Boko Haram — Islamist insurgent group operating in Nigeria's northeast, weakened but continuing attacks on communities including mass school kidnappings.
Verbatim sentences from the source article.
Joy Online
… JAS is the official Arabic name of the main faction of Boko Haram. They were captured from various communities in the area over an unspecified period. …
Nigeria’s military rescues 360 hostages in Borno stateJoy Online
At least 360 people kidnapped by Boko Haram jihadists from a mainly Muslim community in Nigeria’s north-eastern Borno state in March have been freed from a remote mountain hideout. …
Hundreds of captives freed from Boko Haram mountain hideoutJoy Online
… No group has claimed responsibility for the Oyo attacks, but the military has blamed Boko Haram Islamist militants, which usually operate in the northeast. …
‘We want our children back’: Nigeria’s kidnapping nightmare spreads southJoy Online
… Nigeria is grappling with overlapping security crises that stretch far beyond the jihadist insurgency in the northeast, where Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province have waged a conflict for more than 15 years. …
Nigeria’s Obi to run for president again after opposition splitBusiness & Financial Times
… Boko Haram and rival jihadist group Islamic State West Africa (ISWAP) have recently escalated attacks in northeastern Nigeria. …
Trump’s security strategy: A more ‘surgical’ approach?The Ghanaian Times
… Borno State, in Nigeria’s northeast, has endured a 17-year insurgency led by Boko Haram and its splinter group ISWAP. …
US strike militants in NigeriaJoy Online
… Borno – an area the size of Ireland that borders Cameroon, Chad and Niger – remains the epicentre of an insurgency by the Boko Haram Islamist militant group that has lasted more than 15 years. …
Forty-two pupils missing after Nigeria school attack, lawmaker saysJoy Online
… The Lake Chad basin has long been a stronghold for Boko Haram and its rival faction, Islamic State West Africa Province (Iswap). …
Senior IS leader killed in joint operation, US and Nigeria sayJoy Online
… However, the Borno police spokesperson stated that the operation was carried out by militants from the Muslim militant group Boko Haram and its powerful splinter faction, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP). …
More than 50 children kidnapped as gunmen storm northeastern Nigeria schools, residents sayJoy Online
… Some reports suggest the attacks bore the hallmark of Boko Haram – the Islamist group vying for control over the region against its rival faction, Islamic State West Africa Province (Iswap). …
Toddlers among more than 50 schoolchildren kidnapped in NigeriaThe chairman of Nigeria's Northern States Governors' Forum said Boko Haram insurgents have been weakened but not completely defeated, with attacks on communities continuing. He also identified banditry, communal clashes, slow development projects, and healthcare and education challenges as major issues facing the North.
5 October 2026 · The Chronicle →
The chairman of Nigeria's Northern States Governors' Forum said Boko Haram insurgents have been weakened but not completely defeated, with attacks on communities continuing. He also identified banditry, communal clashes, slow development projects, and healthcare and education challenges as major issues facing the North.
5 October 2026 · The Chronicle →
Suspected Boko Haram Islamist militants killed at least 18 villagers collecting firewood in Nigeria's northeastern Borno state on Thursday, with other villagers still missing after the attack in Marte Local Government Area, one of the regions hardest hit by the 17-year-old insurgency.
4 October 2026 · Joy Online →
Armed insurgents attacked the village of Madegoua in northern Cameroon around 2 a.m. on Thursday, pulling out and executing men; a security analyst said the attack was likely carried out by Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) militants active in the area.
18 September 2026 · Joy Online →
Nigeria has appointed Major General Ibikunle Ademola Ajose to lead military operations against Boko Haram and its Islamic State-backed splinter faction in the northeast, replacing Major General Abdulsalam Abubakar less than two years after his appointment. The reshuffle, part of a wider military shake-up involving 14 other generals, aims to improve operational effectiveness ahead of January presidential elections as insecurity remains a major concern.
