Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

International Conflict and Security Law pp 1389–1419Cite as

Jihad Misplaced for Terrorism: An Overview of the Boko Haram Crisis from Islamic and International Humanitarian Law Perspectives

  • 1100 Accesses

Abstract

The Boko Haram mayhem has not only become a national disaster for the Nigerian state but has gradually metamorphosed into what has now become almost a regional catastrophe. It has been argued though that Boko Haram embraced terrorist activities as a result of the gross socio-economic injustice and unfairness that has painfully become so endemic in Nigeria. The situation becomes more of a concern when people hide behind religious doctrine to perpetrate gruesome and nefarious acts. Should activities be structured around terrorism under the pretext that one is embarking on Islamic and mandatory acts of jihad? This question continuously agitates the minds of Muslims and some non-Muslims alike. This chapter will examine the activities of Boko Haram within the perimeters of Islamic law (the legal system which Boko Haram ostensibly seeks to establish in Northern Nigeria) and international humanitarian law with a view to assessing the compatibility or otherwise of Boko Haram’s activities with the two legal regimes. This chapter also examines whether Boko Haram can genuinely claim any justification for its activities by relying on the principles of jihad under the Islamic law of armed conflict. The chapter further examines the propriety of prosecuting the leadership of Boko Haram for war crimes and crimes against humanity before the International Criminal Court (ICC) as opposed to Nigerian courts.

Keywords

  • International humanitarian law
  • Islamic law
  • Terrorism
  • Jihad
  • International law
  • Boko Haram

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   349.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD   449.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD   449.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    See Roman 2012, pp. 37–15. See generally Newman 2013.

  2. 2.

    According to the historical account given by Andrew Walker, as at 2002 there was no group known as Boko Haram; instead there was a group known as the “Nigerian Taliban”, established by Muhammad Ali. The group ostracized itself to a village called Kanama, near the Nigeria-Niger border in Yobe State. Because of a dispute in December 2003 between the group and the police which later led to an invasion of its mosque by the army that claimed the lives of about seventy members of the group, including Muhammad Ali, a few survivors of the group subsequently formed a group that was to be known as Jama’at Ahl us-Sunnah li’d under the leadership of Muhammad Yusuf in 2004. See Walker n.d. There is yet another contention that Boko Haram has been in existence since 1995 under the leadership of one Lawan Abubakar, who, after having embarked on further studies at the University of Madinah, Saudi Arabia, Muhammad Yusuf then took over leadership of the group from. See Isioma 2011.

  3. 3.

    See Hill 2012, p. 26. It was also the contention of Shehu Sanni, a Human Right activist that Boko Haram could not be said to be violent until the extra judicial killing of its leader, Muhammad Yusuf in 2009.

  4. 4.

    Smith 2009.

  5. 5.

    Thomson 2012, p. 49.

  6. 6.

    See Rogers 2012, pp. 1–5.

  7. 7.

    Cited in Rogers 2012, p. 4.

  8. 8.

    See Onyebuchi and Chigozie 2013, p. 44.

  9. 9.

    Wa Baile 2011, p.11.

  10. 10.

    Huntington 1996, p. 212.

  11. 11.

    Mang 2014, p. 85.

  12. 12.

    Solomon 2015, p. 89.

  13. 13.

    Comer and Mburu 2015, p. 80.

  14. 14.

    See Omeni 2020, p. 132.

  15. 15.

    Varin 2016, p. 66.

  16. 16.

    Ibid.

  17. 17.

    Comolli 2015, p. 61.

  18. 18.

    Such states include Kano, Sokoto, Borno, Kaduna, Yobe, Katsina and Bauchi. See Varin 2016, p. 66.

  19. 19.

    Hollingsworth and Kemedi 2015, p. 208.

  20. 20.

    The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is also alternatively known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), which the Arabs generally refer to as Daesh. It is a militant Islamist organisation which was formed in 1999 by Abu Musa al-Zarqawi under the leadership of Abubakar al-Baghdadi. It formerly exercised control over some key cities in Western Iraq following the capture of Monsul and the Sinjar massacre. See Arango 2014.

  21. 21.

    See Boffey 2015.

  22. 22.

    Iocchi 2015, p. 205.

  23. 23.

    Dorrie 2015.

  24. 24.

    See Onuoha and Oyewole 2018, pp. 6–8.

  25. 25.

    See Comolli 2015, pp. 78–79. The US government officials confirmed that Boko Haram continuously received sponsorship from a highly-placed politician in Bornu from around 2007 up till 2009.

  26. 26.

    Al-Qaeda, as the name indicates, is a broad-based multi-national Islamist organisation under the leadership of the late Osama bin Laden. It was founded in 1988.

  27. 27.

