Executive Summary:

Boko Haram is an ISIS-aligned jihadist group based in northeastern Nigeria, also active in Cameroon, Chad, and Niger.“Chapter 6. Foreign Terrorist Organizations,” U.S. Department of State, accessed October 2016, https://www.state.gov/j/ct/rls/crt/2015/257523.htm. The group promotes a Salafist-jihadist brand of Islam and seeks to establish a caliphate, or Islamic state, in Nigeria.“Security Council Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee Adds Boko Haram to Its Sanctions List,” United Nations Security Council, May 22, 2014, http://www.un.org/press/en/2014/sc11410.doc.htm;
Mohammed Aly Sergie, and Toni Johnson, “Boko Haram,” Council on Foreign Relations, last modified March 5, 2015, http://www.cfr.org/nigeria/boko-haram/p25739. To achieve this goal, the group has carried out large-scale attacks inside Nigeria, including an attack on the U.N. headquarters in Abuja in 2011,Ibrahim Mshelizza, “Islamist sect Boko Haram claims Nigerian U.N. bombing,” Reuters, August 29, 2011, http://www.reuters.com/article/us-nigeria-bombing-claim-idUSTRE77S3ZO20110829. the abduction of nearly 300 schoolgirls in April 2014,Kevin Sieff, “Boko Haram kidnapped 276 girls two years ago. What happened to them?,” Washington Post, April 14, 2016, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/04/14/boko-haram-kidnapped-276-girls-two-years-ago-what-happened-to-them/. and the multi-day massacre of the northern town of Baga and surrounding villages in January 2015 that killed approximately 2,000 civilians.Amina Abubakar and Faith Karimi, “2,000 feared killed in 'deadliest' Boko Haram attack in Nigeria,” CNN, January 12, 2015, http://www.cnn.com/2015/01/09/africa/boko-haram-violence/;
“Nigeria's Boko Haram: Baga destruction ‘shown in images,’” BBC News, January 15, 2015, http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-30826582. In November 2018, Boko Haram attacked a military base in Borno state—looting weapons, equipment, and vehicles, and leaving more than 100 soldiers dead.Ahmed Kingimi, Paul Carsten, “Militants kill around 100 Nigerian soldiers in attack on army base: sources,” Reuters, November 22, 2018, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-nigeria-security-insurgency/militants-kill-around-100-nigerian-soldiers-in-attack-on-army-base-sources-idUSKCN1NR1SR; Robert Postings, “Nigeria’s military struggles with Islamic State: Part 1 – an upsurge in attacks,” Defense Post, January 15, 2019, https://thedefensepost.com/2019/01/15/nigeria-military-struggles-islamic-state-iswa-part-1-upsurge-in-attacks/; AFP, “ISIS claims 118 killed in 'West Africa province' after Nigeria army bases attacked,” News24, November 23, 2018, https://www.news24.com/Africa/News/isis-claims-118-killed-in-west-africa-province-after-nigeria-army-bases-attacked-20181123. Since 2009, Boko Haram has claimed the lives of some 30,000 people, and displaced over two million, according to a January 2019 Defense Post report.Robert Postings, “Nigeria’s military struggles with Islamic State: Part 1 – an upsurge in attacks,” Defense Post, January 15, 2019, https://thedefensepost.com/2019/01/15/nigeria-military-struggles-islamic-state-iswa-part-1-upsurge-in-attacks/.

Boko Haram was founded in 2002 in Maiduguri, Nigeria, by a Salafist cleric named Mohammed Yusuf. Although Yusuf called for the establishment of an Islamic state in Nigeria, at the time he did not pursue violence as a means to achieve it.Mohammed Aly Sergie, and Toni Johnson, “Boko Haram,” Council on Foreign Relations, last modified March 5, 2015, http://www.cfr.org/nigeria/boko-haram/p25739. That approach changed in 2009, when Boko Haram members took up violence in response to a Nigerian government crackdown and the killing of its leader.George Gorman, “Nigerian Taliban leader killed in custody,” Long War Journal, July 31, 2009, http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2009/07/nigerian_taliban_lea.php;
Mohammed Aly Sergie, and Toni Johnson, “Boko Haram,” Council on Foreign Relations, last modified March 5, 2015, http://www.cfr.org/nigeria/boko-haram/p25739;
“Boko Haram attacks – timeline,” Guardian (London), September 25, 2012, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/sep/25/boko-haram-timeline-nigeria. Boko Haram has since launched paramilitary campaigns targeting the Nigerian government and its neighbors as well as dozens of terrorist attacks, increasingly perpetrated by child suicide bombers.Mohammed Aly Sergie, and Toni Johnson, “Boko Haram,” Council on Foreign Relations, last modified March 5, 2015, http://www.cfr.org/nigeria/boko-haram/p25739;
Camila Domonoske, “Boko Haram Increasingly Using Children In 'Suicide' Attacks, UNICEF Says,” NPR, April 12, 2016, http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/04/12/473920159/boko-haram-increasingly-using-children-in-suicide-attacks-unicef-says. In addition, the fluid security situation in and around Nigeria has enabled militants to cross into Cameroon, Chad, and Niger, in order to evade Nigerian security forces and carry out regional attacks.“Chapter 6. Foreign Terrorist Organizations,” U.S. Department of State, accessed October 2016, https://www.state.gov/j/ct/rls/crt/2015/257523.htm.

Though originally an underground movement, Boko Haram has seized and held land in northeastern Nigeria in order to realize its vision of an Islamic state. Between 2011 and 2015, the group captured territory roughly the size of Belgium. Since 2015, the Nigerian military has dislodged Boko Haram from almost all of the territory it previously controlled.John Campbell, “What Makes Boko Haram Run?,” Council on Foreign Relations, May 5, 2016, http://www.cfr.org/nigeria/makes-boko-haram-run/p37838;
David Blair, “Boko Haram is now a mini-Islamic State, with its own territory,” Telegraph (London), January 10, 2015, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/nigeria/11337722/Boko-Haram-is-now-a-mini-Islamic-State-with-its-own-territory.html. As of June 2018, Boko Haram’s geographic reach consists of Nigeria’s northeastern states of Adamawa, Borno, and Yobe, as well as to regions along the border with Cameroon, and around Lake Chad.John Campbell and Asch Harwood, “Boko Haram’s Deadly Impact,” Council on Foreign Relations, August 20, 2018, https://www.cfr.org/article/boko-harams-deadly-impact.

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari prematurely declared victory against Boko Haram in December 2015. However, the announcement was followed by successive suicide bombings perpetrated by the terror group in the country’s northeast.“We have defeated Boko Haram, December deadline met, Nigeria says,” Premium Times (Abuja), Decmeber 23, 2015, http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/195668-we-have-defeated-boko-haram-december-deadline-met-nigeria-says-2.html;
Conor Gaffey, “Buhari’s Boko Haram Deadline in Doubt After Attacks Kill Almost 50,” Newsweek, December 29, 2015, http://www.newsweek.com/buharis-boko-haram-deadline-doubt-after-attacks-kill-almost-50-409609. As of October 2021, the group continues to conduct attacks throughout the country and have even begun to expand their operations across northcentral Nigeria.Jeff Seldin, “Still Dangerous, Boko Haram Hanging On in West Africa,” Voice of America, October 22, 2021, https://www.voanews.com/a/still-dangerous-boko-haram-hanging-on-in-west-africa/6281718.html. The group has been designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, the United Nations, and the European Union.“Terrorist Designations of Boko Haram and Ansaru,” U.S. Department of State, November 13, 2013, http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2013/11/217509.htm;
“Security Council Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee Adds Boko Haram to Its Sanctions List,” United Nations Security Council, May 22, 2014, http://www.un.org/press/en/2014/sc11410.doc.htm;
Official Journal of the European Union, Volume 57, May 29, 2014, http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=OJ:L:2014:160:FULL&from=EN.

