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Some Considered Measures 

 

U.K.  Emoefe EKIUGBO (Ph.D) 
College of Education, Ikere-Ekiti, Ekiti State, Nigeria 

Phone No: 08137230258 ;   E-mail:  ekiugbouche@gmail. com 
 

Abstract 

There is no disputing fact that terrorism has increasingly become widespread criminal 

violence as actors in different countries across the globe have their own unique ways of 

perpetrating the act. In Nigeria which holds a strategic place in the African continent and the 

global community, democratization process and stability of the country are visibly 

jeopardized by the high level violence resulting from political, ethnic and religious conflicts 

as well as organized violent crimes in almost all states of the federation.  There are different 

facilitations of insecurity in Nigeria, among which are porous borders, social inequality, 

poverty, joblessness and widespread availability of illegal arms and light weapons.  This 

paper tries to highlight some measures to be put in place to combat violent conflicts and 

terrorism in Nigeria.  An understanding of all these issues and other complex dimensions of 

the Nigerian security environment is imperative for all of us as stakeholders in Nigeria. 

Keywords: Conflict, Terrorism, Violence, Measures and Security. 

 

Introduction 

 Nigeria is a heterogeneous society with enormous potential for economic and social 

development. However violence has reached unprecedented level and thousands have been 

killed with much more wounded or displaced from their homes on account of violence.  

Schools are disrupted, businesses have lost 1 billions of naira and property worth millions of 

naira are vandalized.  Nigeria is usually characterized as a deeply divided state in which 

major political issues are vigorously contested along the lines of complex ethnic, religious 

and regional division. Okene (2010) put it this way “the prevalence of political gangsterism, 

ethnic military, illegal drug dealings and alms trafficking, human kidnapping rapacious 

corruption and financial mismanagement are manifestation of failure of national security.  All 

the indices basically meant insecurity and is a threat to peaceful coexistence, mitigation of 

democratic governance and a high barrier to economic and socio-political integration which 

are prerequisite to growth and development of a state. 

 It is pertinent here to clarify some key concepts used this paper in order to make the 

discussion comprehensive and understandable. A violent act involves threat to actual 

execution of acts which have actual or potential capacity to inflict physical emotional and 

psychological injury on a person or a group of persons (Strouse, 2009). Erickson (1985) felt 

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that violence or a violent act may also be collective (perpetrated by a group) or individual 

(perpetrated by an individual). It therefore means that when social and political space is 

contested or economic resource are allocated, the potential for conflict is also there. Violence 

is inevitable when the accommodation structures breakdown. Conflict on the other hand can 

be described as a situation or condition of disharmony in an interaction process.  Conflict 

erupts when interest of various groups clashes.  Imobigbe (1992) points out that conflict is 

not limited to any particular level of interaction. In other words it could occur at any level of 

human interaction and it often manifest violent activities. 

 Terrorism has haunted the political landscape of Nigeria for decades.  It has imposed 

a new strategic climate on the present day Nigeria by making every human being a potential 

victim of its various forms.  The terrorism framework sees terrorist as unrepresentative and 

abnormal outlers in society.  Terrorism isolates terrorists from negotiation or constructive 

engagement. Terrorists methods and objective are condemned. Terrorists are seen as 

psychological defective – seeking violence for its own sake.  Terrorism is seen as either a law 

enforcement or military problem which simply means rooting out a few bad apples.  All acts 

of terrorism are marked with the following features (1) the use of violence or force in the 

manner of threats to action (2) the primary objective is a political one (3) thriving in the use 

of fear or terror to elicit the desired reaction (4) the expectation that the perpetrated actions 

will induce psychological and political effects and response (Cunningtom 2003). 

 Every act of terrorism utilizes methods of violence to get their message across.  They 

can be anything from assault, weapons or explosive devices to toxic chemicals that are 

released into the air.  These attacks may occur at any time or place which makes them an 

extremely effective method of instilling terror and uncertainty into the general public.  Kydd 

and Walter (2006) succinctly analyse five principal strategic logic at work in terrorist 

campaigns.  These are (1)  attrition when terrorist seek to persuade the enemy that they are 

strong enough to impose consideration costs if their enemy continues a particular policy (2) 

intimidation – using  intimidation to convince the population that they are strong to punish 

disobedience and government is weak to stop their (3) Provocation strategy is an attempt to 

induce the enemy to respond to terrorism with indiscriminate violence, which radicalizes the 

population and make them to support the terrorists (4) spoilers strategy is an effort to 

persuade the enemy that moderates on the terrorists side are weak and untrustworthy, thus 

undermining attempts to reach a peace settlement and (5) outbidding strategy – when groups 

engage violence to convince the public that the terrorists have greater resolve to fight the 

enemy than rival groups and therefore are worthy of support. 

