The jihadist group’s six-year insurgency to create an Islamic state in northeast Nigeria has left 20,000 dead. Its armed fighters have now brought their violence to Nigeria’s neighbours.
What is Boko Haram?
Boko Haram (which means Western education is forbidden in the Hausa language) is an armed group that opposes secular authority. Founded in 2002, it has been fighting the Nigerian state since 2009.
How big is their force?
With an estimated 15,000-strong force, the group has launched a fresh wave of violence that has dealt a blow to an operation launched in February by Nigerian troops with the help of Chad, Niger and Cameroon. The four-country offensive had chalked up a number of victories against the jihadists.
Who is their leader?
Abubakar Shekau, who heads the council of elders called Shura, took power after former leader, Mohammad Yusuf, was killed in custody by the Nigerian police in 2009.
“ The scale and depravity of Boko Haram’s attacks is appalling. But it is shocking that an army which is supposed to protect civilians from Boko Haram has committed atrocities themselves. ” — Alioune Tine, Amnesty International director for West and Central Africa
Who funds them?
Most of their funds come from looting towns, bank robberies and money collected in ransom. Some claim the group has links with Nigerian politicians and international jihadi groups.
How do they operate?
Boko Haram carries out murderous assaults on an almost daily basis. Often they abduct unmarried women and girls. In April 2014 they kidnapped 276 schoolgirls from Chibok.
Why are they doing this?
Boko Haram seeks to impose its rule on the people of northeast Nigeria. In August 2014, Boko Haram’s leader declared the territory to be a ‘caliphate’. It now calls itself the “Islamic State's West Africa Province”.
What is being done to stop them?
An 8,700-strong Multi-National Joint Task Force, drawing troops from Nigeria, Niger, Chad, Cameroon and Benin, is expected to be deployed soon .
Untold fear and suffering
| 6,800 | Civilians killed in Nigeria since 2014 |
| 2.1 mn | people driven from their homes |
| 5,00,000 | children forced to flee their homes in the last five months |
| 1.4 mn | children on the run in Nigeria and neighboring countries |
| 1.2 mn | children under 5 years who have fled northern Nigeria |
| 2,65,000 | children uprooted in Cameroon, Chad and Niger |
| 2,000 | people kidnapped since 2013 |
| 38 | abductions documented since 2014 |
| 56,000 | Nigerian refugees in Cameroon |
| 92% | people who live in host communities |
| 8% | people who live in camps or camp-like sites |
| 1,000 | people killed since Muhammadu Buhari was elected President in May |
| 1.6 mn | displaced population in Borno state |
| 150,000 | refugees living in Diffa, Niger |
Foodhold in Cameroon
| 1,200 | people extra-judicially executed by Nigerian Army |
| 7,000 | people who died in inhumane prison conditions |
| 20,000 | people arbitrarily arrested during crackdown |
| 1,000 | suspects, some as young as five, detained by Cameroonian forces |
| 25 | people have died in custody of security forces |
| 130 | of more than 200 men and boys arrested in July remain unaccounted for |
| 1,000 | people killed since Muhammadu Buhari was elected President in May |
| 1.6 mn | displaced population in Borno state |
| 150,000 | refugees living in Diffa, Niger |
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