    See Ryder 2015, p. 167.

  28. 28.

    Inter-Governmental Action Group Against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA) 2010, p. 94.

  29. 29.

    Burke 2016.

  30. 30.

    MacEachern 2018, pp. 54–155.

  31. 31.

    There were series of attacks in Abuja which Boko Haram claimed responsibility for, such as the June 16, 2011 suicide bomb blast of the Police Headquarters; the August 26, 2011 suicide bombing of the United Nations building where more than 200 lives were lost; bomb blast was also recorded in Zuba Park killing 70 people. See Aljazeera 2011.

  32. 32.

    There were multitude of attacks by Boko Haram in Bornu State, the most recent of which happened on 16 February 2019 where 8 people were killed and several injured. See Aljazeera 2019.

  33. 33.

    See Tarpel 2014.

  34. 34.

    See The Sun 2015.

  35. 35.

    See Mamah et al. 2012.

  36. 36.

    BBC Africa 2014.

  37. 37.

    See Human Rights Watch 2017, 391; see also VOA News 2018.

  38. 38.

    Independent 2015.

  39. 39.

    Ismail 2015, p. 19.

  40. 40.

    Khan 2006, p. 187.

  41. 41.

    Berkebile 2017, p. 5.

  42. 42.

    Ismail 2016, p. 140.

  43. 43.

    Schmid and Jongman 2005, pp. 5–6.

  44. 44.

    Schachter 1991, p. 163.

  45. 45.

    Bassiouni 1975, p. xiv.

  46. 46.

    See s.1(2) (a) and (b).

  47. 47.

    Smith 2015, p. 13.

  48. 48.

    Ibid, 14.

  49. 49.

    For example, Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention 1949 provides that ‘collective penalties and likewise all measures of intimidation or of terrorism are prohibited.’ See also Article 51, paragraph 2, of Additional Protocol I and Article 13, paragraph 2, of Additional Protocol II to the Geneva Conventions which prohibit categorically prohibit all acts aimed at perpetrating terror the civilians thus: ‘Acts or threats of violence the primary purpose of which is to spread terror among the civilian population are prohibited’.

  50. 50.

    See Silverman 2002, p. 78.

  51. 51.

    Badawi 2003, p. 38. See also Esposito 2002, p. 27.

  52. 52.

    Al-Dawoody 2011, p. 76.

  53. 53.

    Ismail 2015, n 33, p. 25.

  54. 54.

    Bassiouni 2008, p. 2.

  55. 55.

    Ibid. 63.

  56. 56.

    Esposito 2002, p. 26.

  57. 57.

    Some of the Qur’anic injunctions quoted out of context to legitimise violence are: Qur’an 4:74–76; 4:84; 9:5; 9:13–15; 9:38–39; 9:111; 2:190–191; 2:216; 22:39–40; and 8:39.

  58. 58.

    See Ainoko 2017.

  59. 59.

    Tattersall and Maclean 2010.

  60. 60.

    Sseyonjo 2012, p. 26. See also Al-Dawoody 2017, p. 996.

  61. 61.

    Al-Dawoody 2017, p. 1001.

  62. 62.

    See Nafi 2004, pp. 80–82.

  63. 63.

    Quoted in Quraish 2000, p.130.

  64. 64.

    Report of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Submitted Pursuant to Paragraph 6 of Security Council Resolution 1373 (2001) Concerning Counter-terrorism, at 5, U.N. Doc. S/2001/1294 (26 December 2001).

  65. 65.

    Sharif 2015

  66. 66.

    El Fadl 1990, p. 151.

  67. 67.

    Penalty for hiraabah, see Qur’an 5:33–34, but for baghy, there is no specific punishment either in the Qur’an or Sunnah.

  68. 68.

    These are discussed in Sects. 61.4.1–61.4.4 of this chapter.

  69. 69.

    See Phares 2005, p. 44.

  70. 70.

    See Ismail 2016, p. 151; Sseyonjo 2012, p. 15; and Shah 2013, p. 358.

  71. 71.

    See Ibn Qudamah 1972, p. 184.

  72. 72.

    Bulac 2004, p. 71.

  73. 73.

    See Ismail 2016, p. 152; Shah 2008, p. 23.

  74. 74.

    See Ibid.

  75. 75.

    The Prosecutor v. Dusko Tadic, Decision on the Defence Motion for Interlocutory Appeal on Jurisdiction, IT-94-1-A, 2 October 1995.

  76. 76.

    Ibid., para.70.

  77. 77.

    See Common Article 2 to the Geneva Conventions of 1949.

  78. 78.

    Dinstein 2016, p. 36.

  79. 79.

    Solis 2016, p. 163.

  80. 80.

    Serralvo 2015, p. 31.