As noted by the U.N. Security Council, Boko Haram has maintained ties to al-Qaeda’s North African branch, al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). Various Boko Haram members trained and fought alongside AQIM in Mali before returning to Nigeria.Security Council Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee Adds Boko Haram to Its Sanctions List,” United Nations Security Council, May 22, 2014, http://www.un.org/press/en/2014/sc11410.doc.htm. In March 2015, however, longtime Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau pledged allegiance to ISIS on behalf of the Nigerian terror group.“Islamic State 'accepts' Boko Haram's allegiance pledge,” BBC News, March 13, 2015, http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-31862992. The group renamed itself Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), but Shekau allegedly did not obey ISIS’s orders to stop attacking fellow Muslims or to cease using children as suicide bombers.“Hearing to Consider the Nominations of: Lieutenant General Thomas D. Waldhauser, USMC, to be General and Commander, United States Africa Command; and Lieutenant General Joseph L. Lengyel, Ang, to be General and Chief of the National Guard Bureau,” Committee on Armed Services, June 21, 2016, 64-65, http://www.armed-services.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/16-62_06-21-16.pdf; Ruth Maclean and Isaac Abrak, “Isis tries to impose new leader on Boko Haram in Nigeria,” Guardian (London), August 5, 2016, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/aug/05/isis-tries-to-impose-new-leader-on-boko-haram-in-nigeria. In August 2016, following months of mounting tension between Shekau and ISIS leadership, ISIS unilaterally announced a replacement for Shekau, Abu Musab al-Barnawi, though Shekau refused to cede authority to the new leader. Boko Haram militants subsequently divided their loyalties to Shekau and al-Barnawi, with al-Barnawi’s followers amassing under the banner of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP). The two factions have since engaged in ongoing clashes, resulting in the death of several of Shekau’s associates.“Boko Haram breaks up ,” Economist, August 11, 2016, http://www.economist.com/news/middle-east-and-africa/21704917-militants-divide-over-murder-muslims-boko-haram-breaks-up;
Agence France-Presse, “Rival Boko Haram groups clash in NE Nigeria: sources,” Daily Mail (London), September 7, 2016, http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/afp/article-3777612/Rival-Boko-Haram-groups-clash-NE-Nigeria-sources.html;
Adam Withnall, “Boko Haram descends into in-fighting as reports emerge of deadly clashes between rival Islamist factions,” Independent (London), September 8, 2016, http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/boko-haram-descends-into-in-fighting-as-reports-emerge-of-deadly-clashes-between-rival-islamist-a7231726.html. On June 7, 2021, ISWAP released an audio recording confirming that Shekau was killed in a May 18 standoff—in which Shekau detonated an explosive and killed himself—between ISWAP and Boko Haram in Borno.“ISWAP militant group says Nigeria’s Boko Haram leader is dead,” Reuters, June 7, 2021, https://www.reuters.com/world/islamic-state-west-african-province-says-nigerias-boko-haram-leader-is-dead-2021-06-06.

ISWAP has attempted to absorb Boko Haram, and Shekau’s death may have weakened the resolve of some Boko Haram fighters. On June 27, 2021, a group of fighters from Boko Haram pledged allegiance to ISWAP. In a video produced by ISIS’s official media arm, several hundred men were seen defecting to the rival camp following Shekau’s death. One militant claimed, “we will unite together to fight the (unbelievers).” However, it is not clear if all Boko Haram fighters will transfer their loyalties, or if Boko Haram will be absorbed into ISWAP. Given that the video did not feature senior Boko Haram leaders, some regional experts believe the content was propaganda and that the two groups remain divided.“Boko Haram fighters pledge to Islamic State in video, worrying observers,” Reuters, June 28, 2021, https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/boko-haram-fighters-pledge-islamic-state-video-worrying-observers-2021-06-27/.

Following Shekau’s death, Boko Haram leaders called on militants to remain loyal to the group and continue fighting against ISWAP.“Boko Haram cleric confirms Shekau’s death, urges fighters; loyalty,” Reuters, June 19, 2021, https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/boko-haram-cleric-confirms-shekaus-death-urges-fighters-loyalty-2021-06-18/; “Abubakar Shekau: Nigeria’s Boko Haram leader is dead, say rival militants,” BBC News, June 7, 2021, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-57378493. On October 15, Nigeria’s military claimed that al-Barnawi was killed. However, the military did not provide details of the location of or circumstances leading to al-Barnawi’s death.Chinedu Asadu, “Nigerian military says leader of IS-linked group is dead,” Associated Press, October 14, 2021, https://apnews.com/article/africa-chad-nigeria-islamic-state-group-boko-haram-6fcc3b1951a0bec957931e0f80279ab7. Malam Bako, a member of ISWAP’s Shura Council, allegedly assumed leadership of ISWAP following al-Barnawi’s death. However, on October 22, Nigeria’s national security adviser Babagana Monguno announced that Bako, along with another prominent member of ISWAP, was “taken out” by Nigerian security forces on October 20.“ISWAP militant group says Nigeria’s Boko Haram leader is dead,” Reuters, June 7, 2021, https://www.reuters.com/world/islamic-state-west-african-province-says-nigerias-boko-haram-leader-is-dead-2021-06-06/; “ISWAP: NSA confirms killing of Al Barnawi’s successor, Malam Bako,” Premium Times, October 22, 2021, https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/491057-iswap-nsa-confirms-killing-of-al-barnawis-successor-malam-bako.html.

Doctrine:

Boko Haram subscribes to a Salafist-jihadist ideology. Before rebranding as the Islamic State’s West Africa Province (Wilayat Gharb Ifriqiya) in March 2015,Alex Thurston, “‘The disease is unbelief’: Boko Haram’s religious and political worldview,” The Brookings Project on U.S. Relations with the Islamic World 22, no. 58, January 2016, 9, https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Brookings-Analysis-Paper_Alex-Thurston_Final_Web.pdf. the group commonly referred to itself as Jama’atu Ahlis Sunnar Lidda’awati Wal-Jihad, which broadly translates to “people committed to the propagation of the Prophet’s teachings and jihad.”Mohammed Aly Sergie and Toni Johnson, “Boko Haram,” Council on Foreign Relations, May 5, 2014, http://www.cfr.org/nigeria/boko-haram/p25739. Boko Haram—the name given to the group by the Hausa-speaking residents in northeast Nigeria—translates to “Western education is sin.”“Who, What, Why: Exactly what does the phrase Boko Haram mean?,” BBC News, May 13, 2014, http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-magazine-monitor-27390954.

