SECURITY

This research study examined National Question of State Police as a Panacea to Security in Edo South Senatorial District, Nigeria. The study aimed to determine the crime rates in Edo South Senatorial District, Edo State, find out the most common crime in Edo South Senatorial District, Edo State, ascertain the roles of State Police in crime control in Edo South Senatorial District, Edo State, and determine the perception of the Edo South residents towards State Police if established. Anchored on structural functionalism theory as the theoretical framework of the study, the research descriptive survey design methods and questionnaires to obtain information and employ frequencies and percentages to analyze data. The research unveils that there is a high rate of crime in the senatorial district, kidnapping rank first among the common crime in the senatorial district, followed by cultism, theft/burglary, then rape, and fighting, Edo South senatorial district residents perceived that the if State Police get established, will be very good, worthwhile and commendable. It was suggested that the government should make a priority to meaningfully engage the youth in the county thereby reducing the rate of unemployment, for an adage says "idle hands are the devil's workshop, the establishment of the State Police is strategic to the national security of the country because of its size and heterogeneous nature. The State Police if created will not only decongest the administrative stress at the federal level but will also have a closer chief of security officer in the person of the governor monitoring to address security issues before they escalate, to this end if it gets initiated, it should be guided against abuse by State actors.

The study seeks to the influence of kidnapping for ransom in Delta State: Implications for security and development. The objective of the study was to examine the dynamic nature, level of awareness and knowledge of kidnapping among the people of Delta State, to investigate the causes of kidnapping and ransom among the people of Delta State, to survey the social effects of kidnapping on the people and community development in Delta State, to examine kidnapping for ransom effects on the economic life and development of community members in Delta State and finally, to investigate the challenging effects of kidnapping on the mental and psychological wellbeing of the people in Delta State. In order to achieve the objectives of this study, five research questions and hypotheses were raised and formulated, answered and tested respectively. The study adopted a survey research design. The population of study of this research is made up of the total number of people residing in Delta State while the target population of the study is the residence of Ughelli North Local Government which is 320,687. The sample size of this study is 500 respondents. The instrument used for the collection of data was the questionnaire which was administered to a total number of 500 respondents and 456 was retrieved. To ensure content validity of the research instrument, the questionnaire was submitted to the research supervisor and other expert in the Department of Political Science. Their corrections, criticisms, clarifications, suggestions and scrutiny serve as the final bases in drafting the final research
instrument. Again, in order to ensure reliability of the research instrument, it was subjected to test-retest reliability test. Data was analyzed using simple percentage and Pearson Product Correlation Coefficient. The study establishes that despite the kidnapping awareness among the people, kidnapping for ransom is still rampant in the area. The study recommendation that the government should provide employment opportunity for the teeming youths of the area to abate the incidence of kidnapping in Delta State.