Boko Haram Insurgency and the Violation of Regional Human Rights Norms in Nigeria: An Analysis of the African Charter

Abstract

Boniface Umoh E

This paper analyzes the impact of the Boko Haram insurgency on regional human rights norms in Nigeria, with a focus on the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights. It specifically examines the type and extent of human rights abuses perpetrated by Boko Haram between 2020 and 2026, identifies the specific Charter provisions violated, and evaluates the effectiveness of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (ACHPR) in addressing these abuses. The study, which employed a qualitative research technique, required a documentary analysis of secondary sources, including scholarly articles, human rights reports, media outlets, and official documents from regional organizations like the ACHPR. SWOT and PESTEL analyses were used to contextualize the findings within broader institutional and environmental contexts. The results show that Boko Haram consistently and systematically violates human rights through attacks on places of worship and education, mass killings, kidnappings, and forced displacement. Key African Charter rights, including the rights to life, dignity, education, freedom of speech, and peaceful assembly, were violated by these crimes. Despite issuing policy recommendations and public denunciations, the ACHPR's weak enforcement authority seriously impeded its ability to provide responsibility and restitution. The analysis comes to the conclusion that Boko Haram's actions highlighted institutional flaws in Africa's regional human rights enforcement system in addition to weakening Nigeria's human rights safeguards. It recommends strengthening the ACHPR's mission, integrating human rights principles into counterterrorism frameworks, strengthening domestic implementation of the African Charter, and establishing extensive victim assistance services.

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