Violence In Nigeria

By John Apollos Maton Esq.

INTRODUCTION

The definition of violence that seems best suited to the theme at hand is:

INJURY through extreme aggression done to that which is entitled to respect, reverence, or observance; profanation; infringement; unjust force; outrage; assault.

The emphasis here is the act or occurrence of damage or violation of life, health, character, feelings, rights, property, or interests of an individual or group.

Violence has been on a rapid increase in Nigeria for the past six years, it has gone to levels hitherto unimaginable. Kidnapping, killing, destruction of property, etcetera, has become common place and no longer makes for cringeworthy breaking news. There have been laws and policies to address this and some argue governments attempts or inaction (depending on which side of the argument the issue is approached from) have only made matters worse and fuelled national discontent. Security Agencies and the Armed Forces have all but lost relevance in some parts of the country due to the fact that many Nigerians believe groups that should be the protectors of the people contribute to their suffering, that is the reason behind the EndSARS agitation.

It is against the backdrop of the need for solutions that this investigation also examines the causal and other related issues. Since there are a lot to cover, and considering the purpose of this discussion, some related issues will be grouped together for convenience. This work first identifies the key words to pay attention to, the legal framework the Nigerian legislative and legal systems have built for the prevention of these problems, the issues that ignite violence, the impact this has left, advice on the way forward, gives recommendations especially on what the response to violence should be, before drawing a conclusion.

KEY WORDS

Violence, Conflict, Assault, Trespass, Religious Violence, Insurgency, Retrogression, Insecurity, Gender-Based Violence, Good Governance, Boko Haram, Communal Conflict, Breakdown of Law and Order, Legislation, Treaties, United Nations, African Union, Prohibition, Rule of Law.

LEGAL FRAMEWORK

Recommending new laws and policy would be priority for any essay that examines (even if lightly) the current State of conflict in the country. However, an examination of Nigerian laws show that the legal framework is sufficiently developed to address this problem, what would be desirable would be strict uniform implementation of these laws and policies in a way that does not give a group of individuals or people the courage to disobey the laws with impunity – thereby letting the rest assume it implies preferential treatment and support of criminality, which might be the reason for the recent attacks on government infrastructure and personnel.

There are many laws against violence in Nigeria, some of them are:

The Constitution of The Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) – violence of any kind is actually a human rights issue. Nigeria has over the years not only enshrined the protection of rights that are fundamental to every human being in the constitution, but it has signed every international treaty that concerns human rights of the people living in its jurisdiction. While the CFRN 1999 forbids the violation of these fundamental rights – as does most of the international treaties Nigeria is a signatory to, rights protection in Nigeria still leaves a lot to be desired.

Violence Against Person’s Prohibition Act (VAPP) – is law that mandates the National Agency for Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) to action. This law covers crimes of sexual abuse, violence and other related crimes. It was passed for application in Abuja in the year 2015 but has now been adopted in few other States.

Protection Against Domestic Violence Law (PADVL) – came into force 2007 for application in Lagos State, it aims to prevent all forms of domestic abuse that range from the physical, sexual, emotional, economic, educational, etcetera. It is often executed like a restraining order with the possibility of a fine.

Other laws, policies and treaties to consider are the Criminal Code, Penal Code, Administration of Criminal Justice Act/Law’s, Child Rights Act, CEDAW, MAPUTO Protocol, African Charter on Human and People’s Rights, and many other treaties and protocols by the UN, AU, ECOWAS, all aim to prevent the abuse and violation of rights of citizens and people living within the jurisdiction of those signatory States especially those that might adversely affect the Fundamental Right to Life or provide for remedy where there has/is/will/might be violation and violence against victims.

ISSUES

There are numerous causes of Violence in Nigeria, and even more can be found in the different Local Government Area’s and Communities. Some of these causes of violence are;

Intolerance; This may well be among the top three reasons there is conflict that results to violence in Nigeria. A country with such numerous tribes, cultures, beliefs and people is bound to nurture millions of differing perspectives to even the most common of daily affairs. Refusal to understand that these differences are natural and bound to happen, be patient or allow others to enjoy them is bound to cause conflict which in Nigeria can quickly escalate to violence. Religion, Politics, Cultural Practices and Way of Life, and more are very sensitive areas intolerance of the differences that exist in have led to violence in Nigerian communities, this is especially so between Indigenous Peoples of various communities and the Hausa-Fulani.

