Abstract
The hazard of biological, chemical and nuclear materials, regarded as Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD), intercalating the arsenal of terrorists is the biggest crime and challenge against humanity. Every such crime and challenge ought to be named appropriately; and state actors experiencing such owe it to their citizens to act speedily and with certainty against terrorists. Even with the on-going war on terrorism, there has been a surge in terrorist activities in some parts of the world. Terrorists in our contemporary age have also embraced startling trends in their operational mode since the 11 September 2001 fanatic attacks in New York and Washington D. C. The devastating effect of these twin attacks has raised global concern about the potential use of WMD by Al-Qaeda, the Islamic State of Iran and Syria (ISIS), and their affiliate groups. One major issue of great concern in recent times, apart from the propensity of the terrorist organizations to acquire WMD, is the involvement of state actors that secretly acquire or claim to have acquired them for the purposes of electricity generation. Notably, too, is the trend in modern scientific and technological improvement which has increased the nature of, and access to, WMD. This research, therefore, attempts to access the implication and impact of WMD as terrorists put them to use. The study also examines the concept of terrorism and WMD. Also examined is the general implication of the use of WMD and the challenges this might pose to the international community, considering the current trends in their acquisition by some states and non-state actors. The investigation suggests appropriate counter-measures to thwart terrorists’ effort to acquire WMD. The study also adopted the qualitative approach of research to analyse the sophistication adopted by new terrorist groups particularly by the ISIS terrorist network; the al-Qaeda group and other splinter groups. Thus, historical research is most appropriate for this study, and secondary source of data was adopted as its methodology.
Highlights
1.1 IntroductionOne of the biggest challenges humanity faces today is the problem of terrorism and the introduction and use of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)
(vi) Further steps should be taken by state actors like Iran Iraq Afghanistan and Syria, and non-state actors such as the United States, Russia, China, India, Pakistan, African Union, and the European Union to combat the illicit proliferation of WMD and encourage other international communities to promote and advance the goal of non-proliferation of WMD and international security
This research which examined the use of WMD and modern terrorism, and its implication to global security revealed that there is paradigm shift from the use of conventional weapons of warfare to the use of unconventional weapons by modern day terrorists
Summary
One of the biggest challenges humanity faces today is the problem of terrorism and the introduction and use of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD). Besides natural disasters which occasionally occur in parts of the world, these bodies consider that one of the greatest threats to humanity in our contemporary age lies in the sophistication and use of cyber technology and WMD in battle along with states’ involvement in financing terrorism At this juncture, it is pertinent to ask: what efforts have the international community made to frustrate the endeavour of terrorists in acquiring WMD and/or to combat terrorism in its entirety?. From the issues raised above, it is obvious that with the passage of time, modern scientific development and global technological expansionism may likely not limit the obstacles to the development of WMD and more sophisticated nuclear weapons if these are not properly checked on national scales and multilaterally The availability of these materials, as fissile materials, has brought much complication on the issue since state and non-state actors are exposed to easy acquisition of the noxious and deadly materials. These issues are the concern of this research which needs to be addressed and the need to extrapolate on the extent to which these ugly scenarios can be cushioned
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