ADSC Study Debunks Nigerian Crime Origin Myth in South Africa

A new research presentation by the Africa Development Studies Centre (ADSC) challenges long-held beliefs that Nigerians introduced organised crime and drugs into South Africa. The study, part of ADSC’s continental governance and security initiative, reviews historic records to show that cannabis trade, armed robbery networks, and anti-drug laws pre-date significant Nigerian migration by decades. Findings reveal that South Africa enacted formal anti-dagga legislation as early as 1922 and saw the growth of criminal gangs and illicit drug markets throughout colonial and apartheid eras. By the late 1980s and early 1990s, violent crime rates were already among the highest globally, rooted in forced removals, economic exclusion, township underdevelopment, and institutional inequalities. While some foreign syndicates, including Nigerian groups, joined South Africa’s transnational crime landscape after apartheid, the ADSC research finds no credible evidence that Nigerians originated the country’s criminal economies. The study warns against nationality-based accusations, stressing that inequality, governance failures, and historical injustice remain the real drivers of organised crime. The full report will be released soon through ADSC’s policy and research platforms.

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