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Fashion revolves in circle, reflecting historical, cultural, political, economical and social life of a nation as noted by Ogunduyile. It hence, satisfies the apparel accessory wants and needs of the people at a given period of time, thereby reflecting man's environment, and stands as a means of non-verbal communication in revealing the culture and history of a people. Thus, it is innovative and reflects popular values of the society and changes when such values change. However, Nigeria as a country is not an exception to this norm. Although, desirable and inevitable the Nigeria modern fashion may be, the pace and degree of changes in contemporary Nigeria fashion necessitated by the influx of foreign cultures has continued to put traditional Nigerian hand-woven fabrics such as Akwa-Ocha, Aso-Oke, and Akwete among others in an adverse situation since designers use less of these fabrics for modern dress styles. The paper discusses Modern Nigerian Fashion as it has kept revolving and changing since the 1960s till date. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since its emergence, the insurgency group, Boko Haram has continued to wreak havoc on local communities in Northeast Nigeria and across the Lake Chad Basin region together with its offshoot, the Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP). This has led to the death of several people and the displacement of many others. While affected states in the troubled region have mostly responded through kinetic operations, the activities of both groups have continued unabated. These activities have mostly been achieved via attempts to exert influence in communities with little or minimal state authority. Previous studies have focused on the origins, causes, attacks, and consequences of the activities of the violent extremist group, yet its influence operations particularly in contested territories remain under-examined. This qualitative study foregrounds the need to close this gap using descriptive analysis. Countering Boko Haram and ISWAP's influence operations in the Lake Chad Basin region remains the key to winning the "soft" war which is necessary to ultimately degrade, dismantle, and defeat these insurgency groups in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Can 'self-defence' be justified in counterinsurgency? Drawing on several existing studies, this article examined the operationalisation and justification of self-defence by the Civilian Joint Taskforce (CJTF) in countering the insurgent activities of Boko Haram in the north-eastern region of Nigeria. Drawing on academic and non-academic documents as well as key informant interviews, the article concluded that while the CJTF has made an important contribution to countering the Boko Haram menace, challenges related to gross human rights violations, members of the CJTF becoming tools and stooges of religious and political elite to settle scores, and lack of clear rules of engagement and effective state support have hampered its effective counter-insurgency efforts in the North-East. To overcome this challenge, the CJTF should, among other things, be perceived as professional and not engage in actions that are outside its mandate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research Summary: During armed conflicts, when the rule of law collapses, bribery often becomes prevalent. Yet, the effect of bribery on firm performance under those circumstances remains unclear. Bribery could provide access to scarce resources, but it could also be the result of extortion. This study argues that bribes can improve firm performance during certain conflicts, when violence reduces public officials' ability to threaten firms. Using longitudinal data from businesses in Nigeria during the Boko Haram insurgency in 2009–2014, I find that firms exposed to Boko Haram attacks that bribed outperformed firms that did not bribe. Qualitative data suggest that the insurgency limited public officials' ability to threaten firms, making bribes less a means of rent extraction and more a way for firms to access resources. Managerial Summary: In many economies, bribery is widespread despite being illegal. This study shows that during times of violent conflict bribery can be a way for firms to maintain operations despite the disruption. Using data from firms in Nigeria during the 2009–2014 Boko Haram insurgency, I find that firms that bribed tended to suffer less from the effects of the insurgency. Bribing firms were better able to secure protection and access transportation networks. At the same time, the conflict reduced local officials' ability to extort firms, making bribes less likely to involve extortion. These results highlight the extreme circumstances that firms face during violent conflicts and the illicit practices that may enable them to survive in the short run. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most research on Boko Haram has been focused on its ideology, development, actions and official responses to it. Little research has been focused on civilian resistance to Boko Haram nor to the impact of the Boko Haram insurgency on Yola. At the height of the crisis for Yola in 2014–2015, Boko Haram occupied villages only a few hours away from the city. Moreover, the internally displaced population (IDP) doubled the size of greater Yola’s pre-crisis population. This article examines resident responses to the need to protect the city from a Boko Haram invasion; to provide humanitarian relief to IDPs; and to establish programs to lower Boko Haram’s recruitment of local youth. It contributes both to local Yola history and the history of northeast Nigeria, and to the understanding of how civilians impact the course of insurgencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Much has been written about the spectacular naturalistic copper and copper alloy heads of Wúnmọníjẹ̀ Compound, Ilé-Ifẹ̀, Nigeria, which stunned the art world after they were unearthed in 1938, on the cusp of the Second World War. However, little scholarly attention has been afforded to the controversial aftermath of their discovery, when multiple foreign parties endeavoured to collect and export many of them from Nigeria, while legislation to prohibit the export of antiquities was lacking. Drawing on archives from the USA and the UK, this article reveals important details of the collecting of several of the heads in the late colonial period. Coinciding with renewed calls for the restitution of Nigerian cultural patrimony from foreign institutions, it sheds light on the British Museum's acquisition of one such head, the acquisition of two by the American anthropologist William R. Bascom, and the purported export by a German export company, of several heads which remain unaccounted for to this day. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This book review discusses "Policing and Politics in Nigeria: A Comprehensive History" by Akali Omeni. The book explores the evolution of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) and its connection to key events that have shaped public opinion and institutional conduct. It examines themes such as imperial policing, militarized police forces, Nigerianization, and police identity. The author emphasizes the influence of colonial legacies and discusses issues such as police brutality, the need for institutional reform, and the promotion of democratic values. The book provides a comprehensive analysis of the history and challenges of policing in Nigeria, offering recommendations for improvement. [Extracted from the article]

