|
TERRORISM AS A 21st CENTURY CRIME |
|
|
IDIAGHE LILIAN |
|
COMPARATIVE criminal law & PROCEDURE – LPI 707
1.0 BACKGROUND TO TERRORISM
Today, any mention of terrorism will clearly bring to mind images of September 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Centre in New York. There is a general consensus that terrorism exists and is undeniably a part of the modern criminal acts, laws, and system, but the big question is what exactly are they and how defined and definite are their limits. Gradually, it has formed a part of international law, criminal law or criminal justice system vernacular.
During the Olympic Games in Munich, Germany, in 1972, a Palestinian group known as Black September seized Israeli athletes inside the Olympic Village. The Palestinian group demanded the release of Palestinian prisoners held in Israel in return for the hostages they held in Munich. The Israeli government refused the terrorists’ demands. German police allowed the terrorists out of the Olympic Village, but eleven Israelis, one German policeman and five of eight terrorists were killed in a failed German-led rescue attempt at a small airport. The events of Munich had a lasting impact: since then terrorism became more prominent in the world’s consciousness, in no small part because terrorists continued to choose targets for their symbolic value and for maximum media coverage.
The Term Paper on William Stuntz the Pathological Politics Of Criminal Law
William Stuntz "The Pathological Politics of Criminal Law". INTRODUCTION While many factors that make positive sentencing reform rather problematic remain, different factors have come together at the beginning of the new century which made such reform more possible than it has been for a many years. On the other hand, as these critical factors are not likely to remain in adjustment for a long ...
In time, some states realized that supporting terrorist groups provided an effective way for weaker states to strike at more powerful states, and terrorists have benefited from having states sponsor their activities; they could have access to false identification in the form of genuine passports, they could use diplomatic privileges to provide immunity and transport weapons and explosives. States could also provide advanced military training and pay terrorists well for their activities. More funding allowed terrorist organizations to recruit people who might not otherwise have been ideologically committed to a cause. And the availability of the state’s more sophisticated weaponry meant that the lethality of terrorism increased sharply. Another strain of terrorism is the attacks perpetrated by groups motivated by religious extremism.
1.1 DEFINING TERRORISM
There has been no universally accepted definition of terrorism or what constitutes the elements of the crime, although it includes hijacking, sabotage, bombings, assassinations, hostage taking, system hacking, kidnap of diplomats and massive computer virus attack. Most terrorist attacks are perpetrated by individuals or a small group of individuals, who are usually part of a bigger network of an idealist/religious movement, that organization being usually more powerful than the individual terrorists themselves.
By defining terrorism as a crime rather than as an international security issue, the General Assembly has chosen a criminal law approach rather than a war model of fighting terrorism. While the General Assembly categorized international terrorism in 1994 in terms of a criminal justice model as a serious crime, the United Nations Security Council categorized it, on 12 September 2001, in resolution 1368, “like any act of international terrorism, as a threat to international peace and security”, thereby applying a security rather than a crime model to such acts.
The Term Paper on United States Terrorism Terrorist People
In the following review, I will be assessing the problem a free society has when the horror of Terrorism invades our way of life. The topic has and for the most part, will be for generations to come seen as a threat to everyone living in the entire world. During the past several months, Acts of terrorism have become synonymous with everything from traveling within our country and abroad to postal ...
Terrorism is by no means a traditional offence because at the time most criminal codes were being promulgated, this dimension of wrong was outside human contemplation. But the advent of technology has made it a reality, even more real than traditional crimes. According to Nwoko, the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, the subsequent anthrax follow-up and the US embassy attack in Kenya not only demonstrated the extent and possibilities of terrorist attacks on both the weak and strong and even the most sophisticated security conscious of nations, but also the extent, methods and forms which the perpetrators can employ to make their statement or achieve their objectives. Terrorism has been defined as a form of violent political behavior, which for political reasons, seeks first of all to create fear in the community or a substantial part thereof.
