Attacks on Security Forces: Governmental Response Trajectory and State Building in Nigeria

On March 14, 2024, 17 personnel of the Nigerian Army were ambushed and killed at Okuama in Delta State, Nigeria. The soldiers were in the community for peacekeeping in a dispute between the Okuama community and her neighbouring Okoloba town. Following the killing of 17 soldiers in the community, the military, according to news reports, embarked on a lockdown of the community, reprisal killings and torching of houses. The ugly episode of Okuama is just one of the several incidences of killings of men of the security services in the country. The Nigerian Police, on March 23, 2024, reported the gruesome murder of 6 of its officers and the disappearance of another 6 in an ambush at Ohoro forest in Delta state. Also, earlier on January 24, 2024, suspected Fulani herders abducted three police officers detailed to respond to distress calls in Delta state. The above figures are only recent additions to an evolving trend in which both criminals and even the civil populace see and treat the members of the armed services with unfriendliness.

In this edition of Nextier SPD Policy Weekly, we engage attacks on security services and their connection with gaps in state building and legitimation process.

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