The rise of Boko Haram

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service.We hear how Norwegian teachers resisted peddling Nazi propaganda during the German occupation of the Second World War and our guest, Dr Rachel Pistol, talks us through other exampl ...  Show more

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service.We hear how a French curator uncovered lost documents showing that the Nazis researched the Bayeux Tapestry during World War Two. Our guest, Professor Catherine Clarke, takes us th ...  Show more

How a small Nigerian Islamist group launched one of the deadliest insurgencies in Africa. In 2002, a new radical sect emerged in Maiduguri in north eastern Nigeria led by a charismatic preacher, Mohammed Yusuf. He preached against anything he deemed un-Islamic or having a western ...  Show more

In 2014, Boko Haram militants drove into Gwoza in north-east Nigeria and began an assault that would leave hundreds of people dead.Ruoyah, who was just 14, hid in her house for eight hours under continuous fire. She says when she finally opened the door to leave her house she say ...  Show more

Over the past 14 years Boko Haram has wreaked havoc in Nigeria and neighbouring countries. The group gained international notoriety with the kidnapping of more than 200 schoolgirls in Nigeria in 2014 which sparked the ‘Bring Back Our Girls campaign’. Their attacks also spread to ...  Show more

Boko Haram is one of the largest Islamist militant groups in Africa, with Nigeria’s ongoing battle with insurgent groups and government corruption threatening the stability and political integrity of Africa’s most populous state. But who exactly are Boko Haram? In this episode of ...  Show more