Boko Haram (formally Jama'atu Ahlissunnah Lidda'awati wal-Jihad) emerged in northeastern Nigeria in 2002 and began its armed insurgency in 2009. It declared a caliphate in 2014, the same year it kidnapped 276 schoolgirls from Chibok — an event that generated global attention under #BringBackOurGirls. Many have never been returned. The group fragmented; the Sadiku faction remains active. The conflict has killed ~35,000 people and displaced over 3 million in the Lake Chad Basin. In February 2026, the Sadiku faction attacked Kwara State, killing 162–200+ in the deadliest attack in Nigeria in years.