Violent Communal Conflicts as a Form of Terrorism in Taraba State, Nigeria

This study is a socio-legal investigation of the violent communal conflicts in Taraba State, North East Nigeria. Applying a legal research method through doctrinal analysis of literature, anchored on the concept of acts of terrorism under the Terrorism (Prohibition and Prevention) Act 2022, and framed on the human security theory, the study collected data from a sample of 12,663 respondents selected from the seventeen Local Government Areas in the State. The main instrument used to collect the data was structured questionnaire and the data was analyzed using descriptive statistical tools. Data was also sourced through field surveys, key informant interviews, and focus group discussions. Findings revealed that violent conflicts are often complex and deeply rooted in historical, social, economic, and political factors. The study finds that this situation results from differences between ethnic or religious groups within the society, fueled by grievances, perceived injustices, competition over resources, and political manipulations. The study further finds that the conflicts usually escalate to widespread loss of lives, destruction of properties, disruption of economic activities, displacement of communities, and long-term societal disaggregation. The study establishes that efforts towards mitigating the conflicts have yielded little results due to several challenges including lack of implementation of the reports of various committees of inquiry into the conflicts, lack of adherence to peace agreements by warring parties, and political interests of elites. Consequently, the study recommends that the government should be proactive and responsive towards security intelligence reports on perceived outbreaks of violent conflicts, should show greater commitment to guaranteeing the security of the people by implementing recommendations from commissions of inquiry, while civil society organizations and traditional institutions working with the government, should continually employ dialogue mechanisms to foster understanding between the belligerents. The paper concludes with the position that addressing these issues is crucial for effective conflict prevention, peacebuilding efforts, and promoting reconciliation in the State.