NIGERIA’S SECURITY GOVERNANCE AND PEACEBUILDING.

Abstract

This paper critically examines the intersecting challenges of security governance and peacebuilding in Nigeria, highlighting how institutional fragility, elite capture, and exclusionary policies perpetuate cycles of violence and instability. Using a qualitative methodology, the study analyzes security sector practices and interventions in addressing insurgency and conflicts. It finds that Nigeria’s overreliance on militarized responses, despite formal commitments to integrated and preventive security approaches, has failed to address the root causes of insecurity. Structural drivers such as corruption, youth marginalisation, climate-induced displacement, and religious extremism are insufficiently tackled within current state responses. The paper concludes by recommending a shift toward inclusive, community-based peacebuilding, strengthened accountability mechanisms, and coordinated governance reforms that align with national priorities and global best practices for sustainable security and development.

Keywords: Security, Peacebuilding, Governance, Policy, Nigeria