DOCSLIB.ORG

Boko Haram: an Assessment of Strengths, Vulnerabilities, and Policy Options

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Boko Haram: an Assessment of Strengths, Vulnerabilities, and Policy Options Boko Haram: An Assessment of Strengths, Vulnerabilities, and Policy Options Report to the Strategic Multilayer Assessment Office, Department of Defense, and the Office of University Programs, Department of Homeland Security January 2015 National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism A Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Center of Excellence Based at the University of Maryland 3300 Symons Hall • College Park, MD 20742 • 301.405.6600 • www.start.umd.edu National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism A Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Center of Excellence About This Report The author of this report is Amy Pate, Research Director at START. Questions about this report should be directed to Amy Pate at [email protected]. The following Nigerian consultants assisted with field interviews: Bukola Ademola‐Adelehin (Abuja), Kop’ep Dabugat (Abuja and Kano), and Chris Kwaja (Jos). Sadiq Radda assisted in identifying informants and collecting additional published materials. The research could not have been completed without their participation. The following research assistants helped with the background research for the report: Zann Isaacson, Greg Shuck, Arielle Kushner, and Jacob Schwoerer. Michael Bouvet created the maps in the report. This research was supported by a Centers of Excellence Supplemental award from the Office of University Programs of the Department of Homeland Security with funding provided by the Strategic Multilayer Assessment (SMA) office of the Department of Defense through grant award number 2012ST061CS0001‐ 03 made to the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START). The author’s travel to the field was supported by the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office (DNDO) of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) through Contract HSHQDC‐10‐A‐BOA36. The views and conclusions contained in this document are those of the author and should not be interpreted as necessarily representing the official policies, either expressed or implied, of SMA, DoD, DNDO, DHS, or START. About START The National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START) is supported in part by the Science and Technology Directorate of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security through a Center of Excellence program based at the University of Maryland. START uses state‐of‐the‐art theories, methods and data from the social and behavioral sciences to improve understanding of the origins, dynamics and social and psychological impacts of terrorism. For more information, contact START at [email protected] or visit www.start.umd.edu. Citations To cite this report, please use this format: Pate, Amy. “Boko Haram: An Assessment of Strengths, Vulnerabilities, and Policy Options.” Report to the Strategic Multilayer Assessment Office, Department of Defense, and the Office of University Programs, Department of Homeland Security. College Park MD: START, January 2014. National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism A Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Center of Excellence Contents Executive Summary ............................................................................................................................................................................... i Introduction ............................................................................................................................................................................................. 1 Data and Methodology ......................................................................................................................................................................... 1 Contextualizing Boko Haram ............................................................................................................................................................ 2 Geography and Demographics ..................................................................................................................................................... 2 Politics .................................................................................................................................................................................................... 3 British Colonialism ...................................................................................................................................................................... 3 Post‐Independence ...................................................................................................................................................................... 4 The Fourth Republic ................................................................................................................................................................... 5 The Nigerian Economy .................................................................................................................................................................... 6 Islam in Nigeria ................................................................................................................................................................................... 7 Key Dynamics in Nigeria .............................................................................................................................................................. 10 Boko Haram ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 11 Founding and Evolution under Mohammed Yusuf .......................................................................................................... 11 Boko Haram after Yusuf ............................................................................................................................................................... 13 Ideology and Goals .................................................................................................................................................................... 13 Leadership and Decision‐making Structures ................................................................................................................ 15 Recruitment and Membership ............................................................................................................................................. 16 Patterns of Violence ................................................................................................................................................................. 18 Relationships with Other Actors ......................................................................................................................................... 22 Funding .......................................................................................................................................................................................... 23 Responses to Boko Haram .............................................................................................................................................................. 25 Legal Framework ............................................................................................................................................................................ 25 Federal Responses ......................................................................................................................................................................... 26 Security Responses ................................................................................................................................................................... 26 Negotiations ................................................................................................................................................................................. 31 Counter‐radicalization and De‐radicalization .............................................................................................................. 33 Victim Support ............................................................................................................................................................................ 37 Developmental Responses .................................................................................................................................................... 39 State and Local Government Authorities ............................................................................................................................. 41 Overview ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 41 Boko Haram: An Assessment of Strengths, Vulnerabilities, and Policy Options National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism A Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Center of Excellence Evaluation ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 41 Civilian Groups ................................................................................................................................................................................. 42 Non‐Security ...............................................................................................................................................................................
