Boko Haram: The Terror Group Behind Africa’s Longest-Running Insurgency

When you hear Boko Haram, a violent Islamist extremist group founded in northeastern Nigeria in 2002. Also known as Jama'atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda'awati wal-Jihad, it has waged one of Africa’s deadliest and most persistent insurgencies, targeting civilians, schools, and government institutions. The name translates to "Western education is forbidden"—a clear sign of their rejection of modern governance, secular law, and Western influence. What started as a small religious sect turned into a full-blown insurgency after a 2009 crackdown by Nigerian forces killed its founder, Mohammed Yusuf. His successor, Abubakar Shekau, turned the group into a global terror brand, pledging loyalty to ISIS in 2015.

Boko Haram doesn’t just attack—it controls. At its peak, the group held entire towns in Nigeria’s Borno State, forced thousands into marriage, kidnapped over 270 schoolgirls from Chibok in 2014, and used children as suicide bombers. Their tactics are brutal: burning villages, blowing up markets, and killing teachers who dared to teach math or science. The Nigerian military fought back with force, but corruption, poor training, and lack of intelligence made progress slow. Neighboring countries like Chad, Niger, and Cameroon joined the fight under the Multinational Joint Task Force, but the region still struggles with daily threats. Even as Boko Haram lost territory, splinter groups like ISWAP (Islamic State West Africa Province) emerged, more organized and harder to track.

What’s often missed is how deeply this conflict ties into poverty, education gaps, and political neglect. Many young men who joined Boko Haram had no jobs, no hope, and no access to schools. The group didn’t just spread fear—it filled a void. While global attention shifted to other crises, the people in Nigeria’s northeast kept living under the shadow of bombs and raids. Over 30,000 people have died since 2009. More than 2 million have been forced from their homes. The scars aren’t just physical—they’re in the classrooms that never reopened, the mothers who never found their daughters, and the towns still silent at night.

What follows is a collection of reports, analyses, and firsthand accounts that show how Boko Haram shaped the region, how governments responded, and how communities are trying to rebuild. You’ll find stories of survival, military operations, and the quiet resistance of ordinary people who refused to let fear win.