NIGERIA: Boko Haram

Boko Haram is a terrorist group and Islamist movement in northern Nigeria. It calls itself "Jama’atul Ahlus Sunna Lid Da’awatis Jihad" in Arabic, meaning "People Committed to the Propagation of the Prophet's Teachings and Jihad."The group is popularly called Boko Haram, in Nigeria's Hausa language translated "Western education is sinful", because of its stand against western education and ideologies - which it believes promote injustices, inequalities and corruption among others.Boko Haram seeks to establish Islamic sharia law in the country, and has attacked Christians and bombed churches, government buildings, prisons, military and police facilities in various parts of the country including the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.The group was founded in 2002 in Maiduguri, northeast Nigeria, by (late) Ustaz Mohammed Yusuf. In 2004 it moved to Kanamma village, in neighboring Yobe State, where it carved out an area called “Afghanistan”. This it later used as a base in the attack of nearby police facilities, killing police officers. Late Uztaz Mohammed is said to oppose democracy and secular education system, vowing that “this war that is yet to start would continue for long” if the political and educational system was not changed.The government of President Goodluck Jonathan has been accused of not doing enough to counter the terrorist threats posed by Boko Haram, as dead tolls continue to rise.Want to be part of this discussion?

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