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BOKO HARAM INSURGENCY AND HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATION IN NIGERIA

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 JPSD
Volume 5, No. 1, 2019
pp. 71-84

BOKO HARAM INSURGENCY AND HUMAN RIGHTS

VIOLATION IN NIGERIA
Ukandu, Ikechukwu Maxwell,
Department of Religious Studies & Centre for Peace and Development,
Veritas University Abuja
ukandu_imax@yahoo.com

Abstract

The Boko Haram insurgency has lasted more than a decade in Nigeria. The protracted and intractable
nature of the violence has established a context for mutual affront between the security agencies who seek
to counter the insurrection on the one hand, and the militant Islamists who seek to enthrone a monolithic
polity dependent on Islamic jurisprudence on the other hand. The religious fundamentalism of Boko
Haram which has resulted in the abuse of human rights (especially religious freedom) is the main focus of
this study. The comparative research methodology was adopted and data gathered from the study were
content analysed. Findings showed that kidnapping, forceful conversion, marriage, destruction of places
of worship, opposition to western and Christian education are the central abuses to freedom of religion
by the group occasioned by their fundamentalism. The study concluded that the violation of religious
freedom as a fundamental human right has affected adherents of both Islam and Christianity. It
recommends proper enactment and implementation of laws, education for peace, international support
and intervention to mention but a few.

Keywords: Boko Haram, Human Rights, Insurgency, Religious Freedom

Introduction
The resumption to democratic rule
and civilian administration on May 29,
1999 signaled a number of hopes for the
Nigerian state, her citizens and the
international community alike. The rule of
the law as capsulated by the 1999
constitution of the Federal Republic of
Nigeria (as amended) was no longer kept
in abeyance. Implicated in this new socio-
political space was the ease for socio-
cultural, ethno-religious groups and
sundry liberation movements to vent by
means of agitations and demands on a
number of issues.
One major aspect of this demand was the
advocacy for the total implementation of
Sharia by some Muslims in the North of
the Country. In the year 2000, a former
Governor of Zamfara, a state in the North-
West Nigeria implemented a new law in
his domain to incorporate the criminal
Sharia and had to legal lug-jam from
former President Olusegun Obasanjo led
government. The wide acclaim and
success of his legal reform served as a
motivation to some other eleven (11)
states in the North to implement same in
their jurisdictions. Though a constitutional
matter, the adoption of Criminal Sharia
 Ukandu, Ikechukwu Maxwell,
threw open a number of controversies and
had implications for not only the country‟s
religious diversity, but also, her peaceful
co-existence or inter-group relations.
Christians, secularist thinkers
among other non-Muslims condemned the
action of those Northern states and
questioned the legality of such a legal
regime in the face of the country‟s secular
outlook. As a result, voices were raised
across religious divides and tensions
progressively grew across geopolitical
land spaces. Yet, it is quite clear that such
calls were not heeded nor considered.
Rather, it served alongside other social
motivations as a spring board to go the
extra-mile. In no time, precisely about two
(2) years later, this demand and clamour
for Sharia gained impetus, though
obscurity prevented its public notice–
through the emergence of Boko Haram.
Gaining relevance and dreadful imagery,
the Boko Haram insurgency has bedeviled
the Nigerian state for almost a decade now
(2009-2018) especially because it is
pursued through a war strategy of
terrorism. No doubt, there is a crescendo
in the denial of right to life as the mother
of all human rights. Equally, this has
thrown open an ascent in the violation of
the right to freedom of thought,conscience
and religion as a fundamental human right
and resultantly implicated other
associational rights (Ukandu, 2014).
A notable aspect of these crucial
rights violations in Nigeria is the fact that
the country is a signatory to various
international legal instruments such as the
1948 Universal Declaration on Human
Rights (Article 18), the 1981 Declaration
on the Elimination of All Forms of
Intolerance and of Discrimination Based
on Religion or Belief (Article 18). The
African Charter on Human and People‟s
72
Rights (Article 8). And this is
compounded by the reality that the multi-
national state has domesticated same in
her legal document, the 1999 Constitution
of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as
amended) Section 38(1) (Ukandu, 2014).
