web viewhe appealed to traditional and community leaders to watch what happens in their domains,

Curfew in Bauchi, North East Nigeria Over Religious Clash

AFP20090727614002 Abuja Hot FM in English 26 Jul 09

A curfew lasting from 9 PM to 6 AM has been imposed on Bauchi Town following violent clashes between the members of the Boko Haram Fundamentalist Islamic Group and the police which have left at least 100 people dead.

The clashes occurred after dozens of men armed with guns and explosives attacked a police station.

They were repelled and security forces responded by attacking a settlement on the edge of the city, reports said.

Authorities said the militants belonged to Boko Haram, a group that wants Shari 'ah law imposed across Nigeria.

Islamic law has been in effect in the state of Bauchi since 2001.

Briefing newsmen at his residence, Bauchi State governor, Alhaji Isah Yuguda, the success of the killer group called for celebration.

Yuguda called on his colleagues from other states to be aware of this deadly group and pleaded with law abiding citizens to go about their normal business.

The Boko Haram Religious Group is a fundamentalist Islamic sect based in Maiduguri, Borno State with the agenda of eradicating western education and value through jihad.

Their presence in Bauchi was noticed when they attack a police station at Dutsen Datch and all their leaders were killed.

[Description of Source: Abuja Hot FM in English - privately owned, independent radio]

Nigeria: Clash Between Police, Islamist Group Claims 42 Lives in Bauchi State

AFP20090727583010 Isheri Nigerian Compass Online in English 2300 GMT 26 Jul 09

[Report by Theophilus Remi: "Scores Killed in Police, Fundamentalists' ClashGovt Declares 9pm - 6am �CurfewOnovo Ordered To Restore Law and Order"]�

Scores of people were killed yesterday in Bauchi in a gun duel between security forces and a radical Islamist group, Boko Haram. The clash, which... dislodged many from their homes, came less than six months after a sectarian battle between Muslims and Christians claimed at least four lives.

Dozens of people, who attacked the Dutsen Tanshi Police Station in Bauchi, the state capital, were repelled and many seized by the anti-riot policemen deployed to keep the peace.

Many resident-settlers have fled to army barracks for fear that the crisis might again turn sectarian.

Bauchi police spokesman, Mohammed Barau, said the militants belonged to Boko Haram, a group seeking the imposition of sharia law across the country.

Islamic law has been in operation in the state since 2001.

A nurse in a government hospital, Awwal Isa, alleged that as many as 42 people were killed in yesterday's clash.

One of the dead was a soldier, according to the nurse. Scores of people were also reported to have been injured.

The police spokesman said the situation had been brought under control and that members of the gang were being detained.

One gang member, who gave his name as Abdullah, said yesterday's attack on the police barracks was a reprisal.

He said the group had retaliated because authorities had been arresting its leaders.

The man was also quoted as saying that the group wanted to "clean the (Nigerian) system which is polluted by Western education and uphold sharia all over the country."

Investigation by the Nigerian Compass revealed that the notorious fundamentalists had in the past created panic in the state.

They had questioned the rationale behind the introduction of compulsory education in the state, saying the people should be given freedom to choose and practice their religion the way they dim fit.

For months, the Malam Isa Yuguda-led administration had been preventing them from demonstrating publicly to avoid a total breakdown of law and order.

Reports said that the fundamentalists had in their hundreds trooped to the police station in the early hours of yesterday, chasing away the few officers on duty.

They destroyed everything in sight, except the armoury, which was secured when they struck.

The fleeing policemen had made a distress call to the command headquarters from where a reinforcement was dispatched to dislodge the rampaging fundamentalists.

Infuriated by the rioters' action, the combined military and police patrol teams went round the villages within the Bauchi neighbourhood to rout the fundamentalist's from their camps.

The police spokesman, who confirmed the arrests of more than 100 of them, also informed that the Minister of Police Affairs, Ibrahim Yakubu Lame, has ordered the acting Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Ogbonnaya Onovo, to ensure peace and security of lives and properties of innocent citizens across the country.

According to him, the minister stressed the Federal Government's commitment to freedom of religion and that it would not allow the fundamentalists to cause a breach of the law in any part of the country.

Many people condemned the act in strong term, saying it is wrong for any one to attack the police whose duty is to protect lives and properties.

The Director of Press Affairs to the Governor, Mohammed Maigari Khanna, and other top government functionaries were seen at the Police Command Headquarters, yesterday.

Meanwhile, the state government has imposed a dusk to dawn curfew on the state.

It will run from 9pm to 6am during which security agents are to maintain law and order.

[Description of Source: Isheri Nigerian Compass Online in English -- Website of the privately owned newspaper close to former Rivers State Governor Peter Odili; URL: http://www.compassnewspaper.com]

Xinhua: Clashes Between Police, Muslims Armed Youth Escalate in Two Nigerian States

CPP20090727968188 Beijing Xinhua in English 1339 GMT 27 Jul 09

[Xinhua: "Clashes Between Police, Muslims Armed Youth Escalate in Two Nigerian States"]

[Computer selected and disseminated without OSC editorial intervention]

LAGOS, July 27 (Xinhua) -- The face off between men of the Nigerian police force and some Islamic fundamentalists, popularly called "Boko Haram" in northeast Nigeria's Bauchi State has spread to two neighboring states with an unspecified number of persons killed.

According to local media reports, the armed youths in their hundreds set a police station ablaze in Potiskum, Yobe state, early Monday.

Also in neighboring Borno state, another armed group attacked a police station in the state's capital Maiduguri.

No security officials were available for comment and it was not clear if there were any casualties as at the time of filling this reports.

Earlier, Emmanuel Ojukwu, Police spokesman told Xinhua in a telephone interview in Abuja that normalcy is back in riot hit northeast Nigeria's Bauchi State as everything is back to order and situation has been put under control.

The riot was trigged by some Islamic fundamentalists, popularly called 'Boko Haram' which was said to have been campaigning against anything Western.

It was learnt that members of the sect had been planning a demonstration in Bauchi for a long time but were not given the chance because of the fear by government that their doctrine, if allowed to be preached publicly, would cause religious crisis, considering the fact that the teachings were completely contrary to those of other Islamic sects regarding peaceful coexistence.

About 200 people have been killed and many others seriously injured in the early hours of Sunday, following a renewed religious crisis in northern Nigeria's Bauchi State. Nigeria is a secular country with the population evenly divided between Christians and Muslims.

The northern region with 19 out of the country' s 36 states is predominantly Muslim, while Christians dominate the south.

[Description of Source: Beijing Xinhua in English -- China's official news service for English-language audiences (New China News Agency)]

Nigeria: Bauchi Governor Urges All States To Fight Militants

AFP20090727648002 Abuja AIT Television in English 2300 GMT 26 Jul 09

[For a copy of the video, contact [email protected] or the OSC Customer Center at (800) 205-8615. Selected video also available at OpenSource.gov.]

About 39 members of an Islamist sect called Boko Haram have been killed in Bauchi, northeast Nigeria. This followed a raid Sunday [ 26 July] of a team of army and police personnel on the operations and training camps of the sect located in strategic places within the state capital. AIT's Teve Tiav has the details. However, the visual you are about to see may be disturbing.

[Begin recording] [Tiav] A briefing by police authorities about the raid had been postponed by 24 hours. But a police report spotted by AIT says that only 39 members of the extremist Islamist sect known as Boko Haram were killed. Sixteen sustained injuries, and 176 were arrested in the raid by security operatives. Those scores of dead bodies were ferried to the state police headquarters from the scenes of the raid before they were taken to the hospital mortuary. AIT confirmed that the raid followed an attack by members of the sect on the Dutse township divisional police headquarters in Bauchi in the early hours

of Sunday. An eyewitness, Bala Saleh, narrates what happened when AIT visited the affected police station.

[Saleh] At 0530 in the morning, when I finished my subh prayer, so when I come to open my door, I hear some gunshots. When I come back from [words indistinct] I saw one of the policemen here, here, using his gun, shooting, how do they call it. Taliban or Boko Haram were moving there around the police station. They want to burn the police station. Taliban has a gun [words indistinct], bomb, guns, arrows, and everything. Come to the police station. The police say that they should move back; they should move back. They wouldn't move. They were coming, and then using Allahu Akbar [God is Great], Allahu Akbar here, So from that time, there has been shooting, shooting, shooting here.

[Tiav] The operating base and training camps of the Islamic sect raided by a team of police and army personnel allocated by the Bauchi airport, Gudun, and on Yelwa hills surrounding Bauchi metropolis. Several items were recovered, including vehicles, foodstuff, sewing machines, guns, explosives, and ammunitions. Meanwhile, the Bauchi State governor, Isa Yaguda, has confirmed the development, describing the sect as a militant group which is also operating in other states of the federation. He has called on other governors to be on the alert.

[Yaguda] The incident of today is something that is something that is more like a nation case, a national issue. It is not a domestic issue, the issue of militancy. We have been faced with problems of militancy all over the country. And I think that that in Bauchi has its own unique features. And you can see today it was an all-out war. And today, the entire town is in celebration. So, we have to offer thanks to Almighty God. Because they were prepared to attack and eliminate everybody. So, they are not only in Bauchi, they are everywhere in Nigeria. I think we should brace up. All the governors should brace up to clean their states.

[Tiav] The sect is an Islamist group which claims to be opposed to Western education, and is recruiting men, women, and children amongst Muslims to fight its cause, which includes attack on government establishments, especially the police and other security agencies. The group is said to have had plans to eliminate prominent Islamic scholars and imams in Bauchi State. To remain on top of the security situation a 9 p.m. to 6 a.m curfew has been imposed on Bauchi metropolis and its environs. Teve Tiav, AIT [end recording]

Click here to view video.

[Description of Source: Abuja AIT Television in English -- privately owned television]

Nigeria: About 65 Killed as Police Battle Islamists

AFP20090727642001 Paris AFP (World Service) in English 1523 GMT 27 Jul 09

BAUCHI, Nigeria, July 27, 2009 (AFP) - Nigeria's security forces on Monday fought gun battles with radical Islamists who went on a rampage torching churches, police posts and government buildings in four northern states.

Police put the number of dead from the weekend religious clashes at 65 in two states of Bauchi and Yobe, as of early Monday morning.

In Borno state, heavily armed Islamist rebels torched a police headquarters, a church and a customs office in the border town of Gamboru-Ngala overnight before moving to the state capital Maiduguri where battles ran into the afternoon.

A Nigerian Islamist sect styled on Afghanistan's Taliban burnt down a central prison in Maiduguri, two police stations, several churches, a government primary school and offices of a state unemployment bureau.

"The situation has degenerated into big battles between the Taliban ... and the soldiers and police. Since morning, you can hear nothing but gunfire all over the city," resident Sanisu Ahamad told AFP by telephone as sound of gunfire could be heard in the background.

"Many government buildings have been burnt including the central prison and several churches. Streets are deserted. People are in their homes," he said.

Several telecommunications masts have been burnt cutting off many parts of the city.

Maiduguri is the Nigerian Taliban birthplace and stronghold and some neighbourhoods there are seen as Taliban enclaves.

Muhammad Auwal Mujahid told AFP by phone: "Its quite scary, all you hear is frightening sounds from guns."

In Wudil town situated on the outskirts of Kano, the largest city in northern Nigeria, the militants attacked a police station but were repelled in clashes that left three rebels dead, Kano police spokesman Baba Mohammed told AFP.

In Yobe, the militants doused a police station with petrol and set it alight.

"The police station is still burning with billows of dark smoke... coming from the inferno," said resident Ibrahim Bashir.

Nigeria's police chief Inspector-General Ogbonna Onovo earlier told reporters that weekend attacks claimed the lives of 60 militants and five police.

He said the death toll related to clashes in the neighbouring states of Bauchi and Yobe, adding that new fighting was raging in nearby Borno state.

"They (militants) are out there in Maiduguri (Borno) now, battling with the police," Nigeria's police chief told a news conference in the capital Abuja.

Police gave no details of casualties in the attack, but Shafiu Mohammed, a resident said the armed men burned a customs officer to death and slit the throat of an engineer working at the customs complex.

They also set ablaze a police station, a customs post and a church in the border twon.

The fighting broke out Sunday in Bauchi state when police hit back at militants after they attacked a police station at dawn. An AFP reporter said calm had returned to Bauchi by Monday, where a dusk-to-dawn curfew was imposed on Sunday.

The Nigerian Taliban emerged in 2004 in Maiduguri, Borno, before it set up a base -- dubbed Afghanistan -- in Kanamma village in Yobe, on the border with Niger, from where it attacked police outposts and killed police officers.

Membership of the group, which locals call "boko haram" (Hausa for Western education is a sin) is mainly drawn from university dropouts.

The north of Nigeria is majority Muslim, although large Christian minorities have settled in the main towns, raising tensions between the two groups.

Since 1999 and the return of a civilian regime to Nigeria's central government, 12 northern states have introduced Islamic Sharia law.

More than 700 people died last November in Jos, capital of Plateau state, when a political feud over a local election degenerated into bloody confrontation between Muslims and Christians.

Sectarian clashes between Muslims and Christians in Bauchi state killed 14 people in February.

One of the Nigerian Taliban leaders, Aminu Tashe n-Ilimi, told AFP in a 2005 interview that the group intended to lead an armed insurrection and rid society of "immorality" and "infidelity."

[Description of Source: Paris AFP (World Service) in English -- world news service of the independent French news agency Agence France Presse]

Nigeria: Islamic Sect's Clash With Security in Bauchi Leaves Scores Dead

AFP20090727606004 Lagos Ray Power 2 Radio in English 0900 GMT 27 Jul 09

Islamic fundamentalists’ clashed with security operatives in Bauchi State yesterday left about 150 members of the group who also belong to the Taliban dead. Several others were severely injured. The Islamic fundamentalists, known as Boko Haram, first struck the Federal Low-cost Housing Estate in Bauchi and killed military personnel in an exchange of gun fire. The sect, which opposes anything Western, went wild because the state government prevents its members from having their way. Boko Haram detests Western education and some of the members have withdrawn from the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi. The teachings of the sect are said to be completely contrary to those of other Islamic sects on peaceful coexistence. Hundreds of members of the sect trooped to the Dutsen Tanshi police station on 26 July and chased away officers. They vandalized the station but could not break into the armory. The members had been planning a demonstration in Bauchi for a long time but were not granted a permit because of fears that their doctrine, if preached publicly, will cause a religious crisis.

A distress call to command headquarters brought a reinforcement to confront the attackers, some of whom were felled by police bullets and others injured. Police Public Relations Officer, Mohammed Barau, explained that more policemen were deployed to ensure the security of lives and property.

[Begin Barau recording] Our men succeeded in repelling the dawn attack by the Taliban. They wanted to steal weapons from the police station. The situation is now under control. More members of the organization are being arrested. [end recording]

He assured that measures are now in place to prevent the spread of the riot. A team of soldiers and policemen has gone round villages to fish out the fundamentalists who escaped from their base in Bauchi. Several have been arrested, but some are believed to be hiding in the surrounding hills. Weapons recovered from them include an AK47 rifle, assorted ammunition, military uniforms, explosives, sewing machines, power generator, motorcycles, foodstuffs, and roofing sheets.

Police Affairs Minister, Ibrahim Lame, said in as much as the government is committed to the freedom of religion, it will not condone fundamentalism that breaks down law and order.

A locally made bomb yesterday exploded in the home of a hard line Islamist in Maiduguri, killing one, and leaving others in a state of coma. The explosion in Maiduguri happened five hours after the Borno State police command paraded members of a notorious Islamic sect caught with locally made bombs and other explosives. The State Commander of Operation Flush II, a joint security task force set up by the state government, Colonel Ben Ahanotu, described security in Maiduguri as tense. He said for bombs to explode right in the bedroom of a sect member showed that other sect members possess such lethal weapons all over the city. A page of a book with sketches of how to make bomb and explosives was

recovered from the debris in the room, which suggested the bomb might have blown off at the time of coupling.

The sect members had named rival Islamic scholars who oppose their doctrine as targets, and promised to blow off their mosques and other worshiping places. Governor Ali Modu Sheriff described the incident as unfortunate and condemnable and pledged that the government is on top of the situation, and will continue to protect the lives and properties of all residents.

[Description of Source: Lagos Ray Power 2 Radio in English -- privately owned independent radio station]

Nigeria: Bauchi Islamic Crisis Spills Over to Borno, Yobe

AFP20090727606006 Abuja Punch in English 27 Jul 09 p 1

Muslim fanatics early this morning attacked police stations in Borno and Yobe states, killing at least one fireman. This came a day after more than 50 people died in clashes in Bauchi State. The fireman was killed after dozens of militants demanding the adoption of Islamic shari’a law set a police station ablaze in Potiskum, Yobe State. Four police officers were also injured, sources said. In neighboring Borno State, youths believed to be members of the small Islamic group, Boko Haram, attacked a police station in the state‘s capital Maiduguri. It was not clear if there were any casualties. The violence is not connected to unrest in the oil-producing Niger Delta. Boko Haram, a local group that wants shari’a to be imposed throughout Nigeria, began its string of attacks in Bauchi State early on 26 July in retaliation for the arrest of its leaders.

More than 50 people were killed in those clashes, prompting the Bauchi State Governor, Mallam Isa Yuguda, to impose a night time curfew on the capital city. Police arrested more than 100 members after the attack on a Bauchi police station. "Bauchi has been quiet overnight but the militants have struck in Yobe and neighboring states," a police officer, Garba Abubakar said. Bauchi, Yobe, and Borno states are among the 12 of Nigeria’s 36 states that started a stricter enforcement of shari’a in 2000, a decision that has alienated sizeable Christian minorities and sparked bouts of sectarian violence that killed thousands. Clashes in Bauchi in February killed at least 11 people and wounded dozens.

[Description of Source: Abuja Punch in English - independent news daily]

Nigeria: Bauchi Sectarian Clash Claims 157 Lives, Spreads to Neighboring States

AFP20090728568001 Lagos The Guardian Online in English 28 Jul 09

[Report by Njadvara Musa, Ali Garba, Terhemba Daka, Adamu Abuh and Auwal Ahmad: "Sectarian Violence Spreads, 157 Feared Dead in Borno, Kano"]

The sectarian violence, which broke out in Bauchi on Sunday, has spread to Borno and Kano yesterday, claiming over 157 lives.

In Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, over 154 people were killed when armed members of the Islamic fundamentalists sect, Boko Haram, led by Mohammed Yusuf, a cleric, attacked the police headquarters around 10.00 p.m. and burnt 12 offices and quarters of the police and 11 patrol and personal vehicles.

However, the timely intervention of mobile policemen limited the casualty figure in Kano to three.

The Islamic fundamentalists were alleged to be fighting against those who have adopted western values.

In Borno, targets of the armed sect members were the Police Armoury, the Maiduguri New Prison and the life of the commander of the joint border patrol, whose house located at the police headquarters, was still burning as at the time of filing in this report.

Out of the 154 people killed, whose bodies littered the Post Office-Airport Road, there were over 115 members of the sect that used swords, bows and arrows, sticks and petrol bombs in attacking the Police Headquarters.

The police, which were taken by surprise on how the armed sect members got entry into the Police Headquarters, burnt the house of the commander of the joint border patrol and moved to the prison, killing one of the prison warders at the gate, and set all the inmates free.

As the prison inmates fled, some militants, however, abducted and took hostage of Ahmed Silkida, the correspondent of Daily Trust, alleging that he had betrayed the sect by dressing and keeping his bearded face like them without protecting their interest of fighting the Borno State government and its security agents.

In a telephone interview with The Guardian yesterday, Silkida said: "I am right now in the hands of the sect members. You should pray that the commander would release me because they are alleging that I betrayed their mission of waging a jihad against the state government and the Izala religious group".

As at 2.00 p.m. yesterday, six hours after launching the attacks, some of the sect members who escaped the firing power of the police, however, regrouped with arms and took over the entire Abaganaram Ward where the prison is located and the State Low Cost Housing Estate.

The 10-hour Maiduguri clash between the militants and the Operation Flush II, has however, brought business and other economic activities in the state to a halt, as all the streets and roads were deserted by residents, fearing that the crisis might spread to Bulunkutu, Gomari, Customs, Abaganaram and other areas.

Besides, all markets, schools and the Musa Usman Secretariat complex that houses workers with the 18 ministries and parastatals in Maiduguri are to remain closed, awaiting a state-wide broadcast from Governor Ali Sheriff on the sects' clashes with the police.

The Guardian also learnt that the targets of the fundamentalists are government lodges, Operation Flush checkpoints in Maiduguri and Jere metropolis, Police Headquarters and leaders of the Izala religious groups and their mosques located in various parts of Maiduguri.

Confirming the killing of over 154 people, Col. Ben Ahanotu, the commander of Operation Flush II, in a telephone interview said: "Yes, we have got them and gone with their bows and arrows and sticks. The next military action against these armed religious sect, is to destroy their operational points and areas that pose serious threat to lives and property."

While 33 of the militants were nabbed at Wudil, headquarters of Wudil Local Council of Kano State, the police are yet to ascertain whether the remaining 100 arrested at the Mariri area of Kano metropolis at about 1.00 p.m. yesterday were militants or genuine members of the Izala sect who were part of an Islamic peaceful assembly, which took place last weekend in Yola.

As at 3.00 a.m. yesterday, a band of militants comprising nationals of neighbouring Chad had stormed the headquarters of the Wudil Divi sional Police Station with the intent of disarming the policemen on duty.

The policemen put up stiff resistance to the fundamentalists. In the ensuing melee, the militants shot two of the policemen, including the Divisional Police Officer (DPO), Sadiq Inuwa.

A contingent of mobile policemen led by Deputy Commissioner of Police, Lawal Tanko who were placed on the alert at the border post at the Bauchi and Jigawa States sprang into action and gunned down two of the militants who had removed two AK 47 rifles from the Wudil Police Station, about 28 kilometres away from Kano.

Kano police spokesman, Baba Mohammed, confirmed the incident at the Bompai Headquarters of the Kano State Police Command.

Among items paraded were knifes, cutlasses, local charms and personal belongings, including some drugs apparently put to use by the fundamentalists before unleashing mayhem on their victims.

Police Superintendent Baba disclosed that a sizeable number of the fundamentalists most of whom are teenagers, hail from Kano and Borno States, just as he expressed the resolve of the police in Kano to avert a spill over of the Bauchi crises to Kano.

A leader of the fundamentalist who carried out the attack at the Wudil Police Station, Abdulmumuni Ibrahim Mohammed, gave an insight into their motive, saying that the attacks were aimed at the elite who had embraced western values.

Mohammed, who hails from Nasarawa State and claim to have attended secondary school, also expressed opposition to the use of the 1999 Constitution to govern the country as well as urged the implementation of the Sharia legal code.

Following the crisis in Bauchi, the Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIG) in charge of Zone 12, Bauchi, Moses Anegbode, has described the Boko Haram as a criminal group who are parading themselves in the name of religion.

Addressing a press conference yesterday in Bauchi, Anegbode said Boko Haram was a threat to peace .

The AIG disclosed that 39 of the Boko Haram were killed in a confrontation in a joint security operation last Sunday in Bauchi while 176 of them were arrested and 15 injured.

He added that a Lance Corporal in the Army and two policemen were killed in the operations against the group.

According to him, the security operatives went after members of Boko Haram after they attacked a police station in Dutse Tanshi and opened fire during attempts to arrest them at their various hideouts in the Federal Low Cost Estate and Fadama Mada areas.

Anegbode said that in Maiduguri on that same Sunday, some members of the group despite the heavy security, came to a police station on a suicide mission with three motorcycles and sped towards the gate and set it ablaze.

He stated: " They forbid anything western, yet their leader has an array of western materials in their position and their usage. Even the phone, SUVs; I wonder if they were made by him. They are notorious for kidnappings, raping, intimidation and molestation and known to be anti-establishment,"

Anegbode revealed that dangerous weapons such as AK 47, 270 rounds of live ammunition, a single-barrel gun, three locally-made single barrel-guns, two locally-made revolver pistol, five rounds of 7.66 live ammunition, 500 rounds of 7.66 mm live ammunition, and 21 live cartridges were recovered from their enclave in Fadama Mada in Bauchi metropolis.

"The implication of this is that these men are armed with sophisticated guns like pump action guns, revolver pistols, AK 47 and lar rifle recovered from them. The operation is still ongoing. We are doing mop up operation so that these items can be recovered," he added.

According to him, two bags of lethal gun powder used for making explosives, 200 detonators, over 1,000 locally fabricated plastic cylinders that could be used for manufacture of local guns were also recovered from them, describing the items as dangerous substances that could be directed at society.

Meanwhile, Human Rights Writers Association (HURIWA) yeste rday called for urgent implementation of a comprehensive reforms of the nation's intelligence community and the Nigeria police by the Federal Government to prevent the intermittent orgy of violence unleashed by religious fanatics in the country.

The human rights body in a statement endorsed by its national co-ordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko, condemned the violence unleashed by the members of the Boko Haram sect in Bauchi State at the weekend even as it called for a transparent judicial commission of inquiry to unravel the remote and immediate causes of the blood-bath and the prosecution of all perpetrators.

The group traced the recurrent religious violence in the country to the total lack of political will on the part of the Federal and state governments to charge perpetrators of all the previous religious riots to court to serve as deterrent.

HURIWA blamed the failure of intelligence on the part of the Nigeria Police and the State Security Service (SSS) for the escalation in religious and ethnic motivated killings in some parts of the North, including Maiduguri and Bauchi.

Also, seven suspected members of the Taliban group were arrested along Kwami Road in Gombe, the state capital and subjected to intensive interrogation at the Police Criminal Investigation Department.

The state Police Commissioner, Joseph Ahmed Ibi, disclosed this to journalists in Gombe yesterday, saying that the suspects told the police that they were on a mission to Kwami village to see some friends, noting that after investigation, the police would be able to establish whether they were actually going to see some friends as they claimed.

[Description of Source: Lagos The Guardian Online in English -- Website of the widely read independent daily, aimed at up-market readership; URL: http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/]

Video: Nigeria: Police Boss Vows To Arrest Extremist Sect Leaders

AFM20090728651003 Abuja AIT Television in English 1030 GMT 28 Jul 09

[For a copy of the video, contact [email protected] or the OSC Customer Center at (800) 205-8615. Selected video also available at OpenSource.gov.]

The acting inspector general of police, Ogbonna Onovo, on 27 July said the situation is under control in Bauchi State after the sectarian violence that claimed dozens of lives. He added that the police would arrest the leaders of the Boko Haram sect. Click here to view a 92-second video.

[Description of Source: Abuja AIT Television in English -- Privately owned television]

Nigeria: Reports Say Bauchi, Borno, Kano Violence Claim 157 People

AFP20090729614003 Lagos Ray Power in English 0815 GMT 28 Jul 09

[From "Political Platform" anchored by Ohiare Agbonsuremi, Amaechi Anakwe, Mustapha Mohammed, and Eheidu Aniagwu]

The 30 minutes program "Political Platform" started with the highlights of the reports that would be considered during the program before reading the listeners mails.

Ohiare Agbonsuremi started the report section with the heat that was going on with the reported citing of Petroleum University in Kaduna. Though the Petroleum Minister, Dr Rilwanu Lukman, said there was noting wrong with it but the federal government was making some clarifications stating that the Petroleum Training Institute, in Warri remains and it would continue to train middle level manpower and indeed what had been heard is the institute that would be training senior level manpower. He said several questions are following the development. Eheidu Aniagwu recalled that during the Obasanjo era, the federal executive council took a decision to upgrade the Petroleum Training Institute [PTI], Effurum, Delta State to a degree awarding institution, a university, but the federal executive council two weeks ago took another decision that the PTI remain as it were and another institute be established in Kaduna State to training high level manpower. A group an Amalgam of Militants Bodies in the Niger Delta, a joint revolution council, the body in his reaction to the development said they would have bombed the oil firm where Rilwanu Lukman was said to have interest, Afem Energy Resources, but for the respect they have for Aret Adams, former managing director of NNPC [Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation] who was from Delta State who is said to be a partner with Lukman in owning the business, the group’s spokesperson, Cynthia Whiting described Lukman as an ungrateful man for which reason his company must live the region. The South south caucus of the national assembly has also demanded the resignation of Rilwanu Lukman or that he be sacked by President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua for adopting an anti-South south posture. In conjunction with the Amalgam group, they said that the likes of Godsday Orubebe, Minister of state for Niger Delta who is from Delta State, Dizeani Allison-Madueke, from Bayelsa State, the minister of solid minerals; Grace Ephiwhere, another minister from Delta State, and also, minister of state for petroleum, Odein Ajumogobia, minister of state for petroleum from Rivers that they should resign from the federal appointments for been little stooges having failed to speak out at the federal executive council meeting which took the decision of PTI when the area they come from was been shortchanged. But one of them, Godsday Orubebe has denied the relocation report putting it down to the figment of the imagination of certain mischievous politicians and authors of confusion who hen said were desirous of throwing spanners into federal government good work on restoring enduring peace to the oil rich region. Orubebe told newsmen in Asaba, Delta State yesterday that what ever plan the federal government had concerning the upgrading of the petroleum college was without prejudice to planned upgrading of the PTI in Effurum initiated by the government of former President Olusegun Obasanjo. Ohiare Agbonsuremi challenged Orubebe to say more after consultation with Dr Rilwanu Lukman who is the minister of petroleum resources. Recalling what the former Obasanjo administration did regarding the headquarters complex of the Nigerian Ports Authority stating that another government would definitely relocate the institute been built in Kaduna to the area where there is oil which is the Niger Delta region. The presenters expressed worries in incessant wastage of government funds in the name of political decision that use to bring about citing of companies where there are no raw materials recalling the case with the establishment of multiple rolling mills in Katsina, and Osogbo when the raw materials are in Ajaokuta in Kogi State.