Basically, criminal psychology admits that crime is about combining imagination, abilities and desires and when you add technology and the internet; both global communication media, the result is potent because terrorism is more of ideas than things. The best of the human ingenuity mostly comes into play, for example the spread of anthrax in the U.S. through mails. Terrorists and their attacks are more difficult to detect and prevent due to the unconventional nature of their operations. Al Qaeda terrorists, for example, blend into civilian populations, use the channels of open societies to transport personnel, material, and money, and then target civilians with the object of causing massive casualties. Opinions are divided on the causes or factors that influence terrorism; the list is not conclusive but includes:
* The existence of conflicts which usually leads to extremism
* Poverty, especially in developing countries, is a factor which facilitates the recruitment by Al-Qaeda of youth in such countries.
* Poor levels of security among African nations due to the lack of necessary security equipment and the available ones are mostly inferior to terrorists’ sophisticated weapons.
* Lack of education and consequent high levels of ignorance
Apart from the direct casualties, the costs of terrorism throughout the world amount to hundreds of billions of dollars, ranging from the loss of income-producing family members and economic losses due to joblessness to monumental costs in security requirements, government redeployment of funds and losses to private business enterprises. The costs are measured not only in financial terms, but also in their impact on the government and private sectors of countries throughout the world. This may be a paradox, but the cost of maintaining a terrorist network and, in particular, the cost of carrying out a terrorist attack, is relatively small.
The Essay on International Criminal Court on Prosecution of Serious International Crimes
First adopted in a diplomatic conference in Rome on the year 1998, 17th day of July, the Rome Statute is considered as the main treaty that has estblished the formation of the International Criminal Court (ICC). Officially set into force on the first day of July 2002, the ICC now hadles various cases in different categories of identified international crimes. More so, the ICC now has a pool of its ...
1.3 INTERNATIONAL LEGAL FRAME WORK
“By its very nature, terrorism is an assault on the fundamental principles of law, order, human rights and peaceful settlement of disputes upon which the United Nations is established.”
-Kofi Annan, UN Secretary-General, October 4, 2002.
It is widely accepted that a working international legal regime against terrorism will help us to bring terrorists to justice and prevent future possible attacks. The Terrorism Prevention Branch of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime has said that it stands ready to provide assistance to countries, upon request, for ratifying and implementing the universal legal instruments against terrorism, strengthening their national legislative base for complying with their international obligations on developing a robust international legal regime against Terrorism. Several treaties address individual terrorist acts- hijacking, murder, money laundering, illegal crossing of borders, etc., but their solutions require state action, apprehension, extradition, and prosecution of individual terrorists. At this point, we raise the question of whether criminal legislations and entire criminal justice systems all over the world can adequately deal with the crime of terrorism.
A state ordinarily has jurisdiction to apply its laws to persons and events within its territory, with diplomats enjoying immunity from such application of law. There have been two major jurisdictional problems in connection with terrorism:
1. The terrorist offences have occurred in locations such as aircraft over the seas that makes the operation of normal rules of jurisdiction uncertain.
The Essay on Criminal Law
Criminal Law According to EPAGLOa, the acceptable risk is defined as level of risk judged to be outweighed by corresponding benefits or one that is of such a degree that it is considered to pose minimal potential for adverse effects (US Environmental Protection Agency, n.p.). Lets examine the potential risk for the employer based on the list of the following candidates: The candidate #1 was ...
2. Where it becomes clear who may assume jurisdiction, there has not always been the political will to do so.
This becomes a basic problem in tackling the question of terrorism, coupled with the fact that it is always difficult to determine the fundamental elements of the crime. It is my opinion that without a determination of the basic elements and parameters of the crime of terrorism, establishing a mechanism to eliminate or at reduce its prevalence may not be realistic.
In traditional violent crimes like murder, armed robbery, rape, criminal psychologists attempt to proffer various reasons for such deviant behavior and it is usually based upon the history of the criminal, this cannot be completely true of terrorists, because in addition to the perpetration of the acts of terrorism, it carries a message and calls for attention. This is much obvious when we realize that the choice of a particular victim or location is never a coincidence.
On the international scene, terrorism has gradually etched itself into international law, and today constitutes one of its biggest issues. The United Nations has always taken the lead in this respect – in 1972, the General Assembly established an ad hoc committee on terrorism. In 2001 after the September 11 attacks on America, it adopted the Security Council Resolution 1373 which established its Counter-Terrorism Committee to help States increase their capability to fight terrorism. In addition, thirteen global conventions have been negotiated through the UN since 1963, including treaties against hostage-taking, airplane hijacking, terrorist bombings and terrorism financing.