Statement of the Problem
Despite the protracted and
intractable nature of the mutual affront
between the security agencies who seek to
counter the insurrection on the one hand,
and the militant Islamists who seek to
enthrone a monolithic polity dependent on
Islamic jurisprudence on the other hand,
no research has been conducted to x-ray
the place of religious fundamentalism and
the numerous abuses of human rights in
Nigeria. This is the case as religious
freedom as a core human rights
component has been given very little
attention by scholars and researchers.It is
with this above painted picture that this
paper will research into the nexus between
religious fundamentalism and abuse of
human rights within the context of Boko
Haram insurgency. This lack of analysis
of religious freedom within the context of
human rights abuses by the Boko Haram
sect members is what this research work
intends to fill or account for.
The principal objective of this
research is to ascertain the extent of
human rights freedom violations in Boko
Haram insurgency in Nigeria‟s North.
Specifically, the study seeks to:
i. Identify the causes and costs of
Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria;
ii. To determine the nature and level of
human rights freedom violation by
 BOKO HARAM INSURGENCY AND HUMAN RIGHTS
Boko Haram insurgents in Nigeria‟s
North.
Accordingly, the following
research questions are raised:
i. What are the cases, causes and costs
of Boko Haram insurgency in
Nigeria?
ii. What is the nature and level of
human rights violation by Boko
Haram insurgents in Nigeria‟s
North?
Theoretical Framework
According to Richardson (2011),
relative deprivation as a term is used to
denote the tension that develops from a
discrepancy between the “ought” and the
“is” of collective value satisfaction that
disposes men to violence. This lack of
satisfaction is what scholars call
frustration. Gurr did not lose sight of this
reality when he argues that, the primary
source of human capacity for violence
appears to be the frustration-aggression
mechanism that is the anger induced by
frustration is a motivating force that
disposes men to aggression, irrespective
of its instrumentalities.
Relative deprivation has long been
acknowledged as a source of frustration
which culminates in aggression or
terroristic violence. A dimension to this
and highly implicated by the relative
deprivation is the strain theory.This theory
explains how people are likely to commit
crime when they cannot get what they
want through legitimate channels.
McLaughlin and Munice (2001) affirm
that their frustration and anger may push
them to engage in criminal activities, vent
73
their anger on others and in some cases
use illicit drugs. The disconnection
between expected and achieved welfare
are a major condition in the relative
deprivation theory.
Thus, relative deprivation or
exclusion in social, economic and political
spheres is the ground for grievances which
are often let out through aggressive and
terroristic violence. Omale (2012) made a
good explanation of the Nigerian case
when he maintains that many people in
Nigeria call for restorative justice
paradigm because they are „aggrieved and
hurt‟ socially, politically and
economically; and could not explain why
a people who stand in plenty of water
should wash their hands with spittle. This
painted picture by Omale is a serious
ground for violent terroristic behaviour in
an environment where material existence
is a stark negation of natural and other
human available resources. The pain of
settling for far less, when so much is
available is no doubt annoying and
provocative.
Relative deprivation in Nigeria,
from the perspective of Northern Muslims
seems more of a deprivation of a cultural
necessity as against material exclusion. In
the global practice of Islam, the place of
Sharia in the governance of the
community of believers (Ummah) is
fundamental (Rusell, 2011). Sharia as a
divinely sanctioned law has two major
components. The civil and the criminal
aspects of the Islamic law made it holistic
in the administration of human affairs.
Regrettably to the Muslims of the Sokoto
Caliphate and beyond, criminal
jurisprudence was not permitted the
faithful in the Northern region.
This was done to create a sort of
common-ground between Muslims in
 Ukandu, Ikechukwu Maxwell, 74
Nigeria who were pro-East and pro- violence, harassment over attire for
Arabic, and the Christians in Nigeria who religious reasons, and or religious
were pro-West and with a deep Judeo- intimidation or abuse are major yardsticks.
Christian background. For the Islamic The activities of BH clearly position it as
extremists, fundamentalists, moderates, a major player in this field of creating and
and liberals alike, the removal of criminal sustaining social hostilities in Nigeria.
