

































 
 

Effects of Boko Haram Insurgency on the Socio-
Economic activities in Nigeria 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Margaret Olanireti AYODELE (PhD)   
Department of Social Science Education, Bamidele Olumilua University of Education Science 
and Technology Ikere -Ekiti (BOUESTI), Ekiti State, Nigeria.  

 
 
 

 
 
 
Abstract 
Insecurity has been a major dare to the Nigerian government in recent times. The actions and 
activities of the Islamic sect known as Boko Haram had led to enormous loss of lives and 
properties in the country, particularly in the Northern part of Nigeria. Some of these activities 
include intimidation, bombings, suicide attacks, sporadic gunfire of unarmed, blameless and 
innocent Nigerian citizens, burning of police stations and churches, kidnapping, raping of 
school girls and women. Nigeria has also been included amongst one of the terrorist countries 
of the world. This has serious implications for national development. Though government had 
made worried hard work to deal with these challenges masqueraded by terrorism and insecurity 
in the country but the rate of insurgency and insecurity is still disturbing. This study therefore, 
investigated the effects of Boko Haram insurgency on socio-economic activities in Nigeria. The 
sample consisted of 50 respondents from different background on socio-economic implication of 
Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria. The selection included both female and male respondents. 
Questionnaire and Interview were the instruments used for data collection.  The data collected 
was recorded, coded and analyzed using descriptive analysis and test of hypotheses. The 
findings revealed there was a significant impact of Boko Haram insurgency on the socio-
economic activities in Nigeria. The study recommended the following; government should 
declare war on terrorism and seek support from international communities who have in the time 
past faced this kind on challenged and were capable to tackle it. Nigerian Military ought to be 
empowered further with arms to wrestle this insurgency. The government is advised to beef up 
security in the country to curb the threat of insecurity. 
 
Keywords: Boko Haram, Insurgence, Socie-Economic, activities 
 
 
 

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Introduction 
The safety of lives and property has been a major source of concern for the general 

public, the search for security forms part of the reasons why people aggregated into bands, 
tribes, kingdoms, and nation-states to join international organizations. Even in ancient times, the 
need for security was expressed in the form of fruit gathering and periodic expeditions for the 
aim of meeting the most important socio-economic requirements of the people. Perhaps, the 
physical security need of the people constituted part of the reasons why they preferred rocky and 
mountainous topographies for shelter, (Peterside, 2014). Thus, one of the most important roles 
of any state is to protect its citizens and inhabitants against any threat, be it physical, social, or 
economic. In the words of Aristotle ―The state exists for the sake of life and continues for the 
sake of the best life. 

The impacts of terrorism on the socio-economic activities of any society cannot be over-
emphasized. Terror attacks or mere threats of terrorism can have so many socio-economic 
consequences, for instance, attacks can lead to the diversion of foreign direct investment (FDI), 
reduction in the level of trade, redirecting of public investment funds to security, destruction of 
public infrastructure, internal displacement, refugee outflow, homelessness, personal insecurity, 
the proliferation of widows and orphans, loss of means of livelihood, low productivity in the 
society among others. Terrorist attacks may also have spillover cost on neighboring 
communities, Societies or countries. Terrorism in Nigeria predates its creation. The British 
colonist used state terrorism to conquer hitherto independent nations within the territory called 
Nigeria today. Some years after independence, Nigeria was flood in many internal crises. Some 
of these crises included: The Tiv riots in 1962, post-election violence 1964-65, and the 1966 first 
military coup d'état, Isaac AdakaBoro uprising in 1966, the counter coup d'état of 1966, the 
Nigerian Civil war. 

‘Boko’ ‘Haram’ is an extremist Nigerian Islamist militant sect formed in Maiduguri in 
2002 by Ustaz Mohammed Yusuf (Introduction to Nigeria ‘Boko Haram’. 1st Edition 
Maiduguri).  The sect seeks the imposition of a strict Sharia Islamic Law throughout Nigeria. As 
its name, Boko Haram (literally translated as Western education is a sacrilege/sin) denotes, the 
group believes that Nigeria should relinquish Western-style education. The sect became 
militarily active around 2003. Since then, targets have carried out a series of attacks against the 
Nigerian people and government, including bombings of offices, churches and moderate Islamic 
groups. Since 2008, the Nigerian government has tracked down Boko Haram activity. This 
culminated in a five-day uprising in July 2009 which left hundreds of people, including 
Mohammed Yusuf, dead. 

Despite heightened security efforts, the group has managed to continue with its attacks. 
Since its inception, Boko ‘Haram’s primary focus area. Their focus area has been in Yobe, 
Kano, Bauchi, Borno and Kaduna. The recent trends suggest that the sect moves southwards, 
with attacks recorded in the Plateau state and Abuja. 

The sect’s philosophy is loosely modelled on the Taliban movement in Afghanistan; one 
of the ‘groups’ primary bases in Kanama in Yobe state was named Afghanistan before its 
destruction. The group has also issued statements expressing solidarity with Al-Qaeda and has 
threatened the United States. Although; a direct connection between Boko ‘Haram’ and the 
Taliban or Al-Qaeda is not discernable, like its extremist counterparts, Boko-‘Haram’s ideology 
is based on hostility towards democracy and western anti-Islamic education. Nigeria’s 
constitution guarantees freedom of religion, and the country has a population split roughly in 
half between a Muslim and Christian South. Book Haram has repeatedly stated that it seeks 

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impose a strict Sharia law system throughout Nigeria; currently, nine northern states adhere to 
Sharia law.  An additional three. An additional three only marginally implementing it. 
According to various statements, Boko ‘Haram’ also seeks to abolish of Western-style 
education, which it states is contrary to the teachings of Islam. 

Not much is known about the organizational structure of Boko ‘Haram’. The ‘groups’ 
founder and former leader, Mohammed Yusuf, was thought to have been highly educated and 
wealthy. Although; security forces killed Mohammed Yusuf in 2009, his deputy, Abubakar 
Shebu, who was initially thought also have been killed, appeared on a video in 2010 and claimed 
the group’s leadership. Shebu. Furthermore, it threatened fresh attacks against Nigeria 
government. 

The sect’s members generally do not mix with other Islamist groups in Nigeria, even 
praying in separate mosques in the larger northern cities of Maiduguri, Kano and Sokoto. Its 
lack of education and a high unemployment rate in northern Nigeria have given the group a 
seemingly bottomless reservoir to draw disgruntled youth recruits. Nigeria’s State Security 
Service estimates that Boko Haram has over 540,000 members. The sources are from Jos, 
Kaduna, Kano, and Abuja but especially in Maiduguri. (Vanguard newspaper 23rd may 2011). 
During the leadership of Mohammed Yusuf, ‘Boko Haram’ carried out low-level attacks against 
security installations and Christian churches in northern Nigeria. However, the arrest of some of 
its members by security forces in July 2009 spurred ‘Boko Haram’ into general uprising killings 
started in Bauchi.  Still it soon spread to Maiduguri and smaller cities across Northern Nigeria. 
Maiduguri was mainly affected, with over 700 deaths recorded. Following five days of violence, 
security forces stormed and destroyed ‘Boko Haram’s’ primary mosque in Maiduguri and 
captured Mohammed Yusuf. He was subsequently shot and killed under suspicious 
circumstances by security forces. Following Mohammed Yusuf’s death and a significant 
military deployment in Maiduguri and several other areas across northern Nigeria, ‘Boko 
Haram’ activity drastically reduced in northern Nigeria. 

However, in mid-2010, ‘Boko Haram’ activity resumed in the region, with the sect 
claiming responsibility for a spate of targeted killings in Maiduguri. Several police officers, 
Christians and moderate Muslims were killed in drive-by motorcycle shootings. Furthermore, in 
September 200, ‘Boko Haram’ staged an attack on a federal prison in Bauchi, freeing 
approximately 700 prisoners, of which an estimated 150 were the sect’s former members. The 
attacks came just mounts after the sect's former deputy, shebu, claimed ‘Boko Haram’s 
leadership and threatened renewed attacks. 

