Illicit Drugs, Organised Crime, and Violent Extremism: Addressing the Nexus, Countermeasures, and Implications
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Published:
Jul 4, 2024
Keywords:
Crime, Extremism, Illicit Drugs, Law Enforcement, Violent
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Abstract
This article explores how illicit drug traffickers, organised criminals, and violent extremists interact along intricate pathways to perpetrate their illegal activities and recommends how security agents, especially the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) can better tackle the activities of illicit drug racketeers linked to organised criminal groups and violent extremists. Against this backdrop, the article provides an analysis of the association between illicit drugs, organised crime, and violent extremism. The study was an exploratory research design, carried out in Tsafe Area of Zamfara State. It was conducted using a Key Informant and In-depth Interview. The research was conducted using the snowballing sampling method. Findings revealed that while efforts to curtail the phenomenon are ongoing, the linkages are getting stronger daily. Therefore, to combat the increasing activities of these organised criminal groups, the article recommends a multi-sectoral and “whole systems” approach using modern technology, and synergy among agencies of government, as well as non-governmental stakeholders, who have the wherewithal to support actions being undertaken by the government.
Article Details
How to Cite
Ebonyi, Anthony A., and Bashir Bello. 2024. “Illicit Drugs, Organised Crime, and Violent Extremism: Addressing the Nexus, Countermeasures, and Implications”. ABUAD Journal of Social and Management Sciences 5 (2), 382-407. https://doi.org/10.53982/ajsms.2024.0502.09-j.
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References
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https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440211040117
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https://doi.org/10.6007/IJARBSS/v9-i2/5591
Ekpo, C. E., Tobi, D. O. O. B. E., & Stanley, O. B. (2018). Towards Containing Terrorism in North East Nigeria: A Befitting Strategy for a Protracted War. Public Policy and Administration Research, 8(7), 67-93.
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https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-020-01088-5
Hübschle, A. (2011). From theory to practice: Exploring the organised crime-terror nexus in Sub-Saharan Africa. Perspectives on Terrorism, 5(3/4), 81-95.
Hübschle, A. (2014). Of bogus hunters, queenpins and mules: the varied roles of women in transnational organized crime in Southern Africa. Trends in Organized Crime, 17(1-2), 31-51.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s12117-013-9202-8
Kelly, R. J., & Levy, S. A. (2012). The Endangered Empire: American Re-sponses to Transnational Organized Crime. Journal of Social Distress and the Homeless, 21(1-2), 44-110.
https://doi.org/10.1179/105307812804755590
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https://doi.org/10.47672/ejhs.872
Laplante, L. J. (2008). Transitional justice and peacebuilding: Diagnosing and addressing the socioeconomic roots of violence through a human rights framework. The International Journal of Transitional Justice, 2(3), 331-355.
https://doi.org/10.1093/ijtj/ijn031
Mangena, B., & Pherudi, M. (2019). Disentangling Violent Extremism in Cabo Delgado Province, Northern Mozambique: Challenges and Prospects. Extremisms in Africa, 348-365.
Mazzitelli, A. L. (2007). Transnational organized crime in West Africa: the additional challenge. International Affairs, 83(6), 1071-1090.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2346.2007.00674.x
Morgan, C. J. A., Noronha, L. A., Muetzelfeldt, M., Fielding, A., & Curran, H. V. (2013). Harms and benefits associated with psychoactive drugs: findings of an international survey of active drug users. Journal of Psychopharmacology 27(6) 497-506.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0269881113477744
Mullins, S., & Wither, J. K. (2016). Terrorism and Organised Crime. Connections. The Quarterly Journal, 15 (3), 65-82. https://doi.org/10.11610/Connections.15.3.06
https://doi.org/10.11610/Connections.15.3.06
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Nwannennaya, C., & Abiodun, T. F. (2017). Illicit drug trafficking in Nigeria: obstacle to national development and security. J Pol Sci Pub Aff, 5(230), 2332-0761.
Okereke, C. N. (2020). Combating Drug Trafficking in Nigeria: Dynamics, Possibilities and Constraints. 187-204. African Journal of Terrorism, 9(1), Available at: https://caert.org.dz/Publications/Journal/revue%20Vol%207-2.pdf. Retrieved on 10th of March, 2022
Okoli, A. C., & Okpaleke, F. (2014). Human trafficking and trajectories of neo-slavery: The Nigerian experience and a political economy outline. International Journal of Liberal Arts and Social Science, 2(2), 86-96.
