Organized Crime–Terror Nexus: Interrogating the Linkage Between Banditry and Terrorism in Northern Nigeria

This paper examines the phenomenon of crime–terror nexus from the standpoint of the linkage between banditry and Boko Haram insurgency in Northern Nigeria. Using a descriptive analysis predicated on a combination of primary and secondary studies, the paper reveals that both groups have functionally...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of Asian and African studies (Leiden) 2023-08, Vol.58 (5), p.766-778
Main Authors: Okoli, Al Chukwuma, Nwangwu, Chikodiri
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Insurgency
Organized crime
Terrorism
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Summary:This paper examines the phenomenon of crime–terror nexus from the standpoint of the linkage between banditry and Boko Haram insurgency in Northern Nigeria. Using a descriptive analysis predicated on a combination of primary and secondary studies, the paper reveals that both groups have functionally adapted each other’s structures and strategies. While Boko Haram and its splinter groups have occasionally engaged in acts of banditry, there has been mutual co-option by both groups as the exigencies of their operations demand. Nigeria’s drive at mitigating the banditry-terrorism conundrum must proceed with a pragmatic understanding of the gamut and dynamics of their situational nexuses.
ISSN:0021-9096
1745-2538
DOI:10.1177/00219096211069650