THE ROLE OF SECURITY AGENCIES IN THE MANAGEMENT OF CONFLICT AND PEACE PROCESS IN NIGERIA: AN APPRAISAL

Nigeria as a plural political state has witnessed manifold conflicts which has threatened its continued existence and present its characteristics as a country with negative peace, insecurity and frail political order. The resultant effect is that Nigeria's democracy remains blossoming and its unity being challenged by obdurate threats to lives and property. In the midst of these unforeseen circumstances, the security agencies have been severally called upon to pro-actively nip the threat to peace and consolidate the gains of democratic governance. This paper therefore, examines the role of the security agencies in the management of conflict and the promotion of peace processes in Nigeria. The effort made by security agencies in the management of the dynamics of conflicts and the obvious challenges to the sector were also captured. The conceptual clarification provides the needed literary focus for the study. The various dimensions of conflicts in Nigeria from 1999 to 2015 as well as the extent to which the resultant social order promotes peace processes were evaluated. The study concluded with policy options for the effectiveness of the security agencies in managing conflicts and sustaining peace processes through appropriate reform processes.