Terrorism and Moral Panic in Nigeria

Terrorism and Moral Panic in Nigeria, is an investigation of the impact of terrorist attacks in the psyche of Nigerians. The sovereignty of the Nigerian state was threatened following the emergence of a terrorist group known as Boko Haram, which conquered a substantial part of Northeast Nigeria, using modern military hardware such as bombs, rockets, military tanks and high caliber machine guns. Boko Haram carried their terrorist attacks to many parts of Northern Nigeria, including Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), which made the entire country to panic by creating genuine fear of insecurity in Nigeria. The study was conducted in August and September, 2015, in Abuja. A cross-sectional survey method was used to select 276 respondents by accidental sampling technique through the use of administered questionnaire. The study indicates that there were rampant terrorist attacks in Abuja, and the frequency by which people felt panicked was high. Also, the study found the role of the mass media in spreading information about the activities of the terrorists to be high. The study indicated high perception of personal risk by the respondents with a greater percentage knowing at least one dead victim of the terrorist attacks in Nigeria. The study recommended the improvement of the nation’s security network and public enlightenment as the panacea to the security challenges facing Nigeria at the moment.