KIJHUS Volume. 2, Issue 2 (2021)

The rise in incidences of youth/students’ involvement in violent crimes in Nigeria makes the discourse under reference not just topical, but also timely. Kogi state which is the focal point of this study has experienced a surge in security threats raging from kidnaping, armed robbery, political thuggery, and cultism among others, in the last ten years. This study seeks to investigate the extent of student’s involvement in security breaches in Kogi State, investigate factors responsible for such involvements and to determine its effects on the students and the state in general. The study adopts a survey design involving the use of questionnaire and interviews and found that, students/youths are the key players in crimes in kogi state. It was equally established that poverty, drug/substance abuse, peer pressure, bitter/Do-or-Die politics among others, are factors responsible for student’s involvement in crimes in Kogi State. The study therefore recommends that tertiary institutions should take issues of crime seriously as such, the security architecture of higher institutions should incorporate technologies and other such measures that could make the option of crime less appealing/enticing. The study further recommends that the curriculum of tertiary institutions be tweaked to incorporate the teaching and learning of Hands-on-skills that could keep students busy, productive and self-reliant, thereby making them less prone to crime and criminality.