  81. 81.

    Tsagourias and Morrison 2018, p. 1.

  82. 82.

    Discussion concerning the organisational structure of Boko Haram is contained in Sect. 61.2.3; and Boko Haram being an organised group is also contained in Sect. 61.5 of this chapter.

  83. 83.

    Ibanga and Archibong 2018, p. 147.

  84. 84.

    International Committee of the Red Cross 2008, p. 5.

  85. 85.

    Tadic, above n 59, para.

  86. 86.

    ICC 2013, para. 215.

  87. 87.

    Ibid, para. 218.

  88. 88.

    See UK British Ministry of Defence 2004, p. 383. See also Otto 2012, p. 216.

  89. 89.

    Dinstein 2016, p.16.

  90. 90.

    Sandoz et al. 1987, p. 392. Also see Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions.

  91. 91.

    Hashmi 2003, pp.146–47.

  92. 92.

    See Vanhullebusch 2015, pp. 22–23. See also Shah 2011, p.73.

  93. 93.

    Advisory Opinion on the Legality of the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons, [1996] ICJ Rep. 226, at 257.

  94. 94.

    Qur’an 2:190.

  95. 95.

    Engeland 2016, p. 247.

  96. 96.

    Abu Dawud Sulaiman bin Ash’ath 2008, pp. 295–296.

  97. 97.

    Munir 2011, p. 25.

  98. 98.

    ICC 2015.

  99. 99.

    Urmacher and Sheridan 2016.

  100. 100.

    Ibid.

  101. 101.

    More examples are contained in a number of Military Manuals, such as Nigeria, Military Manual (1994), p. 42, § 11; Australia, Defence Force Manual (1994), § 535; Belgium, Law of War Manual (1983), p. 26; Benin, Military Manual (1995), Fascicule III, p. 14; Cameroon, Instructors’ Manual (1992), p. 83; Colombia, Instructors’ Manual (1999), p. 19; Kenya, LOAC Manual (1997), Precis No. 4, p. 1 etc.

  102. 102.

    Tsagourias and Morrison 2018, p. 50. See also Gardam 2004, p. 30.

  103. 103.

    See Solis 2016, p. 294. See also Shah 2011, p. 73.

  104. 104.

    Ibn Ishaq 1997, p. 387.

  105. 105.

    Quran 16:126.

  106. 106.

    See UK Ministry of Defence 2004, Manual, para. 2.4, 23.

  107. 107.

    Blank and Noone 2019, pp. 45-46.

  108. 108.

    See Qur’an 2:190, 40:40, 42:40 and 16:126.

  109. 109.

    Al-Bukhari, Vol. 3, Book 43, Number 654. (Narrated by ‘Abdullah bin Yazid Al-Ansari).

  110. 110.

    ‘Umar ibn ‘Abdul Aziz otherwise known as ‘Umar II was the eighth Umayyad Caliph who reigned between 22 September 717 and February 720.

  111. 111.

    Related by Imam Malik. See Jalal-u-din al-Sayuti n.d., p. 7.

  112. 112.

    Syed Razi n.d., 573.

  113. 113.

    Bayhaqi 1414/1994, p. 181.

  114. 114.

    See Qur’an 2:195. See also Qur’an 4:29 “… And do not kill yourselves [or one another]. Indeed, Allah is to you ever Merciful”.

  115. 115.

    Munir 2008, p. 89.

  116. 116.

    See Kriel 2017.

  117. 117.

    Dinstein 2016, p. 36.

  118. 118.

    Nielsen 2011, p. 190.

  119. 119.

    Goppel 2013, p. 88.

  120. 120.

    Malekian 2011, p. 352.

  121. 121.

    See International Criminal Court n.d.

  122. 122.

    See Articles 5, 6, 7 and 8 of the Rome Statute.

  123. 123.

    Vagts 2003, p. 325.

  124. 124.

    Mullins 2010, p.67.

  125. 125.

    Bassiouni 2011, p. 40.

  126. 126.

    See Zirker 2015, pp. 44–45.

  127. 127.

    Gwozao is a town within Bornu State, which is believed to be inhabited by close to half a million people.

  128. 128.

    See Magstadt 2016, p. 263.

  129. 129.

    Bassiouni 1999, p. 275.

  130. 130.

    Fitzpatrick 2016, p. 112.

  131. 131.

    International Military Tribunal (Nuremberg) Judgment and Sentences, reprinted in (1947) 41 American Journal of International Law 172, at 221.

  132. 132.

    Klamberg 2017, p. 62.

  133. 133.

    Decision on Confirmation of Charges, 15 June 2009, ICC-01/05-01/08-424.

  134. 134.

    Ibid., para. 81.

  135. 135.

