Nigeria has been plagued by numerous conflicts and security challenges, which have evolved over the last 20 years to include electoral violence, kidnapping for ransom, attacks by militia groups in local communities, insurgency in the North-East, and farmer–herder conflicts and rural banditry in North-Central and North-West states. Violent conflicts across Nigeria have claimed the lives of thousands of people, displaced many more, and destroyed livelihoods and property.
Drug production, distribution, and consumption are known to play important roles in conflict, with potentially negative impacts on development and sustainability. In Nigeria, news reports and academic commentaries have linked the widespread availability and consumption of drugs to violent conflicts, especially in the North. Nevertheless, the relationships between drugs, conflict, and development are complex, multi-faceted, and under-researched.
Preliminary research conducted as part of SPRiNG’s Peace, Drugs, and Development Project explored these relationships in North-Central Nigeria based on 40 qualitative interviews with key actors in
Benue and Plateau States. Regarding trends in drug use, the research highlights increased availability and widespread consumption of several types of licit and illicit substances, especially among young men and women. These trends are attributed to diverse factors, including peer influence, drug availability, low school enrolment, youth unemployment, population growth and resulting pressure on available resources, conflict mobilisation, post-conflict trauma, and the demands of informal economic activities.
The research found that drugs and conflicts are linked in complex, multidimensional ways. Drugs facilitate conflicts through the psychoactive effects of their chemical compounds on the mental and emotional states of those involved. Drug use also contributes to inter-generational divides that challenge traditional authority structures in local communities, making conflicts harder to control or resolve. Furthermore, drugs are used to facilitate the recruitment and radicalisation of young people for armed conflicts. Within armed groups, consumption of drugs can foster social cohesion and reduce internal tensions. In post-conflict situations, survivors may turn to drug use to alleviate symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or to engage in drug sale as a source of income.