Like other Salafist groups, Boko Haram seeks to exemplify the community of Muslims (salafs, or ancestors) who lived during and immediately after the time of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.“Salafi,” Oxford Islamic Studies Online, accessed October 2016, http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t125/e2072;
Alex Thurston, “‘The disease is unbelief’: Boko Haram’s religious and political worldview,” The Brookings Project on U.S. Relations with the Islamic World 22, no. 58, January 2016, 9, https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Brookings-Analysis-Paper_Alex-Thurston_Final_Web.pdf. The group’s founder, Mohammed Yusuf, trained as a Salafist preacher and adhered to the teachings of Ibn Taymiyya, a 14^th century scholar who preached tenets of Islamic fundamentalism.Mohammed Aly Sergie and Toni Johnson, “Boko Haram,” Council on Foreign Relations, May 5, 2014, http://www.cfr.org/nigeria/boko-haram/p25739;
Alex Thurston, “‘The disease is unbelief’: Boko Haram’s religious and political worldview,” The Brookings Project on U.S. Relations with the Islamic World 22, no. 58, January 2016, 9, https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Brookings-Analysis-Paper_Alex-Thurston_Final_Web.pdf. Following Yusuf’s death in 2009, the group took up the practice of takfir, whereby a Muslim is able to excommunicate and kill other Muslims whom they deem to be non-believers. In defending the right to kill his “non-believing” coreligionists, Shekau has claimed that a non-believer’s supposed “ignorance” of Boko Haram’s tenets should not be “taken into consideration” before killing him.Alex Thurston, “‘The disease is unbelief’: Boko Haram’s religious and political worldview,” The Brookings Project on U.S. Relations with the Islamic World 22, no. 58, January 2016, 9, 14, https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Brookings-Analysis-Paper_Alex-Thurston_Final_Web.pdf.

Because of the group’s decentralized structure, not all fighters necessarily follow Salafi-takfirist doctrine.Mohammed Aly Sergie and Toni Johnson, “Boko Haram,” Council on Foreign Relations, May 5, 2014, http://www.cfr.org/nigeria/boko-haram/p25739. Indeed, many members may be non-religious individuals motivated by real and perceived grievances including failures of local governance, sectarian tensions between Christians and Muslims, and the large economic disparity in Nigeria.Lauren Ploch, “Nigeria: Current issues and U.S. policy,” Congressional Research Service, November 15, 2013, http://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc272109/m1/1/high_res_d/RL33964_2013Nov15.pdf, 13;
Mohammed Aly Sergie and Toni Johnson, “Boko Haram,” Council on Foreign Relations, May 5, 2014, http://www.cfr.org/nigeria/boko-haram/p25739. Nonetheless, a strain within Boko Haram adheres to violent and extremist practices that even ISIS has at times deemed too brutal.Max Siollun, “The Jihadi Too Violent for ISIS,” Foreign Policy, October 3, 2016, http://foreignpolicy.com/2016/10/03/the-jihadist-too-violent-for-isis-boko-haram-shekau/.

Some analysts have suggested that in recent years, the group has fragmented between factions stressing the need to build stronger links with international terrorist organizations and factions that seek to maintain the group’s exclusively domestic focus with the aim of establishing an Islamic state in Nigeria.Lauren Ploch, “Nigeria: Current issues and U.S. policy,” Congressional Research Service, November 15, 2013, http://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc272109/m1/1/high_res_d/RL33964_2013Nov15.pdf, 13. In March 2015, Shekau pledged allegiance to ISIS on behalf of his terror group. ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi accepted the pledge later that month.“Islamic State 'accepts' Boko Haram's allegiance pledge,” BBC News, March 13, 2015, http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-31862992. Shekau’s pledge of allegiance to ISIS in March 2015 caused tension within Boko Haram’s ranks. According to U.S. Marine Lieutenant General Thomas Waldhauser, Shekau did not obey ISIS’s orders to stop attacking fellow Muslims, and to cease using children as suicide bombers.“Hearing to Consider the Nominations of: Lieutenant General Thomas D. Waldhauser, USMC, to be General and Commander, United States Africa Command; and Lieutenant General Joseph L. Lengyel, Ang, to be General and Chief of the National Guard Bureau,” Committee on Armed Services, June 21, 2016, 64-65, http://www.armed-services.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/16-62_06-21-16.pdf. In early August 2016, Boko Haram’s third-in-command, Mamman Nur, allegedly reported Shekau to ISIS leadership for “killing [Shekau’s] own members, particularly commanders…just because they [question] his attacks on mosques and markets.”Ruth Maclean and Isaac Abrak, “Isis tries to impose new leader on Boko Haram in Nigeria,” Guardian (London), August 5, 2016, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/aug/05/isis-tries-to-impose-new-leader-on-boko-haram-in-nigeria. Boko Haram militants subsequently divided their loyalties to Shekau and ISIS-appointed leader Abu Musab al-Barnawi. The two factions have since violently clashed, resulting in the deaths of several of Shekau’s associates and his own death in May 2021.“Boko Haram breaks up,” Economist, August 11, 2016, http://www.economist.com/news/middle-east-and-africa/21704917-militants-divide-over-murder-muslims-boko-haram-breaks-up; Agence France-Presse, “Rival Boko Haram groups clash in NE Nigeria: sources,” Daily Mail (London), September 7, 2016, http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/afp/article-3777612/Rival-Boko-Haram-groups-clash-NE-Nigeria-sources.html; Adam Withnall, “Boko Haram descends into in-fighting as reports emerge of deadly clashes between rival Islamist factions,” Independent (London), September 8, 2016, http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/boko-haram-descends-into-in-fighting-as-reports-emerge-of-deadly-clashes-between-rival-islamist-a 7231726.html.

Despite the division between Boko Haram and ISWAP and the tensions between ISIS and Shekau, Boko Haram has remained loyal to ISIS. Shortly before his May 18, 2021, death, Shekau released an audio recording elaborating on his allegiance to ISIS and his belief in the source of the division between Boko Haram and ISWAP. Shekau blamed betrayers who sought to “deceive” his followers. Shekau said he did not rebel against ISIS or its leader and blamed the rift with ISWAP on others who sought to sow division and refused to relay messages to ISIS’s leadership.Murtala Abdullahi, “Shekau’s Last Message Throws Light On Links With Global Terror Groups, ISWAP Offensive,” HumAngle, May 26, 2021, https://humangle.ng/shekaus-last-message-throws-light-on-links-with-global-terror-groups-iswap-offensive/; Anna Pujol-Mazzini, “Boko Haram leader behind kidnapping of 300 girls seriously injured after trying to blow himself up,” Telegraph (London), May 21, 2021, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/05/21/boko-haram-leader-injured-possibly-dead-attempt-blow-evade-capture/; “Nigeria’s military investigates reports of Boko Haram leader’s death,” Reuters, May 21, 2021, https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/nigerias-military-investigates-reports-boko-haram-leaders-death-2021-05-21/; “Nigeria’s Boko Haram leader ‘wounded’ in clashes – Reports,” Africa News, May 21, 2021, https://www.africanews.com/2021/05/20/nigeria-s-boko-haram-leader-wounded-in-clashes-reports/; “ISWAP militant group says Nigeria’s Boko Haram leader is dead,” Reuters, June 7, 2021, https://www.reuters.com/world/islamic-state-west-african-province-says-nigerias-boko-haram-leader-is-dead-2021-06-06. ISIS leader Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Quraishi allegedly directly ordered Shekau’s death because of his continued indiscriminate targeting of “believers.”Jason Burke, “Boko Haram leader killed on direct orders of Islamic State,” Guardian (London), June 7, 2021, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/07/boko-haram-leader-abubakar-shekau-killed-on-direct-orders-of-islamic-state.

Organizational Structure:

Boko Haram is a fractious terrorist group with a decentralized organizational structure. Below the group’s leader sits the Shura Council, a 30-member decision-making body that commands the group’s regional cells. These cells differ by location and tactical specialization, ranging from combat troops, explosives experts, welfare service providers, intelligence and surveillance, and a medical committee.“Nigeria: Examining Boko Haram,” Stratfor, July 15, 2014, https://www.stratfor.com/analysis/nigeria-examining-boko-haram;
“Chapter 6. Foreign Terrorist Organizations,” U.S. Department of State, accessed October 2016, https://www.state.gov/j/ct/rls/crt/2015/257523.htm.