Amaechi Anakwe reported that the sectarian violence which started in Bauchi had spread to two other states – Borno and Kano yesterday with 157 lives reported dead in the clashes. According to him, members of the Islamic fundamentalist sect Boko Haram led by their national leader, Mohammed Bishu, attacked the police headquarters around 10 PM and bombed 12 house and quarters of the police and 11 patrol vehicles leaving about 154 people dead in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital but the timely intervention of mobile policemen in Kano made the casualty figure in Kano to be between three and four. Their grouse of the fundamentalist is that western way of life must give way so they are attacking those who have adopted western ways of life, western values, western education campaigning that they should give way for Sharia ‘ah and pure Islamic way of life and education. Target of the members of the sect were police armor and Maiduguri New Prison and the house of the commander of the joint boarder patrol and they succeeded in setting fire to the house. Reports also said bodies were littering major roads in Maiduguri especially the post office and airport road where the sect used bows and arrows and petrol bombs in attacking the police headquarters.

Ohiare Agbonsuremi said President Yar’Adua has ordered the security agents to contain and repel the attacks. The violence is better referred to as sectarian because this sects fight anything called government institution and the security agencies have been directed to nib their action in the bud. He queried where the religious leaders, traditional leaders and security agents were for the group to gather and launch attack before the attack.

The controversy surrounding the communication of President Yar’Adua with Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola on the status of the 37 development areas was the focus of the next report. The president had written to say the state government cannot operate more than the 20 local government councils recognized by the country’s constitution but Governor Fashola has fired back to tell the president that they were at peace in Lagos and whatever happen the councils are not complaining sharing funds with the development centers adding that the president should stay clear. The presenters wondered why the president is re-awakening the case that has been lying low since he assumed office.


Nigeria: Bauchi Governor Lauds Security Bodies' Intervention Following Clash

AFP20090729565004 Abuja Daily Trust Online in English 29 Jul 09

[Report by Muhammad Abubakar: "Boko Haram Sect Would Have Captured Bauchi Yuguda"]�

Members of the Boko Haram sect would have captured the whole of Bauchi town, if the security agencies in the state had not acted swiftly, Governor Isa Yuguda has said.

The clash between the group and police in Bauch State at the weekend left over 40 people dead and added to the major escalation of the crisis across many states in the north.

Governor Yuguda, who was speaking at the monthly interactive session with journalists yesterday, said the group had the capacity to capture the state capital, but for the swift intervention of government and security operatives.

"I commend the security men who sacrificed their lives lying down in trenches from about 4pm up to the morning exchanging fire with these hoodlums. But for their gallantry and the swift measures taken by government, they would have captured this town," he said.

The governor revealed that when he decided on the action to take on learning about the attack, he alerted other governors in the northeast zone to take precaution. He said Northern governors' forum as well as the governors' forum will sit to find lasting solutions to these kind of problems in the region and the country in general.

He said the group's stance that western education is forbidden is a farce because he alleged that its leader, Muhammad Yusuf, has lawyers, sends his children to a private school and enjoys many things that are in one way or the other related to western education.

The governor dismissed claims that activities of the group and other militants in the Niger Delta could be blamed on the country's poor leadership, saying the militants too should be blamed for Nigeria's woes.

[Description of Source: Abuja Daily Trust Online in English -- Website of the independent pro-North daily; URL: http://www.news.dailytrust.com/]

Nigeria: Police Confirm Death of 3 Security Personnel in Bauchi Sectarian Crisis

AFP20090729583002 Lagos This Day Online in English 29 Jul 09

[Report by Segun Awofadeji: "2 Soldiers, 1 Policemen Killed in Bauchi"]

Police Authorities yesterday confirmed that three security personnel, made up of two soldiers and one policeman, were killed during exchange of fire with the notorious Islamic sect, 'Boko Haram' in Bauchi, last Sunday.

Similarly, security had been reinforced within the state, to track down fleeing members of the sect in a mop-up operation.

The confirmation was made by the AIG in charge of Zone 12 of the Nigeria Police Force, Mr Moses Anegbode, while briefing newsmen on happenings in the zone, with particular reference to the operation carried out by Bauchi State Police Command.

He said members of the Islamic sect targeted the Police in their attacks, because as anti-establishment sect, they see the police as a symbol of authority and therefore, the first target when hitting government.

He said members of the sect who see anything western as prohibited, are nothing but criminals masquerading in the name of religion, adding that the Police had no option but to open fire in self defence, after they attacked the Dutsen Tanshi Police Station.

Anegbode also said 176 heavily armed suspects, most of them from Yobe and Borno States, were arrested at DIC, behind Styer Company, at the outskirts of Bauchi, while planning to set the company on fire.

He said items recovered from the hoodlums included two bags of gun powder for making explosives, 200 detonators, 2000 locally made cylinders for making bombs and seven bags of potassium nitrate for making explosives and some food items they were stock piling before launching their attack.

He said all the injured and the dead had been taken to the hospital, while those arrested were being interrogated and will be taken to court as soon as investigations were concluded.

[Description of Source: Lagos This Day Online in English -- Website of the independent daily; URL: http://www.thisdayonline.com]

Police Begin Patrolling in Abuja Following Sectarian Crisis in Northern Nigeria


[Report by Yemi Akinsuyi and Ogochukwu Obiesie: "Police on Red Alert in Abuja"]

There was apprehension at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja yesterday following the sectarian violence in some states in the North.

The police helped to heighten the fear as over 50 police patrol vehicles, including armoured cars, in a convoy paraded selected streets in the city blaring their sirens.

A bloody clash between the police and members of an Islamic fundamentalist group known as Boko Haram ("Education is sin"), left many dead in the early hours of Sunday in Bauchi, and later spread to Kano, Yobe and Borno States.

The militants, opposed to western education, had been campaigning for the imposition of Shariah (Islamic law), on the 36 states of the federation, allegedly sparked off the crisis when its members launched an attack on a Police station in Bauchi, leading to the bloodbath.

Over 150 people were left dead, while indigenes of the area are said to be fleeing their homes.

As at Monday, the attack by the group had spread to Borno, Yobe, Gombe, and Kano States. Although none of the policemen on patrol accosted or harrassed anybody along the street, they were battle ready for any emergency.

When THISDAY visited some Police formations in the city, the main gate to virtually all of them were either half closed or under locks and keys.

Speaking on the apprehension in the city, Force Public Relations Officer (FPRO), Emmanuel Ojukwu, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), said there was no cause for alarm and that those combat ready policemen were only performing their normal duty of protecting lives and property.

"There is no problem in Abuja. Area is calm and peaceful, and as for the mobile policemen on patrol, they are just performing their statutory duty of protecting lives and properties. There is nothing abnormal about their patrol. No cause for alarm", he said.


Nigeria Deploys 4,000 Policemen in Kaduna, Gombe To Prevent Sectarian Violence


[Report by Godwin Isenyo, Juliu Toba, Ted Odogwu, Samuel Ogidan, Aaron Ossai, Wole Oladimeji, Ayodele Adegbuyi, Joe Ogbodu: "Sectarian Violence: 4,000 policemen deployed in Kaduna, Gombe; Reps Summon Security Chiefs; Tension in Warri; UN Sec-Gen Ki-moon, JNI Shocked"]

Over 4, 000 policemen are on ground in Kaduna, the Kaduna State capital, and Gombe, the Gombe State capital, to prevent the spread of sectarian violence in the region to the two states.

Also yesterday, security agents in other states took measures to stop perpetrators of the violence from infiltrating their areas of jurisdiction.

The violence, started by Islamic fundamentalists in Bauchi, has spread to Borno, Yobe and Kano and claimed hundreds of lives.

The Nigerian Compass reliably gathered that members of the religious extremist group, called Boko Haramun in Hausa language, have been arriving Gombe since the beginning of the week with the aim of unleashing terror on uniformed men and certain government institutions.

Hundreds of the extremists in company of several hired fighters, mostly from Niger and Chad, have allegedly been relocating to unknown hideouts within the state, leaving many residents to face what they call the threat of grave insecurity.

The planned violent strike appears almost inevitable, as there are claims that the leaders of the Islamic group are reportedly piqued that their followers in Gombe did not rise in defence of those who suffered displacement during the conflicts in the neighbouring Maiduguri.

It was further learnt that the Islamists, who have been arriving the state in droves since the last weekend, are urging their followers through inciting preaching to rise up against the constituted authorities regardless of where they find themselves.

Sources said that while many youths and adults, who believe in their cause, had been made to tear their educational certificates, others who were workers, reportedly resigned, all in a bid to distance themselves from Western cultures.

Several armed anti-riot policemen, soldiers and other detectives have, however, begun a 24-hour patrol and surveillance of major streets in the state capital to prevent a breakdown of law and others.

This confirmed President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua's statement yesterday that the situation had been brought under control.

The President, before he travelled to Brazil, said he had directed security agencies to arrest the growing unrest.

"There has been very serious action. In fact, we have the situation under control now and I believe by the end of today (yesterday), everything would have taken shape. I have been monitoring the situation in the last few days. By yesterday (Monday), the situation in Bauchi and other states had been contained. What we have now is a situation in Borno State where the leader of the so-called Taliban group is residing and where most of them have migrated from all the Northern states to go, prepare and declare the holy war.

"We are going to launch an operation, the main operation with immediate effect. I have just finished meeting with our Defence chiefs who have been in constant contact with the governors of Borno, Bauchi, Kano and other affected states. So, this situation is being brought under control and I want to assure the nation that this administration will not tolerate any arms insurrection anywhere.

The Nigerian Compass learnt that some anti-riot policemen, acting on a tip-off on Monday evening, swooped on the Jankai Mosque in Jakadefari area of the Gombe metropolis, believed to be used as one of the Islamists' hideouts to seize them.

But some of them were said to have resisted arrest.

The state Police Commissioner, Joseph Ibi, told reporters that seven suspected fundamentalists are already in police custody for allegedly constituted themselves into a security risk.

He said the suspects were arrested in a village in Kwami Local Government Area over their suspicious movements, while their conspirators are being trailed.

Ibi justified the deployment of 3, 000 policemen, saying the command could not play down the possibility of a bloody conflict in Gombe after the recent bloodbath in the neighbouring states.

He revealed that a joint security team had started gathering int elligence on the whereabouts of the fundamentalists and to clamp down on them wherever they were found in the state.

He, however, told the scared residents of the state to be calm, as the situation is under control.

In Kaduna, the state security outfit, code-named, Operation Yaki, said it would crush any form of insurgence.

For instance, many parts of the Kaduna metropolis witnessed serious traffic gridlocks yesterday as the security agents embarked on intense stop and search of vehicles to prevent the fundamentalists from accessing the city.

Members of the security outfit from the Army, Air Force, Police, State Security Services (SSS) and the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) were strategically positioned at roundabouts in the metropolis and the Sheik Abubakar Gummi Central Market, as well as the Nnamdi Azikwe Western Bye-pass leading to the Abuja-Kaduna Expressway.

Flash points in the state, such as Tundun-Wada, Kawo, Sabon Tasha, Angwar Sarki Musulumi and Angwar Rimi, among others, were heavily guarded by security agents to nip any violence in the bud.

A senior security official, who craved anonymity, told our correspondent that the outfit was not taking any chances because of past experiences of religious crises.

"Even as a student, you can't continue to be failing your examination after series of failures. You must learn from your past failures. Kaduna had witnessed more religious crises than any other state in the region in recent times. So, the government of the day is not taking chances at all. We have been ordered to crush any militant, who finds his way to the state for any nefarious activity," he said.

Another security official threatened: "Let them come if they are not afraid to die. Look, let me tell you the way Kaduna is now, no any right-thinking person will attempt to embark on any violent attack on anybody. Those residents in the state have had their own fair share of violence. Even those that will come from the neighbouring states for attack must be well prepared."

Despite the tension, many residents of the state were going about their normal economic and social activities yesterday.

Even, banks and financial institutions operated normally.

Governor Namadi Sambo of Kaduna State yesterday warned the fundamentalists to steer clear of his state.

Speaking shortly after the President of Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Mohammed Garba, paid him a courtesy call at the Sir Kashim Ibrahim House, Kaduna, Sambo said it is unfortunate that some people under the guise of religion were causing problem in the country.

He said that the Yar'Adua-led government would not fold its hands and watch some elements threaten the corporate existence of the country.

Just as Sambo was tongue-lashing the fundamentalists, the umbrella body of Muslims in the 19 Northern states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), the Jama'atul Nasril Islam (JNI), also dissociated itself from the Islamic group in Kaduna.

The body described the group as "misguided" lots, who were deceiving the entire Muslim community.

The JNI in a statement signed by its Secretary-General, Alhaji Abdulkarim Mu'azu Palladan, urged all Muslims in the country to condemn the violence.

According to the group, it would not fold its arms and watch "the carnage and madness" going on in some Northern states under the guise of Islam, adding: "We wish, therefore, to categorically dissociate Islam from the activities of the Boko misguided group and denounce the wanton murders and destruction of properties perpetrated by this group."

The JNI added that its Central Fatwa Committee would soon meet to deliberate on the teachings of this group and act appropriately, "so that Muslims and non-Muslims alike will be assured of the fact that this Boko group is criminal and un-Islamic."

It added: "We call on all Muslims in the country to condemn these criminal activities and give maximum support to security agencies in preventing these mi sguided youths from attacking anybody or agency in the country.

"Efforts are being made to see that sanity is restored to those areas already affected and that peace and security is maintained in all other areas."

In Kano, the death toll in the crises rose to four yesterday, following the death of one of the suspects, who was wounded in the Wudil attack.

Also yesterday, the Kano State Police Command arrested 20 suspected fundamentalists in a pit toilet in Wudil, bringing the total number of those seized to 56, even as 11 members of the sect are in critical condition at the Murtala Muhammed Specialist Hospital, Kano, following bullet wounds they suffered when they clashed with the police.

All those arrested are still held at the command headquarters in Bompai, while security operatives, according to the command Spokesman, Baba Mohammed, were yesterday busy combing all the nooks and crannies of the state in search of the fleeing members of the group.

About 33 members of the group, believed to have strayed into Kano from the neighbouring Bauchi State and far away Borno State, were arrested by a crack team of policemen from the Kano Command in the early hours of Monday after a gun duel

The fundamentalists struck in Kano about 3.30am on Monday, attacking a police station in Wudil Local Government Area of the state, during which they shot and injured the Divisional Police Officer (DPO), Sagir Idris, and an unidentified Mobile Police (MOPOL) officer and made away with two AK 47 rifles belonging to the police.

During a counter-attack launched by the police, led by the Deputy Commissioner of Police in the command, Tanko Idris, they succeeded in killing two members of the sect and impounded various weapons used by them.

Those arrested, many of who sustained gunshot wounds, were, thereafter, paraded at the Command Headquarters on Monday.

While about seven of the suspects are teenagers, some are as young as seven years old.

In their possession were various kinds of weapons, amulets, international passports as well as red, black and white scarves of various sizes, believed to be their trade marks.

Police spokesman, Baba Mohammed, while briefing newsmen, claimed that the rifles snatched from the police were yet to be recovered.

He, however, assured the residents that the command has mounted a manhunt for the stolen rifles, as well as the suspected leader of the group, Mallam Salisu Wudil, who has gone underground with some of his members.

The police spokesman, who paraded 33 of the suspects, including the only girl, Aisha Abass, emphasised that the group infiltrated Kano after they were dislodged from Maiduguri and Bauchi, where they wreaked havoc in the last few days.

Aisha, who claimed to be 14, said she was brainwashed by her dad's friend and Islamic cleric, Mallam Abdulmumuni Ibrahim Mohammed, to abandon the Government Girls' Secondary School, Maidoki, where she was in JSS 2 by her father's friend and Islamic teacher (names withheld).

She further alleged that she was not told of their destination by her father, who simply asked her to proceed on the journey to Gaya for an Islamic function.

In an interview with newsmen, Mohammed said he is not apologetic about the cause he represents, adding that it is Haram (un-Islamic) to acquire Western education.

Mohammed, who runs an Islamiyya (religious school) at Panshekara, on the outskirts of Kano, one of the component groups of the sect, said he gained Islamic knowledge from Nassarawa State before relocating to Kano.

The Islamic teacher said if he ever regains freedom from the police, he would carry on fighting for the cause he believes in, quoting copiously from the Holy Quran to back his claims that Western education is "evil".

He, however, feigned ignorance of any attack on the Wudil Police Station, saying they were only on their way to Gaya, a neighbouring council, for an Islamic preaching.

Also yesterday, security was beefed up in the oil city of Warri and its environs in Delta State over concerns that some militants in the volatile Niger Delta region may capitalise on the situation to unleash mayhem on some innocent persons.

A combined team of policemen and soldiers from the Joint Military Task Force (JTF) patrolled the city and the neighbouring Effurun.

Two Armoured Personal Carries (APC) with seven vans fully loaded with troops were sighted in the city.

The development, it was learnt, was as a result of speculations that some militants were planning to capitalise on the mayhem to invade the Hausa community in Warri, particularly if they hear of any attack on Niger Deltans in the North.

Already, the relocation of the Federal University of Petroleum from Effurun to Kaduna has led to tension in the former.

The students of the upgraded Petroleum Training Institute (PIT) took to the streets last week to protest the relocation.

But, contacted on phone yesterday, the Joint Media Campaign Centre Coordinator of the JTF, Colonel Rabe Abubakar, ruled out any threat to security in the area, saying that the patrol was normal and part of its routine surveillance.

He said that he has not received any report of security threat over the development in the North but noted that as a security outfit, the JTF must be at alert and never take chances.

He added: "We are on top of the security situation in the area and would continue to do our best to nip in the bud anything that could led to crisis.

"It is a normal security surveillance. There is no cause for alarm. Armoured Personnel Carriers have been coming and going. It is not a new thing. We are only trying to make sure that the area continues to be peaceful, that is all."

The House of Representatives yesterday ordered the Acting Inspector-General of Police, Ogbonna Onovo, and other security agents to fish out perpetrators of the mayhem and punish them accordingly.

Sequel to this, the House Committee on Interior has summoned all the security operatives to appear before it and explain the way out of insecurity in the country.

The committee chairman of the committee, Jerry Manwe, stated that insecurity has reached certain level that the House has to do something very urgent "before the country is consumed by those who want to destabilise it."

Passing a motion of urgent national importance moved by Alhaji Rabe Nasir from Katsina State on the sectarian crisis, members unanimously agreed that the security agents be directed to investigate the remote and immediate causes of the crisis to avoid future recurrence.

Members at plenary also unanimously accepted part of Nasir's prayers that the security agents should be warned that if they allow such breakdown of law and order in their various areas, they stand the risk of being relieved of their duties.

While members condemned in its entirety a situation where a group of people under whatever umbrella would attack, kill and maim innocent citizens, they also blamed the security agents for not being proactive to nip the situation in the bud in Bauchi.

Leading the debate on the general principles of the motion, Nassir said the group was a bunch of criminals hiding under the cover of Islam, explaining that the religion did not only preach peace, but encourages education of any sort.

He urged the House to do something about the crisis without delay because, according to him, if the matter is handled with kid gloves, the crisis could spread to other parts of the country and snowball into anarchy.

His words: "This House should do something urgent to stop the crisis before it gets out of hand. What happened is an indictment on the part of our security agents, they were unable to detect this group at its formation stage. If not, how can such a large number of youths mobilise themselves in various states without being noticed?

"We are not proactive in our security operations; the House should take a drastic action on this matter. The government is paying lip service t o security matters. How can a country of over 150 million people be policed by just a little over 300,000 ill- equipped policemen."

In his contribution to the debate, Dr. Patrick Asadu (PDP, Enugu State), stressed the importance of security in the life of every nation, explaining that it is not in the best interest of Nigerians to habour such a group without being detected by security agents.

The Deputy Minority Leader, Alhaji Ismaila Kawo, said Islam preaches peace and that anybody who kills a fellow human being cannot be a true Muslim.

John Halims Agoda and Alhaji Aminu Tambuwal condemned the violence and canvassed punishment for the perpetrators.

While the Representatives said they would summon Onovo, he also appeared before the Senate yesterday for the second time in one week over the security situation in the country.

He visited the upper chamber with the Director-General of the State Security Service (SSS), Afakrya Gadzama, the Minister of Interior, Shetima Mustapha, and the National Security Adviser, Seriki Muktar,

Senate spokesman, Ayogu Eze, who briefed the press yesterday after the closed-door session with the security chiefs, said that in view of the insecurity, increased funding for the police and recruitment into the force have been approved by the senators.

He said: "We have met with the people who are charged with the internal security of the country today and there were frank exchanges...and it was an eye opening session.

"The decision of the Senate is that we will be holding such meetings with them regularly. On the part of the Senate, attention will be on giving enough money to the police because they are grossly underfunded and understaffed.

"We have also asked the security agencies to take inter agencies intelligence seriously.

"The Senate saw what happened in some parts of North-East and North- West of the country. We are depressed that some people who have benefited from Western education now turn back to incite people against Western education.

"We have asked the security agencies to buckle up. If we are going to be among the 20 most developed country in year 2020, we must begin to live it now."

In a related development, Senator Bala Mohammed (PDP, Bauchi) yesterday tried unsuccessfully to move a motion on the crisis.

Bala had warned the Senate that unless urgent action was taken to stop the crisis, it could envelope the entire country.

Coming under "matters of public importance", the senator noted that those who masterminded the Bauchi crisis had prior to the final assault vigorously campaigned against the government and imposition of Western culture in the country without a check from the security agencies.

He further informed his colleagues that the rioters were of the Boko Haram Islamic group, who besides their opposition to Western education, were devoted to imposing Islamism as the art of governance and protest against "corruption on the part of the government that has impoverished the people."

With this statement, Senate President David Mark ruled Bala out of order, saying that since the nation's security chiefs were expected to brief the Senate behind closed doors on the security situation, it was no use debating the motion.

Meanwhile, security has been beefed up in Abuja as security men have been deployed in strategic parts of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

The military and the police were seen patrolling the city in APC, while some positioned themselves in areas prone to violence and crisis.

Meanwhile, the Minister of State for FCT, Chief Chuka Odom, yesterday called on the government and relevant agencies charged with the responsibility of protecting lives and properties to urgently address the rate of insecurity in the land.

The minister, who was apparently distressed with the level of insecurity in the country, especially in the South- East, regretted that the situation in the region has deteriorated.

In a statement made available to N igerian Compass in Abuja, Odom said "the security situation has deteriorated so much that if something drastic is not done immediately at the regional level to reassert the authority of the states to guarantee the safety of lives and properties, the region may be heading to a state of anarchy."

He noted that no meaningful development can occur in an atmosphere of fear and insecurity, asking: "How can the state provide the much needed infrastructure, if the construction companies engaged to do the work are pulling out and the more reputable ones are refusing to accept new jobs in the area for fear of the safety of their personnel."

He lamented the mass exodus of industrialists from the commercial centre of Onitsha, Aba and Owerri to Abuja for fear of being kidnapped and lamented that with such development, no meaningful growth will occur in the region.

Odom disclosed that insecurity in the South-East revolves around organised crime rings operating without regard to state boundaries.

The only solution to the problem, according to him, is a joint and coordinated effort by the states to successfully dismantle the criminal network and their terror infrastructure.

The Minister however called on the South-East governors to quickly convene a security summit to examine in great details the problem and work out short, medium and long term solutions.

Besides, he called on other stakeholders, such as the telecommunications sector, security agencies, the private sector and the civil society groups to join hands with the governors to ensure a holistic approach to the worsening security situation.

United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, yesterday expressed his sadness over the killings.

"Mr. Ban condemns the unnecessary loss of human life and the destruction of property as a result of militant attacks," his spokesperson, Farhan Haq, told journalists in response to a question. "He hopes that those behind the attacks would be identified and brought to justice in accordance with the law.

"The Secretary-General calls upon the government of Nigeria, law enforcement and security agencies, as well as religious and community leaders, to work together to address the underlying causes of the frequent religious clashes in Nigeria so that a resolution could be found through dialogue, tolerance and understanding."


Zamfara Police on High Alert Following Sectarian Violence in Northern Nigeria


[Report by Imam Imam: "Police Beef Up Security in Zamfara"]

Zamfara State Police Command has said it has placed its men on high alert, to prevent religious crisis similar to the ones that broke out in some parts of the North within the week.

There are fears in some quarters that Zamfara, being the first state to introduce the Islamic legal system in 2000, may be attacked by the extremist group, Boko Haram, meaning, western education is sin.

The Command's Public Relations Officer (PPRO), ASP Lawal Abdullahi, who briefed reporters yesterday in Gusau, said adequate preventive measures have been adopted to ensure that no crisis broke out.

He said Commissioner of Police, Muhammed Abukakar, had directed that all government buildings and known vulnerable points in the state be placed on 24 hours surveillance, adding that both men and officers of the command are ready for any eventuality.

He said all border towns and surrounding areas are being watched closely, and assured that all persons moving in and out of the state suspected to have any link with the extremist group will be held for questioning.

ASP Lawal said so far, there is no indication that the extremist group has members in Zamfara, but said the Police will not leave anything to chance, in its effort to carry out its constitutional responsibilities.

He appealed to traditional and community leaders to watch what happens in their domains, and appealed to members of the public to intimate the police of any suspicious movement of persons or group of persons within the state.


Nigeria: Senate Likely To Approve Troops' Deployment To Check Sectarian Violence


[Report by Abdul-Rahman Abubakar & Turaki A. Hassan: "Senate To Okay Troops Deployment"]

The Senate yesterday indicated the possibility of approving the deployment of a Joint Military Tax Force (JTF) to combat the Boko Haram sect that has engaged in arms conflict with the police in some parts of North-East.

"The people should not be intimidated, we are going to give the security agencies enough muscle and power to be on top of the situation to make sure that they protect lives and property of all Nigerians," the Senate said.

Briefing newsmen after a three hour meeting with security chiefs, the chairman, Senate Committee on Information and Media, Senator Ayogu Eze (PDP, Enugu North) said the Senate could give approval for deployment of troops if it became necessary.

"The National Security Adviser will assess the severity of the situation before he can recommend military action but I think that so far the police have risen to the occasion and they have brought the situation

under control. Unless there is any need or reason for any further development beyond what we have seen at the moment and if there is any need at this point to inject the JTF or the military, but if it becomes necessary to increase the level of force to contain what is happening then of course we will not hesitate to give approval", he said.

While briefing senators, the security chiefs told the Senate that internal security in the country had weakened in recent times due to poor funding of security agencies and shortage in number of personnel, some senators who pleaded anonymity said. Daily Trust gathered reliably that security chiefs present at the briefing including the new Inspector-General of Police Ogbonna Onovo, National Security Adviser, retired General Abdullahi Sarki Mukhtar and Minister of Interior, Dr. Shettima Mustapha complained of inadequate funds to enable security forces in the country acquire modern equipments to combat crime.

Confirming the situation while briefing newsmen shortly after the meeting, the chairman, Senate Committee on Information and Media said the Senate had resolved to increase provision for internal security in the 2010 budget. The Senate said it would continue to dialogue with security chiefs to ensure that the rising rate of criminal activities in the country is curtailed.


Yar'Adua Says Government in Control of Sectarian Crisis in Northern Nigeria

AFP20090729583019 Kano Daily Triumph Online in English 29 Jul 09

[Unattributed report: "We're are in Control of Crisis ...Yar'Adua Assures"]

President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua said yesterday that the federal government was in control of the Islamic sect crisis in some states in the Northern part of the country.

