Boko Haram: One sect, conflicting narratives

Virtually everything about Boko Haram is contested - from the meaning of its name, to the reasons for its emergence, radicalisation and whether it is now affiliated to foreign terrorist groups such as the Al Shabaab in Somali and Al Qaeda in Maghreb (AQIM). It is also contestable whether the group is actually responsible for all the numerous terrorist atrocities attributed to it. The article critically surveys all the controversies surrounding the sect and concludes that owing to the paucity of reliable research on Boko Haram, much of what is known about the sect today remains in the realm of speculation.