A group is said to be armed group if its members are
armed and they act without State sanction and control. Armed group, not
directly springing from recognized government authority such as the military
and police forces falls into three basic divisions along a continuum, ranging
from the poorly organized, disjointed and motivated by greed to the highly
organized, coordinated and motivated by ideology. Identifying where any
particular group falls on the continuum can help reveal how and why the group
behaves as it does. This invariably will assist in determining how to
effectively and efficiently separate and deal with these groups.
At the one extreme of the Armed Groups Continuum are
criminals who are haphazardly organized and are motivated by the simple
prospect of plunder. At the other extreme are ideologues that are well
organized; are driven by strong motives; and are seeking to change
socio-political and economic conditions. In between these extremes are groups
in transition. They are neither here nor there. They are primarily motivated by
greed, but with time, information and resources they mature and want a bigger
stake in the socio-political and economic order. At this level, they seek the
trappings of authority more closely associated with traditional political power.
Thus, threatening the government in power.
Identifying where a particular armed group is on the
continuum is very important in determining how to separate and deal with it.
While, these categories often overlap in their purposes and motivations, a
common thread is their inevitable connection to an established economic and socio-political
power. Irrespective of its type, armed group requires some form of support from
an existing State or Patron, covert
or overt, if it must move beyond the stage of routine criminal annoyance or fanatical
fringe element.
The classical example of the first group on the
continuum is Pirates. Pirates have long history and they are group of poorly organized
criminals. Their goal is money. They are not interested in changing society or
overthrowing existing governments notwithstanding that their actions may
eventually contribute to both. They simply want to prey on society and steal
from others. Their livelihood depends on the prosperity of the society on which
they prey. Because their plunder comes from the wealth generated by productive
activities of the society, it is in their interest not to disrupt the society
to the point of decline or collapse. The focus of pirates is to skim the cream
from the top. As criminals driven by profit, they are usually found taking the
path of least resistance. From ancient Greece over 2000 years ago to today’s
Nigeria, the lucrative, easily taken merchant vessel is their target. They
rarely challenge a constituted authority in any region. Their desire is only to
exploit the trade routes, not control them.
The International Chamber of Commerce recently
described the Nigeria waterways as piracy and armed robbery prone areas and
equally warned mariners to take necessary precautionary measures when transiting
Nigeria coast. The report said that
pirates and robbers are often violent and have attacked, hijacked and robbed
vessels, kidnapped crews along the coast, rivers, anchorages, ports and
surrounding waters, categorizing all waters in Nigeria as risky, “Generally,
all waters in Nigeria remain risky”. In this group are also kidnappers and
hostage takers.
The advanced manifestation of the pirates group is
the sea-raiders. Like pirates, the sea raiders are sea robbers who threaten
trading routes, attacking shipping and coastal settlements in a more organized
and coordinated manner. They occupy midrange on the scale, somewhere between
simple criminals and their opposites, the religious zealots. They are fierce
pirates whose focuses are far beyond rapine and plunder. They exhibit unique
culture, sense of government, and commerce, reinforced by the need to change
the prevailing economic, social and political set up of society.
Although, the sea raiders are neither representative
of society’s criminal elements nor are they proselytizers seeking to change
societal cultures, they are part of the society they are looting, but gradually
spreading their own unique criminal traits and trademarks. And as marauding
pirates they are thoroughly professionals, but usually sought easy victims. If
prevented from gaining sufficient power to displace or supplant a reigning
government, or they meet with difficulty or military resistance, they look
elsewhere for plunder or attempt to fit into the society through marriage and
other social integration processes (Philip Gosse 1932).
In some jurisdictions, governments have sought to
buy over the sea raiders with tributes like the case of Alfred the Great of
England, (Richard Drake 2000). And because they are insatiable, they keep
coming for more; often with renew threats and renewed attacks.
The Nigerian ethnic militia popularly referred to as
Niger Delta Militants fall within this category. Although the operational areas
of this group extend beyond the sea, they exhibit the characteristics of sea
raiders in their targeting and attacking of targets. They threaten trading
routes, attacking shipping and coastal settlements and are offensive against
oil pipeline and oil and gas facilities in a more organized and coordinated
manner. In most cases they warn before they strike and their focuses are far
beyond rapine and plunder. They exhibit unique culture and sense of commerce,
reinforced by the desire to seize economic and/or political power. Apart from making the waterways
unsafe, they are interested in government and their interest in politics is
reinforced by their support for identified politician or political group, and they
also engage in crude oil smuggling and illegal bunkering.
Occupying the extreme end of the scale from ordinary
criminal gangs are organizations that are motivated by ideology, are armed with
sufficient military capability, and possess organizational infrastructures
capable of implementing their ideological visions. Such armed groups are
formidable. Example of such group in Nigeria is Boko Haram. What many Nigerians
are yet to come to term with is that Boko Haram is bent on religious conversion
through colonization and conquest. Boko Haram members are Islamic jihadists. It
is a military order founded in Maiduguri in 2002, representing the religious
spirit of Islam.
Boko Haram is not limited to Nigeria; the proselytizing
zeal of jihadists propelled their banner throughout the Islamic world. Nor are
they confined to Christians and Southerners. Pagans, heretics of every ilk, and
surprisingly, Muslims that are political opponents and those who speak out against
their mass murder, are all marked to see the shadow of the Boko Haram’s flags
and to feel the steel of their swords and to experience the boom of the bombs.
Born of and nurtured by religious fervor, Boko Haram
has made its greatest imprint in northern Nigeria; with most attempts to
penetrate southern Nigeria especially Lagos being met with difficulties and
military resistance. Despite keeping Boko Haram away from the south, our
security agencies mustn’t relax or slumber or sleep. Real Boko Haram members
will not succumb to amnesty and cannot be bought over with tribute.
The religious zeal,
organizational abilities, and military skills of Boko Haram are being employed
by selfish northern political leaders to serve their own ends. In fact, what
makes the Boko Haram Islamic sect a powerful force is not their ideological
zeal and organization and military might but simply the support of numerous patrons who are motivated by religious
affiliation, political interest and financial rewards. Armed groups,
irrespective of underlying aspirations, are often used as pawns by established
powers. When the group serves some political, economic, or military purpose for
an existing power, patrons do not
only turn a blind eye or provide support; they also provide a soft landing
ground in case the LAW frowns at their activities
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