Time For the EU To Designate Boko Haram a Terrorist Group

Boko Haram Militants (Source: Il Referendum)

In 2013, Boko Haram killed - from May onwards - 1,224 people. This year, it has already killed 500 people. This group has been stepping up its operational capabilities and, thus, becoming increasingly more lethal. The United States have designated this group as a terrorist organisation (FTO), last November; however the European Union hasn't - why?

The EU defines terrorism as "acts which aim to intimidate populations, compel states to comply with the perpetrators' demand and/or destabilise the fundamental political, constitutional, economic or social structures of a country or a international organisation."

A group that fulfils the criteria, and yet is not included in the EU list, is Jama'atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda'awati wal-Jihad - translated into "People Committed to the Propagation of the Prophet's Teachings and Jihad" (a.k.a Boko Haram which, in Hausa, means "Western education is a sin").

Boko Haram (BH), a Nigerian-based group, started its operations (as a Jihadist organisation) in 2009. According to the Global Terrorism Database (GTD), from its inception until 2012 the group has authored 579 terrorist attacks. The organisation's main targets are: private citizens/property, Government objects, religious figures/institutions, education institutions and military. Its attack type of preference is armed assault (320 incidents), bombing/explosions (205 incidents), facility/infrastructure attacks (89 incidents) and assassinations (22 incidents); meaning that their weapons of choice are firearms, explosives/bombs/dynamite and incendiary devices.

The most notorious BH attacks are the August 2011 suicide bombing of a UN building, in Abuja (killing 23 people and injured 76); the December 2012 attacks against  the Church of Christ in Nations, in Peri village near Potiskum (killing 6 people) and against the First Baptist Church, in Maiduguri - in Borno state (killing also 6 people); the September 2013 college dorm attack at the College of Agriculture, in Gujba, in the Yobe state (killing 40 sleeping students); and the March 2014 weekend of slaughter that resulted in the death of 90 people.

These incidents mirror BH's stated goals to obliterate the Western influence and education from Nigeria and to establish an Islamic State, based on Sharia Law.

There can't be any doubt regarding the terrorist nature of Boko Haram, which presents the following ingredients:

• It is religiously inspired, as it "evokes religion to justify their actions"[in EU terrorism situation and trend report] (its members are influenced by the Quranic words: "Those who do not rule in accordance with Allah's revelations are the disbelievers" - Sura 5:44) and uses tactics employed by Religiously Inspired Terrorist groups (such as suicide bombings, attacks with IEDs and kidnapping). 
• It makes systematic use of violence, and destruction, as a means to push the state to comply with its demands. 
• It views itself as altruistic (i.e. Boko Haram's actions are intended to protect pious Muslims and contribute to a higher purpose: the establishment of an Islamic State in Nigeria and surrounding region).
• The group is motivated by ideology (i.e. Islam). 

Boko Haram is both a regional and international threat inasmuch as their activities are spilling over to Chad, Niger, Cameroon; it kidnaps foreign citizens both in Nigeria and Cameroon; it is a threat to the European, and international, energetic interests in Nigeria because the group engages in piracy in the Gulf of Guinea (to finance its activities while at the same time disrupting the flow of oil into the West); and it maintains close ties with Al-Qaeda (and affiliates) to receive training and cooperate on a Global level.

As Rubén Ruiz Calleja wrote "the European Union must take into [serious] consideration the threat of Boko Haram, not only as a current threat for the security of Nigeria and its neighbouring countries, but also as a potential risk for the European security. If BH tries to destabilize the country, with the economic relations that this fact would imply, there would be consequences for the European Union."

Therefore Boko Haram should be included in the EU List, based on the Common Position 2001/931/CFSP, as a group that commits terrorist acts, since in Article 1(3) it basically states that terrorist acts (i.e. attacks causing death to people, or hurting their physical integrity; kidnapping; extensive destruction to government facilities, transportation system and infrastructures; seizure of ships; manufacture, possession, acquisition, supply or use of weapons, explosives, or CBN weapons; participation in activities of terrorist groups, supplying information, funding or other resources) seriously "damage a country or international organisation".

Putting BH in the EU list is fundamental to foment "investigations or prosecution for a terrorist act"[in here]. Finally, by listing Boko Haram as a terrorist group, counter-terrorism entities will feel compelled to look even closer at the group to gather a list of members, suspected members, facilitators, foreign donors, associates and, thus, monitor the flow of funds and travelling habits of BH elements and collaborators, so that they proceed to the disruption of their ever increasing capability to sustain a terrorist campaign.

So, what is the EU waiting for?

[This article was written by Cristina Caravaggio Giancchini and adapted by Max Coutinho]