BOKO HARAM INSURGENCY AND BANDITRY IN NIGERIA: THE RIGHT TO EDUCATION IN NORTH-EAST NIGERIA

Abstract

In recent times, hostilities have taken the form of non-international armed conflicts with their attendant gory effects and they have become more pronounced within the past few decades. Nigeria as a country has been plagued with her own share of hostilities. The north eastern region has been ravaged by the twin evils of Boko Haram insurgency and Banditry. It has turned the region into a war zone within a peaceful sovereign nation. In spite of periodic assurances of victory over the insurgents and the bandits responsible for the hostilities, the death toll keeps rising by the day. The chain of events has ultimately led to a gross deprivation of the right to education occasioned by the destruction of schools and the desertion of both teachers and students. This paper seeks to examine the effects of insurgency and banditry in north eastern Nigeria on the right to education as contained in Chapter II of the Nigerian constitution and other International Treaties domesticated by the country. It beams search-light on the remote and immediate causes of the evils of insurgency and banditry and examines the scope of the right to education as it relates to the north-east region of Nigeria. It suggests that the government should be more proactive and deliberate in its fight against insurgency and banditry in order to ensure that children of school age are allowed to enjoy their right to education without any hindrance. Lastly, the study will advocate ways by which the legal and regulatory frameworks will be strengthened in order to stem the incessant violation of the rights of children to education in north-eastern region of Nigeria.