Boko haram 1 boko haram boko haram refers to a group of islamist militant factions in northern nigeria that trace their ideological origins to the slain imam mohammed yusuf 1970 2009. Boko haram s spokesman also claimed responsibility for the killing outside his home in maiduguri of the politician abba anas ibn umar garbai, the younger brother of the shehu of borno, who was the second most prominent muslim in the country after the sultan of sokoto. In july 2009, the boko haram uprising began in bauchi and spread to other northern states, leaving hundreds of followers, nigerian law enforcement officers, and civilians dead. A common account of the groups origin traces it back to 2002, when mohammed yusuf, a charismatic preacher, became its leader. Frequently asked questions congressional research service summary boko haram, a violent nigerian islamist movement, has grown increasingly active and deadly in its attacks against state and civilian targets in recent years, drawing on a narrative of victimization. Boko haram, a movement claiming to act in the name of is lam, has killed tens of thousands of people in nigeria and the neighboring countries of niger, chad, and cameroon. On the night of 1415 april 2014, 276 female students were kidnapped from the secondary school in the town of chibok in borno state, nigeria. That is likely the case, but up to now the groups seem to be sharing tactics, but not goals, as boko haram s focus seems fixed on nigeria and its capabilities have yet to exceed. Boko haram definition and meaning collins english dictionary.
In doing this, the paper is divided into five sections. The conflict takes place within the context of longstanding issues of religious violence between nigerias muslim and christian communities, and the insurgents ultimate aim is to establish an islamic state in the region. It analyses the nature of political violence and the dominant roles of a violent nationstate in both colonial and postcolonial experiences and the rise of terrorism in nigeria. Nov 24, 2016 media caption boko haram in 60 seconds. Meaning of boko haram is subtler than media portrayal 6. The movement is unique in that it combines a sectarian, radical islamic agenda with violence. The history of boko haram boko harams origins lie in a group of radical islamist youth who worshipped at the alhaji muhammadu ndimi mosque in maiduguri a decade ago. Boko haram bh is a nigerian extremist group which emerged only in the last decade, but.
Other boko haram bases in niger were recorded in maradi and zinder. The state of insecurity engendered by boko haram insurgency in nigeria. The nickname boko haram was given by local communities to. Boko haram took advantage of a distracted military and attacked the unprotected town of gamboru ngala, reportedly killing up to 300 civilians. The name boko haram is a hausa name which only the hausa peoples understood and is a compound name comprised of hausa and arabic.
Boko haram in nigeria the latest news from al jazeera. The analysis has identified the following as key strengths of boko haram. Effects of boko haram insurgency on the socioeconomic. As one of the few organisations with fieldbased expertise in the greater sahel and on all four countries caught up in the insurgency. D department of history, adeyemi federal university of education p. In 2009, boko haram carried out a spate of attacks on police stations and other government buildings in maiduguri, capital of borno state. An underreported but important aspect of the ongoing boko haram insurgency is the ways in which frustrated youths, armed with machetes and sticks, are mobilizing against elements of the group in their communities, complementing the efforts of state security forces including combat support and intelligence gathering to contain boko haram. Boko haram is a violent sunni jihadist group founded by cleric mohammed yusuf, who was previously a leader within a salafist group in the 1990s, and was inspired by 14th century fundamentalist scholar ibn taymiyyah. The word boko haram means western education is forbidden. Since the july 2009 boko haram terrorist outburst in nigeria, there have been increasing questions on the phenomenon in the country. Although taken from an australia perspective it is important to understand that defining terrorism is a matter of perspective, with over 100 definitions. Since 2009, the radical muslim movement in northern nigeria known as boko haram has become widely known in western media for both its militant actions and its ultrafundamentalist programme. Despite declaring a caliphate, boko haram has made little attempt at governing the territory it has captured.
Boko haram, jideofor adibe, contributes the first article in the collection. Boko haram in order to understand how the boko haram insurgency threatens security, it is pertinent to provide a background of its evolution. The hausa applied the term boko to western forms of education so when the term haram is appended to it the intent is. A read is counted each time someone views a publication summary such as the title, abstract, and list of authors, clicks on a figure, or views or downloads the fulltext. An assessment of strengths, vulnerabilities, and policy options from previous hit. Healing a generation wounded by boko haram why we wrote this this is the story of the thousands of women and their children, born of sexual violence. Attack on soldiers on the boma peninsula on sunday lasted at least seven hours and reinforcements were. An insurgency led by the islamist group has claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced millions more in.