Sharia was not a welcome idea and this
was seen as the basis for corruption and Aid to the Church in Need (ACN)
all manner of injustices in the Muslim Religious Freedom in World Report
North and equally the reason 2016:
behindcorruption and evil in the country. The 2016 Religious freedom in the
Hence, Boko Haram‟s agitation which has World Report of 196 countries gave
in itself brought about a number of human special focused to 36 countries where
rights abuses. religious freedom violation was bad, and
going beyond mere intolerance to
Some Major International Religious represent a major breach of fundamental
Freedom Reports human rights (Aid to the Church in Need,
2016d). The ACN categorized countries
According to Idris (2018) violation into two parts based on the source of the
of religious freedom are increasing religious rights violation. The first was
globally in scale, depth and blatantly. The based on discrimination, while the other
abuses are both carried out by government was persecution. The report describes
and non-state actor. discrimination as involving the
institutionalisation of intolerance as
United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur carried out by the state and the
on Freedom of Religion and Belief: government that represents them. An
The 2016 Report of the UN example is the legal restrictions on
Special Rapporteur on Freedom of evangelism or proselytization. On the
Religion or Belief discloses that the full other hand, persecution is concerned with
scope of thought, conscience and religion terrorist groups as non-state actors who
or beliefs is often underestimated with the focus on violent campaigns and
result being an inadequate awareness of subjugation.
the broad range of violations that take The Boko Haram which best
place in this area. captures the Nigerian case fits well into
the persecution category of the World
Pew Research Centre 2015 Report: Report 2016. This is because as a non-
Pew Research Centre (2017) state actor, the group has featured
conducted a country wide and conspicuously as a fundamentalist or
international research on 198 sovereign militant organisation with proven capacity
states. Two criteria were evolved and they for bloodbath, brutality and brigandage all
were the governmental restrictions index wrapped-up in impunity. No wonder, the
(GRI) and social hostilities index (SHI). Report linked extremist Islam to religious
In the latter, religion-related armed freedom violation as one of their key
conflict or terrorism, mob or sectarian findings.
 BOKO HARAM INSURGENCY AND HUMAN RIGHTS
Similarly, the World Report talks
about the emergence of a new
phenomenon it describes as „Islamist
hyper-extremism‟. It identifies this
phenomenon with “extreme creed and
radical system of law and government;
systematic attempts to annihilate or drive
out all non-conformists group; cruel
treatment of victims; use of social media
to recruit followers and intimidate
opponents and global impact”.
United State Commission on
International Religious Freedom
(USCIRF) 2017 Annual Report:
The Commission in its 2017 report
observes that,
The state of international religious
freedom is worsening in both the depth
and breadth of violations. The blatant
assaults have become so frightening –
attempted genocide, the slaughter of
innocents, and wholesale destruction of
places of worship – that less egregious
abuse go unnoticed or at least
unappreciated (USCIRF, 2017:1).
Countries of Particular Concern
(CPC) understood to be countries, „whose
government engages in or tolerates
particularly severe religious freedom
violations that are systematic, ongoing,
and egregious‟ (USCIRF, 2017: 3). The
report recommended that Nigeria among
other countries be designated as a country
of particular concern (CPC). Similar non-
state actors to the Boko Haram especially
in the Islamic connotations and large scale
violence like Islamic State of Iraq and
Syria (ISIS), the Taliban in Afghanistan
and Al-Shabaab in Somalia. The
document gives a reason why
organizations like BH was not included in
this category because they no longer
75
meaningfully exercise control over
territories.
A Very Brief Overview of Boko Haram
Insurgency
According to Abolurin (2012:261)
the group is known as
Jama‟atulAlhulSunnahLidda‟ watiwal
Jihad, or “people committed to
propagating the Prophets‟ teachings and
Jihad”. Established by Mohammed Yusuf
in the year 2002 in Maiduguri, Borno
State, the group is what is popularly
referred to as Boko Haram. „Boko‟ is a
Hausa word for „book‟ considered to be
Western education and culture. „Haram‟
on the other hand, is an Arabic word for
„sin‟ or „forbidden‟. Thus, Boko Haram
(BH) means western education and
civilization is a sin, forbidden and
impermissible.The early history of the
group depicted it as a fundamentalist
Islamic sect with a clear-cut intention to
supplant government structures that
politicised, corrupted and bastardised
proper implementation of Sharia in the
North (Omalu, 2015). Ukandu (2011)
argues that among the earliest record of
the group‟s activities, was in the year
2002, while her demised leader
Mohammed Yusuf constituted a major
affront to the Police due to their
proscribed and outlawed activities.
