The Mobility of Terror: Motorcycle Bandits, Violence and Anarchy in Nigeria

Abstract

The Nigerian state has witnessed an upsurge in violent crime – such as kidnapping, looting and cattle rustling – especially in its northwest geopolitical zone. Referred to as ‘armed bandits’ in local parlance, loosely organised criminal gangs with strong links to Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province have compounded the war on terror in the Sahel. In this article, Promise Frank Ejiofor draws on the New Mobilities Paradigm to contend that mobility is central to comprehending the persistence of armed banditry. By understanding the problem in this way, anti-terror legislation could then aim at effectively governing not just territorial spaces but also mobilities.