The Effectiveness of the Nigerian Government’s Responses to Terrorism, 1980-2013

• In Event: Identity, Immigration, and Perceptions of Crime and Justice

Abstract

The occurrence of terrorism in Nigeria has become an issue of great concern. The strategic, legal, political and economic responses of the government vary according to its economic, cultural, social, technological and legal imperatives. Indeed, many approaches have been adopted to address this societal menace, but none seems to be very effective in totally eradicating terrorism.
The purpose of this research is to examine the effectiveness of government anti-terrorist policies in reducing terrorism in Nigeria, from 1980 to 2013. This research hypothesized that Nigeria have the competency to cope with terrorist threat through its anti-terrorist policies. Using time-series design and a mixed method approach, this research evaluates Nigerian anti-terrorism responses. The dependent variable is operationalized as terrorism incidents, whereas Government anti-terrorist policies such as security strength, terrorist arrests, amnesty and ceasefire and socioeconomic empowerment are operationalized as the independent variables. The researcher will collect secondary data from various databases to perform statistical analyses.
Multiple regressions analysis will be employed to determine the relationship between the dependent and the independent variables. Autoregressive time series explains and predicts terrorism incidents in Nigeria. Recommendations would be proffered.

Author

• Ifeoma Evelyn Okoye, Texas Southern University