[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 12]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 17339-17340]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  THE CONTINUING THREAT OF BOKO HARAM

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, November 18, 2013

  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, Nigeria is one of the United 
States' main allies, African trading partners, and a major economic and 
political force beyond the African continent. Unfortunately, it 
continues to be plagued by terrorist forces whose reach extends beyond 
the borders of that country. Last week, I held a hearing is to examine 
the extent to which the organization known as Boko Haram and its 
affiliates pose a threat to Nigeria and the region, as well as the 
United States, and the rest of the international community.
  Boko Haram is a Nigerian terrorist group whose name in Arabic means 
``people committed to the propagation of the Prophet's teachings and 
jihad.'' The name ``Boko Haram'' is a translation from Hausa meaning 
that conventional education (boko) is forbidden (haram). Because of its 
repeated attacks against Christian targets during holy days such as 
Christmas and Easter, Boko Haram is seen by some as principally an 
anti-Christian organization. In the last year alone, Boko Haram 
terrorists are believed to have killed 1,200 Christians in Nigeria. In 
fact, it is estimated that more than 60 percent of Christians killed 
worldwide because of religious intolerance die in Nigeria. This year 
alone, according to Emmanuel Ogebe, one of today's witnesses, 53 
Christian churches have been attacked, and 216 people were murdered by 
terrorists in them.
  However, it would not be a completely accurate interpretation of the 
facts to assume that what is happening in Nigeria is just a Muslim-
Christian conflict.
  In the past two years, two subcommittees have sent staff delegations 
to investigate the Boko Haram threat, and this past September Gregory 
Simpkins, the Africa subcommittee's staff director, and I visited Abuja 
and Jos to further look into this matter. We found that the truth of 
this organization is much more complex than is widely understood. 
Although exact

[[Page 17340]]

numbers were not made available to us, Boko Harm is definitely 
targeting other Muslims who don't agree with their views. Muslim 
religious leaders who criticize the terrorist violence are themselves 
made targets. What must be prevented is a growing inability for 
Christians and Muslims to work together to meet their common threat.
  According to various reports, Boko Haram began in 2003 when about 200 
university students and unemployed youth created a camp in Yobe State 
near the Niger border to withdraw from what they considered the 
corrupt, sinful and unjust Nigerian Government, and their community was 
supposedly founded on Islamic law. The group was then known by the 
nickname the Nigerian Taliban. Violent clashes with Nigerian security 
forces nearly destroyed the group several times, but its charismatic 
leader, Mohammed Yusuf kept the group alive until his death while in 
police custody in July 2009.
  Since Yusuf's death, there have been various spokesmen but one person 
who is believed to be the nominal leader: Abubakar Shekau. Furthermore, 
a breakaway group known as Ansaru has appeared on the scene.
  The proliferation of voices speaking for Boko Haram and the new 
faction lead some to believe this is not a coherent organization. We 
learned that it is actually a very sophisticated organization operating 
in cells disconnected from each other but coordinating at a high level. 
While there are those acting in the name of Boko Haram for their own 
purposes, this terrorist group is organized, albeit in an 
unconventional manner.
  Some also believe this group is purely a domestic terrorist group 
operating in Nigeria. We found that to be a false assumption as well. 
Boko Haram/Ansaru does wage attacks on the Nigerian Government and 
other domestic targets. Nevertheless, their actions prove their 
participation in the global jihad movement that wages violent war 
worldwide to establish their skewed version of Islam as the prevailing 
religion globally. Various actions, such as the bombing of the United 
Nations Abuja office in August 2011, and numerous statements from Boko 
Haram spokesmen indicate their international intent. This international 
focus has been confirmed by American and Nigerian intelligence 
information.
  The three criteria for an organization to be declared a Foreign 
Terrorist Organization by the U.S. Government are: (1) it must be a 
foreign organization, (2) it must engage in terrorist activity and (3) 
it must threaten the security of United States nationals, U.S. national 
security or the economic interests of the United States. Clearly Boko 
Haram/Ansaru meets that test. This is why I have introduced H.R. 3209 
to urge the Administration to declare Boko Haram a Foreign Terrorist 
Organization. This measure would better provide tools for stopping 
those who currently provide funding or other support for this 
murderous, terrorist organization, and I welcome the State Department's 
enactment today of this designation.
  Our government has provided training and other assistance to the 
Nigerian government to battle this terrorist threat. Unfortunately, the 
past brutality demonstrated by the Nigerian security forces, as well as 
the inability of Nigerian security forces to collaborate with one 
another, have prevented this effort from being as successful as it 
should be. In far too many cases, the Nigerian government itself has 
actually turned local people in the North against its effort to end the 
terrorist threat. By its ineffectiveness, the Nigerian security forces 
have pushed Nigerian Christians and Muslims to form their own militias 
to protect themselves from terrorists and each other. In the long run, 
this development makes eventual reconciliation of Nigeria's various 
religious and ethnic communities more difficult.
  At last week's hearing, we had with us the administration's point 
person for our government's effort to help end the terrorist threat in 
Nigeria, a leading Nigerian Muslim spokesman against this terrorism, a 
Nigerian Christian expert on this terrorist threat, an American-based 
expert on this violence and a survivor of the Boko Haram threat. The 
survivor, Mr. Habila Adamu, was challenged to renounce his Christian 
faith. When he refused, he was shot by terrorists and left for dead. 
Miraculously, he survived and joined us last week with one of the most 
inspiring examples of faith any of us will ever hear.
  I hope last week's hearing will provide a fuller understanding of 
this terrorist threat and explain why declaring Boko Haram/Ansaru as a 
Foreign Terrorist Organization as part of our government's effort to 
end this menace and its ongoing financial support was such a necessary 
decision.

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