Abstract:

Insurgent activities are so prevalent in Nigeria that the security apparatus finds it very difficult if no almost impossible to curb their excesses. On a daily basis, newspapers are flooded with the wanton destruction of the activities of these elements in the Nigerian society. The headlines of those media reports are therefore selected for analysis in this study. In this study, we draw samples of data, present and group them into number texts and then give a detailed analysis through the application of linguistic tools. We focus the analysis on identifying the linguistic and discourse patterns in the data by using conceptualization and representation as Critical Discourse Analytical and Metaphorical concepts to critically examine the issues in relation to insurgency. Ideological projections are also taken into consideration from both the media practitioners’ perspectives and the militants’ points of view. For easy identification, the data were arranged in terms of their thematic realization and grouped into two broad categories: according to the issues raised and according to the surface as well as underlying meaning realizable in the message. The analysis was presented in relation to the Boko Haram and Niger Delta insurgency in Nigeria. In spite of their differences in terms of ideology and modus operandi, the analysis was done add to the body of literature on the issue.