Fact Check
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“Mohammed Yusuf and the Nigerian Taliban
were the immediate ancestors to Boko Haram” in 2003 Mohammed Yusuf and a group
of followers “retreated to a remote area of
the northeast [Nigeria] called Kanamma.
Here they violently clashed with authorities” (Smith, 2014). Though they went for
years without being noticed by authorities it
appears that they were initially violent even
though they were few in number. This statement is true.
“Boko Haram didn’t become violent until
2009” followers of Boko Haram used violence as early as 2003, however, it wasn’t until 2009 that Yusuf encouraged his followers
to violence during a five day uprising. Yusuf
himself was killed in this conflict but the
group had already gained traction (Smith,
2014). This statement is mostly true.
“Boko Haram is focused exclusively in Nigeria” While Boko Haram has formed links
with several terrorist groups the group itself
is concentrated in Nigeria and “Boko Haram
must be understood in the context of Nigeria’s current conditions” in addition “Disparities between the country’s north, which
is mainly Muslim, and its south, which is
mostly Christian, are also important in
understanding the conflict” (Smith, 2014).
Though they are entrenched in the Nigerian
political structure, their acts of terror have
reached neighboring countries and have
caused havoc in the region (AFP, 2015). This
statement is true.
“20% of Nigeria is controlled by Boko Haram” This figure likely has no basis in fact. In
reality they may have controlled that much
territory at one time, however their area
of influence has been greatly diminished.
Security analyst Ryan Cummings said it’s
“difficult to assess because there is just no independent reporting from rural, northeastern Nigeria, specifically Borno state where
a lot of the violence takes place” (Ezeamalu,
2016). This seems to be a Goldilocks number. A comfortable figure that has been
passed around several news outlets such
as NPR (Cornish, 2015), and USA Today
(Dorell 2015). This statement is mostly true.
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