Abstract:
Boko Haram’s religious militancy and terrorist activities have become a major national, regional and international concern; as its terrorist violence has spread beyond the borders of Nigeria to Cameroon, Niger, Chad, and Mali. The group has survived many counter-terrorist attempts to defeat it. Nigeria has constituted the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) made up of Chad, Benin, Nigeria, Cameroon, and Niger in fighting Boko Haram in its attempt to end the Boko Haram menace. The study sought to find out why the Joint Task Force and how effective has the Task Force been in ending the Boko Haram menace? The study was a qualitative one that sourced data from both primary and secondary sources. The study found out that given the trends of Boko Haram terrorist activities that have spread to all the members of the Joint Task Force except Benin, the member states’ knowledge of the terrains and Boko Haram’s tendency for safe havens when hard pressed, the Joint Task Force is best suited for fighting the Boko Haram menace. The Joint Task Force has been very successful in rendering the group inactive. Roads, bridges, and communities that had been closed to the public have now become safe for civilians to return to and carry out their livelihood activities. The Task Force has, however, faced challenges such as inadequate resources, Nigeria’s preponderance and the lack of trust among the member states, and the poor economies and common poverty of the member states that limit its effectiveness. The work concluded that given the resurgence of religious militant groups and the relative deprivation that characterizes the regions in which the group is active; it is early days yet to conclude that the Task Force has defeated Boko Haram. The study recommends that Nigeria should offer greater respect, collaboration, magnanimity towards other members of the MNJTF, since fighting religious militant and terrorist groups comes at a great cost; and solidarity among troop-contributing states is a sine qua non to defeating Boko Haram
