Nigeria's militant
Islamist group Boko Haram - which has caused havoc in Africa's most
populous country through a wave of bombings, assassinations and
abductions - is fighting to overthrow the government and create an
Islamic state.
Its followers are said to be influenced by the Koranic phrase
which says: "Anyone who is not governed by what Allah has revealed is
among the transgressors."
Boko Haram promotes a version of Islam which makes it
"haram", or forbidden, for Muslims to take part in any political or
social activity associated with Western society.
This includes voting in elections, wearing shirts and trousers or receiving a secular education.
Boko Haram regards the Nigerian state as being run by
non-believers, even when the country had a Muslim president - and it has
extended its military campaign by targeting neighbouring states.
Boko Haram has attacked many schools in northern Nigeria
The group launched its insurgency in 2009
It has targeted both civilians and the military
The group's official name is Jama'atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda'awati
wal-Jihad, which in Arabic means "People Committed to the Propagation of
the Prophet's Teachings and Jihad".
Resisting British rule
But residents in the north-eastern city of Maiduguri, where the group had its headquarters, dubbed it Boko Haram.
Loosely translated from the region's Hausa language, this means "Western education is forbidden".
Boko originally meant fake but came to signify Western education, while haram means forbidden.
Boko Haram at a glance
Boko Haram's founding leader Mohammed Yusuf was killed in police custody in 2009
- Founded in 2002
- Official Arabic name, Jama'atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda'awati
wal-Jihad, means "People Committed to the Propagation of the Prophet's
Teachings and Jihad"
- Initially focused on opposing Western education
- Launched military operations in 2009 to create Islamic state
- Designated a terrorist group by US in 2013
- Declared a caliphate in areas it controls in 2014
Since the Sokoto caliphate, which ruled parts of what is now
northern Nigeria, Niger and southern Cameroon, fell under British
control in 1903, there has been resistance among some of the area's
Muslims to Western education.
They still refuse to send their children to government-run
"Western schools", a problem compounded by the ruling elite which does
not see education as a priority.
Against this background, the charismatic Muslim cleric,
Mohammed Yusuf, formed Boko Haram in Maiduguri in 2002. He set up a
religious complex, which included a mosque and an Islamic school.
Many poor Muslim families from across Nigeria, as well as neighbouring countries, enrolled their children at the school.
But Boko Haram was not only interested in education. Its
political goal was to create an Islamic state, and the school became a
recruiting ground for jihadis.
In 2009, Boko Haram carried out a spate of attacks on police stations and other government buildings in Maiduguri.
This led to shoot-outs on Maiduguri's streets. Hundreds of
Boko Haram supporters were killed and thousands of residents fled the
city.
Facial marks
Nigeria's security forces eventually seized the group's headquarters, capturing its fighters and killing Mr Yusuf.
His body was shown on state television and the security forces declared Boko Haram finished.
A state of emergency is in force in three northern Nigerian states
But its fighters regrouped under a new leader, Abubakar Shekau, and have stepped up their insurgency.
In 2013, the US designated it a terrorist organisation, amid
fears that it had developed links with other militant groups, such as
al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, to wage a global jihad.
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The deployment of troops has driven many of the militants out of Maiduguri, their main urban base”
Boko Haram's trademark was
originally the use of gunmen on motorbikes, killing police, politicians
and anyone who criticises it, including clerics from other Muslim
traditions and Christian preachers.
The group has also staged more audacious attacks in northern
and central Nigeria, including bombing churches, bus ranks, bars,
military barracks and even the police and UN headquarters in the
capital, Abuja.
Amid growing concern about the escalating violence, President
Goodluck Jonathan declared a state of emergency in May 2013 in the
three northern states where Boko Haram is the strongest - Borno, Yobe
and Adamawa.
Thousands of reinforcements have been sent to Maiduguri but the attacks continue
It draws its fighters mainly from the Kanuri ethnic group,
which is the largest in the three states. Most Kanuris have distinctive
facial scars and when added to their heavy Hausa accents, they are
easily identifiable to others Nigerians.
As a result, the militants operate mainly in the north-east, where the terrain is also familiar to them.
Foreign links
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We have nothing to do with Nigeria. We don't believe in this name”
Abubakar Shekau
Boko Haram leader
The deployment of troops has
driven many of them out of Maiduguri, their main urban base and they
have now retreated to the vast Sambisa forest, along the border with
Cameroon.
From there, the group's fighters have launched mass attacks
on villages and towns in Nigeria, looting, killing and burning
properties.
And it has switched tactics, often holding on to territory rather than retreating after an attack.
At the same time, Boko Haram has continued with its urban
bombing campaign, and has also carried out cross-border raids into
Cameroon.
In August 2014, Mr Shekau declared a caliphate in areas under
Boko Haram's control - and pledged loyalty to Iraqi national Abu Bakr
al-Baghdadi, the self-declared caliph (ruler) of Muslims worldwide.
"We are in an Islamic caliphate," said Mr Shekau, flanked by
masked fighters and carrying a machine gun. "We have nothing to do with
Nigeria. We don't believe in this name."
The Chibok abductions caused outrage across Nigeria
The violence has displaced families across the north-east
Boko Haram has also stepped up its campaign against Western
education, which it believes corrupts the moral values of Muslims,
especially girls, by attacking boarding schools.
Chronic poverty
In April 2014, it drew international condemnation by abducting
more than 200 schoolgirls from Chibok town in Borno state, saying it
would treat them as slaves and marry them off - a reference to an
ancient Islamic belief that women captured in conflict are part of the
"war booty".
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Northern Nigeria has a history of spawning militant Islamist groups”
It had made a similar threat in
May 2013, when it released a video, saying it had taken women and
children - including teenage girls - hostage in response to the arrest
of its members' wives and children. There was later a prison swap, with
both sides releasing the women and children.
Analysts say northern Nigeria has a history of spawning
militant Islamist groups, but Boko Haram has outlived them and has
proved to be far more lethal, with a global jihadi agenda.
It has a fighting force of thousands of men and cells that
specialise in bombings. Through its raids on military bases and banks,
it has gained control of vast amounts of weapons and money.
The threat Boko Haram poses will disappear only if Nigeria's
government manages to reduce the region's chronic poverty and builds an
education system which gains the support of local Muslims, the analysts
say.
Nigeria: A nation divided
Despite its vast resources, Nigeria ranks among the most
unequal countries in the world, according to the UN. The poverty in the
north is in stark contrast to the more developed southern states. While
in the oil-rich south-east, the residents of Delta and Akwa Ibom
complain that all the wealth they generate flows up the pipeline to
Abuja and Lagos.
