Boko Haram

====Presidential inauguration====
{{main|2011 Nigerian presidential election|May 2011 Nigeria bombings}}
Within hours of [[Goodluck Jonathan]]'s presidential inauguration on 29 May 2011, Boko Haram carried out a series of bombings in Bauchi, [[Zaria]] and Abuja. The most successful of these was the attack on the army barracks in Bauchi. A spokesman for the group told BBC Hausa that the attack had been carried out, as a test of loyalty, by serving members of the military hoping to join the group. This charge was later refuted by an army spokesman who claimed: "This is not a [[banana republic]]". However, on 8 January 2012 the president said that Boko Haram had infiltrated both the army and the police, as well as the executive, parliamentary and legislative branches of government. 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]]. He added: "We are doing what we are doing to fight injustice, if they stop their satanic ways of doing things and the injustices, we would stop what we are doing".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.vanguardngr.com/2011/06/boko-haram-claims-responsibility-for-bomb-blasts-in-bauchi-maiduguri/ |title=Boko Haram claims responsibility for bomb blasts in Bauchi, Maiduguri |work=[[Vanguard (Nigeria)]] |date=1 June 2011 |access-date=31 July 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.punchng.com/news/boko-haram-has-infiltrated-my-govt-jonathan/ |title=Boko Haram has infiltrated my govt –Jonathan |work=Punch |author=Olalekan Adetayo |date=9 January 2012 |access-date=6 August 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140808043607/http://www.punchng.com/news/boko-haram-has-infiltrated-my-govt-jonathan/ |archive-date=8 August 2014}}</ref>

This was one of several political and religious [[assassination]]s Boko Haram carried out that year, with the presumed intention of correcting what they say are injustices in the group's home state of Borno. Meanwhile, the trail of [[massacre]]s continued relentlessly, apparently leading the country towards civil war. By the end of 2011, these conflicting strategies led observers to question the group's cohesion; comparisons were drawn with the diverse motivations of the militant factions of the oil-rich [[Niger Delta]]. Adding to the confusion, in November the [[State Security Service (Nigeria)|State Security Service]] announced that four criminal syndicates were operating under the name Boko Haram.<ref name="Richard Dowden"/><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ctc.usma.edu/posts/the-rise-of-boko-haram-in-nigeria |title=The Rise of Boko Haram in Nigeria |publisher=Combating Terrorism Center |author=David Cook |date=26 September 2011 |access-date=31 July 2014 |archive-date=25 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120125002843/http://www.ctc.usma.edu/posts/the-rise-of-boko-haram-in-nigeria |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="JEAN HERSKOVITS">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/02/opinion/in-nigeria-boko-haram-is-not-the-problem.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 |title=In Nigeria, Boko Haram Is Not the Problem |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |author=Jean Herskovits |date=2 January 2012 |access-date=3 August 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://africanarguments.org/2012/01/19/boko-haram-the-answer-to-terror-lies-in-providing-more-meaningful-human-security-by-olly-owen/ |title=Boko Haram: Answering Terror With More Meaningful Human Security |publisher=African Arguments |author=Olly Owen |date=19 January 2012 |access-date=1 August 2014}}</ref>

The common theme throughout the northeast was the targeting of police, who were regularly killed at work or in [[drive-by shooting]]s at their homes, either in revenge for the killing of Yusuf, or as representatives of the state apparatus, or for no particular reason. Five officers were arrested for Yusuf's murder, which had no noticeable effect on the level of unrest. Opportunities for criminal enterprise flourished. Hundreds of police were dead and more than 60 police stations had been attacked by mid-2012. The government's response to this self-reinforcing trend towards insecurity was to invest heavily in security equipment, spending $5.5 billion, 20 per cent of their overall budget, on bomb detection units, communications and transport; and $470&nbsp;million on a [[Africa–China relations|Chinese]] [[CCTV]] system for Abuja, which has failed in its purpose of detecting or deterring acts of [[Terrorism|terror]].<ref name="JEAN HERSKOVITS"/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://africanarguments.org/2012/01/19/boko-haram-the-answer-to-terror-lies-in-providing-more-meaningful-human-security-by-olly-owen/ |title=Boko Haram: Answering Terror With More Meaningful Human Security |publisher=African Arguments |author=Olly Owen |date=19 January 2012 |access-date=31 July 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://icinspector.independent.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Nigeria-March-20121.pdf |title=Review of the January 2012 UK Border Information Service Nigeria Country of Origin Information Report |publisher=Independent Advisory Group on Country Information |author=Gernot Klantschnig |date=February 2012 |access-date=31 July 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141016235722/http://icinspector.independent.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Nigeria-March-20121.pdf |archive-date=16 October 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/2012humanrightsreport/index.htm?year=2012&dlid=204153#wrapper |title=Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2012 |publisher=U.S. Department of State |author=Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor |access-date=4 August 2014}}</ref><ref name="HRW2012">{{cite web |url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2012/10/11/nigeria-boko-haram-attacks-likely-crimes-against-humanity |title=Nigeria: Boko Haram Attacks Likely Crimes Against Humanity |publisher=Human Rights Watch |date=11 October 2012 |access-date=4 August 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Isine |first1=Ibanga |title=High-level corruption rocks $470million CCTV project that could secure Abuja |url=https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/163975-high-level-corruption-rocks-470million-cctv-project-secure-abuja.html#sthash.rEA1DWAX.dpbs |website=Premium Times Nigeria |date=27 June 2014}}</ref>