    Arsanjani 1999, p. 31.

  136. 136.

    Prosecutor v. Muthaura, Kenyatta and Ali, Decision on the confirmation of charges, 23 January 2012, para. 112.

  137. 137.

    The Prosecutor v. William Samoei Ruto, Henry Kiprono Kosgey and Joshua Arap Sang, Decision on the confirmation of charges, 23 January 2012.

  138. 138.

    Ibid., para. 185.

  139. 139.

    Ibid.

  140. 140.

    Paragraph 4 of the Preamble of the ICC Statute.

  141. 141.

    Ibid., Para. 10.

  142. 142.

    Complementarity, as one of the basic principles of the Rome Statute system, was meant to be a comprehensive system of international justice which reinforces States Parties to investigate and prosecute international crimes. The Rome Statute of International Criminal Court thus establishes a subsidiary role for ICC and supplements the domestic investigation and prosecution of the most serious crimes of international concern. See Benzing 2003, p. 592.

  143. 143.

    Cited in Schabas 2007, p. 1.

  144. 144.

    Case Concerning Rights of Nationals of the United States in Morocco(France v United

    States) [1952] ICJ Rep 176, 196; The Asylum Case (Colombia v Peru) [1950] ICJ Rep. 266, 282.

  145. 145.

    See Amnesty International 2016/2017.

  146. 146.

    Human Rights Watch 2018.

  147. 147.

    Ibid.

  148. 148.

    Judgment of international military tribunal for the trial of German major war criminal, Nuremberg, 30 September and 1 October 1946, Misc No 12, 1946, Cmd 6964, reproduced, AJIL 41 (1947): 172 (Nuremberg Judgment), 220.

  149. 149.

    Vanguard 2016.

  150. 150.

    Vanguard 2015.

  151. 151.

    Kleffner 2008, p. 248.

  152. 152.

    Seibert-Fohr 2003, pp. 558–559.

  153. 153.

    Al-Dawoody 2011, p. 145.

  154. 154.

    Schwartz 1991, p. 652.

References

  • Abu Dawud Sulaiman bin Ash’ath (2008) English Translation of Sunan Abu Dawud. Vol. 3, (Hadith No.2669). Darus Salam, Riyadh

    Google Scholar 

  • Ainoko I (2017) Boko Haram: A Jihad without Religionz Vanguard, 13 August 2017. Available from https://www.vanguardngr.com/2017/08/boko-haram-jihad-without-religion/ [accessed 9 September 2018]

  • Al-Dawoody A (2011) The Islamic law of war: Regulations and justifications. Palgrave Macmillan, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Al-Dawoody A (2017) Islamic Law and International Humanitarian Law: An Introduction to the Main Principles. IRRC 99:3, 995-1018

    Google Scholar 

  • Aljazeera (2011) Blast Rocks Police Headquarters in Nigeria. Aljazeera, 16 June 2011. Available from http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2011/06/2011616111451344807.html [accessed 10 May 2018]

  • Aljazeera (2019) Eight killed in Boko Haram Attack in Nigeria. Aljazeera News, 16 February 2019. Available from https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/02/killed-boko-haram-attack-nigeria-190216120448266.html [accessed 14 March 2019]

  • Amnesty International (2016/2017) Nigeria. Amnesty International. Also available from https://www.amnesty.org/en/countries/africa/nigeria/report-nigeria/ [accessed 12 July 2018]

  • Arango T (2014) Sunni Extremists in Iraq Seize 3 Towns from Kurds and Threaten Major Dam. The New York Times, 3 August 2014, https://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/04/world/middleeast/iraq.html [accessed 16 November 2021]

  • Arsanjani MH (1999) The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. AJIL 93:1, 22-43

    Google Scholar 

  • Badawi J (2003) Muslim/non-Muslim relations: An integrative approach. J. Islamic L. & Culture 8:2, 23-48

    Google Scholar 

  • Bassiouni M (1999) Crimes against humanity in international criminal law. Kluwer Law International, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Bassiouni M (2008) Evolving approaches to Jihad: From self-defense to revolutionary and regime-change political violence J. Islamic L. & Culture 10:1, 61-83

    Google Scholar 

  • Bassiouni M (2011) Crimes against humanity: Historical evolution and contemporary application. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Bassiouni M (ed) (1975) International terrorism and political crimes. Charles Thomas, Springfield

    Google Scholar 

  • Bayhaqi (1414/1994) Sunan. In: Qadir ‘Ata’ MA (ed) Maktabah Dar al-Baz, Makkah 8

    Google Scholar 

  • BBC Africa (2014) Chibok Abductions in Nigeria: ‘More than 230 Seized’. BBC Africa, 21 April 2014. Available from http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-27101714 [accessed 12 May 2018]