The human lice Pediculus humanus is distributed worldwide but, it thrives and flourishes under conflict situations where people are forced to live in crowded unhygienic conditions. Molecular methods were used to identify and screen human lice for the DNA of pathogens of public health importance in an area that has been under insurgency related to religious and political conflicts with tens of thousands of internally displaced people (IDP). DNA of Bartonella quintana, Acinetobacter baumannii and Acinetobacter haemolyticus was detected in 18.3%, 40.0% and 1.7%, respectively, of human lice collected from children in Maiduguri, Nigeria. More body lice than head lice were positive for pathogen's DNA (64.3% vs. 44.4%; χ2 = 1.3, p = 0.33), but the difference was not significant. Two lice samples were found to harbour mixed DNA of B. quintana and A. baumannii. Phylogenetic analysis of the cytochrome b (cytb) gene sequences of the positive lice specimens placed them into clades A and E. This is the first report on the molecular identification of human lice and the detection of the DNA of pathogens of public health importance in lice in Nigeria, West Africa. The findings of this study will assist policy makers and medical practitioners in formulating a holistic healthcare delivery to IDPs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article investigates counterinsurgencies in Sub-Saharan Africa, especially those opposing insurgencies with an ethnic and/or sectarian character. Using a most-similar method of case selection, we select the cases of counterinsurgencies in Nigeria and Mozambique, which we examine in an exploratory way. We analyse the existing literature on counterinsurgency strategies and investigate possible problems with their application to contemporary Islamist insurgencies in Sub-Saharan Africa. Adopting trends and information from case studies as well as from the theoretical principles explored in several studies regarding the US counterinsurgency campaign in Iraq, we propose a new theoretical model of a possible counterinsurgency strategy for Sub-Saharan countries against ethnic and/or sectarian insurgencies. This model combines practices from classical counterinsurgency theory with suggestions regarding the ethnic and/or sectarian background of the particular insurgents and specific factors of the region of Sub-Saharan Africa. In conclusion, we discuss the broader issues of African counterinsurgency and propose a possible future enhancement to the model and its replicability for other cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children are an Heritage of the Lord...! - Psalms 127: 3 This paper interrogates the phenomenon of the insurgency of Boko Haram with a view to understanding its implication on children. The goal is to explore models for rehabilitating 'wanderer-children' as the phenomenon, coupled with the incidence of out of school children in the Sahel portends great danger for the survival of Nigeria and even the integration thrust of the West African Sub-region. The manuscript argues that Nigerian authorities need to strengthen their 'Complex Emergency' policies otherwise the threat against the region may worsen. In the effort to fashion-out these models, the paper takes a voyage to the nineteenth and early twentieth Centuries, and precisely to the colonial state where it discovered a classical model that if authorities would imbibe, the possibility for resolving the complex question of wanderer-children can be achieved. To weave its perspectives, the study depended on the qualitative research methodology. Finally, the paper recommends that governmental authorities need to combat poverty and reduce the rate of unemployment if the goal of curtailing conflict with its propensity for displacing children is to be achieved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the nexus between political unrest, insurgent activities, and their detrimental impact on Nigeria's economic prospects and the viability of human livelihoods. These factors have been identified as formidable impediments to foreign direct investment (FDI), posing substantial risks to international business engagements within the nation. Utilizing a dataset spanning from 1990 to 2022, the investigation employs a Vector Auto-regression (VAR) model to dissect the influence of insecurity and political volatility on FDI inflows in Nigeria. The findings elucidate a pronounced and adverse response of FDI to the prevailing terrorism, insurgency, and political instability. Moreover, the analysis reveals inflation as a concurrent challenge that jeopardizes international investment. In response to these findings, the study underscores the imperative of democratic consolidation and the implementation of robust strategies to counteract insurgency and terrorism. Additionally, it advocates for monetary policies aimed at inflation control through judicious regulation of the money supply, alongside stabilization of prices for goods and services critical to the industrial sector and household consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work is an analysis of the role of intelligence in Nigeria's counterinsurgency (COIN) and counterterrorism (CT) operations between 2010 and 2021. The article argues that Nigeria will have to deploy, in a holistic, synchronized, and proactive manner, targeted intelligence-gathering techniques if it hopes to effectively counter the threats of terrorism and insurgency. It shows that the effective and proactive use of intelligence contributed significantly to Boko Haram's persistence and resilience in its engagements with the Nigerian military in the contested zones of the northeast. In order for Nigeria to be able to effectively contain and defeat the threats of insurgency and terrorism, the study recommends the application of the cybernetics theory of intelligence and the triplicity approach (TA). The triplicity approach is the synchronous and holistic use of human intelligence, open-source intelligence, and financial intelligence in Nigeria's COIN and CT operations. Cybernetics theory and TA emphasize the effective collection and utilization of information to achieve the overall objective of enhancing Nigeria's security. The study concludes that the use of TA will make it possible for Nigeria to proactively respond to insurgency and terrorism and go on the offensive to neutralize these threats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides insight into the transnational perspectives of the Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria's northeast region since 2010. It reveals that the transnational dimensions of the insurgency in terms of the porous borders, movement of persons, trafficking of arms and ammunition spread of Islamic fundamentalism, and access to funding have contributed to elongating the conflict in the northeast. The paper employs primary and secondary sources to analyze and interpret the subject matter of the paper. It utilizes the theory of transnationalism to theorize and shed light on the transnational character of the Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria's northeast region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How do we achieve the protection of vulnerable civilians from violent non-state actors in Nigeria? This article argues that despite the seemingly different approaches of Responsibility to Protect (R2P) and the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy, both can align at an intrastate implementation level to protect exposed communities from armed groups. The UN's adoption of a people-centric approach to counter-terrorism (CT) and the preventive measures against heinous crimes instituted in pillars one and two of R2P creates the space for this cooperation. This article further shows how practitioners can integrate both regimes with local networks to provide a holistic civilian protection strategy. This approach encompasses international, state, and local agency in halting the proliferation and activities of violent non-state groups. I espouse a framework for the protection of vulnerable Nigerian populations based on