In may 20, the president declared a state of emergency in. Boko haram however did not necessarily achieve this threat. Boko haram doesnt really mean western education is a sin. A report released by unicef indicated that as of august 2017, boko haram, a radical islamic militant group, has used eightythree nigerian children as suicide bombers since the start of 2017. Boko haram has established a base in diffa, southeastern niger, on the nigerian border, in order to escape nigerian army and police repression. Boko haram article about boko haram by the free dictionary. The end of 2011 general election in nigeria results to mass recognition of another set of militant popularly called boko haram. Read about nigerias ongoing battle with insurgent group boko haram and keep track of the latest developments using the global conflict tracker from the council on foreign relations. The following year, attacks in the northeast and other parts of the country including bombings, mass shootings, and executions began to rise. Haram means forbidden in arabic, while hausa phrase ilimin boko was shortened to boko and has come to mean westernstyle education there doesnt seem to be much debate over the word haram.
These set of militant during the cause of prosecuting their objective have destroyed properties worth billions of naira. Since 2009 the group has carried out largescale acts of violence. The name boko haram is usually translated as western education is forbidden. The boko haram insurgency began in 2009, when the jihadist group boko haram started an armed rebellion against the government of nigeria. Boko haram follows a purely military insurgency model and. Its stated goal is to overthrow the secular government of nigeria and replace it with an islamic system. Boko haram is a radical islamist movement shaped by its nigerian context and reflecting nigerias history of poor governance and extreme poverty in the north. Boko haram an annotated bibliography progressive geographies. Therefore, this study aims to examine the threat of boko haram insurgency on nigerian national security system.
Nigerias battle with boko haram council on foreign relations. The development of a militant religious movement in nigeria roman loimeier abstract. Religion remains a huge factor in the nigerian polity, which competes for legitimacy with the state. Eventually tensions led boko haram to assault the homes of local officials and police, to which the nigerian security forces retaliated, killing several boko haram members and destroying afghanistan.
Explaining boko haram, nigerias islamist insurgency the. Boko haram emerged around 2002 as a local islamic group. Nation listing entry describes boko haram as an affiliate of alqaeda and also one of the organisations of alqaeda in the islamic maghreb aqim reuters, 2014. The emergence of boko haram is a symptom of the maturation of historical extremist and rejectionist impulses in the northeast and the failure of both governmental and customary conflict mitigation institutions. A heavyhanded or solely military response will not bring peace and may be counterproductive. Boko haram is an extremist sect in nigeria that has caused devastating damage in northern nigeria and threatens the stability of nigeria as a whole. Introduction for some, it may come as a surprise that, in 2014, boko haram was the deadliest terrorist organization in the world. Nigerias battle with boko haram council on foreign.
In 2002, an offshoot of this youth group not yet known as boko haram declared the city and the islamic establishment to be intolerably corrupt and irredeemable. Boko haram kills 92 chadian soldiers in sevenhour attack published. Boko haram mounted its first attack in 2004, and since then the group has been responsible for thousands of deaths. Behind the headlines prepared may 22, 2014 contents. Boko haram is a terrorist sect whose main objective hinges on the opposition of western education. Boko haram s marked increase in its capabilities in a very short period of time has led to speculation that it has joined forces with al qaeda groups in africa. Boko haram also has operated in areas of cameroon, chad, and niger bordering ne nigeria, with significant fighting between the cameroonian military and group beginning in the second half of 2014. The faction of boko haram most directly connected to yusuf is jamaatu ahlis sunna liddaawati waljihad, led by yusufs former deputy, abu shekau. The violent rise and resilience of the jihadist group boko haram in the lake chad basin since 2009 poses enormous security, humanitarian and governance challenges. Often, these children were kidnapped and forced to commit the bombings, while. It wants to wage a war against them, and the federal republic of nigeria generally, to create a pure islamic state ruled by sharia law.
