On June 21, 2012, the State Department named three alleged leaders of Boko Haram as Specially Designated Global Terrorists.  The move freezes any U.S.-based assets held by Abubakar Shekau, Abubakar Adam Kambar and Khalid al-Barnawi, and prohibits anyone in the U.S. from engaging in transactions with them. State stopped short of formally listing the entire group on its Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) list, a move praised by Nigerian officials and foreign policy experts who believe doing so will cause more harm than good. “These designations demonstrate the United States’ resolve in diminishing the capacity of Boko Haram to execute violent attacks,” the State Department said in a press release.

While State did not say why the entire group was not given a FTO label, some analysts contend that doing so would discourage political solutions that address the economic and social grievances that underlie Boko Haram’s campaign against the Nigerian government. Boko Haram, which means “Western education is sin” in the Hausa language commonly spoken in northern Nigeria, is believed to have a number of factions with differing aims. Academic experts on Africa sent a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in May urging her not to designate Boko Haram as a terrorist group, saying such a move could backfire by giving the group disproportionate attention and increase the group’s reputation among potential recruits. “An FTO designation would internationalize Boko Haram’s standing and enhance its status among radical organizations elsewhere,” the letter said.