ANALYSIS OF KADUNA STATE GOVERNMENT STRATEGY ON TACKLING INTERNAL SECURITY: A CASE STUDY OF OPERATION YAKI (2011-2019)

Abstract

The challenges of insecurity and the need to investigate and identify its sources and causes led the government of Kaduna state into creating Operation Yaki in 2008 with the mandate to curb crime and criminality in the whole state. Despite this innovative security measures, Kaduna State seems not to be recording meaningful drop in crime rate, hence the need for empirical verification. It is against this background therefore, that this paper assessed the impact of Operation Yaki as a security outfit on crime control in Kaduna State from 2011 to 2019. It is the latest in the crime fighters’ attempt to curb the menace of rising crime rate in the State. The Theory of Liberalism on security was adopted to serve as a theoretical base for this paper. The paper adopts qualitative analysis to serve as a method for data collection. Findings revealed generally that Operation Yaki has impacted positively on crime rate in Kaduna State and residents of the State feel more secure now than before the coming into being of the security outfit. Hence it is recommended that government should channel more attention and resources towards the improved functioning of the security outfit in the following direction: The culture of regular maintenance and adequate fuelling of patrol vehicles by government be improved, and government should look into the possibility of having more offices of Operation Yaki across the state for easy access.