Yar'adua gave the assurance at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, shortly before he departed for Brazil on a state visit.

The violence was formented by members of Boko Haram, an Islamic group opposed to Western education.

The acting Inspector-General of Police, Mr Ogbonna Onovo, said on Monday that the trouble started after the police went to investigate an explosion in Bauchi in which some sect members were killed.

In an interview with the State House correspondents, Yar'adua said that he had directed the security chiefs to launch a special operation, particularly in Borno to contain the situation.

``We have the situation under control now and I believe by the end of today everything would have taken shape.

``I have been monitoring the situation in the last few days. By yesterday, the situation in Bauchi state was under control so also the crisis in Kano and Potiskum, Yobe.

``What we have now is a situation in Borno where the leader of the so-called Taliban group is residing and from where most of them migrated to other Northern states,'' he said.

The president said the security agents would launch the main operation immediately.

``I have just finished a meeting with our defence chiefs who have been in constant contact with the governors of Borno, Bauchi, Kano and other states.''

According to him, once the operation in Maiduguri is completed today, we are going to continue with the security surveillance of all the states in the Northern part of the country.

The president said the target was to fish out remnants of the elements and ``deal with them squarely and promptly''.

He decried the situation where a group of people would take the law into their hands and cause insurrection.

``These people have been organising, penetrating our society, procuring arms, learning how to make explosives and bombs to disturb, confuse and force their beliefs on the rest of Nigerians.

``Definitely, our security agencies have been tracking them for years and I believe that the operation we are launching now will be an operation that will contain them once and for all.

``I want to assure this nation that this administration will not tolerate any arms insurrection anywhere and in any part of this country.

``Anywhere any group of people begin to launch arm insurrection and destruction against their fellow Nigerians, they will be dealt with,'' Yar'Adua said.

The president noted that the violence in Bauchi, Kano and Borno was not an inter-religious crisis.

On his visit to Brazil, Yar'Adua said it was to cement bilateral relations, especially in the areas of agriculture and petroleum resources.

[Description of Source: Kano Daily Triumph Online in English -- Website of the Kano State government daily; URL: http://www.triumphnewspapers.com]

Al Jazeera.net Reports on Fighting Between Nigerian Forces, Islamic 'Extremists'

GMP20090729632003 Doha Al Jazeera.net in English 29 Jul 09

[Al Jazeera.net and news agencies report: "Nigeria hunts Islamist fighters"]

Nigerian troops and police are hunting for the remnants of Boko Haram, an Islamist group that went on a killing spree in the country's north.

At least 30 people were killed in fresh clashes between security forces and the group the northern state of Yobe on Wednesday, a police source said.

"Thirty have so far been killed in Hawan Malka," the AFP news agency quoted the source as saying, referring to an area outside Potiskum, Yobe's second largest city.

Wednesday's violence came after the army shelled a mosque and the home of Mohammed Yusuf, the group's alleged leader, in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state.

"We are not sure whether he has been killed in the shelling or has managed to escape," a police officer said of Yusuf.

Boko Haram opposes western-style education and has said it wants to lead an armed insurrection and rid society of "immorality" and "infidelity".

About 140 people have been killed in three days of violence in Nigeria's Muslim-dominated north.

'Under control' Umaru Yar'Adua, Nigeria's president, has vowed that the group will be hunted down and punished.

He said that the military operation currently under way would "contain them once and for all".

"They will be dealt with squarely and forthwith," he said.

Before leaving on a trip to Brazil on Tuesday, Yar'Adua said that the situation was "under control".

But fresh fighting broke out in Maiduguri following the assault on the home of Yusuf.

Dozens of people took shelter from the bombardment in a local police station.

"It is the first time in my life that I hear this kind of mortar shelling," said one man, who had taken cover there, along with his wife and three daughters.

"I thought they targeted my house."

An AFP correspondent reported witnessing soldiers shooting three young men dead at point blank range close to the city's police headquarters.

The men, who had just been arrested, were seen kneeling and pleading for their lives before being shot.

"There has been a serious intensification of the assault on members of this group, Boko Haram, which is behind this wave of killings," Yvonne Ndege, Al Jazeera's correspondent reporting from Abuja, Nigeria's capital, said.

"The president of Nigeria has said that anybody perpetrating violence will be dealt with very, very severely - in fact, that means imminent death," she said.

"If you're caught working among Boko Haram fighters, there is absolutely no question, your life will not be spared."

Deadly rampage Boko Haram, which means "Western education is prohibited" in the local Hausa dialect, has called for the enforcement of sharia or Islamic law, across Africa's most populous nation.

But Nii Akuetteh, the founder of the Democracy and Conflict Research Institute, an African think-tank, told Al Jazeera that, while religious clashes had occurred in the past in Nigeria, the recent clashes appeared to have little political motivation.

"Previously when you had religion rear its head in politics [in Nigeria] you had a clash between Christians mainly in the south and Muslims in the north.

"I think that one you have to talk of the political implications of that, but the most recent, frankly, it seems to me is nothing but religious extremism and violence."

Nigeria's 140 million people are nearly evenly divided between Christians, who dominate the south, and the primarily northern-based Muslims.

Islamic law was implemented in 12 northern states after Nigeria returned to civilian rule in 1999 following years of military rule.

'Religious prejudice' Akuetteh also said that poverty, which has sparked conflict elsewhere in Nigeria, mainly in the oil-rich Niger delta, was not a contributing factor.

"I think religious politicisation of religion in Nigeria is separate and apart from the poverty that is there.

"I would look more to religious prejudice and extremists wanting to inject religion into politics rather than poverty per se."

The clashes began on Sunday in nearby Bauchi state, with fighters attacking police stations, before spilling over into Yobe. Officials said that 55 people were killed in both states.

Residents said fighters armed with machetes, knives, bows and arrows and home-made explosives, attacked police buildings and anyone resembling a police officer or government official in the city.

But most of the casualties appear to have been in Maiduguri, the northeastern city known as the birthplace and stronghold of the group.

[Description of Source: Doha Al Jazeera.net in English -- Website of the Al Jazeera English TV, international English-language news service of Al-Jazirah, independent television station financed by the Qatari Government; URL: http://english.aljazeera.net ]

Nigeria: Yar'Adua Says Army To Begin Operations in Borno Against Islamic Sect

AFP20090729581019 Dakar PANA Online in English 28 Jul 09

[Unattributed report: "Nigeria To Root Out Radical Islamists"]

Abuja, Nigeria (PANA) - Worried by the violence being perpetrated in the northern part of the country by the self-styled Taliban Islamic group, Nigeria's President Umaru Yar'Adua said defence and security forces had been mandated to immediately launch a major operation in a section of the Borno State capital, Maiduguri, to root out the leader and remaining members of the sect.

The President, who confirmed that Mohammed Yusuf, leader of the 'Boko Haram' (We stern education is a sin) group, is residing in that area of Maiduguri, said most members of the sect migrated from all the northern states to (Borno) go and launch a holy war.

Yar'Adua spoke to journalists at the Presidential Wing of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in the capital city of Abuja, just before he left on a three-day official visit to Brazil Tuesday.

The President, who disclosed that he had just finished a meeting with the nation 's defence and security chiefs, said it was the security agencies that first launched a preemptive action against the extremists after "tracking them for years", adding that once the operation in Maiduguri was completed, there would be a continuous security surveillance all over the northern states to fish out any remnants of the group, who are to be deal with "squarely and promptly."

"There has been very serious action. In fact, we have a situation under control now and I believe by the end of today (Tuesday) everything will have taken shape. I have been monitoring this situation in the last few days. By yesterday (Monday), the situation in Bauchi State has been contained completely and the crisis in Kano and Potiskum has also been dealt with.

"What we have now is a situation in Borno State, where the leader of the so-cal led Taliban group is residing and where most of them have migrated from all the northern states to go, prepare and declare the holy war. We are going to launch an operation, the main operation with immediate effect. I have just finished a meeting with our Defence Chiefs, who have been in constant contact with the Governors of Borno, Bauchi, Kano and other (Northern) States,'' the President assured.

Analysts said the group, which has been in existence for about five years, has grown in number, but no one is sure of the total number of its members.

The aim of the group is to impose the Taliban-style strict Islamic Sharia law on the predominantly-Muslim northern states, create a sort of puritanical government to deal with those considered to be 'infidels'

The Nigerian authorities have not given a total figure of those who died in the recent clashes between the sect and the security agencies across four states - Bauchi, Yobe, Borno and Kano.

But the police said 39 sect members were killed in Bauchi state alone, while the local media put the number of those who died in other states at several dozens.

According to the police, about 200 sect members have also been arrested and will soon be prosecuted.

[Description of Source: Dakar PANA Online in English -- Website of the independent news agency with material from correspondents and news agencies throughout Africa; URL: http://www.panapress.com/english/index.htm]

Profile Of Nigeria's Islamist Boko Haram Organization

AFP20090729950089 Caversham BBC Monitoring in English 29 Jul 09

Background briefing by BBC Monitoring on 29 July

The leader of an Islamist group behind attacks on government institutions in northeastern Nigeria has vowed that "war" will continue until "democracy and the current education system is changed" in Africa's most populous nation. The group is reported to be seeking the introduction of Shari'ah (Islamic law) across Nigeria, the website of the privately-owned Nigerian newspaper, Compass Online, reported on 27 July.

Ustaz Mohammed Yusuf, who leads Boko Haram (Hausa for Western education is a sin), told the Nigerian independent pro-North Daily Trust newspaper that his group had no ''quarrel with the public, only the authorities, unless the general public supports the authorities''. The whereabouts of Yusuf remain unknown, as government soldiers failed to find him after attacking houses believed to be his home in Maiduguri, capital of Borno State. During the operation they destroyed buildings, including a mosque, the website of the privately-owned Nigerian newspaper, The Guardian, reported on 29 July.

The Lagos-based, privately-owned independent Ray Power 2 radio reported on 28 July that the recent clashes between suspected members of Yusuf's group and joint police-military operations had resulted in 157 deaths in the states of Bauchi, Yobe, Borno and Kano in northern Nigeria.

Attacks, counter attacks

The latest attacks violence in Borno could be linked to an announcement by the police in Maiduguri on 24 July about the arrest of nine members of the group at a training camp in Bama town, Borno, "with 74 empty shells of home-made bombs and other bomb-making components", French news agency, AFP reported. A report published on 27 July by the privately-owned Abuja Punch daily said that Boko Haram attacked the police stations "in retaliation for the arrest of its leaders".

After the police launched attacks against members of Boko Haram in Bauchi, Ustaz Mohammed Yusuf told the Daily Trust website on 27 July that his group would not take kindly to the killing of his supporters. ''We will not agree with this kind of humiliation, we are ready to die together with our brothers and we would never concede to non-belief in Allah," he told the news outlet.

Location of violence

The violence which started in Borno on 26 July has since spread to three other northeastern states, Bauchi, Yobe and Kano. Clashes started after members of Boko Haram attacked the local police headquarters and main prison in Maiduguri. Police in Maiduguri "were taken by surprise on how the armed sect members got entry into the police headquarters", reported the privately-owned Nigerian The Guardian newspaper on 28 July. The newspaper said that other targets of the fundamentalists were government lodges, police checkpoints in Maiduguri and Jere metropolis, and leaders of the Izala Islamic religious groups and their mosques in Maiduguri. The Boko Haram members used sticks, petrol bombs, bows and arrows in the attacks, The Guardian reported.

Bauchi, Yobe, Borno and Kano states are among 12 of Nigeria's 36 states that started a stricter enforcement of Shari'ah in 2000, a decision that has alienated Christian minorities and sparked bouts of sectarian violence that have killed thousands.

Objectives

Members of Boko Haram are "Islamic fundamentalists... fighting against those who have adopted Western values", reported the privately-owned Guardian on 28 July.

A leader of the group that attacked a police station in Kano, Abdulmumuni Ibrahim Mohammed, said the violence was "aimed at the elite who had embraced Western values". According to the paper, Mohammed who hails from Nasarawa State in central Nigeria and "attended secondary school", is opposed to Nigeria's 1999 constitution, and wants it replaced with Shari'ah.

A report on 26 July carried by the privately-owned AIT Television alleged that the group also "plans to eliminate prominent Islamic scholars and imams in Bauchi State". The privately-owned Nigerian Hot FM radio reported on 26 July that the governor of Bauchi State, Alhaji Isah Yuguda, had urged other states "to be aware of this deadly group". According to the radio, Boko Haram is "a fundamentalist Islamic sect based in Maiduguri, Borno State, with the agenda of eradicating Western education and value through jihad".

A report aired by the privately-owned Ray Power 2 radio on 27 July alleged that "some of the members [of Boko Haram] have withdrawn from the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi". According to the report, "the teachings of the sect are said to be completely contrary to those of other Islamic sects on peaceful coexistence".

The privately-owned Nigerian Compass Online alleged on 26 July that Boko Haram members have "questioned the rationale behind the introduction of compulsory education in the state, saying the people should be given freedom to choose and practice their religion the way they dim [sic, deem] fit".

French news agency AFP reported on 27 July that the group's current strength is "not publicly known" and their "goal is to impose up a strict form of shari'ah and set up a 'pure Islamic' state in northern Nigeria".

In an interview with AFP in February 2005, one of the sect's leaders, Aminu Tashen-Ilimi, said the group's aim was to establish an Afghan Taleban-styled puritanical Islamic government through armed insurrection and cleanse the society of "immorality" and "infidelity".

The acting inspector-general of police, Ogbonna Onovo, has described Boko Haram as "a fanatical organization that is anti-government, anti-people. We don't know what their aims are yet. We are out to identify and arrest their leaders and also destroy their enclaves wherever they are, wherever they may be seen". (AFP 27 July)

Ustaz Mohammed Yusuf told the Daily Trust website on 27 July: ''Democracy and the current system of education must be changed otherwise this war that is yet to start would continue for long... It is not with our strength that we will confront the authorities but with the help of Allah,'' he added.

Membership

The Nigerian Guardian newspaper reported on 28 July that some of the members who attacked the Wudil Police Station in Kano were "nationals of neighbouring Chad".

A police official in Kano said "a sizable number of the fundamentalists most of whom are teenagers, hail from Kano and Borno states".

The assistant inspector-general of police (AIG) in charge of Zone 12 in Bauchi, Moses Anegbode, has described the Boko Haram as "a criminal group who are parading themselves in the name of religion". According to Anegbode, the group is "a threat to peace", the Guardian reported on 28 July.

Anegbode said Boko Haram "forbids anything Western, yet their leader has an array of Western materials in their possession and usage. Even the phone, SUVs; I wonder if they were made by him [the Boko

Haram leader]. They are notorious for kidnappings, raping, intimidation and molestation and known to be anti-establishment".

The claim by members of group that they are against Western values and education has added to the mystery surrounding the group. If the agenda of the organization was to fight Western ideals, it is thought that they would be promoting local traditions and values, but that does not seem to be the case.

Bases

The privately-owned AIT Television reported on 26 July that "the operating base and training camps of the Islamic sect" are located in Gudun and Yelwa hills surrounding the Bauchi metropolis.

Leadership

According to a report carried on The Guardian website on 28 July, the Boko Haram is led by Mohammed Yusuf, who is a cleric. Not much is available in the media about Yusuf, or local leadership of the group.

Nigerian Taliban?

The French news agency, AFP, described the group on 27 July as "Nigeria's 'Taleban'". According to the agency, the group "made its formal debut in 2004" and had been preceded by "elements of extremism... in pockets of neighbourhoods of Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state in 2002".

In January 2004, some 200 young Muslim "extremists", including women and children set up a camp at Kanamma village in Yobe State, on Nigeria's border with Niger, which they named Afghanistan. They named themselves the Taliban, "drawing inspiration from the Afghanistan group of the same". However, local people refer to them as "Boko Haram" (Hausa for "Western education is sin"), AFP reported on the same day.

The group briefly took control of Kanamma and raided several police stations in the area, but was later dispersed by government troops, during "which scores were killed, many were arrested while the rest went underground", added AFP. Survivors later launched "guerrilla attacks" on police stations in Borno's Gwoza area, near the border with Cameroon, killing police officers and residents; the attackers retreated to the Mandara Mountains, on the Nigerian-Cameroon border. Since then, added AFP, the group has waged on-and-off attacks often with long breaks in between. A two-day battle in 2005 left 28 "Taleban" dead and scores arrested.

President Yar'Adua

President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua on 27 July directed that no effort should be spared in identifying, arresting and prosecuting leaders and members of the extremist sect involved in the attacks.

[Description of Source: Caversham BBC Monitoring in English -- Monitoring service of the BBC, the United Kingdom's public service broadcaster]

Nigeria: Islamist Militants Said To Have Captured 'Five Areas' in Maiduguri

AFP20090729617003 London BBC World Service in English 1706 GMT 29 Jul 09

[From "Focus on Africa" hosted by Sophie Ikenye; all sentences as heard]

[Ikenye] We begin in the northeast of Nigeria where security forces are asking for reinforcement from neighboring states as they battle to flush out fighters connected to the Islamic group, Boko Haram, for a second day. The militants, who are reportedly inspired by the Taliban, are against what they call the corrupting influence of the West and Western education. Trouble began in the State of Bauchi on Sunday [ 26 July] but it shifted to Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State. Today, the police and army made a concerted effort to crush the militants but they are meeting with stiff resistance. A short while ago, the BBC's Bilkisu Babangida told me the latest from the city.

[Begin recording] [Babangida] Right now in Maiduguri, just now, the Borno State Government has announced that there are some areas that the militants have taken over in the Maiduguri town, that those residing in those five areas should stay indoors and those living outside the areas should stay away from

the areas because the militants have already taken over the place. They are already, you know, destroying and burning down vehicles and houses and then taking people around those areas hostage.

[Ikenye] Why are the militants doing this?

[Babangida] From the reports we receive from the security is that it is like since yesterday when the securities are trying to shell the area where the leader and his people are residing, it is making things difficult for them because more and more militants are coming from neighboring states and some parts of Borno State to, you know, assist them with some weapons. That is what is making things difficult for the military and the police officers to curtail the problem that is going on right now.

[Ikenye] And how is the security force responding to all this?

[Babangida] Well, the security, now, they are on top of the ... [Babangida pauses] they are trying to see that they would be on top of the situation but it seems like they are calling for more security from neighboring states to come and assist them because of the large number of these militants that are coming from different directions which they could not even tell from where they are coming.

[Ikenye] Can you describe to us how the city now looks like and the mood on the ground?

[Babangida] The mood and the people in the city now are living in great fear, more than even more than the first day of the crisis, because yesterday, they were thinking that maybe, when they started the operation, trying to shell the area, they were expecting that by this morning that everything would be over. But on hearing the gunshots since morning up to this time, everybody is living in fear. [end recording]

[Ikenye] That was Bilkisu Babangida in Maiduguri, northeastern Nigeria. Well, to find out more about the joint police and army operation against Boko Haram, I earlier called up the police spokesman for Borno State, Issa Azare. The answers had to be voiced over because of the poor line.

[Azare] The latest is that police and security agencies are on top of the situation right now. They are in control; they are in control.

[Ikenye] So, are you still fighting? Are you still shelling the areas and trying to flush out the militants? Can you describe exactly what is going on?

[Azare] Yes, right now, we are telling the civilians who are living around that place to vacate and leave that place.

[Ikenye] How much resistance are you getting from these militants because you talked about little resistance you are getting from the militants? How difficult is it for you to be able to flush them out?

[Azare] There is need for the sake of the civilians that we hold fire to allow them to go. I mean, we do not want to be firing anyhow to kill the innocent citizens. That is why we are seeking tactical maneuvers to get the actual perpetrators.

[Ikenye] So, what exactly are you doing on the police road blocks? Because the report we are getting is that people are being pulled out of their cars or their vehicles and then they are being whipped.

[Azare] No, it is not true; once you have reached a police road block, they will ask you to stop, check your boot, if there is nothing incriminating, then they allow you to go about your normal business. We do not intimidate people. We do not intimidate people.

[Ikenye] So, let us talk about the militants; we hear some of the ones that have been killed are not even Nigerians. Do you have any idea where they are from?

[Azare] No, we cannot differentiate now; we cannot differentiate now. After everything, then, one thing is that it is only immigration officials that can confirm to us whether they are Nigerians or not. After everything, then we will tell you whether some of them are Nigerians or not.

[Ikenye] So, how long do you expect this to go on? How long do you expect the operation to last?

[Azare] Very soon.

[Ikenye] Give us ... [Ikenye pauses] I mean, what is very soon? Give us a specific [time] so that we can get to know how strong the opposing side is. Give us a specific description of when.

[Azare] Soonest, soonest; it will all be over.

[Ikenye So, do we expect this to go on for a week or do we expect this to go on for today only? I mean, how does it look? And what is your plan?

[Azare] Very soon, it will be over; very soon.

[Ikenye That was police spokesman for Borno State in northeastern Nigeria, Issa Azare. Today, the fighting has not just been taking place in the city of Maiduguri but also elsewhere in Borno State. There had been clashes on the road leading west out of the city. Freelance Journalist Tunde Asadjou has been traveling across the north of Nigeria and this morning, he was stopped at a road block about 100 km west of Maiduguri. He has been telling us what he saw.

[Begin recording] [Asadjou] We could also hear a lot of gunfire in front there. We decided to stop and we stood there for about three hours. There was a long convoy of other vehicles that wanted to move than we could sporadic gunshots some 50 or so meters away from where we were standing. When we got to the spot where apparently, the firing was going on, there were empty shells of bullets virtually scattered all over the road and we saw four trucks of police and pickup trucks that were piled up with corpses and from (?eye's) count as we drove past there, we must have had at least 20 corpses of the militants who had gone to lay siege on the road, trying to prevent government t vehicles and other people from passing. [end recording]

[Ikenye] That was Freelance Journalist Tunde Asadjou. Now, one of the actions of the police has been to rescue more than 180 women and children who were with the fighters in Maiduguri. They said they had gone there willingly with their husbands but did not realize what they were getting themselves into. This woman has been telling the BBC what happened to her.

[Begin Hadjara recording in Hausa fading into English] My name is Hadjara. I came here from Bauchi State. I was brought here to Maiduguri in order to further my religious studies. It was our teachers and leaders who brought us here, saying that we would be here to study for a fortnight. But we have had nothing to eat except dates and nuts. We were supposed to be here with the men but since we left Bauchi, we have not seen them. It was our husbands who said we should come here and further our studies and we came here because they threatened us saying that whoever refused to come here would have to hand over her children and they would be taken away. [end recording]

[Ikenye] That is a Nigerian woman, Hadjara, speaking after she was rescued by the police.

[Description of Source: London BBC World Service in English -- External radio service of the United Kingdom's public service broadcaster]

Clashes in Nigerian state said spreading as toll rises to 157


Clashes in Nigerian state said spreading as toll rises to 157

Text of report by private Nigerian newspaper The Guardian website on 28 July

[Report by Njadvara Musa, Ali Garba, Terhemba Daka, Adamu Abuh and Auwal Ahmad: "Sectarian Violence Spreads, 157 Feared Dead in Borno, Kano"]

The sectarian violence, which broke out in Bauchi on Sunday, has spread to Borno and Kano yesterday, claiming over 157 lives.

In Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, over 154 people were killed when armed members of the Islamic fundamentalists sect, Boko Haram, led by Mohammed Yusuf, a cleric, attacked the police headquarters around 10.00 p.m. and burnt 12 offices and quarters of the police and 11 patrol and personal vehicles.

However, the timely intervention of mobile policemen limited the casualty figure in Kano to three.

The Islamic fundamentalists were alleged to be fighting against those who have adopted western values.

In Borno, targets of the armed sect members were the Police Armoury, the Maiduguri New Prison and the life of the commander of the joint border patrol, whose house located at the police headquarters, was still burning as at the time of filing in this report.

Out of the 154 people killed, whose bodies littered the Post Office-Airport Road, there were over 115 members of the sect that used swords, bows and arrows, sticks and petrol bombs in attacking the Police Headquarters.

The police, which were taken by surprise on how the armed sect members got entry into the Police Headquarters, burnt the house of the commander of the joint border patrol and moved to the prison, killing one of the prison warders at the gate, and set all the inmates free.

As the prison inmates fled, some militants, however, abducted and took hostage of Ahmed Silkida, the correspondent of Daily Trust, alleging that he had betrayed the sect by dressing and keeping his bearded face like them without protecting their interest of fighting the Borno State government and its security agents.

In a telephone interview with The Guardian yesterday, Silkida said: "I am right now in the hands of the sect members. You should pray that the commander would release me because they are alleging that I betrayed their mission of waging a jihad against the state government and the Izala religious group".

As at 2.00 p.m. yesterday, six hours after launching the attacks, some of the sect members who escaped the firing power of the police, however, regrouped with arms and took over the entire Abaganaram Ward where the prison is located and the State Low Cost Housing Estate.

The 10-hour Maiduguri clash between the militants and the Operation Flush II, has however, brought business and other economic activities in the state to a halt, as all the streets and roads were deserted by residents, fearing that the crisis might spread to Bulunkutu, Gomari, Customs, Abaganaram and other areas.

Besides, all markets, schools and the Musa Usman Secretariat complex that houses workers with the 18 ministries and parastatals in Maiduguri are to remain closed, awaiting a state-wide broadcast from Governor Ali Sheriff on the sects' clashes with the police.

The Guardian also learnt that the targets of the fundamentalists are government lodges, Operation Flush checkpoints in Maiduguri and Jere metropolis, Police Headquarters and leaders of the Izala religious groups and their mosques located in various parts of Maiduguri.

Confirming the killing of over 154 people, Col. Ben Ahanotu, the commander of Operation Flush II, in a telephone interview said: "Yes, we have got them and gone with their bows and arrows and sticks. The next military action against these armed religious sect, is to destroy their operational points and areas that pose serious threat to lives and property."

While 33 of the militants were nabbed at Wudil, headquarters of Wudil Local Council of Kano State, the police are yet to ascertain whether the remaining 100 arrested at the Mariri area of Kano metropolis at about 1.00 p.m. yesterday were militants or genuine members of the Izala sect who were part of an Islamic peaceful assembly, which took place last weekend in Yola.

As at 3.00 a.m. yesterday, a band of militants comprising nationals of neighbouring Chad had stormed the headquarters of the Wudil Divi sional Police Station with the intent of disarming the policemen on duty.

The policemen put up stiff resistance to the fundamentalists. In the ensuing melee, the militants shot two of the policemen, including the Divisional Police Officer (DPO), Sadiq Inuwa.

A contingent of mobile policemen led by Deputy Commissioner of Police, Lawal Tanko who were placed on the alert at the border post at the Bauchi and Jigawa States sprang into action and gunned down two of the militants who had removed two AK 47 rifles from the Wudil Police Station, about 28 kilometres away from Kano.

Kano police spokesman, Baba Mohammed, confirmed the incident at the Bompai Headquarters of the Kano State Police Command.

Among items paraded were knifes, cutlasses, local charms and personal belongings, including some drugs apparently put to use by the fundamentalists before unleashing mayhem on their victims.

Police Superintendent Baba disclosed that a sizeable number of the fundamentalists most of whom are teenagers, hail from Kano and Borno States, just as he expressed the resolve of the police in Kano to avert a spill over of the Bauchi crises to Kano.

A leader of the fundamentalist who carried out the attack at the Wudil Police Station, Abdulmumuni Ibrahim Mohammed, gave an insight into their motive, saying that the attacks were aimed at the elite who had embraced western values.

Mohammed, who hails from Nasarawa State and claim to have attended secondary school, also expressed opposition to the use of the 1999 Constitution to govern the country as well as urged the implementation of the Sharia legal code.

Following the crisis in Bauchi, the Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIG) in charge of Zone 12, Bauchi, Moses Anegbode, has described the Boko Haram as a criminal group who are parading themselves in the name of religion.

Addressing a press conference yesterday in Bauchi, Anegbode said Boko Haram was a threat to peace .

The AIG disclosed that 39 of the Boko Haram were killed in a confrontation in a joint security operation last Sunday in Bauchi while 176 of them were arrested and 15 injured.

He added that a Lance Corporal in the Army and two policemen were killed in the operations against the group.

According to him, the security operatives went after members of Boko Haram after they attacked a police station in Dutse Tanshi and opened fire during attempts to arrest them at their various hideouts in the Federal Low Cost Estate and Fadama Mada areas.

Anegbode said that in Maiduguri on that same Sunday, some members of the group despite the heavy security, came to a police station on a suicide mission with three motorcycles and sped towards the gate and set it ablaze.