While its core fighters are believed to number in the low hundreds, thousands of locals may sympathize with and fight for the terror group. The U.S. State Department has estimated that there are at least several thousand troops fighting for Boko Haram as of 2015.“Nigeria: Examining Boko Haram,” Stratfor, July 15, 2014, https://www.stratfor.com/analysis/nigeria-examining-boko-haram;
“Chapter 6. Foreign Terrorist Organizations,” U.S. Department of State, accessed October 2016, https://www.state.gov/j/ct/rls/crt/2015/257523.htm. Due in part to counterterrorism efforts under President Buhari—as well as severe food shortages in northeast Nigeria—this number is believed to have fallen throughout 2016 and early 2017.David McDougall, “Far from finished,” VICE News, November 3, 2016, https://news.vice.com/story/boko-haram-is-weakened-but-far-from-defeated;
Dionne Searcey, “Boko Haram Falls Victim to a Food Crisis it Created,” New York Times, March 4, 2016, https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/05/world/africa/boko-haram-food-crisis.html?_r=0. In December 2016, U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) said that Boko Haram likely lost a “significant number of fighters…lessening the overall capability of the organization.” Nevertheless, AFRICOM estimated that the group still has a “few thousand members.”John Vandiver, “AFRICOM: Boko Haram weakened in 2016 but still a threat,” Stars and Stripes, December 30, 2016, https://www.stripes.com/news/africom-boko-haram-weakened-in-2016-but-still-a-threat-1.446689. Evidently not included in these estimates are the approximately 10,000 boys reportedly abducted and trained by Boko Haram between 2014 and 2016.Drew Hinshaw and Joe Parkinson, “The 10,000 Kidnapped Boys of Boko Haram,” Wall Street Journal, August 12, 2016, http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-kidnapped-boys-of-boko-haram-1471013062.

Boko Haram was founded and led by Salafist preacher Mohammed Yusuf until his death by the Nigerian military in 2009.“Curbing violence in Nigeria (II): The Boko Haram insurgency," International Crisis Group, Africa Report No 216, April 3, 2014, https://www.crisisgroup.org/africa/west-africa/nigeria/curbing-violence-nigeria-ii-boko-haram-insurgency. Abubakar Shekau emerged as the group’s leader in July 2010,“Profile: Boko Haram,” Al Jazeera, December 31, 2010, http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2010/12/2010123115425609851.html. and became known for ordering attacks on mosques and using children as suicide bombers.Conor Gaffey, “What We Know About Boko Haram’s Factional War,” Newsweek, September 8, 2016, http://www.newsweek.com/boko-haram-isis-abubakar-shekau-abu-musab-al-barnawi-496615. In early 2012, a group calling itself Ansaru, or “The Vanguard for the Protection of Muslims in Black Africa,” broke away from Boko Haram after citing disagreements with the group’s indiscriminate killing of Muslim civilians.“Boko Haram : Splinter group, Ansaru emerges,” Vanguard (Lagos), February 1, 2012, http://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/02/boko-haram-splinter-group-ansaru-emerges/;
Conor Gaffey, “What is Ansaru, the Other Militant Islamist Group in Nigeria Besides Boko Haram?,” Newsweek, April 4, 2016, http://www.newsweek.com/what-ansaru-nigerias-other-militant-group-443785. The offshoot reportedly packaged itself as the “humane” alternative to Boko Haram, and said it would focus attacks on Christians and the Nigerian government.“Proscribed Terrorist Organizations,” U.K. Home Office, accessed October 2016, 8, https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/538297/20160715-Proscription-website-update.pdf. Its leader, Khalid al-Barnawi, is believed to have previously trained with al-Qaeda’s regional affiliate, AQIM.Jacob Zenn, “Ansaru: Who Are They And Where Are They From?,” Council on Foreign Relations, July 1, 2013, http://blogs.cfr.org/campbell/2013/07/01/ansaru-who-are-they/. When Ansaru was proscribed by the United Kingdom in November 2012, the Home Office referred to the group as “broadly aligned with [al-Qaeda].”“Proscribed Terrorist Organizations,” U.K. Home Office, accessed October 2016, 8, https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/538297/20160715-Proscription-website-update.pdf.

Analysts have suggested that Boko Haram and Ansaru remain operationally linked. Security analyst Jacob Zenn has said that Ansaru acts as an “external operations unit” of Boko Haram,Jacob Zenn, “Leadership Analysis of Boko Haram and Ansaru in Nigeria,” Combating Terrorism Center, February 24, 2014, https://www.ctc.usma.edu/posts/leadership-analysis-of-boko-haram-and-ansaru-in-nigeria. while analyst David Otto has said that the two groups work together “towards a common goal.”Ludovica Iaccino, “Boko Haram splits as Abubakar Shekau and Abu Musab al-Barnawi fight for leadership,” International Business Times, August 4, 2016, http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/boko-haram-splits-abubakar-shekau-abu-musab-al-barnawi-fight-leadership-1574271. Zenn has also suggested that in working alongside Boko Haram, Ansaru’s militants have prioritized operational success over ideological disputes with Abubakar Shekau.Jacob Zenn, “Northern Cameroon Under Threat from Boko Haram and Séléka Militants,” Jamestown Foundation, January 9, 2014, https://jamestown.org/program/northern-cameroon-under-threat-from-boko-haram-and-seleka-militants/#. Nigerian authorities reportedly captured Ansaru’s leader Khalid al-Barnawi in April 2016“Khalid al-Barnawi: Nigeria Islamist group head 'arrested',” BBC News, April 3, 2016, http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-35956301. and charged him with the abduction and murder of 10 foreign nationals.Agence France-Presse, “Boko Haram splinter group head charged with foreign kidnappings, murders,” News24, March 14, 2017, https://www.news24.com/Africa/News/boko-haram-splinter-group-head-charged-with-foreign-kidnappings-murders-20170314. According to a September 2016 report by Jacob Zenn, Ansaru has been relatively “quiet,” though Nigerian security reports indicate that the group is still active.Jacob Zenn, “Making sense of Boko Haram’s different factions: Who, how and why?,” African Arguments, September 20, 2016, http://africanarguments.org/2016/09/20/making-sense-of-boko-harams-different-factions/.

