Abstract
The participation of the military in internal security operations has been key in Nigeria's effort to combat insecurity in South-East Nigeria starting from 2015. Despite the positive contribution of military-led peacebuilding towards containing violence and safeguarding strategic infrastructure, its effect on civil-military relations, public trust, and sustainable peace is still debatable. Studies conducted in the past have focused on counter-insurgency operations and the resultant security gains, but there has been limited research into how military-led peacebuilding impacts civil-military relations. This study thus aims to investigate the link between military-led peacebuilding and civil-military relations in South-East Nigeria from 2015 to 2025. Applying Civil-Military Peacebuilding Theory and Hybrid Peace Theory, a qualitative documentary research design is employed whereby primary data sources include
government publications, military reports, human rights reports, documents from international organisations, policy papers, news reports, and scholarly literature. Thematic content analysis was used in analysing documentary evidence collected. It was found that the results of military-led peacebuilding on civil-military relations have been contradictory. Whereas military actions helped increase territorial security and protect strategic infrastructure, issues related to excessive use of force, human rights violations, and lack of community engagement have negatively affected civil-military relations. However, civil-military co-operation (CIMIC) initiatives, humanitarian aid, and interaction with traditional and community leaders enhanced public trust and intelligence-gathering. The study's position is that the effectiveness of the peacebuilding efforts of the military largely depends on the nature of civil-military relations, accountability, respect for human rights and good governance. This paper makes an important contribution to the post-colonial civil-military relations literature in that it shows that stabilisation by the military alone is not enough for sustaining peace.