Freedom C. Onuoha

University of Nigeria | UNN · Department of Political Science

The typical threats to human security such as terrorism and insurgency as witnessed in Nigeria have attracted global attention. However, the security implications of climate change as they impact terrorism are of increasing relevance to international peace and security. Since the inception of Boko Haram in Nigeria in 2009, more than 40,000 people h...

The recognition of kidnapping as one of the major security threats is not unconnected to its unprecedented expansion in frequency, sophistication and spread in recent times in Nigeria. It has been perpetrated for vengeance (as a political or terrorist strategy), ritual (power and influence) and exploitation (ransom or sexual) in Nigeria. Accordingl...

Climate change has emerged as the imminent threat to national security in many regions of the world. Nowhere is this reality more acute than in West and Central Africa where surging population growth, rising urbanisation, persistent environmental degradation, emergence of violent extremist organisations and weak state capacity have created a perfec...

Africa’s marine environment and resources that lie beneath it are central to the continent’s sustainable development and actualising the ambitions set out by the African Union in its Agenda 2063, where the oceans are described as the frontier of Africa’s development. The continent’s maritime domain and resources are also attractive to foreign partn...

Since 2009 when Boko Haram launched its first attack in Nigeria, the terrorist sect has remained a significant security and economic threat to the countries of the Lake Chad region. While moderate successes were recorded between 2015 and 2016, with the government maintaining that the insurgent sect has been technically defeated, empirical evidence...

The tendency to treat the Boko Haram conflict as a security crisis has eclipsed the origin and nature of the crisis. From a political economy prism, the Boko Haram insurgency is fundamentally a crisis of the Nigerian state, its policies, and politics. The permissive and causative factors of the insurgency are a function of the character of Nigeria’...

As Nigeria heads towards its seventh general elections since the return to democratic rule, some observers contend that the youth and women could conveniently determine the winners of the forthcoming elections since they constitute the larger percentage (75%) of registered voters. The extent to which women and youth can determine the process and ou...

Insecurity of life and property has become a prominent feature of Nigeria in the last decade. Almost all parts of the country have been hit by violence and crime. In particular, recent developments in the South-East zone have become a source of serious security concern. The zone which was previously known for the hustle and bustle associated with c...

The wanton predation on schoolchildren through mass abduction by armed groups that are ideologically or economically motivated is the latest worrisome trend in the pattern of criminal victimisation in Nigeria. This article examines the trajectory of the mass abduction of schoolchildren in northern Nigeria, highlighting the drivers of mass abduction...

This chapter interrogates the impacts of state violence and the proliferations of pro-separatist agitations in the Anglophone regions of Cameroon on vulnerable groups as its objective. Through secondary sources of data collection and content analysis, authors observed that the continued interplay of state violence and the various agitations for the...

Increasingly Nigeria’s economy suffers humungous haemorrhaging through complex strands of illicit extraction, exportation and transaction on crude oil and refined petroleum products, which are commonly referred to as ‘oil theft’. The escalation of oil theft from low level siphoning of oil from vandalised pipelines by disgruntled local residents in...

The Nigerian government has relied on a kinetic approach to counter the threat of Boko Haram extremism, registering very little appreciable successes. This has underscored the need for use of soft approaches such as sports as a tool for preventing and countering violent extremism ( P / CVE ) in Nigeria’s northeast. This article examines two cases o...

Since the commencement of the counterinsurgency fight against Boko Haram, the Nigerian Army has been faced with internal crises, such as corruption, poor welfare conditions for soldiers, among others, which have undermined efforts at defeating the insurgents. Military authorities have both down-played and denied these internal challenges. The resul...

The phenomenon of climate change is an existential reality and a threat to the global system. Climate change exacerbates and multiplies existing challenges confronting our world, especially insecurity. Africa, with the fast-growing population, faces the severest reality that is driven by climate change. Notwithstanding the prevailing existential th...

