MAIDUGURI, Nigeria – In the dusty streets of northeastern Nigeria, far from the battlegrounds of Afghanistan, a group known as the Nigerian Taliban is waging war against a government it refuses to recognize.
The radical Muslim sect called Boko Haram was thought to be vanquished in 2009, when Nigeria's military crushed its mosque into concrete shards, and its leader was arrested and died in police custody. But now, a year later, Maiduguri and surrounding villages again live in fear of the group, whose members have assassinated police and local leaders and engineered a massive prison break, officials say.
Western diplomats are concerned that the sect is catching the attention of al-Qaida's North Africa branch. They also worry that Boko Haram represents chaos and disintegration in Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation and one of the top suppliers of crude oil to the United States.
"It is possible that Nigeria could be a future Pakistan," a leaked cable released by the WikiLeaks website quotes U.S. Assistant Secretary of African Affairs Johnnie Carson as saying earlier this year. "In 25 years, there could be impoverished masses, a wealthy elite and radicalism in the north. The question is whether the oil wells will be dry as well."
The cable later adds: "Nigeria is at a critical financial and political threshold and the entire nation could possibly tip backwards permanently."
Maiduguri sits in the upper northeast reaches of Nigeria, about 1,040 miles (1,675 kilometers) away from the country's commercial capital and seaport of Lagos. The sun rises as early as 6 a.m., quickly scorching the dusty streets and lands slowly being taken over by the growing Sahara Desert.
It was here a decade ago where Mohammed Yusuf, a one-time moderate imam, began preaching against the practices of Western education in life across Nigeria's Muslim north. Boko Haram was a constant refrain in the Hausa-language sermons, meaning "Western education is sacrilege."
Yusuf's words came at a time when about a dozen northern states adopted Islamic Shariah law, in the wake of the country becoming a democracy after decades of military dictatorships. Many believed the law, a code of conduct based on the teachings of the Quran, would end the corruption that gripped the country's government.
However, the Shariah courts remained under the control of secular state governments, which pushed them into roles of directing traffic and stopping beer trucks. Government continued as always, with politicians driving black luxury Land Rovers, and one trader boasted a mansion built for about $100 million, complete with a room plated in gold. In the meantime, more than 80 percent of the country's 150 million people lived on less than $2 a day.
"People are living in absolute poverty," said Ibrahim Ahmed Abdullahi, an imam in Maiduguri. "Whenever people are living in this type of poverty, if you start saying to them, 'Look, come let us bring about change,' ... people must listen to you."
University graduates who joined Boko Haram tore up their diplomas. Others joined riots in 2007 attacking police stations. Yusuf's preaching became even more incendiary.
In July 2009, sect members attacked local police stations and government buildings throughout northeast Nigeria. The riots brought a crackdown by Nigeria's military and left more than 700 dead. Yusuf himself died after he was captured by the military and turned over to police in a country where so-called "extrajudicial killings" by authorities remain the norm.
An overrun, grassy field is all that remains of Boko Haram's former headquarters, surrounded by the hulked, rusted remains of motorcycles and cars set ablaze during the group's last stand. The loudspeaker that once called members to prayers lies on the ground, silent, as paramilitary police pat down passers-by on motorcycle taxis and take palmed bribes from drivers.
But rumors began this year about the group rearming. A short time later, two-man teams on the back of the motorcycle taxis that fill Nigeria's streets began attacking police officers, religious leaders and local officials who had testified against the group in open court.
In September, authorities say, Boko Haram members attacked a federal prison in Bauchi, freeing about 750 inmates — with more than 100 belonging to the sect. It remains unclear how many members the group has in total.
Boko Haram members have amassed around Maiduguri, as well as across Nigeria's border with nearby Cameroon, Chad and Niger, said Borno state police spokesman Lawal Abdullahi. The group's swelling arms supply comes across Lake Chad and the expansive, poorly-patrolled bush that surrounds the city, Abdullahi said. The ancient trading routes that tied the region to Islam centuries ago now funnel weapons and foreign fighters to Boko Haram.
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