With most of its efforts concentrated in northern Nigeria, ‘Boko Haram’ sharply deviated 
from previous tactics by claiming responsibility for a series of bombings in Jos, capital of the 
Central Plateau State, on 24 December, 2010, with at least 80 people’s dead. The attacks were 
claimed by a group called jama’atuahlus Sunnah lid da’awatiwal jihad, a name ‘Boko Haram’ 
has in the past stated it wanted to be known by. The attacks coincided with ‘Boko Haram’ led 
attacks on Christian churches in Maiduguri on the same day. The high degree of operational 
organizational ability with which the attacks were carried out highlights the growing threat that 
‘Boko Haram’ possess to the stability of Nigeria and ushered in a new era of the sect’s activity, 
mostly in Sokoto, kano and Abuja.  Furthermore, the high rate of poverty, unemployment and 
political corruption in the region has been blamed on prolonging the conflict. Unfortunately, 
most of the foot soldiers of Boko Haram are youths who o are frustrated because of the lack of 
employment and income. Politicians have disdained them after being used by these politicians 
for their elections victory (Onuoha, 2014). He also asserts that the youths enlisted into Boko 

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Haram because of the prevalence of poverty in the North. The poverty profile of Nigeria that 
was released in 2011 by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) indicated that the northern 
region has more poor people than people in the south. 

Furthermore, although, unconfirmed, it is believed ‘Boko Haram’ was also responsible 
for the deaths of scores of people when the mammy market, near the Sani Abacha barracks in 
Abuja, was bombed on 31December, 2010. (Vanguard Newspaper 1st December 2011). 

The problem of this study emanated from incessant killing of innocent people in the 
Northern parts and some other areas of the country. 

The study therefore want to examine the socio-economic implications of these people.   
High rate of poverty, unemployment, political corruption and other social vices have been the 
main reasons for this study. 
 
Research Hypotheses 
i. Ho. There is no significant impact of Boko Haram insurgency on the socio-economic 

activities in Nigeria. 
ii. Ho. There is no significant impact of Boko Haram insurgency on the educational 

institutions in Nigeria. 
iii. Ho. There is no significant impact of Boko Haram insurgency on the welfare of the 

people. 
 

Literature Review 
 
The Origins of the Boko Haram Sect 

Boko Haram is the local name for the Jama’atuAhl As-Sunna Li-D’awatiWal Jihad given 
by the residents of Maiduguri, Borno State. Eventually the name was adopted by all. The 
residents gave the group this name because of its strong aversion to Western education; which 
the sect members consider to be corrupting Muslims. The exact date of the establishment of the 
sect remains unclear, but a majority of analysts, including the security forces in Nigeria, traced it 
to around 2002-2004 (Mohammed et al, 2012). There is also limited information regarding the 
sect’s first leader who was identified by his alias, AminuTashen-Ilimi. He established the 
group’s base in Kanamma village in Yobe State in approximately 2004 (ibid). Mohammed 
Yusuf later emerged as the popular leader of the movement. He barely had any Western 
education and hailed from a poor family background in Jakusko, Yobe State (Taiwo, et al, 
2014). Mohammed Yusuf was a dedicated Salafist who was also deeply influenced by Ibn 
Taymiyyah ideologies. This perspective is deeply rooted in the staunch defense of Sunni Islam 
based on strict adherence to the Qur'an and authentic Sunna (practices) of the Prophet 
Muhammad (Al-Matroudi, I. Abdul Hakim, 2014). While still in his 30s, Yusuf established a 
mosque and Islamic school for the sect that attracted many poor members from families in the 
township and from the neighboring states of Niger, Chad, and Cameroon who enrolled their 
children and wards for Islamic education under his tutelage. Yusuf, himself, lived a very 
different lifestyle from that of his followers: he had four wives and 12 children, and was not 
considered a poor man by the Nigerian standards. In fact, Yusuf lived a lavish life, and his 
children attended Western-styled schools. He maintained private attorneys and doctors, and used 
expensive automobiles which were contrary to the lifestyle he preached to his followers 
(Mohammed et al, 2012). 

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The sect was organized initially with Yusuf as both the spiritual and political head with 
an advisory council referred to as the Shura committee. Its initial base in Yobe State was called 
“Afghanistan,” and the sect’s adherents were referred to as “Talibans” by the locals. This 
became a base for migrants where they engaged in moral rebirth through strict study of the 
Qur’an. Mohammed Yusuf, as the leader, was surrounded by several disciples organized in a 
hierarchical structure based on their loyalty and devotion to him. 

The sect attracted more and more people under its roof by offering welfare handouts, 
food, and shelter. Many of the people the group attracted were refugees from the wars across the 
border in Chad as well as jobless Nigerian youths. The sect also maintained a cadre of militant 
youths who were the armed wing of the group and had received some physical and weapons-
handling training in established camps in the forests. A tangential group of politicians, 
financiers, sympathizers, and supporters were also maintained to serve as a link to the society 
and government. Yusuf effectively controlled all these members, and there was no splinter group 
until the recent emergence of the “Ansarul Muslimina Fi Biladis Sudan” (Vanguards for the 
Protection of Muslims in Black Africa, Cited in Taiwo, et al). The Nigerian Police (NP) 
investigated the group following reports that the sect was arming itself. Several leaders were 
arrested, which sparked deadly clashes with security forces and led to the death of about 700 
people. Though government forces halted the activities of the Nigerian Taliban, strains of the 
movement remained in many parts of northern Nigeria (Waziri, 2011). 

The main remnant group under the guidance of Yusuf relocated to Maiduguri and 
expanded rapidly as young, middle-class Islamic students from universities and colleges within 
the region joined its ranks. The sect drew heavily from the multitudes of Muslim graduates who 
had completed studies but were unable to secure employment. The sect also engaged in 
extensive and intimidating sermons that included the threat of the use of force in recruiting new 
members. Additionally, other intellectuals who were swayed by the sect’s ideologies abandoned 
their jobs, burnt their certificates, and sold their assets to contribute to the growth of the group as 
they joined. Tradesmen, carpenters, and drivers who were disgruntled with the provisions of 
government also joined. Some privileged youths from well-to-do families as well as migrants 
from neighboring Niger, Chad, and Cameroon also became radical followers of the sect’s leader 
(Onuoha, 2011&Lawal, 2012). 

The group primarily began its operations using small arms in attacks against 
opportunistic targets before graduating to the use of automatic weapons, grenades, and 
explosives against fortified or vulnerable targets. Many of the group’s initial weapons were 
considered to have been captured during raids of security forces and through smuggling from the 
neighboring countries using networks across the porous borders through its limited links with 
other terrorist organizations outside the country, the group was able to achieve more 
sophistication in its attack capabilities that included the use of Improvised Explosive Devices 
(IEDs) especially after the security forces’ crackdown on the sect in 2009. There was an 
evidence that some disgruntled ex-service men and sympathetic security forces officials also 
joined this group to inflict more damage on the state (Zenn, 2012). The source of the group’s 
money at its early stage of existence is not clear but included contributions from members as 
well as sustenance through its farm (Walker, 2014). At some point, the Borno State Government 
appointed a member of the sect, BujiFoi, as commissioner of water resources and chieftaincy 
affairs in return for political support from the sect. This individual became the chief financier of 
the sect until he was killed during the 2009 onslaught on the sect by security forces. Other 
sources of funding are believed to have come through clandestine contributions from politicians, 

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businessmen, and other wealthy individuals who fear attacks from the group. There was 
speculation that the group may have received some support from AQIM (Manni, 2012). Funding 
also came through armed robberies that the sect successfully carried out during attacks against 
commercial banks and wealthy individuals. The group terms all its stolen funds as “spoils of 
war” arguing that they are legitimate sources of income for Jihad according to their 
interpretation of Islam. The Al-Muntada al-Islami, an agency headed by Dr. Adil ibn 
Mohammed al-Saleem, based in England and associated with Saudi Arabia charity and 
Da’awainstitutions as well as other institutions that have been classified as terror financing 
agencies have been identified as having provided funding to the sect (Schwartz, 2011). In some 
cases, though, the financial support from these institutions could have been in aid of Islamic 
propagation and not for terrorism. Boko Haram’s clashes with security forces came to light on 
July 12, 2009, when they were conveying their dead members for burial at a local grave yard. 
Some members of the burial party were stopped and cited for violations of traffic regulations by 
the security forces who had mounted road blocks within Maiduguri City, Borno state. 
Altercations resulted in violence between the sect members and the security forces, and some of 
their members were shot dead in this process. This incident provoked the entire Boko Haram 
who demanded an apology from the government. They vowed to take revenge for what 
happened to their members if the government failed to apologize. 