He stated: " They forbid anything western, yet their leader has an array of western materials in their position and their usage. Even the phone, SUVs; I wonder if they were made by him. They are notorious for kidnappings, raping, intimidation and molestation and known to be anti-establishment,"

Anegbode revealed that dangerous weapons such as AK 47, 270 rounds of live ammunition, a single-barrel gun, three locally-made single barrel-guns, two locally-made revolver pistol, five rounds of 7.66 live ammunition, 500 rounds of 7.66 mm live ammunition, and 21 live cartridges were recovered from their enclave in Fadama Mada in Bauchi metropolis.

"The implication of this is that these men are armed with sophisticated guns like pump action guns, revolver pistols, AK 47 and lar rifle recovered from them. The operation is still ongoing. We are doing mop up operation so that these items can be recovered," he added.

According to him, two bags of lethal gun powder used for making explosives, 200 detonators, over 1,000 locally fabricated plastic cylinders that could be used for manufacture of local guns were also recovered from them, describing the items as dangerous substances that could be directed at society.

Meanwhile, Human Rights Writers Association (HURIWA) yeste rday called for urgent implementation of a comprehensive reforms of the nation's intelligence community and the Nigeria police by the Federal Government to prevent the intermittent orgy of violence unleashed by religious fanatics in the country.

The human rights body in a statement endorsed by its national coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko, condemned the violence unleashed by the members of the Boko Haram sect in Bauchi State at the weekend even as it called for a transparent judicial commission of inquiry to unravel the remote and immediate causes of the blood-bath and the prosecution of all perpetrators.

The group traced the recurrent religious violence in the country to the total lack of political will on the part of the Federal and state governments to charge perpetrators of all the previous religious riots to court to serve as deterrent.

HURIWA blamed the failure of intelligence on the part of the Nigeria Police and the State Security Service (SSS) for the escalation in religious and ethnic motivated killings in some parts of the North, including Maiduguri and Bauchi.

Also, seven suspected members of the Taleban group were arrested along Kwami Road in Gombe, the state capital and subjected to intensive interrogation at the Police Criminal Investigation Department.

The state Police Commissioner, Joseph Ahmed Ibi, disclosed this to journalists in Gombe yesterday, saying that the suspects told the police that they were on a mission to Kwami village to see some friends, noting that after investigation, the police would be able to establish whether they were actually going to see some friends as they claimed.


Nigeria: Islamic Group Leader Vows 'Not' To Surrender

AFP20090730565001 Ibadan Nigerian Tribune Online in English 30 Jul 09

[Report by James Bwala, Kola Oyelere, Ishola Michael and Dipo Laleye: "Again, Hundreds Killed in Maiduguri - Taliban Leader Says 'No Surrender' - We'll Bring him Down - Army - Islamic Militant's House, Mosque Demolished - 60 Arrested in Gombe, Kano - Policemen Mobilised in Niger - Governors Forum Condemns Militants' Action"]

The Islamic sect leader in Maiduguri, Mohammed Yusuf, on Wednesday, vowed not to surrender, as his group again engaged the military in a gun duel, leading to the killing of hundreds of the militants.

But the General Officer Commanding [GOC], 3 Armoured Division, Major-General Saleh Maina, said that whether he (Yusuf) surrendered or not, he and his men would be brought down. Yusuf was said to have told his men never to retreat, saying their fight was a just one.

The GOC said he was in Maiduguri to faithfully carry out President Umaru Yar'Adua's order. He said the presence of Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs) in Maiduguri was an indication that he was there to maintain law and order and total destruction of the sect.

According to the GOC, even after the destruction of Yusuf's camp and his "glorified mosque", the military would continue a house-to-house search to ensure that they cleared all his men hiding around the place.

General Maina said the Army and the police had taken over the area, adding that there was no escape route for Yusuf and his men. Meanwhile, hundreds of members of the sect were killed in a gun battle while the number of casualties among the military and police, was not disclosed.

Nigerian Tribune gathered that the police and SSS [State Security Service] had mounted a roadblock outside the state capital, to capture members of the Yusuf sect.

In Kano State, hundreds of residents of Wudil town trooped out on Wednesday to watch the demolition of a house and mosque reportedly owned by the leader of an Islamic sect, Malam Salisu Al-jaswy, who last Monday attacked the police station and caused a chaotic situation in the town.

The state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), SP Baba Mohammed, told newsmen that normalcy had returned to Wudil town, adding that Kano State was safe and people could go about their normal business without entertaining any fear.

Nigerian Tribune learnt that the demolition was carried out because the structures were illegal. The demolition squad with bulldozer which were protected by armed policemen, arrived at Wudil town around 4.00 p.m.

The demolition, which was ordered by the state government, was completed within 30 minutes. The special adviser to the governor on Intercommunity Affairs, Malam Ibrahim Shekarau, was also there to witness the demolition. He, however, assured the people of the area, especially the non-indigenes that they should not entertain any fear as adequate measures had been taken to protect life and property.

The PPRO told journalists that the number of arrested people had increased to 53, saying five people had so far died. SP Mohammed displayed the substance the militants used to manufacture bombs.

Among the items recovered were a dane gun, arrows, catapults, bullets, bottles, a sack of sulfur and potassium nitrate and charcoal. "Initial investigation by our anti-bomb squad confirmed that the combination produces an explosion capable of setting a target on ablaze," Muhammad said.

The chairman of Wudil Local Government, Alhaji Musa Adamu Darki, said that Al-jaswy had been resident in the town for over nine years and was not an indigene of Wudil, but came from Jos, Plateau State about nine years on the pretext of preaching Islam and teaching people the knowledge of Quran.

In a related development, even people persons suspected to be members of the notorious Islamic sect, Boko Haram currently engaged in a war with security operatives in Bauchi, Borno and Yobe states, have been arrested and are being interrogated by the Gombe State police command.

According to Gombe State Police Commissioner, Mr. Joseph Ahmed Ibi, the suspects were arrested on their way to Mallam Sidi, headquarters of Kwami Local Government Area, to meet their friends, but that the police insisted on knowing their identities.

Giving journalists an update of the command's proactive actions, the commissioner stated that it was premature for the command to tag the arrested men Islamic militants until investigation confirmed them.

He said no fewer than 3,000 policemen were on surveillance duty in the state and patrols had been organised while checkpoints had been mounted. He apologised to road users inconvenienced by the search on people and vehicles.

Meanwhile, the Gombe Police command has arrested two people suspected to be kidnappers. Two girls aged between 7 and 10 accused the suspects of attempting to kidnap them at Kwadon town, Yamaltu-Deba Local Government Area.

According to the Commissioner of Police, investigation would determine whether or not they were kidnappers. Meanwhile, heavily armed mobile policemen have been mobilised to areas described as red spots in Niger State to forestall any attempt by Muslim fundamentalists to strike in the state.

Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Richard Oguche, told the Nigerian Tribune in an interview on Wednesday that areas where the Force was expecting an outbreak of violence included Tegina, Mokwa, Bokani and Gwada, where a large group of Muslim fundamentalists reside.

According to Oguche, 30 armed mobile men had been deployed in these towns apart from the regular policemen who had been placed on red alert to give back up to their colleagues.

Apart from this, the police spokesman said that the force had also deployed officers and men in the major highways where 'stop and search' would be carried out on all vehicles coming or going out of the state.

The step was taken to prevent those fleeing from the troubled areas of the North from entering the state to foment trouble, he added. "We are on top of the situation. The people should go about their lawful business without any let or hindrance," Oguche declared.

The police spokesman reminded the people that they had to continue to remain law abiding and report suspicious movements of people to the nearest police station.

In a related development, the Northern Governors forum on Wednesday reacted sharply to the recent religious crisis plaguing some parts of the northern part of the country, saying such crisis had been responsible for the slow pace of economic growth in the region.

"The North has experienced several acts of violence from which nothing positive had come. Rather, the region was further pushed back into deprivation, underdevelopment, poverty, ignorance and the like," the forum said through its chairman and governor of Niger State, Dr. Mua'zu Babangida Aliyu.

"Now is the time for complete unity and peace that will enable our people to enjoy the good things of life under a democratic government," Aliyu said in a statement condemning the sectarian clashes that broke out in Bauchi Maiduguri and Kano cities.

[Description of Source: Ibadan Nigerian Tribune Online in English -- Website of the privately owned daily; URL: http://www.tribune.com.ng]

Sectarian Violence in Northern Nigeria Reportedly Claims 300 Lives


[Report by Mohammed Abubakar, Njadvara Musa, Adamu Abuh and Charles Akpeji: "Fighting Rages, Death Toll Hits 300 in Borno; Schools, Govt Offices, Hospitals Shut; Sect's Leader Uses Children as Shield; AC, Others Condemn Yar'Adua's Absence"]

Heavy bombardments by the nation's forces on suspected strongholds of Boko Haram, the northern-based Islamic sect that is championing a 'Jihad' (holy war) in the region, continued yesterday.

Unconfirmed reports said that the death toll from the clash had risen to 300 while thousands of the residents had been displaced in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.

The leader of the sect, Mohammed Yusuf, was reportedly using some residents of the heart of the clashes, the Maiduguri Railway Terminus Areas (MRTA), as human shield.

In Jalingo, Taraba State, security agents have located a school where the sect trains its members while in Kano, the state government has demolished a mosque used by the armed group.

A senior government official in Maiduguri claimed that 4,000 people had fled their homes as troops and militants engaged in battles for the fourth day.

The opposition Action Congress (AC) has described President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua's trip to Brazil in the face of the crisis as ill-timed.

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) spokesman Apollus Jediel said about 1,000 people fled their homes in Maiduguri yesterday alone and appealed to the state government to assist the displaced persons.

Militants seeking to impose Sharia law throughout the multi-religious country attacked a police station in Bauchi State on Sunday. The violence spread to three other states, hundreds of people are reported to have been killed in the violence. Police said most of the victims were militants.

Yusuf's residence was shelled by troops on Tuesday evening, along with a mosque where many of his followers meet, but he allegedly escaped.

"The house and the mosque have been pulverised and reduced to rubble. To be honest with you I don't think the campaign will be finished within the next day or two," a police officer said.

Yesterday, the Borno State government advised residents of the six areas adjoining the scene of the fighting to stay indoors as the attack on the militants continued, to avoid being hit by stray bullets. The areas include Kumshe, Floor Mills, Kasuwan Shanu, State Low Cost, Kofar Biyu and Gamboru Police Station.

The police in Borno also said yesterday that they had concluded arrangement to return the 180 women and children allegedly lured to Maiduguri from Bauchi and nine others from Bukuru in Plateau State under the guise that they were going for Islamic Jihad.

Police spokesman, Isa Azare, commended the state government for its pledge to assist the command transfer the women and children back to their Bauchi base.

He said the Deputy Governor, Adamu Shettima Dibal, has promised the state government's financial assistance to the police to enable them transport the people back to their places, but it was not clear as at press time if the promise had been fulfilled.

Azare would, however, not give the exact details of the casualties, saying it was difficult to give a precise figure, given the fact that the operation was on-going. "You know it is not appropriate to give any figure of casualties now, because, apart from the sects members that were killed, there are a good number of policemen that are still missing. Until after the operation when the coast becomes clearer, nobody can give a definite number of those who have lost their lives."

But The Guardian learnt that the two hospitals in the state capital had been finding it difficult to accommodate the growing number of victims. For instance, it was learnt that the mortuary of the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH) had been filled to capacity. As a result, bodies were being dumped at the car park, at the Umaru Shehu Ultra Modern Hospital, Bulumkutu.

However, concerns were being raised as the expected capture of Yusuf appeared far- fetched given the inability of the combined military and police operations to capture the sect leader, who, is said to be taking human shields to avoid arrest. As a resident told The Guardian, the military is incapacitated by the fact that Yusuf had tactically resorted to human shields to avoid arrest.

For instance, at the Shehu North, men of the Operation Flush 11 were seen beating a retreat having been overwhelmed by the high number of the sect members who were said to be coming out in their hundreds from their hide-outs. The area is close to the palace of the Shehu of Borno.

Col. Ben Ahanotu, commander of Operation Flush 11, confirmed the fears as he said residents taken hostage, including women and children of the sect members, numbered over 1,500, adding that "we cannot raze down Yusuf's residence and the mosques right now (yesterday). There are a lot of people in the houses in the MRTA and two main residential areas of Maiduguri and Jere council areas."

A statement by the Director of Press Affairs to the Governor, Usman Chiroma, also confirmed that Yusuf and his followers were using the civil populace as cover".

He quoted Governor Ali Modu Sheriff as advising all residents of the affected areas to stay indoors to avoid endangering their lives.

Maj.-Gen. Saleh Maina, the General Officer Commanding (GOC) 3rd Armoured Division, Jos, who is leading the offensive, ordered his men to suspend the shelling to allow civilians to move out of the area to

reduce human casualties, because the fundamentalists live in the State Low Cost Estate, Shehu and Abaganaram."

The Guardian further learnt that at about 1p.m. yesterday, the five armoured tanks deployed to the MRTA, were stationed 500 metres away from the sect's stronghold. One of the armoured carriers was on Tuesday attacked and its tyre was punctured, while advancing towards Yusuf's house and mosque.

While a combined force of 500 soldiers and policemen took strategic positions at all the entries to the area, Ahanotu, in a message to The Guardian disclosed that more than 65 sect members were killed while they were fleeing the platoon soldiers to Yusuf's house and mosque.

He said the joint military and police was able to arrest the second in command to the leader of the sect, Bukar Shekau, while Yusuf, was still with some members holed up in the house. Unconfirmed reports claimed that before the capture of Shekau, both men were sighted in military camouflage.

Shekau, according to military intelligence sources at the Maiduguri Government House, is providing useful information and means of arresting Yusuf and his armed members.

Meanwhile, all schools, markets, banks, the Maiduguri Monday Market and Musa Usman Secretariat complex that houses 18 ministries and parastatals have remained closed. Besides, the major streets in the metropolis, including the ever-busy Post Office-Airport Road and Shehu Laminu Way that lead to the MRTA were deserted.

The Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Mohammed Ali Ndume, has blamed the Federal Government for not acting enough to reign in the terrorists, in spite of the earlier security information available to it.

The lawmaker, who represents Damboa/Chibok/Gwoza Federal Constituency in the House of Lower Representatives maintained that the government was briefed early enough ahead of the possible out-break of the crisis, but did not act promptly.

The Kano State government, which yesterday expressed concern over the Islamic militant's presence in the North, demolished a mosque in Wudil used by one of the group's leader, Salisu Al- Amin Wudil.

The state government described the activities of the group as unfortunate in view of the fact that the Ibrahim Shekarau administration had been committed to peaceful co-existence and religious harmony amongst residents of the state.

In a statement signed by Adamu Abdullahi, the government reiterated its commitment to the goal of ensuring the security of lives and property of all residents.

The Managing Director of the Kano State Urban Planning and Development Agency (KNUPDA), Malam Hassan Na'Abba confirmed the demolition of the mosque and the residents of the militants' leader.

Na'Abba said the mosque w as situated in a location in Wudil not within areas earmarked for the constriction of residential and religious buildings.

In Jalingo, the sect's school located at Angwan Lariya, the state capital, was said to be solely dedicated to the teaching of ethics opposed to western civilisation.

Confirming the report, the Chairman of the Moslem Council of Nigeria (MCN), Alhaji Inuwa Jauro Manu, blamed the security agencies and the Ministry of Education for allowing such a school to exist in the state.

The school, reportedly named Alfurqan Islamic School, is located on the same street as the Motor Traffic Division (MTD) of the Nigeria Police.

Manu, who was visibly dejected, said even though, the "sect called itself a religious organisation, its actions and activities does not conform with Islam"

The proprietor, whose name was given as Malam Salihu, was said to have fled to Maiduguri along with some of his followers and their families two days to the mayhem in Borno.

AC has described as ill-timed and ill-advised the current three-day official trip to Brazil by Yar'Adua, at a time the country was in the throes of violence triggered by the misguided and self-styled 'Nigerian Taliban' sect.

In a statement issued in Lagos yesterday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party wondered what was so compelling about the trip that it could not be deferred in the national interest.

"At the last count, four states in the north have borne the brunt of the violence unleashed by the senseless members of this sect, and dozens of lives, including those of security agents, have been lost while property worth billions have been damaged.

"In addition, hundreds of our citizens have been displaced and left deeply traumatized, while there is palpable fear across the country that the violence may either spread further or degenerate.

"It is therefore unconscionable that the President, who is the father of the nation, could take this time to travel to Brazil, instead of visiting the affected areas and offering succour to the people affected," AC said.

"The President's hastily-arranged media interaction before his departure, during which he commented on the crisis, has done little or nothing to change the fact that the timing of the trip was bad," the party added.


Bauchi State Governor Seeks Collaboration From Nigerian States To Curb Militancy


[Report by Gbenga Akingbule and Sola Adeyemo: "Sectarian Violence: Brigadier-General Escapes Death in Maiduguri; 180 Hostages Freed; 35 Killed; Tension in Ibadan; 'Boko Haram' Leader Vows To Continue Attacks"]

It sounded crazy and unbelievable, but it was real. Islamic fundamentalists, under the aegis of Boko Haram, who wreaked havoc in some states in the North in the last few days, made a more daring move on Tuesday night.

In a gestapo manner, about 200 of them went after the Brigade Commander of the 21 Armoured Brigade, Maiduguri, Borno State, Brigadier-General K. A. S. Yahaya, in an attempt to kill him.

Of course, it turned out to be a costly mission, as soldiers rounded up and shot all of them.

Besides, no fewer than 35 of the fundamentalists were killed by the police in Yobe and Kastina states yesterday.

While 33 were sent to their early grave in a village near Potiskum, Yobe State, two were killed in Danja, Katsina State.

The spokesman of the Yobe State Police Command, Muhamed Paddah, confirmed the casualty figures.

The bodies of those felled in Katsina, identified by the police as Malam Murtala and Malam Aminu, have been deposited at the Funtua General Hospital.

The attempt on the life of the brigade commander, sources said, was part of the daring moves by the financiers of the fundamentalists to plunge the nation into chaos.

Apart from the soldiers, who battled those who stormed the barracks to submission, a combined team of the police and the State Security Service (SSS) also engaged those who prowled the streets of Maiduguri in gun duels that left many of the fundamentalists dead.

Booming sounds of gun kept many residents of the arid city awake throughout the night.

Several bodies of the radical sect members were seen in front of the state police headquarters on Jos-Kano road.

As at the time of this report, Governor Ali-Modu Sheriff was holding a meeting with security chiefs in the state and the General Officer Commanding (GOC), 3 Armoured Division, Jos, Major General Saleh Maina, who flew to Maiduguri on Tuesday to review the security situation.

Military sources told the Nigerian Compass that the decision to launch an offensive against the fundamentalists was contained in a directive by President Umaru Yar'Adua before he left for Brazil on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, more than 180 women and children have been freed from a house in Maiduguri where they had been held by the radical sect.

They said they were held for six days and lived only on dates and water.

Boko Haram is blamed for attacks on police stations and government sites in the North, triggering violence that has killed at least 200 people.

The women and children were said to have been abducted from Bauchi, where the violence began on Sunday.

The sect is led by Mohammed Yusuf, who has his base in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.

After the members launched a bloody attack against security forces, soldiers flooded into Yusuf's compound, shelling it with heavy weapons. They also exchanged gunfire with his followers.

The officer commanding the operation, Col. Ben Ahanotu, said the militants were well-armed and kept up a steady stream of fire.

He said there were at least 250 armed men guarding Yusuf's home, also the headquarters of the sect.

There were about another 1,000 people inside the enclave, all believed to be followers of Boko Haram.

Ahanotu also said that papers and personal items found on the bodies of the young men, indicated that many of them were not Nigerians and appear to have come from neighbouring Chad and Niger.

Meanwhile, the police in Katsina State have arrested five others, suspected to be members of the group in Danja Local Government Area of the state.

They were said to be part of the group that attacked the Danja Divisional Police Station at about 2 a.m on Tuesday, during which they wounded two policemen, snatched two guns and attempted to burn the station before they were overpowered and forced to flee.

Mr. Abdulmaji Ali, a Deputy Commissioner of Police, said that security operatives were still combing the bushes in Danja for the fleeing militants.

Governor Isa Yuguda of Bauchi State has also said that the Governors' Forum would discuss strategies to curb militancy.

He told newsmen in Bauchi that the latest invasion of some North-East states by the fanatics opposed to Western education, was an act of "terrorism".

Yuguda said the problem was not a regional crisis, but a national one, hence the need for collaboration by all the 36 states to curb it.

He declared: "The problem is not a North-East problem, but a national issue. The people are lunatics, they have psychiatric problems.

"Very soon, the Northern Governors' Forum will meet to discuss the issue. I have discussed the problem with the chairman of the 36 Governors' Forum, and he will soon call an emergency meeting.

"We are taking it at the zonal and national levels, and very soon, we will solve the problem."

The governor said the militants had planned to attack churches, to give an impression that it was a crisis between Christians and Muslims.

He, however, added: "By the time we demolished their houses, there was no single Quran found there.

"The leader of the sect is about 32 years old. He is riding in Jeeps, he has his children in private schools, has private lawyers and doctors, who treat him. He is now the one indoctrinating people against Western education."

Also yesterday, the Oyo State Police Commissioner, Baba Bolanta, suspended his maiden familiarisation tour of units under his command, in response to alleged threats of sectarian crisis.

There were rumours yesterday that the sectarian crisis might have spread to some areas of Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.

Bolanta, who had gone to Ogbomoso, was to visit Kishi, Igboho and Igbeti formations, among others.

The commissioner raced back to his office in the state capital and told newsmen that the reports making the rounds that some extremists were set to breach the peace in Ibadan were unfounded.

He added that since he did not want to take chances, he had to suspend the tour.

Bolanta allayed fears of any crisis, assuring that his men were fully on ground to stem any threats.

Meanwhile, one of the leaders of the Islamist group has said they would continue the attacks and killings.

Ibrahim Khalil Zarkawi, leader of the Boko Haram group in Yobe, Azare and Kano, told the Radio France International (RFI) Hausa service that they were holding nine police officers and four army personnel. He said that "two of the police officers are women."

"We are attacking police because they killed our brothers in Jos and Bauchi," Zarkawi told Bashir Ibrahim Idris of RFI's Hausa service. "There isn't good leadership in Nigeria. Muslims are being killed daily and the authorities are doing nothing about it. These are the reasons why we are retaliating against the police, because they are the ones who killed our brothers."

Zarkawi, who said he was speaking from the Potiskum-Damaturu road in Yobe State, said the group had already brought their grievances before the government.

"We've done that but the judiciary did not act on our petition," he said. "Everybody kept quiet. Our leaders are not saying anything - our president refused to act. The police are taking advantage of their position to kill us. That was why we decided to take the law into our hands, because enough is enough.

"We have the necessary arms to attack. At the moment, we've sealed Borno State. We won't stop until we've achieved our mission, and we have God on our side. The police claimed they killed 150 of our members, Boko Haram. It's not true. We are intact and we will continue to attack."

Zarkawi acknowledged that innocent people were suffering but blamed the government for failing to intervene earlier.

"The government did the same to us. Our president, who is a Muslim, refused to act in stopping the maiming of Muslims in Jos and Bauchi.

"We want to show the government that it doesn't have the wherewithal to deal with us. It's after that that we would start talking to go vernment."


Nigeria: Troops Search Fleeing Extremists in Maiduguri Amid Heavy Gun Fire


MAIDUGURI, Nigeria, July 30, 2009 (AFP) - Troops pounded parts of a northern Nigeria city overnight after reinforcements were sent in to help rout fleeing members of an extremist sect whose base they razed, witnesses said.

Residents and an AFP reporter heard sounds of heavy and light machine gun fire rattling across sections of the capital not previously targetted on the fifth day of deadly clashes.

The latest gunbattles came just hours after the army announced bolstering its ranks with 1,000 more soldiers to fight members of the self-styled Taliban sect.

"Fighting is still going on between the military and Boko Haram. Throughout the night, we heard gunfire coming from Shokai and Dekwa Lowcost (suburbs)," Mala Bukar, a resident of an adjacent neighbourhood told AFP.

"Up to this morning fighting is still continuing and from where we are we can hear the sound of heavy and light machineguns," he added.

An army commander said members of the Nigerian Islamist fundamentalist sect fled their bases in northern city of Maiduguri on Wednesday after the military overran their mosque and leader's house base.

Colonel Ben Ahonotu, commander of the operation against the self-styled Taliban told AFP: "We have taken over their enclave, they are on the run and we are going after them."

Residents said they saw scores of militants pass through their area Wednesday heading out of the city, some of them disguising themselves by cutting off their hair and beards.

"We spotted dozens of members of Boko Haram fleeing. They stopped by briefly, shaved their hair and beard and discarded their trademark jellabiyah (white arabic caftans) for tee-shirts and jeans, and moved on," said Hamad Bulunkutu told AFP.

"They crossed the Gamboru market river and disappeared from there," he added.

Maiduguri, capital of Borno state, has seen the worst of the unrest in northern Nigeria which started on Sunday in Bauchi state when militants attacked a police station.

It has been the birthplace and stronghold of the fundamentalists who are opposed to Western education and values.

The Nigerian extremists emerged in 2002 in Maiduguri before setting up a camp on the border with Niger, from where they launched a series of attacks on the police.

The leadership has previously said it intends to lead an armed insurrection and rid society of "immorality" and "infidelity".

President Umaru Yar'Adua had ordered the armed forces to crush the movement "once and for all".

Fighting on Wednesday concentrated on enclaves of Maiduguri believed to house the sect's leader Mohammed Yusuf. The death toll from the clashes has already surged past 300 and thousands of people have been forced to flee their homes to escape the violence.


Nigeria: Army, Police Joint Team Kills 33 Members of Islamic Sect in Yobe State


[Report by Hamza Idris: "33 Boko Haram Followers Killed"]

A combined team of army and police yesterday launched a reprisal attack and killed 33 members of the Boko Haram sect at their hideout in Mamudo village, near Potiskum town of Yobe State.

The sect members had attacked Potiskum town on Monday and killed at least five people, including three police officers.

In yesterday's counter attack, the armed personnel ambushed the extremists around 8 am and opened fire on them, using armoured tanks and sophisticated weapons.

Two members of the sect who fled from the scene were later arrested in Potiskum while another two were captured in Fika town following a tip off from members of the public, Yobe State Commissioner of Police Mohammed Abbas Murtala said at a news conference in Damaturu, the state capital.

He said the arrest of the sect members would assist security agents to obtain vital information about their hideouts, strengths and sponsors.

Before the reprisal attack, the insurgents, numbering about 50, had in the early hours of the day reportedly blocked the Maiduguri-Kano highway and disrupted the movement of vehicles.

In the ensuing confusion, they were said to have also snatched a Hilux truck belonging to the state's Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB).

The commissioner said that, with the latest onslaught on the sect members whom he described as hoodlums, "security forces have depleted their number and strength."

He said the army and police are still combing all the surrounding villages and hideouts with the aim of arresting the remaining members of the sect.

The charred remains of the 33 corpses which police sources said included the Yobe State chairman of the Boko Haram sect were later displayed at the police headquarters in the state.

Our correspondent saw many of the dead bearded insurgents, wearing boots and other jungle apparels. The commissioner said the joint task force did not record any casualty during the latest encounter.

He said items recovered at the scene of the battle include: six rifles, two pistols, one dane gun, three AK 47 empty magazines, two FNC empty magazines, two pistol empty magazines, 32 rounds of 7.62mm live ammunitions and 81 rounds of .9mm live ammunitions.

Other items recovered by the team, according to the commissioner, are: one Nokia (1100) handset, bows and arrows, daggers, machetes, catapults, knives, a copy of the Holy Quran, N25,300 [Naira] in cash as well as a Peugeot J5 with registration number XA 888 MKA and another Hiace bus with registration number XB 591 KTG.

The commissioner who solicited the support of the public towards arresting the feeing members of the sect said some of them would be seen with fresh bullet wounds.

Meanwhile, Governor Ibrahim Gaidam has described the sect, led by Ustaz Mohammed Yusuf, as an embarrassment to Islam and called on governors of northern Nigeria to rise up and address economic and social problems in order the encourage youths to desist from restiveness.

Gaidam, who was at the state police headquarters were he saw the corpses of the 33 sect members, wondered how the youths were persuaded to join the sect which he said "did not reflect the true meaning of Islam in all respect."

He said: "Islam is a religion of peace which preaches peace and peaceful coexistence. There is nowhere in the Holy Qur'an that a Muslim should kill his fellow brother or any other innocent soul."


