THE SCOURGE OF TERRORISM IN THE WEST AFRICAN SUBREGION AND THE IMPACT OF LEGAL SOLUTIONS

Abstract

The virulent activities of terrorist groups such as JAMAATU AHLIS-SUNNA LIDDAAWTI WAL JIHAD (Boko Haram) and "JAMA 'ATU ANSARULMUSLIMINA FI BILADIS SUDAN" (Ansaru) against Nigeria and her neighbours, and attacks by Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), the Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO), and Ansar Dine on government institutions and other targets in Niger, Mali and Mauritania, have shaken the peace and sense of security of the West African sub-region. The countries ravaged by the s'Ordid actions of these groups, individually and collectively, have been constrained to proffer solutions to curb terrorist activities. For example, the African Union has supported the formation of a MultiNational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) of 8,750 men, men drawn from Nigeria, Niger, Chad, Cameroon, and Benin to engage and defeat Boko Haram. Nigeria also recently adopted a national anti-terrorism strategy. This paper examines the legal response to the problem of terrorism in West Africa with specific focus on Nigeria. A key component of Nigeria's fight against terrorism is the reform of the statutory and institutional framework for dealing with terrorism. However, a review of the causes of terrorism, Nigeria's Terrorism (Prevention) (Amendment) Act 2013, and the emerging case law on terrorism in the country, suggest that legal solutions to the menace of terrorism are important, but legal solutions to the problems of terrorism in Nigeria and the West African sub-region can only achieve the desired objectives if the extant legal strategies are pursued side by side with non-legal solutions in a nuanced manner. This paper also recommends that Nigeria and other countries in West Africa learn from the experience of countries like the United Kingdom, the United States of America, India, Pakistan, and Sri-Lanka, that have adapted their laws and institutions to better respond to the ravaging effects of terrorism