Military response to Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria

This chapter explores the operational dynamics of the Boko Haram terrorist insurgency in Nigeria, as well as its implications for security and peacebuilding in the West African Lake Chad Basin sub-region. The fight to defeat the insurgency and the gains so far made have of necessity required a coordinated regional military response. The government procured brand new T72 tanks, Multi Barrel Rocket Launchers, ammunitions and operational vehicles, and also secured air support from a private military company in South Africa. The battle swiftly turned against Boko Haram within the six weeks of election postponement. Boko Haram turned into an extremely self-radicalised Islamist sect in 2009 when the group became a highly militant organisation, leaning more towards organised Jihadist terror. Military dictatorship has further destabilised the correlated culture of politics in Nigeria, thereby paving the way for charlatans and militant youth groups to occupy a large playing space.