three factors – community self-protection, economic well-being, and ideological reorientation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the phenomenon of crime–terror nexus from the standpoint of the linkage between banditry and Boko Haram insurgency in Northern Nigeria. Using a descriptive analysis predicated on a combination of primary and secondary studies, the paper reveals that both groups have functionally adapted each other's structures and strategies. While Boko Haram and its splinter groups have occasionally engaged in acts of banditry, there has been mutual co-option by both groups as the exigencies of their operations demand. Nigeria's drive at mitigating the banditry-terrorism conundrum must proceed with a pragmatic understanding of the gamut and dynamics of their situational nexuses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 2020 #EndSARS is a youth-enthusiastic social movement in Nigeria against brutality and inhuman excesses of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad unit of the Nigerian Police Force. The protest movement started on social media and transmited to spatio-temporal platforms as numerous Nigerian youths were scattered on major streets and landmarks of the country to express their dissatisfaction with the operations and methods of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS). The protest was held by youths across different tribes, races and religions (with Muslims inclusive.) Just as the movement continued to increase, the participation of Nigerian Muslim youths in the protest became entwined in controversies as young Nigerian Muslim intellectuals debated the permissibility and impermissibility of protest for an ideal Muslim regardless of the circumstances. Numerous studies have examined protests, rebellions, uprisings, and coup d’états amongst other political issues affecting democracy, but they hardly study protests in the light of Islam and Muslims. This paper therefore seeks to explore this gap with a qualitative research by revisiting the history of Islamic civilization in the first few decades of Islam, approaching some Sharī‘ah principles and rereading the sensitive Islamic texts on obedience to authority in the context of contemporary realities surrounding the Nigerian Muslim ’Ummah. The paper concludes that while a protest is typically detestable under Islamic polity, it may rob Islam of its essence if such an opinion is upheld for Nigerian Muslims on 2020 #EndSARS, without considering the social, political, and constitutional factors influencing the movement in Nigeria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Jokes serve as a prism that highlights the dynamic social, cultural, political, and religious aspects of a society, including its responses to unpleasant experiences and challenges such as natural and man-made disasters However distasteful the catastrophe is, there is the interest to comment about it. Unpleasant experiences and challenges of a society including natural and man-made disasters, hard to bear as they are, still find reactions in form of jokes. The Boko Haram (Western Education is prohibited) insurgency in Nigeria, which spread to other countries in West Africa, has claimed innocent lives and damaged property to a proportion only second to the Biafran war in Nigeria. In spite of the horrifying experiences generated by the insurgency, there are joke performances on the verbal domain and on the social media networks and internet testifying to the shock absorber mechanism of survival and discourse of those who formulate and or tell it and those who participate or listen to it. Such jokes may ease tensional moments, serve as defence mechanisms, mitigate terror tensions and or serve to enunciate natural fears. This study examines the cycle of jokes that have emerged in the context of Boko Haram terrorist attacks in Nigeria and elsewhere, and uses incongruity theory to provide insights into verbal creativity and the creativity of joke sites. It also examines how these jokes serve as a thermometer for measuring the strengths and challenges facing the Nigerian nation-state as a result of the Boko Haram insurgency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Across the world, Special Operations Forces (SOFs) play a leading role in asymmetric warfare. The unique trainings, skills, weapons, and equipment of these elite Tier 1 operators, differentiates them from conventional forces, making them the preferred choice in complex environments. SOFs are ideally deployed for short operations, which include direct action missions, hostage rescue, hunting high-value targets (HVTs), mobility operations, intelligence operations, airborne operations, counterterrorism (CT), counterinsurgency (COIN) operations, and covert operations among others. While the literature has mostly focused on the utility of major powers' SOFs in the Global War on Terror (GWOT), with little attention on Africa's SOF's, this paper examines the origins, evolution, composition, and deployments of Nigeria's SOFs specifically in the Northeast, Northcentral, and Northwest theatres of operation, against the Boko Haram insurgency and armed banditry, respectively. Drawing on primary data from interviews with key informants and other secondary data sources, the paper interrogates the successes, challenges, and prospects of Nigeria's SOFs. The strategic utility and overreliance on Nigeria's SOFs by political leaders and the Military's High Command puts a strain on their strategic value which potentially undermines their strategic efficacy as a force-multiplier in the long run, against unconventional threats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conceptual metaphor theory (CMT) and cultural linguistics (CL), which form the chief theoretical anchor for this study, express the role of language, culture and cognition in the construal and expression of human experiences. The approaches posit that the metaphorical use of language by an individual or group is shaped by their ideological orientation, knowledge of their natural and social world, and their cultural worldview. This study investigates the metaphorical use of language by the Nigerian print media in their attempts to express ideation on corruption in the Nigerian public sector. There has not been any deliberate and rigorous attempt to study the metaphorical representation of corruption in the Nigerian media discourse, hence this study aims at addressing the lacuna. Thus, this study uses insights from CMT and CL to identify, classify and analyse some of these metaphors in six Nigerian newspapers, namely; The Guardian, Punch, Daily Trust, The Nation, Vanguard and The Sun. The study shows that print media reports of corruption in Nigeria involving powerful social actors such as politicians, government appointees, career civil servants, academics, the military, the media and others have often used metaphorical frames that emanate from the domains of disease, war and conflict, enmity, impediment to movement, violent natural forces, monstrosity, among others, to describe the incidence, scope, effects and consequences of public sector corruption in Nigeria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Samuel Crowther's efforts to standardize Nigerian languages in the late-nineteenth and earlytwentieth century are well known to scholars. This research note discusses a lesser-known postcolonial episode in the history of Nigerian languages--the 1983 Pan-Nigerian typewriter project of the Nigerian Federal Ministry of Education's National Language Centre. Drawing on a "shadow archive" of documents, it explores the efforts of linguists, civil servants, and printers to design and then implement a unified typeface for Nigerian languages between the 1980s to 2000s. This article argues that the absence of widespread adoption of the Pan-Nigerian typeface showcases