In Nigeria, Boko Haram, a non-
state actor has continued to pose the
biggest threat to religious freedom in the
country. Because the terrorist group is
seeking to impose its version of strict
Sharia in Nigeria, it stands in opposition
to the federal and state governments,
Muslim elites and moderates as well as
Christians. Additionally, it has worked to
expel all Christians from the North
 Ukandu, Ikechukwu Maxwell,
(USCIRF, 2017).The religious sect
operates mainly in the North-Eastern
regions of the country and has spilled into
neighbouring countries like Cameroun,
Chad and Niger as a result of geographic
proximity (Council on Foreign Relations,
2015). The radical Islamic group recently
swore allegiance to the Islamic State
(ISIS) and reinforcing its influence
beyond the borders of Nigeria
(Vybiralova, 2016).
The militant group has forced
Christians to convert into Islam or die,
compelled other Muslims to follow their
views and extreme interpretation of Islam.
In all, the group has killed civilians, burnt
whole villages, attacked and destroyed
Churches and other brutal acts of
decimation (ACN, 2016e). Similarly, they
have carried out kidnapping of girls and
women for forceful marriages or sex
slavery. The Chibok and Dapchi cases are
two well-known abduction activity of the
group.
The people in the North-Eastern
Nigeria are predominantly Muslims. The
Kanuris who are the major ethnic group
are highly intolerant of the christian faith.
The region has witnessed the most volatile
religious violence in Nigeria. In 1981, the
leader of Maitisine group that killed many
Christians and burnt their churches in
Kano originated from Borno.
The Boko Haram insurgency
which started in 2001 and has devastated
many states in the North Eastern part of
Nigeria is linked with religious
intolerance and aggressive nature of the
Kanuri people. The atmosphere of
impunity is prevalent in Northern Nigeria
where state and local government
authorities neither investigated,
prosecuted or sanctioned Muslims who
attacked Christians or destroyed their
76
churches and property.Boko Haram has
committed itself to elevated persecution
expressed through lethal forms. Members
of the zero-sum group have been targeting
Churches, shooting at worshippers and
emploring suicide bombing in the
decimation of human lives. A dimenstion
to these tactics is the resent inclusion in
their modus operandi. They now invade
relatively isolated villagges and other
localities with seeming dispersed
settlement. This they do at the middle of
the night or very early in the morning
when their victims are most unprepared
for their aggression. In fact, there seem to
be a collaspe in their activities with those
of the Fulani-Herdsmen.
Aspects of Boko Haram Infringement
on Human Rights in Nigeria
Kidnapping, Forceful Conversion, and
Marriage:
This is a well-established mode of
operation of the insurgents. It stands as a
central strategy of the group in their
almost a decade long war. The continuous
kidnap of females especially teenagers
and young adults from communities and
schools is their hallmark. These ladies
serve multiple purposes to them. As
human shield from military attack, as
domestic workers, as „sex objects‟ and as
foot soldiers where they are more readily
deployed as effective suicide agents.
Awojobi (2014) alludes to most of these
points and adds that rape and kidnapping
form parts of the group‟s strategy.
Below are some examples to drive
home our point. According to Awodola
and Ayuba (2015) on the 7th through 8th of
July 2014, members of the sect kidnapped
at least 20 young women over the
weekend in Northeastern Nigerian village
 BOKO HARAM INSURGENCY AND HUMAN RIGHTS
of Garkin Fulani. Also, in the same Borno
state on the 18th -22nd of June, 2014, they
held the village of Kummabza to ransom
for four days and ended up abducting over
sixty (60) females alongside children and
men. Similarly, Awodola and Ayuba
(2015) disclosed thaton the 7th of July
2014 they returned back to Borno and
kidnapped sixty three (63) more women
and girls from Kummabza village.
Toromade (2017) observes that on the 23rd
of January 2017 BH invaded Dzaku
village in Borno, killed 8 persons and
kidnapped an undetermined number of
women and children.The Chibok and
Dapchi kidnap cases are sad reminders to
the atrocities of Boko Haram. Worst still
is the kidnap and alleged forceful
conversion of the Christian girl Leah
Rachael which is still on-going and widely
circulated in the media.