Neither the government nor the security forces reacted to this threat. Consequently, on 
July 16, 2009, the sect made good on the threat by attacking police stations in Maiduguri. Since 
then, Boko Haram has continued to perpetrate violence using terrorist acts in many parts of 
Nigeria, especially in the North East Zone, resulting in the killing and maiming of civilians, as 
well as in the destruction of properties (Copeland, 2013). 

The 2009 uprising was eventually crushed by a police and military assault, leaving 
hundreds dead and the sect's headquarters and mosque in ruins. Boko Haram's leader, 
Mohammed Yusuf was captured by the army and passed to police for interrogation and 
prosecution. Unfortunately, he was killed in custody under bizarre circumstances. The group re-
emerged in 2010 and began launching unprecedented scales of attacks that included freeing 721 
prisoners, among them 105 suspected sect members, from a Bauchi jail in northern Nigeria. This 
violence coincided with the run-up to the presidential elections. Boko Haram had regrouped 
under a new leader, Abubakar Shekau (“Boko Haram Attacks – Timeline, The Guardian, 
September 25, 2012). He assumed leadership of Boko Haram after the death of Yusuf and 
quickly reorganized the sect members.  While some people describe him as a complex and 
paradoxical man, others see him as a fearless loner who is partly an intellectual and partly a 
gangster. He is nicknamed "Darul Tawheed" (Specialist in orthodox doctrine of the uniqueness 
and oneness of Allah) and is fondly called imam or leader by his followers. He was born in 
Shekau village in Yobe State and is believed to be in his 30s. When Yusuf was killed, Shekau 
married one of his four wives and adopted his children, a move that was considered an attempt 
to preserve the cohesion of Boko Haram. 

The group had re-emerged in a highly decentralized structure with the unifying force 
remaining its ideology. This remains its “modus operandi” to date. Recently, a splinter group 
emerged due to disagreements within the leadership of the sect over the modes of their violent 
operations, but both still maintain the same ideology. Although Shekau does not communicate 
directly with the sect’s foot soldiers, he maintains strict control through a few select cell leaders. 
Unlike his predecessor, Shekau lacks charisma and oratorical skills, but his intense ideological 

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commitment and ruthlessness have kept him as the group's spiritual leader (“Profile of Nigeria's 
Boko Haram Leader AbubakarShekau.” BBC News, June 22, 2012.). 
 
The Concept of Terrorism 

This section is well immersed with pre-existing views and perceptions of various 
scholars and academicians as regards their contributions to the subject matter. The 
word terrorism just like some other social science concepts has proved to be one of the most 
difficult concepts to define. Perhaps, the only consensus among analysts with regard to terrorism 
is that there is no universally acceptable definition of the concept. Literature survey by the 
National Research Council (NRC) attempted what it considers a working definition of terrorism 
in the social and behavioural sciences, consisting of the following elements: 
(i) Illegal use or threatened use of force or violence. 
(ii)  With an intent to coerce societies or governments by inducing fear in their populations. 
(iii) Typically with political and/or ideological motives and justifications. 
(iv)  An extra societal element with outside society in the case of domestic terrorism or foreign 
in terms of international terrorism (NRC, 2012). 

According to Schmid (2011), Terrorism is a doctrine about the presumed effectiveness of 
a special form or tactic of fear-generating, coercive political violence and, on the other hand, to a 
conspiratorial practice of calculated, demonstrative, direct violent action without legal or moral 
restraints, targeting mainly civilians and non-combatants, performed for its propagandistic and 
psychological effects on various audiences and conflict parties. 

Typically, small number of extremists who otherwise lack the capacity to challenge those 
in power resort to terrorism. A defining characteristic of terrorism is that its users expect 
rewards that are of proportionate to the resources. To compliment the foregoing, the follow 
argues that: 

Terrorism is furthermore strategies that are not restricted to any particular ideology 
(smlter and Beltes 2012, Cited in Ogochukwu, 2013). 

According to Reich 1998, Cited in Ogochukwu, 2013 ), as a strategy of resistance to the 
modern state, terrorism emerged some half century after the French revolution, when the term 
originated as a description of the state regime of terror. Russia revolutionaries and anarchist in 
French, Spain, Italy and German established terrorism as a central mechanism in attempt to over 
throw the established regimes, most of which were autocratic in the submission of Lain Mclean; 
terrorism as a pejorative term also applies to the deeds of government of sovereign states. 
According to Lain Mclean, a term “state sponsored terrorism” is often used to describe the 
conduct of various governments indirectly organizing or indirectly assisting perpetration of 
violence acts in other state. Lain Mclean argued that in recent time, many countries of divergent 
ideological persuasion have engaged in this kind of activities while in some cases strictly 
condemning others forms practices (Lain Mclean, 1996, Cited in Ogochukwu, 2013 ). 

Some definitions focus on terrorist tactics to define the term, while others focus on the 
actor. Ethnic separatist, violence in the 1930‘s provoked the League of Nations formed after the 
first world war to encourage world stability and peace to defined terrorism for the first time as: 

All criminal acts directed against a state and intended or calculated to create a state of 
terror in the mind of particular persons or group of persons or the general public (League of 
Nation convention definition of terrorism, 1937, Cited in Ogochukwu, 2013). 

Therefore, bringing to our understanding that Boko Haram sect is pre-occupied with 
carrying out various degree of attacks on civilians, usually used by the powerless against 

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powerful; International terrorism interludes terrorists attacking a foreign target other than within 
own country or abroad (Rourke 2018). 
This means that September 11, 2011 attack was an international terrorism while one of the 
attacks by the Boko Haram sect such as the police stations attacks is a domestic terrorism. But it 
becomes complicated if the Boko Haram sect is still a domestic terrorist group despites it 
seeming connection with other international sect such as Hamas and Alqueda. 

According to Claver (2012, Cited in Ogochukwu, 2013), he stated that terrorism is the 
use of force to impact fear with a view to bringing about political, economic or social change. 
Recently, terrorism has been endemic in all parts of the countries in the world. Cleavert went on 
to explain that: 

It is true, as is often repeated that man‘s terrorist is another an extreme example of an 
essential contested concept and its preacher‘s finds to polarize at extent that renders it extremely 
difficult to return to normal politics (Cleavert, 2002, Cited in Ogochukwu, 2013). 

Drawing from the above assertion, indicates how terrorism can lead to socio-economic 
underdevelopment of a country, though he was not elaborate, but it is worthy to appreciate his 
view that the practice of terrorist groups make the society difficult to return to normal politics. 
This can be deduced from the activities of the Boko Haram insurgence in Nigeria which has 
been destabilizing socio-economic activities especially in the northern part of the country. 

Considering the political definitions‟ popular in governmental circles, Badey, notes the 
definition offered by the US Department of State in 1983 are still in vogue today. However, he 
noted that “terrorism means premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated against 
noncombatant targets by sub national groups or clandestine agents usually intended to influence 
an audience” ( Badey, 2018). 

These definitions implies that every terrorist acts depicts a motivation, tactics and 
victims in order to achieve certain goals or objective. It also involves the use of violence against 
a non-combatant targets. Hence, if terrorism is taken to be part of a broader insurgency, 
countering terrorism may also form a part of a counter-insurgency doctrine, but political, 
economic and other measures may however, focus more on the insurgency than the specific acts 
of terror if it must be combated. 