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 According to the National advisory committee on criminal justice standards and goals, 

there are six distinct types of terrorism all of them share the common trait of violence that 

destroy property, invoke fear and attempt to harm the lives of the civilians. They are: 

i. Civil disorder:  this is held by a group of people who are unhappy and therefore send 

message to a political party to demand change; 

ii. Political terrorism:  Used by one political faction to intimidate another; 

iii. Non political terrorism – a fermist act, most often of a religious nature with a goal 

distinct from a political goal; 

iv. Quasi terrorism- it is a violent act that utilize the same methods terrorist employ but 

does not have the same motivating factor; 

v. Limited Political terrorism:  The goal here is not to overthrow the government but to 

protest a governmental policy or action. 

vi. State terrorism defines any violent act initiated by an existing government to achieve 

a particular goal. 

 In Nigeria, in recent years, the democratization process and the stability of the country 

are visibly jeopardized by the high level violence resulting from political ethnic and religious 

conflicts as well as by organized violent crimes in almost all states of the federation. Perhaps 

there is no other time since the civil war ended that Nigeria was seriously engulfed in 

perennial security challenges that threaten the very foundation of the country than in the last 

few years.  It should be noted that there are different facilitators of insecurity in the country, 

among which are: porous borders, social inequality, poverty problems and widespread 

availability of illegal arms and light weapons. Therefore, an understanding of these issues and 

other complex dimensions of the Nigerian security environment becomes imperative for all of 

us as stakeholders. 

 All parts of Nigeria today are affected by the terrorists and their activities. In one 

region, crime is on the increase, while in another, inter-ethnic conflict and wars are being 

quelled, all of which are the making of militia groups in Nigeria. These militia groups are 

known for unconstitutional means they employ in expressing their grievances. They result to 

violence in drawing sympathy and attention to their plight. Thousands of diverse 

sophisticated assault rifles, seek propelled grenade explosive and bombs are smuggled into 

the country. The weapon inflow empowers the communities and militias for accelerated 

violence conflicts. Thousands of people lose their lives annually in such bloody clashes.  

Aside such mindless and needless killings of Nigerians, they also engage in wanton 

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destruction of public and private property all in a bid to vent their frustration about certain 

issue (Shittu, 2013). 

 

Types of Militants and Separatist Groups in Nigeria 

 The search and quest to re-assert identities institution values and arms that make 

meaningful sense to the average Nigerian cannot be wished away, particularly amidst the 

decaying infrastructure and deteriorating social services in the country (Isa, 2010). Six 

decades after independence Nigeria has not been able to create societies that ensure human 

dignity and respect for all.  Since gaining independence in 1960, military coups, ethnic and 

religious have characterized post independence Nigeria. 

 The end of the civil war (1967-1970) was believed to be an opportunity to unite 

Nigerians. Yet, in the post civil war era, Nigerians has been confronted with daunting 

security challenge including militancy, insurgencies and recurrent criminal violence that have 

pitted various communities against one another in the country.  After many years of military 

rule, the re introduction of civilian rule in 1999 has coincided or seems to have spurred the 

intensification of the ethnic and  religious militancy, characterized by acts of catastrophic 

terrorism, civil strife and mass protest (Bamidele, 2012).  

 Indeed, Nigerian internal security has been significantly undermined by violent 

activities of armed non state actors, largely made up of radicalized youths groups of foot 

soldiers  prominent among these groups are the movement for the emancipation of the Niger 

Delta (MENDS) the Odua People’s Congress (OPC) the Arewa Peoples Congress (APC) 

Bakassi Boys, Egbesu Boys, the movement for the actualization of the sovereign state of 

Biafra (MASSOB) and more recently, Boko Haram, Ansaru Kala–Kalo and Ombatse among 

others (CKEEN Foundation, 2014).  

 These ethnic militias have contributed to the cycle of violence over the years.  They 

have a political element to them and are often seen as self defense by particular ethnic – 

religious communities.  The fact is that many of these ethnic militias and separatist group in 

Nigeria are proof that there are many grievances and injustices to the system (Firsing, 2012). 

 

Causal Factors of the Conflict in the Niger Delta and North Eastern part of Nigeria 

 The roots of the Niger Delta conflict is the history of the struggles for self 

determination local autonomy and democracy of the ethnic minorities in the region, which 

goes as far back as the second decade of the 20th century. The creation of Nigeria by the 

British as their colony in 1914 consigned the people of the Niger Delta to the status of ethnic 

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minorities in relation to the numerically preponderant neighbouring ethnic groups which 

dominated life in what later became the western and eastern regions of the country. The 

successive institutionalization of revenue sharing and power distribution along regional lines 

tends to reinforce the politization of ethnic identity, and its mobilization in the struggle for 

access to power and resources. On these basis smaller groups defined as ethnic minorities 

tended to pose out while the dominant ethnic groups asserted power at the regional (North, 

Hausa-Fulani, East, Igbo and West, Yoruba) and the national level. The causes of the Niger 

Delta crisis has been located in the Frustration – aggression theory. A theory which posits 

that men are mostly inclined to aggression when subjected to unjustified frustration. Danjibe 

(2009) opined that people are motivated to act aggressively by a drive induced by frustration, 

The concept of frustration denotes condition that arises when goal attainment is blocked, 

while aggression constitutes actions aimed at harming perceived stumbling blocks. It implies 

that frustration will inevitably lead to some form of aggression. 

