BORDER MANAGEMENT AND INSURGENCY IN NIGERIA, A STUDY OF ISWAP IN THE NORTH

Abstract

This work examined “Border Management and Insecurity in Northeast Nigeria, 2015-2023. It systematically examined how poor border management has contributed to the resilience of insurgency in the Northeast Nigeria between 2015 and 2023. The specific objectives of the study were to: ; examine how poor border management has contributed to the resilience of ISWAP insurgency in Northeast Nigeria between 2015 and 2023; interrogate ways in which poor border management has contributed to access to arms and light weapons by ISWAP insurgents in Northeast Nigeria between 2015 and 2023; ascertain how poor border management has contributed to drug trafficking by ISWAP insurgents in Northeast Nigeria between 2015 and 2023. The study adopted the explanatory research design, and specifically adopted the documentary method of data collection which involved a systematic extraction of data from secondary sources - published or unpublished. Accordingly, the researcher utilized the textual method of data analysis for the study. The study is anchored on the theory of transnationalism popularized in the early 20th century by Randolph Bourne. The study found that poor border management has contributed to the resilience of insurgency in Northeast Nigeria; poor border management has accounted for the access to small arms and light weapons by ISWAP in the Northeast Nigeria; and that poor border management has contributed to drug trafficking by ISWAP leading to the growing terror activities in the Northeast Nigeria. To this end, the study recommended that effective border management system should be put in place to effectively checkmate the incidence of irregular migrations; and drug smuggling should be seriously fought by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and other Law Enforcement agents to ensure that supplies are cut off from the various criminal groups in the Northeast and Nigeria in general.