Trouble with Nigeria: State negligence created terror mobs that in turn fuelled political and economic crises
In the northeast, Boko Haram jihadi extremists and, more recently, an Islamic State-backed breakaway faction have since 2009 waged an insurgency to enforce their brutal interpretation of Shariah. In 2014, Boko Haram kidnapped 276 schoolgirls – mostly Christian, but some Muslim – from a school in Chibok, in Borno State.
Trump threatens Nigeria with potential military action, escalates claim of Christian persecution
Nigeria’s population of 220 million is split almost equally between Christians and Muslims. The country has long faced insecurity from various fronts including the Boko Haram extremist group, which seeks to establish its radical interpretation of Islamic law and has also targeted Muslims it deems not Muslim enough.