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Boko Haram Beyond the Headlines: Analyses of Africa’S Enduring Insurgency
    Boko Haram Beyond the Headlines: Analyses of Africa’s Enduring Insurgency Editor: Jacob Zenn Boko Haram Beyond the Headlines: Analyses of Africa’s Enduring Insurgency Jacob Zenn (Editor) Abdulbasit Kassim Elizabeth Pearson Atta Barkindo Idayat Hassan Zacharias Pieri Omar Mahmoud Combating Terrorism Center at West Point United States Military Academy www.ctc.usma.edu The views expressed in this report are the authors’ and do not necessarily reflect those of the Combating Terrorism Center, United States Military Academy, Department of Defense, or U.S. Government. May 2018 Cover Photo: A group of Boko Haram fighters line up in this still taken from a propaganda video dated March 31, 2016. COMBATING TERRORISM CENTER ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Director The editor thanks colleagues at the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point (CTC), all of whom supported this endeavor by proposing the idea to carry out a LTC Bryan Price, Ph.D. report on Boko Haram and working with the editor and contributors to see the Deputy Director project to its rightful end. In this regard, I thank especially Brian Dodwell, Dan- iel Milton, Jason Warner, Kristina Hummel, and Larisa Baste, who all directly Brian Dodwell collaborated on the report. I also thank the two peer reviewers, Brandon Kend- hammer and Matthew Page, for their input and valuable feedback without which Research Director we could not have completed this project up to such a high standard. There were Dr. Daniel Milton numerous other leaders and experts at the CTC who assisted with this project behind-the-scenes, and I thank them, too. Distinguished Chair Most importantly, we would like to dedicate this volume to all those whose lives LTG (Ret) Dell Dailey have been afected by conflict and to those who have devoted their lives to seeking Class of 1987 Senior Fellow peace and justice.
    [Show full text]
  • Lessons from Colombia for Curtailing the Boko Haram Insurgency in Nigeria
    Lessons From Colombia For Curtailing The Boko Haram Insurgency In Nigeria BY AFEIKHENA JEROME igeria is a highly complex and ethnically diverse country, with over 400 ethnic groups. This diversity is played out in the way the country is bifurcated along the lines of reli- Ngion, language, culture, ethnicity and regional identity. The population of about 178.5 million people in 2014 is made up of Christians and Muslims in equal measures of about 50 percent each, but including many who embrace traditional religions as well. The country has continued to experience serious and violent ethno-communal conflicts since independence in 1960, including the bloody and deadly thirty month fratricidal Civil War (also known as the Nigerian-Biafran war, 1967-70) when the eastern region of Biafra declared its seces- sion and which claimed more than one million lives. The most prominent of these conflicts recently pitch Muslims against Christians in a dangerous convergence of religion, ethnicity and politics. The first and most dramatic eruption in a series of recent religious disturbances was the Maitatsine uprising in Kano in December 1980, in which about 4,177 died. While the exact number of conflicts in Nigeria is unknown, because of a lack of reliable sta- tistical data, it is estimated that about 40 percent of all conflicts have taken place since the coun- try’s return to civilian rule in 1999.1 The increasing wave of violent conflicts across Nigeria under the current democratic regime is no doubt partly a direct consequence of the activities of ethno- communal groups seeking self-determination in their “homelands,” and of their surrogate ethnic militias that have assumed prominence since the last quarter of 2000.
