A CRITICAL REVIEW OF THE CONDUCT OF NON-INTERNATIONAL ARMED CONFLICT IN NIGERIA AND THE DEVELOPMENTAL CHALLENGES INHERENT (original) (raw)
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2017
It is trite that before the rules of international humanitarian law can be applied to any conflict there must be in existence an armed conflict whether it is an internal armed conflict or an international armed conflict. This need to characterize a conflict is a sine qua-non for the operation of the law of armed conflict which is not left to the whims and caprices of state actors or armed groups but which has clear guidelines and thresholds which must be reached before an armed conflict can be said to exist as opposed to internal disturbances or other situations of violence not amounting to an armed conflict. The Nigerian state has been embroiled in a violent confrontation with the Boko-Haram sect and the question has arisen as to whether the confrontation amounts to an armed conflict. The initial attempt to downplay the conflict as an internal disturbance was intended to exclude the operation of the rules of international humanitarian law but following the characterization of the c...
This paper investigates the state and conflict resolution in Nigeria. It utilizes secondary sources of data and Frustration-Aggression as its framework of analysis. Conflict is a constant feature of life that humans come to live and cope with and resolve from time to time. Its existence in a state is natural. However, a poorly handled conflict could become violent or destructive which could hinder national peace and security. Conflicts in Nigeria are instigated in most cases by poor economic performance and underdevelopment, corruption, bad governance, political exclusion, real or imagined sense of marginalization, as well as the arbitrariness and artificiality of colonial state structures and boundaries such as Boko Haram conflict, the Niger-Delta militants, the Jos ethno-religious crisis, among others. The paper discovered that, the Nigerian government lacks the capacity for managing/resolving conflicts and also appears to be weak because the government has not fully considered the utility of every available strategy for conflict resolution. The loss of state capacities is attributed to acute economic deprivations, combined with pressures of ecological disasters, years of armed conflicts and wars, as well as large-scale population movements. The paper recommends among other things that, let every Nigerian, community, religious groups, ethnic nationality and governments at every level control and manage its excesses and inculcate the culture of tolerance, forbearance and love to better the lots of other people. Finally, there should be legitimate representation of the parties involved in conflict for a better resolution of conflicts.
Insurgency and National Security Challenges in Nigeria: Looking Back, Looking Ahead
2014
The 1648 Treaty of Westphalia designed a state system on the twin-principle of territoriality and sovereignty. Sovereignty accords the state unquestionable but legitimate control over the nation and polity, and gives it the latitude to preserve and protect its territorial domain from both internal and external threats. However, aside the fact that globalisation and the internationalisation of the globe have reduced the primacy of these dual principles, there have also been the problem of ideological and terrorist networks that have taken advantage of the instruments of globalization to emerge and threaten state sovereignty and its preservation. The security and sovereignty of the Nigerian State have been under threat as a result of the emergence and activities of insurgent groups, such as Boko Haram in the Northeast and other militant groups in other parts of the country. Using a descriptive-analytical approach, this paper examines the security challenges Nigeria faces from insurgen...
ABSU Law Journal, 2018
Internal armed conflicts are today the more common mode of warfare and a growing concern for the international community to address. In this, the difficulty of addressing non-state armed groups has grown in salience and importance. Non-state armed groups are held by the international community as responsible for their actions pursuant to the rule and principles of international humanitarian law. Both Common Article 3 and Additional Protocol II to the Geneva Conventions of 1949 provide applicability to both parties to a conflict and are addressed in absolute terms. This work examines the notion of non-state armed group and the application of international humanitarian law in their bellicose enterprise. The work finally appraised the activities of Boko Haram in the armed conflict in the Northeast Nigeria and called for individual and command accountability over the myriad of serious violations committed by them in that armed conflict.
