Boko Haram

==History==
===Background===
{{Further|Fourth Nigerian Republic}}
Before it was [[History of Nigeria#A British sphere of influence|colonized]] and subsequently incorporated into the [[British Empire]] as [[Colonial Nigeria]] in 1900, 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]], with a majority [[Kanuri people|Kanuri]] Muslim population. In 1903, both the [[Borno Emirate]] and [[Sokoto Caliphate]] had come under British rule. At this time, [[Christianity|Christian]] [[Missionary|missionaries]] spread the Christian message in the region and converted a large segment of the Nigerian populace.<ref name="Nigeria">[[Helen Chapin Metz]], ed., [http://countrystudies.us/nigeria/ "Influence of Christian Missions"], ''Nigeria: A Country Study'', Washington: GPO for the Library of Congress, 1991. Retrievaed 18 April 2012.</ref> British rule ended when Nigeria was granted independence in 1960.<ref name="bbc20110826"/><ref>{{cite book |author=Martin Meredith |title=The State of Africa: A History of the Continent Since Independence |date=2011|chapter=5. Winds of Change|edition=illustrated |publisher=Simon and Schuster|isbn=9780857203892|page=77|author-link=Martin Meredith |title-link=The State of Africa: A History of the Continent Since Independence }}</ref>
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.

According to the Borno [[Sufism|Sufi]] [[Imam]] [[Sheikh|Sheik]] Fatahi, Yusuf was trained by the [[Kano (city)|Kano]] [[Salafi movement|Salafi]] [[Izala Society|Izala]] Sheik [[Ja'afar Mahmud Adam]]u, who called him the "leader of young people"; the two split some time in 2002–2004. They both preached in [[Maiduguri]]'s Indimi [[Mosque]], which was attended by the deputy governor of Borno.<ref>Gérard L. F. Chouin, Religion and bodycount in the Boko Haram crisis: evidence from the Nigeria Watch database, p. 214. {{ISBN|978-90-5448-135-5}}.</ref> Many of the group were reportedly inspired by Mohammed Marwa, known as [[Maitatsine]] ("He who curses others"), a self-proclaimed [[prophet]] (''annabi'', a [[Hausa language|Hausa]] word usually used only to describe the founder of Islam) born in [[British Cameroons|Northern Cameroon]] who condemned the reading of books other than the Quran.<ref name="George Percy Bargery 1934"/><ref name="managing"/><ref name=west/><ref name="worlddefensereview.com"/> In a 2009 [[BBC]] interview, Yusuf, expressed similarly [[pre-modern]] ideas on [[evolution]], a [[flat earth]], and rain sent directly from [[God]] rather than [[evaporation]].<ref name=bbc20090728/> Followers of Maitatsine "wreaked havoc" in northern cities of Nigeria "off and on" from 1980 to 1985.<ref name="Thurston-2019-24">{{cite book |last1=Thurston |first1=Alexander |title=Search Results Boko Haram: The History of an African Jihadist Movement |date=2019 |publisher=Princeton University Press |page=24 |isbn=9780691197081 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KcmXDwAAQBAJ&dq=Wilayat+Gharb+Ifriqiyya&pg=PA17 |access-date=8 March 2021}}</ref>

[[Ethnic violence|Ethnic militancy]] is thought to have been one of the causes of the [[Nigerian Civil War|1967–1970 civil war]]; [[Religious violence in Nigeria|religious violence]] reached a new height in 1980 in Kano, the largest city in the north of the country, where the Muslim fundamentalist sect [[Yan Tatsine]] ("followers of Maitatsine") instigated [[1980 Kano riot|riots]] that resulted in four or five thousand deaths. 
In the ensuing military crackdown, Maitatsine was killed, fuelling a backlash of increased violence that spread across other northern cities over the next twenty years.<ref name="Martin Ewi">{{cite web |url=http://www.issafrica.org/iss-today/why-nigeria-needs-a-criminal-tribunal-and-not-amnesty-for-boko-haram |title=Why Nigeria needs a criminal tribunal and not amnesty for Boko Haram |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |author=Martin Ewi |date=24 June 2013 |access-date=30 July 2014}}</ref> Social inequality and poverty contributed both to the Maitatsine and Boko Haram uprisings.<ref name=journals/>{{rp|97–98}}

In the decades since the end of British rule, politicians and academics from the mainly Islamic North have expressed their fundamental opposition to Western education. Political ethno-religious interest groups, whose membership includes influential political, military and religious leaders, have thrived in Nigeria, though they were largely suppressed under military rule. Their [[paramilitary]] wings, formed since the country's return to civilian rule, have been implicated in much of the sectarian violence in the years following. The [[Arewa People's Congress]], the militia wing of the [[Arewa Consultative Forum]], the main political group representing the interests of northern Nigeria, is a well-funded group with military and intelligence expertise and is considered capable of engaging in military action, including covert bombing.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Ross |first1=Kirk |title=Revolt in the North: Interpreting Boko Haram's war on western education |url=https://africanarguments.org/2014/05/revolt-in-the-north-interpreting-boko-harams-war-on-western-education-by-kirk-ross/ |website=African Arguments |date=19 May 2014}}</ref>

