A Theoretical Framework for Understanding the Role of Digital Technologies in the Transformation of Crime and Policing in Nigeria

Digital technologies have fundamentally transformed both the commission of crime and the practice of policing in Nigeria, yet no theoretical framework has been developed to coherently explain these transformations within the specific Nigerian digital technology adoption context, which differs significantly from the Western digital environments where existing criminological theories were generated. This study developed an original theoretical framework for understanding digital technology's role in the transformation of crime and policing in Nigeria. A constructive theoretical methodology combining systematic review of 80 digital criminology publications from 2019 to 2024, primary empirical research with 60 participants across cybercrime investigators, digital criminals (via ethical proxy data from prosecution records), social media crime-facilitating platform managers, and ordinary digital technology users, and theoretical synthesis informed by cybercrime theory, surveillance studies, and African digital economy scholarship was employed. The theoretical investigation confirmed that existing digital criminology frameworks inadequately theorise the leapfrog adoption dynamic (where Nigerian users adopted mobile-first digital technologies bypassing older infrastructure), the specific vulnerability profile generated by rapid digital financial inclusion without commensurate security literacy, and the asymmetry between criminal exploitation of technology and institutional capacity to respond. The original Nigerian Digital Crime-Policing Transformation Framework proposes three theoretical constructs: digital asymmetric criminality (where criminal adoption of technology systematically outpaces institutional response capacity), community vulnerability amplification (where digital inclusion creates new crime pathways faster than protective literacy develops), and surveillance legitimacy paradox (where effective digital policing tools require authority levels incompatible with democratic rights norms). Expert review confirmed original theoretical contribution.