Policy and Research Papers

This paper explores the Nigeria police system with particular reference to the formal and informal police institutions. It discusses the history of policing in Nigeria and the challenges affecting the one-agency police institution which is the conventional Nigeria Police Force. The inability of the NPF to control the rising spate of crime and the fact that the institution is regarded as oppressive tool in the hands of the rich has given room for public distrust and subsequent debate on how to improve safety and security for foreigners and Nigerians within the country. The partnership theory of Dennis Rosenbaum is the theoretical framework that is adopted as a guide to this study. The paper recommends amongst others that the informal police methodology should be recognized by the government and given the necessary financial support to partner with the formal police force in order to enhance the process of providing security for Nigerians and foreigners residing and doing business in the country. Furthermore, the study has suggested that a code of conduct should be enacted by the legislative arm of government to assist regularized activities of the informal police sector who are often blamed for brutality during the exercise of their duties.

To access the full paper, Policing Nigeria: A case for partnership between formal and informal police institutions, please follow the link provided. 

Building from individual interviews with young people from the fadas and palais and members of the local population, this study reveals the influence of the violent extremist ideology on young people from Zinder. They often get a rudimentary or indirect knowledge of Islam, through relatives or the Internet. They are also exposed to radical religious messages that are spread through social networks, traded or sold on CDs and USB drivers on the local market or through informal networks. In addition, charismatic religious leaders are supporting the spread of a rigorist and violent vision of the religion through regional preaching. The mosques and Koranic schools are playing a key role in the dissemination of these ideas, as the religious speech became tougher, and is now affecting more than just the religious aspect.

Thus, the study reveals that these messages and sermons are playing an important role in the knowledge and attraction young people have for actions led by extremist groups like Boko Haram. Furthermore, a significant number of young people have a positive vision of these actions, which they justify as acts of defiance towards a system perceived as unfair, as the State policies are not supporting people’s aspirations and are viewed as inadequate. Violence is perceived as a means of
pressure and assertion against a State seen as a repressive entity, while the religion is perceived as the only tool available for social regulation. In Zinder, where there are several religious movements, the study noticed the rise of the izala Salafists, a religious group opposed to the traditional Islam practiced in Niger and close to the Sufis and Malekites.

You can download the full report, Youth Violence and the Challenges of Violent Extremism in Zinder, by clicking the link below. 

The Lake Chad Basin countries of Cameroun, Chad, Niger and Nigeria have been marred by violence since the advent and rise of violent extremist groups like Boko Haram, Ansar Dine, and Mujao. Their continuous existence and operation means have tremendous negative effects on the young people in the region. This is because the youth in the region are brainwashed, deceived or forcefully recruited to serve as foot soldiers for these violent extremist groups. This trend if not reversed has long-lasting human, economic and social costs.

The constant involvement of some young people as perpetrators of violence has led several segments of society to stereotype them as the problem. However, this research has shown that the solution to violent extremism and other threats to safety and stability of the countries in the Lake Chad region can be found in working with young people, and tapping into their talents and potentials to reform and rebuild society. The adoption of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2250 (UNSCR 2250) on Youth, Peace and Security in December 2015 is a major and strategic global acknowledgement of the key role of young people in peacebuilding.

The primary objective of this research paper is to inform policy makers and the international community of key policy and programming considerations for supporting youth-led and youth-focused initiatives that are aimed at preventing violent extremism in the Lake Chad Basin region.
This research paper highlights some of the localized drivers of violent extremism in the Lake Chad Basin countries, enumerates some of the concrete initiatives by and for young people that are aimed at preventing violent extremism in the region. It goes further to show the operating environment of these youth groups and their initiatives while also discussing their sources of technical and financial support.

You can download the paper, The Role of Young People in Preventing Violent Extremism in the Lake Chad Basin, by clicking the link below.

This matrix was produced by UN Action as an illustrative, system-wide reference document and inventory that can be adapted and integrated into existing and emerging early warning systems and prevention mechanisms at the local, national and regional level, on a case-by-case basis. It can inform the tools used for planning, reporting, information-collection and analysis within DPKO-led Peacekeeping Missions, DPA-led Special Political Missions, UN Country Teams, or at Headquarters-level. The list of indicators is meant to enrich the overall reading of the environment by monitors and prompt an analysis of changes in the operating environment, such as in the mobility patterns of women and girls (e.g., absence from schools or market-places), in the conduct of armed groups (e.g., pillage or proximity to civilian centers), or in terms of escalated political rhetoric (e.g., ethnic/gender-based propaganda) to name a few.

To read Matrix: Early-warning indicators of Conflict-Related Sexual Violence, please follow the link.

The Guidance is intended to provide a comprehensive practical framework on the EU’s external actions in the area of counter-terrorism (CT) and preventing and countering violent extremism (P/CVE). It offers practical support and operational guidance to EU staff on the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of EU financed CT and P/CVE specific interventions in third countries. The guidance aims to provide the necessary expertise to:

• accurately assess vulnerabilities, factors Contributing to, and manifestations of, terrorism and violent extremism in a specific country/region;
• assist in the design of appropriate, context specific and conflict sensitive project interventions for CT and P/CVE in third countries, drawing from international best practices and lessons learned;
• provide guidance on the monitoring of such programmes, including identifying potential positive and negative externalities for human security, governance, the rule of law, human rights and gender in the partner country;
• propose metrics and indicators for measuring the impact of CT and CVE programming across multiple result areas, including security, governance and development.

You can download the full paper below.