Omage, E. I., & Omage M. I. (n.d). Illicit Drugs use and Dependency among Teenagers and Young Adults in Oredo Local Government Area, Benin City, Nigeria. European Scientific Journal, 8(20).
Paoli, L. (2017). What is the Link between Organized Crime and drug trafficking? Rausch, 6, Jahrgang, 4, 181-189.
Pinson, L. (2022). Addressing the linkages between illicit arms, organized crime and armed conflict. United Nations Institute for Disarmament and Research (UNIDIR). Available at: https://www.unodc.org/documents/firearms-protocol/2022/UNIDIR-UNODC_Adressing_the_linkages_between_illict_arms_organized_crime_and_armed_conflict.pdf. Retrieved on 10th March, 2023
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Richards, J. (2017). Demobilising and Disengaging Violent Extremists: Towards a New UN Framework. Stability: International Journal of Security and Development, 6(1).
https://doi.org/10.5334/sta.543
Vincenzo Ruggiero, V., & Leyva, R. (2017). Organized Crime and Terrorist Networks: Literature Exploration and Open Access Bibliography. In Understand The Dimensions of Organised Crime and Terrorist Networks for Developing Effective and Efficient Security Solutions for First-Line-Practitioners and Professionals. Takedown Working Papers
Sahgal, G., & Zeuthen, M. (2020). The Nexus Between Crime and Violent Extremism in Kenya: A Case Study of Two Prison Complexes. The RUSI Journal, 165(4), 54-67. Sørensen, G., Møller, J., & Jackson, R. H. (2022). Introduction to international relations: theories and approaches. Oxford University Press.
https://doi.org/10.1080/03071847.2020.1793686
UNDO (2017). Fact sheet 01 a [Some types of drugs used in Nigeria]. Availiable at https://www.unodc.org/conig/uploads/documents/Fact_sheet_01_a_Some_types_of_drugs_used_in_Nigeria.pdf UNODC, I. (2005). World drug report. United Nations New York, NY. Available at https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/data-and-analysis/WDR-2005.html. Retrieved on 10th March, 2023
UNODC (2009). Available at: https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/data-and-analysis/WDR-2009.html. Retrieved 10th March, 2023
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Van Dijk, J. J. (2002). Empowering victims of organized crime: On the concurrence of the Palermo Convention with the UN Declaration on Basic Principles of Justice for Victims. International Review of Victimology, 9(1), 15-30.
Wada, M. (2021). Migrants, Domestic Politics, and the Campaign against Drug Abuse in Kano State, Northern Nigeria, 1999-2016. The Social History of Alcohol and Drugs, 35(2), 260-286.
Webber, D., Kruglanski, A., Molinario, E., & Jasko, K. (2020). Ideologies that justify political violence. Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences, 34, 107-111.
https://doi.org/10.1177/026975800200900102
Aina, D. (2022, October 27). Illicit Substances Impede Economic Growth - NDLEA. The Punch Newspaper, 27 October, 2022. Available at: https://punchng.com/illicit-substances-impede-economic-growth-ndlea/
Aning, K., & Pokoo, J (2014). Understanding the nature and threats of drug trafficking to national and regional security in West Africa. Stability: International Journal of Security & Development, 3(1), 1-13.
https://doi.org/10.5334/sta.df
Bello, B., & Abdullahi, M. M. (2021). Farmers-herdsmen conflict, cattle rustling, and banditry: The dialectics of insecurity in Anka and Maradun Local Government Area of Zamfara State, Nigeria. SAGE Open, 11(4), 21582440211040117.
https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440211040117
Buscaglia, E & van Dijk, J. (2005). Controlling Organized Crime and Corruption In the Public Sector. Forum on Crime and Society, 3, (1). Available at: https://www.unodc.org/pdf/crime/forum/forum3_Art1.pdf. Retrieved on 10th March 2023
Canton, H. (2021). United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime-UNODC. In The Europa Directory of International Organizations 2021 (pp. 240-244). Routledge.
