The Making of Boko Haram - An Essential History

An essential and timely exploration of Boko Haram, a terror group whose violence has surpassed every other modern terror group including that of Daesh, al Qaeda and Al-Shabaab. This key volume constitutes a vital resource on Boko Haram''s ideology, history, leadership, and pivot towards violence. With particular emphasis on the events, personalities, radical histories and Islamic discourses that shaped Boko Haram''s rise, the volume examines the movement''s formative years under Muhammad Yusuf and its evolution into one of the world''s most violent terror groups. Delving into the traditions, institutional structures and politicisation of shari''a (Islamic law) in Northern Nigeria, this ground-breaking volume offers crucial insights into Boko Haram as a social movement that exploits political Islam towards deadly ends.

About the author

omeni is the principal consultant at Terrorism Studies Consultancy and a visiting professor at Boston University. He has taught at the War Studies Department, King’s College London, at the University of Leicester, and at the University of St Andrews, UK, where he was Senior Lecturer. He is the author of Policing and Politics in Nigeria (2022), Insurgency and War in Nigeria (2019), Counter-Insurgency in Nigeria (2017) and Picking Sides: Race, Ethnicity and Recruitment in the Colonial Nigerian Army (forthcoming, 2025).

Product details

• Authors: Akali Omeni
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Release: 11.12.2025
• EAN: 9781350541061
• ISBN: 978-1-350-54106-1
• No. of pages: 296
• Subjects: Non-fiction book > History > Miscellaneous; Social sciences, law, business > Political science > Political science and political education; Nigeria, POLITICAL SCIENCE / Terrorism, Africa, POLITICAL SCIENCE / World / African, HISTORY / Africa / West, Politics & government, Religion & politics, Terrorism, armed struggle, Politics and government, Religion and Politics, Violence and abuse in society, POLITICAL SCIENCE / Religion, Politics & State, Sub-Saharan Africa