Destruction of Places of Worship and
Assault on Occupants:
At Niger state, members of the
group carried out one of its very massive
destructions on a Church building and its
occupants. According to Adagba, Ugwu
and Eme (2012) on the 25th of December
2011, a member of the sect launched a
suicide attack on a Catholic Church in
Madalla. The attack claimed the lives of
over 50 persons and damaged the Church
significantly. Ajayi (2012) has it that in
Gombe state, members of the group
attacked a Church and killed six (6)
persons on January 5th of 2012. Similarly,
in Adamawa, members of the group killed
seventeen (17) people in a Christ
Apostolic Church in Yola on the 6th of
January, 2012 (Ekanem, Dada and Ejue,
2012).
77
On December 25 2012 in Borno
State, Islamic militants attacked a church
on Christmas day; afterwards the church
was set on fire and killed 27 people.
Similarly, on April 25 2013 in Baga,
Borno State, Muslims gathering for
morning prayers and school children,
Boko Haram killed 87 children and adults
(Tayo, 2015).On the 17th of July 2012
members of the sect attacked three
Churches in Kaduna and killed over fifty
(50) persons.Sporadic shooting of
worshippers is also engaged in by
members of the militant group (Adagba,
Ugwu&Eme, 2012).
For example,on February 3rd 2016
they forced worshippers into their Mosque
and shoot over 20 of them in Borno.
Mosques were not spared by the members
of the sect (USCIRF, 2016). On the 17th of
July 2017, a female suicide bomber
detonated explosives at a Mosque in
Maiduguri and 8 persons were killed
(Toromade, 2017). Also, Toromade
(2017) has it that on January 31st, 2017 in
Borno state a Mosque in Dalori quarter
very close to the University of Maiduguri
was attacked by a suicide bomber and one
person died.
Opposition to Western and Christian
Education:
At the centre of BH‟s insurgency
is their zero-sum tolerance for Western
Education. The understanding that
Europeans and Americans were at the
fore-front of the propagation of this form
of education is unwelcomed. Some
notable affront to educational institutions
and facilities will drive home this
point.The compelling evidence of
uncontrollable insecurity in the area
forced the University Management of
 Ukandu, Ikechukwu Maxwell,
Maiduguri to shut the school temporarily
on July 11th, 2011. February 21 2012 in
Borno State, pupils of Gomari Costain
Primary School in Maiduguri woke up on
Tuesday to discover that their school has
been destroyed by Boko Haram who later
claimed responsibility for the violent
action.
On February 22nd2012 in Borno
state, Abba Ganaram Primary School,
Maiduguri was also set ablaze.October
2012 in Adamawa State, Boko haram: 40
Federal Polytechnic Mubi students
massacred in Nigeria 27. On July 6th 2013
in Yobe State, Mamudo government
secondary school; Suspected Boko Haram
terrorists killed at least 41 children and
one teacher (The Nation, 2014).According
to Zenn (2014) on September 29th 2013 in
Yobe state, there was an attack at college
of Agriculture, Gujba in Yobe state where
over 40 students killed were on campus.
Similarly, more than 150 sustained
injuries.On the April 14th 2014, the
members of the group kidnapped 250
female students from Government Girl‟s
Secondary School Chibok in Borno State
(Zenn, 2014).
Some Reasons for Boko Haram’s
Human Rights Abuses in Nigeria:
Psycho-social Factors: The
mental disposition of violently oriented
and fundamentalist religious adherents
exposes their unsound and distorted mind-
set. This is a reason for their narrow-
mindedness and intolerance for non-
believers. Often, the exclusive
interpretation of religious scriptures and
beliefs predisposes them to this kind of
thinking.
Politico-economic Factors:
Religious superiority and zero-sum
78
approach to issues of power is
uncompromising. In pursuit of state
control and access to its economic
bounties, triumphalist religious groups
and movements engage in rights violation
to ensure a competitive advantage.
Legal Laxity: The lack of
implementation of the rule of law is a
tonic and moral boost to rights violators.