A brief look at two recent developments illustrates the nature of the challenge and provides insights as to possible courses of action. The first of these is the creation of the International Criminal Court (ICC); the second is the American-led war on terrorism. The International Criminal Court is an idea whose time has come. It fulfills the hopes and aspirations of a majority of the world’s nations as it reflects a new consensus on international justice and the rule of law. Recognizing that sovereignty protected rulers and their agents from accountability for crimes ranging from aggressive war to genocide, the ICC provides a permanent forum for prosecution when state courts cannot or will not act. As of this writing, 139 nations have signed the treaty, and 89 have ratified it. The Court commenced operations on July 1, 2002, and according to its charter enjoys almost universal jurisdiction.
The Term Paper on Connor Michael Terrorism Terrorists Terrorist
... terrorist acts and criminal acts with the same punishment. To put an end to the confusion between what is and is not a terrorist act, the laws ... decrease the amount of terrorism. In order to stop terrorism we need to understand what terrorism is. 'Terrorism is the unlawful use ... of cash then we can stop their operation. State sponsored international terrorists usually fight for a religious war. 'Modern ...
The use of sanctions and diplomacy may also be an option. For example, the United States imposed economic sanctions against Iraq just before the war in an attempt to bring down Saddam and impede his reconstruction of his WMD, but the Iraqi people bore the brunt of the sanctions because government expenditure on food and other amenities were reduced in order to maintain a constant budget for the production of nuclear weapons. This led some UN specialized agencies and other humanitarian organizations to increase food and other supplies to Iraq.
Although the UN has great potential to foster international and regional cooperation, the real capacities and the most basic anti-terrorism strategies are those of its member states. Not only in their willingness to ratify UN resolutions/protocols e.t.c. at the national level but also in the ingenuity of their legal draftsmen to constructively do so.
In Africa, terrorism has also formed a critical part of most high powered deliberations. As usual with Africa, the big challenge is not with deliberations or the drawing up of action plans, but in the political will to implement what has been mapped out. A locally conducted threat assessment by each member state will better help to refine the strategy and plan of action. In July 1999, the African States signed, under the auspices of the Organization of African Unity (now African Union), the Convention on the Prevention and Combating of Terrorism in Algeria. This Convention has entered into force on 6 December 2002. A Plan of Action to operationalize this Convention was later approved by the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the successor organization, the AU, in Maputo in July 2003. The signing of this Convention has led to other initiatives in the region aimed at strengthening the mechanisms to combat terrorism in the African continent such as the Bamako Declaration of December 2000, on African Common Position on the Illicit Proliferation, Circulation and Trafficking of Small Arms and Light Weapons; the West African States Moratorium on the importation, exportation and manufacture of small arms and light weapons in West Africa; and the Nairobi Declaration of March 2000 and the Ministerial Follow up in August 2002 on the problem of the Proliferation of Illicit Small Arms and Light Weapons in the Great lakes Region and the Horn of Africa. These instruments and initiatives can only make a difference if they are followed by concrete actions to implement them.
The Term Paper on Terrorism Inisde Terrorist Groups
CHAPTER 4 CONCLUSION Defining international terrorism continues to be a problem fraught with difficulties. Though, several attempts have been made and continue to be made by various scholars, governments and international organizations such as the United Nations, a universally accepted definition is still a long way off, if ever it can be achieved. Such an impasse is due to various reasons. First, ...
ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) is not standing idle in the fight against terrorism. It was established in 1975 for the purpose of promoting economic cooperation, integration, and development and also to create a common market by the removal of obstacles to the free movement of persons, goods, services, and capital between member states. With a host of political crises, conflicts, and civil wars that undermined the political and economic stability of the sub region, the work of ECOWAS has expanded to include the promotion of sub regional peace and security. Although ECOWAS has become a leader in conflict management and prevention issues, its current level of engagement in counterterrorism is limited. It has been given insufficient attention to the creation of a common approach to address risks related to the movement of terrorists (accompanied by weapons and money) in the common market, which may threaten the economic stability and development of the sub region.