Nigeria: Gombe State Police Arrest 7 'Suspected' Members of Islamic Group


[Report by Segun Awofadeji: "7 Suspected Boko Haram Members Arrested in Gombe"]

Seven persons suspected to be members of the notorious Islamic sect, Boko Haram, currently engaged in war with security operatives in Bauchi, Borno and Yobe states, have been arrested by Gombe State Police Command.

Police Commissioner, Joseph Ahmed Ibi, said the suspects were arrested on their way to Mallam Sidi, headquarters of Kwami Local Government Area. Giving reporters an update, Ibi said it was premature for the Command to tag them as Islamic militants until investigation confirms them as members of the group.

He said no fewer than 3,000 Policemen are on surveillance duty in the state and patrols had been organised, with checkpoints mounted. He appealed for co-operation and apologised for inconvenience this may cause motorists and passengers.

In a related development, the Command also arrested two persons suspected to be kidnappers, in possession of two little girls, between seven and 10 years of age, at Kwadon, Yamaltu - Deba Local Government Council.


Nigeria: Clip of Suspected Chadians Fighting Alongside Boko Haram Sect

AFM20090730641002 Abuja Abuja African Independent Television in English 1030 GMT 30 Jul 09

[Corrected version: Providing source time and subslug information; For assistance with multimedia elements, contact OSC at 1-800-205-8615 or [email protected].]

Kano State police arrested 33 suspected Chadian nationals believed to have fought alongside the Boko Haram sect during its 28 July confrontation with the police.

Click here to view the 122-second video.

[Description of Source: Abuja African Independent Television in English -- Privately owned independent television station]

Nigeria: Islamic Extremist Bogo Haram School found in Jalingo, Taraba State

AFP20090730614009 Abuja Cool FM in English 0545 GMT 30 Jul 09

An Islamic school belonging to the Islamic sect, Boko Haram, has been found in Jalingo, Taraba State capital.

The school with the name Afugaram Islamic School was found in Angwan Lamiyah behind the Motor traffic division of the state command of the Nigerian Police Force.

Chairman of the state chapter of the Muslim Council, Inuwa Jaruwa Umar, said some of his children were attending the school but they were withdrawn when they learnt about the curriculum.

[Description of Source: Abuja Cool FM in English - privately owned, independent radio]

Nigeria: Police Kill 33 Boko Haram Militants in Taraba State

AFP20090730614008 Abuja Radio Nigeria-Abuja in English 2100 GMT 29 Jul 09

In Taraba State, Thirty-three suspected militants of the Boko Haram group were today killed during a clash with a joint security team at Mamodu Village near Potiskum.

The state police commissioner, Alhaji Muritala Abbas, who displayed the dead bodies to newsmen in Damaturu, confirmed that the men attacked destroyed the Potiskum Police Station on Monday [27 Jul].

According to the police commissioner, the militants were trapped in the village after burning the police station.

He explained that security men swoop on the area following an intelligent report.

[Description of Source: Abuja Radio Nigeria-Abuja in English -- Federal government-owned, independent radio]

Nigeria: Joint Security Team Kills Islamic Extremist's Leader, 200 Followers


A combined team of policemen and soldiers on 30 July morning killed the deputy leader of the self-styled Nigerian Taliban aka Boko Haram, Abubakar Shekarau, and 200 followers, as they tried to flee the Borno State capital, Maiduguri. A police officer said the troops pounded many of the trouble-spots in pursuit of fleeing members of the extremist sect, on the fifth day of gun battles that have left more than 600 people dead and thousands displaced. Residents heard sounds of heavy and light machine gun fire rattling across some sections of Maiduguri not previously targeted by the deadly clashes. The latest gun battles came just hours after the army announced the bolstering of its ranks with 1,000 more soldiers to fight members of the self-styled Taliban sect.

"Up to this morning fighting is still continuing and from where we are we can hear the sound of heavy and light machine guns," Mala Bukar, a resident of an adjacent neighborhood said. The army commander of the anti-Taliban operation, Colonel Ben Ahonotu, said members of the fundamentalist sect fled their bases in Maiduguri on 29 July after the military overran their mosque and leader’s compound.

Ahonotu said, "We have taken over their enclave, they are on the run, and we are going after them." Residents said they saw scores of militants fleeing through their area on 29 July, heading out of the city, some of them disguising themselves by cutting off their hair and beards. "We spotted dozens members of

Boko Haram fleeing. They stopped by briefly, shaved their hair and beard and discarded their trademark jellabiyah [white Arabic caftans] for tee-shirts and jeans, and moved on. They crossed the Gamboru market river and disappeared from there," " Hamad Bulunkutu, a resident of the area said.

Even as they fled, the militants burnt a police station on Wednesday night in the heat of gun battles in Maiduguri. "A large crowd of Boko Haram members stormed the police station around 10pm [2100 GMT] and set it on fire," said Umar Shitu, a resident who witnessed the attack. Maiduguri has seen the worst of the unrest, which started on 26 July in Bauchi State when militants attacked a police station. President Yar’Adua had ordered the armed forces to crush the movement "once and for all." Fighting on 29 July concentrated on enclaves of Maiduguri, believed to house the sect’s leader Mohammed Yusuf. The death toll from the clashes has already surged past 600 and thousands of people have been forced to flee their homes to escape the violence.


Nigeria: Government To Collate Data on Abducted Children by Islamic Sect

AFP20090730614010 Abuja Rhythm FM in English 1100 GMT 30 Jul 09

The Plateau State government has opened a register to collate data of children allegedly abducted by the Boko Haram Islamic sect just as clashes between the sect and the security men continued yesterday in Yobe and Borno States.

The commissioner for information in the state, Gregory Yenlong, who gave the indication said the register would be located at the Plateau State police headquarters.

He urged parents whose children are missing to come forward and make a complaints to enable the government trace them.

The Islamic militant group is believed to have abducted children [words indistinct] to receive Islamic education and relocated them to Borno State.

[Description of Source: Abuja Rhythm FM in English - privately owned, independent radio]

Nigeria: Security Team Rescues 180 Women, Children Held Captive by Islamic Sect

AFP20090730606007 Abuja Leadership in English 30 Jul 09 p 1

A total of 63 persons believed to be members of the religious sect, Boko Haram, lost their lives in two separate shoot-outs between the militants and security agents in Maiduguri and Damaturu yesterday. Also, security sources said last night that the sect leader, Mohammad Yusuf, disappeared mysteriously from his house in Maiduguri, which was surrounded by soldiers. LEADERSHIP could not confirm whether or not his disappearance was after or before the soldiers besieged his house. In Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, at least 30 people were killed yesterday in a fresh gun battle as security forces stepped up their hunt for members of the sect, while in Damaturu, the Yobe State capital, another 33 members of the sect died in a shoot-out with the police in a village near Pokistum yesterday.

President Yar'Adua had on 28 July ordered the deployment of soldiers to the troubled states in the north to quell the uprising that has claimed over 400 lives. Commissioner of Police in Yobe State, Mohammed Abbas Murtala, confirmed that 33 persons believed to be members of the sect were killed and various dangerous weapons were recovered from them. Besides the death toll, another 47 youths, the police said, were arrested.

Another 1,000 soldiers were yesterday deployed to northern states to reinforce troops battling the sect after four days of deadly clashes, a military source said. "We really want to get this job done in the shortest possible time, therefore, we have received reinforcements of 1,000 troops," said a source who asked not to be named because of military protocol. "They arrived this afternoon to complement troops on the ground," the source said in Maiduguri, the base of the self-styled Nigerian Taliban who had fought security forces since 26 July.

The soldiers were flown in from Calabar, the capital city of Cross River State. Troops have struggled since 27 July to clamp down on the radical Islamist sect that went on a rampage, torching government buildings and sparking fierce clashes with security forces.

Four days have seen the death toll surging past 300 and thousands of people forced from their homes, the majority in Maiduguri. Fighting yesterday was centered around five neighborhoods and was at its most intense in Bayan Quarters where the sect's leader Mohammed Yusuf was based.

Yusuf's home was shelled by forces 28 July night, along with a mosque where many of his followers had gathered, but Yusuf appeared to have escaped. A police source said earlier in the day that the offensive to rout the militants was likely to take longer than previously thought. President Umaru Yar'Adua, who placed troops on maximum alert on 27 July, had been optimistic the rebels would be routed within a day. "We have the situation under control now and I believe that by the end of the day, everything would have been taken care of," Yar'Adua told reporters 28 July night.

Security forces have freed about 200 women and children during a crackdown on the sect. Soldiers in armored personnel carriers surrounded and shelled parts of a compound that is home to Yusuf, destroying buildings including a small mosque. The preacher's whereabouts were unknown. Joint military and armed police patrols went from house to house searching for his followers, arresting more than 100 people. Police said they had freed 180 women and children whose husbands and fathers were among Yusuf's followers. Members of the sect say their wives should not be seen by other men and that their children should receive only a Qur'anic education.

"The soldiers and police are now combing the whole city of Maiduguri, going from house to house searching for followers of the Boko Haram," Maiduguri resident Adamu Yari said. "Hundreds of the members have been arrested," he said, adding that the sound of military bombardments from the area around Yusuf's compound had continued throughout the night.

In Kano police said they had arrested 53 Boko Haram followers, including the second in command in the state, and destroyed the local leader's home and mosque on the orders of Governor Ibrahim Shekarau. They said the men had been found with home-made guns and explosives and were believed to be planning attacks. Arrests have also been made in Sokoto. Yar'Adua has ordered the security forces to take all necessary action and warned that the leader of the group wants to declare a "fully fledged holy war."

"These people have been organized and are penetrating our society and procuring arms and gathering information on how to make explosions and bombs to force their view on the rest of Nigerians," Yar'Adua said. "We are going to continue with security surveillance all over the northern states and fish out any remnant of this group and deal with them promptly." Boko Haram followers -- who include some university lecturers and students as well as illiterate, jobless youths -- wear long beards and red or black headscarves and recognize only their own interpretation of Shari’a law.

"Poverty, injustice, and the inability of the government of the day to implement the Shari’a legal system is the reason why the sect is calling for a change of leadership for Nigeria," Kadiru Atiku, the group's leader in Sokoto, told reporters after his arrest on 28 July.

Muslim clerics yesterday in Lagos slammed the violence in the north as criminal and an embarrassment to the religion. "It's unfortunate and an embarrassment to the Muslims," Abdulkarim Mohazu, secretary general of Nigeria's Jama'atul Nasril Islam, an umbrella body of Muslims in the country said. He said the organization was calling an emergency meeting of Nigerian Islamic scholars to discuss the developments and map out ways to help the government tackle the violence.

"Up till now we don't know who the perpetrators are, but this is totally criminal and not good at all," Mohazu said. "Had we known these people, we would have asked their leaders to show us which part of the Qur'an which says Western education is a sin. We hope government can help us find these people so we can talk to them."

The Haram Boko extremists emerged in 2002 in Maiduguri, before setting up a camp on the border with Niger, from where they launched a series of attacks against the police. Maiduguri remains the group's base and stronghold. In Nasarawa State, government has beefed up security to forestall any outbreak of crisis. The state governor, Alhaji Aliyu Akwe Doma, summoned a meeting of security chiefs at Government House, Lafia, to intensify effort in ensuring that the crisis did not spill into the state.

As part of the measures taken to ensure harmonious co-existence in the state, the governor approved the appointment Alhaji Auwalu Mohammed Ali and Very Rev. Nehemiah Viaga Swende as senior special assistants on Islam and Christianity. The state police commissioner, Shehu Babalola, has mapped out strategies to combat any crisis in the state. During the meeting that lasted over 40 minutes, he said all

security operatives were detailed to remain vigilant on the possible of any outbreak of violence. Traditional rulers were asked to report any suspicious persons in their locality.

Meanwhile, Maiduguri streets remained empty yesterday while communications networks were badly affected as all the major GSM networks were destroyed by the sect members. A Superintendent of police who did not want his name in print accused the sect members of destroying the communication network, but added that security agencies in the state were working hard to restore effective communication. Sources also revealed to our reporter that the assistant commander of the sect was arrested by security agencies and was undergoing interrogation. The prices of foodstuff and other essential commodities skyrocketed in the city as market remained closed and transportation of food items became a difficult task.

Also an unnamed Nigerian official said yesterday that about 4,000 people have so far fled their homes in Maiduguri as troops and militants’ gun battles entered its fourth day. The National Emergency Management Agency spokesman Apollus Jediel said about 1,000 people fled their homes in Maiduguri on 29 July alone. His agency urged state governments to send relief goods to help the displaced people.

[Description of Source: Abuja Leadership in English - Privately owned daily]

Nigeria: Sectarian Violence Claims More Than 300 Lives in North

FEA20090730877081 - OSC Feature - The Guardian Online 30 Jul 09

[Report by Mohammed Abubakar, Njadvara Musa, Adamu Abuh and Charles Akpeji: "Fighting Rages, Death Toll Hits 300 in Borno; Schools, Govt Offices, Hospitals Shut; Sect's Leader Uses Children as Shield; AC, Others Condemn Yar'Adua's Absence"]

Heavy bombardments by the nation's forces on suspected strongholds of Boko Haram, the northern-based Islamic sect that is championing a 'Jihad' (holy war) in the region, continued yesterday.

Unconfirmed reports said that the death toll from the clash had risen to 300 while thousands of the residents had been displaced in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.

The leader of the sect, Mohammed Yusuf, was reportedly using some residents of the heart of the clashes, the Maiduguri Railway Terminus Areas (MRTA), as human shield.

In Jalingo, Taraba State, security agents have located a school where the sect trains its members while in Kano, the state government has demolished a mosque used by the armed group.

A senior government official in Maiduguri claimed that 4,000 people had fled their homes as troops and militants engaged in battles for the fourth day.

The opposition Action Congress (AC) has described President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua's trip to Brazil in the face of the crisis as ill-timed.

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) spokesman Apollus Jediel said about 1,000 people fled their homes in Maiduguri yesterday alone and appealed to the state government to assist the displaced persons.

Militants seeking to impose Sharia law throughout the multi-religious country attacked a police station in Bauchi State on Sunday. The violence spread to three other states, hundreds of people are reported to have been killed in the violence. Police said most of the victims were militants.

Yusuf's residence was shelled by troops on Tuesday evening, along with a mosque where many of his followers meet, but he allegedly escaped.

"The house and the mosque have been pulverised and reduced to rubble. To be honest with you I don't think the campaign will be finished within the next day or two," a police officer said.

Yesterday, the Borno State government advised residents of the six areas adjoining the scene of the fighting to stay indoors as the attack on the militants continued, to avoid being hit by stray bullets. The areas include Kumshe, Floor Mills, Kasuwan Shanu, State Low Cost, Kofar Biyu and Gamboru Police Station.

The police in Borno also said yesterday that they had concluded arrangement to return the 180 women and children allegedly lured to Maiduguri from Bauchi and nine others from Bukuru in Plateau State under the guise that they were going for Islamic Jihad.

Police spokesman, Isa Azare, commended the state government for its pledge to assist the command transfer the women and children back to their Bauchi base.

He said the Deputy Governor, Adamu Shettima Dibal, has promised the state government's financial assistance to the police to enable them transport the people back to their places, but it was not clear as at press time if the promise had been fulfilled.

Azare would, however, not give the exact details of the casualties, saying it was difficult to give a precise figure, given the fact that the operation was on-going. "You know it is not appropriate to give any figure of casualties now, because, apart from the sects members that were killed, there are a good number of policemen that are still missing. Until after the operation when the coast becomes clearer, nobody can give a definite number of those who have lost their lives."

But The Guardian learnt that the two hospitals in the state capital had been finding it difficult to accommodate the growing number of victims. For instance, it was learnt that the mortuary of the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH) had been filled to capacity. As a result, bodies were being dumped at the car park, at the Umaru Shehu Ultra Modern Hospital, Bulumkutu.

However, concerns were being raised as the expected capture of Yusuf appeared far- fetched given the inability of the combined military and police operations to capture the sect leader, who, is said to be taking human shields to avoid arrest. As a resident told The Guardian, the military is incapacitated by the fact that Yusuf had tactically resorted to human shields to avoid arrest.

For instance, at the Shehu North, men of the Operation Flush 11 were seen beating a retreat having been overwhelmed by the high number of the sect members who were said to be coming out in their hundreds from their hide-outs. The area is close to the palace of the Shehu of Borno.

Col. Ben Ahanotu, commander of Operation Flush 11, confirmed the fears as he said residents taken hostage, including women and children of the sect members, numbered over 1,500, adding that "we cannot raze down Yusuf's residence and the mosques right now (yesterday). There are a lot of people in the houses in the MRTA and two main residential areas of Maiduguri and Jere council areas."

A statement by the Director of Press Affairs to the Governor, Usman Chiroma, also confirmed that Yusuf and his followers were using the civil populace as cover".

He quoted Governor Ali Modu Sheriff as advising all residents of the affected areas to stay indoors to avoid endangering their lives.

Maj.-Gen. Saleh Maina, the General Officer Commanding (GOC) 3rd Armoured Division, Jos, who is leading the offensive, ordered his men to suspend the shelling to allow civilians to move out of the area to reduce human casualties, because the fundamentalists live in the State Low Cost Estate, Shehu and Abaganaram."

The Guardian further learnt that at about 1p.m. yesterday, the five armoured tanks deployed to the MRTA, were stationed 500 metres away from the sect's stronghold. One of the armoured carriers was on Tuesday attacked and its tyre was punctured, while advancing towards Yusuf's house and mosque.

While a combined force of 500 soldiers and policemen took strategic positions at all the entries to the area, Ahanotu, in a message to The Guardian disclosed that more than 65 sect members were killed while they were fleeing the platoon soldiers to Yusuf's house and mosque.

He said the joint military and police was able to arrest the second in command to the leader of the sect, Bukar Shekau, while Yusuf, was still with some members holed up in the house. Unconfirmed reports claimed that before the capture of Shekau, both men were sighted in military camouflage. Shekau, according to military intelligence sources at the Maiduguri Government House, is providing useful information and means of arresting Yusuf and his armed members.

Meanwhile, all schools, markets, banks, the Maiduguri Monday Market and Musa Usman Secretariat complex that houses 18 ministries and parastatals have remained closed. Besides, the major streets in the metropolis, including the ever-busy Post Office-Airport Road and Shehu Laminu Way that lead to the MRTA were deserted.

The Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Mohammed Ali Ndume, has blamed the Federal Government for not acting enough to reign in the terrorists, in spite of the earlier security information available to it.

The lawmaker, who represents Damboa/Chibok/Gwoza Federal Constituency in the House of Lower Representatives maintained that the government was briefed early enough ahead of the possible out-break of the crisis, but did not act promptly.

The Kano State government, which yesterday expressed concern over the Islamic militant's presence in the North, demolished a mosque in Wudil used by one of the group's leader, Salisu Al- Amin Wudil.

The state government described the activities of the group as unfortunate in view of the fact that the Ibrahim Shekarau administration had been committed to peaceful co-existence and religious harmony amongst residents of the state.

In a statement signed by Adamu Abdullahi, the government reiterated its commitment to the goal of ensuring the security of lives and property of all residents.

The Managing Director of the Kano State Urban Planning and Development Agency (KNUPDA), Malam Hassan Na'Abba confirmed the demolition of the mosque and the residents of the militants' leader. Na'Abba said the mosque was situated in a location in Wudil not within areas earmarked for the constriction of residential and religious buildings.

In Jalingo, the sect's school located at Angwan Lariya, the state capital, was said to be solely dedicated to the teaching of ethics opposed to western civilisation.

Confirming the report, the Chairman of the Moslem Council of Nigeria (MCN), Alhaji Inuwa Jauro Manu, blamed the security agencies and the Ministry of Education for allowing such a school to exist in the state.

The school, reportedly named Alfurqan Islamic School, is located on the same street as the Motor Traffic Division (MTD) of the Nigeria Police. Manu, who was visibly dejected, said even though, the "sect called itself a religious organisation, its actions and activities does not conform with Islam." The proprietor, whose name was given as Malam Salihu, was said to have fled to Maiduguri along with some of his followers and their families two days to the mayhem in Borno.

AC has described as ill-timed and ill-advised the current three-day official trip to Brazil by Yar'Adua, at a time the country was in the throes of violence triggered by the misguided and self-styled 'Nigerian Taliban' sect.

In a statement issued in Lagos yesterday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party wondered what was so compelling about the trip that it could not be deferred in the national interest.

"At the last count, four states in the north have borne the brunt of the violence unleashed by the senseless members of this sect, and dozens of lives, including those of security agents, have been lost while property worth billions have been damaged.

"In addition, hundreds of our citizens have been displaced and left deeply traumatized, while there is palpable fear across the country that the violence may either spread further or degenerate.

"It is therefore unconscionable that the President, who is the father of the nation, could take this time to travel to Brazil, instead of visiting the affected areas and offering succour to the people affected," AC said. "The President's hastily-arranged media interaction before his departure, during which he commented on the crisis, has done little or nothing to change the fact that the timing of the trip was bad," the party added.


Nigeria: Leader of Islamic Militant Group Reportedly Killed in Police Detention

GMP20090730643005 Doha Al Jazeera.net in English 30 Jul 09

[Unattributed report titled: "Nigeria's Boko Haram chief 'killed"]

The leader of an Islamist sect blamed for violence that has killed hundreds of people in northern Nigeria has been killed in police detention, a policeman spokesman has said. "He has been killed. You can come and see his body at the state police command headquarters," Isa Azare, spokesman for the police command in the northern city of Maiduguri, said on Thursday.

Security forces had earlier reported that Mohammed Yusuf had been arrested and that he was in Giwa barracks in Nigeria's northern state of Borno.

At least 180 people have been killed and thousands of people displaced as the sect seeks to impose sharia, or Islamic law, across Africa's most populous country.

Al Jazeera's Yvonne Ndege, reporting from Borno state in northern Nigeria, said: "One cannot be hundred per cent sure of what the police are saying about the capture and death of Mohammed Yusuf for two reasons."One, the military and police are under sustained political pressure to rout out Boko Haram. Two, on Wednesday were told that Yusuf and at least 300 of his supporters fled Maiduguru as they were being pursued by Nigerian security forces. What we have asked the Nigerian police force for is evidence that they have actually captured Mohammed Yusuf but we have not got it."

News of Yusuf's death came after the group's deputy leader was reported to be among dozens of people killed after troops had shelled Boko Haram's base in the city of Maiduguri.

Security forces were said to be pressing ahead with the hunt for Boko Haram members on Thursday.

The government warned people to evacuate the area, then shelled and stormed the group's mosque and headquarters on Wednesday night. A firefight ensued with retreating Boko Haram members armed with homemade hunting rifles, firebombs, bows and arrows, machetes and scimitars.

A reporter for the Associated Press news agency saw soldiers shoot their way into the mosque and then open fire on those inside. The reporter later counted about 50 bodies inside the building and another 50 in the courtyard outside.

Our correspondent said there has been a "reduction in some of the fighting and that's because the Nigerian security forces have been able to flush out some Boko Haram members".

"It now appears many of the Boko Haram members have fled the scene, but there has been more violence in another state - Kano state - not far from Borno state, where we understand that security forces bulldozed a mosque and a house where the alleged leader was living," she said.

Bystanders 'Killed'

A spokesman for a human rights group said government forces had killed bystanders and other civilians as they battled members of the sect.

But a military spokesman denied the charge and said it was impossible for rights workers to differentiate between civilians and members of the Boko Haram.

Abubakar Umar Gada, a senator from Sokoto state in northern Nigeria, told Al Jazeera that security agents had been deployed heavily and the situation "is totally under control". He said Boko Haram had "taken advantage of the large number of people who are unemployed" and lacking opportunities to better their lives. "We largely have a social problem that has been taken advantage of by these miscreants to cause havoc and confusion," Gada said.

Boko Haram, which means "Western education is prohibited" in the local Hausa dialect, has called for the enforcement of sharia, or Islamic law, across Africa's most populous nation.

Nigeria's 140 million people are nearly evenly divided between Christians, who dominate the south, and the primarily northern-based Muslims.

Islamic law was implemented in 12 northern states after Nigeria returned to civilian rule in 1999 following years of military rule.

The clashes began on Sunday in nearby Bauchi state, with fighters attacking police stations, before spilling over into Yobe. Residents said fighters armed with machetes, knives, bows and arrows and home-made explosives attacked police buildings and anyone resembling a police officer or government official in the city.

But most of the casualties appear to have been in Maiduguri, the northeastern city known as the birthplace and stronghold of the group.

[Description of Source: Doha Al Jazeera.net in English -- Website of the Al Jazeera English TV, international English-language news service of Al-Jazirah, independent television station financed by the Qatari Government; URL: http://english.aljazeera.net ]

Xinhua: Writethru: Nigerian Riot Leader Killed in Northeast Borno State

CPP20090730968367 Beijing Xinhua in English 2127 GMT 30 Jul 09

[Xinhua: "Writethru: Nigerian Riot Leader Killed in Northeast Borno State"]

[Computer selected and disseminated without OSC editorial intervention]

LAGOS, July 30 (Xinhua) -- Nigeria's Islamic sect leader Mohammed Yusuf was killed by Nigerian military force in Maiduguri,capital of Borno State, on Thursday evening, according to the Nigerian military authority.

Mohammed Yerima, director of information of Nigerian Military Force, told Xinhua that the wanted sect leader Yusuf was killed during a gun battle on Thursday evening.

Nigeria's Television Authority (NTA) also reported that the sect head's body was recognized by local residents. The sect leader, who stirred up the four-day riot in northeast Nigeria states, was said to have told his men never to retreat, but he caused about 300 deaths of his men in their gun fight against the military and police on Wednesday.

Nigeria's Borno State Governor Ali Sheriff vowed to catch Yusufand bring punishment to him.

The military destroyed Yusuf's camp and conducted a house-to-house search to ensure that they cleared all his men hiding aroundthe place.

Saleh Maina, military officer commanding of three Armored Division, said the army and the police had taken over the area, noting that there was no escape route for Yusuf and his men.

Till early Thursday evening, the NTA reported that Yusuf was killed in a fighting. The riot was trigged by some popularly called "Boko Haram" which was said to have been campaigning against anything Western.

The sectarian unrest that erupted in northern Nigeria's Bauchi State on Sunday has spread to neighboring Adamawa, Kano, Borno andYobe States where over 300 people were reportedly killed on Monday.

On Wednesday, hundreds of members of the sect were killed in a gun battle and the riots led to about 600 deaths in the past four days. Thousands of residents are reported to have fled their home.

Nigerian President Umaru Yar'Adua has directed that security bebeefed up in all neighboring states and also that security personnel be placed on alert to ensure that the attacks did not spread elsewhere.

It was learnt that members of the sect had been planning a demonstration in Bauchi for a long time but were not given the chance because of the fear by government that their doctrine, if allowed to be preached publicly, would cause a religious crisis, considering the fact that the teachings were completely contrary to those of other Islamic sects as regards peaceful coexistence. Nigeria is a secular country with the population evenly dividedbetween Christians and Muslims.

The northern region with 19 out of the country' s 36 states is predominantly Muslim, while Christians dominate the south.

[Description of Source: Beijing Xinhua in English -- China's official news service for English-language audiences (New China News Agency)]

Nigeria: Uncertainty Over Boko Haram's Leader's Condition


The Nigeria Police say they have arrested the fleeing leader of the self-styled Nigerian Taliban aka Boko Haram, Mohammed Yusuf. He was arrested as he fled the Borno State capital, Maiduguri, with some of his followers. He was found hiding in a goat pen in the home of his parents-in-law. The state police commissioner, Mr. Christopher Dega, said the militant leader was being held at the Giwa Military Base in Maiduguri. Mohammed Yusuf had been paraded before journalists with no apparent sign of injury.

However, an al-Jazeera reporter in Maiduguri expressed doubts that the person captured was Yusuf. The report said, "We can’t be 100 percent sure that the man that Nigerian forces say they’ve captured is indeed the leader of Boko Haram because throughout 30 July, Nigerian security forces were telling us that Boko Haram’s leader, Mohammed Yussef and at least 300 fighters had fled a complex that was under fire. There was serious gunfire between Nigerian security forces and followers of Mohammed Yusuf. Now we’re hearing this news that he has indeed been taken by police and incarcerated, and we are trying to get the Nigerian security forces to show us evidence that he is behind bars."

When contacted, the spokesman of the Nigeria Police, Mr. Emmanuel Ojukwu, neither confirmed nor denied it.

During the NTA 2000 GMT News 30 July, however, Mr. Ojukwu said Mohammed Yusuf was killed in a shootout along Potiskum/Damaturu road, Borno State.

