"Boko Haram" is a Hausa name which translates roughly as "Western education is forbidden," while the real Arabic name translates as "The Congregation of the People of Tradition for Proselytism and Jihad".
The sect was founded in 2002 by the late Mohammed Yusuf who was captured and executed by Nigerian security forces in 2009. Until the government clamped down on the sect’s activities in 2009, the operations conducted by the sect were more or less peaceful. Since Abubakar Shekau, a former deputy to Yusuf’s era, violent attacks have escalated in terms of both frequency and intensity.
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The sect seeks to establish a "pure" Islamic state ruled by sharia, putting a stop to what it deems Westernization. It proposes that interaction with the Western world is forbidden, and also supports opposition to the Muslim establishment and the government of Nigeria.
The group is known for attacking Christians, Muslim clerics and government targets, as well as for bombing churches, mosques, schools and police stations. The group is also notorious for kidnappings.
Violence linked to the Boko Haram insurgency has resulted in an estimated 10,000 deaths between 2002 and 2013.
On November 13, 2013 the United States government designated the group a terrorist organization. On 22 May 2014, the United Nations Security Council added Boko Haram to its list of designated al-Qaeda entities, bringing "funding, travel and weapons sanctions" against the terrorist group.
On 22 May 2014 Boko Haram was officially declared a terrorist group affiliated to Al-Qaeda and Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb by the United Nations Security Council. International sanctions including asset freeze, travel ban and arms embargo were imposed against the Islamist extremist group.
It was reported in August 2013 that Shekau had been shot and deposed by members of his sect, but he survived.
He has taken responsibility for the April 2014 kidnapping of over 200 school girls. On 6 May 2014, eight more girls were kidnapped by suspected Boko Haram gunmen.
Funding sources for Boko Haram are not certain, but is believed to be partially funded by bank robberies and by other Islamist groups.
By Adedeji Balogun