the negative impacts of neoliberal policies and corporate colonialism and the enduring influence of religious organizations on African language policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the recurring activities of insurgents that have been at the core of security crises in Nigeria and Kenya arising from the activities of the Boko Haram (BH) and the Al-Shabaab adopting terrorist strategies and tactics. Data are generated from primary source through in-depth interviews with selected key informants and secondary sources with the review of relevant textbooks, journal articles, internet and other archival materials. The paper adopts content analysis of relevant literature and comparative analysis of the psychological elements of BH and Al-Shabaab groups in Nigeria and Kenya. It shows that insurgent activities have been a fundamental problem in Nigeria and Kenya in the last decade. The study identifies two psychological perspectives of insurgency - "syndrome" and "tool". The paper also shows that, intimidation, chaos, provocation, attrition, virtual and cyberspace elements of terrorism strategies are common to Boko Haram and Al-Shabaab operations in Nigeria and Kenya. The paper concludes that individual African societies and the continent must address the syndrome factors to be able to combat terrorism as a tool in the hands of individuals and groups who disagree with states and see terrorism as an instrument to fight against perceived and/or real psychological trauma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the lull of nationalist struggles and after many merged ethnic-nationalities attained statehood, separatist movements with distinctive identities have increased their agitations for self-determination. The deficit or decline of national cohesion in Nigeria and other independent states has been ascribed to the proliferation and radicalization of separatist movements. Therefore, to provide effective political measures, it has become necessary to quell separatist movement agitations and foster substantial national cohesion. This article examines the actions of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) separatist movement in South East Nigeria and altruistic political solutions to its quest for self-determination. It explores the IPOB's grievances, strategies, and approaches and the factors sustaining its struggles and uses both primary and secondary sources of data. The study shows that after years of the Nigerian–Biafran war, the Igbo of the South East are still gripped by political alienation, which has led to a renewed call for Biafran statehood. It thus recommends that, rather than using a securitization and militaristic approach to diminish the group's claims for self-determination, the Nigerian government should initiate a dialogue and ensure ideal inclusive governance to achieve equitable representation of the South East at the national level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fight against insurgency, terrorism, banditry, militancy, and other forms of criminality has been viewed from two major perspectives by scholars, security analysts and security experts in the existing literature. While some argued in favor of the kinetic approach, others supported the adoption of both kinetic and non-kinetic approaches. The main thrust of this paper is to interrogate both the kinetic and non-kinetic approaches initiated by Dr. Goodluck Jonathan led Federal Government to placate Boko Haram terrorists in the North East geo-political zone of Nigeria between 2011 and 2015. Before the adoption of the non-kinetic approach, the government made use of a military or kinetic approach in its response to the nefarious activities of Boko Haram between 2009 and 2011. It argues that the inability of the kinetic approach to successfully address the menace of the Boko Haram insurgency forced the government to adopt a non-kinetic approach or carrot option, which took several forms such as the establishment of dialogue committees and Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) agency. It submits that none of these kinetic and non-kinetic measures were able to curtail the heightened disruptive activities of the insurgent group as a result of inept political leadership, failure of good governance, problem of sabotage, lack of strong political will and commitment and so on. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper offers a critical assessment of the role that the media, and in particular peace and conflict-sensitive journalism, can play in peacebuilding in African countries with a primary focus on the history and roles of the media in Nigeria. The theoretical lenses offered by post-colonial and southern criminologies, along with emancipatory peace, global, and human rights journalism are deployed to engage with the prospects and challenges for peace and conflict-sensitive journalism in Nigeria. Overall, this paper aims to serve as a resource material for further research on the role of the media in Nigeria's conflicts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper qualitatively examines the role of community policing as a panacea to insecurity in Nigeria through documentary sources. It is argued that the social and political environment in Nigeria is pervaded by the Boko Haram uprising in the North East zone, banditry and cattle rustling in the North West and North Central zones, ethnic militia in the South South and South East zones and armed robbery and ritual killings in the South West zone. Nigeria has become one of the most unsafe places to live in the world, the rate of killings suggesting that the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) – an organisation created for ensuring internal peace and cohesion – has failed in its statutory responsibilities. It is concluded that community policing which ensures the collaboration of citizens with security agents is the right approach to alleviating the internal security crisis in Nigeria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dwindling food security situations that arose from Boko-haram insurgence experienced in the northeast of Nigeria has led to an urgent need to respond to the food and livelihood requirements of families who were affected by the conflicts in this region. This is necessary in order to enhance their food and nutritional security and livelihood activities. Thus, examining the status of malnutrition of households in the intervening communities is imperative. Therefore, primary data were collected from some selected households within the region using multi-stage sampling procedure. Descriptive statistics, Dietary Diversity Score (DSS), Heckman and Tobit Models were the analytical tools employed. The study revealed that food aid constitutes an integral proportion of the total expenditure of households on food in the intervening communities. Level of malnutrition also reduces from 40.58 to 16.7% due to the impact of the sensitization programme on households' consumption of nutritious foods. However, there is still a high level of malnutrition (68.79%) among the children that are 5 years and below. Social capital formation and group-specific nutritional policy strategies directed at the internally displaced persons (IDPs) and children that are 5 years and below are panacea to reducing malnutrition in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Boko Haram insurgency has caused the loss of many lives and untold suffering to numerous people in Northeast Nigeria. The violent victimisation of women is one of the devastating consequences of the conflict. This paper explored trends in the violence committed against women by security forces. The purpose is to contribute to the existing few studies in the extant literature detailing the violent atrocities of the security forces against women. There are already extensive studies on the