Securing through the Failure to Secure? Civilian Joint Task Force and Counter-Insurgency Operations in North-East Nigeria

Abstract

The advent of the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) in 2012 had a great influence in the evolution
of national security in the north-eastern region of Nigeria. This is because many scholars have,
at various times, described the region as an ‘unfinished’ region, and of inevitable instability. This
article interrogates the role of CJTF in counter-insurgency operations (CIOs) and its influence
on the establishment and alliance with the military forces in the north-eastern region. The article
succinctly investigates the efforts of CJTF and its CIOs. It also explicates, in clear terms and with
relevant cases, CJTF’s role in preventing and fighting insurgency in the region. In particular, it
focuses on answering the following questions: Can the current security architecture of CJTF cope
with the level of sophistication of the Boko Haram insurgency groups across the region? Under
what arrangement will CJTF be able to adequately confront Boko Haram insurgency? What are
the challenges affecting the CJTF’s efficiency and effectiveness in this region? The article will also
examine how existing CJTF can be strengthened to achieve effective CIOs against insurgency in
the north-eastern region of Nigeria.