Anonymous vs Boko Haram: Amnesty International Answer OpNigeria II Call to Arms

Global charity Amnesty International has issued a statement addressing the Anonymous collective's declaration of war against the "evil Jihadi group" Boko Haram.

In a statement sent to the International Business Times UK, an Amnesty International spokesperson clarified that the charity would be willing to use data sent by the hacktivist Anonymous collective - should it be able to confirm its authenticity.

News of Anonymous' war against Boko Haram broke on Monday via a statement posted on Pastebin. In it an individual claiming to speak for Anonymous clarified that the collective would look to work with groups such as Amnesty International to bring members of Boko Haram to justice.

Responding to the statement Amnesty International clarified it would be would be willing to use the information, should it be able to verify its authenticity: "Anyone is able to submit information to Amnesty International though we need to verify and investigate any such information for ourselves before using it in any of our material or recommendations," read the statement.

Entitled OpNigeria II, the new Anonymous operation looks to target the Jama'atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda'awati wal-Jihad (People Committed to the Propagation of the Prophet's Teachings and Jihad) - a fragmented group commonly referred to as Boko Haram.

Following the attack pattern previously seen in the collective's ongoing anti-nazi OpBlitzkrieg campaign, OpNigeria II will see Anonymous hackers target Boko Haram's networks and emails, publishing all the data taken on the central www.BokoHaramLeaks.tk site.

"We will use this database we create, and along with Amnesty International we will provide evidence to the ICC in the Hague. If the Nigerian government can not catch and bring to justice these despicable people, then Anonymous and the world will," read Anonymous' statement.

The statement listed the group's involvement in numerous bombing campaigns as its prime motivation for the operation. Following the collective's anti-violence message, Amnesty International was quick to mirror Anonymous' sentiment commenting:

"With regard to Boko Haram. Amnesty International calls on them to stop all bomb attacks. It also calls on the Nigerian authorities to invest in and reform the criminal justice system to ensure that the perpetrators are brought to justice and to prevent further attacks."

Boko Haram is a Nigerian militant Islamist group with the central ideology that: "Anyone who is not governed by what Allah has revealed is among the transgressors" - an idea the group has interpreted to mean it is forbidden for Muslims to take part in any political or social activity in Western society.

Under the leadership of Mohammed Yusuf the group was originally fairly unified, with a central base in the north-eastern city of Maiduguri. However, following their leader's arrest and death in 2009 the group broke apart into fragmented cells, each with their own nuances and beliefs. In its statement Anonymous did not name which areas or cells of Boko Haram it would specifically be targeting.