An Assessment of Roles of Security Agencies in Checkmating Insurgent Movements in Nigeria (1999-2012)

Abstract

Ethnic and religious insurgent became proliferated with the return to democratic rule in 1999, consequently atmosphere of fear and insecurity enveloped the geo-political landscape of the country. Sensing that the Nigeria Police has been overwhelmed, the Federal Government made the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) a statutory security agency in order to checkmate internal insecurity. Despite Government's effort, ethno-religious insurgency has not abated. This paper traces the historical trajectory of the emergence of four most popular insurgent movements in the country viz: the O'odua People's Congress (OPC), the Movement for the Actualisation of Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), the Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND), and the Jama'atul Alhul Sunnah Lidda'wati wal Jihad, popularly called Boko Haram. The study went further to discuss how insurgent activities of these groups have led to the militarisation of politics and instability of state institutions. The paper asserts that the statutory security organisations in the country have been overstretched with the perennial and successive emergence of insurgent groups in different parts of the country.