Two names – one terror organization

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Nigeria’s Islamist group Boko Haram has declared its allegiance to Islamic State. In a video posted online, Boko Haram’s leader, Abubakar Shekau, in an Arabic audio message with English subtitles, said: “We announce our allegiance to the Caliph of the Muslims … and will hear and obey in times of difficulty and prosperity, in hardship and ease, and to endure being discriminated against, and not to dispute about rule with those in power, except in case of evident infidelity regarding that which there is a proof from Allah.”

According to the SITE Intelligence monitoring service, the video script identified the caliph as Ibrahim ibn Awad ibn Ibrahim al-Awad al-Qurashi, who is better known as Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of Islamic State and self-proclaimed caliph of the Muslim world.

According to Home Land Security News Wire, the Nigerian military, weakened by endemic corruption, has been unable to deal with the Islamist insurgency. Officials in the government of President Goodluck Jonathan made brave speeches about the need to defeat Boko Haram, but did little else. This, despite the terrorist attacks in the capital Lagos back in June 2014.

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Islamic State has already received vows of support from other jihadist groups in the Middle East, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and North Africa. Nigerian Islamist extremist group Boko Haram is viewed by some supporters as ’another feather in its cap.

Things have begun to change earlier this year, however. Boko Haram launched a series of attacks against Nigeria’s neighbors Cameroon, Chad, and Niger. In response, these countries pressed Nigeria to allow their own militaries to contribute to the fighting.

Nigeria, finally admitting that its own military was too weak and lacking in motivation to fight the Islamists. It took Nigerian authorities long enough to join the neighboring countries, audibly at least. Boko Haram has been expanding its attacks as Chad’s military joined the fighting.

The Guardian notes that last month security experts warned that Boko Haram was likely to intensify its attacks against civilian targets in response to the successful campaign by Chadian and Nigerian forces to retake several of the group’s strongholds.

Another recent terrorist attack occurred at Lagos’ fish market at around 11.20 a.m., when a female suicide bomber exploded as soon as she stepped out of a motorized rickshaw, killing eighteen people.