  • Benzing M (2003) The complementarity regime of the International Criminal Court: International criminal justice between state sovereignty and the fight against impunity. Max Planck UNYB 7:1, 591-632

    Google Scholar 

  • Berkebile R (2017) What is domestic terrorism? A method for classifying events from the global terrorism database. Terrorism and Political Violence. 29:1, 1-26

    Google Scholar 

  • Blank L, Noone G (2019) International law and armed conflict: Fundamental principles and contemporary challenges in the law of war. Wolters Kluwer, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Boffey D (2015) Boko Haram Declares Allegiance to Islamic State. The Guardian, 8 March 2015. Available from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/07/boko-haram-suicide-bombers-50-dead-maiduguri [accessed 10 April 2018]

  • Bulac A (2004) Jihad. In: Capan E (ed) Terror and Suicide Attacks. The Light Inc., New Jersey, pp 63-79

    Google Scholar 

  • Burke J (2016) Nigeria Denies Paying Ransom and Freeing Boko Haram Leaders for Chibok Girls. The Guardian, Friday 14 October 2016. Available from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/oct/14/boko-haram-chibok-girls-nigeria-denies-paying-ransom-and-freeing-leaders [accessed 21 April 2018]

  • Comer CA, Mburu D M (2015) Humanitarian law at wits’ end: Does violence arising from the ‘war on drugs’ in Mexico meet the International Criminal Court’s non-International Armed Conflict Threshold? YIHL, volume 18, 67-89

    Google Scholar 

  • Comolli V (2015) Boko Haram: Nigeria’s Islamist insurgency. Hurst and Company, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Dinstein Y (2016) The conduct of hostilities under the law of international armed conflict, 3rd edn. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Dorrie P (2015) How Big is Boko Haram? War is Boring, 3 February 2015. Available from https://medium.com/war-is-boring/how-big-is-boko-haram-fac21c25807 [accessed 13 April 2018]

  • El Fadl A (1990) Abkam al-Bughat: Irregular warfare and the law of rebellion. In: Johnson J, Kelsay J (eds) Islam, Cross, Crescent and sword: The justification and limitation of war in Western and Islamic tradition. Greenwood Press, Westport CT

    Google Scholar 

  • Engeland A (2016) Islam as a religion of peace: An articulated reply to terrorism. In: Barnidge Jr RP (ed) The liberal way of war: Legal perspectives. Routledge, Oxon, pp 239-258

    Google Scholar 

  • Esposito J (2002) Unholy war: Terror in the name of Islam. Oxford University Press, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • Fitzpatrick B (2016) Tactical rape in war and conflict: International recognition and response. Policy Press, Bristol

    Google Scholar 

  • Gardam J (2004) Necessity, proportionality and the use of force by states. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Gasser HP (1993) International humanitarian law: Introduction. In: Haug H (ed) Humanity for all: The International Red Cross Red Crescent Movement. Paul Haupt Publishers, Bern, pp 555-575

    Google Scholar 

  • Goppel A (2013) Killing terrorists: A moral and legal analysis. Walter de Gruyter, Berlin

    Google Scholar 

  • Green M et al. (2018) Religion, law and security in Africa. African Sun MeDIA, Stellenbosch

    Google Scholar 

  • Harrison K, Ryder N (2017) The law relating to financial crime in the United Kingdom. Routledge, Oxon

    Google Scholar 

  • Hashmi S (2003) Saving and taking life in war: Three Modern Muslim views. In: Brockopp J (ed) Islamic ethics of life: Abortion, war, and euthanasia. University of South Carolina Press, pp 1-21

    Google Scholar 

  • Hill J (2012) Nigeria since independence: Forever fragile. Palgrave Macmillan, Hampshire

    Google Scholar 

  • Hollingsworth M, Kemedi V (2015) Against the odds. Susquehanna Press, Leicestershire

    Google Scholar 

  • Human Rights Watch (2017) World Report 2018: Events of 2017. Human Rights Watch

    Google Scholar 

  • Human Rights Watch (2018) Nigeria: Flawed Trials of Boko Haram Suspects. Human Rights Watch, 17 September 2018. Also available from https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/09/17/nigeria-flawed-trials-boko-haram-suspects [accessed 21 August 2020]

  • Huntington S (1996) The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order. Simon & Schuster, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Ibanga M, Archibong J (2018) The Boko Haram insurgency: Characterisation and implications under municipal and international law. In: Iyi J-M, Strydom H (eds) Boko Haram and international law. Springer, Cham, pp 137- 153

    Google Scholar 

  • Ibn Ishaq (1997) Sirat al-Rasoolullah (Guillaume A (translator)), repr. Oxford University Press, Karachi

