The militant Islamist group Boko Haram has issued an ultimatum giving Christians living in northern Nigeria three days to leave the area amid a rising tide of violence there . A Boko Haram spokesman , Abul Qaqa , also said late Sunday that Boko Haram fighters are ready to confront soldiers sent to the area under a state of emergency declared in parts of four states by Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan on Saturday . `` We will confront them squarely to protect our brothers , '' Abul Qaqa said during a telephone call with local media . He also called on Muslims living in southern Nigeria to `` come back to the north because we have evidence they will be attacked . '' Recent weeks have seen an escalation in clashes between Boko Haram and security forces in the north-eastern states of Borno and Yobe , as well as attacks on churches and assassinations . Nearly 30 people were killed on Christmas Day at a Catholic church near the federal capital , Abuja -- a sign that Boko Haram is prepared to strike beyond its heartland . Human rights activist Shehu Sani told CNN that the latest Boko Haram threat is credible , but many Christians born and raised in the north have nowhere else to go . `` The killings will continue , '' he said , and Boko Haram may respond to the state of emergency by taking its campaign of violence to areas not yet affected . Sani said the state of emergency and an enhanced presence of the security forces would not improve the situation , alleging that troops had already been involved in human rights abuses and had done little to reduce violence . Nigeria has almost equal numbers of Christian and Muslims , with the south predominantly Christian . Boko Haram and other Islamic groups claim the north has been starved of resources and marginalized by the government of Jonathan , who is a Christian . Boko Haram ( which according to the group means `` Western civilization is forbidden '' ) is demanding the imposition of Islamic sharia law across Nigeria . Christian leaders have demanded a stronger response to the attacks from the government and the Muslim community . Ayo Oritsejafor , head of the Christian Association of Nigeria , complained last week that the response of Islamic leaders had been `` unacceptable and an abdication of their responsibilities . '' `` The Christian community is fast losing confidence in government 's ability to protect our rights , '' Oritsejafor said . David Cook of Rice University , who has studied the rise of Boko Haram , said that `` if radical Muslim violence on a systematic level were to take hold in Nigeria ... it could eventually drive the country into a civil war . '' Corruption , poverty and a lack of government services have helped Boko Haram gain support , especially among young Muslims out of work . So has a perception that the Muslim north has been marginalized by a political establishment drawn largely from the Christian south . Cook says the group has been responsible for at least 45 major attacks , which have included assassinations -- frequently using gunmen on motorbikes -- and , more recently , suicide bombings beyond its northern heartland . Beyond the security forces and Christian targets , it has assassinated Muslim clerics who oppose the group , and even killed a prominent Boko Haram member who had attended talks to explore a truce . Boko Haram 's presence in the city of Maiduguri has made it almost ungovernable , according to analysts . Its ability to inflict mass casualties has grown fast . In August , a suicide bomber struck the U.N. building in Abuja , killing 23 people . In November , some 150 people were killed in a series of bombings and shootings in Damaturu , capital of Yobe state . The commander of U.S. Africa Command , Gen. Carter Ham , has suggested Boko Haram may have developed links with other Islamic jihadist groups in the region , especially al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb . Sani agrees , and says Boko Haram 's leaders have established sanctuaries across the desert borders in Niger and Chad , out of reach of the Nigerian security forces . The former U.S. ambassador in Nigeria , John Campbell , says that Boko Haram is able to finance itself `` through bank robberies and is arming itself by thefts from government armories and purchases -- there is no shortage of weapons on the market . '' Less than two months ago , President Jonathan described attacks by Boko Haram as a temporary setback , which would soon be a thing of the past . Now he appears to see the group as a lethal threat that demands the full attention of the security services . But since Yusuf 's death , Boko Haram has had no obvious leader or structure , and appears to act as loosely connected cells . And it is feeding on deep-seated grievances that the government seems unable to address . Cook warns that `` as more and more territories become ungovernable , such as Maiduguri , then Muslims more and more will want to join Boko Haram , if only because it represents the one group that can actually project power and hold out the illusion of security to the people . ''
Boko Haram 's fighters are ready to confront soldiers sent to the area , a spokesman says . Human rights activist Boko Haram 's tells Boko Haram that many Islamist have nowhere else to go . An announced state of emergency will not help , a rights activist says . Shehu Sani ability to inflict mass casualties has grown quickly .