Violent Fraternities and Public Security Challenges in Nigerian Universities: a Study of the “University of the South”

Abstract

A number of public security challenges confronting Nigeria since the late 1980s have been traced to the activities of violent student fraternities in tertiary institutions, especially the universities. Using individual and focus group interviews of 30 participants, this study discusses the structure and violent activities of these fraternities in a university anonymized as the University of the South. Data from the study demonstrate that brutal hazing practices and inter-group conflicts associated with these groups are the principal causes of violence at the institution. The study also suggests that a class kinship between the country’s indigenous bourgeoisie and members of these fraternities undermines government’s interest in confronting the problem.