Terrorism and Human Rights Violations in North-East Nigeria, 2015-2025

This study examined terrorism and human rights violations in North-Eastern Nigeria, 2015-2025, with particular emphasis on the extent to which terrorist activities affected the protection and enjoyment of fundamental human rights, the factors that sustained terrorism and associated human rights violations, and the effectiveness of government counterterrorism measures in addressing these challenges. The study was anchored on Human Security Theory and Frustration-Aggression Theory, which provided the theoretical framework for understanding both the human consequences of terrorism and the structural conditions that facilitated its persistence. Adopting a qualitative descriptive research design, the study relied on secondary data obtained from peer-reviewed journal articles, books, government publications, reports of international organizations, and credible media sources. The data were analysed using thematic and content analysis. The findings revealed, among others, that terrorism significantly undermined the protection and enjoyment of fundamental human rights in North-Eastern Nigeria through killings, abductions, forced displacement, sexual violence, destruction of property, restrictions on access to education and healthcare, and widespread humanitarian crises. The study highlighted that for sustainable peace and better human rights protection a more comprehensive human security approach is needed rather than a traditional military approach, which would focus more on socio-economic and governance conditions underlying violent extremism. As such the study suggested a focus on human rights-based counterterrorism, a greater development of socio-economic development measures, boosting institutional capacity in the security and justice sphere, and strengthening rehabilitation and reintegration programmes for conflict-affected people.