CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the study
Since the dawn of this millennium, terrorism has been on a steady rise worldwide. In fact, terrorism, arguably, is
the biggest threat lo global peace and security in this era. Hitherto, terrorism was more; or less a national or
regional affair because it was restricted to few isolated places, such as Northern Ireland, the Basque Country in
Northern Spain, and some areas of the Middle East (Okoli & Philip, 2014). However, since September 11, 2001,
specifically with the destruction of the Twin Towers; in New York, it has mushroomed and snowballed into a
worldwide phenomenon. Similarly, Finemann (2001:29) noted that: “The September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on
the Twin, Towers of the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon building near Washington, D.C by the Al- Qaeda
signified the rise of terrorism as an instrument of hegemonic and/or civilizational struggles".

Indeed, the worldwide manifestation of terrorism, has been evident not just in Africa, but also in Nigeria. With
particular reference to Nigeria, the phenomenon has found expression in the emergence of Boko Haram
insurgency. Thus, Awake (2009) noted that since its prevent around 2001, the sectarian insurgency has wrecked
immense: havoc in the country, especially by using explosives and firearms with gruesome, fatal consequences.
Although, the Nigeria stat^, since, it legal, conception in October 1, 1960, has been bedeviled with plethora of
ethno-religious, political as well as economic conflicts. Sadly, apart from tile Nigerian Civil war, no other conflicts
have threatened the existence and sanctity of the Nigerian state like the Boko Haram insurgency.

As corroborated by Okoli (2013:14) that: “Apart from the Nigerian Civil War (1967-1970) no other single event of
complex emergency in the country has been as debilitating as the Boko Haram insurgency in terms of
devastating impacts. Granted, the Niger Delta crisis (1999 - 2009) occasioned dire outcomes that threaten the
national security of Nigeria. Nonetheless, its devastating consequences could not compare that of the Boko
Haram: insurgency in terms of scope, degree and diversity"

Since the sect violent emergence in 2009 and its virulent manifestations in Northeast Nigeria, the Nigerian state
have known no peace, in short, it has become a metaphor for insecurity in Nigeria because the dreaded sect
emergence, continuous existence and manifestations threaten Nigeria's precarious political balance. According
to: Nwozor (2013$ the sect has targeted and bombed state institutions, international organizations, churches,
mosques, barracks, schools, mass media, among others in furtherance of its avowed objective of deploying terror
to achieve the Islamazation of the Nigerian state. Moreover; the extent of violence and destruction that has been
associated with the Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria has been horrific. Ix is estimated that since 2009, the
conflict has killed over 7,000 people and caused, destruction of invaluable amount of public and private property,
and leaving over 650,000 displaced persons in northeastern Nigeria (Human Right. Watch, 2014).

According to United Nations Nigeria Humanitarian Report (UNNHR, 2014:3) that:

In 2014, Nigeria continued to see a rise in violence, related to the activities of Boko Haram, who at the same time
expanded their control of territory in mid-2014 by occupying towns in Borno; Adamawa and Yobe states in the
Northeast Region of the country. Attacks on communities in this region have been occurring at nearly a daily
pace, and the degree of violence from these attacks is also rising dramatically, with the number of fatalities
reaching over 7000 in 2014 alone.