nature of violence perpetuated against women by insurgents. This paper, underpinned by structural violence and radical feminism theoretical postulations, drew qualitative data from interviews published in grey literature on gender-centred violence and secondary data from academic studies. This paper adopted documentary and descriptive methods to analyse the relevant data. Since the emergence of the insurgency in 2009, civil society reports show that many women are victims of violence such as rape, forced detentions, torture, inhumane treatment and restrictions, insecurity, murder and displacement perpetrated by security forces. This pattern of violence is consistent with available evidence of gender-related violent behaviour in most armed conflicts and underlines the perception of women as symbols and objects of war. The paper argued that entrenched structural patriarchy, poverty, illiteracy and institutionalised exploitation and oppression of women in Northeast aggravated the vulnerability of women to violence in the conflict. Many survivors of the violence have their health, social and economic prospects severely affected by the experience. The paper suggested, among others, adequate genderisation of government rehabilitation, deradicalisation, destigmatisation, resettlement and reintegration intervention programmes, investigation and prosecution of alleged cases of sexual and gender violence against security forces. Government empowerment of citizens is critical to tackle the underlying causes of Boko Haram insurgency and gender-related socio-economic and cultural, factors promoting the societal discrimination of women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nigeria and Cameroun are bounded by the Bakassi Peninsula to the Eastern part of Nigeria, where the inhabitants are predominantly Efik speaking people in Cross River State. And the two countries were colonized by Britian and Germany respectively. In 1885, they agreed within themselves to keep to the terms of boundary demarcation between Nigeria and Cameroun from the Calabar estuary to the shores of Lake Chad in Northern Nigeria. The Anglo-German Treaties of 1886, 1890 and 1893 carved Bakassi Peninsula into Nigeria. But in 1913, another Anglo-German treaty was signed to position the Bakassi Peninsula into the Cameroun territory, from Riodel Rey to Akpa Yafe. The dispute reached a high point when on May 16, 1981, Cameroun sighted three Nigerian military patrol boats which violated the Cameroun Navy. On March, 1994, Cameroun took the matter before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for determination on whether the disputed territory is not a Cameroun territory. Then on October 10, 2002, the International Court of Justice gave its ruling, ceding the area to Cameroun, following the recommendations of the 1913 Anglo-German Agreement and the Green Tree Agreement that preceded it. Although, the ruling of the International Court of Justice was widely criticized mostly by Nigerians but it has to be sustained because of the binding force of the United Nations Charter over its member states. The Game Theory was adopted as the theoretical framework. The theory grants the behaviour of parties to a dispute, in scenario of making rational choices to their advantage and to the detriment of the contending party. It was observed among other that the factors that triggered the Nigeria-Cameroun dispute include political, economic and socio-cultural. After the implementation of the International Court of Justice ruling, the youth of Bakassi attempted a secession agitation to declare a state of Bakassi. Herein, it was recommended that given the unpleasant consequences which may occur in such situation, the options of dialogue, negotiation, and resettlement are preferable to avoid any fratricidal war between Nigeria and Cameroun over Bakassi Peninsula. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study was to determine Nigeria’s adherence to the ruling of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the Green Tree Agreement on the boundary dispute between Nigeria and Cameroon over Bakassi Peninsula. The research intended to investigate whether Nigeria’s compliance to the two regimes was predicated on the personal interest of the then president or the interest to secure a permanent seat in the Security council of the United Nations. The method adopted for the study was the survey design through questionnaire and Chisquare. Although the boundary crisis which may have snowballed into a fratricidal war was nib in the bud through conflict management regimes by the ICJ. It objective of the study aimed at whether Nigeria complied to the regimes due to the interest of the then president and its aspiration to secure a permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council. It was concluded that above factors were contributory to Nigerian compliance to the regimes in the settlement of the dispute, by demobilizing soldiers and lowering of the Nigerian flag. The study recommended among others that the option of resettlement of the displaced people of Bakassi was preferable to declaring war. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines oil, state and insurgency in Niger Delta. Nigeria's Niger Delta region is not only home to greater part of Africa's largest mangrove forest, but also source of Nigeria's oil wealth. Here, in this amazing network of creeks, and an aquatic splendour comprising marine, brackish and freshwater ecosystems, lie the operational bases of ethnic militia and insurgent organization dedicated to the socioeconomic emancipation of the Niger Delta peoples. Thus, the Niger Delta area has become a hot bed of violence, insurgency, kidnapping, hostage-taking, oil pipeline sabotage, crude oil theft, gang wars, so much else by way of anarchy, chaos and other forms of criminality. The study examines some of the drivers of insurgency in Niger Delta to includes: the nature of politics, greed, alienation, government repressive policies and actions, poverty, foreign strategic interest, institutionalized corruption, environmental disaster among others are the key drivers of insurgency in the Niger Delta. In addition, the paper also highlights some of the implications of insurgency on national security to include: diversion and loss of national resources, environmental challenges, human rights violation etc. To this effect therefore, for a viable peace in the region, the state must make concerted efforts to the region's key demand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Boko-Haram insurgency has affected livelihoods in the Northeast in all ramifications. This study reviewed scholarly submissions on the drivers and impact of the insurgency in the area. The outcome of the review showed that the insurgency is driven mainly by poverty, religious extremism, and politics. Equally, the insurgency has affected rural livelihoods entirely and has exacerbated food insecurity, unemployment, and poverty. This is because critical infrastructure like schools, hospitals, markets, and electricity/telecommunication facilities have been largely destroyed, and residents of some communities are still displaced. Hence, to better the livelihood of the people in communities where normalcy has been restored, there is the need to promote agriculture and trade by securing the communities and enhancing access to affordable agricultural inputs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study is designed to examine the impact of Boko Haram insurgency on commercial activities in the Damaturu Local Government Area of the Yobe State, Nigeria. Mixed research method using both quantitative (structured questionnaire) and qualitative (in-depth interview) research techniques was used. 385 respondents were sampled using the Creative Research System formula for sample size calculation. The quantitative data