Paper short abstract:

This paper interrogates intergovernmental and inter-agency cooperation against terrorism in the Lake Chad Basin countries and the roles that civil society organisations play; and whether they are performing these roles effectively and, if not, what could be impinging on their ability?

Paper long abstract:

Nigeria and its neighbouring countries, Niger, Chad and Cameroon have been battling a decade old insurgency - Boko Haram, around the Lake Chad Basin. The Boko Haram terrorist organisation (also known as the Islamic State West African Province, ISWAP) has been terrorising Nigeria's northeast and the bordering countries since 2009. The protracted conflict has sparked one of the worst humanitarian crisis in the world that includes over 20,000 deaths, over 3 million internally displaced persons, high levels of food insecurity yielding to hunger and malnutrition. The crisis has attracted high level intergovernmental and inter-agency cooperation including a regional counterterrorism force and several development and humanitarian interventions by the development agencies such as the World Bank and the United Nations, yet the crisis remains protracted and dire. This paper interrogates intergovernmental and inter-agency cooperation against Boko Haram with all of its corollary effects and the implications for civil society engagement. On one hand, it critically examines how far and effective or otherwise the intergovernmental and inter-agency cooperation have been. And, on the other hand, it considers the role that civil society organisations are playing and whether they are performing these roles effectively, and, if not, what could be impinging on their ability?