Islamic non-formal education as a community knowledge system for youth crime prevention in Sokoto Metropolis, Nigeria

Background: The escalating rate of youth crime in Sokoto Metropolis, Nigeria—driven by poverty, high unemployment, and weakened traditional social structures—poses a severe threat to community safety and socio-economic development. Islamic non-formal education (NFE) institutions function as community-based knowledge systems that transmit moral and ethical information through culturally embedded channels. However, empirical research examining how information dissemination and religious knowledge transfer within these settings contribute to mitigating juvenile delinquency in this region remains limited.Purpose: This study investigates how participants perceive the role of Islamic non-formal education as a moral information transmission system in preventing youth crime in Sokoto Metropolis, Sokoto State, Nigeria.Methods: The study employed an explanatory sequential mixed-methods design, beginning with a quantitative descriptive survey followed by qualitative in-depth interviews to explain and contextualize quantitative findings. A total sample of 291 participants was selected, including 241 youths and 50 key informants such as religious and community leaders. Data were collected through the in-person administration of the Youth Perception of Crime and Islamic Non-Formal Education Questionnaire (YPCINFEQ) and face-to-face interviews using a semi-structured interview guide. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, while qualitative data were subjected to systematic thematic analysis. The two instruments yielded reliability indexes of 0.83 and 0.87, respectively.Results: Findings indicated that drug trafficking and abuse is the most prevalent crime among youths, followed by assault and robbery. Qualitative data specifically identified "Yan Sara-Suka" (violent thuggery) as a dominant community-level threat. Poverty and unemployment were identified as the primary structural drivers of criminal involvement. Participants perceived Islamic NFE as an effective community knowledge system for crime deterrence, particularly through its capacity to provide employment skills and instill "God-consciousness" (Taqwa) as an internal moral regulator.Conclusions: The study concludes that Islamic NFE functions as a community-based moral information ecosystem; however, its deterrent capacity is constrained by insufficient resources and limited modernization. It is recommended that NFE programs integrate Tarbiya (moral upbringing) with vocational training and be repositioned as active knowledge dissemination hubs that bridge religious information transfer with practical socioeconomic empowerment. These findings are limited by their perception-based, cross-sectional nature and should be interpreted accordingly.