AIT News 1900 GMT 30 July says Yusuf was arrested by the joint security team at 1800 GMT while fleeing from the gunfire between the joint security force and his followers in Borno State.


Nigeria: Officials Confirmed Killing of Mohammed Yesufu, Boko Haram Sect Leader


The leader of the Islamic militant group, Boko Haram sect, Mohammed Yesufu has been killed

Radio Nigeria Correspondent Abdallah Bello reports that security agents swooped on the area following a tip off.

The Borno State deputy governor, Alhaji Adamu Shetimma, confirmed that the extremist leader has been killed.

Also, the DIG [Deputy Inspector General of Police] Operations, Force Headquarters, Mr John Hamza Ahmadu, said Yesufu was killed in a shoot out with security agents.

Mr Yusuf led Boko Haram, which wants to overthrow the government and impose a strict version of Islamic law.

Hundreds of people have died in five days of clashes between his followers and security forces.


Nigeria: Kebbi Government Denies Existence of Islamic Sect in State


[Report by Saka Ibrahim: "'No Boko Haram in Kebbi'"]

Kebbi State government yesterday denied the existence of 'Boko Haram sect in any part of the state.

Security Adviser to the State Governor Colonel Musa Abdullahi (rtd), after an emergency security meeting with emirs to prevent the spread of the crisis to the state, said the meeting was necessary to protect lives and property.

The Boko Haram religious sect started violence in Bauchi, which later spread to Borno, Yobe, Kano and Kastina states.

Abdullahi said the traditional rulers were told to meet with their district heads, village heads, religion and opinion leaders, to ensure peace in all nooks and crannies of the state.

He said all the 21 local government chairmen had also been mandated to hold security meetings to prevent violence.

He said, "actually the state Security Council has met in response to the present crisis in the North. We don't want the crisis to spread to Kebbi State. We know that religious matters are best handled by the emirs and that is why we invited them. We have taken measures that will prevent the spread of the crisis to the state and adequate security measures have also been taken to protect lives and property.

"We have to call the emirs, because whenever we have problems, they are the first people we go to, because they are the people close to those at the grassroots and that we'll be able to fish out criminals within the communities.

BOTh the state government and security agents are working hand in hand with the emirs to prevent crisis in this state," he said, and appealed to the people to report criminals and people with suspicious characters to traditional rulers and security agents, for prompt action.


Nigeria: Plateau State Police Arrest 18 'Suspected' Members of Islamist Sect

AFP20090731565002 Lagos Daily Sun Online in English 31 Jul 09

[Report by Mariam Leshinloye Agboola: "18 Suspects Arrested in Jos"]

The Nigeria Police, Plateau State Command, has arrested 18 people suspected to be members of the Islamist militant known as Boko Haram sects in Jos.

Plateau State Commissioner of Police, Mr Gregory Anyangting, while parading the suspects before journalists said from the intelligence report they have gathered, the members of the group planned to attack Jos, which led security operatives to beef up security in Jos.

According to him, one person named Shamsuddeen Salisu Nakofa was arrested with large quantity of camouflage army uniform, one shoe and berret, 15 CD plates and some materials with Arabic inscription.

The suspect told the police that he belonged to the Taliban group and led police detectives where he used to purchase the materials from one Ete Ekafor in Aba, Abia State.

The commissioner further said police also arrested 16 people in one house with one Ghanaian, a Nigerian and other youths from Funtua, Katsina State.

The commissioner said police was investigating them to know whether they have linked with members of the sects.

Speaking to journalist after they were paraded, Malam Shamsuddeen Salisu said even though he was not a member of the Taliban group, he sold the army uniform to them. He said some of them had ordered him to purchase and take them to Bauchi before he was arrested.

Mr Ekafor said he was not the one who sold the uniform but confessed that he assisted Shamsuddeen to get to the person who sells the materials in Aba because the buyer told him that he was a tailor with the Nigerian Army.

[Description of Source: Lagos Daily Sun Online in English -- Website of the privately owned daily close to former Abia State Governor Orji Kalu; URL: http://www.sunnewsonline.com]

Nigeria: Katsina State Police Arrest 35 'Suspected' Members of Islamic Group


[Report by Andy Asemota: "35 Islamist Militants Nabbed in Katsina; 2 Found Dead"]

No fewer than 35 suspected members of Islamic fundamentalist group known as 'Boko Haram' which created palpable fear, panic and left deaths on its trail in Borno, Bauchi, Kano and Yobe states have run out of luck in four different towns in Katsina State.

The state Police Command Commissioner, Mr. Dan' Azumi Doma, who confirmed this to newsmen on Thursday disclosed that 12 of the suspects were arrested in Katsina metropolis, 16 in Bakori, seven at Danja town and one in Abukur village.

Mr. Doma also pointed out that while two members of the sect who sustained injuries during the attempt to kill policemen and torch Danja Police Station were found dead, two policemen received matchet cuts.

Drawing attention to the blood soaked knife, container of fuel, charms and herbs suspected to be Indian hemp seized from the suspected militants, the commissioner said mayhem was averted in Katsina because the police intercepted 95 knives, 18 matchets, 46 arrows, six bows and 44 swords among other dangerous weapons the group was about to distribute to its foot soldiers in the state.

He noted that adequate security arrangement had been put in place to guarantee the safety of lives and property in the state, hence an attempt by members of the group to burn down Danja Police Station was quickly repelled.

Responding to criticism that members of the Boko Haram were known to security agencies and nothing was done to curtail their excess, the police commissioner insisted that it was a wrongly held impression.

Said he: "I want to place on record that acting on my intelligence, ten members of the group were arrested in 2008 and transferred to Force CID, Abuja, for further action as their activities transcended Katsina State.

"Few weeks later, the ten suspects were returned to the command to be prosecuted. They were charged to Chief Magistrate Court but were discharged and acquitted under Section 159 of the Penal Code Law (using false evidence to procure conviction)."


Nigeria: Buhari Says Only Elite, Education can Redeem Nigeria, not Courts

AFP20091115619001 Lagos TheNews in English 09 Nov 09 - 16 Nov 09 pp 19-19, 21-27

[Interview with Muhammadu Buhari, former military head of state, ANPP presidential candidate for 2003 and 2007 elections by TheNews correspondents Babafemi Ojodu and Oluokun Ayorinde in Kaduna; date not given - first paragraph TheNews introduction]

Former head of state and presidential candidate of the All Nigeria peoples Party in the 2003 and 2007 elections, offers his ideas on how to stop the juggernaut of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, solutions to political ills bedeviling the country, and his plans for the 2011 election. He spoke to managing editor, BABAFEMI OJUDU and Abuja bureau chief, OLUOKUN AYORINDE.

Nothing, perhaps, illustrates the popularity of General Muhammadu Buhari (retired) with the Nigerian masses than the ease with which his Kaduna residence could be located. All it would take a first-timer is to ask any of the thousands of commercial motorcyclists who ply different parts of the city that once served as the capital of the Northern region for direction. The stranger can be sure of enjoying the services of an outrider to the Sultan Close residence of the former head of state.

But For the well armed soldiers standing guard at the gate of the residence, there was nothing else to indicate that, Maigaskiya, i.e. the one who cherishes the truth, as the northern masses like to call Buhari former head of state and two-time presidential candidate of the All Nigeria Peoples Party [ANPP] is the occupier of the simple white duplex which straddles the end of the close.

You would not see a crowd of hangers-on or a retinue of favor-seekers with expensive automobiles lining up, a common sight at the residence of other politicians of even less influence than Buhari. The fact that the name of the close itself has not been changed to that of its most prominent occupant is itself a reflection of the character of the retired military officer-turned politician.

When a team from this magazine met the retired General for an interview three weeks ago, he was just returning from the Friday juma’at prayers. The interview was held against the background of a coalition consisting of politicians of different hues being spear-headed to challenge the ruling Peoples Democratic Party [PDP] in the 2011 elections.

This came to light some weeks ago with the visit of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar and Alhaji Attahiru Bafarawa, the immediate past govern or of Sokoto State, to Buhari’s residence in Kaduna. Atiku and Bafarawa were the presidential flag bearers of the Action Congress [AC] and the Democratic Peoples Party [DPP] respectively in the 2007 elections.

"It is true they met to strategize on ways of bringing like-minded politicians to salvage the democratic process and save the country from the bad governance of the PDP," Mallam Garba Shehu, spokesperson to Atiku said in confirmation of the meeting.

"Yes, they discussed the plight of Nigerians in the areas of insecurity, the lack of social welfare as well as socio-economic and political problems, and mapped out strategies on how to redress them," Sule Yahaya-Hamma, the director general of The Buhari Organisation also told reporters.

Had Buhari also met with former Lagos State governor, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu? "Yes, we met for the purpose of the electoral reforms. There is this saying that nearly anybody can steer the ship of a group or a nation but not everybody can chart the course for a nation. To have leaders who combine the two is very crucial for the success of a nation. We have to forget the attitude of failure and believe in ourselves that we can do it.

Yes, we can. If Obama didn’t believe in himself, he would not have been President of the United States of America today," Tinubu told reporters at the end of his meeting with Buhari.

The meetings between Buhari and other politicians has since developed in to a new coalition, the National Democratic Initiative [NDI]. Present at the maiden consultative forum of the coalition, held in Abuja on Wednesday 28 October, were Atiku, Bafarawa, the national secretary of the AC, Usman Bugafe, Chief Tom Ikimi, Chief Olu Falae, Alhaji Lawal Kaita, Professor Pat Utomi, a former presidential candidate and Senator Olorunnimbe Mamora among others.

Buhari told reporters at the end of the meeting: "Naturally, no conscientious citizen can remain unconcerned in the face of what is happening today. This is why we are alarmed. Bu t we are tired of sitting and agonizing over what is happening. Therefore, we are here because we want change in the direction in which this nation is going. But by its very nature, change cannot come by itself; it has to be brought about. So, we are all gathered here today to begin exploring ways of bringing about that needed democratic change peacefully."

The former head of state said that the task of rescuing Nigeria from the ruling PDP is even more urgent with the failure of the party in the performance of basic functions of the government. "Law and order have been routinely breaking down among various communities throughout the nation. Kidnappings and ritual killings have put personal security in great jeopardy, infrastructure has dilapidated beyond repair, and service provision has all but collapsed. Our roads are impassable, our schools are closed," Buhari said. He noted further that the country may dangerously slide in to a failed state.

In a press release the same day the meeting of the NDI was held at Abuja, Professor Nuhu Alkali, the PDP national publicity secretary said that the party is unperturbed by the assembly of those he described as "bad losers". But in his reaction early last week, the senior special assistant to President Yar’Adua on political matters, Senator Polycarp Nwite, described Buhari as an alarmist.

"The continuous tirade against this government by the former military ruler, Gen. Buhari, is at best an affront on the culture of free speech and courageous Nigerian media, both of which he did everything to emasculate during his days as a military dictator," Nwite said in a press release.

Yet, as harsh as this criticism of Buhari may seem, Nwite only echoed the views of many who have continued to query Buhari’s democratic credentials against the backdrop of the authoritarian approach of the military regime he headed From 31 December 1983 to 27 August 1985. The Buhari-led Supreme Military Council promulgated the State Security (Detention of Persons) Decree No.2, which gave the Chief of Staff Supreme Headquarters the power to detain for up to six months without trial anyone considered a security risk,

There was also the Public Officers (Protection Against False Accusation) Decree No.4, which criminalized reportage of any information deemed to be embarrassing to the military government. Two journalists, Tunde Thompson and Nduka Irabor, were convicted under the decree.

Another action of the regime which many said has continued to hang on the neck of Buhari was the public execution, through firing squad, of the trio of Bernard Ogedengbe, Bartholomew Owoh, and Lawai Ofulope for drug trafficking through a decree promulgated retroactively to stipulate capital punishment for the offence. But in obvious defense of the actions of the military administration he headed, Buhari told this magazine in an interview that none of the punishments were meted out arbitrarily as all concerned were given the opportunity of defending themselves.

But in spite of such criticisms, however, the Buhari-led military regime has remained in the minds of Nigerians for its War Against Indiscipline, which many still fondly recall as helping to instill a great deal of order in the society while it lasted. In the same vein, many Nigerians have also come to regard the former military ruler as incorruptible. Indeed, Buahri perceives integrity as the major asset that has kept him in politics.

Born in Daura in the present Katsina State on 17 December 1942, General Buhari first came into national prominence when he was appointed as governor of the then North-Eastern State during the regime of late General Murtala Muhammed. He later became the commissioner for petroleum and natural resources in 1975 when General Olusegun Obasanjo succeeded Murtala Mohammed after the latter’s assassination.

After he was overthrown by General Ibrahim Babangida in 1985, Buhari retired to a quiet civilian life until he was appointed the boss of the Petroleum Trust Fund under the late General Sani Abacha.

Buhari’s first incursion into politics was in 2003 when he contested as the presidential candidate of the ANPP. He lost the election. Though the Supreme Court, in a petition instituted by Buhari, agreed that the election which returned the incumbent President Olusegun Obasanjo was marred by irregularities, it refused to annul it.

The former head of state was again nominated by his party to contest the April 2007 presidential election but lost to his Katsina kinsman, Umaru Yar’Adua, the candidate of the PDP. Just like in 2003, Buhari filed a petition against the election which he alleged was marred by irregularities.

Though he lost at the Appeal Court, at the Supreme Court, three of the seven justices that sat over the petition agreed with Buhari that the malpractices that dogged the 2007 presidential election were enough for the polls to be annulled. But four disagreed, thus allowing President Yar’Adua to continue in office.

As it is, Buhari is not ready to retire to Daura. As he told this magazine: "I said it on the 31st December 1983 that we have no other country than Nigeria and we must stay and salvage it together. That is still my position. I have no other country than Nigeria, so I cannot just sit down while some fraudsters take over the country and bring it into ruins because where do I go if that happens? Where do my children go? Don’t forget, I told you that I came from a generation of crisis.

Professionally from 15 Feb 1966 till today, I have been involved in all the crises in this country and you want me to go to Daura and sit down because I love myself so much? No. As long as I breathe, I am telling you, I will continue."

In spite of this assertion, the former military head of state is quick to acknowledge that the task of rescuing Nigeria from the ruinous rule of the PDP is a job for all Nigerians and that the elite have to be at the vanguard of the expected change. "The elite across the different sectors must see that their country is about to collapse and begin to organize themselves like they did in Lagos, Kano and Bauchi to deliver the country. They have 18 months to do that; otherwise, we will remain slaves in our own country," Buhari said in the interview.

Q: You seem to be very busy lately.

A: Yes, I have been doing what I am doing quietly but when Atiku decided to visit the house and also Attahiru Bafarawa, then it could no longer be suppressed. There are a number of things on which I wouldn’t like to be quoted. One is that I had inkling then that the Peoples Democratic Party was going to have a special convention and that the convention would be to pass a resolution that in 2011, it’s going to be a total carry go like what Olusegun Obasanjo wanted to do.

From the councilors to the president, there will be no convention, no primaries. They will just have a roll call let me put it that way. It will just be a roll call. So, I was waiting for them because I knew it would not work. No matter what they did, it would not have worked. I was in the United Kingdom and I heard that the convention ended before it started because it lasted not more than two and half hours.

In fact, as some people were leaving the convention ground, others were just coming in and they were told that the convention was over. And part of the aims of the convention was to force Obasanjo to step down as chairman of the PDP Board of Trustees. But I later heard that they had to issue a statement that when it’s time to do that, there will be an election. And secondly, I stayed a bit longer in the UK than I expected.

I had planned to stay for two weeks but it became five. And thirdly, it would appear to me that the major parties - the PDP and the ANPP, are failing. So, we are in a sort of transition period again. There are so many groups coming up in the South-East, South-West and in the North and they are talking to each other. Now, if the parties are solid on the ground, this type of thing wouldn’t be happening. They will just belong to one party or the other.

But now, people are moving across the country, across the parties and talking. Look at what happened in the PDP primaries in Kano and what is happening in the Anambra PDP. How can 48 people in one state and in one party aspire to one position? With that, you’ll know that there is a total breakdown of discipline in the party. These are all realities that we will have to face by 2011.

Q: So many things have been said about the 2011 elections. Some people have said that it may mark the end of Nigeria as a country. Do you have this fear?

A: I have made statements on that. What I will say is that the way the PDP is going and the way institutions which should sustain democracy and rule of law have been compromised, I think every sensible Nigerian would dread 2011. The government has to go for elections in 2011 to have the constitutional stand for occupation of office. But if you have been following what happened during the

local government and by-elections and recent events in Ekiti and Anambra, it will be very clear to you that the PDP has been doing anything it likes and damning the consequences.

Nigerians have to face them on the battleground if they want to salvage their country. Before now, I had talked about ‘Somaliasation’ of Nigeria and it’s still valid. What we saw during the local council and by-elections happened across the parties. It’s not only the PDP that rigged. Whatever party that is in power in the states rigged. I don’t know whether the governors agreed among themselves to hold on to what they had and say to hell with the rest.

That is the system they adopted. The most dangerous thing about that, for me, is that those of us in the opposition are supposed to be in tribunals and in courts fighting the rigging of the 2007 elections. Yet, the ruling party, because it rigged itself into power in majority of the states, still does what it did in the local government elections in the by-elections and even in Anambra. What that means is that it is a waste of time if you feel hurt to go to INEC, the police or to court.

If these institutions that sustain a nation/state have been totally compromised, then really, 2011 should be feared. When I appeared before the Senate Committee, I told them this. I said that I have been in court 50 times between 2003 and 2008 and I told a joke to break the ice. I said that one of my cynical friends gave me the title of Senior Advocate of Nigeria for going to court. For the 30 months our case lasted in 2003, I missed only four sittings.

The first time was when we went to bury Chuba Okadigbo, the late Senate President. Another was when I was receiving medical attention. Really, our saviour is not the judiciary. But my hope is that Nigerians across the country would repeat what Kano did in 2003 and Bauchi and Lagos did in 2007. I am very much aware of what Kano and Bauchi did but the details for Lagos, I don’t have.

What they did in Kano was that the university community, the business community, the Ulamas and the youths were organized to ensure that the elections were conducted in every polling booth according to the 2002 Electoral Act. They made sure that they had the correct forms, that there were representatives of the parties contesting according to the law, and the law enforcement agencies - the Police, the State Security Service [SSS], and certainly, INEC-were present.

People voted, forms were filled, and they were made to sign and given copies. They moved from there to the local government collation centers and then to the state. And then at the INEC headquarters in Kano, there were problems between 9 pm up to about 4 am, when all the results were announced. They said that they had all the results and if anybody announced anything different, they were all going to die. The same thing happened in Bauchi in 2007. So, if Nigerians are serious, they can save themselves in 2011. if they are not, I think they have accepted the state of slavery.

Q: Are you willing to be at the forefront of ensuring that every vote counts in the 2011 elections?

A: I have been doing that since 2002. There is an Hausa slogan that we developed-Akasa Asare. In Bauchi, they say Araka, meaning if you go to the market, the people that are selling vegetables or other wares put them on the floor or on the table and if anybody takes them, he has to pay. So, we developed that slang and we told the people to protect their votes. Of course, the elite led and it worked. When I appeared at the National Assembly and Falae made a presentation for the mega party movement, I was asked to comment.

And for the umpteenth time, I dealt with the Nigerian elite. I said that we, including myself, are all responsible for this. Or do were expect someone pushing a wheel barrow to come and lead us?

Q: But what are the chances of this grand coalition succeeding against the PDP, given that previous efforts were frustrated by ambitions of leaders of various groups within the coalition?

A: I will throw it back to the elite. And it must not be left alone for the political elite. It must be the elite across the spectrum of the society because if the house collapses, everybody under the roof will be victim. Isn’t it? It’s not only the political elite. The thing I advise is that the elite must have the time to go to their constituencies to educate them and liberate them. And they have to do it with respect. They must respect the people. Even if you’ll give them money, you have to persuade them that it’s in their own interest to vote for my party or to vote for me or to vote for XYZ.

I really don’t see what is difficult with Nigerians or why the elite are so cynical about the country. I will give you one example. The National Examinations Council [NECO] in its last examination recorded only 10 per cent pass. In WAEC, it is 25 per cent. To me, that spells doom for Nigeria. And if you check with the respective examination bodies, I believe between 75 and 90 per cent of those who pass will be from private schools.

That means that majority of Nigerians, including some members of the middle class, cannot even afford to educate their children. Is that good for this country? If you drive from Lagos to Kano now, there are large stretches where you would rather walk. Where is the rail system, the shipping line, and power generation? In 10 years of the PDP where are all the resources we had? Go and check the details. Before Professor Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala left office as minister of finance, she published a book on the revenue this country realized in six years under Obasanjo and allocations to the three tiers of government.

Certainly, it was admitted that the revenue realized by Nigeria under Obasanjo is more than the total we’ve had since we came together as a country. It’s on record. And for 10 years, there was no single good road that linked North and South or East and West. Can you drive now from Sagamu to Benin without fear? How many times was money allocated for the repair of that road? We are really in trouble. It’s you (the media) that will ring the bell for the elite. You can’t expect a drug pusher to lead the country.

Q: But how far can the opposition parties really go against the PDP given the fact that the party is in firm control of state institutions and agencies of government?

A: I have answered your question. The elite have to go back to their constituencies. If they can’t go because they are civil servants for example, others can go. But they should try to empower them. Even the NECO result is enough to wake people up. It means that their children will never receive education even if they are very bright.

Q: But don’t you think that Nigerians are now so psychologically battered that when the time comes, they will listen to the man who brings money?

A: But I just told you how Kano, Lagos, and Bauchi were able to overcome that. It’s an extremely serious issue. It’s still the elite and I told you it’s the elite across the different segments of the society, not just politicians who want to go the state or the National Assembly and their first mission and priority are the allowances they will receive or whatever they can get. But the elite across the different sectors must see that their country is about to collapse and begin to organize themselves, like they did in Lagos, Kano and Bauchi, to deliver the country. They have 18 months to do that otherwise we will remain slaves in our own country.

Q: Those places you mentioned have traditions of resistance. But there are many places in Nigeria where people still believe that whoever is in government is right…

A: I don’t agree with you. All the cultures in Nigeria have traditions of resistance. Go and check what happened in the Niger Delta area in the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries. Go and ask the Portuguese, the first colonialists that came to our shores. They were sent packing by the Niger-Delta people. Go and find out what happened during the Enugu coal crisis in the East, not to mention the North and West that had empires and physically fought. There is no part of Nigeria that has no history of resistance to either colonialism or oppression. There is none

Q: You once tried to fight corruption. What’s your impression of the current effort against corruption?

A: First, you should note that I operated in a different context. I think that’s the first thing. I was a soldier. I went through coups, civil war, and counter-coups. So, even in my profession, I knew my right from my left. I started from fighting indiscipline, not corruption. I could still recall after our first Supreme Military Council meeting, I called the late Tunde Idiagbon to my office and I said: Tunde, the problem of this country is indiscipline. I will give you a quick example. You are old enough to realize that this scandal of the mid 70s – Lockheed, brought down many governments across the world. Almost up to the last 10 years, I would say, every government that was brought down in Japan was brought down because of corruption.

Japan has, however, maintained its position as the second largest economy in the world. The Japanese culture was not broken even after it went through the World War and atomic bombing. Japan still holds itself against the world because it has a strong culture of discipline. So, I said, let’s have the war against indiscipline and for the 20 months that we were there, Nigerians know the result.

Q: That time, you jailed people for stealing even two million ir three million naira and all that. But now, we are talking of people stealing billions. In the next few years, we may not even know how to put a figure to what people are stealing if we do not fight corruption...

A: It is still the fault of the Nigerian elite. What we wanted to do then would have been difficult if not for the efforts of people like the late Chief Gani Fawehinmi. Remember that the corrupt ones quickly went and compromised the Nigerian Bar Association and said that lawyers should not appear at the tribunals and so on. But Gani said that it was rubbish as you can’t deal with these people without being unconventional.

He said that his chamber was going to appear before every tribunal to offer its services and Gani did it. We did not charge anybody based on hearsay. We produced the documentary evidence. You have been a minister, you have been a head of an agency and so much of the public funds went other than through the proper way, you pay back or you go to jail.

Q: Do you see people looting the national treasury today paying for their crimes anytime in the future?

A: It has happened before even if it was temporary. It may happen again. So, don’t give up.

Q: Given your previous efforts at becoming president and at the end of the day, the votes were stolen and then going through court processes and all of those problems, are you ready to go through that process again?

A: I will always refer to the elite and in this case. INEC and the press are the most important. I have said it and I will continue to say it. The process we are going through now is being guided by five documents as far as I know. I am not a lawyer. I am just talking based on experience. There is the constitution itself and then the INEC Act. The INEC Act is so powerful because it gives it (INEC) the important role of registering political associations as political parties and those parties registered must deposit their constitutions with INEC. INEC is the supervisor.

The parties must work within what is in their constitution. Then, for each election, there is an Electoral Act, for 2002/2003 and for 2006/2007. And that is why we went to court and spent 16 months to prove to the judiciary that the elections of 2003 and 2007 were not elections and we are not alone. Those who wish us well in developing this system - international observers also said so in their records about the elections. The 2003 and 2007 polls were not elections.

Look at Afghanistan. They are fighting a bloody war but when there was so much rigging in the result of their election, they insisted that there must be a run-off. Look at what Ghana did. Look at South Africa. Even in Zimbabwe and Kenya, elections were more credible than Nigerian elections. Why? It is because our institutions have been compromised. In Ghana, the electoral body said that it had to conduct the elections again in so and so constituencies. In Kenya, they said that the votes had to be recounted. But it was not so in Nigeria. All the institutions have been compromised.

Q: With this grim picture you’ve painted, are you still prepared to go through the rigors of being a presidential candidate in 2011?

A: That’s why I am telling you. Try and believe in those books and documents that are supposed to be a guide for conducting our elections. A lot of noise is being made about electoral reform, but we are trying to reform what we’ve not even practiced. If Nigerians insist on those documents I have mentioned, the system can be improved. This system is good, the documents are good. Whether we like is or nor, the constitution is what we’ve been using as Nigerians and there is a provision in it on how it can be modified or changed. So, why can’t we do it? Now, the party I am in, the constitution is deposited with INEC and I am a member.

If members of the party say that they want Buhari as their presidential candidate as they did in 2003 and 2007, I will say yes to it. I will like you to confirm through your research: I am the only presidential candidate that went to 34 states, some of them several times in 2003 and 33 states in 2007. In some of the states like Bauchi, which has 20 councils, I went to 19 of them. In 2003, I campaigned for Shekarau in all the 44 local councils in Kano.

Q: Why do you think it has been difficult mobilizing Nigerians for the kind of change you have been talking about?

A: One of the reasons is the recent results of WAEC and NECO. If you deny people education, you make them susceptible to ethnic, religious, and all types of nonsense. But if people are educated, you can’t pull wool over their eyes. They will see what is good for their country and insist on it.

Q: Nigeria is increasingly becoming a country of illiterate people. Are you positive that there could be a change?

A: I am positive. What is the rate of literacy in Kano? What is it in Bauchi? It depends on the elite. When the elite - the university community, the respected religious leaders and the business community-moved, didn’t they do it? They put the government they chose in place. Bauchi did it, Lagos did it.

Q: Let’s go into your person. Having been the Head of State, some other persons would just have withdrawn to their corners and retired peacefully. But here you are, still laboring to ensure that there is a change.

A: I said it on 31 December 1983 that we have no other country than Nigeria and we must stay and salvage it together. That is still my position. I have no other country than Nigeria, so I cannot just sit down while some fraudsters take over the country and bring it to ruins. Where do I go? Where do my children go? Don’t forget I told you that I come from a generation of crises. Professionally, from 15 January 1966 till today, I have been involved in all the crises in this country and you want me to go to Daura and sit down because I love myself so much? No. As long as I breathe, I am telling you, I will continue.

Q: Some of your colleagues in the military amassed so much wealth, but you chose to live a Spartan life. What pushed you in this direction?

A: I was brought up an orphan. I didn’t even know my father. I can’t conceptualize him. But I made a statement sometime in 1984 that the training of military leaders is the best form of training because it deals with lives. And lives have no spares.

Q: Some people said that as military head of state, your government would have achieved much if not for some of the mistakes it made, such as fighting many battles on several fronts at the same time. Do you agree with that evaluation?

A: On too many fronts? I am a trained military officer and I know a bit about Hitler. The major mistake he made was that he opened too many fronts and got his nation and the world into trouble. In the Nigerian context, I believe indiscipline and corruption will not allow this country to move forward. And when I came into power, I was absolutely clear on how we were going to go about it and we started. For example, I will give you four things that we did.