Scarcity of Land/Trespassing; In the past, there was vast unclaimed land in Nigeria with little to no communities in-between, but now, due to rapid population growth and increased demand in food, all the land in communities are jealously guarded to provide mainly for farmland and housing, the conflict in relation to land usually arises when herders insist on trespassing communal farmland and destroying crops through open-grazing.

Poverty/Frustration; The declining standard of living in Nigeria is a problem that breeds other problems, the inability to meet to daily needs have many people in a frustrated/depressed State of being which can lead to aggression, especially when these people are paid money to cause insurrection.

Media/Propaganda; False information aimed at inciting the general public for the political or ideological motive is one of the leading causes of conflict in the world today, it is not a problem unique to Nigerian communities. Misinformation especially on social media can quickly ignite already tense situations that end in violent confrontation.

Failure of Government/Law Enforcement Agencies/Legal System/Insecurity; Societies are kept in order through laws and enforced by various mechanisms of government. Where the legitimacy of government is questioned by the people or where same government fails to perform and does not properly oversee the agencies responsible for keeping the peace, it can allow for breakdown of law and order. This is made worse so when security of lives and property cannot be assured.

Substance Abuse/Mental Illness; The abuse of substances like Drugs and Alcohol can over time lead to mental instability that manifests in a number of ways like hallucination, delusion induced aggression, and so many other problems that make sufferers readily available pawns for the perpetration of violent crimes.

IMPACT

The effects of violence can be felt decades after the injury itself, it can directly and indirectly affect the lives of millions of people, some of those effects are;

Breakdown of Law and Order/ Insecurity; Once there is violence of a large scale as seen in communities, it often triggers the same unrest in different parts of the State it occurs and sometimes even, different parts of the country. This automatically shuts down law and order that stretches the limits to the capacity of law enforcement agencies, which is why the Nigerian Armed Forces have taken to policing internal security.

Loss of Lives and Property; Ethno-Religious conflicts in Nigeria always leads to destruction of property and almost always ends in the loss of lives. This is the most gruesome effect of violence and the major reason conflict should be prevented at all cost.

Deteriorating Health; Depression/Posttraumatic Stress Disorder/Cardiovascular Disease/Increased Mortality Rate/Eating Disorder and many more physical and mental health issues are caused by violent conflict in Nigeria. The fear and anxiety for safety, physical injuries suffered, difficulty in obtaining health services and unsanitary conditions usually found in Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) Camps sum up to a State of health deterioration in the community due to violent conflict.

Poor Education; There are experts on conflict and health who believe that women and children suffer most in armed/violent conflict situations, one of the most obvious ways children suffer is in the disruption of their education; from having schools destroyed to books burnt, this all negatively affects the education available to them and its standard.

Interruption of Usual Trend of Living; The point speaks for itself; the very nature of violent conflict disrupts the usual flow of affairs and the way of life in communities, gaining back that balance to the way life used to be is often impossible for many victims.

Retrogression; Since the injury in violent conflict is usually to lives and property, the destruction of infrastructure and the killing of people who might have had revolutionary ideas on achieving development growth only plunges the country in retrogression. Sustained unrest does more than inhibit the countries growth, it prevents assisted development by blacklisting the country from potential foreign investment. It is why many companies would rather set up factories in Asia than in Nigeria or indeed most of Africa, because even though the cost of labour would be lower fear of loss of investment keeps them out.

WAY FORWARD

The fastest answer to this question would be to counter the above listed causes of violent conflict in communities. Here are some other brief points;

Good Governance; Law and Policy Implementation; Improve Law Enforcement; When the government is a responsible one and awake to its responsibilities, there is not only good law and policy making but also implementation and the law enforcements capacity to uphold law and order is being improved through mass personnel recruitment training and equipping, it will create an atmosphere that would make constant outbreak of violent conflict difficult.

Report Crimes or Suspicious Actions to Law Enforcement; The recent “End SARS” protest in Nigeria is an indication the public has lost faith in the Police. When all the issues surrounding that are sorted and the relationship with the people restored, it would be easier to encourage the public to report any suspicious behaviour or crime and this will to a great extent curb violent conflict before it gets out of hand.

Achieving Sustainable Development; It is argued that developed Nations do not suffer as much conflict as Nigeria and other third world countries because they have attained a level of sustainable development that leaves little else to be desired, daresay when Nigeria achieves development that is consistently sustainable, there will be little if any discontent enough to risk it all by starting armed conflict.

