Nigeria’s use of soldiers for civilian tasks comes with serious costs – how to prevent this

Nigerians have experienced what it means for their government to be controlled by the military.

From independence in 1960 until 1999, the country was under democratic rule for only about seven years. Since then, the military has taken a back seat in the affairs of the state. But in 2020, then president Muhammadu Buhari deployed the military to enforce restrictions imposed to manage the COVID pandemic.

This was not unusual. The armed forces have long been used in Nigeria for roles normally assigned to the police, from quelling protests to responding to floods.