Schbley (2013) thinks that the definition of terrorism must be free from prejudiced 
approaches. He suggests that the definition should be cleared from politics and asserted into 
criminal justice. Schbley (2013) sees terrorism as violent behaviors committed against the 
symbolic civilians or their belongings. Hoffman (2014) pointed out that a terrorist is a violent 
thinker who is dedicated and ready for coercive power to reach his political ends. He also 
asserted the need for differentiation of terrorism and terrorist from the other kinds of violent 
behaviors and offenders. In terms of this distinction, Howard and Sawyer (2014), sees terrorism 
as grounded absolutely in political goals and motives involved in violence and/ or intimidation 
intended to attain consequences impacting beyond the initial sufferers or targets directed and 
controlled by an organized group which has a chain of command or a cell structure committed 
by a subordinate group or an informal structure. 

Terrorism is a word with great rhetorical power but with limited scientific precision. This 
is because terrorists in one given situation could be regarded as freedom fighters in another. 
Drawing a definitude borderline between terrorists and freedom fighters continue to pose a 
conceptual as well as theoretical default (Gandu, 2009). 

In Gandu’s view (2009), there is a thin line between freedom fighters and terrorists but 
the case of terrorism in Nigeria today is clear. There is no part of the country that is under 

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foreign rule or dominance. Nigeria has enjoyed unbroken stretch of democracy since 1999 with 
strong political structures that guarantee equal representation and appointments to positions of 
authority as regulated by Federal Characters Commission. Nigeria also established among other 
things, a strong judicial system where aggrieved parties and individuals can resort to and seek 
redress. The present terrorist activities in Nigeria is not aimed at fighting for political or 
religious freedom as the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria guarantees 
freedom of worship and political association among others. So, terrorists in Nigeria are not 
freedom fighters. The 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria guarantees freedom 
of religion and worship and no individual or section of the country have been denied these 
fundamental human rights, whether Christians, Muslims, idol worshippers, atheists or any other 
religion. Any group or section of Nigeria engaging in terrorism with the aim of fighting for 
freedom to practice their religion or hold political position might not be fighting a just war. The 
reason is that, the 1999 Constitution guarantees these fundamental human rights. Those 
engaging in acts of terrorism in Nigeria on the basis of these issues are rather pursuing selfish 
agenda which is not anchored on fighting for freedom as posited by (Gandu, 2009). 

Also, The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission Act cited in (Alemika, 2013) 
defines terrorism as a crime involving: 
i. “any act which is a violation of the Criminal Code or the Penal Code and which may endanger 
the life, physical integrity or freedom of, cause serious injury or death to, any person, any 
number or group of persons or causes or may cause damage to public or property, natural 
resources, environmental or cultural heritage and is calculated to – 
a. Intimidate, put in fear, force, coerce, or induce any government, body, institution, the general 
public or any segment thereof, to do or abstain from doing any act or to adopt a particular 
standpoint, or to act according to certain principles; or 
b. Disrupt any public service, the delivery of any essential service to the public or to create a 
public emergency; or 
c. Create general insurrection in a state; 
ii. Any promotion, sponsorship of, contribution to, command, aid, incitement, encouragement, 
attempt, threat, conspiracy, organization or procurement of any person, with the intent to commit 
any act referred to in paragraph (a) (i), (ii) and (iii) (section  of the Act dealing with 
interpretations. 

However, the definition of terrorism in the EFCC Act according to (Alemika, 2013) is 
comprehensive and paradoxically and may turn out to be a catch-22 provision that covers 
anything and everything. This may lead to abuse and engender a form of law enforcement 
terrorism by the government that may invoke it in many circumstances that are inappropriate. It 
may also lead to unduly wide discretionary powers of enforcement such as arrest, prosecution 
and judicial disposition. 

According to the Revised Academic Consensus definition of terrorism cited in (Alemika, 
2013) refers, on the one hand, to a doctrine about the presumed effectiveness of a special form 
or tactic of fear-generating, coercive political violence and, on the other hand, to a conspiratorial 
practice of calculated, demonstrative, direct violent action without legal or moral restraints, 
targeting mainly civilians and non-combatants, performed for its propagandistic psychological 
effects on various audiences and conflict parties. In another development, Crenshaw (2011) 
defines terrorism as” a form of violence that is primarily designed to influence an audience. Its 
execution depends on concealment, surprise, stealth, conspiracy, and deception”. She noted that 
“terrorism is not spontaneous, or does it involve mass participation. The act itself communicates 

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a future threat to people who identifies with the victims”. Crenshaw further noted that the 
“choice of time, place, and victim is meant to shock, frighten, excite, or outrage”. 

In spite of the complexity and fluidity of the subject of terrorism, definitions have kept 
emerging. Sandler and Enders (2012) considered terrorism as premeditated use, or threat of extra 
normal violence to obtain a political objective through intimidation or fear directed at large 
audience by weaker side in an asymmetrical conflict. According to the convention for 
prevention and combating terrorism by (African Union (AU) Article 1 (3), terrorism is defined 
as “any act which is a violation of criminal laws of a state party and which may endanger the 
life, physical integrity or freedom or causes serious injuries or death to any person, any number 
or group of persons or causes damage to public or private property, natural resources, 
environment or cultural heritage”. 

After examining some definitions, Poland (2015) narrows the scope of terrorism on two 
shared features: fear and attaining various political ends. Almost all terrorist acts are aimed at 
frightening a target population and ultimately they pursue to gain some kinds of political ends. 
Hence, he defines terrorism as producing dread and intimidation through planned, intentional, 
organized slaughter, turmoil, and frightening of innocent people to attain some kinds of political 
ends. Laqueur (1987), one of the authorities in this area, uses a simple definition for terrorism. 

He addresses it as a shifting behavior by frightening via political or criminal violence. 
White (2012) indicates that Laqueur’s definition does not completely explain the political issues 
of terrorism, but it provides the practitioners a way to progress outside the problematic argument 
of a definition. 

Wilkindon (1979) differentiates political terrorism from other kinds of terrorism. He 
argues that terrorism uses criminals, sycophants, sadists, or hooligans to achieve different 
political ends. Another scholar who draws attention to these distinctions by explaining the 
differences between the terms “terror” and “terrorism” is Taylor (1988). He emphasized that 
there can be some kind of terror like armed robbery, lynching, slaughter, and even in a case 
involving threats due to the severity or the way of committing these crimes, but it does not cause 
the act of terrorism. In this context, the term “terror” can be used for the events that cause severe 
damage, and anxiety in people. For instance, when several hooligans commit a series of crimes 
intimidating and threatening other people during the night on the street, it may be called “street 
terror” or when somebody or some gang members drive their vehicles very dangerously while 
they are under the influence of alcohol or drugs and kill many people by causing several severe 
accidents, it may be defined as traffic terror. Addressing these crimes does not mean to assess 
them in the same category or define with political terrorism. Taylor (1988) differentiates them 
by distinguishing the words “terror” and “terrorism”. In this perspective, terrorism is defined as 
a psychological warfare aimed at impacting the political process through violence. 
 
Boko Haram Ideology 

Boko Haram’ (figuratively, “Western or non-Islamic education is a sin” is a controversial 
Nigerian terrorist Islamist group that seeks the imposition of Shariah law in the northern state of 
Nigeria. The group presently has an undefined structure and chain of command. The official 
name of the group is Jama’atuAhlis Sunna Lidda await wal. Jihad, which in Arabic means 
“people commitment to the propagation of the prophet’s Teachings and Jihad”. The literal 
translation is Association of Sunnis for the propagation of Islam and for Holy war”. It is known 
internationally following sectarian violence in Nigeria in 2009. 