    Google Scholar 

  • Ibn Qudamah (1972), Al-Mughni, vol. 9. Dar-al-Kitab-al-‘arab, Beirut

    Google Scholar 

  • ICC (2013) Report on Preliminary Examination Activities 2013 (November 2013), para. 215. Also available online at https://www.icc-cpi.int/OTP%20Reports/otp-report-2013.aspx#nigeria [accessed 12 December 2018]

  • ICC (2015) Office of the Prosecutor - Report on Preliminary Examination Activities (2015). Available from https://www.icc-cpi.int/iccdocs/otp/OTP-PE-rep-2015-Eng.pdf [accessed 13 June 2018]

  • Independent (2015) PMB on Small Fires Causing Large Fires. Independent, 14 June 2015. Available from http://independent.ng/pmb-small-fires-causing-large-fires/ [accessed 13 May 2018]

  • Inter-Governmental Action Group Against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA) (2010) Threat Assessment of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing in West Africa. Available from https://www.giaba.org/reports/typologies/reports.html [accessed 24 March 2022]

  • International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) (2008) How is the term ‘armed conflict’ defined in international humanitarian law? Opinion paper, ICRC, Geneva

    Google Scholar 

  • International Criminal Court (n.d.) ‘States Parties-Chronological List’. Available from https://asp.icc-cpi.int/en_menus/asp/states%20parties/pages/states%20parties%20_%20chronological%20list.aspx [accessed 11 January 2019]

  • Iocchi A (2015) The Boko Haram franchise and the war on terror in Nigeria. Diritto & Questioni Pubbliche number:15:2, 203-214

    Google Scholar 

  • Isioma M (2011) Boko Haram: Rise of a Deadly Sect. National Mirror, 19 June 2011, available online at http://www.nationalmirroronline.net/sunday-mirror/bigread/14548.html [accessed 1 May 2018]

  • Ismail M (2015) Terror on diplomats and diplomatic missions in the name of Jihād: Islamic Law Perspective. Journal of Malaysian and Comparative Law 42:1,19-42

    Google Scholar 

  • Ismail M (2016) Islamic Law and transnational diplomatic law: A quest for complementarity in divergent legal theories. Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke

    Google Scholar 

  • Jalal-u-din al-Sayuti (n.d.) Tanweer Al-hawalik, Sharh a’la Muwatta’ Malik. Vol. II. al-Halabi Press, Cairo

    Google Scholar 

  • Khan L (2006) A theory of international terrorism: Understanding Islamic militancy. Martinus Nijhoff, Leiden

    Google Scholar 

  • Klamberg M (ed) (2017) Commentary on the law of the International Criminal Court. Torkel Opsahl Academy, Brussels

    Google Scholar 

  • Kleffner J (2008), Complementarity in the Rome Statute and national criminal jurisdiction. Oxford University Press, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • Kriel R (2017) Boko Haram Favours Women, Children as Suicide Bombers, Study Reveals. CNN, 11 August 2017. Available from http://edition.cnn.com/2017/08/10/africa/boko-haram-women-children-suicide-bombers/index.html [accessed 18 January 2019]

  • MacEachern S (2018) Searching for Boko Haram: A history of violence in Central Africa. Oxford University Press, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • Magstadt T (2016) Understanding politics: Ideas, institutions, and issues. Cengage Learning, Boston MA

    Google Scholar 

  • Malekian F (2011) Principles of Islamic international criminal law: A comparative research. Brill, Leiden

    Google Scholar 

  • Mamah E et al. (2012) Boko Haram Bombs Kano Afresh. Vanguard, 24 January 2012. Available from http://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/01/boko-haram-bombs-kano-afresh/ [accessed 12 May 2018]

  • Mang H (2014) Christian perceptions of Islam and society in relation to Boko Haram and recent events in Jos and Northern Nigeria. In: Pérouse De Montclos M (ed) Boko Haram: Islamism, politics, security and the state in Nigeria. African Studies Centre, Leiden

    Google Scholar 

  • Moir L (2002) The law of internal armed conflict.Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Mullins C (2010) Conflict victimization and post-conflict justice 1945–2008. In: Bassiouni M (ed) The pursuit of international criminal justice: A world study on conflicts, victimization, and post-conflict justice. Intersentia, Antwerp

    Google Scholar 

  • Munir M (2008) Suicide attacks and Islamic law. IRRC 90:869, 71-89

    Google Scholar 

  • Munir M (2011) The protection of civilians in war: Non-combatants immunity in Islamic law. Hamdard Islamicus XXXIV:4, 7-39

    Google Scholar 

  • Nafi B (2004) Fatwa and war: On the allegiance of the American Muslim soldiers in the aftermath of September 11. Islamic Law and Society 11:1, 78-116

