The Almajirai, who are students at an informal Quranic school (Tsangaya), often associated with crime in popular and policy discourse in Nigeria. This thesis is the first to empirically explore the nature and extent to which the Almajirai are involved in crime in this context. A mixed-method approach was used, involving 800 Almajirai (aged 14-17 years) through questionnaire interviews, 18 in-depth interviews with the Almajirai and their Malamai, and observations. Participants were selected from nine randomly selected Tsangaya schools in areas of Northern Nigeria.
The research suggests that some Almajirai are involved in occasional petty crime and anti-social behaviours, that are more associated with their experiences of severe absolute deprivation, and mild relative deprivation. Absolute deprivation is found to have a stronger association with petty crime often committed for survival, than relative deprivation. The extent of involvement in petty crime is found to be low for self-reporting and high for reporting others (colleagues). The petty criminal acts involved by the participants include occasional stealing and fighting, commonly committed for survival, settling status, and dealing with discrimination. Other criminalised and antisocial acts involved include poaching vermin, open defecation, and scavenging waste. Serious crimes such as substance abuse and sexual-related offences were found to be disliked acts by moral definition and not commonly found among the Almajirai. Religiosity, measured by belief and practice, was found to be low but influences a powerful sense of in-group identity connected to respect for the ‘Almajirai’ identity, which influences the self-concept of the Almajirai through humility and morality.
Given the self-reported severe (absolute) deprivation, and low crime involvement, despite low level of religiosity measured by faith and practice, in the Almajirai. A mediating role of other factors which included environmental setting and behavioural disposition were suggested by the research, as important in understanding the relationship between the Almajirai and offending behaviour. This thesis underscores the importance of empirical approaches and involving Tsangaya students’ and teachers’ voices in understanding nature and extent of crime committed by the Almajirai. It contributes to criminological studies by highlighting the role of absolute deprivation in understanding criminal behaviour, in the context of the Global South. It also provides an empirical answer to the popular and policy discourse views on crime and the Almajirai. Recommendations for policy and future research are provided.