Nigeria – An Overview of Challenges to Peace and Security

This report introduces and provides an overview of some of the security challenges that Nigeria is currently facing. First, a number of overarching challenges are briefly presented; poverty and inequality, corruption, lack of security, and divisive political competition. These issues should be seen as highly interlinked, and form a background to subsequent sections of the report: North: Boko Haram, Ansaru and regional connections Central: The Jos Crisis South: The Niger Delta - oil and marginalisation Piracy in the Gulf of Guinea For each of these areas the situation is briefly described, core explanations presented and current responses detailed. Nigeria, with its large population, economy and political influence, is a country which has a large impact not only in its immediate neighbourhood, but also more widely in West Africa and sub-Saharan Africa. Security challenges in the region, such as militant Islamism and maritime insecurity, are gaining international attention and have strong connections to Northern Nigeria and the Niger Delta. It is thus of interest for international actors to be informed and engaged in the development of Nigeria. The political development surrounding and leading up to the presidential elections of 2015 are identified here as being of specific importance.