11 September 2026 · The Ghanaian Times →
On September 11, 2001, nineteen al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four commercial aircraft in coordinated attacks that killed 2,977 people, destroyed the Twin Towers in New York, hit the Pentagon, and changed America and the world forever.
10 September 2026 · Joy Online →
Nigeria has named Major General Ibikunle Ademola Ajose to lead military operations against Boko Haram and its Islamic State-backed splinter faction in the northeast, replacing Major General Abdulsalam Abubakar less than two years after his April 2025 appointment. The reshuffle is part of a wider military shake-up involving 14 other generals, aimed at improving operational effectiveness as insecurity remains a major concern ahead of January presidential elections.
10 September 2026 · Joy Online →
Parents of children abducted from Borno State's Mussa community on May 15 protested in Uba town, demanding the federal government secure their release nearly 100 days later. The abductions highlight families' frustration as kidnappings by Boko Haram and ISWAP continue despite years of military operations in northeastern Nigeria.
24 August 2026 · Joy Online →
Policymakers misdiagnose so-called "ungoverned spaces" in Africa—territories where formal state authority appears absent—as institutional voids prone to violence and extremism. In reality, these areas are governed differently through alternative authorities and institutional arrangements; the question is not whether governance exists, but who governs and for whose interests.
19 August 2026 · Joy Online →
Paul Biya, 93 and president of Cameroon since 1982, left on June 7 for what his office called a "brief private stay in Europe" and has not returned in two months, prompting questions about his health and who is running the country in his absence.
15 August 2026 · Joy Online →
More than 50 Muslim and Christian leaders in Nigeria have signed an interfaith peace accord in Abuja to promote religious harmony. The accord was signed months after U.S. President Trump called Nigeria a "disgraced country" and threatened military action over what he said was the treatment of Christians by "Islamic Terrorists."
14 August 2026 · Joy Online →
Adib Saani, Executive Director of the Jatikay Centre for Human Security and Peace Building, has urged security agencies to act firmly against religious hate and extremist speech, warning that inflammatory religious statements could heighten tensions and undermine peaceful relations between religious communities.
11 August 2026 · Joy Online →
President Bola Tinubu has approved military salary increases of up to 80%, effective September 1, aimed at boosting troop welfare as Nigeria faces insurgency, banditry, and kidnappings. The new pay structure will increase the armed forces' annual wage bill to 924 billion naira from 660 billion naira.
5 August 2026 · Joy Online →
Private Mohammed Yusuf was arrested in Maiduguri after allegedly supplying military uniforms to "terrorist" and "criminal" groups; he had deserted his unit and was attempting to flee to Cameroon. The arrest has renewed questions about potential collusion between security personnel and armed groups contributing to Nigeria's persistent insecurity.
28 July 2026 · Joy Online →
At least 30 people, including eight children, were killed when armed gunmen attacked Naridon village in Nigeria's Kaduna state early Monday, shooting residents and burning houses, residents said. The attack reflects escalating violence by armed gangs targeting communities in northwestern and north-central Nigeria.
28 July 2026 · Joy Online →
Three men in Nigeria have been sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty to offences linked to kidnappings of pupils and teachers in Oyo state. They admitted to concealing information about those behind the attacks and confessed to being members of an affiliate of Boko Haram.
24 July 2026 · Joy Online →
At least 36 children and a staff member are missing after gunmen abducted them from a school in Nigeria's northeast, marking the third such mass school abduction since May. The article chronicles recent years of school kidnappings across Nigeria, ranging from November 2025 incidents in Niger and Kebbi states to earlier cases in 2021 and 2024.
1 July 2026 · Joy Online →
Militants stormed a secondary school in Lassa, Borno state on Monday, kidnapping students during national examinations. Security forces rescued ten victims and killed one soldier and a paramilitary member in a firefight, but the exact number of abducted students remains uncertain.