    [Show full text]
  • Pervasive Corruption in Nigeria: a Holistic Approach
    KIU Journal of Social Sciences KIU Journal of Social Sciences Copyright©2017 Kampala International University ISSN: 1996902-3; 3(1): 199–207 Pervasive Corruption in Nigeria: A Holistic Approach S.M. ABDULMALIK Lead City University, Ibadan, Nigeria. L.A. AYINLA University of Ilorin, Nigeria Abstract. “Our strange romance with corruption constitutes the major political agenda of began with the enthronement of a kleptomaniac President Mohammadu Buhari led Federal leadership at the exits of the military from our Government of Nigeria as manifested in his on- polity. The biggest mistake of the electorates is going fight against the malaise. To this end, this the sale of its franchise to greedy ruling elites paper therefore sets out to examine the varying who captured power and cornered our resources avalanches of corrupt practices by political and to the extent that it is now adept at the tricks of public office holders in Nigeria coupled with its self-perpetuation---We now have corruption attendant negative consequences with a view to sharing the spotlight with terrorism as our proffer workable and viable remedies to this biggest and most common problem. They are clog in wheel of the Nigeria progress. Emphasis like Siamese twins who have an embryonic will be placed on the on-going crusade, activities relationship”. Going by international rating as /actions of the Buhari led Federal Government regard corrupt practices, Nigeria has consistently of Nigeria in the fight against the menace. been rated as either the most corrupt or one of the most corrupt countries in the world. Keywords: Corruption, Pervasive Corruption, Corrupt Practices, Democracy and Nigeria.
    [Show full text]
  • Nigeria Page 1 of 8
    Nigeria Page 1 of 8 Published on Freedom House (https://freedomhouse.org) Home > Nigeria Nigeria Country: Nigeria Year: 2016 Freedom Status: Partly Free Political Rights: 4 Civil Liberties: 5 Aggregate Score: 48 Freedom Rating: 4.5 Overview: After 16 years in power, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) lost the 2015 presidential election and its majority in the National Assembly to the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC). The polls, which observers regarded as competitive and generally well conducted, represented a milestone in the country’s democratic development, marking the first time that the opposition gained power at the national level through elections. On assuming office in May, President Muhammadu Buhari identified combatting corruption, defeating the militant Islamist group Boko Haram, and boosting the living standards of Nigerians as his main policy priorities. The new administration implemented reforms to increase the effectiveness of the Nigerian military in its counterinsurgency efforts. By December, the government had recaptured a significant amount of territory, and Buhari announced that the military had “technically” defeated Boko Haram, saying the group could no longer mount full-scale attacks on security forces or population centers. The government’s gains were attributed in part to an offensive launched in mid-February by the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF), which includes soldiers from Nigeria, Niger, Cameroon, Chad, and Benin. Nevertheless, the security situation in northeastern Nigeria remained grave throughout 2015, as Boko Haram carried out guerilla-style attacks and suicide bombings against civilian and government targets. In addition, reports from domestic and international https://freedomhouse.org/print/48089 6/17/2016 Nigeria Page 2 of 8 advocacy groups indicated that government forces continued to commit gross human rights violations with impunity, including extrajudicial killings, arbitrary mass arrests, illegal detentions, and torture of civilians.
