“Sweat is invisible in the rain”: Civilian Joint Task Force and counter-insurgency in Borno State, Nigeria
Journal Title: Security and Defence Quarterly - Year 2020, Vol 31, Issue 4
Abstract
Political, ethnic and religious conflict has given rise to insurgency groups employing a variety of strategies worldwide. In Nigeria, civilians in strife-torn Borno State have formed a number of counter-insurgency (COIN) groups, among which the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) has emerged as a major player. The group began in 2009 as a simple call for volunteers, and now numbers over 26 000 men and women. While research has been conducted on other COIN groups, little is known of CJTF. Concerns have been raised about the CJTF metamorphosing into an ethnic militia, accused of human rights abuses, robbery, rape and hooliganism. Despite these reported atrocities, local people support them, regarding them as unsung heroes. The study investigates the group’s potential as a useful counter insurgency measure, using David Galula’s COIN theory to analyse the group’s actions and to contest the dualistic understanding of conventional vs unconventional, local peacebuilding approaches. The study adopts a qualitative, ethnographic methodology, locating the research in the context of global development and security discourse. The study aims to establish the value of the CJTF COIN group, to position unconventional local COIN as a viable complementary to conventional methods and to proffer clues as to how security initiatives may more successfully combat Islamic insurgency in Nigeria. The study employed both primary and secondary data. Field work for the study was carried out for six months between 2018 and 2019 in Maiduguri Metropolis and its environs in Borno State.
Authors and Affiliations
Seun Bamidele
The cost of appeasement
-----------------
From Versailles via Paris to Moscow: Strategic options and perspectives of the German Empire with a view to National Power Policy (Part 2)
----------
Application of geographic information systems in Computer Assisted Exercise (CAX)
This paper shows a model for applying geographic information system (GIS) in the Computer Assisted Exercise through the ESRI Company's ArcReader program of the ArcGIS 10 application. The ArcReader program provides access...
Critical infrastructure security in Poland and the surrounding area. Legislation analysis
The Critical Management Act creates a legal basis for dealing with critical infrastructure. It contains the following definition: critical infrastructure includes systems and functional objects which are connected with e...
The New Institutionalism: A tool for analysing defence and security institutions
The aim of this paper is to investigate new institutionalism, its trends and their application in the analysis of security and defence institutions. The research is based on an analysis of theoretical literature to explo...