 Courson (2009) submits that Niger Delta conflict is the result of a complex mixture of 

grievances, greed, marginalization, deprivation, political, and the quest for equity and justice.  

Ibada (2011) itemized four inter – related factors that created condition for the conflict – first, 

the Niger Delta is the hub of Nigerians oil industry. Second, oil is the mainstay of the 

Nigerians economy and has generated huge revenues for the country, contributing 40% of 

GDP, about 90% of total earnings and about 80% of national gross income. Third, oil related 

environmental problems, such as oil spills and gas flares–have undermined environmental 

quality and the productivity of the local economies where oil is produced. Fourth, the Niger 

Delta is a strong paradox as it represents one of the extreme conditions of poverty and lack of 

development in the country, despite its oil and gas resource. These main factors have 

motivated conflicts against the Nigerians government, accused of developmental neglect and 

deprivation and against the oil companies for neglecting, coorperate social responsibility in 

the region. The socio economic hardship and inequity in the distribution of the nation’s oil 

wealth, al large proportion which comes from the Niger Delta occasioned by marginalization 

and deprivation is expressed in violent activities by militia groups in the region. The Niger 

Delta indigenes are ethnic minorities anchored their resistance in their exclusion from the 

benefits of the oil industry, resulting in the lack of social development, good governance, 

widespread poverty and high levels of unemployment in the region inspite of more than fifty 

years of oil production. 

 However, one of the most important religious social transformations of the last 

century has been the gradual rise of fundamentalism, the embrace of anti – modern religious 

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orthodoxies fundamentalism generally require unquestioning acceptance of transcendent 

religious precepts astrict adherence to compulsory rituals and a subjugation of the self to 

higher powers. One of such is the Boko Haram movement in Nigeria known for terrorism 

especially in the north eastern part of the country.  Boko Haram ideology is embedded in a 

deep tradition of Islamism, and is but one of several variants of radical Islamism to have 

emerged in Northern Nigeria.  Its followers are reportedly influenced by the koranic phrase  

which says: 

“Anyone who is not governed by what Allah has revealed is among the transgressors”. 

However, the groups’ ideology resonates for many reasons beyond religion.  Socio economic 

grievances include the huge gap between aspirations of Nigeria’s youths and the 

opportunities provided by the system for achieving a better life (Forest, 2012). 

 A cursory look at the situation in Northern Nigeria shows that youth radicalization is 

the centre of the current crisis.  Radicalization by definition is a process that leads to a 

situation in which a person or group of persons imbibe and adopt extreme social, religious 

and political views. At the stage of complete radicalization individuals totally reject the status 

quo and seek to undermines other expression contrary to theirs.  The notion of the sect core 

ideology that western education is dogmatically wrong, is highlighted through the abductions 

and raids of private and public school. They reject globalization and colonization, a further 

criticism of western ideologies. 

 In many parts of the country, the government is unable to provide security, good 

roads, water, health, reliable power and education. The situation is particularly dire in the 

northern state of Borno where only 28% of the children attend schools, according to the 

Nigerian government statistics and the literacy rate in the north is 32% compared with the 

68%, national average.  Nigerians poverty rate grew from 55% in 2004 to 61% in 2010, 

largely because of the collapse of the northern economy.  The pervasive poverty level 

especially among the youths is an avenue for tension generation, since the ground has been 

watered for disappointment and frustration. Infact,  poverty has often led to intolerance, and 

intolerance leads to violence. In the north, the illiterate population is easily manipulated by 

the rich to cause chaos especially the almajiri institution which has produced an army of 

dysfunctional unemployed, unemployable, uneducated and confused population (Ata, 2011 

cited in Ngele and Ukandu, 2014). 

 
Suggested measures to combat Violent Conflicts and Terrorism in Nigeria 

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 Conflict is an attendant feature of human interaction and cannot be eliminated, 

however its proper management and transformation are essential for peace and progress in 

human society (Samyer, 2003).  It must be stated, however, that every conflict situation is 

unique, and it is obviously not possible to develop an approach that covers every situation.  

This paper will look at combating violent conflicts and terrorism in Nigeria from the 

following dimensions. 