    [Show full text]
  • An Analysis of What Works and What Doesn't
    Radicalisation and Deradicalisation in Nigeria: An Analysis of What Works and What Doesn’t Nasir Abubakar Daniya i Radicalisation and Deradicalisation in Nigeria: An Analysis of What Works and What Doesn’t. Nasir Abubakar Daniya Student Number: 13052246 A Thesis Submitted in Fulfilment of Requirements for award of: Professional Doctorate Degree in Policing Security and Community Safety London Metropolitan University Faculty of Social Science and Humanities March 2021 Thesis word count: 104, 482 ii Abstract Since Nigeria’s independence from Britain in 1960, the country has made some progress while also facing some significant socio-economic challenges. Despite being one of the largest producers of oil in the world, in 2018 and 2019, the Brooking Institution and World Poverty Clock respectively ranked Nigeria amongst top three countries with extreme poverty in the World. Muslims from the north and Christians from the south dominate the country; each part has its peculiar problem. There have been series of agitations by the militants from the south to break the country due to unfair treatments by the Nigerian government. They produced multiple violent groups that killed people and destroyed properties and oil facilities. In the North, an insurgent group called Boko Haram emerges in 2009; they advocated for the establishment of an Islamic state that started with warning that, western education is prohibited. Reports say the group caused death of around 100,000 and displaced over 2 million people. As such, Niger Delta Militancy and Boko Haram Insurgency have been major challenges being faced by Nigeria for about a decade. To address such challenges, the Nigerian government introduced separate counterinsurgency interventions called Presidential Amnesty Program (PAP) and Operation Safe Corridor (OSC) in 2009 and 2016 respectively, which are both aimed at curtailing Militancy and Insurgency respectively.
    [Show full text]
  • Rethinking the US Approach to Boko Haram
    Rethinking the U.S. Approach to Boko Haram: The Case for a Regional Strategy Julia McQuaid and Patricio Asfura-Heim With contributions from Daniella Mak and Alexander Powell February 2015 Distribution unlimited This document contains the best opinion of CNA at the time of issue. It does not necessarily represent the opinion of the sponsor. Distribution Distribution unlimited. Specific authority: N00014-11-D-0323. Copies of this document can be obtained through the Defense Technical Information Center at www.dtic.mil or contact CNA Document Control and Distribution Section at 703-824-2123. Cover Photo: The damage caused by Boko Haram’s bombing of a bus station in Nyanya, a suburb of Abuja, on 14 April 2014. Photo courtesy of Voice of America (public domain). Approved by: February 2015 Jonathan Schroden, Director Center for Stability and Development Center for Strategic Studies Copyright © 2015 CNA Abstract U.S. Naval Forces Africa asked CNA to recommend an approach for the United States government (USG) to counter Boko Haram. The USG has been working with the government of Nigeria (GoN) to defeat the group, but the two governments are taking divergent approaches and efforts to date have not been effective. The GoN is taking a narrow counterterrorism approach that relies heavily on the military, whereas a broader whole-of-government approach is required. Due to the political dynamics in Nigeria, the USG has few ways to change the GoN’s approach to the conflict. We propose that the USG and other supporting partners focus on assisting Chad, Niger, and Cameroon to become increasingly able to prevent Boko Haram from taking root within their borders.
    [Show full text]
  • Interrogating Godfathers
    Journal of Sustainable Development in Africa (Volume 19, No.4, 2017) ISSN: 1520-5509 Clarion University of Pennsylvania, Clarion, Pennsylvania INTERROGATING GODFATHERS – ELECTORAL CORRUPTION NEXUS AS A CHALLENGE TO SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND NATIONAL SECURITY IN FOURTH REPUBLIC NIGERIA 1Preye kuro Inokoba and 2Chibuzor Chile Nwobueze 1Department of Political Science, Niger Delta University, Bayelsa State, Nigeria 2Department Of History & Diplomatic Studies, Ignatius Ajuru University of Education, Port Harcourt ABSTRACT In all modern democracies, election is not only an instrument for selecting political officeholders but also a vital platform for ensuring government legitimacy, accountability and mobilization of the citizenry for political participation. However, elections in Nigeria since independence have been bedeviled by electoral corruption characterized by such vices as election rigging, snatching of electoral materials, result falsification, political intimidation and assassination before, during and after elections. This situation has often brought unpopular governments to power, with resultant legitimacy crisis, breakdown of law and order and general threat to security. The paper, in explaining the adverse effects of electoral fraud and violence on sustainable development and national security, identified political godfathers as the main orchestrators, masterminds and beneficiaries of electoral corruption in Nigeria. Through the application of the descriptive method of data analysis, the study investigates how godfathers, in a bid to achieve their inordinate political and pecuniary interests, flout all known electoral laws, subvert democratic institutions and governance and as a result threaten national development and security. The paper therefore concludes that, to effectively address the undemocratic practice of electoral corruption, which is a threat to sustainable development and national security, there is need for the strengthening of the legal framework and democratic structures in Nigeria.
