Boko Haram


Book Description

Concise account of a growing Islamist threat, which is active across West Africa




The Boko Haram Insurgence In Nigeria


Book Description

This book focuses on the Boko Haram insurgence in Nigeria, and provides information on the origin and growth of the sect, antecedent and historical factors behind the insurgence, assessing a variety of socio-political drivers. The structure, organization and ideology of the sect are analysed, paying attention to internal splits within the group, as well as external relations with the Nigerian state, and global jihadism. The diverse and wide ranging issues covered in the book makes it valuable for academic researchers, students and policy practitioners both within Africa and beyond.




Understanding Boko Haram


Book Description

The primary objective of this book is to understand the nature of the Boko Haram insurgency in northeast Nigeria. Boko Haram’s goal of an Islamic Caliphate, starting in the Borno State in the North East that will eventually cover the areas of the former Kanem-Borno Empire, is a rejection of the modern state system forced on it by the West. The central theme of this volume examines the relationship between the failure of the state-building project in Nigeria and the outbreak and nature of insurgency. At the heart of the Boko Haram phenomenon is a country racked with cleavages, making it hard for Nigeria to cohere as a modern state. Part I introduces this theme and places the Boko Haram insurgency in a historical context. There are, however, multiple cleavages in Nigeria ̶ ethnic, regional, cultural, and religious ̶ and Part II examines the different state-society dynamics fuelling the conflict. Political grievances are common to every society; however, what gives Boko Haram the space to express such grievances through violence? Importantly, this volume demonstrates that the insurgency is, in fact, a reflection of the hollowness within Nigeria’s overall security. Part III looks at the responses to Boko Haram by Nigeria, neighbouring states, and external actors. For Western actors, Boko Haram is seen as part of the "global war on terror" and the fact that it has pledged allegiance to ISIS encourages this framing. However, as the chapters here discuss, this is an over-simplification of Boko Haram and the West needs to address the multiple dimension of Boko Haram. This book will be of much interest to students of terrorism and political violence, insurgencies, African politics, war and conflict studies, and IR in general.




Boko Haram: Emerging Threat to the U. S. Homeland


Book Description

On August 26, 2011, a suicide bomber drove a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED) into the United Nations (U.N.) headquarters in Abuja, Nigeria, killing 23 people and injuring more than 80 others.1 Responsibility for the bombing, one of the deadliest in the United Nations' history, was claimed by Boko Haram, an Islamist religious sect turned insurgent group based in the predominantly Muslim northern Nigeria. While this attack occurred inside Nigerian borders, it was the first time Boko Haram had targeted an international, non-Nigerian entity.




Counter-Insurgency in Nigeria


Book Description

This book offers a detailed examination of the counter-insurgency operations undertaken by the Nigerian military against Boko Haram between 2011 and 2017. Based on extensive fieldwork conducted with military units in Nigeria, Counter-Insurgency in Nigeria has two main aims. First, it seeks to provide an understanding of the Nigerian military’s internal role – a role that today, as a result of internal threats, pivots towards counter-insurgency. The book illustrates how organizational culture, historical experience, institutions, and doctrine, are critical to understanding the Nigerian military and its attitudes and actions against the threat of civil disobedience, today and in the past. The second aim of the book is to examine the Nigerian military campaign against Boko Haram insurgents – specifically, plans and operations between June 2011 and April 2017. Within this second theme, emphasis is placed on the idea of battlefield innovation and the reorganization within the Nigerian military since 2013, as the Nigerian Army and Air Force recalibrated themselves for COIN warfare. A certain mystique has surrounded the technicalities of COIN operations by the Army against Boko Haram, and this book aims to disperse that veil of secrecy. Furthermore, the work’s analysis of the air force’s role in counter-insurgency is unprecedented within the literature on military warfare in Nigeria. This book will be of great interest to students of military studies, counter-insurgency, counter-terrorism, African politics and security studies in general.




Boko Haram


Book Description

Boko Haram analyzes the activities and atrocities of Nigeria’s Jihadi terrorist group, Boko Haram, in the context of global religious fundamentalism and extremism. The book traces the early beginnings of the religious sect, the conversion of its leader to radical Islam in 2002, and the group’s campaign of violence beginning in 2009 and continuing to the present. The group’s attacks against a variety of targets are examined in detail as are their general tactics and strategies. The Nigerian government response is also examined in order to provide critical lessons to counterterrorism planners, policy and government officials, and scholars. The initial military response was hampered by capability and legislative constraints including a lack of arms and ammunition, a lack of modern counterterrorism equipment, training gaps, leadership issues, intelligence gaps, politicization of the conflict, and limited support to the Nigerian military by the international community. Boko Haram looks at the work that has been done thus far, and what work needs to continue, to make gains to combat, marginalize, and ultimately defeat Boko Haram and resolve the conflict facing Nigeria. Key features: Outlines the history of Boko Haram and its emergence in Nigeria Provides the latest developments on fundamentalism in Nigeria, the growth of Boko Haram and the government response Focuses on the attacks, attack methodology and targeting of Boko Haram, addressing best-practice countermeasures Examines Boko Haram’s ties to other Islamist groups including ISIL/ISIS and others Details the importance for international cooperation in responding to Boko Haram’s activities and threats. About the Author: Dr. Ona Ekhomu, CFE, CPP, CSP, PCI, CPOI was born in Irrua, Nigeria. He holds the PhD from University of Pittsburgh. A policy analyst and security expert, Ekhomu is Chairman Trans-World Security Systems Ltd. and Chairman School of Management and Security (Lagos, Nigeria). President of Trans-World Security Systems Inc. of Chicago, Illinois, USA, Ekhomu is also a lecturer in the Sociology Department of the University of Lagos, Nigeria. He is President of the Association of Industrial Security and Safety Operators of Nigeria; Africa Representative of the International Foundation for Protection Officers; and former Regional Vice-President (West and Central Africa) of ASIS International. Ekhomu is author of Kidnap: Face to Face with Death (2014) and Effective Personal & Corporate Security (2009).