One, there were Nigerian workers who had not been paid for more than nine months in some of the states but their governors were going around with convoys, with praise singers and so on. Two, there was so much pressure from the IMF for us to devalue our currency. The federal government refused to do it, but got more loans from Saudi Arabia just to patch up. Then, there was the case of the debt that was being accumulated.

So, I took more than N630 million and paid Nigerian workers their salaries. Secondly, we told the world that we were not going to borrow one kobo from anybody. Thirdly, we said that we were going to service our medium and long term debts when due and fourthly, we were not going to devalue the naira. And in the 20 months, we did all that. We knew what we were doing. But if along the line, we had corrupt people who thought they were important and they recruited some of our colleagues and they did what they did to us, it is part of the historical development of the country.

Q: You said that they recruited some of your colleagues. That’s a very serious statement.

A: Of course.

Q: Would you want to expatiate on that?

A: You know it.

Q: With the benefit of hindsight, would you say there was any mistake you made?

A: Nobody is perfect. Even the then ministers we arrested were just put in the Kirikiri prison pending the completion of investigations and appearance before the tribunal. Because no religion and no culture, as far as I am concerned, says that you should go and kill innocent people. And what we did as I told you, was to charge people based on documentary evidence. We didn’t say: ‘Bola Ige, you were a governor. Ajasin, you were a governor. You are guilty; firing squad.’ We didn’t do that. Rawlings did it. But you go and find out why Rawlings did it. Initially, he didn’t want to kill them. But he discovered that he was about to be shot.

Q: If you find yourself in government again, how would you confront the problems of this country, which have now grown exponentially?

A: The first thing is how to raise a team? Secondly, from where do you start? In all honesty, how many people report to police stations now when they are hurt? They will just say ‘God dey’ and continue with their business. These are the fundamental issues. You hardly find police officers that are friendly to the people. Recently we had the problem of Boko Haram in Maiduguri. I am sure you know how it started. How did it start? One of their members died and in the funeral procession, there were some of them riding motorcycles without helmets.

But what the police did was to kill about three of them. If you don’t have helmet, is the right thing to do not just to arrest and charge them to court? Should they be killed for that? There are a lot of things wrong with this country.

Q: We want you to tell us specifically, like in the economic sector for instance, what your approach will be.

A: Our economic problems will be tackled in three different ways; where we were, where we are, and where are we heading to. We have to make a full appreciation of that. Luckily or unluckily for me, I have gone through all of it at least since 1966. But Nigeria has now become a mono-economy and everybody is now depending on petroleum because we have neglected agriculture. We no longer produce cocoa, coffee, beni seed, palm oil and so on. These are the things we built our infrastructure from.

But when oil came, we just dig for it, it gushes out, we sell it and of course, ordinary Nigerians don’t benefit much from the money realized from it. The money is stolen or invested outside or used to put some infrastructure in Lagos, Port Harcourt and some other states. The owners of the oil don’t get much and now that they can’t send their children to school, they can’t get drinking water, they can’t go to hospitals, the people are now saying after all this thing belongs to us.

But by our constitution, it belongs to all Nigerians and there is a law on how to divide it and how to use it to develop Nigeria and sustain it. That is the duty of the elite. We have to select a team that can do that effectively. In October 2001, there was a Council of State meeting. Obasanjo was there. I was there with Atiku, Gowon, Shonekan, IBB, Abdusalami Abubakar, Professor Tunde Adeniran, Professor Jerry Gana, and Liyel Imoke, who was in charge of NEPA then.

Obasanjo said that he wanted to increase the price of fuel. Rasheed Gbadamosi was the head of Petroleum Pricing Regulatory Agency, [PPPRA]. He was sent by Obasanjo to go round the country to soften the ground so that people can accept the increase in price. So, Obasanjo got up and addressed us. As usual, he knows everything. He is a professor of everything. He wouldn’t allow the rest of us to talk.

When it came to my turn, I said ‘please sir, just allow me.’ He said: ‘Muhammadu, what is it?’ He knew I was going to waste his time. I said that I was your commissioner for petroleum. He said yes. I asked him when we were going to carry out the Turn-Around-Maintenance on our refineries. He asked how we were going to do it. I told him that I knew. I said we’d put out our tender and ask people who have been developing our industry in the past to quote and the tender is opened.

The best will be given the job. I said that this was what we were doing in the past. He said, "Yes, Muhammadu." I said that when you came to power, you said that some people allowed the infrastructure, the refineries, the depots to virtually collapse because they gave the contracts to their wives and children. I said that for the two years you have been here now, who is giving the contracts? Why didn’t you get the

refineries, the depots and the pipelines working? Who is doing it now? He shifted in his chair. Atiku said ‘Your Excellency, I am the Chairman of the Economic Committee and nobody had said it as Buhari said today.’

Of course, Obasanjo is too smart. He said that when Gbadamosi returned, we will consider what Muhammadu said and that was the end of it. And I stopped going to the Council of State meeting after that except when they discussed Bakassi, census, and the Petroleum Trust Fund, PTF. That is because I participated as a minister or ministry official in decisions of these particular issues and I didn’t want any wrong thing to be put in the record. I just abandoned the Council of State meeting.

Q: So, with all the money they have got, why can’t they repair the refineries? Why can’t they repair the pipelines? Why can’t they repair the depots?

A: We have the people, we have the resources, but it’s just because of corruption. You go and bring two ships, you lift 2000 barrels and they don’t care. The country can go to hell.

Q: But the same thing persists.

A: Of course. It is so convenient. They are just as corrupt as cesspit and they come and tell us rubbish every Wednesday. How long does it take to tar roads? They budgeted over N300 billion for roads, but where are the roads and where is the N300 billion? These people have sworn to ruin this country and they are very well on their way to doing it. We have to stop them in 2011.

Q: And you are determined to be at the forefront of this effort to effect a change in 2011?

A: Yes, I am already talking to Nigerians that are prepared to listen to me. Wherever I go, I say: send these people out if you want to have a country.

Q: While your integrity may not be in doubt, the belief is that the elite you are banking on to join you in salvaging Nigeria, are afraid of you. They believe that when you get there, you are not going to give them any breathing space. How do you now persuade them?

A: What you said is correct. But it is like giving a dog a bad name in order to hang it. People talk about what I did when I was the head of state, even when I followed a decent way of doing it. Some people have said that if I had shot the corrupt people, the country would have even been better. But I said no. I fear God. I know I would die eventually and I am going to account for how I ran my house, the way I ran

my platoon, to the division and to the country at large. I believe that. It is those who want to keep the people ignorant and illiterate so as to control their minds that are saying that. God knows all, of course and at the right time, he would intervene.

Q: You are popular among the ordinary people, but how do you convince the elite?

A: No matter what I say, they will not believe me. Even if I say I will not jail those who stole money, they will not believe me. But I didn’t shoot them. I just tried them and jailed them. Is it not better to jail than to shoot them?

Q: What memories of your late deputy, Tunde Idiagbon do you cherish most?

A: All Nigerians know that he was a capable person. He was loyal. He was capable and loyal. He was honest. Has his name been linked with any scandal? I was the one who built the 31 Brigade in Makurdi; subsequently, he went and commanded it. When I was the Governor of Borno State, he was there as well. He also served as Military Secretary and I also was there before him. Wherever I went, Tunde seemed to be following me and probably if God had left Tunde, maybe he would have also been head of state.

Q: As capable as the two of you were, how come you were caught unawares by what happened?

A: We were not caught unawares. We had the hint of what was coming. But just as I said, we didn’t want to do what Rawlings did.

Q: Even to the military elements?

A: Even to the military, we didn’t want to do that. We believe this country has a problem and we are to solve the problem. And again, I keep pointing to the elite. The elite knew about it, but they were made to believe that we were pushing them too hard. They forgot that there were some of them that were not paid for nine months. Nobody seemed to bother how they were running their families, how they were running their affairs and other things.

Nobody seemed to be concerned. But the people who were misappropriating their salaries were having parties every weekend and they were watching them. They allowed these corrupt people to recruit some of our colleagues to put us in jail and to bring back business as usual because all the physical assets we took away from people were given back to them. So, they institutionalized corruption.

Q: You knew the people who wanted to eject you from office and you left them to do it?

A: Yes, I was warned. I was warned by very senior Nigerians.

Q: But you never took any action?

A: No, I didn’t take any action, but I called them. I told them.

Q: You called them?

A: Yes, I told him. I told Babangida about it. He too told me.

Q: That he was not planning a coup against you?

A: He told me that people were saying that he would lead a revolt against me. I said if you want to come and sit on this chair, you can come. But let me tell you, I am not going to do anything and I’m not going to harm anybody without evidence. He gave me his assurances, but he went ahead.

Q: But it is unusual for a military head of state to have a hint of something like that and not act?

A: What I would like to say is that I have a conscience. Even when we overthrew Shagari, it was only two people we put in prison - Shagari himself and Ekwueme. We said that the others should be reporting to the police. But some smarter guys got Okada (commercial motor cycle) to Benin Republic and before we knew it, they were gone.

They didn’t even need their briefcases. And we saw that if we were not careful, all the people we accused of corruption would have left the country. And it is these same people that would be going around saying that we (the military) just scared us so that they could have the government and steal money. So, we had to keep the rest of them in custody until they were tried.

Q: You also tried to bring back those who fled, like Umaru Dikko, in a crate?

A: No, we didn’t try to bring him. Friends of Nigeria tried to crate him and bring him back.

Q: Would you consider your inability to move against the people that eventually drove you out of government an error of judgement on your part?

A: Yes, it was an error of judgment. We should have moved against them. We could have rounded them up and tried them because we had no intention of killing anybody.

Q: Are you still a member of the ANPP?

A: I will tell you what I did. Last December, I wrote to all the 37 chapters - the states and Federal Capital Territory-and gave them three options to choose from on how to move forward. One, we will remain in the ANPP, two, we should join any other party other than the PDP. The way I know I will certainly die is the same way I am certain that I will never join the PDP The third option is to float our own party. I have received the feedback.

I thought the PDP was going to make some mistakes at the special convention but it didn’t make it. But then, there are developments now that are causing people to behave as if we are in transition again. There are groups coming up and discussing with each other instead of parties trying to strategize and go for 2011 elections. Groups are now emerging from all parties because the parties are not operating according to their constitutions and INEC is not doing anything about it.

Q: You are getting old now. Do you see the possibility of the younger generation coming up to lead the country to a place of your dreams?

A: Yes. At every opportunity I tell them, because whichever way Nigeria takes, they have to lead it locally and nationally. So, it’s up to them to pull up their socks and be prepared to build up their communities and societies. If they don’t do it, they are going to suffer. Look at how people are dying in the desert and in the boats. A lot of them are Nigerians. Why can’t they remain here where they belong and get their country sorted out?

If you’re a physicist and you go to United States National Aeronautic and Space Agency or wherever, you’ll be given enough dollars for the exploitation of your talent, but you’ll still remain a black man and a Nigerian. And at the earliest opportunity, they will kick you out. So, why can’t you stay and do something in your country? If you don’t benefit from it, your son or grandson will.

Q: What is your opinion of elements like Nuhu Ribadu, el-Rufai and others, who sometimes show the kind of courage that you are known for?

A: Well, let them come and we will work together. They are welcome. I mean, having served Obasanjo and the way they served the man....

I am sure they will know that Obasanjo and I are different persons. The first thing is I will not allow anybody to sign 50 C of 0s, half of them belonging to his family and the rest for Obasanjo over a weekend in my own administration.

[Description of Source: Lagos TheNews in English - independent weekly news magazine]

Officials Report Killing of Nigerian Taliban Leader Mohammed Yusuf

AFP20090731519002 Doha Doha Al Jazeera English TV in English 0712 GMT 31 Jul 09

[For assistance with multimedia elements, contact OSC at 1-800-205-8615 or [email protected].]

[Al Jazeera Announcer] Officials in Nigeria say the leader of a group accused of setting off days of violence in the north of the country is dead. They say Mohammed Yusuf who is the leader of the Boko Haram Islamist group was shot and killed while trying to escape police custody. Hundreds of people have died during five days of clashes between Yusuf's followers and security forces.

[Description of Source: Doha Al Jazeera English TV in English -- international English-language news service of Al-Jazirah, independent television station financed by the Qatari Government]

Nigeria: Yar'Adua Lauds Northern Governors for Mounting Campaign Against Sect

AFP20090731565011 Kano Daily Triumph Online in English 31 Jul 09

[Report by Kabiru Yusuf: "Yar'Adua Salutes Govs Over Crisis"]

President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua yesterday warned youths in the country to shun all activities similar to that of the "Boko Haram" sect who had been perpetrating violence in some parts of the North of the country, commending Northern governors for mounting vigorous campaign against the sect.

The President tasked the Northern governors to mobilize the traditional and religious leaders in their respective states in the campaign against the notorious "Boko Haram" sect whom he said are only trying to bring insecurity and disharmony within the Nigerian territory.

While warning Nigerian young men and women who belong to other sects not to fraternize with "Boko Haram" to disrupt the peace and security of the nation, the President said "this is in a bid to forestall further escalation of ongoing sects violence on the occasion of today's Juma'at services across the country."

According to his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr Olusegun Adeniyi, the president who had been in contact with most Northern governors, expressed delight in the campaign embarked upon by the governors.

The spokesman in an interview with State House correspondents, further said "President Yar'Adua who is currently on state visit to Brazil called and spoke to most of the Northern governors to advise that they

mobilize traditional and religious leaders to mount a campaign against "Boko Haram" that seeks to disrupt the peace and security of the nation.

In his words: "The President feels particularly encouraged that some governors have already started implementing this initiative. "Groups such as "Boko Haram" which seeks to disrupt the peace and security of the Nigerian state, according to the president, should not accommodated by any true Muslim individual or group, because Islam promotes love and peace among Muslims and non-adherents.

"Specifically he seeks that governors encourage religious leaders to use the occasion of today's Juma'at services in all the mosques across the federation to warn young men and women about the danger of fraternizing with sects like "Boko Haram" and other such extremist groups which promote beliefs that infringe on the rights of others," the President stated.


Nigeria: Military Bombardment in Borno State Claims Islamic Sect Leader's Life


[Report by Juliana Taiwo and Michael Olugbode: "Boko Haram Leader Killed President Orders Military �Operation To Continue Sect Existing Since 1995, Says DQ"]�

After nearly two days of military bombardment of his Maiduguri, Borno State base, the leader of the Islamic fundamentalist group, Boko Haram, Mohammed Yusuf, was killed yesterday in a shoot-out with security forces.

Yusuf's deputy arrested two days ago has also been killed while the militant's enclave has been levelled and the place taken over by soldiers.

Special Adviser on Media to President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua, Mr. Olusegun Adeniyi, told THISDAY last night that the President, who is still in Brazil on a state visit, had been informed about the development.

He said President Yar'Adua had also directed that the security agencies should not relent until they fish out and arrest all the remaining members of the sect wherever they might be.

Governor Ali Modu Sheriff in a broadcast to the people of the state said the victory against the fundamentalists was achieved with the help of God and that of President Yar'Adua, who he said intervened quickly by deploying troops in the state.

The governor promised to come out with a bill which will be presented to the state House of Assembly to regulate religious sermon in the state.

It also emerged last night that the sect had been in existence since 1995 and had operated under different names one of which was Ahlulsunna wal'jama'ah hijra.

Meanwhile, the military will begin what in their parlance is called "Show-of-Force" today in Borno, Bauchi, Kano, Katsina and Yobe States to assure the civilian populace of their preparedness to curtail the activities of Boko Haram.

Stories had earlier gone out that the sect's leader had fled the town and was heading to either Chad or Cameroon.

He was said to have been sighted at Kirenuwa in the Northern part of Borno State fleeing the clampdown on him and members of his group on Wednesday evening.

Those who claimed to have seen him around Kirenuwa, which is along the road to Niger and Cameroon, said he was driven in a Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV).

He was said to be in company with some of his members who came in tow in another SUV.

Yusuf and members of Boko Haram, meaning Western education is sin, have been tormenting some parts of the North since last Sunday.

Early last Sunday, they clashed with policemen in Bauchi, Bauchi State leaving many dead in the wake of the attack.

The violence soon spread to Borno, Yobe and Kano States with even more casualties recorded.

But on Tuesday, soldiers moved into Yusuf's Maiduguri stronghold where they engaged members of the sect in fierce exchange of gunfire.

There were reports of heavy military bombardment of the enclave, though the sect members, said to be fully armed, inflicted some harm on the troops, killing some soldiers in the process.

However, the military action which had been on for two days finally yielded fruits.

Yusuf's Maiduguri enclave was finally levelled by the Nigerian security forces yesterday afternoon.

The attack on the stronghold resulted in heavy casualties mostly on the side of the fundamentalists.

Though the military men had taken control of the headquarters of the sect, however, the fleeing members of the group set ablaze the Makera Police Station in the suburb of Maiduguri.

Meanwhile, normalcy is gradually returning to the town as people who have been holed up in their houses since Sunday evening have started trickling out, though random searching of people by security agents is still on.

Our correspondent who went out found the streets littered with corpses. There is serious stench everywhere and those moving about have to cover their nostrils.

Sheriff said in his broadcast: "Let me seize this opportunity to express our most profound gratitude on behalf of the government and people of Borno State to the President, Commander-in-Chief, Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar'Adua, for his quick intervention through the deployment of capable military personnel that have liquidated the miscreants.

"May I also express our gratitude to the General Officer Commanding the Third Armoured Division, Jos and the entire members of the state security forum, top government officials and officers and men of the Nigerian Army and Police for standing by us during this trying period."

The governor in the broadcast aired at 10pm on Wednesday also thanked residents for their patience and understanding while appealing to the entire citizenry to remain calm, vigilant and report any suspicious character in their midst to the nearest security agent.

He said: "Government is aware that some members of the discredited group are being harboured by some unpatriotic members of the public," warning that "any one found harbouring any member of that group will be dealt with."

Sheriff said security agents had been put on red alert and would soon be made to conduct house to house check throughout the state.

He urged all residents to go about their normal business, insisting that adequate security had been put in place to avoid any reoccurrence of the incidence.

The Director of Defence Intelligence (DDI), Col. Mohammed Yerima, said at a joint press briefing by Defence Headquarters, Force Public Relations, Nigerian Police, ACP Emmanuel CS Ojukwu, and Assistant Director Public Relations, State Security Service, Marilyn Ogar, that the militant sect had been in existence since 1995.

He said intelligence reports showed that members of the sect were not only in the North-east but also in some states outside the area.

He said the show-of-force which will be implemented in all states of the affected areas is on the directive of the Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshall Paul Dike.

Tracing the history of the group, Yerima disclosed that it had operated under different names one of which was Ahlulsunna wal'jama'ah hijra.

He also said the sect leader was first arrested in November 2008 and taken to court but was freed by an Abuja High Court in January 2009.

"We will begin with a little background story on how the crisis snowballed into this current ugly situation. A certain group of Islamic fundamentalists, led by one Mohammed Yusuf had in the recent past been engaging in some suspicious activities with security implications. The group named Boko Haram is rabidly opposed to all forms of western education and civilization.

"They consider as their primary target for attacks, law enforcement agents, critical public infrastructure and centres of worship which in their view are opposed to their doctrines. It has been ascertained that the group did not emerge just of recent.

"They have been in existence as far back as 1995 under different names such as Ahlulsunna wal'jama'ah hijra. Security agencies have over this period been monitoring and containing their activities even when they transmuted to other names but with the same doctrine of intolerance.

"For instance, on 13 November 2008, the group's leader, Mohammed Yusuf, and quite a number of his followers were arrested by the security operatives and was handed over to the Inspector General of Police for prosecution.

"However, they were subsequently granted bail by an Abuja High Court on the 20 January 2009. Before then in 2007, one of his ardent disciples, Al-amin, who was also the Kano State leader of the group, was arrested along with some of their members after an attack on a police station in Kano; he was also handed over to the police for prosecution.

"Similarly, between February and April 2009, Yusuf's second in command named Kilakam, a Nigerien, was on two occasions arrested and repatriated to his country.

"In furtherance to their violent tendencies, the extremists sometime in June 2009 launched an attack on a police station in Bama, Borno State but the police was able to contain their violence which left about 17 of their members dead; the leader of the group vowed to avenge the death of his members and ordered his followers to stockpile arms. Based on intelligence report, all security agencies were put on alert which led to the discovery of a hideout where members of the sect were preparing bombs in Maiduguri.

"Following security reports on the activities of Boko Haram, the group's hideout located at Dutsen Tanshi area of Bauchi town was raided on 26 July 2009 by a joint security team and nine of them were arrested

and materials for bomb making and other weapons were confiscated. About two hours later, the group launched another deadly attack on police formations in Bauchi State. Unfortunately for them, they were met with heavy casualty. They subsequently struck in Potiskum, Yobe State where they bombed police stations and set inmates free. Between July 26 and 29, these violent extremists had launched sporadic suicide attacks on Bauchi, Yobe and Borno States.

"Their weapons of offence include Improvised Explosives Devices (IED), AK-47 rifles, dane guns, pistols, daggers, machetes, catapults and clubs.

"Gentlemen of the press, let me take a moment to give you an insight into the crisis management procedure in internal security operations. First of all you may wish to note that the Nigeria Police is responsible for the maintenance of law and order in the country.

"It is only when the NPF is unable to contain the situation that the military might come in. This notwithstanding, the military cannot intervene or deploy unless so directed by the President. It is against this background that the President, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Federal Republic of Nigeria, having assessed the situation on ground, directed the Chief of Defence Staff to take over the operation of restoring law and order in the affected states.

"Consequently, the Chief of Defence Staff ordered the military to conduct internal security operation which is already in progress. We however assure the public that the military is in control. In fact, Maiduguri town was cleared of the fundamentalist as at yesterday.

"We implore the public to give security agencies accurate and timely information that will assist in ending the crisis. The issue of religious extremism is not peculiar to Nigeria as it has become a global challenge. Countries including Nigeria are not resting on their oars; we therefore enjoin you the press and members of the public to partner with us to tame this monster. The time to act is now," Yerima said

Fielding questions from newsmen on why Yusuf was yet to be apprehended, Yerima disclosed that as at Wednesday night, the joint team where in pursuit of him (Muhammed Yusuf) and had a lead that he had left Maiduguri for his home in Girgir, in Jakusko Local Government area of Yobe State.

On the allegations that the SSS had been negligent and aided his freedom when he was last arrested, Ogah replied, "Muhammed Yusuf was arrested on November 13, 2008 and as at November 17 2008, after gathering substantial evidence he was handed over to the police by the SSS for prosecution and was subsequently released by an Abuja High Court on the January 20, 2009.

"It will be wrong for the press to assume that the security agencies failed because it is on record that sufficient intelligence have been collected on Muhammed Yusuf and his followers and same has been passed to action agencies. As at July 14, 2009, 21 reports have been submitted on Muhammed Yusuf activities and members of his group. The duty of State Security Service is that of collecting proactive intelligence and passing it on to our consumers and that we have done sufficiently and we are still doing."


Nigeria: Army Kills 100 Militants in Gun-Battle in Borno State


[Report by Cheke Emmanuel, Lafia, Sadeeq Amokpa, Ted Odogwu, Gbenga Akingbule, Stephen Osu, Dahiru Suleiman, Moses Gbande, Akeem Oyetunji, Theophilus Remi, and Godwin Isenyo: "Fundamentalists Routed as Soldiers Storm Mosque; Military Chiefs Talk Tough; Tension in Jos"]

After a fierce overnight gun duel, the Nigerian Army announced yesterday that it had decisively overpowered the Boko Haram sect, whose members murdered hundreds in four days in the name of al-Qaeda.

Soldiers shelled the group's compound and killed about 100 militants in a fierce gun-battle at their mosque in Maiduguri on Wednesday night.

The leader of the sect, Mohammed Yusuf, managed to escape the fighting with about 300 of his followers, but his deputy was not so lucky, as he was killed by soldiers.

The Army was scouring the outskirts of the city yesterday looking for Yusuf and the missing fighters, who style themselves as the Nigerian Taliban.

Borno State Governor, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, announced on state radio yesterday. " Security personnel have succeeded in disloging the militants and I urge everyone to go about their normal duties.

"Meanwhile, the house-to-house search is still going on and anybody that harbours them will be dealt with according to the law."

Soldiers shot their way into the Boko Haram mosque on Wednesday and then raked those holed up inside with gunfire.

About 50 bodies were seen inside the building and another 50 in the courtyard outside.

The militants were armed with home-made hunting rifles, bows, arrows and scimitars.

The commander of the operation, Maj-Gen. Saleh Maina, announced: "The mission has been accomplished."

Major-Gen. Maina said that his troops would fire mortar shells later yesterday to destroy what is left of the sprawling compound, which stretches over four kilometres (about 2.5 miles).

There was tension in Jalingo, the Taraba State capital, yesterday over a possible attack by the fundamentalists, who have launched a war against Western education in some parts of the North, especially as some of their members were suspected to have been found in the state.

A member of the sect, Mallam Sadibu Abdulkarim, who is the proprietor of Alfutqan Nursery, Primary and Secondary Schools in Jalingo, had started implementing their beliefs in his schools, forcing all the pupils to abandon their Western attires for the Hausa dress code, until the intervention of the state Ministry of Education, which ordered the school shut.

Security agents were on the red alert yesterday, as it was found that among many of the people escaping from the violence in Bauchi, Borno, Yobe and Kano states were members of the sect.

The Nigeria Compass learnt in Jalingo that the fundamentalists trooped into the state, disguising as beggars and nail cutters, and waiting for their trumpet to be blown before they would come out of their actual colours.

But, not prepared to be caught napping, a combined team of policemen and soldiers in the state have since embarked on thorough stop and search of vehicles entering and exiting Jalingo and major towns in the city.

The State Police Command spokesman, Baba Sani, told the Nigerian Compass on phone that their men and officers had been put on red alert in case of any eventuality.

The Senior Assistant to the Governor on Security, Charles Maijankai, also said on phone that none of the sect members would go back alive if they attempted invading Taraba.

Just as it was in Taraba yesterday, residents of Nasarawa State, particularly Lafia, the state capital, are now living in fear over a possible attack by the fundamentalist.

Determined to forestall any breach of the peace, the police in the state have beefed up security.

Speaking with reporters in Lafia, the Police Commissioner, Alhaji Shehu Babalola, said that security had been beefed up throughout the state to checkmate the fundamentalists.

He listed the City Gate ("Welcome to Lafia" point), Shendam, Doma, Obi and Makurdi roads, all in Lafia, as the flash points being closely monitored.

Besides, policemen are specially protecting government establishments and places of worship, he added.

He said that the police were collaborating with the State Security Service (SSS), t he Civil Defence Corps, Prison Service, Immigration and others to ensure adequate security in the state.

Meanwhile, the Niger State Governor, Dr. Babangida Aliyu, has condemned in strong terms incessant religious violence and intolerance in some parts of the North.

Aliyu particularly described as a most thoughtless and barbaric act the ongoing violence targeted at crucial facilities and infrastructure.

The governor said the activities of the faceless sponsors were "most deplorable, wrongly-timed and retrogressive especially given the fact of the pressing economic hardship occasioned by the global economic melt down."

The Chief Servant and chairman of the Northern Governors Forum said he was irked by the fact that the violence was unleashed by the youth, who should be seen to be helping the cause of nation-building.

He endorsed the measures adopted by the Federal Government to tackle the situation and called on religious, traditional, political and other leaders to prevail on their people not to take the law into their own hands.

Meanwhile, there was tension in Jos, the Plateau State capital yesterday as news filtered in that fundamentalists were coming to attack residents.

Security agents were immediately drafted to strategic locations with heavily-armed soldiers and anti-riot policemen mounting several check-points at Maraba Jamaar, UTC Junction and Zaria/Bauchi Road.

To put them in check, 18 suspected fundamentalists were yesterday arrested.

The state Police Commissioner, Mr Gregory Anyangting, told reporters yesterday: "Intelligence report shows that members of the group planned to attack Jos, the Plateau State capital which led to operatives beefing up security in all parts of the state. One Shamsuddeen Salisu Nakofa was arrested with a large quantity of camouflage army uniform, a pair of armoured shoe and beret, 15 CD plates and some materials with Arabic writing.

"He told us that he belonged to the Taliban group and led police detectives to where he used to purchase the materials in Aba, Abia State.

"The police also arrested 16 people in one house with one Ghanaian, a Nigerian and youths from Funtua in Katsina State."

Speaking to journalists, Nakofa said although he was not a member of the Taliban group, "I often sell army uniform to them and I was taking some of the uniforms to Bauchi when I was arrested."

