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NEWPORT INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CURRENT
RESEARCH IN HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES
(NIJCRHSS)

Volume 5 Issue 2 Page 66-74, 2025

https://doi.org/10.59298/NIJCRHSS/2025/5.2.667400 Page | 66

Insecurity Conundrum and Rural Urban Migration in Enugu State

from 2016-2025
Egbo Christian Chukwuebuka and Ezeodili W. O.

Department of Public Administration, Faculty of Management Science Enugu State University of Science
and Technology
Email: [email protected]

ABSTRACT
This study examined insecurity conundrum and rural urban migration in Enugu state. The study was carried out
in Enugu Metropolis which includes Enugu East, Enugu North and Enugu South. The objectives of the study
include to: ascertain the extent to which the rising incidence of rural urban migration has exacerbated insecurity in
Enugu city, determine the factors responsible for the indulgence of migrated people into criminal behaviour in
Enugu city and evaluate the causes of rural-urban migration in Enugu city. The population of the study is 906,658
which is the current population of Enugu City according to World population review (2025) while a sample size of
400 respondents was drawned using the taro yamane’s formula. The data collected were presented in table and
analyzed using mean. The findings included that rural urban migration exacerbates insecurity in Enugu state to a
large extent, the factors responsible for the indulgence of migrated people into criminal behaviour in Enugu state
include illicit drug hawking, abuse and addiction and criminal hideouts for hoodlums in the urban areas and the
causes of rural-urban migration in Enugu state include abundance of infrastructural facilities and employment
opportunities in the urban area. The study concluded that insecurity conundrum has significant relationship with
rural urban migration and it was recommended that the government should organize extensive free vocational
training for unemployed people in both rural and urban areas. Thereafter grants or soft-loans should be given to
them to aid in the start-up business, more cottage industries need to be established in Enugu metropolis in order
to engage unemployed youths and in order to reduce rural-urban drift, government should cite needed social
amenities in rural areas and engage the unemployed in viable ventures to earn a living.
Keywords: Insecurity, Migration, Rural, Urban, Criminal Behaviour.

INTRODUCTION
The issue of insecurity has been a global concern which had often resulted to incessant lost of lives and properties
in many continents of the world, particularly in Africa where insurgencies and terrorism is the order of the day.
Insecurity is a pervasive issue that affects many developing nations around the world [1]. It encompasses a wide
range of challenges, including political instability, economic hardship, social unrest, and environmental
degradation African continent has witnessed several forms of attacks which have affected its human and material
resources needed for programmatic national and economic development. Sadly enough, economic hardship is a
significant factor contributing to insecurity in developing nations. Many of these countries struggle with high
levels of poverty, unemployment, and inadequate access to basic services such as healthcare and education.
Economic instability can lead to social unrest, as people become frustrated with the lack of opportunities and
resources available to them. As a result, people migrate from rural areas to urban areas where they feel better
opportunities exist. This rural-urban migration seems to have constituted an overcrowded urban environment in
most African countries. [2] submitted that rural-urban migration increased to three billion as at 2012 and will
continue to skyrocket by 2050 to about five billion or more in African Cities. Despite this increase in migration of
people from rural to urban areas, urban populace has not witnessed improved infrastructural development to cater
for the teeming urban population [3]. Over the years, rural-urban migration which has been conceptualized by

