FES December 2021 Policy Brief threats. Criminal gangs known as bandits, piracy, use of lethal force, and lack of accountability for cul sm, militancy, terrorism, separa sm, kidnapping, human lives. arms prolifera on, corrup on, lack of accountability, unemployment, popula on explosion, pollu on, elec on fraud, poverty, cybercrimes etc can be categorized as man–induced, while climate change (erosion, draught, flooding, deser fica on) diseases (pandemics and epidemics) can best be described as nature-induced. Prevalence and Consequences of Security Threats in Nigeria The discourse on na onal security has become a daily staple on Nigeria's na onal table owing to numerous security threats facing the country with their far­reaching effects on na onal development 16 . These security threats have become rampant in the last Most of the man-induced threats are exploi ng the decade, following consistent a acks on different security vacuum in the region or what we can describe as ungoverned spaces or territories to thrive. These'ungoverned spaces' are defined as zones that lay beyond the reach of government and thus pose a significant threat to security and stability 12 . They are o en perceived as fer le grounds were terrorist and criminal organisa ons incubate and thrive, prolifera ng drug trafficking, criminal networks, and the presence of illegal migrants 13 . They include the Boko Haram camps in Sambisa Forest, bandit hideouts in Kwiambana and Ajjah forests in Zamfara, herdsmen camps in BirninKogo forests in Photo Credit: The Guardian Nigeria Katsina, havens for kidnappers in Guma forests between Benue and Nasarawa States, militant camps in the Niger Delta or emergence of paramilitary camps of the secessionist movement in the South-East 14 . These spaces are not a crea on of these threats, they have been there and have long existed, albeit ignored 15 . regions of the country that have resulted in the deaths of over 70,000 Nigerians 17 . More worrying is the frequency at which these a acks occur. The security threats in Nigeria go beyond physical to human security threats. Between July and October 2012, flooding in Nigeria pushed rivers over their An examina on of the drivers, dynamics and response of Nigeria's mul dimensional security threats indicates that in most cases, these prevalent threats are some mes ac ve and some mes inac ve. They are cross-cu ng, mul sectoral, intersec ng, and affect all but with varying degrees of impacts, depending on differences in economic class, gender, age, region, among others. Responses to these security threats are also contextual and have ranged from excessive militariza on of specific areas to the banks and submerged hundreds of thousands of acres of farmland. By mid-October, floods had forced 1.3 million people from their homes and claimed 431 lives 18 . In Northern Nigeria, deser fica on threatens 11 states and the livelihoods of over 40 million people such as livestock rearing and agricultural produc on, such as beans, soya beans, millet, sorghum, tomatoes, melons, peppers, and onions 19 amongst other threats. Food insecurity has worsened due to insecurity and displacements 20 . In October 2021, the Kano State Emergency Management Agency told journalists in 12 h ps://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/208946352.pdf 13 h ps://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/ar cle-file/854201 14 h ps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Security_Network 15 h ps://blogs.lse.ac.uk/africaatlse/2021/03/12/nigeria-conflict-insecurity-rethink-how-authority-policy-works-ungoverned-governance-spaces/ 16 h ps://www.cfr.org/nigeria/nigeria-security-tracker/p29483 17 h ps://www.dataphyte.com/latest-reports/security/at-60-the-changing-face-of-insecurity-in-nigeria/ 18 h ps://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/79404/flooding-in-nigeria 19 h ps://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/analysis/2017/11/14/briefing-nigerian-farmers-can-t-fight-deser fica on-alone 20 h ps://www.fao.org/emergencies/countries/detail/en/c/213439 6