Rise Of Boko Haram | World History

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NIGERIA

The Islamic State in West Africa formerly known as Jamā’at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da’wah wa’l-Jihād and commonly known as Boko Haram is a jihadist militant organization based in northeastern Nigeria, also active in Chad, Niger and northern Cameroon.
Founded by Mohammed Yusuf in 2002, the group has been led by Abubakar Shekau since 2009.
The name “Boko Haram” is usually translated as “Western education is forbidden“.Boko Haram has also been translated as “Western influence is a sin“.

Boko Haram was founded upon the principles of the Khawaarij advocating Sharia law. It developed into a Jihadist group in 2009.
Their beliefs tend to be centered on strict adherence to Wahhibism, which is an extremely strict form of Islam that sees many other forms of Islam as idolatrous.
Boko Haram seeks the establishment of an Islamic state in Nigeria. It opposes the Westernization of Nigerian society .
Nigeria is Africa’s biggest economy, but 60% of its population of 173 million (as of 2013) live on less than $1 a day.
The sharia law imposed by local authorities, beginning with Zamfara in January 2000 and covering 12 northern states by late 2002, may have promoted links between Boko Haram and political leaders.

Before colonization and subsequent annexation into the British Empire in 1900 as Colonial Nigeria, the Bornu Empire ruled the territory where Boko Haram is currently active.
It was a sovereign sultanate run according to the principles of the Constitution of Medina. In 1903, both the Borno Emirate came under the control of the British.
Christian missionaries at this time spread the Christian message in the region and had many converts. British occupation ended with Nigerian independence in 1960.
Except for a brief period of civilian rule between 1979 and 1983, Nigeria was governed by a series of military dictatorships from 1966 until the advent of democracy in 1999.
In the decades since the end of British occupation, politicians and academics from the mainly Islamic North have expressed their fundamental opposition to Western education.
Mohammed Yusuf founded the sect that became known as Boko Haram in 2002 in Maiduguri, the capital of the northeastern state of Borno. He established a religious complex and school that attracted poor Muslim families from across Nigeria and neighbouring countries.
The center had the political goal of creating an Islamic state, and became a recruiting ground for jihadis.

Boko Haram conducted its operations more or less peacefully during the first seven years of its existence, withdrawing from society into remote north-eastern areas.
Boko Haram’s attacks consist of suicide bombers as well as conventional armed assaults on both civilian and military targets. Following the 2014 kidnapping, a majority of Boko Haram’s suicide bombers are female; some are as young as seven years old.
In 2008, police began an investigation into the group code-named Operation Flush. On July 26, security forces arrested nine Boko Haram members and confiscated weapons and bomb-making equipment.
Yusuf was arrested, and died in custody “while trying to escape”. Under Shekau’s leadership, the group continuously improved its operational capabilities.
After launching a string of IED attacks against soft targets and its first vehicle-borne IED attack in June 2011, killing 6 at the Abuja police headquarters, in August Boko Haram bombed the United Nations (UN) headquarters in Abuja.
Boko Haram has maintained a steady rate of attacks since 2011, striking a wide range of targets, multiple times per week.

Boko Haram carried out 115 attacks in 2011, killing 550. The state of emergency would usher in an intensification of violence.
The opening three weeks of 2012 accounted for more than half of the death total of the preceding year. Two days after the state of emergency was declared, Boko Haram released an ultimatum to southern Nigerians living in the north, giving them three days to leave.
Three days later they began a series of mostly small-scale attacks In Kano, on 20 January, they carried out by far their most deadly action yet, an assault on police buildings, killing 190.
Nigeria’s Borno State, where Boko Haram is based, adjoins Lake Chad as do Niger, Cameroon and the country of Chad.
In 2013, Boko Haram increased operations in Northern Cameroon, and were involved in skirmishes along the borders of Chad and Niger. They were linked to a number of kidnappings.
On 3 January 2015, Boko Haram attacked Baga, seizing it and the multinational joint task force military base. As the militants advanced the army fled. Some residents managed to escape to Chad.
Boko Haram was founded by Mohammed Yusuf who led the group from 2002 until his death in 2009. After his death, his deputy Abubakar Shekau took control of the group and has led it until the present day.

President Muhammad Buhari’s 2015 election saw the country’s first peaceful transfer of power to an opposition candidate.
Elections raised hopes that some of Nigeria’s most pressing problems—including weak governance, corruption, the Boko Haram insurgency, and persistent intercommunal conflicts—could soon be under control.
Cameroon’s foreign minister announced on 30 November 2014 that a coalition force to fight terrorism.The force would include 3,500 soldiers from Benin Chad, Cameroon, Niger and Nigeria.
France and the United Kingdom, in coordination with the United States, have sent trainers and material assistance to Nigeria to assist in the fight against Boko Haram.Israel and Canada also pledged support.
In 2017, the United Kingdom enforced an emergency assistance package worth $259 million. The British government has provided provided training to 28,000 Nigerian military troops to aid against Boko Haram.