Boko Haram leader,
Abubakar Shekau made TIME magazine
2015 Most Influential People list. Why is a
terrorist in this list? Below is what TIME
wrote about Shekau...
Most Americans do not yet recognize his
name, but the citizens of Nigeria, Africa’s
most populous country, know Abubakar
Shekau all too well: he is the most violent
killer their country has ever seen. Shekau
took over the terrorist organization Boko
Haram in 2009 after the group had been
weakened by Nigerian government forces.
Shekau, who is believed to be in his 30s,
began to stage increasingly daring
kidnapping and killing raids on schools,
churches and mosques thought by Boko
Haram to be violating their interpretation
of Islam.
The taking of over 200 schoolgirls in April
2014 brought Boko Haram into the
international spotlight. By most accounts,
Boko Haram has killed more than 10,000
people and is spreading into neighboring
countries. Shekau’s latest action may
finally summon a U.S. response: he has
publicly aligned his group with ISIS, the
terrorist group that holds territory in Syria
and Iraq and has expanded its reach into
Yemen and Libya.