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The term ‘Boko Haram’ comes from the Hausa world Boko meaning “Animist, western 
or otherwise non-Islamic education” and the Arabic word Haram figuratively meaning “Sin” 
(Literally, Forbidden”). ‘Boko Haram’ opposes not only western education, but western culture 
and modern science as well. In a 2009 BBC interview, Yusuf stated that the belief that the world 
is a sphere is contrary to Islam and should be rejected, along with Darwinism and the theory that 
rain comes from water evaporated by the sun. 

The group came into existence in the 1960’s but only started to draw attention in 2002. 
Ustaz Mohammed Yusuf became its leader in the same year in 2004, it moved to Kanamma, 
Yobe State, where it set up a base called “Afghanistan”, used to attack nearby police outposts, 
killing police officers. Its follower are said to be influenced by the Koranic phrase which says; 
“Anyone who is not governed by what Allah has revealed is among the transgressors”. ‘Boko 
Haram’ promotes a version of Islam which makes it “Haram” or forbidden, for Muslims to take 
part in any political or social activity associated with Western Society. This includes voting in 
elections, wearing shirts and trousers or receiving a secular education. ‘Boko Haram’ haram 
regards the Nigerian state as being run by non-believers, even when the country has a Muslim 
president. Since the Sokoto Caliphate, which ruled parts of what are now northern Nigeria, 
Niger and Southern Cameroon, feel under British control in 1903, there has been resistance 
among the area’s Muslims to Western education. May Muslim families still refuse to send their 
children to government-run” western schools”, a problem compounded by the ruling  elite which 
does not see education as a priority. Against this background, the charismatic Muslim cleric, 
Mohammed Yusuf formed ‘Boko Haram’ in Maiduguri 2002. He sat up a religious complex, 
which included the mosque and an Islamic school. Many poor Muslim families from across 
Nigeria, as well as neighboring countries, enrolled their children at the school. But ‘Boko 
Haram’ was not only interested in education. It political goal was to create an Islamic state and 
the school became a recruiting ground for jihads to fight the state. 
 
Causes of Terrorism in Nigeria 

Nigerian poverty situation has been described as an embarrassment and irony to her 
abundant natural resources buoyed by oil wealth discovered since 1953. Poverty has led to 
frustration and anger amongst the poor and the marginalized cultural and religious groups in the 
country. Poverty among the unemployed youths fuelled by corrupt leaders has been identified as 
causes of violence. Most of the recruits used by the Boko Haram and suicide bombers are drawn 
from the former Almajiris (poor street children, from poor Muslim parentage, who had been 
denied formal Western education but had been exploited while growing up by rich Islamic 
clerics who use them as street beggars to ask for alms on the streets of Northern Nigeria). The 
Boko Haram sect usually offers food, shelter, security and alternative succor to these homeless 
children and youths to get their support. 

Several structural factors associated with presence or absence of terrorism has been 
identified by Crenshaw 2011 includes the following: 
1. Political environment (extent of democracy – including freeness, fairness and credibility of 
elections, efficacy of democracy in addressing the aspirations of citizens; national cohesion, 
political stability, tolerance among ethnic and religious groups, etc) and impact on citizens and 
influence of foreign actors. Political repression, especially of specific ethnic, religious or racial 
groups; 
2. Economic environment –quality of living of citizens, extent of inequality (influenced by 
corruption and economic policies), organized and transnational crime, economic exploitation 

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or/and widespread corruption resulting in gross inequality; widespread poverty and economic 
discrimination; 
3. Political, socio-cultural and religious pluralism that breeds inter-group rivalry andviolence; 
4. Failing states that lacked capacity to promote the human security of citizens; thereby unable 
to ensure national cohesion or integration, patriotism and loyalty and therefore citizens may be 
recruited domestically by disenchanted groups (ethnic, religious, political and economic); 
5. Weak state capacity for effective conflict-management (prevention, containment, 
transformation, resolution, etc) that prolong or entrench inter-groupconflicts;  
6. Foreign relation alliances that sections of the nation perceive as inimical to their group 
interests; 
7. Lack of capacity to effectively manage the positive and negative aspects of scientific 
technological and communication developments in the era of globalization. 

Eefseh & Robert (2011) observed that terrorism in Nigeria in which ever dimension is 
stimulated by socio-economic considerations. For instance the Niger Delta agitations are greatly 
underpinned by the bid for primary material condition. The ethnic driven terrorism is also 
traceable to economic reason; this is because every ethnic group in Nigeria is in the struggle to 
achieve control of state resources. Religious extremism for instance, is considered one of the 
stimuli, and cases abound where Muslims and Christians alike try to overthrow their secular 
government and replace them with theocracy. Example of countries affected is Nigeria, Egypt, 
Indonesia and Philippines. In Uganda the Lord’s Resistant Army (LRA) wanted to enforce the 
Ten Commandments on the Ugandan constitutions and violence became the order of the day. In 
line with this, Walker (2012) further observed that Boko Haram is a violent Islamic militant 
organization based in the Northeast which strongly opposes man made laws and modern science 
and seeks to establish Islamic Government and Sharia laws in the country. Bappah (2014) 
explained that the real issues are poverty, ignorance, joblessness, frustration, hopelessness, 
anger, arrogance by official corruption, insensitivity, impunity and generally bad governance. 
He further argued that it is not wrong to say that terrorism is caused by both internal and 
external factors. External factors that increase vulnerability to terrorism includes the foreign 
policies of a country, in particular the U.S. as well as globalization especially in 
telecommunication which enable likeminded individuals to unite and conspire against common 
enemies. Internal factors that may lead to terrorist activities include economic deprivation, 
political oppression, government suppression, ethnic and religious persecutions (Ameh, 2012). 

Mu’azu (2012) argued that the environment in which Nigerians live and their 
dissatisfaction with government policies could be contributory factors to the existence of 
terrorism. According to this perspective, the living environment of Nigerians gives groups the 
courage to take on the Nigerian state, because of its perception as unjust to citizens, without 
guarantee for individual safety and security. Where there is widespread perception and 
evidences to suggest that the citizens are not getting a good deal from the state, they could resort 
to violence. 

Many of these conditions pre-date Boko Haram, and Boko Haram’s existence and 
agenda are tangential to these problems. Yet, it is true that the continuing failure of the Nigerian 
government to address these and other critical issues satisfactorily contributes to general 
mistrust among its people. Though Boko Haram cannot solve these crises, they are reaping the 
benefits of a frustrated disillusioned population. Jobless, angry young men who form a massive 
talent pool from which Boko Haram can draw, while broader northern society somewhat 

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justifiably views the federal government and security services trying to eradicate Boko Haram 
with contempt. 
 
Impact of Boko Haram on Socio-Economic Activities 

The growing insecurity in the north has seriously affected the state’s economic condition 
such that many people including businessmen are fleeing to more peaceful environment in the 
southern parts of the country. Several studies conducted have highlighted the impact of 
insurgency on economic growth in the region. The literatures have some relationship to our 
current study and are reviewed here. 

Akande (2012) asserted that since Boko Haram resumed its operations in 2010, foreign 
direct investment (FDI) into Nigeria has plummeted. Citing the World Investment Report (WIR) 
2013, FDI flows into Nigeria dropped by 21.3 percent in just one year from $8.9 billion in 2011 
to $7 billion in 2012. He stated ―this substantial loss in FDI over a short period of time will 
have many consequences for the country. Firstly, FDI in Nigeria has a direct impact on trade, 
assuring progression of economic growth. Secondly, FDI inflow supplements the available 
domestic capital by stimulating the productivity of domestic investments. And lastly — but most 
worrisome — is the high co-dependency ratio between the inflow of FDI, the Nigerian oil 
sector, and the country’s GDP (Akande, 2012). In the same study, He made note of the rush to 
escape from the north is also affecting business establishments in that region as banks were 
reported to be closing down their outlets due to a decrease of economic activities in the area. 
The massive withdrawal of businesses from the northern region constitutes a reduction of 
economic affairs in the north as well as throwing those who are departing from the north into 
financial and psychological pressures. 