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[4] as a phenomenon of historically unprecedented movement of people from the rural countryside to the
burgeoning cities or urban areas has been one of the most embarrassing problems in the Nigerian development
experience. Migration has existed internally to enable resources (labour and materials) to be taken slowly from the
rural areas to provide workforce and materials for industries in the urban areas; consequently, aiding industrial
growth in the receiving cities and rural impoverishment in the source areas [5]. Experiences in developing or
underdeveloped countries (Nigeria inclusive) has shown that the rate of rural-urban migration has ceaselessly
outweighed the rate of job creation and had an overweight on the social and infrastructural amenities available in Page | 67
the urban areas. The rising incidence of rural urban migration has significantly induced security challenges in
South-East Region of Nigeria. Rural urban migration in the south eastern Nigeria has culminated over the years
into social, economic, environmental, physical insecurities and other severe problems such as congestion in the
urban centers which has increased the spread of communicable diseases in the centers, insufficient physical, and
social infrastructural amenities such as; electricity, health, educational, recreational facilities, motor able roads,
pipe borne water, housing among others. This has caused overstretched use of physical and social infrastructural
facilities. This menace has degenerated into traffic congestion, unemployment, high crime rate - advance free fraud
(419), hired assassins, armed robbery, alcoholism, drug abuse, prostitution, hooliganism, health hazard from
pollution; air, water, and noise, for example, toxic smoke from industrial plants and vehicles, inadequate refuse
collection and disposal system, poor drainage system which results to flood and overflowing gutters and therefore
causing cholera epidemics, growth of slums leading to shanty settlements, and long distance to work as well as
serious traffic jam which makes commuters spend number of hours on the road to work and in other places,
cultural change, juvenile delinquency, and decline in social values. It is based on these observed trends that
aroused the researcher interest to empirically investigate insecurity conundrum and rural urban migration in
Enugu state. This study was carried out in Enugu City. Specifically the study is designed to: ascertain the extent
to which the rising incidence of rural urban migration has exacerbated insecurity in Enugu city, determine the
factors responsible for the indulgence of migrated people into criminal behaviour in Enugu city and evaluate the
causes of rural-urban migration in Enugu city
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
Conceptual Review
Concept of Insecurity
Insecurity has different meanings such as: lack of safety; threat; danger; vagueness; absence of protection and
defense. Insecurity refers to a condition of terror or apprehension owing to lack of security. [39] Insecurity is also
defined from two dimensions. First, insecurity is the condition of being volatile or prone to risk or threat of
danger, where danger is the state of being vulnerable to harm or hurt. Second [6], defined security as a reasonable
level of predictability at different levels of the social system, from local communities to the global level. The
understanding here is that at the global level, there is a presence of an order which is predicated upon the
predictability of the behavior of other members within the system. At the local level, security thus includes the
ability of the state to predict the likely implications of any particular condition on its citizens. The recognition lies
squarely not on the state’s ability to enforce law and order, though that may be important, but in creating the
necessary socio-economic conditions that guarantee fair amount of predictability on the behavior of its citizens. In
their own perspective, [7], argued that the concept of security is a crosscutting, and multi-dimensional concept
which has, over the last century, been the subject of great debate. However, long before that, the history of
mankind was interspersed by the frenzied search for the best way of ensuring the security of the people, their
properties, territories, states and institutions among others. In all places and countries, security has been
considered as a “first order value” worth preserving. The aforementioned notwithstanding, there is no consensus
on the definition of security. This is not surprising because as a social phenomenon, it is often approached from
different perspectives. Above all, the concept of security has been seen as a situation where a person or thing is not
exposed to any form of danger or risk of physical or moral aggression, accident, theft or deterioration. While some
security experts argued that the concept of security has always been associated with the safety and survival of the
state and its citizens from harm or destruction or from dangerous threats [8]. Those conceptions generally hold
that the state is the only institution with the primary responsibility and power for the safety of its territory and its
people [9].
Concept of Rural-Urban Migration
An attempt into demystifying the concept of rural-urban migration must first make recourse to the meaning of
migration for better understanding. According to [10], migration can be seen as a process by which people
permanently or semi permanently change their residence from one administrative unit say district, country, state,
etc to another and involves relatively short distance under 10km or may cover very long distance exceeding

