Political Terrorism in Nigeria: Cursory and Critical Appraisal
Political Terrorism in Nigeria: Cursory and Critical Appraisal
Shote Paul Oluwaseun, LLB, BL.*
Introduction
One of the core reasons for political apathy in Nigeria today is the continuous uprising and bedeviling terror associated to our political system. Many have tagged politics to be a dirty game; they sensibly opined that active participation in the political activities in Nigeria is tantamount to embarking on a journey of no return because of mendacious and purposeless minds who are mere opportunists in the political terrain; they erroneously interprets political leadership to mean a platform for selfish aggrandizement of wealth and fame thereby resorting to violence due to their ill-motivated and lustful appetite for power.
Conceptual Overview of Political Terrorism
Generally, terrorism is the systematic use of terror, often violence especially as a means of coercion. In the international community perspective, terrorism has no legally binding criminal law definition. However, common definitions of terrorism refer only to those violent acts which are intended to create fear (terror) which are perpetrated for religious, political or ideological goals and deliberately targeted or disregard the safety of non-combatants (even combatants).
The word ‘terrorism’ is politically and emotionally charged and this greatly compounds the difficulty of providing a precise definition. A school of thought posits that terrorism has to do with the use of force or violence against persons or property in order to coerce or intimidate a government or the citizens in furtherance of political or social objectives. Terrorism connotes the use of threats of violence to intimidate or cause panic especially as a means of affecting political conduct. For instance, a former head of state of Nigeria allegedly threatened that the country would be ‘bloody’ if 2015 elections are rigged and similar threat was allegedly credited to him that Nigeria would be made ungovernable if 2011
Shote Paul Oluwaseun, LLB, BL.*
Introduction
One of the core reasons for political apathy in Nigeria today is the continuous uprising and bedeviling terror associated to our political system. Many have tagged politics to be a dirty game; they sensibly opined that active participation in the political activities in Nigeria is tantamount to embarking on a journey of no return because of mendacious and purposeless minds who are mere opportunists in the political terrain; they erroneously interprets political leadership to mean a platform for selfish aggrandizement of wealth and fame thereby resorting to violence due to their ill-motivated and lustful appetite for power.
Conceptual Overview of Political Terrorism
Generally, terrorism is the systematic use of terror, often violence especially as a means of coercion. In the international community perspective, terrorism has no legally binding criminal law definition. However, common definitions of terrorism refer only to those violent acts which are intended to create fear (terror) which are perpetrated for religious, political or ideological goals and deliberately targeted or disregard the safety of non-combatants (even combatants).
The word ‘terrorism’ is politically and emotionally charged and this greatly compounds the difficulty of providing a precise definition. A school of thought posits that terrorism has to do with the use of force or violence against persons or property in order to coerce or intimidate a government or the citizens in furtherance of political or social objectives. Terrorism connotes the use of threats of violence to intimidate or cause panic especially as a means of affecting political conduct. For instance, a former head of state of Nigeria allegedly threatened that the country would be ‘bloody’ if 2015 elections are rigged and similar threat was allegedly credited to him that Nigeria would be made ungovernable if 2011