Since the outbreak of sectarian violence, Salkida (202) noted that north- eastern Nigeria in particular, has ceased
to know civil normalcy. Intermittent suicide and car bombings have: become the part of their daily lives. Hate-
filled adherents of the extremist sect called Boko Haram and other criminals assuming their identity wielding
semi-automatic rifles speed through streets at intervals to shoot down, randomly at their ever widening targets. In
this regard, the International Crisis Group (ICG) (2014:1) noted that:
Boko Haram's insurgency has pitted neighbor against neighbor, cost more than 4,000 lives, displaced close to
half a million. destroyed hundreds of schools and government buildings and devastated 1 an already ravaged
economy in the North East, one of Nigeria's poorest regions. It overstretches federal security services, with no
end in sight, spills over to other parts of the north and risks reaching Niger and Cameroon.
To this end, Ostebo (2012) posited that since 2009; the sect has grown from being a localized problem to a
national and regional threat. It has opportunistically tapped into Islamic revivalism globally, and, while it has local
roots and origins, it is part of a broader, global ideological current. Although, Boko Haram has waged a violent.
campaign against the Nigerian state since its creation, however, the attacks have increasingly targeted civilians,
mainly in the northeast states of Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa and consequently, women and girls are at the
center : of. the carnage and mayhem unleashed by Boko Haram. This vulnerable group situated in northeastern
Nigeria has not escaped the clutches and reaches of the sect. In short, Human Flight Watch (HRW) (2014)
accused and indicted Boko Haram of Women Rights Violations (WRV).
The increase Sn the spate of WRV as occasioned by Boko Haram is a different twist to terrorism in Nigeria.
Although, its flagrant manifestation are not few to; conflicts prone zones because, according to Michael (20011),
WRV is used as a tool of war and insurgency to inflict fear and terror, this explains Why, Annan (2010) submitted
that from issues of war, conflicts, crisis,; religibn, insurgency, morality to issues of mortality, girls and women from
time immemorial always pay a higher price. Yet the degree; scope, and audacity of Boko Haram's attacks on
women and girls in hearts of Nigeria is frightening. The escalating and spiraling cases of WRV las perpetrated by
Boko Haram is targeted at inflicting fear and terror in the hearts of Nigerians, particularly, women and girls.

Meanwhile, women rights violation is not a recent development in Nigeria because for Alaga 2011) women rights
violence is; wide spread in Nigeria especially sexual violence, it is growing and the bane is much more intense in
conflict and post-conflict settings as it involves mutilation, sexual slavery and gang-rape of particularly women
and gifts. However, the surge in Boko Haram insurgency added a different dimension to WRV in Nigeria,
particularly in Northern Nigeria where large; cases of women existed prior to the emergence of Boko Haram sect.
In this context, Nigeria's Political Violence Research Network (NPVRN) (2.013) noted that in recent times, the
Boko Haram insurgency has assumed a devastating dimension. Women and girls have been caught up and are
the victims of incessant violence perpetrated by the sect in north-eastern Nigeria.

Accordingly, HRW (2014) noted that Boko Haram abducted at least 1000 women and girls since 2009 from more
than a dozen towns and villages in northeast Nigeria. To say the least, WRV is widespread in northeast Nigeria
and this is predicated on the utilization of women and girls as bounties of war by Boko Haram. In the light; of the
above, the central concern of this study is to examine the nexus between Boko Haram Insurgency and Women
Rights Violations in Northeast Nigeria. Therefore, the study interrogates the dynamics and manifestations of the
Boko Haram Insurgency and its connections to WRV in the region; Hence, the major focus of the study is to
unravel the linkages between Boko Haram insurgency and violence on women and girls in the northeast part of
Nigeria.

1.2 Statement of the Research Problem

Nigeria is a fractured state. It is rich but Nigerians are poor, many extremely so. Sincere turning to civilian rule in
1999, the state has suffered growing insecurity, capacity and legitimacy gaps, (demonstrated in the declining
capacity of its institutions to deliver public goods, [including security, transportation, water, medical care, power
and education (Bamidele, 2013). According to International Crisis group i(ICG) 2014i bad governance, sustained
economic hardship, ethno/religious cleavages, rising inequality and social frustration are fostering and festering
the growth of radical extremist groups. Boko Haram, the latent in a long list of northern fundamentalist
movements, has tapped into Islamic revivalism not just in northern Nigeria but worldwide. The escalation of the
insurgency in early 2009 caught the government flat-footed and it initially believed that the violence would pan
out.

Boko Haram has been actively engaged in terrorist activities in Nigeria since its resurrection in2009 and Nigeria
continue to witness a rise in violence related to the activities of Boko haram, who at the same time expanded
their control of territory in mid-2014 by occupying owns in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states in the Northeast
Region of the country. Attacks on communities in this region have been occurring at nearly a daily pace, and the
degree of violence from these attacks is also rising dramatically, with the number of fatalities reaching over 7000
in 2014 alone.