Insurgency and War in Nigeria


Book Description

Boko Haram is the major threat to the Nigerian state, and has emerged as a destabilizing factor across sub-Saharan Africa. This is now a major focus of global policy-making, as between 2013 and 2014 insurgency-related deaths in Nigeria exceeded those in Iraq and Afghanistan. This book is the first to focus on the military nature of Boko Haram, the reasons for its success in those specific regions of the Chad basin it operates in and a detailed history of the Nigerian army's counter-insurgency – with whom, uniquely, the author has spent research time. The book identifies and analyses the battles and skirmishes on the front line, as well as unearthing a wider explanation for Boko Haram's military success and the causes of the instability in the region.




Boko Haram: Islamism, Politics, Security, and the State in Nigeria


Book Description

This book is the first attempt to understand Boko Haram in a comprehensive and consistent way. It examines the early history of the sect and its transformation into a radical armed group. It analyses the causes of the uprising against the Nigerian state and evaluates the consequences of the on-going conflict from a religious, social and political point of view. The book gives priority to authors conducting fieldwork in Nigeria and tackles the following issues: the extent to which Boko Haram can be considered the product of deprivation and marginalisation; the relationship of the sect with almajirai, Islamic schools, Sufi brotherhoods, Izala, and Christian churches; the role of security forces and political parties in the radicalisation of the sect; the competing discourses in international and domestic media coverage of the crisis; and the consequences of the militarisation of the conflict for the Nigerian government and the civilian population, Christian and Muslim. About the Editor: Marc-Antoine Perouse de Montclos is a Doctor in Political Science and a Professor at the French Institute of Geopolitics in the University of Paris 8. A specialist on armed conflicts in Africa south of the Sahara, he graduated from the Institut d'etudes politiques de Paris (IEP), where he teaches, and is a researcher at the Institut de recherche pour le developpement (IRD). He lived for several years in Nigeria, South Africa and Kenya. He has published some eighty articles and books, including Le Nigeria (1994), Violence et securite urbaines (1997), L'aide humanitaire, aide a la guerre? (2001), Villes et violences en Afrique subsaharienne (2002), Diaspora et terrorisme (2003), Guerres d'aujourd'hui (2007), Etats faibles et securite privee en Afrique noire (2008), Les humanitaires dans la guerre (2013), and La tragedie malienne (2013). Reviews For scholars, government officials, journalists, and civic actors, this book expands our understanding of this enigmatic jihadist movement, its genesis, evolution, and political implications. In light of the global significance of militant Islam, the book is indispensable for students of Nigeria, Africa, Muslim societies, and armed conflicts.-Richard Joseph, John Evans Professor of International History and Politics, Northwestern University This collection of essays on Boko Haram is much the best yet-well informed, coolly competent. With the insurgency still evolving, we really need this guide to its early days.-Murray Last, Emeritus Professor of Anthropology, University College of London This valuable collection assembles notable experts who analyze the messages and behavior of Boko Haram. The collection also provides nuanced treatments of actors involved in the conflict, including the Nigerian state and Nigerian Christians.-Alex Thurston, Visiting Assistant Professor, African Studies Program, Georgetown University




Boko Haram


Book Description

"Thurston has written the definitive history of Boko Haram. By weaving a complex tapestry of politics and religion, he explains the peculiarity and potency of one of the world's most lethal jihadist insurgencies. A violent and secretive sect that was impenetrable even to experts is now laid bare."--William McCants, author of The ISIS Apocalypse.e.




Boko Haram and International Law


Book Description

This book focuses on Boko Haram and terrorism in Nigeria, framing the conflict in an international law context. It analyses the nature of political violence and the dominant roles of a violent nation-state (in both colonial and post-colonial experiences) and the rise of terrorism in Nigeria. The book unearths embedded evidence of religious nepotism on the part of state officials using such state institutions as Islamic Preaching Boards to promote one Islamic sect over another in mainly Muslim Northern Nigeria. The book offers insights into this subtle sectarian divide and how this and other ‘subterranean’ elements have contributed to the rise of Boko Haram in Northern Nigeria beyond the dominant poverty-terrorism nexus narrative. Furthermore, the book analyses the various components of Boko Haram’s radical ideology, situates them in Islamic Jurisprudence, and examines the philosophy of the group (both in doctrine and practice) – their interpretation of the Koran and the waging of Jihad, and the extent to which they conform to the Islamic Sect Boko Haram claims to follow. The book then examines the basic doctrinal features and characteristics of Boko Haram – waging Jihad, prohibiting revealing dresses for women and mixing of genders, rejecting western values and institutions, denouncing scientific inquiry and democracy, hostage taking, sexual exploitation of captives and other aspects of jus ad bellum and jus in bello in Islamic jurisprudence and international law. Finally, the book analyses the plight of vulnerable groups such as internally displaced persons, the atrocities committed against women and girls in the Boko Haram insurgency and the (in)ability of international law to enforce the protections offered to the victims. From the perspective of critical intellectual inquiry, the book also challenges a number of fundamental assumptions and encourages us to revisit our legal characterisation of certain concepts such as “gender-based crimes”. It then goes further to analyse some legal grey areas in the Boko Haram insurgency such as the legal status of the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) and the legal framework for holding members accountable for violations of international human rights and humanitarian law. Overall, the book represents a valuable contribution to scholarship, deepens our understanding and delineates how international law could respond to the Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria in particular and terrorism in Africa in general.