“Every person shall be entitled to freedom of thought, conscience and religion,” 1999 constitution of Nigeria.

There is no legally acceptable definition of terrorism to scholars or the United Nations but the definition in use is sectoral conventions. In fact there are as many definitions of the subject as are Authors on the subject. The definition of the term terrorism by a Terrorist is likely to be as unacceptable but we can establish the essential ingredients of Terrorism at least. As Lord Denning Once noted, if we cannot define an Elephant, we know an Elephant when we see One.

What is Terrorism?

Terrorism is the systematic use of terror especially as a means of coercion. Violence is an essential feature of terrorism .In November 2004, a United Nations Secretary Generals Report described terrorism as any act “intended to cause death or serious bodily harm to civilians or non-combatants with the purpose of intimidating a population or compelling a government or an international organization to do or abstain from doing any act”. Terrorism” comes from the French word terrorisme, and originally referred specifically to State Terrorism as practiced by the French government during the Reign of Terror. The French word terrorisme in turn derives from the verb   meaning “I frighten|”

Terrorism is essentially defined as political violence that is designed to induce terror and psychic fear in an asymmetrical conflict (sometimes indiscriminate) through the violent victimization and destruction of Non combatant targets (sometimes iconic symbols). Such acts are meant to send a message from an illicit clandestine organization. The purpose of terrorism is to exploit the Media in order to achieve maximum attainable publicity as an amplifying force multiplier in order to influence the targeted audience(s) in order to reach short- and midterm political goals and/or desired long-term end states.” It will be recalled that the Bombings of the United Nations Building in Abuja received maximum publicity internationally and locally, including the internet media. This is exactly what the terrorists want.

Terrorism has been practiced by a broad array of political organizations for furthering their objectives. The maitatsine religious upheavals in Northern Nigeria received global attentions as a jihadist islamist fundamentalist group with the objective of Islamizing Nigeria It has been practiced by both right-wing and left-wing political parties, Nationalistic groups, religious groups, revolutionaries, and ruling governments An abiding characteristic is the indiscriminate use of violence against Non combatants for the purpose of gaining publicity for a group, cause, or individual. Essentially terrorism thrives on fear and publicity.

A major feature of terror is the target of the Innocents who perhaps are not blameworthy and Very often, the victims of terrorism are targeted not because they are threats, but because they are specific “symbols, tools, animals or corrupt beings”[ that tie into a specific view of the world that the terrorists possess. Their suffering accomplishes the terrorists’ goals of instilling fear, getting their message out to an audience or otherwise satisfying the demands of their often radical religious and political agendas.

Like any other phenomenon terrorism has its history. The history of terrorism goes back to sicarii Zealots— Jewish extremist group active in Judaea Province at the beginning of the 1st century AD. After Zealotry  rebellion in the 1st century AD, when some prominent collaborators with Roman rule were killed, according to contemporary historian Josephus  in 6 AD Judas of Galilee formed a small and more extreme offshoot of the Zealots, the Sicarii Their terror also was directed against Jewish “collaborators”, including temple priests, Sadducees, Herodians, and other wealthy elites

There is the famous statement: ‘One man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter.’ But that is grossly misleading. It assesses the validity of the cause when terrorism is an act. One can have a perfectly beautiful cause and yet if one commits terrorist acts, it is terrorism regardless .In early 1975, the Law Enforcement Assistant Administration in the United States formed the National Advisory Committee on Criminal Justice Standards and Goals. One of the five volumes that the committee wrote was entitled Disorders and Terrorism, produced by the Task Force on Disorders and Terrorism under the direction of H.H.A. Cooper, Director of the Task Force staff.

The Task Force classified terrorism into six categories:

Civil disorder – A form of collective violence interfering with the peace security and normal functioning of the community.

Political terrorism – Violent criminal behaviour designed primarily to generate Fear in the community, or substantial segment of it, for political purposes.

Non-Political terrorism – Terrorism that is not aimed at Political purposes but which exhibits “conscious design to create and maintain a high degree of fear for coercive purposes, but the end is individual or collective gain rather than the achievement of a political objective.”

Quasi-terrorism – The activities incidental to the commission of Crimes of Violence that are similar in form and method to genuine terrorism but which nevertheless lack its essential ingredient. It is not the main purpose of the quasi-terrorists to induce terror in the immediate victim as in the case of genuine terrorism, but the quasi-terrorist uses the modalities and techniques of the genuine terrorist and produces similar consequences and reaction. For example, the fleeing felon who takes Hostages is a quasi-terrorist, whose methods are similar to those of the genuine terrorist but whose purposes are quite different.

Limited political terrorism – Genuine political terrorism is characterized by a revolutionary approach; limited political terrorism refers to “acts of terrorism which are committed for ideological or Political motives but which are not part of a concerted campaign to capture control of the State.

Official or state terrorism –”referring to nations whose rule is based upon fear and Oppression that reach similar to terrorism or such proportions.” It may also be referred to as Structural Terrorism defined broadly as terrorist acts carried out by governments in pursuit of political objectives, often as part of their foreign policy.

The essential context in which terrorist tactics are used is often a large-scale, unresolved political conflict. The type of conflict varies widely; historical examples include:

Secession of a territory to form a new sovereign state or become part of a different state

Dominance of territory or resources by various ethnic groups

Imposition of a particular form of government

Economic deprivation of a population

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