IMPACT OF BANDITRY DOMESTIC TERRORISM ON NIGERIA NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

1.1 Introduction

Banditry means occurrence or prevalence of armed robbery or violent crime. It involves the use of force, or threat to that effect, to intimidate a person with the intent to rob rape or kill. Banditry is a crime against persons. It has been a common genre of crime, as well as cause violence in contemporary societies (Nigeria Watch, 2011). According to Rotberg (2007:33), “crime against persons, including murder, rape, and robbery has grown in scale and viciousness in Nigeria since 1999”. This has been demonstrated by the pervasive trend of armed robbery in the country, which in effect mirrors the Africa-wide experience.

As a prelude to other parts of this study, this chapter will discuss the background upon which this study was initiated, the statement of problems that led to this study, the Aim and Objectives of the study. Others are Significance of the study, Scope of work, Research hypothesis and questions, Limitations of the Study and Definition of technical terms.

---

1.2 Background of Study

National security from the above perspective is the defense of a country against internal and external threat to national unity, cohesion, peace, aspirations, goals, etc. According to Anyadike (2013), national security now encompasses a broad range of activities which impinge on non-military or economic security of the nation and the values supported by the society. In this regard, national security is the requirement to maintain the survival of a country through the use of economic, diplomacy and political power. It is the cherished value associated with the physical safety of individuals, groups or nation-states together with a similar safety of their other cherished values. It denotes freedom from threats, anxiety and danger. This is ensured through security agencies (Nweke and Nwachukwu, 2014).

The twenty-first century terrorists seek to weaken governments, attack the strong bonds between the government and its subjects. Their activities cause political, economic, social and environmental damage. Terrorists activities are transnational and have inevitably crossed porous borders. This has made it difficult for governments to control security systems since technology observes no borders. This has left governments exposed and its power and responsibility to protect its citizens diminished.

Humphries (2002:732), defines terrorism as, the “use of violence, sometimes indiscriminately against persons and property for nominal purpose of making a political statement.” The use of violence may be perpetrated by the state, guerrillas, death squads, international terrorist and dissidents, nationalists, religious fundamentalists and fanatics. The definition of terrorism is a subject of immense debate within the United Nations (UN) and other world bodies. There is no consensus definition of terrorism at the UN level thus terrorists take advantage of that weakness to pursue their clandestine political objectives. There is need to build a more effective and pragmatic system of international peace such that terrorists will find very difficult to operate at the micro and macro-level.

The world's efforts to maintain peace and security have been undermined by the sporadic acts of terrorists who use violence to pursue their political objectives. From the year 2015 to 2021, the world experienced fresh attacks which were aided by advanced technology. The advancing twenty-first century technology provides sophisticated methods of unleashing terror, murder, kidnapping and victimization of the civilians. This has made people to live in constant fear and that one day humanity will be wiped out by such threats. This is because terrorists are not bound by the rules of international law, neither do they have a government as understood in the conventional sense of statehood but they clandestinely perform covert and overt operations.

Therefore, in North West Nigeria where the research was carried out, the activities that was conducted is to scrutinize the Impact of Banditry Domestic Terrorism on Nigeria National Development.

---

1.3 Statement of the Problem

Banditry Security challenges are global phenomena that need to be tackled to create an enabling environment for socio-economic development. Insecurity does not only pose threats to the lives and properties of citizens, but arrest the overall development of a nation (Ekene, 2015; Haruna, 2013). Thus, there is a strong link between security and development (Haruna, 2013; Nwanegbo and Odigbo, 2013; Chandler, 2007 as cited in Ewetan and Urhie, 2014). Although peace and stability have been the core objective of most nations in the world over the years, security challenges have continued to remain a major setback to achieving meaningful socio-economic development in most African countries including Nigeria.

The deteriorating situation of human security in Nigeria accounts for the increasing incidents of rural banditry and cattle rustling. 'Human security' is much broader than national security, which tends to focus on the security of the state in military terms, and the protection of the state from external aggression. Human security shares the conceptual space of the people-centric approach to human development pioneered by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP, 1994).

---

1.4 Aim and Objectives of Study

The aim of the study is to scrutinize the Impact of Banditry Domestic Terrorism on Nigeria National Development using Banditry in North West 2015-2021 as a case study. In achieving this aim, the following specific objectives of study were considered;

1. To identify the causes of banditry terrorism in North West Nigeria National Development between the period of 2015 to 2021,
2. To find out the reason for Banditry Terrorism in North West despite the collective state efforts,
3. To examine the effects of terrorist activities on peace and security from 2015 to 2021.
4. To provide recommendations on how to effectively combat the effects of terrorism in North West Nigeria system.

---

1.5 Research Questions

The study came up with research questions so as to be able to ascertain the above stated objectives. The specific research questions for the study are stated below as follows:

• Is there any factor instigating banditry terrorism in North West Nigeria National Development between the period of 2015 to 2021?
• Why is Banditry Terrorism in North West unstoppable despite the collective state efforts?
• What are the types of Banditry Terrorism and the methods they are using to effect terror?
• What are the factors that instigating Banditry Terrorism on Nigeria National Development?
• What are the threats brought by bandit terrorism in the Nigeria National Development system?
• What is the future of bandit terrorism and what needs to be done to reduce or eradicate banditry in Nigeria?

---

1.6 Research Hypothesis

In order to pursue the objective of this study, the following generalized statements have been designed to guide and aids in obtaining the result for the experiment to be conducted. For this work, the null hypothesis will be represented with H0 while the alternative hypothesis will be represented with hypothesis H1.

Hypothesis One

• H0: Banditry Terrorism negatively affects collective effort towards the maintenance of peace and security in North West Nigeria National Development.
• H1: Banditry Terrorism positively affects collective effort towards the maintenance of peace and security in North West Nigeria National Development.

Hypothesis Two

• H0: There is no significant factor instigating banditry terrorism in North West Nigeria National Development between the period of 2015 to 2021
• H1: There is significant factor instigating banditry terrorism in North West Nigeria National Development between the period of 2015 to 2021

---

1.7 Significance of Study

This justifies the importance of providing an analysis on the Impact of Banditry Domestic Terrorism on Nigeria National Development from 2015 to 2021. The research findings will be of great significance to the world and regional organizations concerned with world peace, educationists, security and state institutions, concerned with tackling terrorism. It is against this background that Open Distance Learning (ODL) plays a pivotal role in providing education under these circumstances. Banditry Terrorism disrupts livelihoods, increases violence and fear, affects production in all sectors of economy, destroys infrastructure and has resulted in bloodshed. In all cases of terrorist attacks, it has disrupted normal education life, stalled production in the economy and international effort to provide peace and security.

---

1.8 Scope of Study

The focuses on the assessment of the Impact of Banditry Domestic Terrorism on Nigeria National Development, the study is limited to Banditry in North West 2015-2021 in Nigeria.

---

1.9 Limitations of the Study

During the course of this study, many things militated against its completion, some of which are:

1. Time Constraint: The time frame given to accomplish this project was very short due to school academic calendar and it was carried out under pressure which made the researcher not to implement some necessary features.
2. Research material: availability of research material is a major setback to the scope of the study.
3. Frequent power failure: This made the researcher append more money on fuel to ensure sustainable power.
4. Financial Constraint: Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).

---

1.10 Definition of Terms

Terrorism: This is the use of violence, sometimes indiscriminately against persons and property for nominal purpose of making a political statement