groups rescued people from their abductors in December 2025.

But how effective are these community-organised interventions?

I’m an urban and community safety researcher who has studied various aspects of insecurity in Nigeria, particularly in the country’s south-west, for more than a decade now.

In a recent paper I sought to answer this question in relation to Lagos. As Nigeria’s largest city with an estimated population exceeding 20 million, Lagos faces severe, complex crime challenges driven by rapid, poorly managed urbanisation and high unemployment rates. I surveyed 62 stakeholders in a bid to evaluate community-driven crime prevention strategies. Respondents included residents, members of the state and community groups who were playing important roles in the city’s security processes. This was qualitative research.

Many respondents expressed little or no trust in formal security agencies. Their expectations that the police could protect them were low.

A resident interviewed for the study said that while people like politicians got police protection, ordinary citizens did not:

“That is why everyone has devised ways to protect themselves and family.”

My research found that these community-organised interventions have emerged in different forms. The commonest is community vigilante groups. These are self-appointed resident security volunteers who take it upon themselves to confront criminals in their neighbourhood. This is common in low-income neighbourhoods of Lagos because they have to deal with crime but feel they can’t rely on the police to patrol, unlike elite neighbourhoods.

A successful urban security strategy

Lagos community vigilante groups range from small groups of volunteers on streets, and informal neighbourhood watches, to well structured local community bodies. Community vigilante members are mostly men. But women are not explicitly excluded, and they are an important source of information.

The groups were using local knowledge to help the police. They compiled information on crimes, suspicious activity and criminal suspects in their area and provided it to the police as needed. In some cases, they joined the police intelligence response team to raid hideouts of criminals in their areas.

A resident interviewed for the study said:

“We are local people. We know our community very well. We can easily spot strangers and suspicious movements. This local knowledge is what we have, that the police do not have. So, we complement their efforts by providing dependable intelligence for their work. Beyond that, we also escort police patrol, and our presence has helped them to penetrate streets they would not have been able to navigate by themselves.”

The relationship between the police and community groups was “semi-formal”. Arrangements were made by the communities with little or no intervention by the state. The collaborations were owned, structured and sustained by residents.

Some of those involved in the groups were remunerated through financial contributions by residents. However, they “occasionally” received financial support from the local government authorities, individual local politicians and donors.

Successes

My research showed there had been some positive results. Residents confirmed that the collaborations brought safety to their community and had helped to reduce crime and insecurity, particularly where the police were lacking.

A resident interviewed for the study said:

“Things are a little better. Before now, it was dreadful as criminals and hoodlums operate openly. Although there is still a long way to go, there has been a commendable level of improvements in our security in the last five years.”

Some ongoing issues

Despite its success, several concerns were raised in my study.

First, community vigilante groups are a patchwork of isolated groups. Organisations are fragmented and weak. This could be dangerous because it creates unaccountable groups that can easily change from being protectors to being a threat. That can be seen in the Bakassi Boys (south-east Nigeria), Yan Sakai (north-west Nigeria) and global examples like Mungiki (Kenya) and Autodefensas (Mexico).

Second is the question of the legality of community groups in terms of the provisions of the Nigerian constitution, the Police Act and the Public Order Act. Their legal status is “complex” as they operate in a grey area. Most of them do not have the backing of the federal government, which has the constitutional authority to manage policies regarding them.

Third, while community vigilante groups fill security gaps created by an under-resourced police force, their activities sometimes lead to conflicts because they act as judge, jury and executioner.

A police officer interviewed for the study said:

“The activities of vigilantes are usually unlawful in the way and manner they deal with suspected criminals … The lawful thing for them is to report suspected criminals to the police, but many times, they take law into their own hands.”

Still, residents view the groups as legitimate because of their perceived effectiveness, deep local knowledge, community ties and quick action.

Fourth, relationships between community groups and the police range from amiable and collaborative to distrustful and hostile. Mutual distrust risks escalating violence rather than reducing it.

A member of a vigilante group put it this way:

“We cannot totally entrust suspects and our community to the police. We have situations where suspects were released without any investigation and prosecution. Not only that, corrupt police officers do give hints to these suspects about key vigilante members behind their arrests, and these criminals go all-out for them after their unlawful freedom from the police custody.”

Moving forward

To overcome the challenges, the following steps should be taken:

> Reform of Nigeria’s security governance, allowing states to create their own police forces;

> Formal recognition and support of community groups;

> Adopting policies to curb the proliferation of the groups;

> Working more closely with community groups to deal with some of the underlying reasons for insecurity. These include political negligence, youth unemployment, poverty and inequality.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

By Adewumi Badiora, ACRC Action Research Lead, Lagos

As Africa’s most populous city – with a current population of over 25 million – Lagos is not alone in having a public infrastructure shortfall. When it comes to streetlighting in particular, Lagos has an extreme deficit. Most roads in the city’s residential areas are dark. And where public streetlights have been provided, many are now defunct, while others have begun to go out due to age and poor maintenance.