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1,100km. The definition above is elaborating and covers the rudiments of migration since it exposes the nature of
migration which may be permanent or semi-permanent (going back to their home) after some years. Moreover, the
distance covered by migrant can either be short or long. Short distance is usually associated with domestic
migration and long distance with international migration. Therefore, migration is the permanent or temporary
locomotion of people from one geographical location to another. It is of various nature, rural-urban migration,
rural-rural migration, urban-rural migration and urban-urban migration. The interest of this research is however,
on rural urban-migration. Rural-urban migration in the view of [5], is a form of so-called internal migration Page | 68
which means a movement within a country and which stays in contrast to international or intercontinental
migration. According to them, it refers to the movement of people from the countryside respectively the rural
areas into the cities, often the metropolitan cities of a country. Hence, it involves the movement of people from
rural areas to urban centers. It is the movement of individuals from one geographical space to another, involving
permanent or temporary residence or settlement. Migrants in this category include young school leavers, petty
traders, civil servants and others. In the developed countries, rural-urban migration was associated with
complimentary development in agricultural and industrial protection in the sense that merchandised agriculture
generated surplus labour, which migrated into the cities to meet the rising demand for labour. In the industrial
sector therefore the movement of people from rural-urban area has characterized the process of urban growth in
the new world particularly the united stated of America. It is obvious that these developments always show their
two sides: one side or the area of destination gains population whereas the other side respectively the area of origin
loses people.
Rural Urban-Migration and National Insecurity in Nigeria: The South-East Region Experience
The menace of rural-urban migration has significantly encumbered national security agendum in Nigeria
particularly the south-east in variegated dimensions. [11], asserted that the rural areas in Nigeria especially in the
south-eastern region have been affected by several incapacities in various levels of severity such as: inaccessibility,
seclusion, underdevelopment, poverty, drabness, boredom, ignorance, depopulation, hunger, and all types of
sicknesses. The above conditions are however as fresh today as they were in 2010 when [11] articulated them. It
is the general consensus amongst writers such as [10], [3] and [12] among others that migration from rural to
urban areas leads to a reduction in the number of rural populace which has atrocious effects on rural agricultural
output and thus cripples the pace of development in the rural areas. Migration of youths takes away the glamorous
social life in the rural areas, leaving the area in a gloomy desertion. The youths migrate from the villages taking
along their energy and vigour, and leaving behind the feeble old men, women and children to labour on the farm
since farming is their major occupation. This has led to a reduction in agricultural produce with its consequential
effect on the gross domestic product of the nation, lowered funds for development, income and standard of living
of rural inhabitants, underdevelopment, and total desertion of the rural areas. Rural areas in the south-eastern
region lack socio-economic facilities including: pipe borne water, electricity, motor able roads, industries, high paid
employment and undergo a lot of deprivations which all attest that the rural areas in the south-eastern region to a
vicious circle of poverty. [13], earlier affirmed that one big worry about rural-urban migration is that it is most
likely the highly educated and most agile people that migrate from rural to urban areas, leaving behind the very
frail and mainly uneducated people who are not able to combat poverty successfully. This he alleged adds to a rise
in the differences in the standards of living of the rural and urban inhabitants. [12], agreed that the drift of the
rural populace to the urban areas in the south eastern Nigeria has led to social, economic, environmental, physical,
and other severe problems such as congestion in the urban centers which has increased the spread of
communicable diseases in the centers, insufficient physical, and social infrastructural amenities such as, electricity,
health, educational, recreational facilities, motor able roads, pipe borne water, housing among others. This has
caused overstretched use of physical and social infrastructural facilities. Other consequences have been articulated
to include; traffic congestion, unemployment, high crime rate - advance free fraud (419), hired assassins, armed
robbery, alcoholism, drug abuse, prostitution, hooliganism, health hazard from pollution; air, water, and noise, for
example, toxic smoke from industrial plants and vehicles, inadequate refuse collection and disposal system, poor
drainage system which results to flood and overflowing gutters and therefore causing cholera epidemics, growth of
slums leading to shanty settlements, and long distance to work as well as serious traffic jam which makes
commuters spend number of hours on the road to work and other places, cultural change, juvenile delinquency,
and decline in traditional values [12]. This menace has given considerable impetus to national insecurity in the
region and the nation in general. For instance, looking at accommodation problem the agony of people who live
under the bridges in urban areas of Onitsha, Aba, Enugu and even Abakaliki cannot be overemphasized.
Addressing the problem, [11] lamented that the son smites them by the day and the moon by night and attributes
accommodation problem, to the dearth of urban housing in the urban areas where accommodations are in short

