Boko Haram is a Nigerian Islamic group whose name means forbidden education (understood by local Hausa dialect to really mean "Western education [or karatun boko] is a sin"). They are reported to have urged followers in several northern states of Nigeria to attack police stations, prisons and churches and burn down schools in an attempt to enforce extreme Sharia and rid the country of all Western education. It is also reported that the group has ties to Afghanistan. For more information see Wikipedia's article: Boko Haram