30 June 2026 · Joy Online →
Gunmen attacked Government Day Secondary School in Borno state during national examinations on Monday, abducting students; the military rescued 10 students and teachers after a firefight in which one soldier and one paramilitary member were killed, though other students remained unaccounted for as security agencies searched nearby forests.
30 June 2026 · Joy Online →
President Bola Tinubu declared that Nigeria's security forces killed more than 13,000 insurgents over the past year and that insurgency-related deaths have dropped 81 per cent since he took power in 2023. He also noted that 124,000 fighters and dependents have laid down their arms since 2023 through Operation Safe Corridor.
12 June 2026 · Joy Online →
Former media aide Bashir Ahmad said former President Goodluck Jonathan should not be blamed entirely for Boko Haram's activities, arguing that security is a shared responsibility requiring participation from government, communities, traditional institutions, and religious leaders.
8 June 2026 · The Chronicle →
Nigeria's military freed 360 men, women and children held by JAS, a Boko Haram faction, in the Mandara mountains in Borno state after an intelligence-led operation. Two children died in captivity due to exhaustion and harsh conditions.
8 June 2026 · Joy Online →
At least 360 people kidnapped by Boko Haram from a community in Nigeria's Borno state in March have been freed from a remote mountain hideout, though the circumstances—military operation versus mediated release—are disputed, with local mediators claiming 416 were freed.
7 June 2026 · Joy Online →
Armed groups raided three schools in Oyo state in southwest Nigeria on May 15, abducting more than 30 students and a teacher, marking an escalation of kidnapping-for-ransom operations into a region previously considered relatively safe compared to the unstable north.
5 June 2026 · Joy Online →
Nigerian politician Peter Obi won the Nigeria Democratic Congress primary and announced he will run for president again in January after quitting an opposition alliance less than a month earlier, setting up another three-way contest against incumbent Bola Tinubu and a divided opposition.
1 June 2026 · Joy Online →
US President Donald Trump's new counter-terrorism strategy for Africa replaces long-term troop deployments and nation-building with short-term campaigns and cooperation with local authorities, using defined timelines and targets to eliminate threats before withdrawing. The strategy aims to prevent Jihadist groups from establishing bases threatening US interests and to protect Christians from attacks, while also expanding the definition of terrorism to include drug cartels and left-wing anarchists.
21 May 2026 · Business & Financial Times →
The U.S. Africa Command says it has carried out additional airstrikes against Islamic State targets in northeastern Nigeria in coordination with the Nigerian government. The strikes killed more than 20 Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) militants in the Metele area of Borno State, following the joint U.S.-Nigerian mission a day earlier that killed Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, described as the second in command of Islamic State globally.
19 May 2026 · The Ghanaian Times →
Forty-two Nigerian school children went missing on Saturday after suspected Islamist militants attacked Mussa Primary and Junior Secondary School in Borno state's Askira-Uba Local Government Area, a senator for the area said. According to the senator, 32 students were abducted from the school and another 10 were seized from their homes nearby.
18 May 2026 · Joy Online →
Nigeria and the United States say they have killed Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, described by US President Donald Trump as the "second in command of ISIS globally," in a joint operation in the Lake Chad Basin. Al-Minuki was killed along with several of his lieutenants during a strike on his compound in Metele, Borno state, with Nigerian and US forces reporting zero casualties.
16 May 2026 · Joy Online →
Suspected Islamist militants abducted more than 50 schoolchildren, including toddlers as young as two years old, from three schools in Borno State's Askira-Uba Local Government Area on Friday morning. The coordinated assault targeted Government Day Secondary School, Mussa Central Primary School, and SUBEB Primary School, with gunmen striking around 9:00 a.m. local time while classes were in session.
16 May 2026 · Joy Online →
Gunmen have kidnapped more than 50 children from three schools in north-eastern Nigeria; most of those missing are aged between two and five years old. Eyewitnesses say the suspects used the children as human shields while fleeing on motorbikes, and no group has claimed responsibility for the attacks.
16 May 2026 · Joy Online →