The election defeat of former military dictator [[Muhammadu Buhari]] increased ethno-religious political tensions, as it broke the terms of a tacit agreement that the presidency would alternate after two terms of office between candidates from the Christian south and Muslim north of the country. Sectarian riots engulfed the twelve northern states of the country during the three days following the election, leaving more than 800 dead and 65,000 displaced.

{{main|November 2011 Nigeria attacks}} {{main|Christmas 2011 Nigeria attacks}} {{main|December 2011 Nigeria clashes}}
The subsequent campaign of violence by Boko Haram culminated in a string of bombings across the country on Christmas Day. In the outskirts of Abuja, 37 died in a church that had its roof blown off. One resident commented, "Cars were in flames and bodies littered everywhere", a phrase commonly repeated in international press reports about the bombings. Similar Christmas events had been reported in previous years. Jonathan declared a [[state of emergency]] on New Year's Eve in local government areas of Jos, Borno, [[Yobe]] and [[Niger State|Niger]] and closed the international border in the north-east.<ref>{{cite web |title=Coordinated bomb attacks across Nigeria kill at least 40 |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/nigeria/8977585/Coordinated-bomb-attacks-across-Nigeria-kill-at-least-40.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/nigeria/8977585/Coordinated-bomb-attacks-across-Nigeria-kill-at-least-40.html |archive-date=11 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |website=[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]]|date=25 December 2011 }}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Nossiter |first1=Adam |title=Nigerian Group Escalates Violence With Church Attacks (Published 2011) |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/26/world/africa/explosion-rips-through-catholic-church-in-nigeria.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 |website=[[The New York Times]] |date=25 December 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Christmas Day bombings in Nigeria kill at least 39, radical Muslim sect claims responsibility |url=https://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/christmas-day-bombings-nigeria-kill-25-radical-muslim-sect-claims-responsibility-article-1.996711 |website=nydailynews.com|date=25 December 2011 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=At least 40 dead bodies removed from church near Abuja, with four more attacks reported in other locations |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2011/12/26/nigeria-churches-hit-by-blasts |website=www.aljazeera.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Christmas bombings kill many near Jos, Nigeria |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-12077944 |website=[[BBC News]] |date=25 December 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-nigeria-emergency-idUSL6E7NV07T20111231 |title=Nigeria's Jonathan declares state of emergency |work=[[Reuters]]|author=Felix Onuah |author2=Tim Cocks |date=31 December 2011 |access-date=1 August 2014 |archive-date=19 November 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151119033209/http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/12/31/us-nigeria-emergency-idUSL6E7NV07T20111231 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-16579001 |title=Nigerian fuel subsidy: Strike suspended |publisher=[[BBC News]] |date=16 January 2012 |access-date=1 August 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Nigeria: Post-Election Violence Killed 800 |url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2011/05/16/nigeria-post-election-violence-killed-800 |website=Human Rights Watch |language=en |date=16 May 2011}}</ref><ref name="FalolaHeaton2008">{{cite book|author1=Toyin Falola|author2=Matthew M. Heaton|title=A History of Nigeria|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XygZjbNRap0C&pg=PA297|date=24 April 2008|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-139-47203-6|page=277}}</ref>