Fighting between security forces and Boko Haram militants left over 185 people dead in Baga in Borno state; the militants used civilians as human shields. Authorities charged Kabiru Sokoto with masterminding the Boko Haram attack on a Catholic church in Abuja on Christmas Day 2011 in which 37 people were killed. Boko Haram has killed some 3,000 people in Nigeria over the past few years. Suspected Boko Haram militants shot and killed three government education officials in Borno state.