When criminal justice administrators are
not up to the task or responsible to the
dictate of their duties violators operate
with impunity. The perversion of justice
through aiding and abating are enablers of
this kind of disregard for the law and its
enforcement. When violators go un-
cautioned, the seed has been sowed for
impunity.
Human Rights and Security
Porosity: Related to the rule of law is
another crucial component of a
democratic polity, human rights. The lack
of clarity in human rights
conceptualisation, presence of lacunars
and grey areas in the articulation and
implementation of rights with security
implications, will encourage others to
abuse them.
Implications of Religious
Fundamentalism and Abuse of Human
Rights in Nigeria: The Boko Haram
Example
Intolerance, discrimination and
religious fundamentalism has featured
conspicuously in Nigeria.It is very clear
that the violation of human rights is very
evident in all levels of (the conflict
escalation in) the Boko Haram insurgency.
Disregard for the Human Dignity
and Right to Life: At the centre of
religious freedom abuses, indeed, rights
 BOKO HARAM INSURGENCY AND HUMAN RIGHTS
violation by the insurgent Islamists in
Nigeria is the committed disregard for
human dignity as the basis for all rights
enjoyed by man. They are expressed
through torture asdebasement of the
human person. To make worst, the right to
life is not just threatened but progressively
violated by the bellicose group.
Neglect for War Ethics and
Humanitarian Law: The Innocents
comprising of women, children and the
elderly are not spared from attacks.
Rather, they are the major targets and
victims of the carnage of the bellicose
Islamists who without restriction assault
them at will. This is contrary to Islamic
war ethics and jurisprudence in all its
intent. Similarly, it contravenes the global
best practices as established by
international humanitarian law and sundry
instruments.
Economic Implications: The
destruction of material property of all
kinds including places of worship has a lot
of cost implication for the worshippers.
Economic waste is widely promoted by
their activities. The destruction of critical
infrastructure and the means of livelihood
of citizens of the country is a major set bet
to the developmental strides of both the
governments and community efforts at
material progress.
Displacement of Population: A
major fallout from the continuous
violation of religious freedom as a human
right in Nigeria is the dislocation of
families, communities and the social
challenges it births. Both internal
displacement and external ones are
prevalent in the area. The neighboring
countries of Niger, Chad and Cameroon
often play host to such refugees from
Nigeria. The relocation or drift from one
area to another in search of relative safety
79
is not just the issue. Beyond it, are a host
of humanitarian concerns and the complex
emergency situation it has revealed.
Securitisation of Religion: An
area of effect and a negative implication
of these religious freedom violations in
Nigeria is the security alertness on places
of worship in the country. Both Mosques
and Churches are not immune from these
attacks. Thus, worshippers live in fear
even when they are supposed to be in the
presence of their Creator. As such,
security measures are put in place to
prevent or at least reduce the impact of
any attack.
Compromise of Religious
Diversity: A social effect of Boko Haram
abuse of religious freedom in Nigeria is
the elimination of religious diversity in
parts of the North. The presence of
passionate religious fanatic seems to be
the basis for intolerance and lack of
respect for religious difference and
diversity. The fact is that Islam like most
other fervently held global religions of the
world is often always an exclusivist and
parochial creed.
This period of human history will
not allow only one creed or tradition to
dominate and impose restrictions on
society as such intolerance can hardly be
condoled by any democratic domain or
polity. To make worst, our fast globalising
world with active migration and
urbanisation cannot allow for such
exclusivist and monolithic purview. Thus,
pluralism and cultural diversity are
grossly affected and challenged by these
violations.
 Ukandu, Ikechukwu Maxwell,
Policy Imperatives of Enthroning
Religious Freedom in Nigeria
Davis (2002:1) observes that, “it
takes far more than words on paper to
make religious freedom a reality for all
peoples to the world”. This is the case as
intolerance, misunderstanding, long time
hatred, and hostility among peoples of
faith, will not resolve themselves. Thus,
there is an urgent need to put forward
some palliatives and peace promoting
measures to mitigate this ugly trend. They
include the following:
Legislations:
Meaningful legislation designed to
curb the excesses of fundamentalists,
extremists and fanatics who pursue after
discrimination and intolerant beliefs and
actions should be enacted. This will go a
long way to nip the spate of religious
persecution in the country. The national
human rights commission should upgrade
Religious Freedom in their priority human
rights watch and reporting. The level of
human life and property destruction as a
result of this should inform its centrality
in their operations. A state to state
approach should be adopted in the
surveillance of the religious right abuse.