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supply, high rate of rent, and rapid urban growth which has seriously aggravated the shortage of dwelling units in
the region, resulting in over-crowding, slum, and squatter settlement. Similarly, urban unemployment, it has been
observed that unemployment is a global problem and it has also been suggested that the exponential growth of
urban areas in this present day has brought in its wake, untold hardship on the rural-urban migrants; this results
in under employment, disguised unemployment, and even mass unemployment, and consequent exploitation of
labour. There is unarguably, great deal of unemployment in these over populated cities and as such, they usually
resort to violent crimes, such as armed-robbery, vandalisation, and so on in the urban areas. Page | 69
Theoretical Framework
Structural Strain Theory
The theoretical framework on which this study is anchored is on the Structural Strain Theory. This theory is a
sociological and criminology theory developed in 1938 by [14]. Other proponents are [15], [16]. The theory is
based on the assumption that social structures within society may pressure citizens to commit crime. Its
application to the study shows that deviance is traced to tensions caused by the gap between cultural goals and the
means people have available to achieve the goals [17]. Societies are characterized by both culture and social
structure. Culture sets goals while social structures design ways to attain goals. In a well-integrated society,
people adopt accepted and appropriate strategies to attain societal goals. Here, the goals and means of the society
are in balance. When both goals and means are not balanced, deviance occurs. This imbalance between cultural
goals and structurally available means lead individual into crime.
Empirical Review
[18],conducted a study in Ebonyi state on urbanization and insecurity in Africa: issues, problems and prospects.
The data used for this study was obtained from archival materials and documented evidence from secondary
sources such as newspapers, magazines, journals, internet among others. Data analysis was logically based on
content analysis and it was found that insecurity problems has significant relationship with rural urban migration.
[5] conducted a study in Enugu state on rural-urban migration and Nigerian national security: experiences from
south-east. It was found that the poor rural infrastructural facilities, rural poverty and quest for improved
standard of living are major factors that give impetus to the rising incidence of rural-urban migration in South-
East Region of Nigeria. The rising incidence of rural urban migration has significantly induced security challenges
in South-East Region of Nigeria. Rural urban migration in the south eastern Nigeria has culminated over the
years into social, economic, environmental, physical insecurities and other severe problems such as congestion in
the urban centers. [6], conducted a study in Benue State on rural-urban migration and criminal behaviour among
youths in Makurdi Metropolis, Benue State-Nigeria. The study adopted descriptive research design where data
was collectedfrom the youths as well as adult male and female residents in Makurdimetropolis. The area is chosen
as study setting because is dominated by youths who migrate from their various villages to settle in the town.
Taro Yamane's sample size determination formula was used to get a sample size of 376 respondents. Data
generated for the study showed that the factors that necessitate migration of people, especially youths, to migrate
from their villages to settle in Makurdi metropolis were high unemployment in rural areas (29.8%), insecurity in
rural areas (26.9%), search for better educational opportunities (22.6%), poverty (12.2%) and lack of basic amenities
in rural areas (8.5%). Another factor is that crises have also hit many parts of Benue State, which are both internal
and external in nature. The external crises are those caused because of Fulani invasion while the internal are
communal crises that result from ethnic/communal differences and militia attacks on defenseless civilians and even
security operatives. People, because of insecurity in these areas have relocated to major cities in Benue State like
Gboko and Makurdi towns where relative peace is being enjoyed. More so, due to limited educational
opportunities in the rural areas from where these youths migrate, they tend to search for better opportunities to
access advanced educational facilities. Furthermore, [6] conducted a study in Calabar on youth unemployment and
its consequences in Calabar Metropolis: Need for government intervention. The study used a sample size of 400
determined using Freund & Williams formula. The regression method was used in the analysis and it was found
that youth unemployment has significant effect on insecurity in Calabar metropolis. [8], conducted a study in
Calabar on Socio-economic status of youth and involvement in criminal activities in Calabar metropolis of Cross
River State. The survey research method was used in the study with a sample size of 387. The t-test statistical tool
was used to analyse the data and it was found that socio-economic status of youths has significant relationship
with involvement in criminal activities in Calabar.
Gap in the Review of Related Literature
Many studies have been conducted on the relationship between insecurity and rural urban migration but there is a
lack of literature in conducting this topic in Enugu state. Hence, the study covered the gap.

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METHODOLOGY
This study examined insecurity conundrum and rural urban migration in Enugu state. The study was carried out
in Enugu Urban areas which include three senatorial districts of Enugu East, Enugu North and Enugu West. The
population of the study is 906,658 which is the current population of Enugu City according to World population
review (2025) while the sample size of 400 was determined using the taro yamane’s formula. The data collected
were presented in table and analyzed using mean.
DATA PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS Page | 70
In this chapter, the researcher presented the result of the study in tables according to the research questions. Out
of the four hundred copies of questionnaire distributed to the respondents, three hundred copies were collected,
thus recording seventy-five (75) percent return rate.
Data Relating To Research Questions
Table 1: Research Question One: To what extent has the rising incidence of rural urban migration exacerbated
insecurity in Enugu state?
S Question Items SA A D SD Decision
/
X
N
1 Rural-urban migration has led to high incidence of 128 102 50 20 3.04 Accept
kidnapping
2 Rural-urban migration has led to high incidence of 120 110 33 37 3.04 Accept
Assassination
3 Rural-urban migration has led to high incidence of 125 105 35 35 3.07 Accept
Armed Robbery
4 Rural-urban migration has led to high incidence of 122 108 40 30 3.06 Accept
Theft
The grand mean is given by
3.04+3.04+3.07+3.04 12.21
= 4 3.05
4
Question item I had a mean of 3.94, question item 2 had a mean of 3.04, question item 3 had a mean of 3.07 while
question item 4 had a mean of 3.06. The grand mean is 3.05.
Table 2: Research Question Two: What are the factors responsible for the indulgence of migrated people
into criminal behaviour in Enugu state?
S Question Items SA A D SD Decision
/
X
N
5 Difficulty to cope with the demands of city life 120 110 30 40 3.03 Accept
6 Most of the migrants do not have additional skills 126 104 28 42 3.05 Accept
to be self-reliant
7 Unemployment and poverty 130 100 32 38 3.09 Accept
8 They are easily used by politician for their political 125 105 35 35 3.07 Accept
ambition
Question item 5 had a mean of 3.03, question item 6 had a mean of 3.05, question item 7 had a mean of 3.09 while
question item 8 had a mean of 3.07
The grand mean is given by
3..03+3.05+3.09+3.07 12.24
4
= 4 = 3.06