https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003179900-33
Chelin, R. (2020). The Terror Business: Assessing the Organised Crime-Extremism Nexus in Africa. Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/343934773_The_Terror_Business_Assessing_the_Organised_Crime-Extremism_Nexus_in_Africa. Retrieved on 10th March, 2023
Chukwurah, D. C., Okechukwu, E., & Ogbeje, E. N. (2015). Implication of Boko Haram Terrorism on Northern Nigeria. Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 6(3), 371.
https://doi.org/10.5901/mjss.2015.v6n3p371
Commission on Narcotic Drugs & Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, (2020). Available at: https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/commissions/CCPCJ/session/index2.html. Retrieved on 10th March, 2023
Cornell, S. E. (2012). The interaction of drug smuggling, human trafficking, and terrorism. In Human trafficking and human security (pp. 48-66). Routledge.
De Boer, J., & Bosetti, L. (2015). The crime-conflict "nexus": State of the evidence. Occasional Paper, 5(9), 1-25.
Ebonyi, A. A. (2019). Implications of Boko Haram Insurgency on Integration: Evidences from Northern Nigeria. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 9(2), 554-567.
https://doi.org/10.6007/IJARBSS/v9-i2/5591
Ekpo, C. E., Tobi, D. O. O. B. E., & Stanley, O. B. (2018). Towards Containing Terrorism in North East Nigeria: A Befitting Strategy for a Protracted War. Public Policy and Administration Research, 8(7), 67-93.
Heikkilä, H., Maalouf, W., & Campello, G. (2021). The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime's efforts to strengthen a culture of prevention in low-and middle-income countries. Prevention Science, 22, 18-28.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-020-01088-5
Hübschle, A. (2011). From theory to practice: Exploring the organised crime-terror nexus in Sub-Saharan Africa. Perspectives on Terrorism, 5(3/4), 81-95.
Hübschle, A. (2014). Of bogus hunters, queenpins and mules: the varied roles of women in transnational organized crime in Southern Africa. Trends in Organized Crime, 17(1-2), 31-51.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s12117-013-9202-8
Kelly, R. J., & Levy, S. A. (2012). The Endangered Empire: American Re-sponses to Transnational Organized Crime. Journal of Social Distress and the Homeless, 21(1-2), 44-110.
https://doi.org/10.1179/105307812804755590
Kwaskebe, J., Atolagbe, J. E., & Kayode, B. (2021). The Use of Psychoactive Drugs among Street Ladies in Aba Metropolis of Nigeria: An Assessment of Public Health Implications. European Journal of Health Sciences, 6(5), 15-24.
https://doi.org/10.47672/ejhs.872
Laplante, L. J. (2008). Transitional justice and peacebuilding: Diagnosing and addressing the socioeconomic roots of violence through a human rights framework. The International Journal of Transitional Justice, 2(3), 331-355.
https://doi.org/10.1093/ijtj/ijn031
Mangena, B., & Pherudi, M. (2019). Disentangling Violent Extremism in Cabo Delgado Province, Northern Mozambique: Challenges and Prospects. Extremisms in Africa, 348-365.
Mazzitelli, A. L. (2007). Transnational organized crime in West Africa: the additional challenge. International Affairs, 83(6), 1071-1090.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2346.2007.00674.x
Morgan, C. J. A., Noronha, L. A., Muetzelfeldt, M., Fielding, A., & Curran, H. V. (2013). Harms and benefits associated with psychoactive drugs: findings of an international survey of active drug users. Journal of Psychopharmacology 27(6) 497-506.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0269881113477744
Mullins, S., & Wither, J. K. (2016). Terrorism and Organised Crime. Connections. The Quarterly Journal, 15 (3), 65-82. https://doi.org/10.11610/Connections.15.3.06
https://doi.org/10.11610/Connections.15.3.06
National Drug Control Master Plan 2021-2025 (2021). Message from the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Available at: https://www.unodc.org/documents/nigeria/NDCMP_2021-2025.pdf. Retrieved on 11th, March 2023
Nwannennaya, C., & Abiodun, T. F. (2017). Illicit drug trafficking in Nigeria: obstacle to national development and security. J Pol Sci Pub Aff, 5(230), 2332-0761.
