State Fragility and the Proliferation of Armed Groups in the Sahel Region of Nigeria

John Ayah Graham Nsiegbe; PhD

doi:10.56201/jpslr.vol.12.no5.2026.pg21.33

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State Fragility and the Proliferation of Armed Groups in the Sahel Region of Nigeria

John Ayah Graham Nsiegbe, PhD

Abstract

This study analyzed the nexus between state fragility and the proliferation of armed groups in the Sahel region of Nigeria. Instituted to provide empirical answer to the question; how does state fragility and weak governance relate to the proliferation of armed groups in the Sahel region of Nigeria? the study was guided by the lone hypothesis that there is no significant relationship between state fragility and armed groups. The study was anchored on State Fragility Theory and emphasised on the role of institutional capacity, legitimacy, territorial control, and socio-economic conditions in shaping security outcomes. The study adopted a descriptive research design, sampling 400 respondents from the Sahelian states of Sokoto, Zamfara, Katsina, Borno, and Yobe and recording 370 questionnaires successfully retrieved, yielding a 92.5% response rate. Data were collected through structured questionnaire and supplemented with secondary information gotten from government reports and scholarly literature. Data was analysed using descriptive statistics and Pearson Product Moment Correlation. This revealed that weak government institutions, limited presence in rural areas, poor coordination among security agencies, and inadequate policy implementation significantly contributed to increase in emergence of armed groups thereby undermining security in that region. The correlation coefficient of 0.792 indicated a strong positive relationship between state fragility and insecurity, leading to the rejection of the null hypothesis. The findings confirm that the proliferation of armed groups and insecurity in the Sahel region of Nigeria is structurally linked to governance failures and state fragility rather than isolated security lapses. The study concluded that addressing these menaces requires strengthening institutional capacity, enhancing governance structures, expanding governmental rural presence, and improving policy implementation mechanisms. The study thus recommends the importance of holistic interventions to reduce fragility and curb the proliferation of armed groups and other non-state actors.

Keywords

State FragilityWeak GovernanceInsecuritySahel RegionArmed Groups.

References

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State Fragility and the Proliferation of Armed Groups in the Sahel Region of Nigeria

Abstract

Keywords

References

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