Dauda (2014) stated that the impact of the horrific activities of Boko Haram insurgency 
on the social, economic, and political structure of Yobe State is over-whelming and devastating. 
Many businesses in the state have been affected by the activities of the insurgence. He stated 
that “Some shops have been taken over by the military personnel who have made it their base, 
forcing the business owners to either relocate or abandon it totally. Small businesses that use to 
strive in the night like Tea selling, restaurants, etc. are no longer operating as a result of the 
security situation.” He also observed that Besides loss of job occasioned by business closedown, 
insecurity in Adamawa, Borno, Yobe, Kano has cost the Nigerian economy N1.3trillion ($6 
billion) as a result of attacks by the Boko Haram group (Dauda, 2012). 

Farrel (2012) in his study of effects of insurgency on development remarked that; “the 
nature and scale of the economic consequences (of Boko Haram insurgency) on productivity, the 
social consequences and the security implications of internal displacement, refugee outflow, 
homelessness, personal insecurity, proliferation of widows and orphans who lose loved ones to 
the crisis, the anguish of parents of Chibok girls and other kidnapped girls and women, and such 
other unspeakable horrors being daily visited on hapless and defenseless individuals is startling.” 

He further noted that both for the internally displaced persons and the refugees in 
neighboring countries, some of the consequences include total loss of the means of livelihood, 
having to struggle for food or waiting for infrequent and often insufficient food hand-outs from 
the humanitarian services, living in unsanitary and unhygienic conditions and being exposed to 
epidemics, diseases (Farrel, 2012). The security challenge posed by Boko Haram has reached a 
point where indigenes and non-indigenes are leaving the northern region to avoid being killed by 
the insurgents while business owners close down their shops and escape.  However, the 
economic activities of Borno, Yobe and other northern states where Boko Haram spread their 

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immoral acts have been crippled economically (Farrel, 2012). Investors who are to contribute to 
the growth of the economy had no choice flee as a result of the devastation caused by the 
insurgency. 

It has been observed that investors who moved away from this affected states reinvest 
their capital in other Nigerian communities free from the insurgence highlighting the difference. 
Okekeet. al (2016) posits that most of these investors fled to the southern part of the country as a 
result of the rising tide of insecurity in the region. 

According to a report in an Afenmai online magazine (2016) as cited in Okekeet, al 
(2016), small business firms established by indigenes and non-indigenes between 2010-2014 
have increased significantly in Edo state. Apart from this, the security challenge has also led to 
drastic reduction of people’s patronage of agricultural produce from the north to southern 
communities because of the recent rumor that members of the sect are planning to send 
poisonous products to other parts of the country (Okekeet, al, 2016). 

Nwabueze (2016) recalled that owing to this development of relocation of businesses 
from the North East to Edo state, the system of farming has been improved through the use of 
mechanized farming to meet up with current demand for agricultural produce such as cassava, 
yam, palm oil, pepper, okra, melon and others. He stated that; “The increase in patronage is 
largely an aftermath insecurity arising from Boko Haram insurgency. Bank transactions have 
also been affected and it has become very important for the banks in affected areas to review 
their operational hours from usual opening 8.00am and close by 4.00pm to unusual time from 
9.00am to 12.00 noon” (Nwabueze, 2016). 

According to Dauda (2014), this arrangement has made it difficult for customers 
especially traders to deposit their daily proceeds in the banks due to the limited banking 
operational hours that are no longer in their favor. 

Umuoha (2012) did a survey of demand and supply as well as movement of goods in his 
study and found out shockingly that the situation has forced business owners to be hiding their 
money either in the shop or at home. This has also had an impact on the prices of food items 
being produced in the north as there was a rapid increase in prices as a result of a decline in 
production. The farmers found it difficult to carry out their legitimate right of farming and in 
some cases; goods are stockpiled wasting in the hands of farmers because the traders from the 
south are scared to travel to the north to buy goods because of the ongoing insurgency. Example 
of this is the killing of four traders. Therefore, immediately after the killing, the Ibadan 
Foodstuff Traders Association placed an indefinite ban on travelling to the region to purchase 
beans from its members. 

Umuoha (2012) explained in the conclusive part of his research that the phenomenon of 
Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) has become a social problem and dangerous to economic 
Development. The population of IDPs in the north is unsettling because many of them are 
family men and women who are supposed to provide for their families. Umuoha (2012) stated 
that the fact cannot be denied that IDPs have their basic rights to existence, food, shelter, 
education, and security. However, funds meant for the development of the country are now 
being channeled towards providing basic needs for the IDPs. Billions of naira has been spent on 
this project and many of IDPs who are supposed to be working and contribute to the economy 
are denied their right to work. Private agencies, Local, state and federal government have spent 
billions of naira to distribute relief materials to the IDPs. Umuoha (2012) further stated that; “On 
26 of November 2015, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) distributed 1,120 
bags of rice, 2,240 bags of maize, 2,120 bags of millet, 280 bags of cement, roofing sheets, 

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ceilings, mosquito nets, mattresses, tissues, detergent and lastly, over 800million has been spent 
by Yobe state government on the welfare of the Pompomari Camp, Damaturu”. 
All these have negative impacts on economic development of the states affected by insurgency 
and Nigeria as a whole. 

Dauda (2014), proposed that the insurgence of Boko Haram in the north has drastically 
reduced government of the day’s performance in the affected area. It should be noted that 
security challenges in northern Nigeria have cost the economy of the country N1.3 trillion. 
Owing to this, his study highlights that the study needs continuous checks because of the 
negative effects of the insurgency on economic growth and development of the Northeastern 
region and the country at large. According to a publication by The Sun Newspaper (2016), the 
sect activities have led to the reduction of government derivation from the affected northern 
states as a result of agitation in those areas as well as reducing investment and growth of 
business. The insecurity challenge continues to make it impossible for the government to 
execute vital project for the people. Resources which normally could have been used to improve 
existing projects and start other ones are being diverted to restructure and replaced what has 
been destroyed by the insurgence. 

Nneka (2016) examined that the threats of Boko Haram insurgency on human security in 
Nigeria assessed the series of violent attacks by Boko Haram in recent times which has been 
characterized by the abduction and killing of people; destruction of houses, schools, health care 
centers, churches, mosques, and farms has plunged the country into a chronic state of insecurity. 
She stated that the basics of food, health, shelter, education and protection which constitute 
security to the human individual primarily, has therefore been threatened by the Boko Haram 
insurgency. Nneka (2016) also mentions that there is a correlation between insecurity and living 
condition and standards. However, insurgency has claimed the lives and properties of people 
thereby compounding the food and nutrition insecurity and has resulted in the spread of 
infectious diseases, denied millions of children and youths access to education and increased the 
number of internally displaced persons with unspeakable need for food and shelter which has 
caused people to live in fear and anxiety. 

She therefore concludes that Boko Haram Insurgency has negative impact on human 
security and economic development and recommends that counter-insurgency will be effective 
only when issues of poverty, corruption and bad governance are effectively addressed. Nneka 
(2016) work sets a precedent for our study of the impact of economic consequences of boko 
haram insurgency in Borno state 

Ugwu and Eme (2019) in their research to assess the economic cost of insecurity on the 
public and the nation’s economy in particular set their rational to the fact that insecurity and its 
various multifaceted manifestations like bombings, kidnapping, keeping people as hostage, 
destruction of life and property, creation of fear among others, has become a numerous immoral 
acts not to be overcome by a single effort; which security agents in Nigeria appear incapable of 
addressing. Their study revealed that insecurity challenge is toxic and harmful to wellbeing of 
the citizens and has effects the areas such as low quality of life, population displacement, deaths, 
destruction of business, properties and equipments, relocation and closing down of businesses 
etc. Their study suggested that security agencies and Nigerian government should be proactive 
in improving their intelligence gathering techniques responses and create more employment 
opportunities for the unemployed while equipping and motivating her security forces better. 