The complexity of the relationship between terrorism and organized crime as well as the threat they pose to peace and security have led some scholars to conclude that the two phenomena can no longer be studied in isolation. The terror-crime nexus remains particularly acute in Nigeria, where over a decade of insurgency by the Boko Haram and its spli...

Beyond media reports on the cases of rights violations by the NPF, very little exist in the public domain about the type of offences committed by the Police, the nature of disciplinary actions taken, and the challenges of entrenching discipline among Police officers to reduce the incidence of misconduct. This study, therefore, focuses on Police mis...

Since the first African coronavirus (COVID-19) case was confirmed on 14 February 2020 in Egypt, the virus has spread across the continent. Given its pre-existing fragility such as high debt burden, dependence on primary commodity export, a decrepit health infrastructure, pervasive poverty and poor governance, some observers contended that Africa wi...

This article analyses the current trends in Boko Haram’s terrorism in Nigeria and explores the existing and emerging dangers the terrorist group poses to Nigeria. Using qualitative methods of data collection and analysis, the article specifically examines the effectiveness of some counterintelligence and counterterrorism strategies adopted by the N...

The devastation of lives, livelihood, and property in Nigeria caused by over a decade of insurgency by the Boko Haram terrorists is a subject of security, policy, humanitarian and academic concern. Several countermeasures have been adopted by both state and non-state actors to combat the insurgency with limited successes recorded. Consequently, stu...

The emergence of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in November 2019 has nearly brought the world to a halt. Recording her first COVID-19 case on 27 February 2020, the Nigerian government’s default response to the pandemic was to lock down major parts of the country, among other measures. Despite the nationwide lockdown, inter-state travel continued...

Violent extremism poses significant threat to peace, security and development around the world. This is very well evident in Africa where the activities of violent extremist organisations (VEOs) such as the Boko Haram have not only challenged the ability of states to govern, but have unleashed untimely death, population displacement and colossal de...

Within the analytic purview of postcolonial feminist theory, this article investigates how women leverage their intelligence-gathering capabilities in Preventing/Countering Violent Extremism (P/CVE) in Nigeria. Although P/CVE is widely perceived as an androcentric project, the threat posed by violent extremism to global peace and security has heigh...

This Chapter is fresh from the oven! The intricate connection between the proliferation of small arms and light weapons (SALWs) and prevalence of violent criminality is a feature of the web of insecurity in Nigeria. Nowhere is this nexus more evident than in the outbreak of militancy in the oil-rich Niger Delta and persistence of Boko Haram insurge...

This handbook provides critical analyses of the theory and practices of small arms proliferation and its impact on conflicts and organized violence in Africa. It examines the terrains, institutions, factors and actors that drive armed conflict and arms proliferation, and further explores the nature, scope, and dynamics of conflicts across the conti...

The past two decades that coincide with the return of civil rule in most African countries have witnessed the reinforcement of ethnic nationalism and separatist agitations. While scholarly attention has focused on ethnicity to explain the revival of ethnic nationalism, how ethnic and class discourses conflate in the pursuit of ethnic nationalism re...

Nigeria continues to face the challenge of containing terrorism despite adopting diverse counter-terrorism measures. While extant literature has evaluated the impacts of these measures, explaining why terrorist attacks in Nigeria persist despite a robust hard approach through the traditional use of force is still lacking. Thus, this article raises...

This paper, therefore, examines the nature and trend of maritime insecurity in the region, with a view to highlighting the remote and proximate factors underpinning the prevalence of maritime crimes, unravelling their impacts and proffering actional recommendations for curbing the menace. It argues that the outbreak and persistence of maritime crim...

A number of studies have reviewed the military operational tactics vis-à-vis the claims of Boko Haram defeat. However, there is empirical evidence of soldiers’ mutiny, desertion from war fronts and low morale resulting in high success rate of Boko Haram insurgency. Despite the rise in security sector budget from about US$1.44 billion in 2009 to US2...