===Founding===
[[Mohammed Yusuf (Boko Haram)|Mohammed Yusuf]] founded the sect that became known as Boko Haram in 2002 in Maiduguri, the capital of the north-eastern 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 [[Jihadism|jihadis]]. By denouncing the police and state corruption, Yusuf attracted followers from unemployed youth.<ref name=cfrBackgrounder/><ref name="bbc20110826">{{cite news |first=Farouk |last=Chothia |title=Who are Nigeria's Boko Haram Islamists? |date=11 January 2012 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13809501 |work=[[BBC News]] |access-date=25 January 2012}}</ref><ref name="IRIN">{{cite news |url=http://www.irinnews.org/Report/93250/Analysis-Understanding-Nigeria-s-Boko-Haram-radicals |title=Analysis: Understanding Nigeria's Boko Haram radicals |publisher=www.irinnews.org |date=18 July 2011 |access-date=12 March 2012}}</ref><ref name=econ1405>{{cite news|url=https://www.economist.com/blogs/erasmus/2014/05/islam-west-and-nigeria |title=Whose faith, whose girls? |newspaper=[[The Economist]]}}</ref> He is reported to have used the existing infrastructure in Borno of the [[Izala Society]] (Jama'at Izalatil Bidiawa Iqamatus Sunnah), a popular conservative Islamic sect, to recruit members, before breaking away to form his own faction. The Izala were originally welcomed into government, along with people sympathetic to Yusuf. 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, believing it was important to develop strength before waging jihad.<ref name="too-much-2017">{{cite journal |last1=Zenna |first1=Jacob |last2=Pierib |first2=Zacharias |title=How much Takfir is too much Takfir? The Evolution of Boko Haram's Factionalization. |journal=Journal for Deradicalization |date=Summer 2017 |issue=11 |pages=281–303 |url=https://journals.sfu.ca/jd/index.php/jd/article/download/107/90 |access-date=6 March 2021 |issn=2363-9849}}</ref> The government repeatedly ignored warnings about the increasingly militant character of the organization.<ref name="CTC" /><ref name=accused>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/aug/02/nigeria-boko-haram-islamist-sect |title=Nigeria accused of ignoring sect warnings before wave of killings |date=2 August 2009 |access-date=6 August 2009 |work=[[The Guardian]]|location=London}}</ref> The Council of Ulama advised the government and the [[Nigerian Television Authority]] not to broadcast Yusuf's preaching, but their warnings were ignored. Yusuf's arrest elevated him to hero status. Borno's Deputy Governor Alhaji Dibal has reportedly claimed that [[al-Qaeda]] had ties with Boko Haram, but broke them when they decided that Yusuf was an unreliable person.{{citation needed|date=July 2023}} Stephen Davis, a former Anglican clergyman who has negotiated with Boko Haram many times blames local Nigerian politicians who support local bandits like Boko Haram in order for them to make life difficult for their political opponents. In particular Davis has blamed the former governor of Borno State [[Ali Modu Sheriff]], who initially supported Boko Haram, but no longer needed them after the 2007 elections and stopped funding them. Sheriff denies the accusations.<ref name="Lamb">{{cite news|last1=Lamb|first1=Christina|title=A fight for the soul of the world|url=http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/public/magazine/article1680538.ece|access-date=23 March 2016|newspaper=Sunday Times|date=20 March 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161129233128/http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/public/magazine/article1680538.ece |archive-date=2016-11-29}}</ref>

===Rivalry with ISIL===
Boko Haram and ISIL were initially allies. However, the two groups became enemies due to territorial disputes, because ISIL tried to conquer the zones which were under Boko Haram's control.

In July 2014, Shekau released a 16-minute video in which he voiced his support for [[Islamic State|ISIL]]'s leader [[Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi]], al-Qaeda's leader [[Ayman al-Zawahiri]] and the [[Taliban|Afghan Taliban]]'s leader [[Mullah Omar]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/africa/2014/07/13/Boko-Haram-voices-support-for-ISIS-Baghdadi.html |title=Boko Haram voices support for ISIS' Baghdadi |website=English.alarabiya.net |date=13 July 2014 |access-date=2016-05-22}}</ref> In March 2015, Shekau pledged allegiance to [[Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant|ISIS]] self-styled [[caliph]] [[Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi]] and became "West African Province" (''Wilayat Garb Ifriqiyah''), i.e. the West African province of the Islamic State. However, in August 2016, Al-Baghdadi replaced Shekau with Abu Musab al-Barnawi, the son of the Boko Haram's previous leader Muhammad Yusuf, their motivation (at least according to one source) being to trim back Shekau's tendency to apply [[takfir]] (accusations of apostasy) to "all mainstream Muslims".<ref name="too-much-2017-282">{{cite journal |last1=Zenna |first1=Jacob |last2=Pierib |first2=Zacharias |title=How much Takfir is too much Takfir? The Evolution of Boko Haram's Factionalization. |journal=Journal for Deradicalization |date=Summer 2017 |issue=11 |page=282 |url=https://journals.sfu.ca/jd/index.php/jd/article/download/107/90 |access-date=6 March 2021 |issn=2363-9849}}</ref> 

Shortly before Boko Haram pledged allegiance to ISIL, the Nigerian government launched the [[2015 West African offensive]] during which Boko Haram lost most of the territory which it had occupied over time. Following this offensive, the group retreated to the [[Sambisa Forest]] and commenced its [[Guerrilla warfare|guerilla warfare]] tactics.

