THE SCOURGE OF TERRORISM IN THE WEST AFRICAN SUBREGION AND THE IMPACT OF LEGAL SOLUTIONS
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Date
2014
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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
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Keywords
Scourge of Terrorism, West Africa, Legal Solutions