CRIME AND CRIMINALITY OF POST COLONIAL AND PRESENT DAY EHUGBO PEOPLE OF IGBO EXTRACTION IN RETROSPECT

The upsurge in crime and criminal activities in post-colonial Nigeria has engaged several hours of both the security agents, government and the citizenry in general, who are worried and helpless to the wave of rising crime. Unfortunately little has been said or written about the dynamics of crime control. The fear to enquire into why the precolonial societies were more stable and relatively crime free is so sensitive that no mention of it may be made. Based on interviews and focal group discussions the people of Ehugbo had an advanced crime control mechanism that saw to a crime free society in the pre-colonial era and as such the paper recommends that present government recognize and possible adopt the traditional crime control mechanism. Key words: crime and criminality, pre-post colonial era, government and crime mechanism