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Table 3: Research Question Three:What are the causes of rural-urban migration in Enugu state?
S Question Items SA A D SD Decision
/ X
N
9 Lack of basic amenities in rural areas 127 103 37 33 3.08 Accept
1 High unemployment in rural areas 126 104 36 34 3.07 Accept
0 Page | 71
1 Poverty 123 107 32 38 3.05 Accept
1
1 Search for better educational opportunities 122 108 31 39 3.04 Accept
2
Question item 9 had a mean of 3.08, question item 10 had a mean of 3.07, question item 11 had a mean of 3.05
while question item 12 had a mean of 3.04
The grand mean is
3.08+3.07+3.05+3.04 12.24
4
= 4 = 3.06
Test of Hypotheses
Hypothesis One
Table 4: H1: Rising incidence of rural urban migration exacerbates insecurity in Enugu state to a large extent
S Question Items SA A D SD Std
/ X
N
1 Rural-urban migration has led to high incidence of 128 102 50 20 3.04 1.11
kidnapping
2 Rural-urban migration has led to high incidence of 120 110 33 37 3.04 1.12
Assassination
3 Rural-urban migration has led to high incidence of 125 105 35 35 3.07 1.01
Armed Robbery
4 Rural-urban migration has led to high incidence of 122 108 40 30 3.06 1.13
Theft
The mean was obtained by applying the formula ∑xi / n while the cluster mean was obtained by summation of all
the mean divided by the number of mean. The cluster mean of 3.05 > 2.50 (Likert mean) and associated standard
deviation of 1.095 < 1.581 (Likert standard deviation) indicates that the out listed are the extent to which the
rising incidence of rural urban migration exacerbates insecurity in Enugu state
.Level of Significance (α) = 0.05, Test statistic: z = = 22.33P-value = 0.0000

Interpretation: The z-test statistic value of 22.33 and associated probability value of 0.0000 < 0.05 shows that
rising incidence of rural urban migration exacerbates insecurity in Enugu state to a large extent
Table 5: Test of hypothesis Two
H2: The factors responsible for the indulgence of migrated people into criminal behaviour in Enugu state include
illicit drug hawking, abuse and addiction and criminal hideouts for hoodlums in the urban areas.
S Question Items SA A D SD Std
/ X
N
5 Difficulty to cope with the demands of city life 120 110 30 40 3.03 1.12
6 Most of the migrants do not have additional skills 126 104 28 42 3.05 1.10
to be self-reliant
7 Unemployment and poverty 130 100 32 38 3.09 1.11
8 They are easily used by politician for their political 125 105 35 35 3.07 1.14
ambition

The mean was obtained by applying the formula ∑xi / n while the cluster mean was obtained by summation of all
the mean divided by the number of mean. The cluster mean of 3.06 > 2.50 (Likert mean) and associated standard

