A series of assaults on businesses occurred in northeastern

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

on 5 and 6 January 2012, followed by attacks on police stations and government offices in the north on 20 January. Over 180 people were killed.

Background

Boko Haram Boko Haram, officially known as Jama'at Ahl al-Sunna li al-Da'wa wa al-Jihad (), is a self-proclaimed jihadist militant group based in northeastern Nigeria and also active in Chad, Niger, northern Cameroon, and Mali. In 2016, the group spli ...

, a militant group based in

Borno State Borno is a States of Nigeria, state in the North East (Nigeria), North-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria. It is bordered by Yobe State, Yobe to the west, Gombe State, Gombe to the southwest, and Adamawa State, Adamawa to the south while its ea ...

whose goal is to institute

sharia law Sharia, Sharī'ah, Shari'a, or Shariah () is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition based on scriptures of Islam, particularly the Qur'an and hadith. In Islamic terminology ''sharīʿah'' refers to immutable, inta ...

on all of

, has become more proficient in carrying out attacks since a 2009 clash with security forces that led to the death of its leader Ustaz Mohammed Yusuf. Since then it has either claimed or been blamed for numerous attacks on Nigerian government and civilian targets. Most attacks have been the predominantly Muslim north of Nigeria, though the group's name has been called out in other bombings such as the attacks against the United Nations HQ and the main police building in the capital city of

Abuja Abuja (; , ) is the capital city of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, strategically situated at the geographic midpoint of the country within the Federal Capital Territory (Nigeria), Federal Capital Territory (FCT). As the seat of the Federal G ...

. The group itself has since factionalised with some allied to

Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb Al-Qaeda in the Lands of the Islamic Maghreb (, ), or AQIM, is an Islamist militant organization (of al-Qaeda) that aims to overthrow the Algerian government and institute an Islamic state. To that end, it was then engaged in an insurgency ca ...

and some expecting terms of agreement similar to southern Nigeria's MEND. On 25 December 2011, Boko Haram also bombed a church in

and attacked other

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

targets in northern Nigeria.

had previously given all Christians 3 days to leave

Yobe State Yobe is a States of Nigeria, state located in northeastern Nigeria. A mainly agricultural state, it was created on 27 August 1991. Yobe State was carved out of Borno State. The capital of Yobe State is Damaturu, and its largest city by populati ...

and

following the

Christmas bombings Operation Linebacker II, sometimes referred to as the Christmas bombings and, in Vietnam, Dien Bien Phu in the air, was a strategic bombing campaign conducted by the United States against targets in North Vietnam from 18 December to 29 December ...

. The President of Nigeria,

Goodluck Jonathan Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan (born 20 November 1957) is a Nigerian politician who served as the president of Nigeria from 2010 to 2015. He lost the 2015 presidential election to former military head of state General Muhammadu Buhari and ...

, had declared a

state of emergency A state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of its citizens. A government can declare such a state before, during, o ...

in several towns of those states.

5–6 January attacks

Militants armed with automatic weapons stormed a town hall in the city of Mubi in

Adamawa State Adamawa is a States of Nigeria, state in the North East (Nigeria), North-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered by Borno State, Borno to the northwest, Gombe State, Gombe to the west, and Taraba State, Taraba to the southwest while its eas ...

where people had gathered to mourn 3 Christians shot on the previous evening. At least 18 people were confirmed killed by a

Nigerian Red Cross The Nigerian Red Cross Society (NRCS) was founded in 1960, and it has its headquarters in Abuja. It has over 500,000 volunteers and 300 permanent employees. The Nigerian Red Cross Society was established by an Act of Parliament in 1960 and becam ...

official, and a separate ambush of Christians leaving a church service in the state capital of Yola left at least eight people dead. Most of the victims were ethnic Igbo. Later in the day a spokesman for Boko Haram calling himself Abu Qaqa claimed responsibility for these two incidents and the shooting during a church service in

Gombi Gombi is the Local Government Headquarter of Gombi Local Government Area of Adamawa State, Nigeria. "The area has been attacked in the past by Boko Haram and the region has been under a military state of emergency since May 2013." In July 2014, ...

that killed six people on Thursday. A Christian couple were also gunned down in

Maiduguri Maiduguri ( ) is the capital and the largest city of Borno State in north-eastern Nigeria, on the continent of Africa. The city sits along the seasonal Ngadda River which disappears into the ''Firki'' swamps in the areas around Lake Chad. Maid ...

, considered to be the stronghold of the radical group. Police in

later told the press they were engaged in street battles with members of Boko Haram. Hundreds of Christians started fleeing northern cities in the aftermath of the bombings and church officials urged people not to take part in revenge attacks.

20 January attacks

On 20 January after

Friday prayers Friday prayer, or congregational prayer (), is the meeting together of Muslims for communal prayer and service at midday every Friday. In Islam, the day itself is called ''Yawm al-Jum'ah'' (shortened to ''Jum'ah''), which translated from Arabic me ...

