ISIS has largely been defeated in the Middle East. But the dream of establishing an Islamist caliphate is alive and well in West African nations such as Nigeria.
Tuesday, May 14, marked the second year that 16-year-old Leah Sharibu will have a birthday as a captive of the ISIS group knows as Boko Haram. Leah was one of 110 high-school girls kidnapped by a faction of Boko Haram on Feb. 19, 2018. Young Leah famously refused to renounce her Christian beliefs at gunpoint. Reportedly 104 of the girls were ransomed into freedom a month later, and five were reported as murdered in the attack.
Terrorism in Nigeria has taken a heavy toll, yet the Western media hardly takes notice, prompting some citizen journalists to raise awareness themselves with their cell phones and laptops. More than 800 people were murdered in the first four months of 2019 — including 100 killed in the month of April alone — according to Intersociety, a nonprofit organization in the region.