In August 2016, [[Islamic State|ISIL]] attempted to remove Shekau from his leadership role and replace him with [[Abu Musab al-Barnawi]]. ISIL attempted to remove Shekau because he had disobeyed [[Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi]]'s order to cease targeting Muslim civilians. Shekau rejected the move, leading to a split between the groups. As of 2017, there were three factions which were all Boko Haram in origin, all rejecting "democracy, secularism and Western influence", and seeking to establish an Islamic state implementing [[sharia]]. These were the "West African Province" which is part of [[ISIL]]; ''Jamā'at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da'wah wa'l-Jihād'' (Boko Haram), under Shekau's control; and ''Ansaru'' which is loyal to [[al-Qaeda]] and rejected the caliphate of al-Bagdadi, though it shares his disapproval of the "wide-reaching interpretation of takfir" of Shekau.<ref name="too-much-2017-283-4">{{cite journal |last1=Zenna |first1=Jacob |last2=Pierib |first2=Zacharias |title=How much Takfir is too much Takfir? The Evolution of Boko Haram's Factionalization. |journal=Journal for Deradicalization |date=Summer 2017 |issue=11 |pages=283–4 |url=https://journals.sfu.ca/jd/index.php/jd/article/download/107/90 |access-date=6 March 2021 |issn=2363-9849}}</ref>

Since 2018, there has been a [[#2018|major spike in attacks]] by Boko Haram, (concentrated in [[Borno State]]), which sought to prove Boko Haram to be the prevalent terror group in the country. Attacks by Boko Haram resulted in over 1700 fatalities in the first half of 2019, including casualties of its own members.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=https://www.americansecurityproject.org/dont-forget-about-boko-haram-a-2019-update/|title=Don't Forget About Boko Haram: A 2019 Update|first=Cat|last=Cronin|date=24 Jun 2019|website=American Security Project|language=en|access-date=2020-04-03}}</ref> When climate change-induced poverty and violence struck the [[Chad Basin|Lake Chad basin]], the terrorist organization was able to recruit in large numbers by offering small loans<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://odihpn.org/magazine/the-evolution-and-impact-of-boko-haram-in-the-lake-chad-basin/|title=The evolution and impact of Boko Haram in the Lake Chad Basin|website=Humanitarian Practice Network|language=en-GB|access-date=2020-04-03|archive-date=23 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181023031629/https://odihpn.org/magazine/the-evolution-and-impact-of-boko-haram-in-the-lake-chad-basin/|url-status=dead}}</ref> and promising big rewards.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-africa-35898319/boko-haram-recruits-were-promised-lots-of-money|title=Boko Haram recruits 'promised money'|work=[[BBC News]] |language=en|access-date=2020-04-03}}</ref> It also continues to kidnap and force young boys to join them.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.counterextremism.com/threat/boko-haram|title=Boko Haram|website=Counter Extremism Project|language=en|access-date=2020-04-03}}</ref> Boko Haram is better equipped with drones, weapons and vehicles captured from and sometimes abandoned by Nigerian military during ambush.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|last=Searcey|first=Dionne|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/13/world/africa/nigeria-boko-haram.html|title=Boko Haram Is Back. With Better Drones.|date=2019-09-13|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=2020-04-03|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> To better fortify itself, Nigerian military has concentrated the rural population in its garrison towns. This has allowed Boko Haram to operate freely in the countryside. In 2019 they were believed to be back in control of 4 out of 10 zones of Borno State.<ref name=":0" />

For at least four years since the split happened, the two groups were not enemies and sometimes co-operated in some terror attacks. However, Boko Haram and ISWAP later became enemies since 2021 or even a year before. ISWAP gunmen targeted Shekau in an attack carried out on May 20, 2021. Several Boko Haram members were killed in the operation, while Shekau blew himself up, or tried to do so, in order to avoid a capture. It was the first major clash between the two groups.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/may/20/boko-haram-leader-abubakar-shekau-nigeria-forest?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other |title=Boko Haram leader tried to kill himself during clash with rivals, officials claim |website=[[The Guardian]] |date=20 May 2021 |access-date=2021-05-20}}</ref> His death was confirmed by his loyalists led by Bakura Sa'alaba in June.<ref name="sahara">{{cite web |url=http://saharareporters.com/2021/06/15/abubakar-shekaus-boko-haram-faction-confirms-death-leader-issues-fresh-threats |title= Abubakar Shekau's Boko Haram Faction Confirms Death Of Leader, Issues Fresh Threats |work=Sahara Reporters |date=15 June 2021 |access-date=9 December 2021 }}</ref>