Causes of socioeconomic cybercrime in Nigeria

Abstract

The causations of crimes that are relevant in the cyberspace concurrently impact in the physical space and vise versa. This paper aims to explore parents' perceptions of the factors that cause socioeconomic cybercrime in Nigeria. Despite a long-standing view that the juvenile offenders of today could become the hardened criminals of tomorrow, and the conclusions of a number of developmental theories on the stability of delinquency across the life course, the existing data on cybercrimes in Nigeria have principally been derived from studies involving university students. Yet, individuals' moralstandard-levels, which shape their offending capacities, are mostly developed in childhood. The empirical basis for this paper is face-to-face interviews with 17 Nigerian parents regarding children's vulnerability to involvement in cybercrime. Drawing upon qualitative data, this paper argues that a complex web of familial factors and structural forces, alongside cultural forces, explains the degree of cybercrime involvement on the part of Nigerian youths.