It has become a huge and increasingly unsustainable challenge to power streetlights in Lagos – either through conventional power generation, linking to the national grid, and/or providing diesel or gas to power them. They are also subject to vandalism. This makes movement at night dangerous in many parts of Lagos, leaving a majority of residents, particularly women and girls, feeling vulnerable and exacerbating their fear of crime.

The situation is even worse in informal settlements. Many of these areas have never been lit, despite the fact they are home to a significant proportion of the city’s population, with over 200 such communities identified in Lagos.

Understanding safety and security in Lagos

The ACRC team conducted safety and security domain research in Lagos to understand local perceptions and experiences of crime and insecurity. This research shows that in the last five years, everyday crime – such as armed robbery, assaults, thefts, cultism and banditry – has been on the increase in Lagos. Most of these crime incidences occur in the night or early morning.

There are several drivers and enablers of crime, including urban design issues – such as the porosity of city boundaries and inadequate provision of infrastructure like streetlighting – as well as an increasing rate of uncompleted and abandoned properties. Findings show that the increasing number of crime hotspots in Lagos was due to the poor nighttime environment.

Streetlight installations therefore seem to offer the potential to deter crime, as well as provide other socioeconomic benefits to the city. The question now is: could streetlights actually prevent crime and contribute to sustainable livelihoods for residents?

By Adewumi Badiora, ACRC Lagos safety and security domain lead

Lagos is the most populous city in Africa and a regional economic giant, having west Africa’s busiest seaport. It is the centre of commercial and economic activities in Nigeria.

The city’s population is estimated to be 20 million people. The existence of informal settlements makes it difficult to come up with a more precise number.

Lagos has grown rapidly since Nigerian independence in 1960, when its estimated population was 763,000 people. In the 1980s, its population reached 2.7 million. The government of Lagos state estimates that 86 young migrants arrive every hour.

This rapid urbanisation has been poorly managed. The result is crumbling public infrastructure, poor sanitation, poverty, and shortages of employment opportunities, food, social services, housing and public transport.

These challenges combine to make the city susceptible to criminal activities. Organised crime and violent conflicts are a public safety and security challenge.

The issue of crime has been with Lagos for years. In 1993, the Nigerian government described Lagos as the “crime capital of the country” with the emergence of the “Area Boys”, a group of social miscreants.

The 2017 statistics on reported crime incidences in Nigeria by the National Bureau of Statistics shows that Lagos has remained in a class of its own. Lagos State had the highest percentage share of total cases reported with 50,975 (37.9%) cases recorded.

I have been researching various aspects of crime and insecurity in Nigeria, particularly in the country’s south-west. I currently lead the African Cities Research Consortium safety and security domain research in Lagos.

I contributed to a recent paper about residents’ experiences and perceptions of safety in six African cities: Nairobi, Bukavu, Freetown, Mogadishu, Lagos and Maiduguri.

My research identified various drivers of insecurity in Lagos. They included youth migration and unemployment; inequality and poverty; the visible network of organised youth criminal groups; proliferation of small arms and drugs; inadequate preparedness of the city government; police corruption; the high rate of out-of-school children; and poor urban planning.

I argue that for residents to feel secure, the government needs to include these drivers in approaches to solving security challenges in Lagos.

Unemployment, firearms and drugs

In my African Cities Research Consortium safety and security domain research in Lagos, unemployment and the proliferation of small firearms and drugs stand out as trends.

A survey on Navigating Unemployment in Lagos, Nigeria revealed that 48.31% of the respondents were unemployed and the majority were between 25 and 34 years old.

In Lagos, youth of 18-40 years make up about half of the population, equalling over ten million people facing high rates of unemployment. I do not have current unemployment data but in its fourth quarter 2020 nationwide survey, the National Bureau of Statistics estimated a 37.14% unemployment rate in Lagos, and 4.52% underemployment rate.

According to my research participants, drug abuse and illicit arms have become serious issues. Some of the city precincts in communities such as Ikorodu, Somolu, Agege, Bariga, Ojo, Oshodi, Mushin and Badagry have become warehouses and destinations for firearms and drugs.

A recent survey published by ENACT Transnational on organised crime in Africa has shown that between 2010 and 2017, the largest supply of live ammunition transported into Nigeria illegally was intercepted at Lagos. This was made up of 21,407,933 items of live ammunition and 1,100 pump action guns.

Most of the illegal weapons pass through ports in west Africa; some are imported over land borders. While the country’s law forbids random possession of firearms, my research respondents say it is surprisingly common for young miscreants to carry firearms in Lagos.

The police have confirmed that hooligans acquire illicit firearms from local blacksmiths who make them, and from corrupt security officers.

In 2022, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency discovered a warehouse in a residential estate in Ikorodu with 1.8 tonnes of cocaine. This was the largest single cocaine seizure in the country’s history.

In November 2023, security agents intercepted cannabis in Ibeshe, Iworoshoki and Badagry, and in January 2024, the drug law enforcement agency intercepted cannabis at Ikeja.

