Nigeria’s Homegrown Terrorists
After the sound and fury of Nigeria's recent elections, Africa’s most populous country appears set to face violence and chaos born of deprivation and neglect. Indeed, President Goodluck Jonathan appears indecisive in confronting the terrorist threat posed by the northern-based Islamist sect Boko Haram.
LAGOS – Abuja, Nigeria’s sparkling new capital, is a city under siege. In August, Boko Haram, a shadowy and violent Muslim sect operating in the northeastern part of the country, bombed a building housing staff of the United Nations in the central part of the city, killing 23 people and seriously injuring 86. It was Nigeria’s first suicide bombing, and the audacity and ferocity of the attack have thrown government officials and citizens alike into panic mode.
LAGOS – Abuja, Nigeria’s sparkling new capital, is a city under siege. In August, Boko Haram, a shadowy and violent Muslim sect operating in the northeastern part of the country, bombed a building housing staff of the United Nations in the central part of the city, killing 23 people and seriously injuring 86. It was Nigeria’s first suicide bombing, and the audacity and ferocity of the attack have thrown government officials and citizens alike into panic mode.