    Google Scholar 

  • Newman P (2013) The etymology of Hausa Boko. Mega-Chad Research Network, 1-13

    Google Scholar 

  • Nielsen E (2011) State Responsibility for Terrorist Groups. U.C Davis J.Int’l L. & Pol’y 17:151-192

    Google Scholar 

  • Omeni A (2020) Insurgency and war in Nigeria: Regional fracture and fight against Boko Haram. I. B. Tauris, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Onuoha FC, Oyewole S (2018) Anatomy of Boko Haram: The rise and decline of violent group in Nigeria. Al Jazeera Centre for Studies (22 April)

    Google Scholar 

  • Onyebuchi E, Chigozie C (2013) Islamic fundamentalism and the problem of insecurity in Nigeria: The Boko Haram phenomenon. Journal of Humanities and Social Science 15:3, 43-53

    Google Scholar 

  • Otto R (2012) Targeted killings and international law. Springer, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Pérouse De Montclos M (ed) (2014) Boko Haram: Islamism, politics, security and the state in Nigeria. African Studies Centre, Leiden.

    Google Scholar 

  • Phares W (2005) Future Jihad: Terrorists strategies against the West. Palgrave Macmillan, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Quraish A (2000) An Islamic critique of the rape laws of Pakistan from a woman-sensitive perspective. In: Webb G (ed) Windows of faith: Muslim women scholar activities in North America. Syracuse University Press, Syracuse, N.Y.

    Google Scholar 

  • Re D (2018) International crimes: A hybrid future? Nigerian Yearbook of International Law, Volume 2017, 173-190

    Google Scholar 

  • Rogers P (2012) Nigeria: The generic context of the Boko Haram violence. Monthly Global Security Briefing (April 30)

    Google Scholar 

  • Roman L (2012) Boko Haram: The development of a militant religious movement in Nigeria. Afrika Spectrum 47:2-3

    Google Scholar 

  • Ryder N (2015) The financial war on terrorism: A review of counter-terrorist financing strategies since 2001. Routledge, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Sandoz A et al (1987) Commentary on the Additional Protocols. Martinus Nijhoff, Geneva

    Google Scholar 

  • Schabas W (2007) ‘Complementarity in practice’: Some uncomplimentary thoughts. Paper presentation at the 20th Anniversary conference of the International Society for the Reform of Criminal Law, Vancouver, 23 June 2007

    Google Scholar 

  • Schachter O (1991) International law in theory and practice. Martinus Nijhoff, Dordrecht

    Google Scholar 

  • Schmid A, Jongman A (2005) Political terrorism: A new guide to actors, authors, concepts, data bases, theories, and literature, 2nd edn. Transaction Publishers, Piscataway, NJ

    Google Scholar 

  • Schwartz D (1991) International terrorism and Islamic law. Colum. J. Transnat'l L., 29:3, 629-652

    Google Scholar 

  • Seibert-Fohr A (2003) The relevance of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court for amnesties and truth commissions. Max Planck UNYB 7:1, 553-590

    Google Scholar 

  • Serralvo J (2015) Government Recognition and International Humanitarian Law Applicability in Post-Gaddafi Libya. Yearbook of International Humanitarian Law, Volume 18, 3-41

    Google Scholar 

  • Shah N (2008) Self-Defense in Islamic and international law: Assessing Al-Qaeda and the invasion of Iraq. Palgrave Macmillan, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Shah N (2011) Islamic law and the law of armed conflict: The armed conflict in Pakistan. Routledge, Abingdon

    Google Scholar 

  • Shah N (2013) The use of force under Islamic law. EJIL24:1, 343-365

    Google Scholar 

  • Sharif M (2015) Ibn Taymiyyah on Jihad and Baghy. Penerbit Universiti Sains Malaysia, Pulau Pinang

    Google Scholar 

  • Silverman A (2002) Just war, Jihad and terrorism: A comparison of Western and Islamic norms for the use of political violence. Journal of Church and State 44:1, 73-92

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith D (2009) Inquiry Call after Nigerian Sect Leader Dies in Custody. The Guardian, 31 July 2009. Available from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/jul/31/nigeria-boko-haram-leader [accessed 5 May 2018].

