Insecurity Conundrum and Rural Urban Migration in Enugu State from 2016-2025

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.