As developing economies or fragile states are generally unstable, investment comes at a 
higher risk. A survey by Kusimo (2012) showed that the effect of terrorism has been more 

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dramatic in our country Nigeria where it has been estimated that the Foreign Direct Investment 
(FDI) due to Boko Haram ‘s acts of terrorism dropped $6.1 billion in 2010 representing a 
decline of almost 30 percent from the previous fiscal year. As a result, terrorism in high risk 
countries drastically lowers investment. This has had negative impact on the inflow of FDI and 
has weakened investor confidence. Prompting investors to look elsewhere. This is the reason 
why it is necessary to examine the economic impact of Boko Haram insurgency in Borno State, 
Nigeria  which is the research objective in this study. 

Odita and Akan (2014) in their research titled “Boko Haram Activities: A Major Set 
Back to Nigerian Economic Growth” claimed that the wide scale violence and insurgency are 
particularly disturbing for they directly impact negatively on the process of economic growth 
and affected  the levels of economic activities and productivity of a country. In their study, Odita 
and Akan (2014) examined the effects of the wave of insurgency created by the Boko Harem 
sect in Nigeria after 2010. They explored the Boko Haram threats and their implications on the 
nation’s stability and found that impacts of the Boko Haram insurgence on the lives of Nigerians 
was an unbearable and the roots could not be overemphasized. Due to these, the study 
recommended the need for government to get to the bottom of the ongoing issues, and security 
personnel should be planted in nearly every area in the states (especially the northern states) that 
are venerable to attacks by these insurgents; In order for the government to improve on the state 
security with all machineries at her disposal that will help capture andprosecute Boko Haram 
insurgents. 

Muhammad (2014) assessed the effect of boko haram crisis on economic activities in 
Yobe state - as they stated due to - the terrorizing effect of the activities of the fundamentalist 
sect, Boko Haram on the economic situation of Yobe states of Nigeria has become so 
devastating that some financial institutions and other business ventures have closed down in 
many areas, thereby causing relocation of non-indigenes to their own states. Borno state, our 
area of study, is an immediate neighbor with Yobe state Muhammad (2014). The study 
discovered that the insecurity situation in the state was tense enough that even the indigenes had 
to send their children and wards to some other parts of the country for their education thereby 
causing severe discomfort and disruption. The study suggested that the government should 
develop the political will to expose and prosecute the high caliber individuals both within and 
outside the government who has been linked with the Islamist militant group. The adverse 
consequences highlighted in the study shows the need to conduct a similar research for Borno 
state, the study area of this current study and neighbor state of Yobe state. 

Muhammad and Ahmad (2019) investigated the operations of Boko Haram insurgency 
and its consequences on Nigeria’s political and economic arrangement as a whole. The study 
faults the sudden development of Boko Haram on the government inability to governance and 
civil society as well as the acts of some development partners. The methodology used for type of 
research was a qualitative one and relies more on the secondary form of data collection, and the 
theoretical inclinations of thrust links with Ted theory of Relative Deprivation which is not the 
one to be used in this study. The theory notes that the people of Northeast feel highly deprived in 
the scheme of things in Nigeria as a collective arm. The study recommended that, since 
development cannot take place in an insecure environment, there must be the full entrenchment 
of good governance, the military must be adequately strengthened, and poverty must be 
eradicated to reverse the harmful effects of the insurgency in the country. The study of 
Muhammad and Ahamd (2019) use a different approach in terms of theoretical framework 
compared to the one intended for this study. 

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Maurin and Blessing (2018) in their study dealt with the implication of insurgency on 
Nigeria economic growth. The study proceeded with the assessment of the implication of 
insurgency on Nigerian economic growth and use secondary source of data collection which was 
then run in OLS regression and used to analyze the data. In the study, Gross domestic product 
was the dependent variable, and it proxies on economic growth, while human development 
index, Global peace index, corruption rank, corruption perception index and relative corruption 
rank proxies’ insurgency was the independent variable. The result of the findings indicated that 
there is a linear relationship between GDP and the five independent variables. They stated that 
the economy responds favorably to measures taken to improve human capital development in 
Nigeria. The study also showed that the negative impact of the insurgency has critically brought 
a downturn in economic performance in general. They recommended that the government 
discourage the attractiveness of public offices by running a low cost government and invest 
more in public goods for the benefit of her citizens and public offices should be less attractive, 
proactive measure should be put in place to tackle insurgency both tactically and institutionally. 
Lastly, the military must be strengthened. 

Eman (2017) conducted a research in partnership with some International development 
partners for Egypt termed, Egypt in Transition: Challenges of State and Societal Resilience. 
Resilience in the Egyptian context was defined as;  “a process of reform through which the state 
and society are more capable of overcoming political, social, and economic and security crises 
without threatening social stability or weakening political legitimacy”. 

In the impact report, three main challenges were slowing the process of achieving state 
and societal resilience in Egypt. They included degrading living conditions, radicalism and 
terrorism, and the difficulty in working out a sound balance between security needs and political 
freedoms. The analysis examined state and societal resilience in Egypt within the framework of 
the EU Global Strategy. Egypt can be considered something of a unique case in the region due 
to the interconnectedness between the institutions of the state, the ruling elite and society. These 
linkages create their own dynamics that act as the resilience of the state and society and how 
they manage to confront the three challenges examined in this paper. 

The World (2015) stated that the development objective of the Kurdistan Regional 
Government (KRG) economic and social impact assessment is to provide the Iraqi Government 
with an impact analysis of the current crisis at the regional level. It provided a foundation for 
international efforts to assist the KRG in its efforts to rally humanitarian support. The events 
which motivated the study include: Syrian civil war, which began in 2011; and the insurgency of 
the ISIS (Islamic State in Iraq and Syria) group, which began in June 2014. The violence and 
inhumanity associated with each of these two events caused tens of thousands to flee their 
homes and many chose the relative safety of Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI), as refugees from 
the Syrian conflict and as internally displaced persons (IDPs) from the ISIS crisis. These events 
took place in the context of the fiscal crisis, which caused about a 90 percent drop in fiscal 
transfers from the central government in Baghdad starting in early 2014. In the report they 
provided the government with a technical assessment of the impact and stabilization costs 
associated with the inrush of refugees and IDPs. Impact refers to the immediate economic and 
fiscal effects on the KRG economy and budget, while stabilization cost refers to the additional 
spending that will be needed to restore the welfare of residents of the KRI. The report was the 
outcome of a process in which a World Bank team engaged intensively on the ground with 
regional government institutions and international partners to gather and mobilize data from 
disparate sources into a structured narrative and integrated technical presentation from which all 

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stakeholders can draw to help them design and implement strategies for coping with the crisis as 
is the case here. 

Since no investor would want to invest his capital in an atmosphere of insecurity, it is 
therefore, enough to say that the terrifying activities of Boko Haram are obstruction to economic 
development. Education is worst hit by the Boko Haram insurgency in northern Nigeria. Apart 
from the fact that the agitation of the sect is that Western education is forbidden and unislamic, 
formal education has remained the bedrock of human and capital developments in Nigeria. 
Today, millions of children from the north no longer have access to basic education. The 
insecurity challenge has led to the death of many teachers, students, and school properties 
destroyed making it impossible for pupils to go to school. This situation made Borno state 
government to close down public and private school for 18 months (Johnstone, 2018). Without 
any doubt, the future of many children from northern part of the country has been jeopardized as 
a result of the inability to go to school. For, education is one of the major institutions 
contributing to the sustainable development of the society and if it is affected, the economic 
activities of the state will also be threatened. 

According to Johnstone (2018) the sect issued statement during the 2015 general 
election, warning residents not to participate in the election and as a result of these; many 
eligible voters became scared and decided to stay away from the poling boot. It is therefore 
obvious that activities of the Boko Haram group to deprive people in order to win elections, 
further show the danger it portrays to our hard earn democracy. Lastly, Boko Haram insurgency 
threatens national integration. 
 
Research Methodology 

Under research design, I collected information that is relevant to this work through the 
distribution of questionnaire. I work with the information given to me to develop this project 
work. 

The population of 50 participants with good knowledge background on economic 
implication of Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria was considered in the study. This serves as 
the Population of the study. 

