African securityCanada designates Boko Haram a terrorist organization

Nigerian states (in green) that have experienced Boko Haram activity 2010-2013 // Source: commons.wikimedia.org

Canada, under its Criminal Code, has designated Boko Haram as a terrorist organization. The United States did so three weeks ago.

The Canadian government also listed the Caucasus Emirate, a Dagestan-based Islamist group, as a terrorist organization. The group is blamed for the recent bombings in Volgograd.

“Boko Haram is an organization that is responsible for over 300 attacks in Northern Nigeria, which have resulted in the deaths of over 1,000 people,” Canadian Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, Steven Blaney, said.

“The actions of Boko Haram and the Caucasus Emirate meet the legal threshold set out in the Criminal Code, which requires the existence of reasonable grounds to believe that the entity has knowingly participated in or facilitated a terrorist activity or is knowingly acting on behalf of, at the direction of, or in association with such an entity,” Blaney said.

In a statement, the Department Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness said that “The Government of Canada is keeping our streets and communities safe. Listing terrorist entities facilitates the prosecution of perpetrators and supporters of terrorism, as well as countering terrorist financing.”

As a result of the designation, the assets of the groups and anyone associated with them in Canada will be “seized and forfeited.”

The department’s statement continued: “There may be severe penalties for persons and organizations that deal in the property or finances of a listed entity. In addition, it is a crime to knowingly participate in, or contribute to any activity of a listed entity for the purpose of enhancing the ability of the entity to facilitate or carry out a terrorist activity.”

AllAfrica reports that rights groups have blamed Boko Haram for the death of more than 4,000 people mostly in the northern part of Nigeria.

Boko Haram launched its insurgency against the Nigerian federal government in 2009, with the goal of placing three states in northeast Nigeria under Sharia law. Another goal of the Islamist group is the abolition of Western education in Nigeria.

The United States, in addition to designating Boko Haram a terrorist organization, has declared the leader of the group, Abubakar Shekau, as the ninth most wanted person in the world, and placed a $7 million reward on his head.

The Nigerian military believes Shekau might be dead after sustaining grievous injuries in a shootout with rival members of the group who viewed him as too extreme (see “Boko Haram leader deposed following cease-fire agreement with Nigerian government,” HSNW, 6 August 2013). YouTube videos of him have surfaced after the supposed date of his supposed demise, but it is not possible to ascertain when these videos were made. Analysts say his followers may be releasing older videos in order to keep the current leadership of the group on its toes.