Impacts of unemployment, small arms and drugs in Lagos

Findings from my research in Lagos show respondents perceive high levels of violent crime in the city. Youth aged 13 to 40 are mostly the perpetrators.

While there are no accurate statistics of daily violent crime incidences, residents are complaining.

In 2022, the police reported that no fewer than 345 people were murdered in Lagos – the highest number in years.

Young people have formed themselves into street gangs. My research respondents spoke of violent encounters in which their assailants used firearms and were often under the influence of alcohol or drugs or both. This was the experience of 18 respondents, out of a sample of 50 randomly selected respondents.

Some respondents described street gangs in Lagos who are constantly high on drugs and have no regard for human life. Other respondents said drugs were accessible and affordable even for unemployed youth. Respondents believed that a combination of a large youth population, unemployment and easy access to drugs and illicit firearms was proving deadly.

Preventing and treating the issues

The crime triangle in Lagos – youth unemployment, drugs and illicit arms – requires urgent attention.

My study in Lagos shows that a widespread sense of economic hopelessness exacerbates the use of drug and firearms by young people in Lagos. Youth who embrace this culture of violence are those who feel that they have no stake in the city and no trust in the government to provide opportunities for them.

Thus, the state and communities must address the lack of opportunities and alternatives, reaching out to marginalised youth and providing them with an environment in which they can lead a fulfilling life. An effective strategy is one that provides legitimate activities and job opportunities for them.

Government action is required to ensure that opportunities exist for training in a trade or life skill. This would enable youth to make better choices and find productive employment. They could be socially responsible and play an active role in the city rather than becoming a threat in their communities.

Government has the authority to control the supply and use of firearms and drugs.

Special operations should be directed at drug addicts and unlicensed firearms carriers. The approach should be to disrupt the market for illicit arms and drugs.

Security agencies can work with communities to discover new dealing locations and make buyers feel vulnerable and uncomfortable through sting operations – pretending to be dealers or users.

Urban planning approaches could also be applied such as inclusive planning of informal settlements, installation of security cameras and street lighting, limiting access to problematic streets through road changes, removal of transport stops used by drug and firearms users and their dealers, and improved signage.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

By Adewumi Badiora, ACRC Lagos safety and security domain lead

Globally, an historic evolution is in progress. Megacities – defined by the UN as cities with populations of over 10 million – are emergent in Africa. Lagos in Nigeria, Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Cairo in Egypt are already megacities, while Luanda in Angola, Dar es Salaam in Tanzania and Johannesburg in South Africa will attain megacity status by 2030.

With the current rate of urbanisation in Africa, Abidjan in Côte d’Ivoire, Khartoum in Sudan, and Nairobi in Kenya will surpass the 10 million threshold by 2040; and, by 2050, Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso, Addis Ababa in Ethiopia, Bamako in Mali, Dakar in Senegal and Ibadan and Kano in Nigeria will join the ranks.

This will bring the total number of megacities in Africa to 14 in about 25 years. According to World Bank estimates, the number of people living in Africa’s urban areas will double to more than 1 billion by 2042. Lagos will be the largest city in the world by 2100, accommodating 88 million people, up from the current population of 21 million. This is in addition to the presence of the recently opened deep seaport and essential hub through which most of Nigeria’s imports and exports flow.

Lagos and other megacities in Africa will occupy key strategic locations, making their stability necessary for global integration. They have the potential to evolve into a connected network of economic hubs, which will drive the global economy, and they will be well-placed to become epicentres of human activity on the planet. There is therefore a need to consider the future policing and security interventions which may be needed to safeguard the security of such vast hubs of activity.

By Adewumi Badiora, ACRC Lagos safety and security domain lead

Lagos is the commercial nerve centre of Nigeria and one of the fastest-growing cities in the world. It is also Africa’s largest city in terms of population size, with the researchers projecting that its population will be over 30 million by 2030.

Due to its population and the fact that extensive federal government properties are located in the city, Lagos has special political status in Nigeria, with about 8% of the total registered voters living in Lagos, according to Independent National Electoral Commission’s figure. Now home to over 21 million residents, the city’s rapid population expansion has brought both massive opportunities and severe challenges.

Rapid urbanisation has been poorly managed, with decaying social and public infrastructure. This has serious implications for the city system – adversely affecting employment opportunities, food supplies, social services, energy consumption, housing, transport, water, waste disposal services and environmental protection, as well as law and order. These challenges combine to make the city vulnerable to crime, violence and disasters. Violent crime and the need for emergency management threaten human welfare, discourage the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), hamper social development and are creating serious public safety and security challenges.

Understanding safety and security in Lagos

The domain research conducted in Lagos explores the dynamics of safety and security in the city and reveals high levels of violent crime, such as armed robbery, assaults, thefts, cultism and banditry. Newly emerging crimes and security challenges are also evident, such as kidnapping, cybercrime, drug dealing, terrorism, ritual killing and traffic robbery (known as “one-chance”).