Terrorism is relatively low on the list of priorities for many ECOWAS member states, nevertheless, ECOWAS has adopted a series of instruments aimed at addressing a number of related security challenges confronting the sub region. These include:
1. The 1999 Protocol relating to the Mechanism for Conflict Prevention, Management Resolution, Peacekeeping and Security, which is aimed at strengthening sub regional cooperation in areas including “international terrorism”
2. The January 2008 Conflict Prevention Framework, which was adopted to help the sub region address the interlinked challenges of cross-border crime, small arms and light weapons proliferation, and political, security, and resource governance
3. The 2009ECOWAS Regional Action Plan on illicit drug trafficking and organized crime.
The counterterrorism portfolio within the ECOWAS Commission is assigned to the Office of the Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace, and Security, but ECOWAS has not created a dedicated unit within the office to deal with counter-terrorism.
1.4 TERRORISM UNDER CRIMINAL LAW
Any law which either independently or as part of a penal/criminal code to combat terrorism must adopt contemporary means. Most criminal offences require the defendant to carry out some positive act before liability can be imposed. Combating terrorism on at the national and global levels calls for ‘Proactive law enforcement’ rather ‘reactive law enforcement’. Proactive law enforcement emphasizes preventing and interrupting crime, rather than reacting to crimes already committed. A successful proactive criminal justice approach to terrorism prevention would need a strategy to permit intervention against terrorist planning and preparations before they mature into action. He goes on to say that countering terrorism through penal prevention would mean criminalizing acts that are committed BEFORE any terrorist acts take place and most importantly, criminalize recruitment, training, supplying weapons to, support, financing, conspiracy, incitement, and glorification of terrorism.
In this sense of the opinion above, the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1373 of 2001 is proactive. It decides that all States shall:
(a) Prevent and suppress the financing of terrorist acts;
(b) Refrain from providing any form of support, active or passive, to entities or persons involved in terrorist acts, including by suppressing recruitment of members of terrorist groups and eliminating the supply of weapons to terrorists;
(c) Take the necessary steps to prevent the commission of terrorist acts, including by provision of early warning to other States by exchange of information;
(d) Deny safe haven to those who finance, plan, support, or commit terrorist acts, or provide safe havens;
(e) Prevent those who finance, plan, facilitate or commit terrorist acts from using their respective territories for those purposes against other States or their citizens;
(f) Ensure that any person who participates in the financing, planning, preparation or perpetration of terrorist acts or in supporting terrorist acts is brought to justice and ensure that, in addition to any other measures against them, such terrorist acts are established as serious criminal offences in domestic laws and regulations and that the punishment duly reflects the seriousness of such terrorist acts;
The same pro-activity may be maintained if nations took a clue from the resolution.
We know that the intent of a person must be considered if we are to hold them legally liable for a criminal act. In law, we have to align the person’s mental or even emotional intent at the time of the offense, plus what it was that they actually did. These must be combined in a package, so to speak, to be able to prove that under law, not only that a crime occurred, but that the person who committed it really intended to inflict harm or injury on another.
At the heart of initiatives in criminal law to combat terrorism are the basic issues of:
1. Mens rea and
2. Actus reus
For conventional crimes, these two will pose no problems, but for terrorism, they become quite an issue. Any law criminalizing terrorism must therefore set the parameters for the mens rea and actus reus of the crime of terrorism.
Beyond the conventional terrorist acts, other forms of terrorism include:
1. FOOD TERRORISM – This is the intentional contamination of large food supplies with dangerous or deadly pathogens. Food supply is especially vulnerable to an attack because of the broad range of biological and chemical agents that can be used as well as their easy accessibility without suspicion. This is also referred to as bio-terrorism.
2. CYBER TERRORISM- This is the use of the internet to launch terrorist activities that are mainly targeted at government data bases and security equipment. Countries with advanced technological and computerized systems stand the greater risk. Computers and communications are increasingly being used in almost every imaginable application. These include system hacking and massive computer virus attack. This is a deadlier form of terrorism because it can be perpetrated at any time, against anyone from anywhere. Neumann put it succinctly thus:
“We are becoming massively interconnected. Whether we like it or not, we must coexist with people and systems of unknown and unidentifiable trustworthiness (including unidentifiable hostile parties), within the U.S. and elsewhere. Our problems have become international as well as national, and cannot be solved only locally.”