[Available in PowerPoint only] The presentation highlighted the dynamics of Civil Military Relations in Nigeria over the years, with a particular focus on how it played out during the pandemic. It also reflected on how two contending perspectives or narratives - Alarmist and Optimist- on COVID-19 and Security in Africa, highlighting how the Alarmis...

In Nigeria, the integrity of elections has been compromised by several flaws, resulting in discredited or contested outcomes. This article investigates how militarisation undermined the integrity of the 2019 general elections in Nigeria. It contends that militarisation of elections in Nigeria is inherently connected to the post-colonial character o...

Chapter 4, demonstrates that Nigeria’s worsening security environment is exacerbated by proliferation of SALWS. From the Islamist insurgency in the Northeast to militancy in the Niger Delta, to the escalation of clashes between farming communities and herders, rising incidents of violent crime including trafficking, banditry, cattle rustling, kidna...

The review and analysis of the revised NSS seeks to highlight the high points, opportunities and gaps in the new strategy document. It will equally proffer actionable recommendations on how to ensure effective implementation of the strategy as well as monitor progress of its implementation. https://www.partnersnigeria.org/policy-brief-review-and-a...

Africa has witnessed an upsurge in both offshore and onshore violent criminality with the turn of the 21st century. Offshore, the unprecedented escalation of maritime violence in the form of maritime piracy and sea robbery have made Africa’s maritime domain one of the dreaded waters by merchant ships. Onshore, audacious attacks mounted by terrorist...

The Nigeria Government has employed various measures to combat the Boko Haram insurgency, including the launch of 'Operation Safe Corridor' (OPSC) programme designed to rehabilitate and reintegrate repentant members of the group into society. This article unravels the dilemma faced by Boko Haram recruits who intend to take the opportunity offered b...

Although the practice of vote buying is not fundamentally new to Nigeria’s electoral politics, the phenomenon has assumed a worrisome dimension, going by experiences in off-cycle elections conducted in the Ekiti, Anambra, Ondo, Osun and Edo states as well as the 2019 general elections. The paper examines the practice of vote buying and its implicat...

This chapter examines the evolution, contributions and challenges of Nigeria's Special Operations Forces (SOFs) in counter terrorism and counter insurgency (CT/COIN) in the Lake Chad. It begins with a clarification of the concepts of special operations forces, counter insurgency and counter terrorism. Thereafter, it examines the nature of the Boko...

Elections in Nigeria have been characterised by fraud and violence. These irregularities undermine the integrity and credibility of elections, compelling the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to increasingly adopt some technological innovations to enhance election administration and security. Given these developments, civil society g...

Ever since the 1980s, kidnapping perpetrated for different reasons remains a feature of the landscape of criminal victimisation in Nigeria. However, the menace of kidnapping for ransom (K4R) has become a serious threat to human security in Nigeria. Extant literature on K4R has largely explored the historical background, motives, impacts, and state...

Over the past two decades, the management of internal security in Nigeria has been complicated by the outbreak of multiple security challenges. However, militancy in the Niger Delta region, Boko Haram insurgency in the North-East and persistent herdsmen-farmer clashes have tended to eclipse other security challenges like kidnapping, urban gang viol...

Globally the discourse about internal security management has gained serious attention since the events of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon in the United States. It was the 9/11 attacks in the United States, together with similar attacks such as the one in Istanbul on November 15, 2001 and the Madrid train b...

The raison d’être of the state is the provision of security—the freedom from danger, fear, deprivations and depredations. Since independence, however, Nigeria has struggled to suppress internal contradictions within its territory in order to achieve sustainable peace and security. Nigeria has been battling a raft of violent conflicts and crimes—eth...

This book explores the disturbing dimensions of the problem of insecurity in Nigeria, such as herdsmen violence, the Boko Haram insurgency, cybercrime, militancy in the Niger Delta, communal conflict and violence, as well as police corruption. It offers a comprehensive discussion of the theoretical foundations of internal security, the threats to i...

