Abstract
Crime is inevitable and over the years, Nigeria has witnessed a surge in criminal activities involving both women and youths. This paper examined socio-economic factors influencing female criminality in Nigeria, the effect it has on the society and the possible ways to curtail this menace. Female criminality refers to those kinds of crime committed by females. The study adopted the general strain theory and social learning theory as framework in explaining the reasons for female involvement in crime. Both theories explained why females resort to unconventional means to achieve financial success. It was deduced that there are quite a number of socio-economic factors which influence female criminality in Nigeria and they include unemployment, poverty, drug use, lack of education and prerequisite skills. It also stated that there are lots of adverse consequences female criminality has on Nigeria as a society which is the fact that it poses a danger to the socialization process as women are at the fore front of socialization in every society. This paper strongly recommends that proper parenting as well as acquisition of various relevant skills should be prioritized as it provides an alternative in the absence of employment in Nigeria. Also, the different ways in which women are marginalized and discriminated against should be addressed as equal opportunity irrespective of gender will help in curbing the need for females to turn to crime as a coping strategy.