Group raises alarm over proliferation, excesses of vigilante groups in Nigeria

The proliferation and excesses of vigilante organizations could worsen Nigeria’s security challenges if unchecked, the International Crisis Group (ICG) has warned.

The alert is contained in a new 23-page report – ‘Managing Vigilantism in Nigeria: A Near-Term Necessity’ – published on its website.

The global conflict research and prevention organization observes that in recent years, Nigeria has seen an increase of vigilante groups fighting crime and protecting the public.

The groups range from small bands of volunteers in villages and city neighbourhoods to large structures established by state governments.

The report identifies several factors driving the emergence of more vigilante organizations.

They include widespread insecurity, the decline in the ability of the police to protect communities, and diminished trust in the government’s commitment to protecting citizens.

These trends, according to the ICG, are driving communities and ethnic groups to devise alternative arrangements for protecting themselves.

Other factors are the rise in impunity, largely due to the inability of courts to deliver justice expeditiously, and pervasive unemployment, especially among youth.

The report acknowledged vigilante groups are filling important security gaps, endearing many citizens and state officials to them.

It also found that the majority of volunteers are hardly trained, poorly resourced and poorly supervised.

“As a result, their members are prone to human rights abuses and vulnerable to capture by politicians and other elites.”

“For groups safeguarding particular regions or ethnoreligious groups, their activities could exacerbate ethnic and communal tensions, aggravating insecurity in the longer term”, the report said.

To discourage groups and communities from forming more vigilante groups, Crisis Group charged the Nigerian government to quickly rebuild confidence among the populace.

The ICG advised the government to implement comprehensive police reform and bolster the capacity of the judiciary to expedite justice delivery.

The global body further suggested some devolution of policing powers to state and local levels.

Crisis Group urged the federal and state governments to jointly develop a framework of regulations for better supervision of existing vigilante groups.