By Ethelbert Oney
The extremism utilized by the Boko Haram sect since July 2009 definitely constituted characteristics, modus operandi and outcome replicating domestic terrorism. Indeed some of their sympathizers and sponsors might be upset while others seek to ban the use of the word terrorist because those who adopt this method prefer to be referred to as freedom fighters or revolutionaries.
Terrorism is the only criminal activity that their actors regard the term as being vilifying, funny enough, some lawyers and politicians agreed. In today’s insecure world, you hardly hear presidents past or present, defense lawyers and prosecutors use the word terrorist and vice versa. Under-reaction in terrorism is an omission to act or intentional failure to uphold constitutional responsibility of a given country and the rule of law (the immediate past administration guilty of this assertion). It is a suicide mission for any given administration because it is a self-inflicted wound that usually ends or totally leads to anarchy, as experienced by the past administration, where the Boko Haram occupied and annexed various communities in the Northern part of Nigeria. We understood the concept of anarchy and what it represents; as society constituted without authorities.
In an era of global insecurity, a State maybe considered vulnerable, if it intentionally fails to protect the life and property of its citizenry. If you can go down memory lane between 2015-2023, you probably would agree with me that terrorism remain this faulty vehicle that never bring you to your final destination irrespective of the route and how fast you intend to drive. No single terrorist organization has successfully displaced a seating government and formed a cabinet of their own-Never. Domestic terrorism can be dangerous if handled in isolation, it should rather be treated as a modus operandi adopted by any terrorist organizations to advance their particular fanatic cause, Boko Haram as typical example.
Any State under attack must protect its citizens because under the international law, “the response of a targeted state is predicated on principles of self-defense, and these are in turn based on what the international community regards as the “inherent” right of national security and the attendant duty to protect one’s citizens from terrorist attacks. The norms of self-defense revolve around survival and are parallel to the common law. Clearly, we start with the principle that a state has the inherent right to protect and defend its sovereignty”. The Tinubu administration should embrace this concept without fear or favors to make name for themselves once and for all.
The current administration should be more decisive, curtail the growing bad blood in the land. The daunting task faced by our genuine law enforcement workforce to eradicate the Boko Haram and its factions are to establish mass killings, economic waste, effects to our GDP, mass migration from the North to other parts of Nigeria and neighboring countries, destruction of infrastructures, lack of economic developments/investments in the North since 2009 etc. Those apprehended or voluntarily surrender to face consequences by bringing charges under the Terrorism Act against them instead of compensation like the previous administration. Domestic Terrorism is defined as “acts intended to be used as means to Intimidate or coerce a civilian population; [or] Influence the policy of government by intimidation or coercion”. For whatever reason you became a member of this deadly organization and irrespective of your level of involvement, consequences remain imminent. This group has been underground since 2009, thanks to late Mohammed Yusuf, the finding father. One notable attributes with members of this deadly sect remains that members are easily noticed where ever they are because of their distinct isolation strategies and noise. However, their lack of organizational structure makes it almost impossible to estimate its overall size, affiliations, support groups and factions.
With regards to size and power, the group gradually increased at alarming pace even after the death of Mohammed due to their strong alliance with powerful people, politicians and sponsors from the North. Although, some Civil Rights groups, intellectuals and normal citizens already classified them as hate group due to their racist and backward ideologies as far back as 2009.
Arguably, since 9/11, overt sponsored terrorism has been reasonably curtailed due to much needed attention and higher security budgets channeled towards counterterrorism around the globe. A terrorist group is classified as a state sponsor, if indigenous country knowingly allows that terrorist group to operate and use any part of national territory as sanctuary freely without restriction and/or interference. When discussing state sponsors terrorism, the country in question does not need to provide direct assistance to the terrorist group, simple under reaction may suffice.
Going down memory lane, a home grown terrorist group emerged in Italy in the 1970s, the Red Brigades militant organization with Marxist-Leninist ideology, purposely to destabilize Italy through armed struggle and to remove them from NATO due to their backwards ideologies such as the Boko Haram’s. The Red Brigade terrorized Italy for decades until the Italian executive, judiciary and the legislature’s implemented emergency law. A reduced sentence to any member of the sect who can give vital information to convict other members. This emergency law was the ice breaker that ended the reign of the Italian Red Brigade. Similarly, The IRA and their loyalist groups stopped all violence in the UK and UK properties abroad in February 1996. The IRA and British government agreed to conduct referendum which worked out for them to date. My questions are why can’t Nigeria dig deep and find befitting lasting solution to Boko Haram and its faction’s menace like Italy and UK?
Other characteristics and modus operandi applicable to domestic terrorist groups includes; amplification of fear. This is one of the oldest and most useful strategy utilized by terrorist groups and the Boko Haram/its affiliates ‘utilizes it pretty well.
Terrorist groups understood the importance and use of threats to escalate fear. They also know that when we are afraid, our body respond in certain unusual ways, like high adrenaline and worries that makes us extremely uncomfortable. The Boko Haram are still active because they circulate future threats before they attack. In addition to GDP loss, death of officers of the Nigerian Army, Police Officers, Civil Defense and civilian school girls kidnapping, injuries and personal suffering resulting from their existence cannot be quantified. Yes many maybe reluctant to place an economic value on human life as no amount of compensation can replace those that lost their lives from these deadly sect to date.
To date, Nigeria lack any kind of process to publicly classify domestic terrorist organizations so far because terrorism remains a new concept, a new territory and a new crime. We did not learn from past mistakes and the current president have the opportunity to shine if he wants. In other words, there is no official open-source roster of domestic groups that our law enforcement workforce target so far, yet there has been numerous signs everywhere since 2009. Consequences awaits each Boko Haram member as well as their affiliates as long as they continue to define themselves in violent terms and act accordingly. Although, terrorism will exist indefinitely because there will always be brainwashed individual fools and groups that get reassurance and motivation from this type of self-justification. It should be noted that, treating members of the Boko Haram and its factions or their actions as a transitional phase to something worse risks ignoring the threat that these groups pose. The cardinal importance to avoid this element is to ensure basic civil liberties and rule of law are maintained by the current administration. They must as a matter of urgency prove to the masses that they are willing to uphold and protect the rule of law. The federal government should not overreact when dealing with participants of these groups and their sponsors because it is as much problematic as under-reaction approach exhibited by previous administration. Furthermore, emergency counterterrorism reform is required, this time must be effective counterterrorism policy, realistic and applicable in the court of law against the rise of anti-democracy such as Boko Haram.
Ethelbert Oney
A Nigerian Counterterrorism Specialist
Based in the US