Thus, necessary sanctions and penalties as
proportionality would dictate, is very
important.
Implementation of Laws:
The government of Nigeria should
go beyond mere lip-service to practical
actions to ensure her laws are obeyed. The
beauty of any law or state policy as it
were is beyond formulation but
implementation. Formal actions must be
taken to ensure laws are heeded and
defaulters properly punished in line with
80
the dictate of the constitution. Various
court houses should be empowered to
legislate and examine religious liberty
cases especially with an understanding of
its broad human rights connotations.
Education for Peace:
Conferences, symposia, and
workshops for citizens of the country are
very necessary and urgent. Membership of
such fora should be a clear representation
of the ethnic diversities and vicissitudes in
religious traditions in the country. The
huge network of NGOs, research institutes
and centers in the country should be
oriented to take this awareness campaign
seriously. Responsible and charitable
international foundations can be
approached for some support in this
regards. At the end of such training
sessions or awareness campaign,
participants can be encouraged to sign a
pact or declaration on religious tolerance.
Various experts in the academic field of
religious studies will be very invaluable in
this light. For example, experts in the
sociology of religion, interreligious
relations, history of religions, religion-
state relations, religious freedom and the
nascent sub-field of religion, conflict and
peacebuilding, will be very resourceful in
this respect. The gown must be very
useful to the town, indeed.
International Support and Intervention:
Violation of religious freedom by
the Boko Haram has lingered for far too
long with progressive devastating effects.
In fact, their activities have grown to a
wicked problem by every standards and
has thrown open a situation of complex
emergencies in Nigeria‟s Northern
regions. No fact denying the fact that
government is obliged to prevent
 BOKO HARAM INSURGENCY AND HUMAN RIGHTS
violations, manage the outcome and
sanction offenders. Yet, in our case, there
seem to be a display of inability. Thus, the
international community should put its
machineries together in the prevention of
massive violation and protection of the
oppressed as carried out by the dissident
group, BH. A sense of shared
responsibility should motivate and compel
this long awaited action and intervention
beyond their naming and shaming
approach of designating Nigeria as a
Country of Particular Concern (CPC).
Conclusion
Religious freedom as an
internationally accepted human right,
entails that religious adherents should
freely partake of the practices of their
religion without opposition, both in
private devotions (freedom of worship)
and acts of religious devotion in public
and within the realm of government.
Religious freedom as an internationally
accepted human right, entails that
religious adherents should freely partake
of the practices of their religion without
opposition, both in private devotions
(freedom of worship) and acts of religious
devotion in public and within the realm of
government. However, it is important to
note that the fundamental human rights as
enshrined in the constitution of the
Federal Republic of Nigeria have
provisions for freedom of religion
(Section 38) as an essential component of
civil rights. The abuse of human rights has
manifested in the form of religious
intolerance, religious insensitivity, and
intrusion of political Islam into
Nigeria.Through the activities of Boko
Haram as a non-state actor, religious
freedom has been grossly violated as there
81
is nocompliance to human rights as the
Nigerian Constitution provides, let alone
meeting the various international
standards.
The level of abuse committed by
members of the Boko Haram sect is
alarming as they have taken it to the
violent dimension. Girls, women and
children, religious places of worship
among others which should not be
affected by aggression, were at the
receiving end of their bloodbath and
brutality. Through acts of kidnapping,
rapping, forceful conversion and marriage,
opposition to western and Christian
Education to mention but a few, religious
fundamentalism has grossly affected the
enjoyment of sundry human rights in
Nigeria.Reasons alluded for these levels
of violation were psycho-social, politico-
economic, legal, and security.The cost
implications as such range from human
life destruction, breach of war ethics,
economic consequences, to population
displacements. Also, there is a tendency to
securitize religion and invariably
compromise the pluralistic nature of our
society by opposing religious
diversity.The promotion of religious
freedom is not onlyhuman rights with
moral imperativesbut, it is a practical
necessity in a strategic sense. In this
sense, it is a security and development
imperative in our contemporary society.
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