Conflict in Nigeria
Boko Haram
International outrage sparked after almost 300 girls were kidnapped by Boko Haram. It started the hashtag, "Bringbackourgirls". That is not the only terror carried out by this powerful terrorist group. In November of 2015, a market in Yola, a northern Nigerian city, was struck by a suicide bomber that killed 34 people. The next day in a populated mobile phone market, two young women strapped with explosives set off the bombs. The blast killed at least 15 people. Both of these gruesome attacks are thought to be associated with Boko Haram. However, the group doesn't usually claim their involvement when these attacks occur. According to the Global Terrorism Index, Boko Haram has killed more people than any other terrorist group. They pledge their allegiance to an Islamic State, and use terror to gain power, recruit, and spread extremist ideas. They first started infiltrating North Nigeria in 2002. They began to capitalize on the oil sales, and take down local government which eventually led to a dangerous insurgence in 2009. The US, as well as other African countries have been helping fuel anti- Boko Haram militant groups to try and pacify the state. However, they are not called "the most dangerous terrorist group" for nothing, and the fight is still happening in Nigeria.
Violence in Nigeria Causes Oil Output to Crash
In February of 2016, one of the most important oil pipelines of Nigeria was attacked by a group called the Niger Delta Avengers. This cost the country $1 billion in oil revenue for the month of May. That incident was not isolated. More attacks on the Niger Delta have interfered with 90,000 barrels of oil, which led to massive power outages in Nigeria. The workers had to evacuate their stations, which stopped production completely. Their oil production has slowed to 1.7 million barrels, which is the lowest its been in 20 years. That puts them behind Angola as Africa's top oil producers.