Insurgency and National Security Challenges in Nigeria: An Introductory Analysis
2017
The 1648 Treaty of Westphalia designed a state system on the twin-principles of territoriality and sovereignty. Sovereignty accords the state unquestionable but legitimate control over the nation and polity, and gives it the latitude to preserve and protect its territorial domain from both internal and external threats. However, asides the fact that globalisation and the internationalisation of the globe have reduced the primacy of these dual principles, there have also been the problem of ideological and terrorist networks that have taken advantage of the instruments of globalization to emerge and threaten state sovereignty and its preservation. The security and sovereignty of the Nigerian State have been under threat as a result of the emergence and activities of insurgent groups, such as Boko Haram in the Northeast and other militant groups in other parts of the country. Using a descriptive-analytical approach, this paper examines the security challenges Nigeria faces from insurg...
Prolongation of Boko Haram Insurgency in Nigeria: The International Dimensions
Research on Humanities and Social Sciences, 2014
Boko Haram insurgency has constituted a nagging predicament to the Nigerian state since it's resurgence in 2010. The dexterity, sophistication and fluidity of the terrorist group within the North East geopolitical zone coupled with its prolonged confrontation with the Nigerian state as the sole legitimate monopolist of the instruments of force and violence has apparently, conferred the toga of invincibility on Boko Haram. But is Boko Haram truly invincible? What is the critical factor responsible for the prolongation of Boko Haram insurgency in North East Nigeria? Against this backdrop, this study based on grand narratives found in literature and analyzed through content analysis recognizes that there are international dimensions to the Boko Haram saga in Nigeria. However, it argues that one crucial international dimension responsible for the persistence of Boko Haram insurgency is the transformation of the imbroglio into a regional conflict traversing Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria. With the use of the regional conflict formation analytical perspective, the paper posits that as a result of the geographic proximity of Nigeria to Cameroon, Chad and Niger, the linkage of people from the four countries and the permeability of Nigeria's borders in the North East geopolitical zone, Boko Haram insurgency has virtually developed into a system of conflict. Therefore it cannot be annihilated without a synergistic approach involving these four countries.
Nigeria’s Insurgency and Counterinsurgency: Implications, Issues, and Lessons for National Security
Review of History and Political Science
Although Boko Haram came as an Islamic sect in 2002, its origin is traceable to a Sahaba Islamic group, formed in 1995. Emerging as one of the historical continuities of a society generally built on centuries of Islamic tradition, with a legacy of Islamic warfare, Boko Haram drew inspiration from romantic visions, transmitted from previous generations, for a return to the old Islamic order in northeastern Nigeria. The confounding rise and sudden strength, audacity, and gains of Boko Haram, an organization that started as a rag-tag militant Islamic sect, are linked to such forces as the radical Islamic ideology of jihad, sharia, and related tenets of fundamental Islam as well as to the contemporary socioeconomic problems of poverty, inequality, corruption, unemployment, and illiteracy. They are also due to support from AQIM, ISIS, Global al Qaeda, and Islamists in Mali, and the proliferation of arms in the Sahel. Given these propitious links Boko Haram grew into a formidable force, conquered and occupied much of northeastern Nigeria, and established itself as a threat to Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad, and Niger. In the last quarter of 2015, the sect was routed out of the Nigerian territory, where its operations have been limited to sporadic suicide bombing against soft targets. However, given its links with certain sustaining forces within and outside Nigeria and its bellicose, implacable, and atavistic nature, it is yet ominous to think that Boko Haram is no longer a threat to Nigeria.
Ethnic and Regional Violence in Nigeria: Implications for National Security
With particular focus on Nigeria, this paper examined the security challenges posed to nation – states by “violent non-state actors” such as Boko Harram and Niger Delta Militia. It also studied the linkages between the process of globalization and the rise and expansion of these non-state actors. Findings indicated that core attributes and responsibilities of the state system such as territoriality, monopoly of means of violence and coercion, maintenance of law and order and the protection of lives and property have been challenged in the main by the preponderance of violent groups within the state. Thus, the paper recommended among other things, a thorough understanding of the operational methodologies of all ethnic and regional-based violent groups in Nigeria by national security operatives, a global agreement and cooperation to be reached among nations in various areas in order to bridge socio-economic inequalities which results in aggressive behaviours among the less privileged and reduce global insecurity. It also drew attention to the imperativeness of security sector reforms in Nigeria.