In August 2016—nearly a year and a half after Boko Haram pledged allegiance to ISIS under Shekau—the Nigerian terror group split into warring factions: one loyal to Shekau, and the other to ISIS-appointed leader Abu Musab al-Barnawi.“Boko Haram breaks up ,” Economist, August 11, 2016, http://www.economist.com/news/middle-east-and-africa/21704917-militants-divide-over-murder-muslims-boko-haram-breaks-up;
“Hearing to Consider the Nominations of: Lieutenant General Thomas D. Waldhauser, USMC, to be General and Commander, United States Africa Command; and Lieutenant General Joseph L. Lengyel, Ang, to be General and Chief of the National Guard Bureau,” Committee on Armed Services, June 21, 2016, 64-65, http://www.armed-services.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/16-62_06-21-16.pdf. The split came after ISIS announced Barnawi’s appointment on August 2,قطـع طريـق إمـداد الرافضـة إلـى معسـكر القيارة,” al-Naba, August 2, 2016, 8, https://azelin.files.wordpress.com/2016/08/the-islamic-state-e2809cal-nabacc84_-newsletter-4122.pdf. and Shekau swiftly released an audio message in which he denied the leadership change and referred to ISIS’s announcement as a coup.Associated Press, “Abubakar Shekau says he still leads Boko Haram,” USA Today, August 4, 2016, http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2016/08/04/shekau-boko-haram-islamic-state/88071714/;
“Isis tries to impose new leader on Boko Haram in Nigeria,” Guardian (London), August 4, 2016, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/aug/05/isis-tries-to-impose-new-leader-on-boko-haram-in-nigeria. Shekau nonetheless reportedly reaffirmed his pledge of allegiance to ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, referring to Baghdadi in subsequent audio recordings as “caliph.”Conor Gaffey, “Boko Haram’s Abubakar Shekau Rejects New Leader, Suggesting Split with ISIS,” Newsweek, August 4, 2016, http://www.newsweek.com/boko-harams-abubakar-shekau-rejects-new-leader-suggesting-split-isis-487143;
Jacob Zenn, “Making sense of Boko Haram’s different factions: Who, how and why?,” African Arguments, September 20, 2016, http://africanarguments.org/2016/09/20/making-sense-of-boko-harams-different-factions/. The faction loyal to Shekau has usually been referred to as Boko Haram, whereas only al-Barnawi’s actions have been reported by ISIS central as the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP).Robert Postings, “Nigeria’s military struggles with Islamic State: Part 1 – an upsurge in attacks,” Defense Post, January 15, 2019, https://thedefensepost.com/2019/01/15/nigeria-military-struggles-islamic-state-iswa-part-1-upsurge-in-attacks/. The two factions were reported to have clashed in the following months, resulting in the death of several of Shekau’s associates.Agence France-Presse, “Rival Boko Haram groups clash in NE Nigeria: sources,” Daily Mail (London), September 7, 2016, http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/afp/article-3777612/Rival-Boko-Haram-groups-clash-NE-Nigeria-sources.html;
Adam Withnall, “Boko Haram descends into in-fighting as reports emerge of deadly clashes between rival Islamist factions,” Independent (London), September 8, 2016, http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/boko-haram-descends-into-in-fighting-as-reports-emerge-of-deadly-clashes-between-rival-islamist-a7231726.html. In February of 2019, it was reported that al-Barnawi was replaced as the leader of ISWAP. His successor, Abu Abdullah Ibn Umar Albarnawi, is relatively unknown but was instated when more radical members of the faction detained al-Barnawi and seized control of the group.John Campbell, “Suspected Leadership Changes to IS-Backed Boko Haram Faction Continue,” Council on Foreign Relations, March 12, 2019, https://www.cfr.org/blog/suspected-leadership-changes-backed-boko-haram-faction-continue; “ISIS-backed Boko Haram faction allegedly gets new leader,” Punch, March 5, 2019, https://punchng.com/isis-backed-boko-haram-faction-allegedly-gets-new-leader/; “Deposed Boko Haram leader detained not killed: sources,” France 24, March 15, 2019, https://www.france24.com/en/20190315-deposed-boko-haram-leader-detained-not-killed-sources. On March 4, 2019, Boko Haram announced that al-Barnawi was demoted to a member of the group’s Shura council, and that Abu Abdullah Ibn Umar al-Barnawi (a.k.a. Ba Idrissa) replaced him as leader.Jacob Zenn, “Who is the Leader of ISWAP? – Confusion Continues Over Leadership of Islamic State in West Africa Province,” Jamestown Foundation Militant Leadership Monitor 10, no. 10, November 4, 2019, https://jamestown.org/brief/who-is-the-leader-of-iswap-confusion-continues-over-leadership-of-islamic-state-in-west-africa-province/. The leadership change occurred against the backdrop of larger internal disputes within the organization. In early 2020, infighting within Boko Haram continued, and al-Barnawi’s successor, Ba Idrissa, was similarly purged.Jacob Zenn, “Islamic State in West Africa Province’s Factional Disputes and the Battle With Boko Haram,” The Jamestown Foundation Terrorism Monitor 18, no. 6, March 20, 2020, https://jamestown.org/program/islamic-state-in-west-africa-provinces-factional-disputes-and-the-battle-with-boko-haram/. Al-Barnawi was subsequently reappointed the leader of ISWAP and the faction continued to clash with Shekau’s Boko Haram.“Boko Haram cleric confirms Shekau’s death, urges fighters; loyalty,” Reuters, June 19, 2021, https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/boko-haram-cleric-confirms-shekaus-death-urges-fighters-loyalty-2021-06-18/; “Abubakar Shekau: Nigeria’s Boko Haram leader is dead, say rival militants,” BBC News, June 7, 2021, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-57378493.

The August 2016 split followed months of growing tension within Boko Haram’s ranks. In June 2016, U.S. Marine Lieutenant General Thomas Waldhauser told the senate that several months earlier, “about half” of Boko Haram’s militants had split from Shekau due to his alleged failure to adhere to ISIS’s counsel. According to Waldhauser, Shekau had not obeyed ISIS’s orders to stop attacking other Muslims, and to cease using children as suicide bombers.“Hearing to Consider the Nominations of: Lieutenant General Thomas D. Waldhauser, USMC, to be General and Commander, United States Africa Command; and Lieutenant General Joseph L. Lengyel, Ang, to be General and Chief of the National Guard Bureau,” Committee on Armed Services, June 21, 2016, 64-65, http://www.armed-services.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/16-62_06-21-16.pdf.

Boko Haram has long been a fractious organization composed of various factions and offshoots. As of 2018, the most pronounced division within the group is between those loyal to Shekau and those loyal to Abu Musab al-Barnawi. Each of these camps has, in turn, a unique set of internal disputes. For example, a segment of al-Barnawi’s followers reputedly opposed his military chief Mamman Nur’s leniency in negotiations with the Nigerian government. Tension within the ranks of al-Barnawi’s faction reportedly escalated after Nur failed to exact ransom before releasing 104 of the Dapchi schoolgirls kidnapped in February 2018. Nur was allegedly killed by his own men on August 21, 2018.Jacob Zenn, “Making sense of Boko Haram’s different factions: Who, how and why?,” African Arguments, September 20, 2016, http://africanarguments.org/2016/09/20/making-sense-of-boko-harams-different-factions/; Ehichioya Ezomon, “Dapchi girls and ransom payment: So what?,” The Oracle,  August 24, 2018, https://oraclenews.ng/dapchi-girls-and-ransom-payment-so-what/; “Boko Haram Leader Mamman Nur ‘Killed By His Closest Lieutenants’ For Releasing Dapchi Girls,” Sahara Reporters, September 14, 2018, http://saharareporters.com/2018/09/14/boko-haram-leader-mamman-nur-killed-his-closest-lieutenants-releasing-dapchi-girls. Boko Haram leader Ali Gaga was also executed by his own men on September 27, 2018, because he allegedly plotted to escape along with over 300 Boko Haram captives and to surrender to the Nigerian military. According to Colonel Timothy Antigha of the Multinational Joint Task Force, these incidents help portray Boko Haram as a well policed and strictly governed organization that does not tolerate disloyalty from anyone, irrespective of position or authority. However, these incidents may also indicate an emerging confidence crisis and fundamental problems with leadership and followership.Colonel Timothy Antigha,” Counter – Insurgency: The Broader Implications Of Recent Execution Of Boko Haram Commanders,” Sahara Reporters, October 8, 2018, http://saharareporters.com/2018/10/08/counter-%E2%80%93-insurgency-broader-implications-recent-execution-boko-haram-commanders-colonel; Agence France-Presse, “Boko Haram commander killed over 'planned surrender',” Daily Nation, September 30, 2018, https://www.nation.co.ke/news/africa/Boko-Haram-commander-killed-/1066-4785124-hh8o3i/index.html.

