A preliminary overview of ICT use in the Boko Haram conflict: A cyberconflict perspective

Abstract

This paper examines the use of information and communication technologies by the Boko Haram Islamist movement. While scholarly research on Boko Haram has developed in the last few decades, there is still a lack of research relating to crucial aspects of the conflict including the insurgents’ increasing uses of ICT. This paper uses the Cyberconflict conceptual tool to understand Boko Haram’s use of ICTs and contends that the use of digital media is particularly instrumental in the movement’s guerrilla-style warfare. Salient attributes of Boko Haram’s digital culture includes the use of the ICTs for information sharing, propaganda and psychological operations. Specifically, the study employed a qualitative approach relying on desk-based research, a combination of primary and secondary data and thematic analysis.