Paper On Boko Haram

Research paper: Boko Haram

Boko Haram is now a worldwide known terrorist group because of their brutality and unpredictable act of terror. It has all characteristics of an Islamic terrorist group with the objective to get rid of western civilization for an Islamic state, but the corruption, social and economic injustice has been one of the driving force of Boko Haram resistance. We wonder how the group has survived for some many years. A group that was supposed to disappear after a few years is now one of the most dangerous Islamic terrorist group on earth.

Boko Haram was founded in Maiduguri, the capital of the northeastern state of Borno in Nigeria in 2002 by an Islamic cleric named Mohammed Yusuf. He created an Islamic religious school

As another example, in early 2013, gunmen from Boko Haram kidnapped a family of seven French tourists on vacation in Cameroon. Two months later, the kidnappers released the hostages along with 16 others in exchange for a ransom of $3.15 million (International business Times, 2014). Their everyday operation depends on robbery, kidnapping and extortion. Kidnapping is targeting wealthy Nigerian and foreign visitors. If we wonder how Boko Haram get his equipment; they have captured weapons from fleeing soldiers, which keeps the group constantly well-supplied (BBC report; November 12, 2014). Being from the west region of Africa and a country who had its share of rebels taking over one part of the country, I know how easy it is to cross borders between countries with no or minimum inspection. From Liberian civil wars (1989-1996 and 1999-2003), Sierra Leone civil war (1991-2002) to the rebellion insurgence in Ivory coast (2002-2004) the traffic of war weapons has been very easy in the region. There is no doubt that war equipment has been going from country to country in the last three decades. After Boko Haram was founded, it was suspected of receiving funds from corrupt local politicians to discredit their opponents, and from local donors who supported its goal of imposing Islamic law while ridding Nigeria of Western influences. In more recent times, Boko Haram has broadened its funding by drawing on foreign donors, and other ventures such as fake charity organizations (Kathleen, Calderwood, International Business times; January,10 2014). It was also reported in Voice of America on September 2014 that Boko Haram was connected to Cocaine traffic. Despite the poverty of northern Nigeria, where 70 percent of people live on less than a dollar per day, the Boko Haram terrorist group has at its disposal a seemingly limitless amount of heavy