These forms of terrorism must also be adequately provided for by any anti-terrorism legislation anywhere in the world.
1.6 THE NIGERIAN RESPONSE TO TERRORISM
Even though terrorism is a global and rarely a national problem, we have to ask at this point – how prepared is Nigeria to respond to a high powered terrorist attack? Nigeria’s preparation is embarrassingly and dangerously low given the fact that a well grounded response to terrorism is a challenge for our democracy. There is presently no law criminalizing terrorism in Nigeria and as such prosecuting for terrorism is impossible. This is a long standing principle of criminal law in Nigeria arising from the land mark case of Aoko v. Fagbemi where a conviction for adultery which was not an offence under the Criminal Code was quashed. Of greater weight is the provision of S. 33 Constitution of the federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 which states inter alia:
“Subject as otherwise provided by this constitution a person shall not be convicted of a criminal offence unless that offence is defined and the penalty thereof is prescribed in a written law; a written law refers to an Act of the National Assembly of law of a State House of Assembly, any subsidiary legislation or instrument under the provisions of the law.”
This puts Nigeria at a greater disadvantage considering the fact that terrorism seems to follow a chain reaction and acts of terrorism perpetrated in one country can become the source of unrest in another country which may not even share any geographical proximity, for example the riot arising from the caricature made in 2006 in a Danish Newspaper publication of Prophet Mohammed, far away from Nigeria.
The worst thing a government or legislature will do in the face of a perceived problem is to be seen to be standing idly by. Our first attempt to take action in this direction came with the “Terror Bill” i.e. The Anti-terrorism, Economic and Financial Crimes Act set out to criminalize terrorism have still not been passed by the country’s legislature. The bill has five essential parts covering acts of terrorism and related offences, terrorism funding, and terrorist properties, mutual assistance and extradition, investigation and prosecution. The acts of terrorism, according to the bill, include attacks upon a person’s life which may cause bodily harm or death, kidnappings, as well as the destruction of government facilities or private properties in a manner likely to endanger human life or result in a major economic loss. The bill also addresses the hijacking of aircrafts, ships, or other means of public transport, as well as the manufacture, possession, acquisition, transport, supply, or use of weapons and explosives. The propagation and dissemination of information in any form calculated to cause panic, evoke violence, or intimidate a government, person or group of persons, also fall within actions the bill seeks to deal with or prevent.
Until such laws are enacted, Nigeria does not have the judicial competence to deal with crimes committed by Nigerians outside the country, or foreigners within the country especially as relating to terrorist acts.
The recent tide of militancy in the Niger Delta region does not make the prospects any better, but more worrisome is the unpredictability of the means employable by this aggrieved group to drive home their agitation. The targeting of expatriates oil workers for kidnap, explosion of oil pipes and attacks on oil installation have been the terrorists weapons of making their statements.
There can be no effective counter-terror strategy without a professional intelligence service. The Anti- Terrorism Squad which has been set up in Nigeria can hardly be a professional intelligence service properly so called; besides the fact that it is not an independent unit but a unit under the Nigerian Police Force. Understanding that the nature of the threat is constantly mutating, necessitates constant monitoring and engagement by a specialized service/unit. Importantly, members of this structure must be appointed on the basis of competence, not geo-political considerations. They must also be well-paid and well-vetted to prevent criminal or compromise from penetrating their activities because of its sensitive nature.
In addition to the above, the law should provide for special measures to protect the rights and meet the needs of victims of a large-scale terrorist attack. Particular attention is given to the efforts required to ensure an effective response to victims’ rights, as well as their short and long-term emotional and psychological needs. This will also include immediate crisis responses; post-crisis victim assistance; criminal pretrial and trial phases; and legal issues pertaining to terrorism victims.
Interestingly, in the absence of a fully fledged legislation on terrorism in Nigeria, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (Establishment) Act, 2002, contains very few provisions that border on terrorism. Section 15(1) provides thus:
“A person who wilfully provides or collects by any means, directly or indirectly, any money from any other person with intent that the money shall be used or is in the knowledge that the money shall be used for any act of terrorism, commits an offence under this Act and is liable on conviction’ to imprisonment for life.”
