Andrew Noakes
16 May 2016
Read the report
Commissioned by the Remote Control project, the Nigeria Security Network carried out a perception study into the use of private military contractors. The study suggests that the majority of Nigerians support using private military contractors to fight Boko Haram. However, within the minority that oppose their use, some expressed opinions that could be vulnerable to manipulation by Boko Haram, due to their similar emphasis on western meddling in Nigerian affairs. The research suggests that opposition to PMSCs is strongest when they are engaged in combat roles, and that their potential for carrying out human rights abuses with impunity was of particular concern. The report concludes with a series of recommendations.
About the Author
Andrew Noakes joined the Remote Control project as Senior Advocacy Officer in January 2016. Before joining the project he was founding Director of the Nigeria Security Network, working at the intersection of human rights and counter-insurgency in Nigeria. Andrew is also Director of the Labour Campaign for Human Rights, which campaigns on human rights issues within the UK Labour Party, notably on mass surveillance and the Human Rights Act. He has also previously worked for Amnesty International and Save the Children, as an independent human rights investigator in Cameroon, and as a lobbyist in Washington, DC. He completed his masters in International Relations at King’s College London, and holds a BA in History from Cambridge University.