From Protection to Precarity: Examining Human Rights Protections Amidst Nigeria’s Converging Security Frontiers
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47941/ijhss.3899Keywords:
Banditry, Human Rights, Kidnapping, Nigeria, Precarity, Security Frontiers, Social ContractAbstract
Purpose: The study investigates the systemic erosion of human rights in Nigeria resulting from the convergence of four primary security threats: terrorism, banditry, farmer-herder conflicts, and the commercialization of kidnapping. It aims to analyze how the state’s inability to secure its security frontiers has transitioned the civilian experience from a framework of constitutional protection to a state of permanent socio-economic and physical precarity.
Methodology: The study employs a qualitative, multi-disciplinary approach, utilizing a trend analysis of longitudinal data from 2010 to 2026. Primary data includes reports from the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and International Watchdogs (Amnesty International), while secondary data is drawn from peer-reviewed journals, the Nigeria Security Tracker (NST), and legislative reviews. The theoretical model adopted for the study was the securitization approach. The utility of the theory to the discourse is that it explains how the state justifies shifting from a framework of protection (human rights) to one of precarity (extraordinary measures).
Findings: The findings from the study revealed that the convergence of security threats has created a rights vacuum in rural and semi-urban Nigeria.
Unique Contribution to Theory, Policy and Practice: The study advocates for a shift from a regime-security model to a human-security model. Specifically, it recommends the decentralization of policing to secure ungoverned spaces, the establishment of a specialized victims' rights fund to address the psychological and economic trauma of kidnapping, and the institutionalization of a rights-first protocol for military engagements in civilian-heavy conflict zones. While existing literature extensively covers individual security threats, there is a significant lack of research on the synergistic impact of these converging frontiers on the legal right to development.
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