Nonviolent Approach: Alternative to Military Strategy for Curbing Terrorism in Nigeria
Factors such as poor governance, fierce passion for the Islamisation of Nigeria and other grievances that are difficult to resolve through political process breed terrorism. Government should first correct the known ills in her governance. Government's first attempt on curbing terrorism was the use of force, which is so defective. The just war theory, stipulate that, military action shouldn't cause terror and dead of civilians, which the army is seriously accused of. The first wrong step by the government agency was the extra judicial killing of Boko Haram leader, which exacerbate the violence and increase sympathizers to the sect advantage. The first step should have been intelligence gathering and study how to defeat the sect if not, then, a holistic approach that encapsulates all the actors (Government, the citizens and the NGOs) not a selected few in the fight against terrorism. The paper used qualitative methodology and the method of data collection were from semi-structured interviews, books, media and internets sources. The theory used is "Just War Theory". The evidence presented in this paper is that some of the many stakeholders are not active in the fight against terrorism. A consistent, nonviolent approach and good governance could have controlled the emergence of terrorism in Nigeria. However, a concerted de-radicalization program that forestall the possibility of recruitment and the process of de-radicalizing those radicalized is nonviolent approach.