Terrorism, is the deliberate creation
and exploitation of fear for bringing about political change. All terrorist
acts involve violence or equally important, the threat of violence. These
violent acts are committed by nongovernmental groups or individuals that is, by
those who are neither part of nor officially serving in the military forces,
law enforcement agencies, intelligence services, or other governmental agencies
of an established nation-state. Terrorists attempt not only to sow
panic but also to undermine confidence in the government and political
leadership of their target country.
Terrorism is therefore designed to have
psychological effects that reach far beyond its impact on the immediate victims
or object of an attack. Terrorists mean to frighten and thereby intimidate a
wider audience, such as a rival ethnic or religious group, an entire country
and its political leadership, or the international community as a whole.
Terrorist groups generally
have few members, limited firepower, and comparatively few organizational
resources. For this reason they rely on dramatic, often spectacular, bloody and
destructive acts of hit-and-run violence to attract attention to themselves and
their cause. Through the publicity generated by their violence, terrorists seek
to obtain the leverage, influence, and power they otherwise lack. The word terrorism was
first used in France to describe a new system of government adopted during the
French Revolution (1789-1799). The regime de la terreur (Reign of
Terror) was intended to promote democracy and popular rule by ridding the
revolution of its enemies and thereby purifying it. However, the oppression and
violent excesses of the terreur transformed it into a feared instrument
of the state. From that time on, terrorism has had a decidedly negative
connotation. The word, however, did not gain wider popularity until the late
19th century when it was adopted by a group of Russian revolutionaries to
describe their violent struggle against tsarist rule. Terrorism then
assumed the more familiar antigovernment associations it has today.
Terrorism is by nature
political because it involves the acquisition and use of power for the purpose
of forcing others to submit, or agree, to terrorist demands. A terrorist
attack, by generating publicity and focusing attention on the organization
behind the attack, is designed to create this power. It also fosters an
environment of fear and intimidation that the terrorists can manipulate. As a
result terrorism’s success is best measured by its ability to attract attention
to the terrorists and their cause and by the psychological impact it exerts
over a nation and its citizenry. It differs in this respect from conventional
warfare, where success is measured by the amount of military assets destroyed,
the amount of territory seized, and the number of enemy dead.
Act of terrorism
Terrorists typically attempt to justify
their use of violence by arguing that they have been excluded from, or
frustrated by, the accepted processes of bringing about political change. They
maintain that terrorism is the only option available to them, although their
choice is a reluctant even a regrettable one. Whether someone agrees with this
argument or not often depends on whether the person sympathizes with the
terrorists’ cause or with the victims of the terrorist attack. The aphorism
“One man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter” underscores how use of
the label terrorism can be highly subjective depending upon one’s
sympathies.
At the same time terrorist acts including
murder, kidnapping, bombing, and arson have long been defined in both national
and international law as crimes. Even in time of war, violence deliberately
directed against innocent civilians is considered a crime. Similarly, violence
that spreads beyond an acknowledged geographical theater of war to violate the
territory of neutral or noncombatant states is also deemed a war crime.
Terrorist Targets:
Terrorism often targets
innocent civilians in order to create an atmosphere of fear, intimidation, and
insecurity. Some terrorists deliberately direct attacks against large numbers
of ordinary citizens who simply happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong
time. More selective terrorist attacks target diplomats and
diplomatic facilities such as embassies and consulates; military personnel and
military bases; business executives and corporate offices; and transportation
vehicles and facilities, such as airlines and airports, trains and train
stations, buses and bus terminals, and subways. Terrorist attacks on buildings
or other inanimate targets often serve a symbolic purpose. They are intended
more to draw attention to the terrorists and their cause than to destroy
property or kill and injure persons, although death and destruction nonetheless
often result. Therefore, with this insight on the act of terrorism, IOPB is far
from it. IPOB has never attacked any facilities such as the ones mentioned
above, so; IPOB cannot be described as terrorists. These are peaceful
protesters who are calling on Nigeria Government to release their leader Nnandi
Kanu who was adopted on 14th of October, 20015 by DSS.