‘Forcing the Horse to Drink or Making it Realise its Thirst’? Understanding the Enactment of Anti-Terrorism Legislation (ATL) in Nigeria

• Main Authors: Isaac Terwase Sampson, Freedom C. Onuoha
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: University of Massachusetts Lowell 2011-09-01
• Series: Perspectives on Terrorism
• Subjects: Africa; Nigeria
• Online Access: http://www.terrorismanalysts.com/pt/index.php/pot/article/view/154

Attempts by the Nigerian government to enact a comprehensive anti-terrorism legislation (ATL) since 2006 had suffered several setbacks. However, the failed Christmas Day bombing of a U.S. airliner by a Nigerian, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, and subsequent acts of domestic terrorism have induced the National Assembly (NASS) to revive deliberation on the ATL. Adopting a historical approach, this article critically engages with the complexities surrounding renewed efforts at enacting a comprehensive ATL in Nigeria and further highlights the contentious debates on its necessity. It argues that the litany of domestic imperatives that led to a lethargic approach to counter-terrorism legislation between 2006 and late 2009 by the NASS have been overwhelmed by more serious domestic and international terrorist acts, which have made the enactment of a comprehensive ATL in Nigeria a matter of necessity rather than choice.