Boko Haram, formally Jama'atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda'awati wal-Jihad ("People Committed to the Propagation of the Prophet's Teachings and Jihad"), was founded in Maiduguri, Borno State, Nigeria, around 2002 by cleric Mohammed Yusuf. The popular name, drawn from Hausa, is commonly rendered as "Western education is forbidden." After Yusuf was killed in police custody in 2009 following a violent uprising, leadership passed to Abubakar Shekau, who escalated the group into a full insurgency targeting security forces, civilians, schools, churches, and mosques.
The group gained global attention in April 2014 when its fighters abducted 276 schoolgirls from Chibok, Borno State, triggering the #BringBackOurGirls campaign. In March 2015, Shekau pledged allegiance to the Islamic State, and the organization was rebranded by IS as Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP). A leadership dispute in 2016 split the movement: ISWAP under Abu Musab al-Barnawi broke away, while Shekau retained a separate faction under the original Boko Haram banner until his reported death in May 2021 during clashes with ISWAP.
The insurgency has destabilized the Lake Chad Basin, drawing military responses from Nigeria, Niger, Chad, Cameroon, and Benin through the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF), headquartered in N'Djamena. The UN estimates the conflict has killed tens of thousands and displaced more than two million people. Boko Haram was designated a foreign terrorist organization by the United States in November 2013 and is sanctioned under UN Security Council resolutions tied to the Al-Qaida/ISIL sanctions regime (the group was listed under Resolution 2253 mechanisms in 2014).
For MUN and policy researchers, Boko Haram is frequently cited in debates on:
- Counterterrorism cooperation in the Sahel and Lake Chad regions
- Protection of civilians and education in conflict (linked to the Safe Schools Declaration)
- Humanitarian access and IDP protection
- Conflict-related sexual violence and the use of women and children as suicide bombers
Example
In April 2014, Boko Haram fighters abducted 276 secondary school girls from Chibok, Nigeria, prompting a global advocacy campaign and a multinational military response by the Lake Chad Basin states.
Frequently asked questions
Not anymore. ISWAP emerged from a 2016 split after Shekau's faction was sidelined by the Islamic State's central leadership. The two factions fought each other, and ISWAP is now generally considered the dominant jihadist force in the Lake Chad Basin.
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