Transforming Pacifists into Warmongers? Separatist Movement, State Repression, and the Politics of Framing Terrorism in Nigeria: Evidence from IPOB and Yoruba Nation’s Freedom Frontiers

Abstract

While the post-9/11 event has animated how state actors frame terrorism, contemporary studies have failed to address the politics inherent in proscribing, repressing, and labeling separatist movements as terrorists. This paper explores the politics of framing terrorism using the contemporary self-determination struggles advanced by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and the Yoruba Nation ’ s freedom frontiers. The study proposes a United Nations-coordinated global framework for regulating and evaluating states ’ activities in identifying specific groups as terrorists. Taking such a stance would prevent aggrieved agitators from being persecuted by the state in the name of terror.