This article examines the impact of (counter-)terrorism on public (in)security in Nigeria through engaging with non-elite understandings of ongoing conflicts in the northeast. Through 41 in-depth interviews carried out during a four-month fieldwork exercise with internally displaced persons in Nigeria, the article contributes to current (counter-)terrorism research on Nigeria and Africa by examining the lived experiences of non-traditional security ‘practitioners’, thus enriching current debates about ‘deepening’ and ‘broadening’ the security concept within critical security studies. The images of security that emerge show that the public in Nigeria adopt two main discursive devices, that is, a story and an interpretative repertoire, to discursively position themselves in relation to Boko Haram, the state and societal discourses and practices. Two discourses are prominent, namely a ‘(counter-)terrorist people’ discourse and a ‘kafir’ or ‘infidel’ discourse, which are constructed around ‘ethnic’ and ‘religious’ identities. This vernacular study of public understandings of (counter-)terrorism in Nigeria achieves three primary objectives: (i) it serves to invigorate debates around the meaning and practice of (in)security in Nigeria, (ii) it expands public (in)security debates on Africa, and (iii) it enriches vernacular research debate through foregrounding the experiences of groups and individuals who experience insecurity in their everyday lives.

本文通过与非精英人士对东北部持续冲突的理解来研究（反）恐怖主义对尼日利亚公共（不）安全的影响。通过对尼日利亚境内流离失所者进行为期四个月的实地考察期间进行的 41 次深入访谈，本文通过考察非传统安全“从业者”的生活经历，为当前对尼日利亚和非洲的（反）恐怖主义研究做出了贡献，从而丰富了当前关于在关键安全研究中“深化”和“扩大”安全概念的辩论。出现的安全形象表明，尼日利亚公众采用两种主要的话语手段，即故事和解释性曲目，将自己与博科圣地、国家和社会话语和实践相关的话语定位。异教徒”或“异教徒”话语，这些话语是围绕“种族”和“宗教”身份构建的。这种对尼日利亚（反）恐怖主义的公众理解的本土化研究实现了三个主要目标：（i）它有助于激发围绕尼日利亚（不）安全的意义和实践的辩论，（ii）它扩大公共（不）安全关于非洲的辩论，以及 (iii) 它通过突出在日常生活中经历不安全感的群体和个人的经历来丰富本土研究辩论。