Boko Haram Insurgency: A Re-Visit To Economic Community Of West African States Free Movement Policy

BOKO HARAM INSURGENCY: A RE-VISIT TO ECONOMIC COMMUNITY OF WEST AFRICAN STATES FREE MOVEMENT POLICY ABSTRACT Nigeria is facing security challenges occasioned by activities of a terrorist group called Boko Haram. The main objective of the group is establishment of an Islamic Theocracy with 7th century Wahhabis dictum enunciated in the Quran and Hadith. Boko Haram have demonstrated capacity to perpetrate act of terror in both military and civilian zones in most parts of Northern Nigeria and Federal Capital Territory (FCT). Testimonies of BOKO HARAM combatants caught in action and surviving victims established the fact that, most of the top echelon and other ranks are citizens of neighbouring States who used ECOWAS citizens free movement agreement to come into the country, and most of them without their national identification papers. Because of this development and its threat to national security, Nigeria needs to weigh the implication of upholding clause warranting unhindered entry and exit of citizens of neighbouring countries. It is possible to be a member of the Sub-regional body and pull out of the clause of free movement of citizens, consequent to the insecurity facing the nation. Once that is done, threat and capacity to unleashed terror by Boko Haram will be drastically scaled down to negligible proportions. National interest and survival should supersede any sub-regional solidarity policy that is becoming a threat to the survival of the state and the wellbeing of its citizens. Keywords: Boko Haram, ECOWAS, Free Movement and Security