    [Show full text]
  • Role of Legal Aid in Contemporary India Shashank Kumar Dey, Nupur Kumari KIIT School of Law, KIIT University, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India
    International Journal of Law International Journal of Law ISSN: 2455-2194, RJIF 5.12 www.lawresearchjournal.com Volume 2; Issue 6; November 2016; Page No. 01-04 Role of Legal Aid in Contemporary India Shashank Kumar Dey, Nupur Kumari KIIT School of law, KIIT University, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India Abstract Legal Aid is professional legal assistance provided free or at nominal cost to indigent persons who need help. It is necessary to maintain rule of law and stability in the society. The purpose of this research paper is to scrutinize the problem of illiteracy, destitution, and economic and lack of awareness among the disadvantaged groups and whether the legal aid services are properly delivering to the needy or not. The prime concern is internal obstacles like lack of understanding law, inability to deal with cases, corruption etc. It is necessary that government must take steps to ensure legal aid services to poorer sections are implemented and encourage advocates to serve poor. Legal Aid is not charity it is the duty of state and right of citizens, hence it should be such that it ensures the Constitutional pledge of equal justice to poorer and weaker section of society. Keywords: justice, rule of law, legal aid, constitution, equal justice 1. Introduction 2. Historical background “There can be no equal justice where the kind of trial a Independence of Judiciary is very important for protecting the man gets depends on the amount of money he has.” legal, fundamental rights of citizens and everyone. However unless judicial system is easily accessible to all no country can Justice Hugo Black develop and grow in effective manner.
    [Show full text]
  • Volume 7: Shaping Global Islamic Discourses : the Role of Al-Azhar, Al-Medina and Al-Mustafa Masooda Bano Editor
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by eCommons@AKU eCommons@AKU Exploring Muslim Contexts ISMC Series 3-2015 Volume 7: Shaping Global Islamic Discourses : The Role of al-Azhar, al-Medina and al-Mustafa Masooda Bano Editor Keiko Sakurai Editor Follow this and additional works at: https://ecommons.aku.edu/uk_ismc_series_emc Recommended Citation Bano, M. , Sakurai, K. (Eds.). (2015). Volume 7: Shaping Global Islamic Discourses : The Role of al-Azhar, al-Medina and al-Mustafa Vol. 7, p. 242. Available at: https://ecommons.aku.edu/uk_ismc_series_emc/9 Shaping Global Islamic Discourses Exploring Muslim Contexts Series Editor: Farouk Topan Books in the series include Development Models in Muslim Contexts: Chinese, “Islamic” and Neo-liberal Alternatives Edited by Robert Springborg The Challenge of Pluralism: Paradigms from Muslim Contexts Edited by Abdou Filali-Ansary and Sikeena Karmali Ahmed Ethnographies of Islam: Ritual Performances and Everyday Practices Edited by Badouin Dupret, Thomas Pierret, Paulo Pinto and Kathryn Spellman-Poots Cosmopolitanisms in Muslim Contexts: Perspectives from the Past Edited by Derryl MacLean and Sikeena Karmali Ahmed Genealogy and Knowledge in Muslim Societies: Understanding the Past Edited by Sarah Bowen Savant and Helena de Felipe Contemporary Islamic Law in Indonesia: Shariah and Legal Pluralism Arskal Salim Shaping Global Islamic Discourses: The Role of al-Azhar, al-Medina and al-Mustafa Edited by Masooda Bano and Keiko Sakurai www.euppublishing.com/series/ecmc
    [Show full text]
  • The Izala Movement in Nigeria Genesis, Fragmentation and Revival
    n the basis on solid fieldwork in northern Nigeria including participant observation, 18 Göttingen Series in Ointerviews with Izala, Sufis, and religion experts, and collection of unpublished Social and Cultural Anthropology material related to Izala, three aspects of the development of Izala past and present are analysed: its split, its relationship to Sufis, and its perception of sharīʿa re-implementation. “Field Theory” of Pierre Bourdieu, “Religious Market Theory” of Rodney Start, and “Modes Ramzi Ben Amara of Religiosity Theory” of Harvey Whitehouse are theoretical tools of understanding the religious landscape of northern Nigeria and the dynamics of Islamic movements and groups. The Izala Movement in Nigeria Genesis, Fragmentation