On May 18, 2021, ISWAP and Boko Haram forces clashed in Borno, during which Shekau detonated an explosive and killed himself in the process. On June 7, ISWAP released an audio recording confirming that Shekau was killed.“ISWAP militant group says Nigeria’s Boko Haram leader is dead,” Reuters, June 7, 2021, https://www.reuters.com/world/islamic-state-west-african-province-says-nigerias-boko-haram-leader-is-dead-2021-06-06. ISWAP has attempted to absorb Boko Haram, and Shekau’s death may have weakened the resolve of some Boko Haram fighters. Following Shekau’s death, Boko Haram leaders called on militants to remain loyal to the group and continue fighting against ISWAP.“Boko Haram cleric confirms Shekau’s death, urges fighters; loyalty,” Reuters, June 19, 2021, https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/boko-haram-cleric-confirms-shekaus-death-urges-fighters-loyalty-2021-06-18/; “Abubakar Shekau: Nigeria’s Boko Haram leader is dead, say rival militants,” BBC News, June 7, 2021, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-57378493. On October 15, Nigeria’s military confirmed that al-Barnawi was killed. However, the military did not provide details of the location of or circumstances leading to al-Barnawi’s death.Chinedu Asadu, “Nigerian military says leader of IS-linked group is dead,” Associated Press, October 14, 2021, https://apnews.com/article/africa-chad-nigeria-islamic-state-group-boko-haram-6fcc3b1951a0bec957931e0f80279ab7. Malam Bako, a member of ISWAP’s Shura Council, allegedly assumed leadership of ISWAP following al-Barnawi’s death. However, on October 22, Nigeria’s national security adviser Babagana Monguno announced that Bako, along with another prominent member of ISWAP, was “taken out” by Nigerian security forces on October 20.“ISWAP militant group says Nigeria’s Boko Haram leader is dead,” Reuters, June 7, 2021, https://www.reuters.com/world/islamic-state-west-african-province-says-nigerias-boko-haram-leader-is-dead-2021-06-06/; “ISWAP: NSA confirms killing of Al Barnawi’s successor, Malam Bako,” Premium Times, October 22, 2021, https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/491057-iswap-nsa-confirms-killing-of-al-barnawis-successor-malam-bako.html.

Financing:

In the early 2000s, Boko Haram founder Mohammed Yusuf reportedly received funding from Osama bin Laden, who distributed $3 million to Nigerian Salafi groups.“Curbing violence in Nigeria (II): The Boko Haram insurgency,” International Crisis Group, Africa Report No 216, April 3, 2014, https://www.crisisgroup.org/africa/west-africa/nigeria/curbing-violence-nigeria-ii-boko-haram-insurgency;
Robin Simcox, “Boko Haram and defining the ‘al Qaeda network,’” Al Jazeera, June 6, 2014, http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2014/06/boko-haram-al-qaeda-201463115816142554.html. Today, Boko Haram is believed to rely on a combination of local funding sources and lucrative criminal activity, particularly kidnapping for ransom. Its members have kidnapped foreigners and wealthy Nigerians since early 2013. The group has also reportedly received $3.15 million from French and Cameroonian negotiators in exchange for a French family the group abducted from northern Cameroon in February of that year. U.S. officials have estimated that Boko Haram receives approximately $1 million for the kidnapping and release of each wealthy Nigerian it abducts.Phil Stewart & Lesley Wroughton, “How Boko Haram is beating U.S. efforts to choke its financing,” Reuters, July 1, 2014, http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/07/01/us-usa-nigeria-bokoharam-insight-idUSKBN0F636920140701;
Jacob Zenn, “Boko Haram’s Evolving Tactics and Alliances in Nigeria,” Combating Terrorism Center, June 25, 2013, https://www.ctc.usma.edu/posts/boko-harams-evolving-tactics-and-alliances-in-nigeria.

Boko Haram is also believed to finance itself through bank robberies, protection money from local governors, and foreign donations.Peter Weber, “Who’s financing Boko Haram?” The Week, May 12, 2014, http://theweek.com/article/index/261388/whos-financing-boko-haram. It is suspected that the group also receives funding from local religious sympathizers and individuals opposing the Nigerian government.Phil Stewart & Lesley Wroughton, “How Boko Haram is beating U.S. efforts to choke its financing,” Reuters, July 1, 2014, http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/07/01/us-usa-nigeria-bokoharam-insight-idUSKBN0F636920140701. Some security analysts have noted that Boko Haram may be less reliant on large funding streams because it does not purchase sophisticated weaponry and runs low-cost operations.Phil Stewart & Lesley Wroughton, “How Boko Haram is beating U.S. efforts to choke its financing,” Reuters, July 1, 2014, http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/07/01/us-usa-nigeria-bokoharam-insight-idUSKBN0F636920140701.

The group has received limited funding from AQIM, but that support has reportedly had little impact on Boko Haram’s overall funding. Since the group pledged allegiance to ISIS in March 2015, this source of funding may have dried up, given the enmity and competition between al-Qaeda and ISIS. Boko Haram’s financial relationship with other extremist groups also appears limited.Associated Press, “76 Hungry Boko Haram Members Surrender,” U.S. News, March 2, 2016, http://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2016-03-02/76-hungry-boko-haram-members-surrender-to-nigerian-military. In 2016, reports emerged of starving Boko Haram members surrendering to Nigerian security forces, indicating that the group was continuing to suffer from major financial strains.Associated Press, “76 Hungry Boko Haram Members Surrender,” U.S. News, March 2, 2016, http://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2016-03-02/76-hungry-boko-haram-members-surrender-to-nigerian-military. Nonetheless, Boko Haram has found other streams of revenue. In February 2022, Nigerian authorities announced the discovery of 96 secret financiers of terrorism across the country providing financial support to Boko Haram and ISWAP. The Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit also reported 123 companies and 33 bureau de change operators linked with terrorism in the country. Authorities further identified 26 suspected kidnappers and seven co-conspirators.“96 terrorism financiers uncovered in Nigeria,” Africa News, February 4, 2022, https://www.africanews.com/2022/02/04/96-terrorism-financiers-uncovered-in-nigeria/.

Recruitment:

Nigerians are likely to join Boko Haram for a variety of reasons. Among these motivations are belief in the group’s religious ideology, coercion tactics by Boko Haram soldiers, and local grievances, which may include insufficient access to government employment opportunities and other basic services, as well as humanitarian rights abuses such as unlawful arrests and torture. Recruits may also be drawn to join the group due to familial ties to other members.Jacob Zenn, “Boko Haram Recruitment Strategies,” Council on Foreign Relations, April 16, 2013, http://blogs.cfr.org/campbell/2013/04/16/boko-haram-recruitment-strategies/;
“Motivations and Empty Promises: Voices of Former Boko Haram Combatants and Nigerian Youth,” Mercy Corps, April 2016, https://d2zyf8ayvg1369.cloudfront.net/sites/default/files/Motivations%20and%20Empty%20Promises_Mercy%20Corps_Full%20Report_0.pdf;
Adam Nossiter, “Abuses by Nigeria’s Military Found to Be Rampant in War Against Boko Haram,” New York Times, June 3, 2015, https://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/04/world/africa/abuses-nigeria-military-boko-haram-war-report.html.

