Benue State University, Makurdi

Implications of the Convergence and Mindset of Organised Crime and Terrorism for the National Security of Nigeria

Tunde AGARA and Rufus AISEDION

Abstract

The concern of this study points to the convergence position of terrorism and organised crime, the mindset of perpetrators, and their effect on national security. However, in recent times, actual or expected convergence studies have increasingly been blurred within 20thcentury geopolitics. Against this background, the study examines the attributes and mindsets shared by organized criminals and terrorist groups, reveals the convergence area, and unveils their implications for national security. The paper enjoys qualitative data such as books, journals, and periodicals. We anchored the article on social movements and relative deprivation as its theoretical orientation. The findings stress the convergence between organised criminals and terrorist groups in their methods of operations such as trafficking, kidnapping, drugs, illegal trading activities, theft and armed banditry, forgery, and forging of documents, terrorist imitation of the organised criminal behaviour, among others. The paper recommend, among other things, that the government and other well-meaning individuals in Nigeria should be mindful of the attributes, characteristics, and mindset of organised criminals and terrorist groups. To this effect, give an intelligence report to the government for pro-active actions against criminals of the state.

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