DOI: 10.36347/sjahss.2020.v08i06.004

Pages: 315-325

Since 2011, Nigeria has been facing Boko Haram terrorists activities. The trend is multidimensional: from complex security challenges, ranging from transnational organized crime, terrorism and proliferation of advanced and light weapons, to the simple and common security challenges. More disturbing was the protracted and internationalized insurgent activities of Boko Haram elements of north-eastern areas of Nigeria. Over the course of less than two decades Boko Haram has morphed from a terrorists group operating within Nigeria to a regional terror group with a regional presence across multiple countries in West Africa and beyond but also gradually spreading to a large portion of the Lake Chad Basin. Taking into cognizance that Nigeria is the main victim of the insurgency, has been the center piece upon which the regional security framework performs or operates. The main issue addressed in this paper is to appraise how the countries of the region approached security challenges collectively. The paper further, analyses the modus operandi of the Nigerian state through regional cooperation to tackle terrorist activities in the Lake Chad Basin region of West Africa. To do this, the paper looks at the bases for security cooperation between Nigeria and her neighbors in line with the ECOWAS security framework. Using the ECOWAS, we intend to interrogate the following questions; What is the nature of Nigeria’s cooperation with her neighbors in tackling terrorism especially in the Chad Basin area? What are the mechanisms put in place in the fight against terrorists’ activities and, why is it that there are increases in these attacks in spite of the presence of numerous regional and sub- regional joint task forces in the area?