Context: Boko Haram insurgency is witnessing a resurgence in Nigeria, Africa in 2025 with repeated attacks on military outposts, civilian settlements, and local militia groups.
Relevance of the Topic: Prelims: Key facts related to Boko Haram; Location of Nigeria.
What is Boko Haram?
- Boko Haram is a self proclaimed jihadist militant group mainly based in northeastern Nigeria.
- Founded by Mohammed Yusuf in 2002, in Borno state, Nigeria.
- Boko Haram translates to ‘Western Education is forbidden’.
- They took up arms in 2009 to fight Western education, secular governance and modern institutions, and to impose a radical version of Islamic law.
- The group is also active in Chad, Niger, northern Cameroon and Mali.
Boko Haram has split into two factions over the years:
- Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP): Backed by the Islamic State group, it targets military positions and overrunning outposts across Nigeria’s northeast.
- JAS (Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati wal-Jihad): resorted to attacking civilians and perceived collaborators, and thrives on robberies and abductions for ransom.
Boko Haram insurgency:
- Despite earlier gains, Nigeria’s armed forces are struggling to maintain control, particularly in the crisis-ridden Borno state.
- Over 2 million people have been displaced and 35,000 civilian deaths have occurred due to the insurgency.
Why is Nigeria losing ground again?
- Many military posts are located in isolated areas with limited personnel, making them easy targets. Reinforcements often arrive too late.
- ISWAP group uses a decentralised structure to carry out coordinated night attacks with drones and light weapons, making them harder to predict and counter.
- Some former militants, despite claiming to have surrendered, continue to aid extremist groups by sharing intelligence and managing logistics.
At the height of its terror in 2013-14, Boko Haram controlled an area nearly the size of Belgium. Though Nigeria’s military reclaimed much of this territory over the past decade, the new wave of attacks has raised fears about a possible return to the gloomy past.