(1) The rule of law and human development dimension. It has been affirmed that 

governance and human rights are inextricably linked with peace and security, 

inefficient and weak governance and rights abuses can cause conflicts which can 

weaken governance and human right protection. In order to effectively contain 

violence in Nigeria and to fight Boko Haram, tactical counter insurgency, should be 

paired with economic development and increased support for the rule of law.  The 

Nigerian government should realize that Boko Haram has emerged from the 

shortcomings of the governments own system and should start dealing with that fact. 

The government of Nigeria needs to address the development of the state by 

concentrating on reconciliation of the country, before it can start addressing the 

expansive issue of terrorism. Development, along with the education of human rights, 

can combat terrorism common rhetoric. 

 In Nigeria to regain its geostrategic importance as a regional power house that set the 

pace in Africa security governance, it must take development and human security deficits in 

Northern Nigeria seriously as a means of growing the seed of peace and diffusing insurgency.  

Also, the empowerment and meaningful participation of individuals and civil society in 

governance system are necessary to tackle inequality and promote social inclusion. 

 Isa (2010) opined that government can turn around this negative trend by 

strengthening its capacity to provide public good, proactively responding to the needs of its 

citizens and strengthening democracy as well as free and fair election to guarantee the rights 

and security of citizens.  The state must distribute national resources equitably and 

transparently. The international community could assist Nigeria through the use of foreign 

aid earmarked to create economic opportunities in the country’s northern regions. 

(2) Governance and Democratization Dimension. Governance is a central feature in the 

often internal or societally based threats Nigeria faces. Some of the underlying or 

triggering causes of conflict are illegitimate or weak institutions, corruption, 

insufficient respect for human rights, lack of good governance and the perception that 

the administrative and political channels are not adequate or that they are inaccessible. 

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At the grassroot level Ripe 2002 suggested a number of reforms that could be put  in 

place to stem the cycle of violence in Nigeria: 

- Resolve the settlers and indigenes distinction at a constitutional level  

- Institute police reform so that police are accountable at the local level and must be 

well trained to proactively, prevent violence rather than react in the aftermath; 

- Expand the role of local universities and non-governmental organizations to train 

communities in conflict prevention and resolution; 

- Enact electoral reform that establishes a level playing field and provides a non- 

violent method for citizen to express their frustrations with corruption and abuse of 

power and vote for accountability and transparency; 

- Empower traditional leaders who are currently underutilized to play a constructive 

role in inter faith dialogue and conflict mitigation. 

(3) The Socio-Economic Dimension. In addition to ensuring that the general economic 

conditions are reasonably okay, governments at all level of Nigerians should 

endeavour to identify those who might be marginalized. Such persons could be taken 

care of through special programme to prevent them from slipping into potential 

terrorists groups or cells. The role of foreign based religious and non religious entities 

in community based social interventions should be critically looked at. Some of these 

organization prop radical groups using their social activities to conceal their true 

intentions.  In Nigeria therefore, a roadmap for de –radicalization and reintegration of 

the ex militias and insurgents should also be part of the wider reconciliation process. 

The provision of further education and skills training which enable young people to 

earn a living should form a pivotal part. The Nigerian government needs to re engage 

the national orientation agency (NOA) to do its work with re-energized focus than it 

had been done before. NOA should put in place a national re- orientation programme 

through which they can regularly interact with the   Nigerian youths. 

(4) The security institution and international dimension. Given the huge security 

challenges facing the country, it is important that Nigerian as a nation devises 

effective public strategies that will stem the violence and creates conditions for the 

protection of human rights and the deepening of democracy.  Government’s brute 

force strategy and insufficient knowledge of the adversary have been counter 

productivity and have failed to reduce in the affected areas significantly (Amaregbe 

2013) Nigerian needs novel techniques targeted at restructuring and evolving effective 

security strategies than have robust human intelligence element with sustainable 

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developmental components. Efforts to prevent violence should be more holistic and 

systematic and must address the human security dimension. In addition, the advance 

in technology have to be harnessed to produce new and novel means to deal with the 

internal security problem.  Use of non lethal weapon should be explored.  The 

intelligence group must be given greater impetus and more funding. 

 Above all, the country’s borders must be tightly manned to hinder illegal influx and 

exit of insurgents through usage of over a thousand of unofficial routes. If Nigeria’s 

borders are not properly secured, the war against violence will linger for an 

unforeseeable period because of challenges associated with their cross borders 

activities. 

 

Conclusion 

 This paper highlighted measures to combat the violent conflicts and terrorism that has 

bedeviled the Nigerian state. As tension discontinues to mount in very region in this country, 

the government should decide either to uphold her secularity stand and strengthen it or accept 

the state as a failed state. The international community could assist Nigerian through the use 

of foreign aid earmarked to create economic opportunities in the northern part of this country. 

But for countries to give aid, they would have to be sure that the money would be used for its 

intended purpose. 

 

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