The Act goes on to define terrorism in S.40 (a):
“”Terrorism” means-
(a) any act which is a violation of the Criminal Code or the Penal Code and which may endanger the life. Physical integrity or freedom of or cause serious injury or death to, any person, any number or group of persons or causes or may cause damage to public or property, natural resources, environmental or cultural heritage
and is calculated or intended to –
(I) intimidate, put in fear, force, coerce or induce any government, body, institution, the .general public or any segment thereof to do or abstain from doing any actor to adopt or abandon a particular standpoint, or to act according to certain principles, or
(il) disrupt any public service, the delivery of any essential service to the public or to create a public emergency, or
(iii) create general insurrection in a State ; (b) any promotion, sponsorship of, contribution to, command, aid, incitement, encouragement, attempt, threat, conspiracy, organisation or procurement of any
person, with the intent to commit any act referred to in paragraph (a) (i),(ii) and (iii)”
Even with this provision, terrorism cannot be said to have been curbed effectively, because the only intent of this section is that perpetrators of crime should not be able to launder the proceeds of their crime under the Act to finance terrorism. As can be expected, this provision will not be sufficient to procure a conviction for terrorism properly so called.
1.7 CONCLUSION/RECOMMENDATION
We cannot continue to play dumb when the entire world is singing a new song. It is my opinion that although the Terror Bill is a first step in a right direction, it rather localizes terrorism and as such is not proactive enough. Acts which the Bill classes as acts of terrorism are constantly changing and mutating because of the very nature of terrorism itself, and as such the bill should cover a wider range of acts and more sophisticated methods of perpetration. If the Jos and Abuja bombings and indeed other attempted bombings at several other locations around the country are anything to go by, then we should begin to pre-empt instances in the near future where terrorists will begin to move from just kidnapping to massive bombings and hostage taking of not only strategic individuals but also common people; especially women and children.
If the bill continues to hit a brick wall and the National Assembly continues to play in second fiddle, more devastating acts of terrorism in Nigeria or effects of terrorism elsewhere will work greater hardship on our criminal justice system than we presently envisage. The Judiciary is not left, out terrorists should not be able to hide behind a lack of jurisdiction or of requisite speed in the judicial process. Precisely because extra-judicial punishment cannot be considered, the judicial bench must be prepared to act as necessary against terrorist threats. In the face of imminent threat to national peace and safety, our eminent jurists can provide the much needed lead. Religious terrorists/militants are increasingly finding the African continent an attractive place to operate, and Nigeria is no exception. With the sorry state of our security and large scale corruption/compromised views of many of our leaders, the law may be our only refuge from the scourge of terrorism.
Fighting terrorism requires specific skills and cannot be accomplished merely by following the traditional methods for prosecuting organized crime. There is need for training of our security, law enforcement agents, public prosecutors, members of the judiciary and indeed orientation for the general public. In fact, counter terrorism capacity building should become a core aspect of national development if any meaning and progressive attention must be given to terrorism. Greater attention to the implementation of measures to ensure that the Millennium Development Goals are a reality should be adopted given the sorry state of development in Africa as a continent.
APPENDIX
Number of UN Member States, which are Parties to the Thirteen Universal Anti-Terrorism Conventions and Protocols
Mid-2000 November 2006
1. Tokyo Convention (1963) 169 182
2. Hague Convention (1970) 171 183
3. Montreal Convention (1971) 174 184
4. Int. Protected Persons Convention (1973) 102 163
5. Hostage Convention (1979) 89 156
6. Nuclear Material Convention (1980) 64 120
6a. Amendment to the Nuclear Material
Convention (2005) — 6
7. Airports Protocol (1988) 99 160
8. Maritime Navigation Convention (1988) 39 141
8a. Protocol to the Maritime Convention (2005) n/a 0
9. Fixed Platform Protocol (1988) 35 130
9a. Protocol to the Fixed Platform Protocol (2005) n/a 0
10. Plastic Explosives Convention (1991) 56 129
11. Terrorist Bombing Convention (1997) 8 150
12. Terrorist Financing Convention (1999) 0 154
13. Nuclear Terrorism Convention (2005) n/a 8
SOURCE: Data from UN Office of Legal Affairs; updates by Terrorism Prevention Branch (20/05/2005) – Retrieved on March 25, 2011 from http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/legal-tools/Model.html.