Boko Haram’s brutality in the Lake Chad area is well known. The insurgency that started as a localised uprising in Nigeria’s northeast in 2009, has transformed into a regional security threat following intensification of cross-border attacks from 2014, targeting Cameroon, Chad and Niger. What has received less scholarly attention, however, is how t...

In the Southeast geopolitical zone, several state and no-state officials have implemented different interventions targeted at youth empowerment. Such interventions are expected to transform the material conditions of the youth with a view to enhancing their capacity to contribute to decision-making and emboldening their political voices. What forms...

The Nigerian Army has recently initiated a new military operation in the northeast region of the country and around Lake Chad to eradicate the remaining Boko Haram militants. Major General David Ahmadu, army chief of Training and Operations, said the operation would last four months and involve the deployment of additional six army brigades and...

The availability of power is an inexorable catalyst to boost levels of industrial activity for economic development. Nigeria’s electricity supply is dismal owing to institutional, legal, regulatory and capital problems. With a large population, the abysmal generation of less than 4,500 megawatts of electricity hardly suffices for energy requirement...

Since his inauguration on 29 May 2015, President Muhammadu Buhari has taken several practical, policy and diplomatic actions aimed at defeating the six-year long insurgency by Boko Haram terrorists in Nigeria. These actions have started to have a modest positive impact on reclaiming the territories previously held by the terrorists. Boko Haram has...

Trafficking in persons in Nigeria has largely targeted adults and children, particularly women and girls. Of growing concern, however, is the recent emergence and growth of sophisticated and syndicated groups involved in baby ‘factories’ and trafficking in Nigeria. This article examines the nature, actors, modus operandi and motives behind this eme...

The outbreak of piracy off the coast of the Gulf of Guinea has long been overshadowed by Somali piracy, which has seized the attention of the international community in recent years. With the number of recent incidents of piracy in the region overtaking the number of attacks in the Horn of Africa, this article examines the dynamics of piracy in the...

Across the world, the existence of militant groups, organised criminal gangs and the nexus between them is not a new phenomenon. In recent times, however, their manifestation and intricate linkages in Africa have become growing sources of concern at national, regional and international levels. In West Africa in particular, "terrorist" footprints ar...

In West Africa in particular, terrorist footprints are increasing due to the activities of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), the Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO), Ansar Dine, Boko Haram and Jama'atu Ansarul Musilimina Fi Biladis Sudan (Ansaru) in addition to other sleeper militant networks. Further complicating the security...

chapter noted that the phenomenon of the resource curse prevalent in Nigeria is a function of leadership failure and corruption. As a result, the authors argued that Nigeria suffers from penury amidst of abundant oil wealth. The chapter offered useful recommendations on how the political leadership can turn the resource curse into blessing for enha...

The last decade in Nigeria has witnessed the resurgence of several Islamic sects seeking political and religious reforms in the country. These groups include, among others, the Islamic Movement of Nigeria, the Boko Haram (Nigerian Taliban), the Kala-Kato, the Darul-islam, the Ahmadiya Movement, the Khadiriyyha, Darika Shi’a Salafiya (or Izala), the...

Waters off the Horn of Africa (HoA) are strategic for global commerce and inter-national security. Since 2005 this vital waterway has remained the world's most dangerous hotspot of piracy, prompting states whose economic and security interests are particularly being undermined by spiralling piracy in the region has deployed their navies to help enh...

In the wake of the 21st century, Africa's waters have now overtaken traditionally dangerous areas such as the Strait of Malacca in the Southeast Asia in terms of visibility in the global map of piracy. The recent increase in the frequency and range of pirate attacks around the coast of Somalia and the Gulf of Aden off the Horn of Africa has become...

The concern for achieving and sustaining high level of economic development is usually a top priority issue for governments all over the world. Hence, when economic development is planned and financed, what usually determines the success rate is the extent to which the resources earmarked for projects are judiciously and accountably used to meet pr...

This paper examines the relationship between gender, human security and HIV/AIDS epidemic in Nigeria. It explores this by critically examining the factors that promote the susceptibility and vulnerability of women/girls to contracting HIV/AIDS infection in Nigeria. It argues that in a patriarchal society such as Nigeria, gender is the prop on which...