Responsibility for the kidnappings was claimed by boko haram, an islamist extremist terrorist organization based in northeastern nigeria. Boko haram is an islamic sect that believes northern politics has been seized by a group of corrupt, false muslims. Boko haram have been in the news recently because of the kidnapping of the chibok schoolgirls, but they have been active since at least 2009, with older roots. Boko haram and the islamic states west africa province boko haram emerged in the early 2000s as a small sunni islamic sect in nigeria advocating a strict interpretation and implementation of islamic law, and has evolved since 2009 to become one of the worlds deadliest terrorist groups. Secondly, freedom onuoha explores boko haram attacks on the telecommunication infrastructure in. Boko haram is an islamic militant group that believes politics in northern nigeria has been seized by a group of corrupt, false muslims. Pdf boko haram terrorism, the international dimension.
Also known as a bakor, this is a houngan involved in black magic boko definition of boko. It wants to wage a war against them, and the federal republic. Since 2009, boko haram has transformed itself from a cultlike religious movement into a revolutionary insurgent organization. Waging a highly irregular war an insurgency in northeast nigeria since september 2010, boko haram over the years has escalated as a threat form. Boko harams sixyearold insurgency has pitted neighbour against neighbour, and cost more than 00 lives. Boko haram is a toptier threat to africas most populous country. Boko haram and the islamic states west africa province. Since 2009, boko haram has transformed itself from a cultlike religious. Group of the sunni people for the calling and jihad and nigerian talibanother translations and variants are usedis a nigeriabased group that seeks to overthrow the current nigerian government and replace it with a regime based on islamic law.
May, 2014 haram means forbidden in arabic, while hausa phrase ilimin boko was shortened to boko and has come to mean westernstyle education there doesnt seem to be much debate over the word haram. He states that boko haram and similar groups represent a retreat from the nigeria project, with the state increasingly unable to fulfill its part of the social contract. May 12, 2020 read about nigerias ongoing battle with insurgent group boko haram and keep track of the latest developments using the global conflict tracker from the council on foreign relations. In 2015 the group began calling itself islamic state in west africa.
Boko haram doesnt really mean western education is a. Boko haram, islamic sectarian movement founded in 2002 in northeastern nigeria. The terrorist group boko haram, or the selfdescribed people of the tradition of the prophet saw for preaching and striving, continues to terrorise nigeria, with horrible consequences. Human security at the basics, is defined as freedom from violence and threat of. Nov 11, 2014 boko haram is an islamist extremist group responsible for dozens of massacres of civilians and the abduction of more than 500 women and girls in its fiveyear insurgency in nigeria. The impact of boko haram insurgency on nigerian national. Oh, and the word boko isnt derived from the word book. However the group members call themselves jamaah alahlu alsunnah li aldawah wa aljihad. Institute of peace commissioned the cleen foundation in nigeria to research how boko haram is able to. Understanding nigerian citizens perspectives on boko haram. The anatomy of a crisis 10 since 2009 boko haram has become a metaphor for insecurity in nigeria after the government launched a clampdown on the group, which resulted in some 800 deaths, mostly of the sect members. The impact of the boko haram insurgency in northeast. This book focuses on boko haram and terrorism in nigeria, framing the conflict in an international law context.
Between 2011 and 20 i visited nigeria four times as susan elden was working in the country. Despite frequent arrests of yusuf, boko haram and the nigerian government maintained an uneasy truce for the next five years. Examining the boko haram insurgency in northern nigeria and the quest for a permanent resolution of the crisis joseph olukayode akinbi ph. People committed to the prophets teachings for propagation and jihad, from 2015 also called islamic state in west africa iswa or islamic states west african province iswap, islamic sectarian movement. Table of contents 1 3 5 7 9 12 15 17 20 22 24 25 27 28 29 30 acknowledgments the author introduction inadequate explanations of boko harams rise local and global roots. Table of contents 1 3 5 7 9 12 15 17 20 22 24 25 27 28 29 30 acknowledgments the author introduction inadequate explanations of boko haram s rise local and global roots. Apart from the general introduction, section two dealt with delineation of concept, origin of boko haram, theoretical foundation and methodology.
There has not been any substantial analysis on the emergence of the boko haram group and its terrorist activities in nigeria as the outrage continues. Abstract boko haram, the islamic radical sect from northeastern nigeria, has been responsible since 2009 for a string of bomb attacks strategically directed at the nigerian government, security. This means that maos theory of revolutionary war can be applied to the boko haram crisis in nigeria in order to find more effective methods than have been used so far by the government of nigeria to fight boko haram. Security council alqaida sanctions committee adds boko.
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