Globally, laptop theft has become a prevalent form of property crime on university campuses. In Nigeria, this crime has become a major concern for university students, staff and school administrators. Against this background, this study investigated the risk factors and response strategies against laptop theft victimization among students and staffers of a university campus in southwest Nigeria. The research was exploratory and cross-sectional in design, while the propositions of routine activity theory provided the conceptual framework. Data were elicited from 10 victims of laptop theft, 35 potential victims and five campus security personnel through the triangulation of qualitative methods, including in-depth interviews, key-informant interviews and focus group discussions. Results showed that laptop theft is opportunity-driven, as thieves usually capitalize on the errors and negligence of their victims. A higher number of cases of laptop theft were typically recorded at night during end-of-semester examinations. Reading rooms, lecture halls and halls of residence were the major hubs of laptop theft on the university campus. Although people were employing certain precautionary measures to protect their laptops, their adopted response strategies were often compromised by thieves targeting their gadgets.
