Militia Counterinsurgency: Implications of Pro-government Militia Participation in Counterinsurgency in Northeast Nigeria

This article analyzed the implications of pro-government militias’ participation in the counterinsurgency operation in northeast Nigeria. The militias that that has been engaged in the counterinsurgency operation since 2013 appeared influential in the reduction of the Islamist Boko Haram hostilities in the northeast. Prior to the pro-government militia participation, the counterinsurgency campaign of the State is challenged with lackadaisical performances. However, even as the militias are successful, there is still growing fear that the continued engagement of the militias has adverse consequences on the autonomy of the state and the community. This case study, therefore, investigated the implications of the militias’ involvement in the counterinsurgency operation in Yobe State of northeast Nigeria. The empirical data collected through the techniques of an in-depth interview, focus group discussion, and on the site non-participatory observation. The primary data was triangulated with secondary data from published materials. The study revealed that in the absence of urgent authoritative action to regularize the militias, they will post imminent threats to the stability of the state and their immediate communities. In addition to the instigation of ethnic polarization, the militia will incubate internal feuds, hence destabilizing the peace situation of the communities. The study recommends the government to take urgent measures to verify the participants and weed bad eggs among them. The government should also provide legal procedures for their operations and recruitment process to curtail abuse and excessiveness.