This study highlights the security implications of the rising geo-strategic prominence of West Africa’s Gulf of Guinea (GG) oil, deriving from the security calculus of the major oil-consuming countries. It argues that the extension of the traditional militaristic approach to energy security by major oil-consuming countries, particularly the US, to...

This article examines the Boko Haram crisis of July 2009 in Nigeria. It probes the historical evolution of the radical sect, highlights the impact of the uprising, and reflects on the contentious issues stemming from the uprising. Although the general opinion is that radical sects in Nigeria are unlikely to turn into sleeper cells for global terror...

Climate change does not fit into the mode of traditional threats to national security, such as war, terrorism, insurgency, espionage, or sabotage. Yet its non-violent and gradual dynamics of manifestation serve only to disguise its impact on livelihoods, social order, peace, and stability. Despite being the most profound of the environmental change...

This paper examines the relationship between gender, human security and HIV/AIDS epidemic in Nigeria. It explores this by critically examining the factors that promote the susceptibility and vulnerability of women/girls to contracting HIV/AIDS infection in Nigeria. It argues that in a patriarchal society such as Nigeria, gender is the prop on which...

The security of national and international waterways cannot be overemphasised, for obvious reasons. The ocean serves as a medium of transportation, a source of economic exploitation of such mineral resources as crude oil, and a source of food in the form of fishing and shrimp fishing. This has made the issue of the security of waterways (maritime s...

The paper presents a critical review of criminality as one of the major challenges facing post-confl ict Liberia. The criminalitypeacekeeping nexus is also explored with a view of establishing the link between UNMILís presence in Liberia and increase in criminality. Although UNMIL has contributed signifi cantly in ensuring relative stability since...

Lake Chad has been a source of economic livelihood for millions of people inhabiting the catchment areas in the four riparian states, namely: Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria. However, in the last four decades, the size of the lake including its resources has continued to diminish. The impact of this depletion is being felt by Lake Chad basin popu...

The US decision to establish a unified combatant command (AFRICOM) in African has raised numerous questions, particularly in Africa, regarding its possible security implications for the continent. The article narrows itself to the concern for unraveling the national security implications of Nigeria's opposition to the location of AFRICOM. It also h...

Since the Jesse oil pipeline fire disaster in October 1998 in Delta State, oil pipeline fire disasters have become a recurrent source of morbidity and mortality in Nigeria. Undoubtedly, the past decade has witnessed increasing incidences of pipeline vandalization with concomitant cascading explosions that pose serious threats to human security in N...

Since its discovery in Nigeria in 1956 crude oil has been a source of mixed blessing to the country. It is believed to have generated enormous wealth, but it has also claimed a great many lives. Scholarly attention on the impact of oil on security in Nigeria has largely focused on internal conflicts rather than on how disasters associated with oil...

If situated within the Cold War era conceptualisation of national security, oil pipeline sabotage does not seem to fit in properly. However, when viewed from a new paradigm of national security, recent manifestations of oil pipeline sabotage and its implications hold out serous threats for national security in Nigeria. This paper examines the three...

By constitutional provision in Nigeria, the primary purpose of government is to ensure 'the security and welfare of the people'. However, it is ironic that despite Nigeria being the eighth-largest oil producer, and having the sixth-largest deposits of natural gas in the world, adulterated kerosene has become a recurrent source of mortality and fata...

This paper interrogates the common official refrain to attribute vandalisation-induced pipeline explosion to poverty in the country. It argues that although poverty has explanatory relevance in terms of the ubiquity of oil pipeline explosion, such attribution conceals more than it reveals: it clearly shows that the poor are the direct and hardest h...

The attainment of a decade of uninterrupted democratic politics in Nigeria is quite unprecedented in the annals of the country's political history, and is worth celebrating. However, after about ten years of democratic rule, which has witnessed three civilian-to-civilian administrations, the challenges that confronted the country during the height...