Increasingly, Boko Haram is believed to forcibly conscript its members.Farouk Chothia, “Boko Haram crisis: How have Nigeria's militants become so strong?,” BBC News, January 26, 2015, http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-30933860;
“Motivations and Empty Promises: Voices of Former Boko Haram Combatants and Nigerian Youth,” Mercy Corps, April 2016, https://d2zyf8ayvg1369.cloudfront.net/sites/default/files/Motivations%20and%20Empty%20Promises_Mercy%20Corps_Full%20Report_0.pdf. Additionally, the group has more frequently resorted to the abduction of school children as a means of recruitment and ransom to fund their operations. Between 2014 and 2016, the group reportedly abducted 10,000 boys and trained them as foot soldiers.Drew Hinshaw and Joe Parkinson, “The 10,000 Kidnapped Boys of Boko Haram,” Wall Street Journal, August 12, 2016, http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-kidnapped-boys-of-boko-haram-1471013062. One such individual told humanitarian aid agency Mercy Corps: “[Boko Haram] invaded our village and asked all the youth to come out and follow them or be killed….after they killed the first person who complained of this, we all followed them.”“Motivations and Empty Promises: Voices of Former Boko Haram Combatants and Nigerian Youth,” Mercy Corps, April 2016, https://d2zyf8ayvg1369.cloudfront.net/sites/default/files/Motivations%20and%20Empty%20Promises_Mercy%20Corps_Full%20Report_0.pdf. Boko Haram is believed to send many of these conscripted recruits to Cameroon where they are “re-educated” with Boko Haram’s ideology, according to analyst Jacob Zenn.Jacob Zenn, “Boko Haram: Recruitment, Financing, and Arms Trafficking in the Lake Chad Region,” Combating Terrorism Center, October 31, 2014, https://www.ctc.usma.edu/posts/boko-haram-recruitment-financing-and-arms-trafficking-in-the-lake-chad-region.

In northeastern Nigeria alone, Boko Haram abducted more than 1,000 children in the period of 2013 until 2018.“More than 1,000 children in northeastern Nigeria abducted by Boko Haram since 2013,” UNICEF, April 2018, https://www.unicef.org/wca/press-releases/more-1000-children-northeastern-nigeria-abducted-boko-haram-2013#:~:text=ABUJA%2FDAKAR%2FNEW%20YORK%2C,in%202014%20%E2%80%93%20UNICEF%20said%20today. Notably, the jihadist group kidnapped over 276 Chibok girls in 2014, and as of January 2021, while some girls were rescued or freed following negotiations, around 112 of the girls have yet to be accounted for.Sirwan Kajjo and Hassan Maina Kaina, “Experts: Boko Haram Recruiting Children as Soldiers, Suicide Bombers,” Voice of America, September 4, 2020, https://www.voanews.com/extremism-watch/experts-boko-haram-recruiting-children-soldiers-suicide-bombers. Although the group steadily kidnapped children and women in the years following the Chibok kidnapping, it was not until December 11, 2020 that the extremist group once again carried out a mass abduction, kidnapping over 300 schoolboys in Kankara.Danielle Paquette, “Boko Haram claims kidnapping of over 300 boys in Nigeria, marking an alarming move west,” Washington Post, December 15, 2020, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/africa/boko-haram-nigeria-300-boys-kidnap/2020/12/15/98a4bf32-3eaf-11eb-b58b-1623f6267960_story.html. However, on December 17, the schoolboys were released and handed over to the government, with the government claiming they negotiated with bandits rather than Boko Haram.Carley Petesch and Haruna Umar, “Nigerian official: More than 300 abducted schoolboys freed,” Associated Press, December 17, 2020, https://apnews.com/article/science-africa-nigeria-west-africa-315870ac3775c13ef8b5e186cd9615e2#:~:text=MAIDUGURI%2C%20Nigeria%20(AP)%20%E2%80%94,on%20Nigerian%20state%20TV%2C%20NTA.

Furthermore, Boko Haram has not limited their abductions to Nigeria. According to the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, over 5,741 violations against children—within Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad, and Niger—have been carried out by Boko Haram between January 2017 and December 2019. Reportedly, 3,601 children were recruited in that time frame with 1,385 children coerced into combat and a variety of support roles including sexual slavery. Although an exact figure was not released, the report also claimed Boko Haram mostly used girls as carriers of IEDs as “human bombs.”“Nigeria: Boko Haram’s Tactics Continued to Terrorize Children, While Implementation of Commitments by CJTF Strengthened Efforts to Protect Them,” Children and Armed Conflict, July 24, 2020, https://childrenandarmedconflict.un.org/2020/07/nigeria-boko-harams-tactics-continued-to-terrorize-children-while-implementation-of-commitments-by-cjtf-strengthened-efforts-to-protect-them/.

Boko Haram has also attempted to recruit members by offering financial loans, referred to by the Nigerian military as “clandestine dispensation.”Radina Gigova, “Boko Haram luring young people with loans, Nigerian military says,” CNN, April 21, 2016, http://www.cnn.com/2016/04/21/africa/nigeria-boko-haram-loans-entrepreneurs/;
“Motivations and Empty Promises: Voices of Former Boko Haram Combatants and Nigerian Youth,” Mercy Corps, April 2016, https://d2zyf8ayvg1369.cloudfront.net/sites/default/files/Motivations%20and%20Empty%20Promises_Mercy%20Corps_Full%20Report_0.pdf. Such financial support may be attractive to aspiring business owners already disillusioned by the severe lack of economic opportunity in northern Nigeria. These individuals are believed to either accept loans from the group prior to joining, or join with the expectation of receiving the funds.“Motivations and Empty Promises: Voices of Former Boko Haram Combatants and Nigerian Youth,” Mercy Corps, April 2016, https://d2zyf8ayvg1369.cloudfront.net/sites/default/files/Motivations%20and%20Empty%20Promises_Mercy%20Corps_Full%20Report_0.pdf. Either way, “the payment has been surreptitiously programmed to fail by the benefactor, the Boko Haram,” according to an April 2016 statement by the Nigerian military.Radina Gigova, “Boko Haram luring young people with loans, Nigerian military says,” CNN, April 21, 2016, http://www.cnn.com/2016/04/21/africa/nigeria-boko-haram-loans-entrepreneurs/. Boko Haram also continues to offer financial incentives. In early October 2021, for example, Boko Haram took control of multiple towns in Nigeria’s Niger state. Boko Haram recruited villagers into the group and reportedly offered money for joining.“Boko Haram moves into north-central Nigeria in apparent expansion – officials,” Reuters, October 4, 2021, https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/boko-haram-moves-into-north-central-nigeria-apparent-expansion-officials-2021-10-03/.

The Nigerian government has sought to counter Boko Haram’s recruitment with its own Deradicalization, Rehabilitation, and Reintegration program called Operation Safe Corridor. Launched in 2016, the program teaches professional skills and offers amnesty to militants who voluntarily join.“An Exit from Boko Haram? Assessing Nigeria’s Operation Safe Corridor,” International Crisis Group, March 19, 2021, https://www.crisisgroup.org/africa/west-africa/nigeria/b170-exit-boko-haram-assessing-nigerias-operation-safe-corridor. Since the May 2021 death of Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau, thousands of Boko Haram fighters and their families have surrendered to Nigerian authorities and joined the government’s deradicalization program. The Nigerian military distributed leaflets promising amnesty to Boko Haram fighters who surrendered and underwent the program. Boko Haram defectors told the New York Times they left the group because it was leaderless and no longer had a steady supply of weapons. Some defectors also said they had grown weary of living in the wilderness and feared for their survival. They also reported concerns of being treated as slaves if they joined ISWAP.Ruth Maclean and Ismail Alfa, “Thousands of Boko Haram Members Surrendered. They Moved In Next Door.,” New York Times, September 23, 2021, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/23/world/africa/boko-haram-surrender.html. Individuals who do not demonstrate sincere desires to reform are transferred to prison. Nigerian military authorities reported more than 8,000 Boko Haram militants had surrendered to the Nigerian army and benefitted from the deradicalization program as of March 2022.“BREAKING: Over 500 ‘Repentant’ Boko Haram Terrorists Graduate From Rehabilitation Camp In Gombe, Sent Back To Home Communities,” Sahara Reporters, March 14, 2022, http://saharareporters.com/2022/03/14/breaking-over-500-repentant-boko-haram-terrorists-graduate-rehabilitation-camp-gombe-sent.

