Fact Check
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“Boko Haram is responsible for 11,000
deaths since 2011” this is actually a low estimate. “London-based Amnesty has previously called for more to be done to protect
civilians in the conflict, which since 2009 has
killed at least 17,000 and left more than two
million homeless, mainly in Nigeria” (AFP,
2015). Many other sources place the death
toll even higher. This statement is true.
“Boko Haram wants a fully Islamic state
in Nigeria and Sharia law” the name Boko
Haram can be translated to “western education is forbidden” and the group wants
to be known by “people committed to the
prophet’s teachings for propagation and
Jihad” (Smith, 2014). These phrases, which
they have incorporated violence to promote,
show that their motivations are indeed religious. This statement is true.
“The U.S. State Department designated Boko
Haram a terrorist organization in 2013”
This is a matter of public record so it is easy
to find an exact statement and the date on
which it was given. “We view today’s designation of Boko Haram and Ansaru as Foreign Terrorist Organizations and Specially
Designated Global Terrorists by the Secretary of State as part of our efforts to help
Nigeria succeed in adopting a comprehensive approach to address its domestic terrorist threat” (US State Department, 2013) This
statement is true.
“Boko Haram “kidnapped hundreds of
Nigerian school children” (Hemmer, 2015).”
In one, high profile, raid they captured over
200. The phrasing of this fact may be confusing however because “hundreds” is a very
broad range. ““So far, we have a comprehensive list of 276 girls abducted from Government Girls Secondary School in Chibok on
April 14 and out of this figure 53 were able
to escape and return,” Tanko said” (Abubakar, 2015). Though some reports go as high
as 300+ “hundreds” can be a deceiving term.
This statement is mostly true.
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