Publication

Nigeria's radical Islamist movement Boko Haram has destabilized northern Nigeria and attracted the attention of other jihadist groups. The brief discusses findings from the Nigeria Security Tracker initiative which surveys international and Nigerian media on violence related to the group's actions and related, broader militant activity in the region. While Boko Haram has an important Islamic revival dimension, it also has political and criminal elements and is only a small part of the pervasive violence engulfing Nigeria. Dysfunctional military action, poor economic development, widespread social and religious violence, and a breakdown in the rule of law are major factors behind the instability in the country.