The Most Famous
EXTREMISTS from Nigeria
This page contains a list of the greatest Nigerian Extremists. The pantheon dataset contains 283 Extremists, 1 of which were born in Nigeria. This makes Nigeria the birth place of the 44th most number of Extremists behind Argentina, and Cuba.
Top 2
The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Nigerian Extremists of all time. This list of famous Nigerian Extremists is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography's online popularity.
1. Abubakar Shekau (1974 - 2021)
With an HPI of 54.90, Abubakar Shekau is the most famous Nigerian Extremist. His biography has been translated into 32 different languages on wikipedia.
Abubakar Mohammed Shekau (23 March 1973 – 19 May 2021) was a Nigerian militant who served as the leader of Boko Haram, an extremist organization based in northeastern Nigeria, from 2009 until his suicide in 2021. He previously served as deputy leader to the group's founder, Mohammed Yusuf, until Yusuf's execution by Nigerian police in 2009. Nigerian authorities believed that Shekau was killed in 2009 during clashes between security forces and Boko Haram until July 2010, when Shekau appeared in a video claiming leadership of the group. He had subsequently been regularly reported dead and was thought to use doubles. Shekau was criticized by human rights advocates for terrorism, bombings, forced conversions and kidnapping. In March 2015 Shekau pledged allegiance to ISIL leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. However, in 2016, ISIS Central tried to replace Shekau with Abu Musab al-Barnawi as leader of the group, causing a split. Shekau's loyalists were called Boko Haram and al-Barnawi's loyalists were known as Islamic State's West Africa Province. Shekau was a Salafi, until 2016, when he ended his relation to ISIL. Relations between Shekau and ISIS declined, and in 2021 ISIS launched a major operation against Shekau and his supporters. Shekau killed himself on 19 May 2021 by detonating a suicide vest during the battle of Sambisa Forest between Boko Haram and Islamic State's West Africa Province. His death was first reported by The Wall Street Journal and was confirmed by Nigerian officials, ISWAP, and his surviving loyalists.
2. Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab (b. 1986)
With an HPI of 34.75, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab is the 2nd most famous Nigerian Extremist. His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.
Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab (Arabic: عمر فاروق عبد المطلب; also known as Umar Abdul Mutallab and Omar Farooq al-Nigeri; born 22 December 1986) popularly referred to as the "Underwear Bomber" or "Christmas Bomber", is a Nigerian terrorist who attempted to detonate plastic explosives hidden in his underwear while on board Northwest Airlines Flight 253, en route from Amsterdam to Detroit, Michigan, U.S. on 25 December 2009. Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) claimed to have organised the attack with Abdulmutallab; they said they supplied him with the bomb and trained him. Connections to al-Qaeda and Anwar al-Awlaki have been found, although the latter denied ordering the bombing. Abdulmutallab was convicted in a U.S. federal court of eight federal criminal counts, including attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction and attempted murder of 289 people. On 16 February 2012, he was sentenced to 4 life terms plus 50 years without parole. He is incarcerated at ADX Florence, the supermax federal prison in Colorado.
People
Pantheon has 2 people classified as Nigerian extremists born between 1974 and 1986. Of these 2, 1 (50.00%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Nigerian extremists include Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab. The most famous deceased Nigerian extremists include Abubakar Shekau. As of April 2024, 1 new Nigerian extremists have been added to Pantheon including Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab.
