Boko Haram 'Inside Nigeria's Unholy War' by Mike Smith

Even Al-Qaeda has criticized the mindless killing of their fellow Muslims and many civilians by regional groups.

When you are being called out by the most renowned terrorist group for being disingenuous to the global cause then I guess everyone else can question the validity of their so-called 'cause.'

What it comes down to is that this group is fuelled by greed and the pleasure of committing violence.

The boys and men who are recruited to join, do so because they are interested foremost in financial gain.

The Nigerian President and the government claim that they are trying to cease the violence, but say that the members of the group are faceless ghosts. They stand accused of using military raids to try to flush them out, and yet in doing so harm and kill many innocent civilians.

I think the book could have done with a little more structure from a chronological point of view. I understand wanting to try and give some historical details or an overview to be able to comprehend how and why certain events have taken place, but it was a wee bit all over the place.

However the main focus is and should be this monstrous group of terrorists, which is holding Nigeria and innocent people to ransom, Smith makes valid points about specific connections to other terrorist groups, the corruption of police and state, and the lack of help from other countries.

As the title rightly says this isn't a holy war, because Boko Haram is driven by greed and not by religion.
I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley.