UNDERSTANDING THE NEED TO MAINSTREAM GENDER IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE RESPONSE TO TERRORISM AND COUNTER TERRORISM MEASURES IN NIGERIA

Abstract

The world now is a global village hence fighting terrorism is not a nation affair. Terrorism is a global menace because of the ease with which movement of humans, goods and services are conveyed. The advancement in telecommunication also exacerbated the activities of terror outfits. a such countries have to come together to assist one another with the fight against terrorism, this is paramount if the world wants to get rid of terrorism.

Globally, the devastating effects of terrorism and the mounting human rights issues that come with it have always been a source of concern to the society. In 2019 Nigeria was placed as the 3rd most terrorized country in the world mostly because of the insurgent activities by the Islamist group (Boko Haram (BH)). Terrorism itself and the different counter-terrorism responses of the government have human rights implications. The negative impact manifests on both the victims and the perpetrators alike. Experts have made attempts to place human rights abuse at the centre of both the cause and effects of terrorism. Given the fundamental responsibility of every government to ensure the security of lives and property of the citizens, every nation faced with the devastating effects of terrorism has mapped out strategies to deal with this challenge and this is called counter-terrorism strategy.

It is common knowledge that women and men are involved in the activities of terrorist groups and have fallen victim to acts of violence inflicted by these groups. But until recent years, women’s roles as actors in terrorism and counter-terrorism responses remained largely unexplored, viewed through stereotypes regarding women’s roles in society and in violence, women are perceived only as victims, or as unwilling associates of the “real” terrorist actors. It has therefore been realized that the challenges of terrorism and counter-terrorism gets more complicated when the victim or perpetrator of terrorism activities is a woman. This throws up a number of human rights issues bothering especially on the principles of equality and non- discrimination. The key concern is whether women victims and perpetrators of terrorism have equal access to justice with their male counterparts within the context of criminal justice responses to terrorism in Nigeria.