COUNTER-TERRORISM ACTIVITIES AND HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATION IN NIGERIA'S FOURTH REPUBLIC: GAP AND LESSON

Abstract

The departure in 1999 of military regime in Nigeria restored hope for human rights that
was grossly abused by successive military regimes. Regrettably, after twenty years, it is
not yet uhuru for Nigerians. Human rights violations remain rife. Particularly worrying is
the government security operatives' abuse of rights with the resultant casualties. Using
data generated from secondary sources and descriptive method of analysis, it was
realized that the aftermath of 2009 Boko Haram uprising has opened a new discourse in
Nigeria's security literature. Security agencies have been repeatedly accused of
extensive human rights abuses and extrajudicial killings. The number of incidents of
human rights violations in Nigeria's democracy has become a major concern. More
disconcerting is that the justice sector has not effectively addressed the issue, largely due
to the disregard of lawful processes and orders by the Nigerian state and its machinery.
Findings of the paper noted, with the increasing pressure by both local and international
human rights organizations, the Nigerian government since 2015 directed the military to
make drastic adjustments in its operations to ensure strict adherence to the stipulated
human rights standards. It was also discovered that with the adoption of these new
measures, most human rights violations have reduced. It therefore recommends for the
improvement and consolidation of their positive impact by complementing them with a
more comprehensive counterterrorism policy.
Keywords: Counter-Terrorism, democracy, Human rights, International law Standard,
security agencies