Consequently, there is no denying the fact that Boko Haram's insurgency has remained a scourge in Nigeria's
national security and development. The spate of suicide bombings targeting ;soft place's represent a major
advance in Boko Haram capabilities and have continued to undermine Nigeria collective entity.

In the same vein, HRW (2014) observed that Boko Haram (insurgency has led to the high rate of human
casualties and sadly they are women land girls that constitute large chunk of theses casualties.; Corroborating
this view, Osita Njoku & Chikere (2015:104) submitted that recent study by NPVRN (2014) posited that more
45% of those killed by the Boko Haram's are women, girls and children, also 65% of those kidnapped, are
equally! women and girls. Therefore, the number of deaths linked to Boko Haram insurgency is freighting,
however, more alarming is the increase in as a result of the insurgency.

Moreover, in this context, the terror group has evolved a notorious tactics of kidnapping women and school girls
since 2013 -till date. Apart from abduction of over 200 college girls from Chibok in Boririo state on May 15th,
2014. And it has been noted that the sect make. use of female suicide bombers which are picked from the pool
oil abducted girl and women. On the other hand, available evidence suggest that female relatives of the Boko
Haram members have also been arrested by the government security operatives without any direct involvement;
by the Sect (Osita-Njoku & Chikere, 2015). To be precise, it appears that women and girls are caught in spiral of
conflict between the terror group and government. Abducted women and girls have been subjected to rape, early
marriage, and used as sex slaves by Boko Haram; on the other hand, captured wives and daughters of Boko
Haram members are imprisoned, punished, tortured or even killed by the Nigerian army, either as an act of
revenge or as a means to extract valuable information from them concerning the activities of Boko Haram. The
implication is to inflict collective terror or) women and girls as a social group as well as to dehumanize them.

Furthermore, the United Nations (UN), as Shafferan (2014) submitted, condemned the increase in WRV in the
course of Boko Haram insurgency, particularly, it frowned at the continuous abductions of girls and women by
both Boko Haram and the Nigerian government. He went further to state that the; UN observed that such
abductions and kidnapping constitute crepes against humanity, especially the abduction of school girls for sexual
signification slavery and the utilization of women and girls as suicide bombers by the sect. However, despite the
condemnation and possible warnings of the inspiration of WRV, it has remained unabated, increasingly; it: has
continued to be a daily occurrence in northeast Nigeria given the protracted Boko Haram conflict. It is well known
that Boko Haram is using sexual violence as-a tactic of war, to inflict fear and terror on vulnerable Nigefia citizen
particularly, women and girls.

As Imasuen (2015:228) observed: The rise in the activities of the sect has brought about adverse effect on the
population especially ion women and children evident in the increased number off widows and orphans in Borno,
Yobe and Adamawa states. The rise in gender and sexual-based violence has been on the increase due to the
increased activities of the sect since 2009. Gender and sexual based violence is believed to; be a wide spread
phenomenon among female internally displaced persons (IDP's) both at various camps and in host communities.
Thus, this is (h$ research problem that, this study seeks to examine.

1.3 Research Questions

Based on the above stated objective, this study seeks to answer the following research questions:
1. Is the operation of the Boko Haram insurgency linked to the level of poverty in Northeast Nigeria?
2. What is the level of Women Rights Violations (WRV) by Boko Haram members?
3. Did the abduction of Boko Haram members wives by the Federal Government enhance the targeting of
women and girls in northeast Nigeria?

1.4 Research Objectives

The broad objective of this study is to investigate the nexus between Boko Haram insurgency and gender based
violence in north east Nigeria. However, the specific objectives of the study
are:
1. To ascertain whether the operation of the Boko Haram insurgency is linked to the level of poverty in
Northeast Nigeria.
2. . To find out the level of Women Rights Violations (WRV) by Boko Haram members in Northeast-
Nigeria.
3. Determine if the abduction of Boko Haram member's wives by the Federal Government djenhanced the
targeting of Worried and girls in Northeast Nigeria.

