War and Displacement – A Nigerian Story

In 1903, the Sokoto caliphate in Northern Nigeria, Niger, and southern Cameroon fell, placing the preceding areas under British control. After the British took control, some of the Muslims in these areas expressed their resistance to Western influences. In 2002, Mohammed Yusuf formed Boko Haram, which in loose translation means western education is a sin. … Read more

Unanticipated consequences of an outbreak: Ebola in West Africa, 1 year later

It was May 25, 2014 when the World Health Organization (WHO) reported its first documented case of Ebola in Sierra Leone. Since then, other countries like Liberia, Guinea and Nigeria have been incessantly fighting the eradication of the deadly virus and preventing its spread to other countries, diminishing the risk of a world-wide pandemic.  Today, … Read more

Critical Analysis: R2P – Whose responsibility is it?

On April 14, 2014 the hashtag #BringBackOurGirls began trending on Twitter as the abduction of 276 Nigerian schoolgirls in Chibok flooded news outlets around the world.  The Islamist group Boko Haram claimed responsibility for the kidnapping, and, with the exception of a few victims who have since escaped, the majority of the girls whereabouts are … Read more

Critical Analysis: The World is Taking Notice of Boko Haram

With the abduction of more than 200 schoolgirls last month, the bombing in a bus station on April 14 that killed 71 and injured 124, and a car bombing on May 1st, the international community is waking up to the horrors of Boko Haram. A militant Islamist group, Boko Haram was initially founded as a … Read more

Critical Analysis: Religiously Motivated Violence Escalates in Nigeria

On Monday, April 7, the University of Denver Sturm College of Law will welcome Nigerian human rights attorney Hauwa Ibrahim. Ibrahim has spent her career protecting woman from the harsh penalties meted out under Shariah law in Nigeria’s northern states such as death by stoning and amputations for stealing. Another area of grave concern in Nigeria … Read more