Educational Resource
International Religious Freedom Fact Sheet: Nigeria, Boko Haram Weakened, Yet Still a Threat (2016)
International Religious Freedom Fact Sheet: Nigeria, Boko Haram Weakened, Yet Still a Threat
At the start of 2015 the extremist group, Boko Haram, had established control over a substantial part of Borno State in Nigeria. During the year the group also aligned itself with ISIS and declared its territory an ISIS caliphate in Africa, but to date there is little evidence that ISIS has provided concrete support to Boko Haram. Official reports indicate that since 2010 the group may have killed about 15,000 people, although other reports put the toll over 100,000. Some 2 million people are still displaced from their homes because of Boko Haram attacks.
In early 2015, the Nigerian government along with neighboring Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Benin launched a series of military efforts that have taken back control over most of the territory that had been captured and reduced the size of Boko Haram forces. These efforts were reinforced when the new Nigerian President, Muhammedou Buhari, assumed the Presidency in May 2015. Yet although Boko Haram is no longer the force it was, it is still resilient enough to continue deadly terrorist attacks that killed up to 100 people in one strike in February 2016. There is every indication that Boko Haram will remain a real threat to the Northeastern states of Nigeria for the foreseeable future.