Boko Haram is fast becoming Nigeria’s biggest threat to security. The radical group wants to implement a strict interpretation of Sharia law through out Nigeria. They have generally carried out attacks in the North, the traditional heart land of Nigeria’s Muslim population. Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state, has received the brunt of this violence. In the past few days clashes in Maiduguri have left dozens dead. Al Jazeera quotes police and local aid workers as saying that the death toll in the region could reach 100. Boko Haram have also begun to move out of the north. In August they carried out a spectacular attack on a UN building in the capital Abuja. There are also reports of bank robberies in the north by the group in order to finance their movement. Boko Haram now represents a major problem for Africa’s largest economy. As of right now, President Goodluck Jonathan has done very little in the way of combating them. Boko Haram does not look as if it is ready to lay down arms. They have no intention of negotiating with the government either. Along with a criminal insurgency in the oil rich Niger Delta in the south, Nigeria is facing a serious national security crisis.
Porkins Policy Review 