Take the Problem Seriously/ Find the Root Causes of the Problem; The major dissatisfaction with Nigerian government’s handling of these conflicts that have raged on for decades is that it seems unable to take the problem seriously. Most times the attacks against communities are ignored or shrugged off as propaganda and the victims are left to fend for themselves in a situation where proactive tracing the root cause of the problem and quelling it would have stopped repeated surges of conflict.

Reduce Availability of Weapons/Gun Control; Efficient arms control will lead to an automatic drop in violent conflict in Nigeria, which is not what the Nigerian Police Force is doing. The Police have quit giving licences to Indigenous law-abiding citizens to bear arms for self-defence, while the Fulani Herdsmen and instigators of armed conflict seem to be allowed easy access to get their hands on as many as they want for their nefarious purposes.

Set Clear Laws and Policies/Avoiding Repressive Laws and Policies; The reason the attacks by Fulani Herdsmen has continued uncheck is because the government has refused to set and enforce strict laws controlling immigration and banning trespass to farmlands by the roaming livestock of these Fulani Herdsmen while it has set oppressive policy on refusing Indigenous Peoples the right to bear arms and defend themselves from violent attacks.

RESPONSE TO VIOLENCE

The response to violence and violent conflict can not only control the situation, but lead to the prevention of future reoccurrence. Some of these responses are;

Investigation and Prosecution of Aggressors and Affiliates; One of the ideologies behind punishment is to serve as a deterrent to other would-be offenders. But in Nigeria, where the government releases culprits instead of investigate, try and prosecute them, then reward them for their crimes by putting them on salary as was done in 2020 were the President freed terrorists and put them on salary, future offenders will not be discouraged from engaging in violence if they do not believe they will be punished for their crimes.

Quick Intervention/Counselling of Victims/ Rehabilitation; The care of victims of armed conflict and violence is the most part of conflict in Nigeria. Ideally, there should be proper medical aid, counselling, trauma and needs assessment to adequately gauge victims and survivors State of mental health not only to help in recovery, but to guide them away from depression, self-destruction and homicidal tendencies. Victims and Survivors rehabilitation should also be taken seriously, many will need financial aid in rebuilding their homes and restarting their lives afresh. In reality though, most survivors of violent conflict in Nigeria, especially in Plateau State are still struggling to get by, many cannot go back to their homes and are stuck in IDP Camps or with relatives who can accommodate them. This is because the government refuses to acknowledge this problem.

The other responses like Avoid Violence, Report Crimes or Suspicious Actions to Law Enforcement, Take the Problem Seriously, Preventive Measures Against Future Occurrence have already been discussed above.

CONCLUSION

Helping individuals and communities realise others have a right to be different, such right being entitled to respect, will lead to a more tolerant atmosphere that can support peace and coexistence. Trainings, Seminars, Community Anti-Conflict Forums and other activities that examine Causes, Effects, Response and Prevention of Violent Conflict is the best hope for building bridges between differences.

The world is in a difficult place, there are so many problems manifest especially in African countries, the interconnection of these issues especially in Nigeria makes the task of arriving at solutions seem so impossible it is tempting to just give up and stop trying.

RECOMMENDATIONS

There are various ideas community leaders and stakeholders can implement and share to reduce the occurrence of violence in communities.

Avoiding “Self-Help”; It is tempting for people who have suffered loss in conflict to take matters into their own hands or attack perceived aggressors, but communities must be helped to understanding moving past pain and rebuilding would be much better than always seeking revenge.

Dialogue/Develop Tolerance/Organising Community Violence Prevention Forum; The root of most problems start with not being able to understand, tolerate or accept a differing perspective. If dialogue, and every activity aimed at improving interaction is encouraged to not only foster peace but ensure understanding and coexistence, it would reduce and help communities avoid conflict based on misunderstanding.

Know the Signs and Trust Instincts/ Report Crimes or Suspicious Actions to Law Enforcement; Communities should be encouraged to be vigilant of their surrounding and the people who come into it. They should be cautious of strange faces and suspicious behaviour and report same to law enforcements agencies for investigation and so they would know to implement stricter home/community security measures.

Use Common Sense Tips; Not staying out late, being vigilant of activities in the surrounding environment, having a designated person tasked with alerting to danger and all other measures dictated by “common sense” to keep safe from violence and avoid danger.

ABOUT

John Apollos Maton Esp. DRS. ChMC. ACIArb (UK).