Written By: Kevin Dunne.
Violence once again shook the country of Nigeria last week as bombs exploded across the city of Maiduguri. The attacks were devised by the actively aggressive group, Boko Haram. A confirmed 24 of the militant members were killed in the attack and despite reports of a school and radio tower going up in flames, Lt Col Sagir Musa denied any civilian or soldier causalities. The BBC also reports that, “Lt Col Musa said the explosions were caused by rocket-propelled grenades and improvised explosive devices.”
In the wake of the attack in Maiduguri, and previous attacks by the group at the beginning of the month, including the one at the Federal Polytechnic Mubi, more recent attacks have occurred. On the 17th, a bomb exploded in Adamawa State and on the 18th, Potiskum was shocked by further bombing and gunfire in a part of the city where several important agencies are located. Both of these attacks have also been connected to Boko Haram. The Joint Task Force (JTF), which is comprised of both military and police members, have barricaded the area off in an attempt to locate those responsible for the attacks.
Boko Haram, which has been active for 11 years, has killed approximately 10,000 citizens. The Islamist group seeks to impose the strict, conservative Sharia law in Nigeria. The group also targets Christian churches, Muslims that are considered “traitors” to the faith, military and police forces, and other similar organizations. Despite all of their acts of violence, Boko Haram has yet to be named as a terrorist organization, which has concerned many citizens. More efforts have been made to get the Nigerian government involved in rooting out Boko Haram from Nigeria. While these efforts are currently small, like the JTF’s involvement in the aftermath of the most recent attack, the government has started to step up to meet the threat that Boko Haram poses.
