2009 Boko Haram Uprising The 2009 Boko Haram Uprising was a conflict between Boko Haram , a militant Islamist group and Nigerian security forces . Violence across several states in northeastern Nigeria left over 1 , 000 dead , with around 700 killed in the city of Maiduguri alone , according to one military official . A government inquiry later found that , while long - standing tensions existed between Boko Haram and the Nigerian Security forces , the immediate cause of the violence stemmed from an incident in which a group of the sect ' s members were stopped by police in the city of Maiduguri as they were on the way to the cemetery to bury a comrade . The officers , part of a special operation aimed at stamping out violence and rampant crime in Borno State , demanded that the young men comply with a law requiring motorcycle passengers to wear helmets . They refused and , in the confrontation that followed , several were shot and wounded by police . According to initial media reports the violence began on 26 July when Boko Haram launched an attack on a police station in Bauchi state , with clashes between militants and the Nigeria Police Force spreading to Kano , Yobe and Borno soon after . However President Umaru Yar ’ Adua disputed this version of events , claiming that government security forces had struck first . “ I want to emphasize that this is not an inter - religious crisis and it is not the Taliban group that attacked the security agents first , no . It was as a result of a security information gathered on their intention . . . to launch a major attack , ’ ’ he said . Nigerian troops surrounded the home of Ustaz Mohammed Yusuf in Maiduguri on 28 July after his followers barricaded themselves inside . At the time , it was the worst violence the country had experienced since November 2008 . Islam online suggests that politics , not religion , was the cause of the violence . However some people , including Christian pastor George Orjih , were reportedly murdered specifically because they refused to convert to Islam . Prior to the clashes , many local Muslim leaders and at least one military official had warned the Nigerian authorities about Boko Haram . Those warnings were reportedly ignored . Bauchi . On 26 July , over fifty people were killed and several dozen were injured in Bauchi when a gun - battle erupted as a police station was attacked by seventy Nigerian Boko Haram gang members who possessed grenades and guns . 32 Boko Haram militants were killed in the fighting , along with a soldier . The government claimed that 39 militants had been killed , and confirmed the death of a soldier . The attack was carried out following the detainment of the gang ' s leaders . Security forces then retaliated by raiding the group ' s neighbourhoods . Isa Yuguda , State Governor of Bauchi , commented : " We have pre - empted the militants . Otherwise the situation would have been bad . I ' m calling on all the people of Bauchi to be calm and be rest assured the situation has been brought under control . " A night time curfew was declared in the aftermath and police maintained a visible profile . Businesses were still open in the area . Maiduguri . 100 bodies were reported to be found beside police headquarters in Maiduguri . Hundreds of people are leaving their homes there to escape the violence . A jailbreak was also reported but this has not yet been confirmed . Several civilian corpses lie on the city ' s streets ; many were shot dead after being pulled from cars . The country ' s army and police are on patrol and firing . On 28 July , Army soldiers reportedly launched an offensive on the compound of sect leader Mohammed Yusuf and a nearby mosque used by his followers in the Borno state capital of Maiduguri . Troops shelled Mohammed Yusuf ' s home in the city after Yusuf ' s followers barricaded themselves inside . Shots rained across the city . On 30 July , Nigerian security forces killed 100 Boko Haram militants in fighting in Maiduguri . Security forces fought their way into a Mosque occupied by militants and raked the inside with machine gun fire . Elsewhere , Military and Police forces engaged militants in house to house fighting . It was initially reported that among them was Boko Haram vice - chairman Abubakar Shekau , but that has since been proven false as video has appeared of Shekau since . Nigerian policemen were also killed . Maidguri was declared secure , and Nigerian forces began setting up mortar positions to shell the remaining enemy compound . On 30 July , Ustaz Mohammed Yusuf , leader of Boko Haram , was captured by Nigerian security forces and was shot dead while in police custody , possibly while attempting to escape . On 2 August , another group of women and children abducted by the Boko Haram sect were found locked in a house in Maiduguri . The military said 700 people were killed in Maiduguri during the clashes . The Red Cross later said that 780 bodies had been taken from the streets of the city and buried in mass graves . Potiskum . A gun - battle lasting several hours took place in Potiskum where a police station was set alight and burnt to the ground by militants using fuel - laden motorcycles , killing a police officer and a fire safety officer . Police engaged the fighters and wounded several . Police arrested twenty - three fighters in response . According to Nigerian sources , 43 Boko Haram fighters were killed in a shootout near the city on 30 July . Wudil . Three people were killed in an attack in Wudil , leading to over thirty - three arrests . Wudil ' s senior police officer was injured .