obtained were analysed using both descriptive and inferential statistics while Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) was employed for analysis of the qualitative data. The study revealed that the Boko Haram crisis has seriously affected the socioeconomic development and commercial activities of the study area the destructions of markets, killings and abductions of business owners. Finally, the study suggested that the Government of the Yobe State should initiate a good pro-poor social investment programs for small and medium business operators, the government should reopen all closed markets for the purpose of commercial activities in the communities where relative peace has been restored and finally the government should provide more security to enable the populace restart their commercial activities and suitable environment for business operations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This century has heralded technological advancement in human history, particularly in Africa. The influx of technological advancement currently in play all over the world and the economic benefits that come with such advancement has necessitated the need for some regulations. Hence, stakeholders particularly, governments all over the world have made efforts to regulate and support investments in technology. These supports include laws, policies and other incentives that promote technology. Recently, the Nigerian National Assembly passed the Nigeria Start-up Act (NSA), 2022 to provide a regulatory framework for the development of start-ups as well as to provide an enabling environment for the establishment, development, growth and operation of startups and technology-related talents in Nigeria. The Act also seeks to position Nigeria's start-ups ecosystem as a leading digital technology centre in Africa in terms of excellent innovators with exportable skills and capacity. It is projected that the NSA will immensely contribute to technological development for Nigerian start-up companies to compete with their counterparts at the regional and international scene. This article examines the nature of start-ups and the Nigeria Start-up Act, 2022. It further analyses the pre-enactment of the Start-up Act era in Nigeria, the emergence of the Start-up Act, the impacts the Start-up Act might have on technological development, the challenges of the Act as well as the general challenges faced by start-ups in Nigeria. The article argues that the NSA is a welcome and commendable effort for technological development and economic growth in Nigeria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article will examine the trends and patterns in Nigeria-U.S. relations, while tracing the features of development of the relations between citizens of both countries, starting from the export of slaves in the previous centuries to the Nigerian students in the U.S. in the mid-1940s and 1950s up till the attainment of independence in 1960. The section will also x-rays the development of political relationship between the two countries, from independence in 1960 to the era of emerging economic alliances from 1960 to 1967; the era of Nigeria-Biafra war between 1967 and 1970; the era of the oil boom 1970 to the early 1980s; the era of the Structural Adjustment Programme and economic dependence of 1983 to 1993; the era of embargo on Nigerian oil, 1993 to 1999. It will go forward to surveying the importance of the period between 1999 and 2015, which was the era which attempted to deepen democratic institutions in Nigeria. Each of these periods in Nigeria-U.S. relations have shown to have a unique character in the behavioural pattern of policy makers in both countries as determined by the prevailing circumstances on ground during such periods. To this end therefore, the study has attempted to ascertain the extent of the challenges that have characterized the many years of relationship between the regional powers, and to achieve this, the research has adopted both the quantitative and qualitative approaches of research methodology. This will enable the interpretation of the data generated from both primary and secondary sources. Some of the findings and conclusions drawn from the study show that political, social, economic and security challenges responsible for the fluctuations that were observed in the bilateral relations between the two countries. The study therefore recommends that Nigeria should strengthen its foreign policy attention and resources in the bilateral relations with the US in areas that are potentially strategic to its national transformation and security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the manifestation and problems relating to the Islamist insurgencies of Boko Haram in north-eastern Nigeria, and Ansar al-Sunna in northern Mozambique. The thrust of the paper is that Islamist movements, driven by the ideas of jihadism, exploit conditions in weak and fragile states and expand their reach in territories affected by poor or deteriorating socio-economic conditions. In Africa, Boko Haram and Ansar al-Sunna are two striking examples. Following the introduction, the phenomena of Islamism and jihadist insurgencies in Africa are under review, after which state fragility is theorised. The focus then moves to Boko Haram and the conflict dynamics in the north-east of Nigeria, and the political conditions and related fragility in that country. From there, the emphasis shifts to Ansar al-Sunna and the conflict dynamics in northern Mozambique, focusing on the emergence and existence of the movement, and the political conditions and related fragility in the country. The paper argues that in both insurgencies under review – Nigeria and Mozambique – fragility and violent conflict fuel each other, and thus we can argue that the state fragility–conflict dynamics nexus is key in understanding the contemporary security landscapes and conflict in these two states. Finally, the paper concludes by highlighting and reflecting on six of the most striking similarities between the Boko Haram and Ansar al-Sunna insurgencies, and the governance (political and military) challenges that have thus far limited or prevented successful counter-insurgency measures in both countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the links between socioeconomic concerns and one of the most significant conflicts in the world, the Boko Haram-led insurgency in Northeastern Nigeria. In doing so it centers group dynamics for analysis of how women and youth constituencies intersect with vulnerability to violent extremism. It offers sophisticated quantitative analysis of new and original gender- and age-disaggregated survey data, with over 80% female respondents. The paper finds that while poverty can influence vulnerability to violent extremism, women and youth constituencies interact in particular ways with structural factors and certain youth constituencies exhibit lower propensities to violence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Women and children suffer worse health outcomes during armed conflicts. For more than a decade, Northern Nigeria has been facing one of the most violent armed conflicts in sub‐Saharan Africa. Studies on the conflict's impact on healthcare utilization in the area are few. The aim of this study is to explore the effect of the protracted armed conflicts on healthcare utilization, measured by maternal care and child immunization, in Northern Nigeria. Data from the Armed Conflict Location and Events Data set are spatially merged to birth records from the Nigerian Demographic and Health Survey. An area is classified to be a conflict cluster if it is within a 5–10 km radius of conflict event(s) with at least one fatality. The difference‐in‐differences method is applied to estimate the effect of the armed conflicts on healthcare utilization in the area. We find