Traditional Leadership and Crime Reduction: Assessing the Security Impact of the New Emirates in Bauchi State

Yakubu Adamu PhD; Sama’una Nuhu CNA; Alhaji Kawugana PhD

doi:10.56201/jpslr.vol.11.no10.2025.pg76.88

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Traditional Leadership and Crime Reduction: Assessing the Security Impact of the New Emirates in Bauchi State

Yakubu Adamu PhD, Sama’una Nuhu CNA, Alhaji Kawugana PhD

Abstract

The creation of new emirates in Bauchi State has rekindled scholarly and policy interest in the role of traditional leadership in enhancing community security and reducing crime. This study examines the security impact of the newly established emirates, assessing how traditional institutions contribute to maintaining law and order, conflict resolution, and social cohesion. Using a mixed-method approach that combines qualitative interviews with key traditional leaders, security personnel, and community members, as well as quantitative data from local security reports, the research explores the relationship between decentralized traditional authority and community safety. Findings reveal that the new emirates have strengthened grassroots governance, improved community policing, and enhanced early warning mechanisms for conflict prevention. However, challenges such as limited financial resources, overlapping jurisdictions with local government authorities, and political interference hinder the full potential of these institutions. The study concludes that empowering traditional rulers through legal frameworks, capacity building, and collaboration with formal security agencies can significantly contribute to sustainable peace and crime reduction in Bauchi State. Policy recommendations are made for integrating traditional leadership structures into state-level security architecture to enhance community-based security governance.

Keywords

Traditional leadershipcrime reductionemiratesBauchi Statesecuritycommunity policinggovernance.

References

Adamu, A. U. (2020). Politics, chieftaincy, and emirate creation in Northern Nigeria. Nigerian Journal of Social Inquiry, 7(1), 44–59. Alemika, E. E. O., & Chukwuma, I. C. (2014). The role of traditional institutions in community policing in Nigeria. Lagos: CLEEN Foundation. Abdulrahman, S. (2019). The role of emirate councils in conflict prevention and management in Northern Nigeria. Journal of Peace Studies, 5(2), 89–104. Ayoade, J. A. A. (1988). The role of traditional rulers in Nigeria’s governance. Ibadan: University Press. Bauchi State Government Gazette. (2020). Law establishing new emirates in Bauchi State. Bauchi: Government Printer. Ibrahim, H. A. (2022). Traditional governance and local administration in Northern Nigeria: A case study of Bauchi State. Journal of African Governance and Society, 10(2), 112–130. Mohammed, A. (2021). Traditional leadership and rural security in Northern Nigeria. Nigerian Journal of Public Administration, 8(1), 76–94. Olaoba, O. B. (2011). Traditional institutions and the maintenance of peace and security in Nigeria. African Journal of Conflict Resolution, 11(2), 57–76. Olaniyi, J. O. (2015). Traditional rulers and conflict management in contemporary Nigeria. African Journal of Governance and Development Studies, 3(1), 24–38. Yakubu, A. (2018). Community policing and traditional authority: The Northern Nigeria experience. Journal of Peace and Development Studies, 4(2), 102–118. Yakubu, A. M. (2019). Historical evolution of emirate councils in Bauchi State. Savannah Journal of History and Culture, 5(1), 67–85.

Traditional Leadership and Crime Reduction: Assessing the Security Impact of the New Emirates in Bauchi State

Abstract

Keywords

References

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