1.5 Significance of the study

This study has both theoretical and practical significance. Theoretically, it will add to current body of knowledge
on the study of Boko Haram and gender based violence in Nigeria.
Specifically, it will unravel the linkages between Boko Haram insurgency and gender based violence in northeast
Nigeria and also, it will offer fresh insight on the linkages between the Nigerian state and Boko Haram virulent
relationship and it implication on WRV in northeast Nigeria. Therefore, the findings of this study will serve as data
base for researchers seeking to comprehend the nexus? between Boko Haram insurgency and gender based
violence in Nigeria.

Furthermore, this study has practical significance; practically, this study will aid policy makers, administrators,
governments (Nigerian and foreign) non-governmental organizations and even! donor agencies by providing
policy options and ideas on how to tackle the Boko Haram insurgency and gender based violence in northeast
Nigeria. The study will show the nature, types, degrees of WRV associated with Boko Haram; insurgency in
northeast Nigeria. It will definitely shift attention to WRV a fall out of the insurgency and factor out possible
solutions; to reduced or end it.

1.6 Scope and Limitations of the Study

The study covered "Boko Haram and Violations of Women Rights in Northwest Nigeria, from 2009 - 2015. The
choosing of period 2009-2015 is necessary because it serve as a turning point for the political and security
history of Nigeria. In the sense that, it was the period that marked the watershed of momentum activities of the
insurgency in the Northeastern Nigeria. Although, financial challenges and time conidial as well as the problem of
data collection and analysis fall as the central limitations of this research.

1.7 Research Methodology

The study was based on a qualitative research methodology. While the data is to be collected from primary and
secondary sources; Primary sources focused on unstructured interview with experts in peace and conflict
resolutions, academicians, scholars, international relations analysts, foreign policy observers among others.
While, the secondary data will be collected from Library materials such as books journals, magazines, articles
and internet materials etc. others include published and unpublished articles, NGOS reports and other sources
are well.

1.8 Outline of Chapters/Chapterization

This study will be arranged into five chapter.
1. Chapter One constitutes the Research methodology which includes background of the study, statement
of the research problems, objective of study, research questions; scope and limitation etc.
2. Chapter Two discusses an overview of literature review and theoretical framework.
3. Chapter Three deals with an overview and historical background of Boko Haram
insurgency.
4. Chapter four will accommodate general discussion and analysis of findings; and
5. Chapter Five which is the last pant,, conclude the study with Summary of Findings, Conclusion and
possible Recommendations.

Conclusion
In this study, we examined the nexus between Boko Haram and Gender Based Violence in north east Nigeria.
The study found out that since 2011, this Islamist sect terrorizing north east region of Nigeria have turned to the
kidnapping of women and girls as it tactics. To this end, they have being an increase in Gender Based Violence
in the region. The feminization of Boko Haram warfare have led to an increase in girls and women abductions,
sex slaves, domestic servants, female Boko Haram fighters, among others.

Moreover, the study noted that the regionalization of the operation of the Boko Haram insurgency is rooted in the
level of poverty in northeast geopolitical zone because the geopolitics of Boko Haram in north east Nigeria have
tapped into the high level of poverty region to get converts and even sympathizers and therefore cannot move it
bases to other region. Again, the restriction of Boko Haram to Northeast states is linked to the low employment
level in the region which provides the sect with large pool of human resources to replenish it forces, to this end,
the sect is positioned in the region. And the high number of Boko Haram Members from the region is connected
to the poor literacy level in the region because the region readily provides opportunity to easily radicalize them
given that they are not educated. Furthermore, the study showed that the abduction of BH member's wives by the
Federal Government enhanced the targeting of women and girls in north eastern Nigeria because the
arrest/detention of BH member's wives motivated the kidnapping of women and girls as a form of revenge.

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