that residing within a conflict cluster significantly reduces the probability of utilization of healthcare services. We conclude that robust policies and strategies to mitigate the adverse effects of the armed conflicts on healthcare delivery are necessary for the short run. In the long run, systematic efforts to identify and address the root causes of the conflict with a view to finding a lasting solution are necessary to improve health‐care utilization in conflict‐affected areas. Highlights: Armed conflict has an adverse effect on healthcare utilization in Northern Nigeria.Living in a rural area reduces the possibility of utilization of healthcare services in Northern Nigeria.Compared to their Muslim counterparts, Christian mothers are more likely to give birth in a health unit in Northern Nigeria.Armed conflict reduces the chances of child immunization in Northern Nigeria.Armed conflict hinders expectant mothers from attaining the minimum antenatal care visits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Moving beyond the focus on violence against women and violence committed by women, this article interrogates violence countered by women. The article sheds new light on the gendered practices of counterinsurgency in northeast Nigeria, with critical attention to why women joined the civilian resistance to the Boko Haram insurgency and their complex role and agency as local security providers. Using the voices and lifeworlds of women who joined the Civilian Joint Task Force (yan gora) in Borno State as well as the Vigilante Group Nigeria and Hunters Association (kungiya marhaba) in Adamawa State, the article underscores the layered and gender-bending role of women as frontline fighters, knowledge brokers, state informants, and producers of vigilante technologies. The article finds that women counterinsurgents mobilized after Boko Haram shifted its strategy toward using female insurgents, especially as suicide bombers. Women joined the war against Boko Haram for complex reasons, including personal loss, revenge, family ties, community attachment, patriotism, and a collective yearning for normalcy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On whether governments should grant state forgiveness to insurgents amid the popularity of amnesty, justice advocates have cautioned that amnesties could be instrumentalised to muddle accountability. This paper demonstrates how domestic peace processes could mimic existing power inequalities, thereby including some groups and excluding others from state forgiveness. By examining the differential treatment of insurgent groups in Nigeria, this paper unpacks how ethnic politics and resource dependence led to amnesties for Boko Haram and the Niger Delta militants, and how the absence of oil and political connections leave Biafra agitators with nothing to exchange for state amnesty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Boko Haram Insurgency (BHI) constitutes one of the global most worrisome phenomenons and the number of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Northern Nigeria has risen tremendously due to BHI attacks. IDPs are faced with health and socioeconomic challenges and it affects their pattern of living especially for the weak among them. This study assesses the Impact of the Boko Haram Insurgency on the Health of Internally Displaced Persons in North East, Nigeria. This study was qualitative, thus it utilized in-depth interviews to pull together information from the key informants who are IDPs, health workers, social workers, traditional leaders, and members of the community as its method. This paper argues that the present situation of raising BHI has undermined the universal quality health service for IDPs and by implication weakens it and makes it unfeasible. This paper asserts that despite the efforts of the government and other stakeholders in providing support for the IDPs, however, BHI has threatened the efficiency of health services to IDPs owing to several factors such as overcrowding, poor and unhygienic living conditions of IDPs, health service provision, attacks on health facilities and personnel and restrictions of the health of health workers. The study argued that BHI has led to the absence of universal quality health service for IDPs and by implication, affects the universal quality health service delivery and reduces Nigeria's position in the universal socio-economic and health indexes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Boko Haram insurgency brings with it unprecedented consequences, particularly in records of multiple deaths and devastating effects on socioeconomic dynamics of the nation. Since no state would stay without responding to threats to its national security, the federal government of Nigeria adopted both kinetic and non-kinetic approaches to counter the impact of terrorism on its shores. With several attacks from Boko Haram and the resultant consequences in terms of deaths, displacement and economic damages, the group has remained a potent force particularly in the Northeast and the Sahel region. In the midst of these contending realities is the Corona Virus Disease (COVID -19) that broke out from Wuhan, China in December 2019. Within the space of few months, the outbreak spiralled into a public health emergency and global pandemic; with rapid spread, high casualty rate and negative impacts on global health and economy. Accordingly, Nigeria like other nations was hit by the virus, causing disruption in its already fragile economy coupled with internal security threats. As a measure of containment, the global lockdown measures resulted in less economic patronage which translated into vulnerabilities like crime rate increase. While other countries were seeking answers to the question of health security, Nigeria was faced with the double tragedy of Boko Haram on one hand; and health insecurity on the other with attendant consequences. In this view, application of technology in combating insecurity as well as health emergencies will be the way to go, particularly, in a world that is technologically driven. This paper examines the imperative of technology in counter insurgency operations. It will adopt the historical approach in its analysis to build a pragmatic approach to reversing the trend. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Nigerian state is faced with the challenge of curbing the menace of terrorists that engage in economic sabotage, and kidnapping for ransom, and whose attacks on national and international installations are capable of threatening the peaceful coexistence of the citizenry. However, economic disenfranchisement, ideological orientations and religious convictions have mostly influenced the support base of these terrorist activities, thus making the situation intractable. This study examined the effects and strategies adopted to combat the activities of the terrorists and insurgents in Nigeria. Conflict and political economy theories were employed as the framework of analysis. Data from secondary sources were adapted and utilized. The study found that the security situation has improved in the southern region due to the timely response and approach adopted by the federal government. However, it recommended decisive steps to consider engaging existing traditional institutions and religious organisations to deconstruct the already ideologically brainwashed sympathizers of the members of the groups in the northern region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper seeks to establish a theoretical and empirical linkage between insurgency and natural resource extraction in Nigeria. It notes that owing to the weakness of the Nigerian state and the lack of political will to address the underlying causes of the insurgency in the country, armed insurgents have taken control of many of the country's extractive processes. This