, a group of gunmen in police uniforms entered five police buildings and freed all of the inmates. They proceeded to bomb the buildings, as well as two immigration offices and the local office of the State Security Service in

Kano Kano may refer to: Places *Kano State, a state in Northern Nigeria *Kano (city), a city in Nigeria, and the capital of Kano State ** Kingdom of Kano, a Hausa kingdom between the 10th and 14th centuries ** Sultanate of Kano, a Hausa kingdom betwee ...

. They later drove around the city in cars and motorcycles, shooting pedestrians and battling with police. Amongst the dead was television reporter

Enenche Akogwu Enenche Akogwu, (30 March 1980 – 20 January 2012) was a Nigerian journalist and cameraman for Channels Television. In January 2012, he was shot and killed in Kano, Nigeria while investigating a Boko Haram bombing by an unidentified gunman. His ...

, shot while covering the aftermath of the terrorist attacks. Boko Haram dropped letters written in

Hausa Hausa may refer to: * Hausa people, an ethnic group of West Africa * Hausa language, spoken in West Africa * Hausa Kingdoms, a historical collection of Hausa city-states * Hausa (horse) or Dongola horse, an African breed of riding horse See also ...

at the site of the attacks, announcing that they were protesting the continued detention of Boko Haram members. They also directly contacted the press to claim responsibility for the attacks. Officials in the city responded by setting a

curfew A curfew is an order that imposes certain regulations during specified hours. Typically, curfews order all people affected by them to remain indoors during the evening and nighttime hours. Such an order is most often issued by public authorit ...

and by initiating armed patrols of major streets, though sporadic gunfire was still heard the next day. The

Kano State Kano (Hausa language, Hausa: ) is one of the 36 States of Nigeria, states of Nigeria, located in the Northern Region, Nigeria, northern region of the country. According to the national census done in 2006, Kano State is the List of Nigerian st ...

government ordered all hospitals in the area to treat victims free of charge. African Union chairman

Jean Ping Jean Ping (; born 24 November 1942)
Ban Ki-moon Ban Ki-moon (born 13 June 1944) is a South Korean politician and diplomat who served as the eighth secretary-general of the United Nations between 2007 and 2016. Prior to his appointment as secretary-general, Ban was the South Korean minister ...

condemned the attacks as well. On 23 January the government announced the death toll had risen to 185 people, 150 of whom were civilians and at least 32 police officers, including 3 members of the secret police. Local security forces announced they had found 10 unexploded car bombs and almost 300 smaller homemade bombs around the city. The

Emir of Kano The Kano Emirate was a Muslim state in northern Nigeria formed in 1805 during the Fulani jihad when the Muslim Hausa-led Sultanate of Kano was deposed and replaced by a new emirate which became a vassal state of the Sokoto Caliphate. During an ...

Ado Bayero Ado Bayero CFR, LLD, JP (25 July 1930 – 6 June 2014) was the Emir of Kano from 1963 to 2014. Early life Lineage Ado Bayero was born on 25 July 1930 into the royal family of the Fulani Sullubawa clan that has ruled over the Emirate of ...

and Governor

Rabiu Kwankwaso 200px, Nigeria.html" ;"title="Kano State in Nigeria">Kano State in Nigeria Mohammed Rabi'u Musa Kwankwaso, (born 21 October 1956) is a Nigerian politician who served as governor of Kano state from 1999 to 2003 and from 2011 to 2015. After he ...

then led a prayer for the victims of the attacks. According to the website 247reports.com, a Boko Haram spokesman indicated that the attacks were carried out due to a failure by the state governments to pay

protection money A protection racket is a type of racket and a scheme of organized crime perpetrated by a potentially hazardous organized crime group that generally guarantees protection outside the sanction of the law to another entity or individual from viol ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nigeria attacks, 2012 2012 murders in Nigeria Boko Haram attacks in Maiduguri Mass murder in 2012 Mass murder in Maiduguri Mass murder in Adamawa State Spree shootings in Nigeria Mass murder in Yobe State Crime in Kano Terrorist incidents in Nigeria in 2012 Islamist attacks on churches January 2012 in Nigeria January 2012 crimes in Africa Attacks on churches in Nigeria 2012 mass shootings in Africa 21st-century mass murder in Nigeria 2012 in Christianity 2012 building bombings Attacks on police stations in 2012 Attacks on police stations in Nigeria Attacks on office buildings in Africa Building bombings in Nigeria Boko Haram bombings 2010s in Maiduguri 2010s in Yobe State 21st century in Adamawa State 21st century in Kano Ambushes in Nigeria Drive-by shootings Vehicle-ramming attacks in Africa 2010s vehicle-ramming attacks Road incidents in Nigeria 2012 road incidents in Africa Church shootings