A sharia high court in Nigeria on Jan. 6 sentenced cleric Abdulaziz Dauda and nine others to death by hanging for committing blasphemy against the Islamic Prophet Muhammad. The prosecution claimed that Duada, a preacher also known as Abdul Inyass, stated that the Sheikh Ibrahim Niasse, the founder of a rival sect, enjoyed a larger following in the region than Muhammad. The prosecution further asserted that Dauda and his disciples incited people to religious violence. The trial took place behind closed doors to avoid public protest.

The Hague Court of Appeals ruled Dec. 18 that Royal Dutch Shell can be sued in a Dutch court for their involvement in oil spills in Nigeria. The ruling stems from a suit brought by four Nigerian farmers that claimed Shell and its Nigerian subsidiaries were responsible for oil leaks leading to their lands being damaged. In a statement explaining their reasoning for their decision, the Court of Appeals said, "It cannot be established in advance that the parent company is not liable for possible negligence of the Nigerian operating company."

Human rights advocates are demanding an investigation following a Nigerian army raid on a Shi'ite sect in which hundreds of followers were reportedly killed in Zaria, a city in north-central Kaduna state. Details of the Dec. 12 raid are still sketchy, with the three attacked areas of the city still sealed off by security forces. A local journalist said he counted more than 800 bodies brought to the city morgue. A spokesman for the sect, Ibrahim Musa, said that as many as 1,000 of its members had been killed, and accused the army of covering up the death toll, saying that soldiers had been taking the bodies of the dead to an "unknown destination." The army has only confirmed it had arrested Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky, leader of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria, and his wife. More have reportedly been killed as follwers of the sect have attempted to protest in defiance of the curfew since the massacre.

At least 32 people were killed and dozens more wounded in a Nov. 17 blast at a crowded vegetable market in the northeastern Nigerian city of Yola, capital of war-torn Adamawa state. Yola was also the scene of an Oct. 24 mosque bombing that left 27 dead. These are but the latest in a relentless campaign of terror attacks by Boko Haram that has left over 1,600 dead in Nigeria and neighboring Chad and Cameroon over the past four months. (Al Jazeera, Nov. 17) The new attack comes just as a Nigerian online activist has won acclaim in his country for calling out Facebook's double standards on which terrorist attacks warrant attention. Activst Jafaar Jafaar in a popular post noted the prodigious attention Facebook is devoting the Paris terrorist attacks that have left 130 dead—with a "Safety Check" feature for residents of the city, and a campaign by users to superimpose the French tricolor over their profile pictures. Jafaar especially made note of the January attack at the town of Baga, in Nigeria's northeastern Borno state, in which an estimated 2,000 were killed—eliciting no such response from Facebook. (News24, Nigeria, Nov. 17)

One day before the horrific Paris attacks, some 40 people were killed and more than 180 wounded in twin suicide attacks in a crowded suburb of Beirut. The coordinated blasts struck a Shi'ite community center and a nearby bakery in the commercial and residential district of Borj al-Barajneh. The attacks were claimed in the name of ISIS. (Al Arabiya News, Nov. 12) Less than 24 hours later, the Parisian terror began to unfold—leaving at least 120 dead as a concert hall, sports stadium and restaurants were targeted with bombs and bullets. Eight of the attackers are dead in what appear to have been France's first suicide attacks. (BBC News, France24) In Europe and America, ugly responses are already in witness...

President Barack Obama formally notified Congress Oct. 14 that 90 US troops have been mobilized to Cameroon—the first contingent of a 300-strong force to assist in the struggle against Boko Haram. The force will conduct airborne intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, but will not participate in ground combat operations (except in self-defense). Unarmed surveillance drones will also be deployed. The Pentagon said the move came at the invitation of Cameroon's government, which has been headed by strongman Paul Biya since 1982. Cameroon is part in a joint regional task force to fight Boko Haram along with Chad, Niger and Benin. (Foreign Policy, VOA, BBC News, AP, Oct. 14)

At least five suicide bombers on Oct. 10 targeted a village in Chad that is home to thousands of Nigerians who have fled Boko Haram violence, killing at least 36 people and wounding about 50 others in co-ordinated attacks. Authorities blamed Boko Haram for staging the attacks in the village of Baga Sola, near the Nigerian border. Nearly half of the dead resulted when two female suicide bombers hit the village market when it was at its busiest. The following day, two female suicide bombers carried out the attacks in the Cameroon village of Kangaleri, again targeting a market district and killing nine. Both western Chad and northern Cameroon hosts thousands of Nigerian refugees. Another 1.5 million are internally displaced within Nigeria. (AFP, CBC, Sahara Reporters, Anadolu Agency)

A report (PDF) released Sept. 16 by Amnesty International (AI) details the atrocities committed by Boko Haram in northern Cameroon, resulting in the killing of some 400 civilians since January 2014. The report details the extensive human rights violation, including shootings and suicide bombings, which have largely targeted civilians. Boko Haram has reportedly recruited child soldiers and destroyed private and religious property. The report states that it appears that the acts of terror are a part of a "systematic...attack against the civilian population across north east Nigeria and the Far North of Cameroon." The report also discusses the response by security forces, which AI labeled as "heavy-handed," as security forces have arrested and detained more than 1,000 civilians. The poor conditions of the detention facilities have led to overcrowding and, in some cases, death.