Boko Haram is an Islamist group that has been active in Nigeria since 2009. The group is active in the north of Nigeria, and wants to impose Islamic law as the only law in Nigeria.
The group is based in the northeast of Nigeria, north Cameroon and Niger. This group was founded by Mohammed Yusuf in 2002. The organization seeks to establish a pure Islamic state ruled, putting a stop to Westernization. The group is known for attacking Christians and government targets, bombing churches, attacking schools and police stations, kidnapping western tourists, but has also assassinated members of the Islamic establishment. Violence linked to the Boko Haram insurgency has resulted in an estimated 10,000 deaths between 2001 and 2013.The groups exert influence in the northeastern Nigerian states of Yobe, Kano, Borno, Adamawa, Kadruna, and Bauchi. In these regions, a state of emergency has been declared. (Oikelome, & Igiri, 2013).