‘Forcing the Horse to Drink or Making it Realise its Thirst’? Understanding the Enactment of Anti-Terrorism Legislation (ATL) in Nigeria

Attempts by the Nigerian government to enact a comprehensive anti-terrorism legislation (ATL)
since 2006 had suffered several setbacks. However, the failed Christmas Day bombing of a U.S.
airliner by a Nigerian, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, and subsequent acts of domestic terrorism
have induced the National Assembly (NASS) to revive deliberation on the ATL. Adopting a
historical approach, this article critically engages with the complexities surrounding renewed
efforts at enacting a comprehensive ATL in Nigeria and further highlights the contentious
debates on its necessity. It argues that the litany of domestic imperatives that led to a lethargic
approach to counter-terrorism legislation between 2006 and late 2009 by the NASS have been
overwhelmed by more serious domestic and international terrorist acts, which have made the
enactment of a comprehensive ATL in Nigeria a matter of necessity rather than choice.