HATE CRIME:THE UNDERLYING CAUSE OF PERPETUAL INSURGENCY IN NIGERIA ( a case study of Bornu State).

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Nigeria faces serious threats to its political security as a result of insurgency and extremism. Various examples of domestic and international extremism have been observed around the globe in recent decades. insurgency as an organised movement aimed at the overthrow of a constituted government, causing chaos and steering of conflict through the use of subversion and armed conflict. Insurgency could appear in form terrorism, banditry, kidnapping and violent crises making up for the insecurity of a territory. Insurgency poses a serious threat to not only lives, property, civil rights, integrity, and democratic ideals, but also to Nigeria's very fabric and nature. Whether internationalized or localized, it is mostly politically motivated, but it may also show auxiliary motives of a religious, economic or social kind (Chukwurah, Eme and Ogbeje 2015:371).

The threats of  insurgency has intensified and assumed global dimension in recent times. Nigeria, is engulfed in a terrorism frenzy of a scale and severity never seen before. The terrorist groups began by attacking security forces on an intermittent basis. They progressed to offensives against christian churches, schools, and other public areas over time. Since then, the use of improvised explosive devices (IEDs), suicide bombing, kidnapping and abduction  has led to the insurgency's ever-deteriorating complexion. According to the Shehu Musa Yar'Adua Foundation, the organization has carried out 1 639 violent attacks in Nigeria's northeast, resulting in 14 436 deaths, 6 051 wounded civilians, and 2 063 hostages (Shehu Musa Yar'Adua Foundation 2018). So far, no long-term solution seems to be in sight, as the sect's faceless hierarchy has remained stubborn and malignant.

The question however becomes what are the underlying motives behind the never-ending insurgency in Nigeria. Most researcher have been tempted to assume that the motive behind insurgency is not just political but a prejudice against a particular religion, ethnic group and those who share different ideology about western education which are all manifestation of hate crime.

A hate crime is a “criminal offense against a person or property motivated in whole or in part by an offender's bias against a race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, ethnicity, gender, or gender identity(FBI, 2017).Hate crimes are an extreme form of prejudice, made more likely in the context of social and political change. Public and political discourse may devalue members of unfamiliar groups and contrary religion(opposed to theirs) and perpetrators may feel that their livelihood or way-of-life is threatened by demographic changes.“Hate” is not a necessary motivator; those who carry out this crime  may be motivated by other emotions such as fear, anger, or disgust for a particular ethnic group, religion or race.

 Looking at the leadership structure of Nigeria of where key political heads are been accused by terrorist watch list as those who give information to terrorists groups and relating to the disposition of the renowned Boko Haram terrorist group leader Shekau made a statement that “anybody that does not belief in Allah is an infidel, therefore deserved to be eliminated”, all these could be a pointer to hate crime as the motive behind. 

1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Insurgency, arguably, is one of the most serious threats to global peace and stability in contemporary times. Since the dawn of this millennium, the incidence of terrorism has been on a steady rise worldwide. Hitherto, in Nigeria, terrorism was more or less a regional affair (Okoli and Iortyer 2014:39) when some years ago, terrorism was seemed to be restricted to a few isolated places, such as NorthEast  and some areas of the MiddleBelt.  Durotoye (2000) asserts that the Nigerian state is being challenged from ‘above’ and ‘below’ by ethnic, religious and regional groups, and by the state elite itself. He listed youth militancy, religious uprising, labour unrest, ethnic jingoism, and political antagonism as some of the catalysts of assaults on the state. The most recent of them all is the Boko Haram terrorism, which, through ransom kidnapping, politically motivated killings, armed robbery, and other acts of criminality, generated widespread anxiety in the country (Okoli and Iortyer 2014:43). Okpoya, Ugwu and Eme (2012, cited in Durotoye 2015:1251) classified four major manifestations of insecurity in Nigeria as ethno-religious conflict, politically-based violence, economic-based violence and organized violent groups. From the above assertion, the underlying motive behind perpetual insurgency is traceable to  hate crime. Since most of the violent crises is directed towards a particular ethnic group or religion due to hatred, anger and disgust for such ethnicity or religion, this leads to perpetual insurgency and making the effort of security operatives futile. Therefore it is upon this premise that this research is set to examine Hate Crime:The underlying cause of perpetual insurgency in Nigeria.

1.3 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

The focus of this duty is set to examine Hate Crime:The underlying cause of perpetual insurgency in Nigeria. Specifically it will examine factors that motivates hate crime. It will examine the rate of insecurity as a result of hate crime. It will investigate if hate crime is the underlying cause of insurgency in NorthEast. it will examine the way forward to mitigate hate crime and insurgency.

1.5 SCOPE  OF THE STUDY

The scope of this duty is set to examine Hate Crime:The underlying cause of perpetual insurgency in Nigeria. Specifically it will examine factors that motivates hate crime. It will examine the rate of insecurity as a result of hate crime. It will investigate if hate crime is the underlying cause of insurgency. it will examine the way forward to mitigate hate crime and insurgency. This study is delimited NorthEasten region of Nigeria, specifically Bornu State.

1.6 RESEARCH QUESTION

1. What are the  factors that motivates hate crime?

2.  what is the rate of insecurity as a result of hate crime?

3. Do yo think  hate crime is the underlying cause of insurgency?

4. What are the way forward to mitigate hate crime and insurgency?

1.7 LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

The following factors poses to be a limitation during the course of this research

Financial constraint– Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).
Time constraint– The researcher will simultaneously engage in this study with other academic work. This consequently will cut down on the time devoted for the research work.

1.8 DEFINITION OF TERMS

Implication: Implication is something that is suggested, or happens, indirectly.it is the possible effect of a variable on another

Hate : Hate is an angry or resentful emotional response to certain people or ideas. Hatred is often associated with feelings of anger, disgust and a disposition towards the source of hostility

Hate Crime: A hate crime is a “criminal offense against a person or property motivated in whole or in part by an offender's bias against a race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, ethnicity, gender, or gender identity

Insurgency: An insurgency is a violent, armed rebellion against authority when those taking part in the rebellion are not recognized as belligerents.

Terrorism: Terrorism, the calculated use of violence to create a general climate of fear in a population and thereby to bring about a particular political objective. it is the the unlawful use of violence and intimidation, especially against civilians, in the pursuit of political and religious aims

Human rights: these are moral principles or norms for certain standards of human behaviour and are regularly protected in municipal and international law.  Human rights are norms that aspire to protect all people everywhere from severe political, legal, and social abuses

1.4 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

This study will be relevant to the general public. Specifically to policy makers, it will redirect their focus on establishing laws to curb hate crime. To law enforcement agencies, it will enable enlighten them on the need to bring to book political actors who instigate hate crime no matter their position in government. The study will drive the need for public awareness on how hate crime perpetuates insurgency hence the government should include it as a counter-insurgence strategy. More so it will drive the  Judiciary and Human Right Activists, International Bodies to probe voilence against a particular religion or ethnic group instigated by hate with the aim of protecting the Human Rights of the common citizen. Finally the study will contribute to the body of literature on this field and serve as reference material for further academic research

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