Psychosocial aspects of murder in Nigeria

This study is a review of cases of murder reported to Police in Kaduna State from 1983 to 1987 and a survey of the psychosocial profile of the murderers. Most of the murderers, 91.7%, were between the ages of 20 and 40 while 93.6% were male. Of them 56.5% were single while Moslems (51.2%) formed the highest group. Unemployed and ex-service men predominated in the cohort interviewed. Sharp tools such as matchets, knives and axes were used by 66.7%, 83.3% of the murderers are acquitances (friends and family members) of their victims. Socially acceptable reasons were given for 79.1% of the murder while 5.3% were referred for psychiatric assessment. Implications of this study in formulating policy on murder are briefly mentioned.