Abstract

Bank robbery is increasingly constituting a serious threat to human safety and security in Nigeria. Thus, the central objective of this study was to investigate the risk factors accounting for the vulnerability of commercial banks to armed robbery attacks despite their adopted crime prevention strategies. The situational crime prevention perspective was employed as a conceptual framework. Data were elicited from chief security officers of 20 commercial banks, 10 bank tellers, and seven officials of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) through a combination of in-depth interviews and key-informant interview methods. Results showed that human factors and logistic issues were contributing to the vulnerability of commercial banks to armed robbery attacks. Although banks are consciously investing in technological and non-technological security systems, criminals still consider them suitable targets. It is imperative for commercial banks to regularly conduct thorough background checks on their staffers so as to ensure early detection of employees with criminal tendencies.