Nonetheless, the program also faces criticism that it is failing to reach mid- and high-level members of Boko Haram and is, in fact, recruiting large numbers of civilians who escaped from Boko Haram and were miscategorized as jihadists.“An Exit from Boko Haram? Assessing Nigeria’s Operation Safe Corridor,” International Crisis Group, March 19, 2021, https://www.crisisgroup.org/africa/west-africa/nigeria/b170-exit-boko-haram-assessing-nigerias-operation-safe-corridor. Further, there have been multiple media reports of former Boko Haram militants rejoining the group because of what they called failed promises of jobs, education, and economic improvement from the Nigerian government. Some former Boko Haram fighters told Ireland’s Irish Times they lost trust in the Nigerian government after the closure of several displacement camps. According to the fighters, the closures left them few options and forced them to return to Boko Haram to survive.“How ‘Repentant’ Boko Haram Fighters Are Rejoining Terrorist Group Over Failed Promises Of Buhari Government,” Sahara Reporters, December 6, 2021, http://saharareporters.com/2021/12/06/how-repentant-boko-haram-fighters-are-rejoining-terrorist-group-over-failed-promises; Sally Hayden, “Boko Haram escapees now confronted by uncertain future,” Irish Times (Dublin), last updated December 10, 2021, https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/boko-haram-escapees-now-confronted-by-uncertain-future-1.4746111.

Training:

At the start of Boko Haram’s military campaign in 2009, its members used elementary tactics, such as drive-by shootings, which did not require advanced training. That process changed as the group began employing more advanced forms of weaponry, including explosives assembled by members who had previously trained alongside al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).Jacob Zenn, “Boko Haram: Recruitment, Financing, and Arms Trafficking in the Lake Chad Region,” Combating Terrorism Center, October 31, 2014, https://www.ctc.usma.edu/posts/boko-haram-recruitment-financing-and-arms-trafficking-in-the-lake-chad-region.

Boko Haram has revealed little about how it trains its soldiers. Besides operating training camps in Nigeria,“Nigeria Bombs Boko Haram Training Camps,” Huffington Post, February 19, 2015, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/19/nigeria-bombs-boko-haram_n_6713298.html. the group is believed to train its soldiers in Cameroon“Cameroon army says dismantles Boko Haram training camp,” Reuters, December 22, 2014, http://www.reuters.com/article/us-cameroon-boko-haram-idUSKBN0K01IA20141222. and Somalia.“Nigerian Boko Haram fighters trained in Somalia: president,” Reuters, February 14, 2016, http://www.reuters.com/article/us-somalia-boko-haram-idUSKCN0VN0MF. In early 2015, Boko Haram alluded to its indoctrination and training of children when it released photos via Twitter depicting child soldier training camps.Jack Moore, “Boko Haram Release Shocking Images of Child Soldier Training Camp,” Newsweek, January 26, 2015, http://www.newsweek.com/boko-haram-release-shocking-images-child-soldier-training-camp-302000. The group has reportedly trained children as young as 6 years old to carry bombs into mosques and market places.Drew Hinshaw and Joe Parkinson, “The 10,000 Kidnapped Boys of Boko Haram,” Wall Street Journal, August 12, 2016, http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-kidnapped-boys-of-boko-haram-1471013062. In addition, many of the women and girls abducted by the terror group in recent years have been forced to carry out suicide missions.Dionne Searcey, “Boko Haram Turns Female Captives Into Terrorists,” New York Times, April 7, 2016, http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/08/world/africa/boko-haram-suicide-bombers.html?_r=028448,d.cWw. Over the years, Boko Haram has increased the number of female suicide bombers due to the easy concealment of weapons under hijabs and Islamic customs that forbid men to frisk women. Most security and control posts in the north-east are manned by male security officers which makes it easier for female bombers to walk into crowded areas with less detection.Freedom C. Onuoha and Temilola A. George, “Boko Haram’s use of Female Suicide Bombing in Nigeria,” Al Jazeera, March 17, 2015, http://studies.aljazeera.net/mritems/Documents/2015/3/18/20153189319985734Boko-Harams-Female.pdf. Additionally, Boko Haram recruits women to distinguish the group and its actions from other Salafi groups as well as garner greater media attention.Mia Bloom and Hilary Matfess, “Women as Symbols and Swords in Boko Haram's Terror,” Prism, 2016, https://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/1042431.pdf.

Also known as:

• Islamic State's West Africa Province (Iswap)Adam Withnall, “Boko Haram renames itself Islamic State's West Africa Province (Iswap) as militants launch new offensive against government forces,” Independent (London), April 26, 2015, http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/boko-haram-renames-itself-islamic-states-west-africa-province-iswap-as-militants-launch-new-offensive-against-government-forces-10204918.html.
• Jama’atu Ahlis Sunnar Lidda’awati Wal-Jihad Mohammed Aly Sergie and Toni Johnson, “Backgrounders: Boko Haram,” Council on Foreign Relations, May 5, 2014, http://www.cfr.org/nigeria/boko-haram/p25739.
• Jama’atu Ahlus-Sunnah Lidda’awati Wal Jihad“Sanctions List Search: Boko Haram,” Office of Foreign Asset Control, accessed January 17, 2019, https://sanctionssearch.ofac.treas.gov/Details.aspx?id=3976.
• Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati Wal-Jihad“Sanctions List Search: Boko Haram,” Office of Foreign Asset Control, accessed January 17, 2019, https://sanctionssearch.ofac.treas.gov/Details.aspx?id=3976.
• Nigerian TalibanGeorge Gorman, “Nigerian Taliban leader killed in custody,” Long War Journal, July 31, 2009, http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2009/07/nigerian_taliban_lea.php.
• Wilayat Gharb IfriqiyyaKarl Morand, “Jihadology Podcast: ‘Boko Haram’ Transitions to The Islamic State in West Africa with Jacob Zenn,” Jihadology, August 4, 2015, http://jihadology.net/category/the-islamic-state/wilayat-gharb-ifriqiyyah/.
• People Committed To The Prophet’s Teachings For Propagation And Jihad“Sanctions List Search: Boko Haram,” Office of Foreign Asset Control, accessed January 17, 2019, https://sanctionssearch.ofac.treas.gov/Details.aspx?id=3976.
• Sunni Group For Preaching And Jihad“Sanctions List Search: Boko Haram,” Office of Foreign Asset Control, accessed January 17, 2019, https://sanctionssearch.ofac.treas.gov/Details.aspx?id=3976.
• Islamic State in West Africa (ISWA)Robert Postings, “Nigeria’s military struggles with Islamic State: Part 1 – an upsurge in attacks,” Defense Post, January 15, 2019, https://thedefensepost.com/2019/01/15/nigeria-military-struggles-islamic-state-iswa-part-1-upsurge-in-attacks/.