Security Sector Reforms and Governance in Post-Conflict Environment: An Assessment of Nigeria and Liberia
The IUP Journal of International Relations, Vol. VIII, No. 4, October 2014, pp. 54-67
Posted: 10 Sep 2015
Date Written: September 9, 2015
Abstract
The post-conflict security environments in Nigeria and Liberia are essentially characterized by fallouts of militarized traditions that evolved during the period of conflict in both the countries. The personalization of state security in Liberia is matched with constitutional provisions in Nigeria that effectively place the police and army under the operational and policy directive of the president. Consequently, Taylor’s use of the infamous Anti-Terror Unit (ATU) and Nigeria Joint Task Force (JTF) bear profound similarities as instruments of state brutality. Liberia’s need for judicial reforms and democratic oversight in security sector governance is mirrored in emerging developments regarding the activities of the Nigerian military and police in Internal Security Operations (ISOs). The paper traces the historical developments of these deficiencies, establishing their connection with a confrontational military ruling tradition that is more emphatic in Nigeria. Since ISO operations are beginning to resemble war time operations, the paper recommends that reforms will most likely forestall a slide into further chaos, citing previous occurrences in the early 1960s that had primed the country for implosion.
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