EFFECT OF BOKO HARAM INSURGENCY ON WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN NORTHERN NIGERIA, 2009 – 2020

ABSTRACT

This study discusses the Effect of Boko Haram Insurgency on Women and Children in Northern Nigeria, 2009 – 2020. It specifically examines the history of Boko Haram Insurgency in Northern Nigeria, the causes and manifestation of the Boko Haram Insurgency, as well as the Impact of Boko Haram Insurgency on Women and Children in Northern Nigeria. It was revealed in the study that the issue of conflict in Nigeria is a serious problem. In fact, compared with other nations, Nigeria has the world’s fifthhighest death toll due to armed conflict, primarily from the activities of the Boko Haram insurgency, with casualties exceeding those of past major incidents in Africa (namely Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo).1 Over 2.4 million people have been displaced in Nigeria’s affected regions.2 Externalities from the conflict include food insecurity, disease outbreaks, forced migration, loss of business, and loss of infrastructure. In particular, the ongoing situation with Boko Haram in northern Nigeria, which inflicts harm on civilians and renders women and children especially vulnerable, calls for a concern. This requires human security strategy to ensure safety and promote well-being while the active conflict awaits resolution. This means that there is a need for more rights-based, comprehensive strategies targeting interrelated threats to the security of affected children in particular.