  • Smith P (2015) The terrorism ahead: Confronting transnational violence in the twenty-first century. Routledge, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Solis G (2016) The law of armed conflict: International humanitarian law in war. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Solomon H (2015) Terrorism and counter-terrorism in Africa: Fighting insurgency from Al-Shabab, Ansar Dine and Boko Haram. Palgrave Macmillan, Hampshire

    Google Scholar 

  • Sseyonjo M (2012) Jihad re-examined: Islamic law and international law. Santa Clara J. Int’l L. 10:1, 1-33

    Google Scholar 

  • Syed Razi (n.d.) Nahj al-Balagha (Mufti Ja‘far Husain (translator and ed). al-M‘iraj Company, Lahore

    Google Scholar 

  • Tarpel F (2014) Boko Haram’s Attempt to Kill Buhari Leaves 40 Dead. Nigeria Communications Week, 24 July 2014. Available from http://www.nigeriacommunicationsweek.com.ng/other-business/boko-haram-s-attempt-to-kill-buhari-leaves-40-dead [accessed 12 May 2018]

  • Tattersall N, Maclean W (2010) Nigerian Sect Leader Praises al Qaeda, Warns U.S. Reuters, 13 July 2010

    Google Scholar 

  • The Sun (2015) Bombs at Mosque, restaurant in Jos kill 44. The Sun, 6 July 2015. Available from http://sunnewsonline.com/new/bombs-at-mosque-restaurant-in-jos-kill-44/ [accessed 12 May 2018]

  • Thomson V (2012) Boko Haram and Islamic fundamentalism in Nigeria. Global Security Studies 3:3, 46-60

    Google Scholar 

  • Tsagourias N, Morrison A (2018) International humanitarian law: Cases, material and commentary. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • UK Ministry of Defence (2004) The Joint Service manual of the law of armed conflict. Joint Service Publication

    Google Scholar 

  • Urmacher K, Sheridan M (2016) The Brutal Toll of Boko Haram’s Attacks on Civilians. The Washington Post, 3 April 2016. Available from https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/world/nigeria-boko-haram/ [accessed 5 June 2018]

  • Vagts D (2003) Which courts should try persons accused of terrorism? EJIL 14:2, 313–326

    Google Scholar 

  • Vanguard (2015) Chad Executes 10 Boko Haram Suspects by Firing Squad. Vanguard, 29 August 2015. Available from http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/08/chad-executes-10-boko-haram-suspects-by-firing-squad/ [accessed 30 March 2019]

  • Vanguard (2016) Cameroon Sentences 89 Boko Haram Suspects to Death. Vanguard, 19 March 2016. Available from http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/03/cameroon-sentences-89-boko-haram-suspects-death/ [accessed 30 March 2019]

  • Vanhullebusch M (2015) War and law in the Islamic world. Nijhoff, Leiden

    Google Scholar 

  • Varin C (2016) Boko Haram and the war on terror. Praeger, CA

    Google Scholar 

  • VOA News (2018) Amnesty Calls on ICC to Fully Probe Boko Haram Conflict Atrocities. VOA News, 10 December 2018. Available from https://www.voanews.com/a/boko-haram-icc-probe/4693811.html [accessed 14 February 2019]

  • Wa Baile M (2011) Beyond the clash of civilizations: A new cultural synthesis for the Muslims in the West. iUniverse, Bloomington

    Google Scholar 

  • Walker A (n.d.) What is Boko Haram? United States Institutes of Peace Special Report. Available from http://www.xtome.org/docs/groups/boko-haram/SR308.pdf [accessed 1 May 2018]

  • Zirker D (2015) Forging military identity in culturally pluralistic societies: quasi-ethnicity. Lexington Books, London

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Law, University of Hull, Hull, England, UK

    Muhammad-Basheer A. Ismail

Authors
  1. Muhammad-Basheer A. Ismail
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Muhammad-Basheer A. Ismail .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Law, KIMEP University, Almaty, Kazakhstan

    Dr. Sergey Sayapin

  2. School of Law, KIMEP University, Almaty, Kazakhstan

    Rustam Atadjanov

  3. National Law School of India, Pune, India

    Prof. Umesh Kadam

  4. Law and Social Sciences, University of Derby, Derby, UK

    Prof. Gerhard Kemp

  5. School of Law, KIMEP University, Almaty, Kazakhstan

    Dr. Nicolás Zambrana-Tévar

  6. Bristol Law School, University of the West of England, Bristol, UK

    Prof. Noëlle Quénivet

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

Copyright information

© 2022 T.M.C. Asser Press and the authors

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Ismail, MB.A. (2022). Jihad Misplaced for Terrorism: An Overview of the Boko Haram Crisis from Islamic and International Humanitarian Law Perspectives. In: Sayapin, S., Atadjanov, R., Kadam, U., Kemp, G., Zambrana-Tévar, N., Quénivet, N. (eds) International Conflict and Security Law. T.M.C. Asser Press, The Hague. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-6265-515-7_61

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-6265-515-7_61

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: T.M.C. Asser Press, The Hague

  • Print ISBN: 978-94-6265-514-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-6265-515-7

  • eBook Packages: Law and CriminologyLaw and Criminology (R0)

search

Navigation