Policing and Counterterrorism in Northeast Nigeria: Lessons from Boko Haram Terrorism

This paper examines the policing aspect of counterterrorism in Northeast Nigeria, focusing on the structural, operational, and socio-political limitations that affect the effectiveness of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF). It relies on a secondary source of data and adopts the Human Security theory as its theoretical framework. The results indicate that centralization, lack of resources, interagency competition and poor community interaction undermine policing counterterrorism. Violation of human rights and lack of public trust also complicate collaboration between the citizens and security agents. The article suggests that sustainable counterterrorism entails redesigning the policing structures in Nigeria by decentralizing it, making it intelligence-based, enhancing interagency cooperation, and expanding accountability systems. The study highlights the need to ensure the connections between policing and the wider development and governance reforms to deal with the causes of extremism. Categorically, policing capacity and legitimacy plays a crucial role in the restoration of security, reconstruction of the state authority and human security in the terrorist ravage northeastern Nigeria.