Insight into the Dynamics and Menace of Cattle Rustling: A Case Study of Lake Chad Basin Area in Northern Nigeria

Abstract

The violent phenomenon of contemporary cattle rustling has in recent times constitute a menace which unabatedly continued to threaten peace and development among rural communities around the Lake Chad Basin and Northern Nigeria in general. More worrisome is the trends and dynamics of extant transformation of rustling from its tradition form to violence accentuated by militarized weapons, ruthless brutality and deadly crime and criminality. With the recent involvement of “Boko Haram” armed pundits in rustling led to several losses of human lives, destruction and displacement of several rural communities, and thousands of cattle rustled. Consequently, this development is also accompanied by security threats and anxiety among the inhabitants of the Basin. However, the primary focus of this paper is to provide an insight into the root causes, trends and dynamics of contemporary rustling and its implications on peace and development. The paper conclude that rustling in its current violent form gradually becomes militarized using illegally acquired arms prejudiced by actor rustlers insatiable desire for wealth accumulation at all cost syndrome. The paper explored and utilized content analysis of the existing literatures and Focus Group Discussion (FGD) with some herdsmen victims of rustling in the study area.