Terrorism and the Dilemmas of Combating the Menace in Nigeria
Eke Chijioke Chinwokwu

Abstract
The world is still at the euphoria over the killing of Osama bin Laden, founder and leader of the most dreaded terrorist group in the world known as “the Al-Qaeda” (The Base). He was alleged to have been killed in an America led operations in Pakistan on May 1, 2011. Consequently, the Taliban, members of the Al-Qaeda and Islamic fundamentalists all over the world including Nigeria threatened for a sweet revenge over his death. The questions are “what will be the future of terrorism in the world? Are we going to have peace now or is terrorism and terrorist activities going to be intensified creating yet more fear and insecurity in a world that is already ravaged by natural disasters? However, in Nigeria, cases of domestic terrorism are on the increase resulting to general insecurity and fear with Nigerian State seemingly helpless in tackling the menace headstrong. Obviously, there is the general view that the Nigerian State is a weak and failed state thereby joining states like Somalia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, Sudan and Iraq in this category, and thus seen as states providing havens for terrorist operations. This paper therefore examines the concept of terrorism and the dilemmas facing Nigerian State in combating domestic terrorism. The paper also looks at some of the efforts of government at suppressing terrorism and the reasons those responses are ineffective. This discourse recommends among others: policy reforms, equipping and training of security personnel and harmonization of security operations.

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