Okereke, C. N. (2020). Combating Drug Trafficking in Nigeria: Dynamics, Possibilities and Constraints. 187-204. African Journal of Terrorism, 9(1), Available at: https://caert.org.dz/Publications/Journal/revue%20Vol%207-2.pdf. Retrieved on 10th of March, 2022
Okoli, A. C., & Okpaleke, F. (2014). Human trafficking and trajectories of neo-slavery: The Nigerian experience and a political economy outline. International Journal of Liberal Arts and Social Science, 2(2), 86-96.
Omage, E. I., & Omage M. I. (n.d). Illicit Drugs use and Dependency among Teenagers and Young Adults in Oredo Local Government Area, Benin City, Nigeria. European Scientific Journal, 8(20).
Paoli, L. (2017). What is the Link between Organized Crime and drug trafficking? Rausch, 6, Jahrgang, 4, 181-189.
Pinson, L. (2022). Addressing the linkages between illicit arms, organized crime and armed conflict. United Nations Institute for Disarmament and Research (UNIDIR). Available at: https://www.unodc.org/documents/firearms-protocol/2022/UNIDIR-UNODC_Adressing_the_linkages_between_illict_arms_organized_crime_and_armed_conflict.pdf. Retrieved on 10th March, 2023
https://doi.org/10.37559/CAAP/22/PACAV/10
Pressman, D. E. (2009). Risk assessment decisions for violent political extremism. Available at: https://hope-radproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Pressman-2009-Risk-assessment-decisions-for-violent-political-extremism.pdf. Retrieved on 10th March, 2023
Reitano, T., Clarke, C. P., & Adal, L. (2017). Examining the Nexus between Organised Crime and Terrorism and its Implications for EU Programming. CT Morse Counter-Terrorism Monitoring, Reporting and Support Mechanism. Available at: https://www.icct.nl/publication/examining-nexus-between-organised-crime-and-terrorism-and-its-implications-eu. Retrieved on 10th March, 2023
Richards, J. (2017). Demobilising and Disengaging Violent Extremists: Towards a New UN Framework. Stability: International Journal of Security and Development, 6(1).
https://doi.org/10.5334/sta.543
Vincenzo Ruggiero, V., & Leyva, R. (2017). Organized Crime and Terrorist Networks: Literature Exploration and Open Access Bibliography. In Understand The Dimensions of Organised Crime and Terrorist Networks for Developing Effective and Efficient Security Solutions for First-Line-Practitioners and Professionals. Takedown Working Papers
Sahgal, G., & Zeuthen, M. (2020). The Nexus Between Crime and Violent Extremism in Kenya: A Case Study of Two Prison Complexes. The RUSI Journal, 165(4), 54-67. Sørensen, G., Møller, J., & Jackson, R. H. (2022). Introduction to international relations: theories and approaches. Oxford University Press.
https://doi.org/10.1080/03071847.2020.1793686
UNDO (2017). Fact sheet 01 a [Some types of drugs used in Nigeria]. Availiable at https://www.unodc.org/conig/uploads/documents/Fact_sheet_01_a_Some_types_of_drugs_used_in_Nigeria.pdf UNODC, I. (2005). World drug report. United Nations New York, NY. Available at https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/data-and-analysis/WDR-2005.html. Retrieved on 10th March, 2023
UNODC (2009). Available at: https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/data-and-analysis/WDR-2009.html. Retrieved 10th March, 2023
United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and the Protocols thereto (2004), Article 2. Use of terms, p.5. Available at https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/organized-crime/intro/UNTOC.html. Retrieved 12 March, 2023.
Van Dijk, J. J. (2002). Empowering victims of organized crime: On the concurrence of the Palermo Convention with the UN Declaration on Basic Principles of Justice for Victims. International Review of Victimology, 9(1), 15-30.
Wada, M. (2021). Migrants, Domestic Politics, and the Campaign against Drug Abuse in Kano State, Northern Nigeria, 1999-2016. The Social History of Alcohol and Drugs, 35(2), 260-286.
Webber, D., Kruglanski, A., Molinario, E., & Jasko, K. (2020). Ideologies that justify political violence. Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences, 34, 107-111.
https://doi.org/10.1177/026975800200900102