Sociodemographic risk factors for culpable homicide: A study of prison inmates in northeast Nigeria

This study investigates the relationship between sociodemographic predictors and culpable homicide among inmates in Northeastern Nigeria's correctional facilities. The research aims to identify the nexus between demographic profiles and homicide culpability, addressing the gap in empirical studies on this topic in Nigeria. The Key Findings Significant negative correlations were found between culpable homicide and as Education (r = -0.42) and Socioeconomic status (r = -0.39), No significant relationship was found between age and culpable homicide (r = 0.12) and the Regression analysis revealed Lower educational background (β = -0.35, p < 0.01) and Poor economic status (β = -0.29, p < 0.01) are significant predictors of homicide culpability. Recommendations: Government educational policies should focus on providing functional literacy and vocational training within correctional centers to empower inmates with skills for employability post-sentence, State and non-state actors should collaborate to reduce poverty levels in vulnerable populations through diversified job creation and opportunities, Special reintegration programs should be developed for persons convicted of violent crimes, including homicide, Government should periodically review inmates' rehabilitation and reformation plans, focusing on individualized education, counseling, and employability and Robust community-based social recultivation initiatives can facilitate reformation and reintegration of ex-convicts while discouraging recidivism. This study employs a quantitative research design to investigate the relationship between sociodemographic variables and culpable homicide convictions in Nigerian correctional centers. The design involves: Cross-sectional survey design: Structured questionnaires are administered to a selected sample of inmates convicted of culpable homicide. Quantitative approach: Enables the collection and analysis of measurable data to identify patterns, correlations, and predictive relationships among variables. Statistical tools are used to test hypotheses and draw generalizable conclusions from the findings. The target population for this study consists of prison inmates convicted of culpable homicide in six selected correctional centers across Northeastern Nigeria: Damaturu Prison, Gashuwa Prison, Gombe Prison, Tula Prison, Bauchi Prison and Bura Prison. The study employs a combination of: Purposive sampling: To select inmates convicted of culpable homicide and Simple Random Sampling (SRS): To select 300 inmates across the six correctional centers. The sample size consists of 300 inmates, selected from the six correctional centers.