results in massive resource theft and creates an allure for the spread of theatres of insurgency across the country. This has partly been responsible for Nigeria's abysmal oil production per day and earnings from oil, despite the country's increased production quota by OPEC due to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. Dwelling on the frustration-aggression and relative deprivation theories, the paper concludes that ungoverned artisanal resource extraction remains a source of insecurity in Nigeria and recommends, among others, that the Nigerian state should develop the political will to address insurgency and its drivers in the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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 counter-measures have been adopted by both state and non-state actors to combat the insurgency with limited successes recorded. Consequently, studies have examined several efforts taken by the Nigerian government toward ending the Boko Haram insurgency, including the challenges confronting such efforts. However, Nigeria's de-radicalization, rehabilitation and reintegration programme for ex-Boko Haram fighters, known as Operation Safe Corridor, has received marginal attention in literature. The Operation Safe Corridor programme which was established in September 2015 is aimed at de-radicalizing, rehabilitating and reintegrating repentant Boko Haram insurgents into society. Using a field survey method involving key informant interviews and focus group discussions as well as documentary reports, this article examines the progress and pitfalls of the Operation Safe Corridor programme. It argues that the failure to mainstream the concerns of local communities both in policy and programming of Operation Safe Corridor severely undermines the prospect of successful and effective reintegration of ex-Boko Haram fighters. The article concludes that if this gap is not addressed, the programme will succeed in terms of the number of ex-combatants graduating from it but will fail in terms of reintegrating the graduating ex-combatants into society. This poses significant risks to both Boko Haram defectors and society at large. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Boko Haram insurgency has presented a peculiar theatre of unconventional warfare. The combat dynamics of the belligerents have oscillated between the asymmetries of hard and soft violence. While the insurgents have been able to sustain their violent campaign mainly through tactical opportunism based on irregular strategies, including suicide terrorism, the government forces have been locked in intractable counter-insurgency operations where their military might has often been demystified and overwhelmed by the irregular strategies of the insurgents. This has resulted in a precarious and protracted counter-insurgency scenario in which the dynamics of violence tend to have put the government forces under sapping pressure, whilst the insurgent forces have prevailed in an asymmetrical advantage. The way out of this intractable violence is for the government to be pragmatic in its current combat-offensive counter-insurgency by adopting a hybrid approach that is capable of countering both the military and non-military dimensions of the terror-insurgency conundrum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gender-based violence is inevitable in every armed conflict zone. To survive, every human being, including women and girls, requires security. In armed conflict zones, however, women and girls are more vulnerable to the dangers of insecurity. These difficulties may influence them physically, psychologically, economically, and educationally. They may also have to live with the effects of their trauma for the rest of their lives. The effects of the Boko Haram insurgency on women's security in Nigeria's northeast are the subject of this study. This investigation relied on structural violence theory. It's a meta-analytical study based on secondary sources like books, journals, papers, documented data, and online sources. The study examines the security of women during the insurgency in Northeast Nigeria, which resulted in gender-based violence and the displacement of many people, making Nigeria one of the countries with the largest number of internally displaced persons. The kidnapping of the Chibok girls, which gained international attention, was the peak of the north-eastern insurgency, Thus, this research underscores the government's failure to maintain maximum security and combat impunity by investigating and prosecuting militants' as well as political leaders' and security officers' crimes. Hence, the study suggests a course of action that may serve as a catalyst for ending violent confrontations and protecting the vulnerable from all sorts of gender-based violence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The post-war policy of the Federal Military Government of Nigeria (FMG) was lauded as a magnanimous move toward reintegrating the people of defunct Biafra--the Igbo. Fifty years after the supposed reconciliation and reintegration, Igbo agitation for disengagement from the Nigerian state constitutes one of the most dangerous threats to its corporate existence. Using a historical-analytical method, this article traces the underlying currents of the Igbo reintegration question in Nigeria to the prewar Igbo phobia, which arguably culminated in a thirty-month violent confrontation. Given the top-down approach of liberal peace, which the Nigerian government embraced in its post-war policy, real reconciliation suffered a marginalization that has impeded reintegration. Biafranism in the twenty-first century, arguably, is a quest for true reconciliation that never occurred, despite the laudable post-war policies of the 1970s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the predictive power of Child Abuse and Child Neglect on Self-Esteem of Pupils in Internally Displaced Persons’ (IDPs) Camps in Borno State, Nigeria. The study adopted a correlation survey design and 2 research questions and 2 hypotheses guided the study. The population of the study consisted of 1,377 primary five pupils (males790 females 587) in the learning space located within the 23 IDPs camps the sample of the study was 295 primary five pupils comprising of 150 males and 145 females. The instruments for data collection were Child Abuse Questionnaire (CAQ), Child Neglect Questionnaire (CNQ) and Child Self-Esteem Rating Scale (SERS). The instruments were subjected to face validation by 2 experts in Early Childhood Education and 1 expert in Measurement and Evaluation, all from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. The pilot study was conducted at Yola and data collected was analysed using Cronbach Alpha and the reliability coefficients obtained were as follows: 0.79, 0.86 and 0.82 for CAQ, CNQ and SERS respectively. The researcher with the help of three research assistants collected data for the study. Data collected was analyzed using Simple Linear Regression analysis. Specifically, Correlation Coefficient of Determination (r2 ) was used to answer the research questions and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) aspects of simple linear regression were used to test all the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The findings of the study revealed that there is a negative relationship between child abuse and self-esteem of pupils in IDP camps in Borno State, Nigeria and there is a negative relationship between child neglect and self-esteem. It was recommended among others that children should report cases of abuse to school teachers and other relevant agencies around them to prevent it from recurring and also help to process their emotions around the abuse to avert demission in their self-esteem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]