and Revival Since October 2015 Ramzi Ben Amara is assistant professor (maître-assistant) at the Faculté des Lettres et des Sciences Humaines, Sousse, Tunisia. Since 2014 he was coordinator of the DAAD-projects “Tunisia in Transition”, “The Maghreb in Transition”, and “Inception of an MA in African Studies”. Furthermore, he is teaching Anthropology and African Studies at the Centre of Anthropology of the same institution. His research interests include in Nigeria The Izala Movement Islam in Africa, Sufism, Reform movements, Religious Activism, and Islamic law. Ramzi Ben Amara Ben Amara Ramzi ISBN: 978-3-86395-460-4 Göttingen University Press Göttingen University Press ISSN: 2199-5346 Ramzi Ben Amara The Izala Movement in Nigeria This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Published in 2020 by Göttingen University Press as volume 18 in “Göttingen Series in Social and Cultural Anthropology” This series is a continuation of “Göttinger Beiträge zur Ethnologie”.
    [Show full text]
  • Uwazuruike, A
    Article An analysis of Nigeria’s soft Special Issue on African Courts and non-compliant approach to Contemporary Constitutional domestic and regional court Developments orders and its implication for Enyinna S Nwauche Guest Editor human rights and the rule of law Vol 35 No 1 (2021) Published 31 March 2021 Allwell Uwazuruike* Lecturer in Law at the University of Central ISSN 2523-2177 Lancashire, United Kingdom Abstract Enshrining executive accountability and rule of law practices have been the drive behind democratic developments and the rise of regional human rights courts across the African continent. At the national level, a concern has been the need to practise effective separation of powers in order to ensure the independence of the judiciary. At the regional level, the literature has focused mainly on the human rights mandates of regional courts and tribunals with particular emphasis on states’ compliance with the decisions of these bodies. With the dominant reaction of states, most especially in instances of unfavourable regional rulings, Speculum Juris being largely characterised by aggression and confrontation, the literature has failed to address a more recent trend of states’ cooperative and compliant rhetoric, towards adverse judgments of regional courts, albeit with a predetermined position not to comply with the ruling of those courts. This chapter attempts to address these gaps in the literature by analysing the “soft” approach of non-compliance in cases that crisscross national and regional courts. In doing this, the chapter will examine two Nigerian cases (involving Sambo Dasuki and Nnamdi Kanu) where abuses of court processes and the state’s disregard for court orders have seen the defendants make much-needed appeals to the regional court.
    [Show full text]
  • Nigeria: the Challenge of Military Reform
    Nigeria: The Challenge of Military Reform Africa Report N°237 | 6 June 2016 International Crisis Group Headquarters Avenue Louise 149 1050 Brussels, Belgium Tel: +32 2 502 90 38 Fax: +32 2 502 50 38 [email protected] Table of Contents Executive Summary ................................................................................................................... i Recommendations..................................................................................................................... iii I. Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 1 II. The Long Decline .............................................................................................................. 3 A. The Legacy of Military Rule ....................................................................................... 3 B. The Military under Democracy: Failed Promises of Reform .................................... 4 1. The Obasanjo years .............................................................................................. 4 2. The Yar’Adua and Jonathan years ....................................................................... 7 3. The military’s self-driven attempts at reform ...................................................... 8 III. Dimensions of Distress ..................................................................................................... 9 A. The Problems of Leadership and Civilian Oversight ................................................
    [Show full text]