Nigeria: Another Small Victory Against Boko Haram
| Publisher | Jamestown Foundation |
| Author | Alexander Sehmer |
| Publication Date | 16 May 2016 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | Terrorism Monitor Volume: 14 Issue: 10 |
| Cite as | Jamestown Foundation, Nigeria: Another Small Victory Against Boko Haram, 16 May 2016, Terrorism Monitor Volume: 14 Issue: 10, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/573ec1414.html [accessed 20 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
Link to original story on Jamestown website
According to reports this month, Nigerian troops uncovered a Boko Haram bomb-making factory near the border town of Ngala, Borno State, Nigeria. Army spokesman Sani Kukasheka Usma, keen to promote the find as the latest success in Nigeria's campaign against the radical group, attributed the find to "efficient intelligence gathering" and the "resilience" of the Nigerian military (Leadership, Mary 2).
This discovery-albeit minor, as the troops appear only to have found gas cylinders, gunpowder, and some electrical wiring-is one of a string of recent successes, including the reported rescue of 1,000 hostages held by Boko Haram and the apprehension of four alleged female suicide bombers in an operation in the Sambisa Forest (Vanguard, May 2).
On May 1, the military also arrested two alleged Boko Haram commanders. Mohammed Sani Nafiu, one of the apprehended militants, is accused of killing General Mohammed Shuwa, a veteran of Nigeria's civil war who was murdered in 2012 (The Sun [Nigeria], May 3). Nafi denies any involvement and claims he has been framed by the military (Vanguard, May 3).
Even accounting for the Nigerian media's celebration over military victories against Boko Haram, Nigeria has kept up a successful counter-insurgency strategy against the group since the election of President Muhammadu Buhari in May of last year. But as Jamestown fellow Jacob Zenn explains in an article in this issue, the group may be down, but it is far from out, as evidenced by such major unresolved issues as the kidnapping of the Chibok schoolgirls.
Nigeria's military should maintain its campaign, but there is much that can be improved on a regional level to tackle a group that is now a regional problem. The Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF), for example, a coalition of West African forces, remains poorly coordinated and is largely a political showpiece.
