Ethnic violence in Nigeria has set Muslim against Christian and neighbor against neighbor. For extremist groups like Boko Haram, it is a holy war. For many Nigerians, it is part of a senseless fight for survival in a society where economic and political corruption is rampant. In Nigeria’s national politics, Christian anxieties about Muslim domination of the national political space and the accompanying fear that politically dominant Muslims would use their privileged perch to Islamize national institutions and impose Islamic Sharia law on non-Muslims is a major issue. Muslims, especially those from Northern Nigeria, for their part, have sought to fend off what they regard as unbridled Westernization and have sporadically sought refuge in parochial religious reforms. In this study, we try to recontextualise the Boko Haram crises from a linguistic historical view point. Data for the study were sourced from online media of two media outfits: Vanguard and Daily Trust newspapers. The study reveals prevalence of eth nic clashes emanating from the projection of religious ideology.