——————————————–
[ 1 ]. The U.S. Department of State keeps a list of states that sponsor terrorism. Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, Sudan, and Syria make up the current list. The list has not changed since 1993, when Sudan was added.
[ 2 ]. Even though religion should be an instrument of peace: first between man and his maker, then between man and his fellow man.
[ 3 ]. Laborde J.P., Countering Terrorism: New International Criminal Law Perspectives, 132nd international senior seminar visiting experts’ papers,10
[ 4 ]. For example under the law of trespass, the trespasser must actually enter upon the land of another physically no matter and it will not be a defence to for the trespasser to claim that the encroachment was a trifle. This may be contrasted with a case where terrorists transport a bomb to detonate in another jurisdiction without actual and direct entrance into that jurisdiction.
[ 5 ]. Nwoko K.C., March 2011 Food Terrorism in Nigeria: Fears, Possibilities and Action, Journal of Politics and Law Vol. iv. No.1: 159-165. Retrieved March 24, 2011, from .
[ 6 ]. Higgins R. and Flory M., 1997, Terrorism and international law, London, Routledge, 24.
[ 7 ]. The 23-year old Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab who attempted to blow up a passenger plane on December 24, 2009 was recruited via facebook. He claimed to be very lonely and these new friends just gave him something to live for.
[ 8 ]. Including those who perpetrated the September 11 attacks.
[ 9 ]. 6 Choon Y.J., 2004, War, Responsibility, and the Age of Terrorism, Stanford Law Review, Public Law and Legal Theory Research Paper Series, 101-131. Retrieved on March 21, 2011, from http://ssrn.com/abstract=616062
[ 10 ]. Ward R.H., 2004, The Economics of Terrorism, Forum On Crime And Society, UNODC Publication, Volume 4, N0 i and ii, 17-29. Retrieved on March 26, 2011 from analysis/Forum/V05-81059_EBOOK.pdf
[ 11 ]. Schmid A.P, ed. 2004, Forum On Crime And Society, UNODC Publication, Volume 4, N0 i and ii, 17-29. Retrieved on March 26, 2011 from http://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/Forum/V05-81059_EBOOK.pdf.
[ 12 ]. This is usually the case with hijacking and hostage taking.
[ 13 ]. Higgins R. op cit 24
[ 14 ]. Retrieved on March 24, 2011 from http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2001/sc7158.doc.htm
[ 15 ]. See Appendix
[ 16 ]. In the case of state-sponsored terrorism
[ 17 ]. Weapons of Mass Destruction
[ 18 ]. A Report on Africa’s Response to Terrorism, An African American Institute symposium, February 17, 2006, 37 Retrieved March 19, 2011 from
[ 19 ]. Ipe J, Cockayne J, Millar A., 2010, Implementing the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy in West Africa, Center on Global Counterterrorism Cooperation, 12. Retrieved on March 20, 2011 from http://www.globalct.org/images/content/pdf/…/West_Africa_Report_Final.pdf
[ 20 ]. Laborde op cit 11
[ 21 ]. Retrieved on March 24, 2011 from http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2001/sc7158.doc.html.
[ 22 ]. Nwoko op cit.
[ 23 ]. E.g America and Singapore which has digitalized every government ministry i.e. they run an e-government or a virtual one-stop-government.
[ 24 ]. Neumann, P.G, 1999, Information System Adversities and Risks, presentation at the Conference on International Cooperation to Combat Cyber Crime and Terrorism, Hoover Institution, Stanford University, Stanford, California, December 6–7, pp. 1
[ 25 ]. Although the Jos and Abuja bombings of 2010, coupled with the incessant activities of militants in the Niger Delta are a rude awakening to the fact that terrorism had crept into Nigeria.
[ 26 ]. (1961) ALL NLR 400
[ 27 ]. An essential feature of our federal structure which does us more harm than good.
[ 28 ]. It has been speculated that many of the clashes peculiar to Northern Nigeria have been perpetrated by mercenaries from neighbouring African countries.
[ 29 ]. Thirty four out of the world’s fifty Least Developed Countries (LDCs) are in Africa.
