From Civil to 'Uncivil' Society? Separatist Social Movements and the Shrinking Civic Space in South-East, Nigeria

Despite the availability of extensive literature on factors accounting for the shrinking civic space in Nigeria, it is still unclear what roles social movements play, particularly as it concerns the southeast region. This paper relying on review of secondary data collected from newspapers, and journals examined the activities of separatist social movements in the southeast and the forms of threats they pose to civic space in the region. With specific focus on the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), the paper argued that the civic space in the southeast is rapidly shrinking due to some identifiable “uncivil” conducts associated with separatist groups and these include the use of propaganda, l a b e l l i n g, c y b e r b u l ly i n g, f o r c e d r e s t r i c t i o n s / s i t - a t h o m e , a n d threats/intimidation. The paper argues that while state repression triggered violent resistance movements in the region, this situation has created a space for separatist groups to create an 'uncivil society' characterized by violence and repression of the basic rights of the civil population. The paper concludes that the circle of violence from the state and separatist groups has negatively impacted the civic space making it difficult for residents of the south east are to freely exercise their rights to expression, association, movement and assembly.