Linguistic Determinants of Militancy and Terrorism in Nigeria: The Case of M.E.N.D and Boko Haram

Abstract

This paper engages in the sociolinguistic profiling of militancy and terrorism in the Nigerian context. In this regard, it underpins the linguistic determinants of militancy and terrorism as revealed in the periodic statements of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger-Delta (hereafter, MEND) and Jama'atul Alhul Sunnah Lidda'wati wal jihad, otherwise known as Boko Haram. As a militant group, MEND seeks to defend the rights of the people of the Niger Delta against the predatory and corrupt Nigerian government and exploitations of the foreign energy companies. Boko Haram, an Islamic sect, seeks to establish a fully Islamic state in Nigeria through an armed revolt against the security forces of the Nigerian state. Over the years, these groups have continued to employ periodic statements intended to actualise their sectarian objectives. A number of statements from each of the two groups are analysed to evaluate the factors of phraseology and recurrent common themes. The picture, which emerges from the analysis, suggests that the common themes and phraseology in these statements revolve around their sectarian objectives, which show linguistic indicators of extremism, militancy and terrorism. Such flags and indicators offer a window of opportunity for law and security agencies to identify citizens of militant and terrorist propensity, with a view to synergizing preemptive and preventive intelligence infrastructure for countering militancy and terrorism in Nigeria.