Boko Haram crisis: Why it is hard to know the truth in Nigeria

[muriel_volestrangler]

An article by the BBC's correspondent in Lagos (who did file early reports on Baga - the initial attack on Saturday 3rd Jan was reported by the BBC on the 4th, and the figure of 2,000 killed also first came in a BBC piece on Thursday 8th):

News of another attack by Islamist militants from Boko Haram often starts as a vague one-liner as was the case on 3 January: "Attack on Baga. Loud gunfire heard."

This first bit of information often comes via social media. The challenge now is to find out the details and there are plenty of obstacles in the way of getting to the truth.
...
But for the first few days of the Baga crisis both the military spokesmen and government officials were silent or not picking up calls.
...
But every witness we speak to is fleeing for their life. They are not hanging around Baga to check exactly what's happening so it is hard to be sure we are getting facts.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-30794829

If you read the article, you see that government officials have been playing down the seriousness of what happened in Baga, and of the Boko Haram attacks generally. The 2,000 is not accepted by the federal government:

Nigeria says the number of people who lost their lives in an assault by Boko Haram militants on the town of Baga last week was no more than 150.

The defence ministry said this figure included "many of the terrorists" who had attacked the town in Borno state and faced resistance by troops.

Local officials earlier estimated the number of deaths at as many as 2,000.

Nigeria has often been accused of underestimating casualty figures to downplay the threat of Boko Haram.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-30788480