By Eteteonline
Violent extremism and its effects have caused great worry in the world community. The United Nations General Assembly resolved to designate February 12 the International Day for the Prevention of Violent Extremism as and when Conducive to Terrorism in resolution 77/243.
The FBI defines violent extremism as “The encouraging, condoning, justifying, or supporting of the commission of a violent act to achieve political, ideological, religious, social, or economic goals.”
Global acts of terrorism based on violent extremism have continued since Al-Qaeda’s September 11, 2001 (9/11) attack on the World Trade Center in the United States (US).
No nation or region is immune to the negative effects of violent extremism, which threatens human rights, peace and security, and sustainable development. For many parts of the world, the message of intolerance propagated by these groups—religious, cultural, and social—has grave repercussions.
Terrorist organizations like Boko Haram and Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) have influenced the discussion of how to combat the threat and the worldwide perception of violent extremism in recent years.
Violent extremism is nothing new in Nigeria. Non-state extremist groups (NSAGs) have been active in Nigeria for a long time, engaging in physical abuse, enforced disappearances, arbitrary deaths, and other types of abuses. They are in charge of the pervasive violence and insecurity that have plagued Nigeria in recent years and operate throughout the nation under a variety of aliases.
Based on brainwashing and religious conviction, the Maitatsine movement, a violent group, wreaked havoc on areas of Northern Nigeria in the 1970s and early 1980s. The group was founded by controversial preacher Muhammad Marwa, who was against cars, radios, and other material items.
Marwa’s ideas attracted a substantial militant following, mostly among young people and unemployed people. By 1980, armed clashes between his followers and state security forces had resulted in the deaths of over 5,000 individuals, including Marwa.
The brutally ideological Islamic extremist group Boko Haram took up weapons in the northeastern Nigerian states of Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa in 2009 after its leader, Mohammed Yusuf, died mysteriously while in police custody. The 15-year conflict has been characterized by widespread fatalities, property damage, and civilian displacement. Boko Haram sought to establish an Islamic caliphate and overthrow Nigeria’s secular government.
Boko Haram and Islamic State West African Province (ISWAP) have attacked people in the Northeast on multiple occasions, unlawfully recruited young militants, and have persisted in attacking military, police, civilian, humanitarian, and religious targets. Armed extremist groups have carried out mass crimes against civilians in northern Nigeria.
Mass crimes such as murder, rape, kidnapping, systematic cattle rustling, and looting have been committed by armed groups known as “bandits” in the region for a number of years. Armed bandit organizations are largely motivated by criminal goals, and preying on established farming communities is a significant source of motivation for these groups. Armed bandits are also occupying large areas of farmland, forcing many farmers to leave their land out of fear of attack.
The most recent to join the violence is the Lakurawa, a group connected to Sahelian jihadists, particularly those from Mali and the Niger Republic. Members of the terror group initially established camps in a few communities that shared borders with Nigeria and the Niger Republic. They eventually set up camps in a number of local government districts in Sokoto, Kebbi, and Bauchi State. This mobile group, which has between 1,500 and 1,800 members, has been extorting money from municipalities. These armed non-state organizations have rapidly proliferated in Nigeria, surpassing all red lines set by the government.
The Nigerian government should do everything in its power to put an end to the country’s ongoing insurgency, terrorism, and banditry as the globe commemorates the 2026 International Day for the Prevention of Violent Extreme as and when Conducive to Terrorism.
The Nigerian government seems to have been overtaken by the issue, leading it to accept cooperation and support from outside sources.
To combat the terrorist organizations, the US has provided equipment, training, and technological assistance.
These crimes’ perpetrators and their backers ought to be brought to justice through prosecution. The government ought to make investments in de-radicalization, advocacy, education, peacebuilding, poverty relief, and socioeconomic renewal.
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