Religious Imperatives as a Panacea to Crime and Violence among Youths in Nigeria

t is an undeniable fact that Nigeria as a nation is witnessing a paradigm shift as far as the issue of crime is concerned. Nigeria is now ranking among the terrorists nations and this calls to question the issue of security in the nation. The different militant groups and the recent Boko Haram insurgence is a major challenge the country is facing today. Incidentally, those perpetrating these dastardly acts are youths and this is why the paper focuses on Youth involvement in crimes. Youth involvement in various crimes is fast assuming an alarming rate. Many factors have been said to be responsible for or influence the high incidence of crime among the youths. They include the following which will be systematically considered– Personal, Family/Parents factors, School based/Education factors, Socio-Economic and Political factors, Religious, peer Influence, Media and Career related factors. The paper however, posit that religion is vital in curbing most, if not all, of the excesses exhibited by the youths by providing a proactive approach to helping the youths to overcome the violent behaviours they exhibit. In this regard, religion becomes a veritable tool in solving the problem of crimes as the Holy writs negate these acts among the youths.