BY
CHIKE B. OKOSA, Ph. D.
Abstract
The interstate manifestation of terrorism creates a categorical imperative for the construction and maintenance of a global counter-terrorism framework. From the perspective of international law, Security Council Resolution 1373 of September 28, 2001 provides the normative basis for such a global counterterrorism infrastructure. Nigeria’s responsibility as a member of the international community to conform to standards of conduct prescribed for members of the international community in the discharge of their international responsibilities, constrains us to ascertain the extent to which Nigeria’s domestic legislation is congruent with the prescribed international template. In answer, we set out the historical background to the offence of terrorism, and in order to delimit the acceptable bases for institutional response to the offence, we analyzed extant counter-terrorism protocols and elicited the current orthodoxy with regards to definition of the offence. Using this as a background, we outline the components of the offence of terrorism in international law. From this perspective, we chronologically outlined the creation and elements of the offence of terrorism in Nigeria law. We compared the elements of the offence under applicable international protocols and under Nigeria law. Predicated upon this comparison, we reach a conclusion that Nigeria’s antiterrorism regime is in both content and concept congruent with the concept of terrorism at international level.