BOKO HARAM INSURGENCY, ARMED BANDITRY AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS: ASSESSING NIGERIA’S LEGAL POSITION ON ORGANIZED CRIME

Abstract

Boko Haram insurgency and armed banditry has evolved in pattern and trends in the last half decade in Nigeria. It is a major threat to the Nation’s unity and sovereignty. Obviously, progress and development cannot be achieved in a nation bedevilled by armed bandits. While Nigeria has laws aimed at curtailing organized crimes like banditry, it would seem that the multi-dimensional challenges posed are not fully anticipated by the law. The paper examines insurgency and banditry in Nigeria viz-à-viz Nigeria’s goal towards the attainment of sustainable development. It adopts a desktop approach to evaluate existing legal provisions on organized crimes such as the Terrorism (Prevention) Act and other criminal Statutes. The paper posits that the given the recent trends of armed banditry, Nigeria may require a more holistic approach which wields the influence of the law and other sociological factors that incorporates corrective and preventive solutions to insurgency and armed banditry