The COVID-19 pandemic has generally induced mass panic and threat across the world, including Nigeria, due to the perceived uncertainties, fears and insecurities in the communities. Based on this backdrop, this study examined COVID-19 pandemic and insecurity in Nigeria. Convenience accidental sampling was used to administer 1671 copies of a questionnaire on residents through an online/electronic survey. Data collected were analysed descriptively and inferentially. Findings revealed that the spike in crime during the COVID-19 lockdown period is relatively higher than usual with disruption of public peace, theft and rape accounting for the most prominent crime. Meanwhile, most respondents experienced crime incidence between 6 pm and 12 midnight. Ironically, idleness, poor spatial arrangement/planning, poor governance and poverty were the major catalysts for the crime spike during the lockdown, while fear-of-fear (phobophobia) and declined socio-economic capacity were predominant effects of crime experienced. The Fisher's exact test results revealed a significant relationship between the surge in crime and COVID-19-restrictive measures. The study concludes that the insecurities during lockdown periods have caused both temporary and permanent physical and psychological havoc; hence, it recommends quick advancement of the built environment with smart security measures and social supports for the citizenry during the pandemic.
Studies have stressed the importance of disaster literacy and suggested that such awareness is an effective disaster management strategy. The success of this recommendation is however scarcely assessed in literature. This study therefore assesses the application of available disaster‐related information in the management of disasters. The study was carried out in Ibadan, Nigeria. Data were collected by administering a questionnaire to residents in the selected Local Government Area (LGA) in Ibadan. Using systematic sampling technique, household heads’ opinions were sampled in 20% of the buildings. This effort culminated in the sampling of 102 household heads in the LGA. The questionnaire addressed issues on household socioeconomic characteristics; sources, types, and manners of utilization of disaster‐related information available to the households as well as the effects of available disaster‐related information on disaster management. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results showed that 47.9% of the respondents were aware of post‐disaster information, with television or radio (38.5%) and government agencies (26.6%) being the major information sources. It is suggested that disaster management literacy can be properly enhanced if households are provided with practical knowledge of effective pre‐disaster, during‐disaster, and post‐disaster information.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.