SUMMARY

Jamaatu Ahlis Sunna Liddaawati wal-Jihad, commonly known as Boko Haram, was formed in 2002 or 2003 in Maiduguri of Borno state in northern Nigeria. The group has stated the goal to topple the government and set up puritanical Islamic rule, and in 2009, they became active as an armed group struggling against the Government of Nigera. In connection to the armed conflict and to their strict interpretations of Islamic law, the group has also targeted civilians.

Violence against civilians perpetrated by Jamaatu Ahlis Sunna Liddaawati wal-Jihad has taken several forms. In many cases, the group has carried out targeted killings of traditional and religious leaders, including moderate Islamic clerics, and politicians. There have also been bombings of churches, as well as beer gardens and bars. Initially, attacks on civilians were mainly carried out in motorbike drive-by shootings or with the use of home-made bombs. Attacks mainly took place in Maiduguri and other cities in the north. In late 2010 and early 2011, however, both the geographic scope and type of attacks broadened, with increasingly sophisticated bombings occurring also in places outside the north. In one high-profile event, the UN compound in Abuja was targeted in a suicide bombing on 26 August 2011, resulting in 25 deaths and raising fears that Jamaatu Ahlis Sunna Liddaawati wal-Jihad had increased its scope to include international targets. During 2012 the group’s geographical reach increased even further, as it displayed a capacity to conduct attacks across the full breadth of the country. In August, the group announced that it would also spread their struggle south, stating that their "Islamic revolution" was not limited to the northern states. While the threat was not realized during the rest of the year, there were growing indications that Jamaatu Ahlis Sunna Liddaawati wal-Jihad had managed to infiltrate Kogi State in the country's North-Central Zone, which is much further south than previously recorded. Many analysts agree that by establishing such a presence, the Islamists could use the state as a staging point for operations into southern Nigeria.

Jamaatu Ahlis Sunna Liddaawati wal-Jihad first became active as a one-sided actor in UCDP data in 2010, when the one-sided violence resulted in over 25 civilian deaths. The threshold was reached on 24 December that year, when a series of attacks on civilian targets in Jos and Maiduguri, claimed by the group, resulted in over 80 deaths.