Civilian Harm Mitigation in Nigerian Counter-Insurgency: Assessing Rules of Engagement, Airstrikes, and Local Accountability Mechanisms

Purpose: This study examines the legal and institutional foundations for institutionalising Civilian Harm Mitigation (CHM) within Nigeria’s counter-insurgency operations, focusing on Rules of Engagement, airstrike protocols, civilian casualties, and accountability mechanisms.

Research Methodology: The study adopts a qualitative doctrinal and documentary research design. Data were obtained from Nigerian constitutional and military frameworks, international humanitarian law instruments, human rights standards, official government materials, military policy documents, jurisprudence, and scholarly publications. Thematic analysis was applied to examine civilian protection, operational procedures, accountability mechanisms, and institutional requirements for CHM implementation.

Results: The findings show that Nigeria possesses important legal and institutional foundations for civilian protection through Rules of Engagement, human rights structures, civil-military mechanisms, and emerging CHM institutions within the Nigerian Air Force. However, recurring airstrike-related civilian casualties indicate persistent gaps between normative commitments and operational implementation. The study identifies the need for integrated mechanisms involving prevention, civilian-harm assessment, incident tracking, investigation, accountability, community engagement, and remedial measures.

Conclusions: The study concludes that CHM should be institutionalised as a continuous operational system rather than an incident-based response. Effective civilian protection requires integration between legal frameworks, operational planning, intelligence processes, command responsibility, training, and local accountability mechanisms.

Limitations: The study relies primarily on documentary and doctrinal sources and does not include primary field data from military personnel or affected communities.

Contributions: This study contributes by developing an integrated CHM framework that connects legal compliance, military effectiveness, accountability, and community engagement within Nigeria’s counter-insurgency context.