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deviation of 1.12 < 1.581 (Likert standard deviation) indicates that the out listed are the factors responsible for the
indulgence of migrated people into criminal behaviour in Enugu state.
Level of Significance (α) = 0.05, Test statistic: z = 37.61P-value = 0.0000
Interpretation: The z-test statistic value of 48.59 and associated probability value of 0.0000 < 0.05 shows that the
factors responsible for the indulgence of migrated people into criminal behaviour in Enugu state include illicit
drug hawking, abuse and addiction and criminal hideouts for hoodlums in the urban areas.
Test of Hypothesis Three Page | 72
Table 5: H3: The causes of rural-urban migration in Enugu state include abundance of infrastructural facilities
and employment opportunities in the urban area
S Question Items SA A D SD Std
/ X
N
9 Lack of basic amenities in rural areas 127 103 37 33 3.08 1.11
1 High unemployment in rural areas 126 104 36 34 3.07 1.05
0
1 Poverty 123 107 32 38 3.05 1.13
1
1 Search for better educational opportunities 122 108 31 39 3.04 1.15
2
The mean was obtained by applying the formula ∑xi / n while the cluster mean was obtained by summation of all
the mean divided by the number of mean. The cluster mean of 3.06 > 2.50 (Likert mean) and associated standard
deviation of 1.11 < 1.581 (Likert standard deviation) indicates that the out listed are the causes of rural-urban
migration in Enugu state
Level of Significance (α) = 0.05, Test statistic: z =28.59P-value = 0.0000
Interpretation: The z-test statistic value of 39.79 and associated probability value of 0.0000 < 0.05 shows that the
causes of rural-urban migration in Enugu state include abundance of infrastructural facilities and employment
opportunities in the urban area
DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS
Rural urban migration exacerbates insecurity in Enugu state to a large extent. From the result of the analysis 3.05
> 2.50, furthermore in the empirical review [9], conducted a study in Benue State on rural-urban migration and
criminal behaviour among youths in Makurdi Metropolis, Benue State-Nigeria Although both studies were
conducted at different locations and with different sample sizes, the results were similar and it was confirmed that
rural urban migration exacerbates insecurity in Enugu state to a large extent. Furthermore, the factors
responsible for the indulgence of migrated people into criminal behaviour in Enugu state include illicit drug
hawking, abuse and addiction and criminal hideouts for hoodlums in the urban areas. The result could be
confirmed through the analysis of the factors responsible for the indulgence of migrated people into criminal
behaviour in Enugu state from the result of the analysis 3.13 > 2.50, furthermore in the empirical review [9]
conducted a similar study. Although both studies were conducted at different locations and with different sample
sizes, the results were similar and it was confirmed that the factors responsible for the indulgence of migrated
people into criminal behaviour in Enugu state include illicit drug hawking, abuse and addiction and criminal
hideouts for hoodlums in the urban areas. More so, the causes of rural-urban migration in Enugu state include
abundance of infrastructural facilities and employment opportunities in the urban area. The result could be
confirmed through the analysis of the causes of rural-urban migration in Enugu state. From the result of the
analysis 3.06 > 2.500, furthermore in the empirical review [9] conducted a similar study in Ebonyi state on the
causes of rural-urban migration in Enugu state. Although both studies were conducted at different locations and
with different sample sizes, the results were similar and it was confirmed that the causes of rural-urban migration
in Enugu state include abundance of infrastructural facilities and employment opportunities in the urban area.
Summary of Findings
1. Rural urban migration exacerbates insecurity in Enugu state to a large extent
2. The factors responsible for the indulgence of migrated people into criminal behaviour in Enugu state include
illicit drug hawking, abuse and addiction and criminal hideouts for hoodlums in the urban areas.
3. The causes of rural-urban migration in Enugu state include abundance of infrastructural facilities and
employment opportunities in the urban area.

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CONCLUSION
Rural-urban migration, even though has both positive and negative implications, the study found that it
precipitates criminality in the end. Though there are several factors that are responsible for migrant youths to
migrate and thereafter engage in criminal behaviour, the study concludes that the causes of rural-urban migration
among people in Enugu metropolis were unemployment, insecurity, poverty, search for better educational
opportunities and lack of basic amenities. The study also concludes that people who migrate most times do not
secure adequate sources of livelihood, a factor that encourages criminality among the migrants as a means to earn Page | 73
a living. The study therefore concludes that insecurity conundrum has significant relationship with rural urban
migration in Enugu state.
RECOMMENDATIONS
The following recommendations were made based on the findings.
1. The government should organize extensive free vocational training for unemployed people in both rural and
urban areas. Thereafter grants or soft-loans should be given to them to aid in the start-up business.
2. More cottage industries need to be established in Enugu metropolis in order to engage unemployed youths.
3. In order to reduce rural-urban drift, government should cite needed social amenities in rural areas and engage
the unemployed in viable ventures to earn a living.
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CITE AS: Egbo Christian Chukwuebuka and Ezeodili W. O. (2025).

Insecurity Conundrum and Rural Urban Migration in Enugu State from
2016-2025. NEWPORT INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CURRENT Page | 74
RESEARCH IN HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES, 5(2):66-74
https://doi.org/10.59298/NIJCRHSS/2025/5.2.667400

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, p rovided the
original work is properly cited