Data for this study was collected from primary and secondary sources. The primary 
sources of data collected were mainly the use of a structured questionnaire. The questionnaire 
was divided into two sections (section A and B). The section A of the questionnaire contained 
the demographic data of the participants while the section B contained multiple choice questions 
as regard to the economic implication of Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria. The secondary 
source of data was from newspaper, statistical bulletin and library. 

The instruments used for data collection are the primary, secondary and preliminary 
sources. The primary sources are questionnaires, interviews and direct observations. The 
secondary sources are textbooks, journals, newspapers, magazines and government publications. 
The preliminary sources consist of catalogues, abstracts and index. 
For the purpose of this study, the one concentrated on was the primary sources of data 
collection, which included questionnaires, interviews and direct observations. 

The questionnaires constructed were tested for validity and reliability. The essence of the 
tests was to confirm that they achieve the purpose for which they are meant. To achieve this 
objective, experts were used for the text in the first instance. Most of the items of the 
questionnaire which were found to be inappropriate were restructured, reframed or dropped 
completely. A second test was carried out using some members of the target population. The text 

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involves some interviewing the respondents and nothing their responses to the question asked. 
After one week, the same respondents were presented with the questionnaire containing the 
same questions they have answered orally. These responses were compared and those found 
consistent were considered valid and reliable while those found to be inconsistent were either 
modified. 

A questionnaire was drafted for the participants to fill in their responses. The researcher 
collected data from the questionnaires received from participants. The participants were given 
three days to fill out the questionnaires. This time frame was given in order to give enough time 
to the participants to reflect on the items on the questionnaire to facilitate valid responses. 
 
Hypotheses Testing 
 
Hypothesis 1 
There is no significant impact of Boko Haram insurgency on the socio-economic activities in 
Nigeria. 
 
Tables 1: Chi-Square Test analysis of impact of Boko Haram insurgency on the socio-
economic activities in Nigeria 
 
Chi-Square Tests   

______________________________________________________   
 Value df Asymp. Sig. (2-sided) 
_________________________________________________________ 
Pearson Chi-Square 3.031a 9 .000 
Likelihood Ratio 25.839 9 .000 
Linear-by-Linear Association 21.096 1 .000 
N of Valid Cases 50   
a. 12 cells (75.0%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is .12. 

The result of the analysis in table 1 showed the impact of Boko Haram insurgency on the 
socio-economic activities in Nigeria. The chi-square test revealed that calculated χ2(.000) was 
less than the significant level at the 0.05. This implies that there is a significant impact of Boko 
Haram insurgency on the socio-economic activities in Nigeria. Hence, the null hypothesis was 
not upheld. 
 
 
Hypothesis 2 
There is no significant impact of Boko Haram insurgency on the educational institutions in 
Nigeria. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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Tables 2: Chi-Square Test analysis of impact of Boko Haram insurgency on the 
educational institutions in Nigeria 
Chi-Square Tests 
__________________________________________________________ 

 Value df Asymp. Sig. (2-sided) 
___________________________________________________________ 
Pearson Chi-Square 13.653a 9 .014 
Likelihood Ratio 3.138 9 .117 
Linear-by-Linear Association 11.318 1 .038 
N of Valid Cases 50   
a. 12 cells (75.0%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is .02. 

The result of the analysis in table 2 showed the impact of Boko Haram insurgency on the 
educational institutions in Nigeria. The chi-square test revealed that calculated χ2(.014) was less 
than the significant level at the 0.05. This implies that there are impact of Boko Haram 
insurgency on the educational institutions in Nigeria. Hence, the null hypothesis was not upheld. 
 
Hypothesis 3 
There is no significant impact of Boko Haram insurgency on the welfare of the people. 
 
Tables 3: Chi-Square Test analysis of impact of Boko Haram insurgency on the welfare of 
the people 
Chi-Square Tests 
___________________________________________________________ 

 Value df Asymp. Sig. (2-sided) 
____________________________________________________________ 
Pearson Chi-Square 5.223a 9 .000 
Likelihood Ratio 34.121 9 .000 
Linear-by-Linear Association 11.661 1 .000 
N of Valid Cases 50   
a. 10 cells (62.5%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is .35. 

The result of the analysis in table 3 showed the impact of Boko Haram insurgency on the 
welfare of the people. The chi-square test revealed that calculated χ2 (.000) was less than the 
significant level at the 0.05. This implies that there are significant impact of Boko Haram 
insurgency on the welfare of the people. Hence, the null hypothesis was not upheld. 
 
Discussion of Findings 

In this study, three research questions were formulated, and three hypotheses were 
generated from the research questions. The research questions were answered descriptively 
using simple frequency count, percentage, mean and standard deviation while the research 
hypotheses were analyzed inferentially using Chi- Square Test of independent sample. 
The descriptive analysis of the study revealed that Boko Haram insurgency is active in Nigeria, 
and the insurgency affect so many things like lifestyle of the citizen, standard living, religion 
gathering, Nigeria economy, the market system and social activities adversely. It was held that 
Boko Haram insurgency increased crime and destruction of both lives and property of Nigeria 
citizens, Boko Haram affect the gross domestic product of Nigeria in the totality of her revenue. 

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It was further revealed that Boko Haram insurgency affect the reduction in the level of 
students’ enrollment which negatively affect educational institutions in Nigeria, numerous staff 
and students were displaced and structures were destroyed and set ablaze while some 
educational institutions were forced to close due to incessant attack of Boko Haram sect which 
eventually culminate in poor student’s performance because learning was characterized by threat 
and many students were made to withdraw and staff relocated and academic exchanges in 
Nigerian universities virtually ceased. 

Also, the descriptive analysis of the study revealed that Boko Haram insurgency affect 
the means if livelihood of many Nigerians, particularly the farmers which made food items and 
other necessities of life are sold atexorbitant prices in the Boko Haram infested towns. It was 
further revealed that Boko Haram insurgency had led to the displacement of millions of people 
from their homes and campuses to IDPs’ camp and affects the socio-economic activities and 
coping strategies of the people when they returned to their communities as a result of different 
social problems that emanated which made them to predominantly living in abject poverty due 
to devastating effect of Boko Haram insurgency. 

The inferential analysis of the study revealed that there was significant impact of Boko 
Haram insurgency on the socio-economic activities in Nigeria. Also, there was significant 
impact of Boko Haram insurgency on the educational institutions in Nigeria. Lastly, the study 
revealed that there was impact of Boko Haram insurgency on the welfare of the people. 
 
Conclusion 

The study has been able to establish the nature of the relationships that existed between 
Boko Haram insurgency and socio-economic, educational and welfare of the people in the 
Northern part of the country and other parts of Nigeria. The study concluded that there were 
significant impact albeit deleterious of Boko Haram insurgency on socio-economic activities, 
educational institutions and welfare of the Nigerian populace. 
 
Recommendations 

Based on the findings of this study, the following recommendations are put forward: 
1. Government should as a matter of necessity, declare state of emergency on education in 

the most affected zones by ensuring compulsory education up to high level for all school 
age in order to drastically reduce the rate at which Boko Haram sect recruit young people 
into their formations. 

2. Creating conducive teaching and learning environment with full security measure in 
place. 

3. Re-training of teachers to be security conscious in their respective domains. 
4. Securing all schools to avoid further abduction of students. 
5. Reports on security issues from civilian should be treated with high degree of 

responsibility. 
 
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McGraw_Hill

	The Origins of the Boko Haram Sect
	The Concept of Terrorism
	This section is well immersed with pre-existing views and perceptions of various scholars and academicians as regards thir contributions to the subject matter. The word terrorism just like some other social science concepts has proved to be one of the most difficult concepts to define. Perhaps, the only consensus among analysts with regard to terrorism is that there is no universally acceptable definition of the concept. Literature survey by the National Research Council (NRC) attempted what it considers a working definition of terrorism in the social and behavioural sciences, consisting of the following elements:
	Causes of Terrorism in Nigeria


