Transcending Gender in the Commission of Crime in the Benue Province (Nigeria): Women in Crime in the Colonial Period (Report‪)‬

Abstract The assumption prevalent in the psyche of people is that most criminal acts are perpetrated by men and that women involvement is minimal if not non-existent. Contemporary realities seem to indicate that the commissions of crime transcend gender since the motivations are social, economic, psychological, opportunity etc. These circumstances are widespread and affect all groups, perhaps some disproportionately. Indeed with the overwhelming focus on women in recent time, studies have demonstrated that women have been exposed to crime the most. As much as this knowledge of contemporary crime and women involvement is known, what prevailed in the past remained unknown and this has affected the understanding and appreciation of the reality as it exists today in a historical context. Were women involved in crime in the colonial period? What type of crime were they involved in? This paper attempts to answer these questions within the Benue Province.