TERRORISM AND THE SHI’ITE MOVEMENT IN NIGERIA

Abstract

Terrorism is a contemporary global phenomenon currently plaguing the entire world. It was made ubiquitous vide Osama Bin Laden’s ill-fated attack on the United States of America on September 11, 2001. The hydra-headed monster has almost permeated the entire nooks and crannies of the world necessitating the United Nations Organisation, and the United States of America in particular to place some nations and individuals under a terrorist surveillance list. Thus, this paper is focused on Ibrahim El-Zakzaky’s led Shiite movement in Nigeria, its activities and the eventual proscription as a terrorist group in Nigeria. Do the activities amount to terrorism? Or do they constitute a mere sectorial Islamic fight between the Sunnis and Shiites? The work answered the posers posed hereinabove. The methodological approach is mixed methods of investigation, meta-analytical styles, and utilization of both primary and secondary sources of information. It is discovered that following the wide definition of ‘act of terrorism’ under the Terrorism (Prevention) Act, the Shiite activities in Nigeria without religious connotations are in congruous with ‘an act of terrorism’. The paper concluded that though there could be imminently religious undertone and dichotomy between the two major Islamic sects, howbeit, the overt activities of the Shiite movement in Nigeria no doubt amounted to acts of terrorism. It is recommended amongst other things that the Federal Government of Nigeria should adopt an all-inclusive government gesture utilizing utilitarian approach in order to avoid sectorial civil and religious insurrections in the country.