Militia Participation in Counterinsurgency: The Impetus of Civilian Joint Task Participation in Combating Boko Haram in Nigeria

Modu Lawan Gana

doi:10.22363/2313-1438-2019-21-3-460-469

Abstract

Since 2013, the north of Nigeria has witnessed an increased involvement of the militia group ‘Civilian Joint Task Force’ (CJTF) in combating the Islamist insurgent group Boko Haram. The mobilization of the Civilian Joint Task Force brought a tremendous success to the counterinsurgency operation. Before the CJTF’s engagement, the antiterrorism efforts of the government were marred by negligent performance. In addition to helping decrease the attack frequencies and number of fatalities caused by the insurgent group, the militia succeeded in expelling Boko Haram fighters from the towns and villages they had previously occupied. However, the unprecedented participation of the Civilian Joint Task Force in the counterinsurgency campaign has raised certain suspicions of the public in regards to the CJTF’s ulterior motives. This paper, therefore, explores the motives that triggered people’s participation in the Civilian Joint Task Force with the aim to combat the Boko Haram insurgent group. The current paper is a qualitative research, designed as a case study. The empirical data were collected by means of an in-depth interview involving 13 respondents, among who were the members of the CJTF, community leaders and government officials in Yobe State, Nigeria. The findings show that people’s participation in the CJTF is voluntary, with the main motivation being the necessity to defend the community due to the state’s failure to provide adequate protection. The article points out an urgent need to demobilize and deradicalize the participants in order to prevent the CJTF from further jeopardizing local communities’ peace and stability.

Highlights

Since 2013, Nigeria’s counterinsurgency campaign against the Islamist Insurgent group Boko Haram has witnessed an unprecedented support from civil militia, colloquially known as the ‘Civilian Joint Task Force’ (CJTF)
Section one describes the methodology of the study, section two presents an overview of the Boko Haram insurgency, section three explores the origin of the CJTF, section four explains the group’s ulterior motivation
The empirical data were collected by means of an in-depth interview involving 13 respondents, among who were the members of the CJTF and community leaders in Yobe State, Nigeria

Summary

Introduction

Since 2013, Nigeria’s counterinsurgency campaign against the Islamist Insurgent group Boko Haram has witnessed an unprecedented support from civil militia, colloquially known as the ‘Civilian Joint Task Force’ (CJTF). The militia’s participation was crucial in eliminating the insurgent group and reconquering several towns and villages occupied by Boko Haram, including Maiduguri, the spiritual home of the insurgents [1; 2]. Besides protecting the civilian population, CJTF was instrumental in abating attacks launched on Nigeria’s security operatives In this respect, it is noteworthy to mention the courageous role of the group in repelling an attack on the notorious Giwa barrack in Maiduguri. Section one describes the methodology of the study, section two presents an overview of the Boko Haram insurgency, section three explores the origin of the CJTF, section four explains the group’s ulterior motivation. Section five sums up the results of the study into a conclusion and gives recommendations

Methodology

Findings

Conclusion