He said one Mr Ete Ekafor, who was also arrested, was his main supplier but Ekafor denied this immediately, saying "I linked him to the person who sells the materials in Aba because he told me that he was a tailor with the Nigerian Army."

One of those arrested, Emmanuel Francis, a Ghanaian, said he was an alternative medicine dealer and all the boys arrested in his house "are those helping me to sell the medicine."

In Dutse, the Jigawa State capital, the police commissioner, Abdullahi S. Fana, vowed that security agents would deal with any fundamentalist.

Addressing a press conference in his office, Fana stated that Jigawa, being the most peaceful state in the federation, is security-threat free, declaring "we are battle ready for any eventualities."

Fana, who denounced the presence of members of the Boko Haram sect in Jigawa, assured that "the command was ready to crush them at any point in time, should they dare to step in."

In Dutse metropolis alone, 103 suspected militants were arrested.

In Bauchi, fake military and police uniforms, three sewing machines and other sophisticated weapons stocked in a house were discovered.

The Assistant Commissioner of Police in charge of Operations, Water Inyang, disclosed that aside the weapons, two teenagers were arrested from the house in the Kandaha area of the state capital.

He further said a member of Boko Haram, who initially escaped during the hostility, was gunned down by the police along Airstrip area.

In Kaduna, security agents intensified their patrol of the volatile city yesterday.

Members of the state se curity outfit, code-named Operation Yaki in a convoy, were chanting war songs, apparently to wade off fundamentalists.

The operatives, comprising the Nigerian Army, Air Force, Police, State Security Services (SSS) and the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), were strategically positioned at the Sheik Abubakar Gummi Central Market, the Nnamdi Azikwe Western bye-pass and other sensitive locations.

In the ancient city of Zaria, a predominantly Muslim enclave, security was unusually beefed up.

At the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), a patrol van filled with soldiers was stationed there.

In Abuja, the Federal Government directed the military to use 'maximum force' to contain the fundamentalists. It also accused the judiciary of adding to the crisis because it granted bail to the sect's leader, Mohammed Yusuf, in January.

The 'show of force' is the movement of military armoured tanks around major cities across the federation to assure the populace that they are safe and should go about their lawful businesses without fear of molestation.

At a joint press conference addressed by the Director of Defence Information (DDI), Col. Mohammed Yerima, Police Force PRO, ACP Emmnauel Chukwu and the State Security Service (SSS) Assistant Director in charge of Public Relations, Merilyn Ogar, at the Defence Headquarters yesterday, Yerima said Yusuf was arrested on November 13, 2008 by men of the SSS and handed over to the then Inspector-General of Police, Mike Okiro, for prosecution.

He however, regretted that Yusuf, despite the overwhelming evidence provided by the police against him, was released by an Abuja High Court after three months of detention.

Yerima traced the history of the activities of the sect to 1995 and said security agencies had since been monitoring and containing their activities.

"For instance, on November13, 2008, the group's leader, Mohammed Yusuf and some followers were arrested by the security operatives and handed over to the Inspector-General of Police for prosecution. However, they were subsequently granted bail by an Abuja High Court on January 20 this year," he lamented.

Sequel to the escalation of the religious crisis, which started in Bauchi, the DDI said the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Air Chief Marshal Paul Dike, was directed by President Umaru Yar'Adua to deploy military personnel to maintain law and order in the affected states, adding: "We assure the public that the military is in control. In fact, Maiduguri town was cleared of the fundamentalists as at yesterday.

"We implore the public to give security agencies accurate and timely information that will assist in ending the crisis. The issue of religious extremism is not peculiar to Nigeria as it has become a global challenge. We therefore, enjoin the media and members of the public to partner with us to tame this monster".

Reacting to question on alleged indiscriminate killings of innocent civilians by the civil societies, a visibly angry defence spokesperson posited that the civil societies were being unfair to the security operatives, insisting "I don't think the human rights groups are being fair to the security agencies".

He maintained that security operatives involved in curbing the crisis have so far being using "bearest minimum force", "whereas the fundamentalists used dangerous weapons including improvised explosive devices, AK-47 rifles, dane guns, pistols, daggers and machetes."

Yerima, who declined to disclose the actual figure of casualties recorded so far on both sides, insisted that members of Boko Haram, have not been linked to the Taliban group in Afghanistan as being touted in some quarters.

He disclosed that security operatives were still on the trail of the group leader, Mohammed Yusuf. Ojukwu assured that he would eventually be arrested and prosecuted.

The Boko Haram sect, which emerged in the country in 2004, has killed many people in a week of bloodletting, while security agents killed hundre ds of them in retaliation.


Nigeria: Security Joint Team Kills Islamic Sect Leader, Yusuf

AFP20090731606001 Abuja African Independent Television in English 1900 GMT 30 Jul 09

AIT 1900 News 30 July -- News just coming says the manhunt for the leader of the Islamist sect, Boko Haram, Mohammed Yusuf is over. He was arrested in Maiduguri while trying to flee. He was arrested at about 1800 GMT. His enclave in Maiduguri was destroyed in a military operation led by the Operation Flush Commander, Colonel Ben Ahanotu. The operational headquarters of the sect leader located behind the railway quarters was totally destroyed and his disciples who were in the enclave were killed during the operation, while others escaped with bullet wounds.

AIT 0630 News 31 July -- The leader of the Islamist sect blamed for days of violence in northern Nigeria has been shot and killed while in police custody, officials said on 30 July. The police commander of Borno State announced on state radio that Mohammed Yusuf, the leader of the sect some call the Nigerian Taliban, has died in police custody.

He gave no further explanation, but the state governor's spokesman, Usman Ciroma said,

[Begin recording][Ciroma] I saw his body at the police headquarters. I believe he was shot while he was trying to escape. [end recording]

Yusuf's death could provoke more violence, though his followers in the Boko Haram sect may be in disarray after troops shelled his compound in the northern city of Maiduguri on 29 July. Yusuf, 39, managed to escape with about 300 followers, some of them armed. His deputy, Bukar Shekau, was killed in the attack, according to Army commander Maj. Gen. Saleh Maina. Troops killed about 100 militants, half of them inside the sect's mosque. Soldiers then launched a manhunt, and Yusuf was reportedly found in a goat's pen at the home of his in-laws.

Seeking to impose Islamic Shari’ah law throughout this multi-religious country, the militants attacked police stations, churches, prisons, and government buildings in a wave of violence that began on 26 July in Borno and quickly spread to three other northern states. But, leading Nigerian rights groups accuse security forces of killing bystanders and other civilians. A military spokesman denied the charge and said it was impossible for rights workers to tell who was a civilian and who was a member of Boko Haram, which means "Western education is sin" in the local Hausa language.

The government warned people to evacuate the area before the attack on the compound on 29 July, then shelled the compound and stormed the group’s mosque inside, setting off a raging firefight with retreating militants armed with homemade hunting rifles and firebombs, bows and arrows, machetes, and scimitars. The bodies of barefoot young men littered the streets of Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state, on 30 July morning as the army pursued the manhunt on the outskirts of the city. Police said most of the dead were fighters with Boko Haram. Army Col. Ben Anahotu said three police officers were killed.

Officials said at least 4,000 people have been forced from their homes by 29 July afternoon, but it was not known how many have been killed, wounded, and arrested.

[Description of Source: Abuja African Independent Television in English -- privately owned independent Television station]

Nigeria: More Islamist-Led Violence Likely

FEA20090731878182 - OSC Feature - Nigeria -- OSC Report 30 Jul 09

[For assistance with multimedia elements, contact OSC at 1-800-205-8615 or [email protected].]

Nigerian security forces have been widely blamed for their perceived failure to act on information received and threats against the government made by the obscure Islamic fundamentalist sect, Boko Haram.[a] The sect's coordinated attacks against police, government buildings, and churches began on 26 July in northern Nigeria. The leader of the group -- which advocates the institution of a strict Islamic society -- has threatened more attacks. Influential Muslim organizations in Nigeria have condemned the group as "an embarrassment" to Islam.[b]

Government Failed To Prevent Violence

Media and police reports prior to the latest outbreak of violence, which has left more than 150 dead, indicate that police had prior indications that the Islamic fundamentalists -- who claim they are fighting against Western values -- were preparing for attacks but that the police did not act in time to prevent it.

In mid-June, the leader of Boko Haram, Muhammed Yusuf, declared "guerrilla warfare" against the Borno State Government and security agencies, following a skirmish with police that injured Boko Haram members. Yusuf also vowed to bring "the Somalia experience" into the state through kidnapping and other violent acts, according to the Lagos-based independent Daily Independent.[ 1]

A 25 July article in the Lagos-based independent daily The Guardian online noted that the Borno State Police Command on 24 July in the Biu area "arrested nine persons suspected of belonging to an Islamic sect with explosives, allegedly to be used to attack security agents and the state government."[ 2]

Katsina state-run radio, Radio Katsina, reported on 24 July that the Katsina State Police Command had launched a search for a religious leader whom they claimed "was preparing his adherents for a jihad."[ 3] The publicly funded BBC World Service reported on 27 July that, based on a tip by locals, police found weapons and ammunition when they raided buildings used by the followers of Yusuf.[ 4]

The BBC reported on 28 July that there has been widespread criticism in Nigeria of the security forces for their perceived laxness in monitoring the group. The BBC quoted Mannir Dan Ali, a journalist from the Abuja-based Trust newspaper, as saying that "the whole situation seems to be a failure of intelligence, a failure of the security forces to act before matters reached the point that they have now reached." Another Nigeria-based journalist quoted by the BBC said that "it is widely believed that the authorities have been reluctant to deal with the militants because some of them come from rich families with connections to the government."[ 5]

Fighting Likely To Spread to More Northern Cities

The Islamic fundamentalists' past behavior, recent threats, and their stated willingness to continue their attacks indicate that more violence is likely. Five northern states have already been affected, including Borno, Bauchi, Kano, Katsina, and Yobo.

More than 700 people died in November 2008 in Jos, the capital of Plateau State, when a feud over a local election "degenerated into bloody confrontation between Muslims and Christians." In addition, "sectarian clashes" between Muslims and Christians in Bauchi State killed 14 people in February, and one of the Nigerian Islamist leaders, Aminu Tashe n-Ilimi, in a 2005 interview with AFP, said that the group intended to "lead an armed insurrection" and rid society of "immorality" and "infidelity," according to a 27 July AFP report.[ 6]

The privately owned, pro-North Daily Trust on 27 July quoted Yusuf as saying that his group would "not take kindly to the killing of dozens of its supporters in Bauchi." He added: "We will not agree with this kind of humiliation, we are ready to die together with our brothers."[ 7]

A leader of the fundamentalists who carried out the attack at the Wudil police station in Kano, Abdulmumuni Ibrahim Mohammed, said that "the attacks were aimed at elites who had embraced western values." Mohammed also called for the "implementation of the Sharia legal code," according to The Guardian online on 28 July.[ 8]

[a] Boko Haram, which is Hausa for "Western education is forbidden," also calls itself the Nigerian Taliban but appears not to have direct ties to the Afghanistan Taliban, according to a BBC profile of the group on 29 July (AFP20090729950089). Boko Haram's members are largely drawn from disaffected youth, university students, and jobless graduates in Nigeria's mostly Muslim north (BBC, 28 July).

[b] Some Muslim groups have condemned Boko Haram, including Jama'atul Nasril Islam, the most influential Muslim organization in Nigeria, which called the violence "an embarrassment" to Islam (Kano Daily Triumph online, 29 July; Paris AFP, 29 July).

[ 1] [OSC | | AFP20090614565007| 14 June 2009 | | Nigeria: Islamic Sect Declares 'Guerrilla Warfare' Against Borno Government | | (U) | (U) | Lagos Daily Independent in English -- privately owned independent daily; URL: http://www.independentngonline.com]

[ 2] [OSC | | AFP20090725565008 | 25 July 2009 | | Nigeria: Borno State Police Arrest 9 Suspects of Islamic Sect With Explosives | | (U) | (U) | Lagos The Guardian Online in English -- Website of the widely read independent daily, aimed at up-market readership; URL: http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/]

[ 3] [OSC | | AFP20090726667004 | 24 July 2009 | | Program Summary: Katsina Radio Katsina in Hausa 1200 GMT 24 Jul 09 | | (U) | (U) | Katsina Radio Katsina Hausa -- Katsina State-owned radio]

[ 4] [Internet Site | Martin Plaut | BBC | Nigeria's Anti-Education Preacher | 27 July 2009 | | http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8170496.stm | 29 July 2009 | London BBC News Online in English -- Website of the publicly-funded BBC carrying up-to-the-minute UK and international news and breaking news, politics, and analysis]

[ 5] [Internet Site | Joe Boyle | BBC | Nigeria's 'Taliban' Enigma | 28 July 2009 | | http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8172270.stm | 29 July 2009 | London BBC News Online in English -- Website of the publicly-funded BBC carrying up-to-the-minute UK and international news and breaking news, politics, and analysis]

[ 6] [OSC | | AFP20090727642001 | 27 July 2009 | | Nigeria: About 65 Killed as Police Battle Islamists | | (U) | (U) | Paris AFP (World Service) in English -- world news service of the independent French news agency Agence France Presse]

[ 7] [OSC | | AFP20090728651002 | 27 July 2009 | | Nigeria: Islamic Sect Leader Vows To Resist Authorities | | (U) | (U) | Abuja Daily Trust Online in English -- Website of the privately owned pro-North daily; URL: http://www.news.dailytrust.com/]

[ 8] [OSC | | AFP20090728568001| 28 July 2009 | | Nigeria: Sectarian Violence Spreads, Claims 157 Lives | | (U) | (U) | Lagos The Guardian Online in English -- Website of the widely read independent daily, aimed at up-market readership; URL: http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/]

[This item was originally filed as AFP20090730049001]

Defense HQ Says Army in 'Total' Control of Sectarian Crisis in Northern Nigeria


[Report by Molly Kilete: "Military in Control DHQ"]�

The Defence Head Quarters (DHQ), has said the military is in total control of the religious crisis that engulfed some parts of the northern states in the country and asked people there to go about their normal and lawful duties.

This is coming just as the Assistant Director in charge of Public Relations at the State Security Service (SSS), Marilyn Ogar, revealed that Boko Haram, the group responsible for the mayhem actually started its operations in the state way back in 1995.

The group, led by a young man Mohammed Yusuf, and opposed to all forms of western education and civilization was said to have been operating under different names since inception such as Ahlulsunna wal'jama'ah hijra and later transmuted to other names when they realized they were being monitored by security agencies.

Yusuf, leader of the group, according to Ogar, is a Nigerian citizen and hails from Girgir Jakuso village in Yobe State. He was born on January 29, 1970 and has four wives and 12 children.

At a joint press briefing by both the Director, Defence Information, Colonel Mohammed Yerima, Force Public Relations Officer, Emmanual Ojukwu and the Assistant Director, Public Relations, Marylin Ogar, held at the Defence Head Quarters yesterday, Col. Yerima said the Internal Security Operation being conducted by the military in the affected states is in progress and that Maiduguri town in particular has been cleared of the fundamentalists in the state as at Tuesday.

Yerima, who refused to give the casualty figure so far recorded on both sides in the crisis that has entered the fifth day, said the military will today in Maiduguri, carry out a 'show of force' where it intends to display its equipment and men on the streets of the affected states to assure not just the people of the North eastern region but the generality of Nigerians that the military is capable of protecting the territorial integrity of our great country.

"I want to assure you that with the directive of the Chief of Defence Staff, from tomorrow (today), 'Show Of Force' will be implemented in all states of the affected areas. The military will come out to show their level of preparedness and assure the citizens that everything is in place to protect them, their lives and property."

The DDI, who took time to explain the ugly development that erupted in Borno, Yobe, Bauchi and also in some parts of Kano and Katsina states snowballed into the current situation, said the group perpetrated their evil works with dangerous weapons which include Improvised Explosives Devices (IED), AK-47 rifles, dane guns, pistols, daggers, machetes, catapults and clubs.

According to him, "a certain group of Islamic fundamentalists, led by one Mohammed Yusuf had in the recent past been engaging in some suspicious activities with security implications. The group named Boko-Haram is rabidly opposed to all forms of western education and civilization. They consider as their primary target for attacks, law enforcement agents, critical public infrastructures and centres of worship which in their view are opposed to their doctrines. It has been ascertained that the group did not emerge just of recent.

They have been in existence as far back as 1995 under different names such as Ahlulsunna wal'jama'ah hijra. Security agencies have over this period been monitoring and containing their activities even when they transmuted to other names but with the same doctrine of intolerance. For instance, on November 13, 2008, the group's leader, Mohammed Yusuf and quite a number of his followers were arrested by the security operatives and handed over to the Inspector General of Police for prosecution.

However, they were subsequently granted bail by an Abuja High Court on January 20, 2009. Before then, in 2007, one of his ardent disciples, Al-amin who was also the Kano State leader of the group was arrested along with some of their members after an attack on a police station in Kano, he was also handed over to the police for prosecution. Similarly, between Fe bruary and April 2009, Yusuf's second in command named Kilakam, a Nigerien, was on two occasions arrested and repatriated to his country.

"In furtherance to their violent tendencies, the extremists sometime in June 2009 launched an attack on a police station in Bama, Borno State but the police was able to contain their violence which left about 17 of their members dead, the leader of the group vowed to avenge the death of his members and ordered his followers to stockpile arms. Based on intelligence report, all security agencies were put on alert, which led to the discovery of a hide out where members of the sect were preparing bombs in Maiduguri.

"Following security reports on the activities of Boko-Haram, the group's hideout located at Dutsen Tanshi area of Bauchi town was raided on July 26, 2009 by a joint security team and nine of them were arrested and materials for bomb making and other weapons were confiscated. About two hours later, the group launched another deadly attack on police formations in Bauchi State. Unfortunately for them, they were met with heavy casualty. They subsequently struck in Potiskum, Yobe State where they bombed police stations and set inmates free. Between July 26 and 29, these violent extremists had launched sporadic suicide attacks in Bauchi, Yobe and Borno states. Their weapons of offence include Improvised Explosives Devices (IED), AK-47 rifles, dane guns, pistols, daggers, machetes, catapults and clubs.

"Gentlemen of the press, let me take a moment to give you an insight into the crisis management procedure in internal security operations. First of all, you may wish to note that the Nigerian Police is responsible for the maintenance of law and order in the country. It is only when the NPF is unable to contain the situation that the military might come in. This, notwithstanding, the military cannot intervene or deploy unless so directed by the president. It is against this background that the President, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Federal Republic of Nigeria, having assessed the situation on ground, directed the Chief of Defence Staff to take over the operation of restoring law and order in the affected states.

"Consequently, the Chief of Defence Staff ordered the military to conduct internal security operation which is already in progress. We, however, assure the public that the military is in control. In fact, Maiduguri town was cleared of the fundamentalist as at yesterday.

"We implore the public to give security agencies accurate and timely information that will assist in ending the crisis. The issue of religious extremism is not peculiar to Nigeria as it has become a global challenge. Countries including Nigeria are not resting on their oars; we, therefore, enjoin you the press and members of the public to partner with us to tame this monster. The time to act is now," Yerima added.

He denied allegation by some human rights groups that some civilians caught up in the enclave of the sect who surrendered willingly were blindly shot and killed.

"How can somebody raise up his hands and say he has surrendered and you will kill him? It's not possible. Even the militants, if they raised their hands to surrender they will not be shot, let alone innocent citizens. It is not true."

On the statement by League of Human Rights that the security forces killed many civilians who had nothing to do with the sect, Yerima again replied, "the human right group are not being fair to the security agencies because there is no mark on the faces of those killed that differentiate a Taliban from a civilian. We concentrated on their enclave, they have a specific place where they all converge and before we attack their enclave almost all the civilians living there were evacuated to our knowledge. And those who remained in that enclave are loyalists and members of the group, so the issue of whether we have killed innocent civilians is not true.

"Just yesterday (Wednesday) women and children who have been held captive by Muhammed Yusuf were rescued by the security operatives. So we are rescuing civilians who are trapped in the enclave and else where.

"We have used the barest minimum force because you can see the caliber of weapons they are carrying, MPG 7 Rocket Launcher, AK 47, improvised explosive devices and those are heavy equipment and in that case we use the barest minimum force. As for the humanitarian situation, those displaced are being taken care of by the agencies concern including the government of the state."

Answering reporters question on whether the group's target of police stations is to vandalize the armoury, the Force Public Relations Officer, Emmanuel Ojukwu, responded this way: "You may never know the actual motive of this group until the operation is over and investigation is concluded. But we want you to know that this is a group of people who are anti-democracy. They don't want anything to do with

democracy. They are against the constitution, they are against established government and the police is one of the most visible forms of government, most visible forms of law and order.

And that is why the police is their prime target and they believe once you target the police, you destabilize the institution, destabilize the democracy. Aside from Potiskum where they destroyed police station, they have failed in other areas and their time is up because they will be smoked out, I can assure you," Ojukwu added.


Nigeria: Security Force Kills Fleeing Islamic Sect Leader, Yusuf

AFP20090731606002 Abuja NTA Television Abuja in English 2000 GMT 30 Jul 09

After nearly two days of military bombardment of his Maiduguri, Borno State base, the leader of the Islamic fundamentalist group, Boko Haram, Mohammed Yusuf, was killed today in a shootout with security forces along Potuskum/Damaturu road. Lidia Samson has the report.

[Begin recording][Samson] The military action which had been on for two days finally yielded fruits. Yusuf’s Maiduguri enclave was finally leveled by the Nigerian security forces today afternoon. The attack on the stronghold resulted in heavy casualties mostly on the side of the fundamentalists. Though the military men had taken control of the headquarters of the sect, the fleeing members of the group set ablaze the Makera Police Station in the suburb of Maiduguri. Governor Ali Modu Sheriff was conducted round the destroyed enclave of the militants. The governor in a broadcast to the people of the state, said the victory against the fundamentalists was achieved with the help of God and that of President Yar’Adua, who he said intervened quickly by deploying troops in the state. The governor promised to

come out with a bill which will be presented to the state House of Assembly to regulate religious sermon in the state.

It also emerged last night that the sect had been in existence since 1995 and had operated under different names one of which was Ahlulsunna wal’jama’ah hijra. The Director of Defense Intelligence, Col. Mohammed Yerima, said at a joint press briefing by Defense Headquarters, Force Public Relations, Nigerian Police, ACP Emmanuel CS Ojukwu, and Assistant Director Public Relations, State Security Service, Marilyn Ogar that the militant sect had been in existence since 1995. He said intelligence reports showed that members of the sect were not only in the north-east but also in some states outside the area.

Tracing the history of the group, Yerima disclosed that it had operated under different names one of which was Ahlulsunna wal’jama’ah hijra. He also said the sect leader was first arrested in November 2008 and taken to court but was freed by an Abuja high court in January 2009. Yusuf and members of Boko Haram, meaning Western education is sin, have been tormenting some parts of the North since 26 July. [end recording]

[Description of Source: Abuja NTA Television Abuja in English -- state-owned, government-controlled television]

Nigeria: Cross River State Intensifies Security To Avert Sectarian Violence


[Report by Ernest Chinwo, Jaiyeola Andrews, Augustine Osayande and Hammed Shittu: "C'River, Ogun, Taraba Beef Up Security NSCIA Flays Crisis"]�

Cross River State Government has called on the people and residents of the state to be on security alert to check possible infiltration by the religious fundamentalist Boko Haram, into the State.

This is coming on a day the Ogun State police command said it had put all machinery in motion to forestall the spill over of the violence to the state.

The Commissioner of Police, Mr. Salisu Hashimu Argungu who, in a telephone conversation with THISDAY, bemoaned the activities of the fundamentaliss, said his command was ready to prevent the violence from spilling over to the state.

Taraba State Government, on its part, has banned public preaching in all parts of the state.

A press release signed by the Special Adviser on Security to the state governor, Mr. Charles Maijankai, said preaching by both christians and muslims in the state should be restricted to churches and mosques only. He said that the state government will deal with violators of the directives.

The Cross River State Government, in a statement signed by the Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Edet Okon Asim, said the security alert was a preventive measure to protect the tourism drive of the state.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian Council for Islamic Affairs (NCIA) yesterday condemned the ongoing religious crises, describing such development as wrong and unfortunate and could have reverberating implications on the security of the country.

Deputy Secretary-General of the NSCIA and Vice Chancelor of University of Ilorin, Professor Ish'aq Oloyede, who stated this in Ilorin while speaking with newsmen after the commissioning of ultra modern office complex built by the institution Academic Staff Union said that the wanton destruction of lives and property occasioned by the weekend eruption of religious crisis was uncalled for and unacceptable to muslim Ummah.


Commentary Attributes Sectarian Crisis in Nigeria to 'Failure' of Governance


[Commentary by Reuben Abati: "Boko Haram and the Evil of Ignorance"]

The current sectarian crisis in parts of Northern Nigeria highlights many of the fault lines in Nigerian politics; it further re-enacts a familiar Nigerian story about religious violence, poverty, ignorance and unemployment. Poverty and unemployment have combined to create a large army of angry youths in virtually every part of the country which can be employed for any kind of sinister task. For a small fee or even without paying a fee, you can recruit idle young men and women, give them arms and ammunition and ask them to do your bidding.

For as long as Nigeria remains underdeveloped and the leadership elite remains selfish, this pattern is bound to subsist. We must be worried about the increasing population of young men and women who are prepared to defy the state and sabotage it. The main promoters of the current crisis in the North are secondary school students, clerics, university drop outs and a former university lecturer.

Young people inflicting pain on the country and doing so brazenly are saying something much deeper about the Nigerian state: the impunity with which people readily take the laws into their hands, the proliferation of small arms, the inefficiency of the security agencies, and the near-absolute disregard for human lives. The Boko Haram fundamentalists insist that there must be the rule of the Sharia in every state of Nigeria and that Western education must be abolished because it is evil.

One of their leaders says he is opposed to the use of the Constitution to govern Nigeria. We seem to be paying the price for the failure of the Federal Government to deal decisively with the Sharia mischief under the Obasanjo administration. President Obasanjo had boasted then that the politics of Sharia would soon disappear. It hasn't. The fanatics argue that Western education should be forbidden because it is sinful, and that Western values are unacceptable. There is probably no point trying to respond to this obviously ignorant assertion. For as Moses Anegbode, the Assistant Inspector-General of police in charge

of Zone 12, Bauchi pointed out, "They forbid anything western, yet their leader has an array of western materials in their position and their usage. Even the phone, SUVs, I wonder if they were made by him..."

Recurrent cases of violence in parts of Northern Nigeria and elsewhere in the country can be traced to the failure of governance. The Federal Government in the last few days has put up a rear-guard action to contain the insurgency which has spread across five states but the handling of the crisis is shoddy. The soldiers and the policemen involved in what is now known as Operation Flush II have been just as guilty as the insurgents. They have been shooting on sight rather indiscriminately, and since the fanatics do not wear a uniform there is no doubt that a lot of innocent persons have been caught in the crossfire. Human rights issues have been raised, most legitimately.

There has also been an excessive show of power. President Yar'Adua, before traveling out to Brazil had justified the state's response when he said that the security agencies are the ones who initiated the attack by launching "a pre-emptive" strike against the extremists after "tracking them for years". There is certainly nothing pre-emptive in their action. Where was the state when the insurgents set up a school where they trained and brainwashed young person to turn them against the state?

Members of the Boko Haram travelled across the Northern states to Maiduguri where they had planned to launch their holy war. Why didn't the security agencies pick this up, and nip it in the bud? The insurgents launched their attack in Maiduguri last Sunday, blocking the highway, and burning down houses, mosques and churches. They attacked the police headquarters, the police armoury, the Maiduguri prison, and burnt down police patrol vehicles. Within 24 hours, over 157 lives had been lost. It took a while before the Nigerian government responded. The police were caught unawares. The fanatics were so we ll organized they also struck in other cities: Kano and Bauchi; they represent a dangerous tendency that requires greater alertness on the part of the state. There was a failure of intelligence at play. And yet President Yar'Adua boasts as follows: "I want to assure that this administration will not tolerate any arms insurrection anywhere and in any part of the country. Anywhere any group of people begin to launch an insurrection and destruction against their fellow Nigerians they will be dealt with squarely and promptly."

This statement is probably directed, for effect, at the Niger Delta militants. It is possible to imagine that a similar "pre-emptive strike" may be on the cards in the Niger Delta after the expiration of the amnesty period. This may not be part of the President's calculation but were he to launch a fresh offensive in the Niger Delta next month, he could deflect charges of ethnic cleansing by claiming that he had ordered a similar operation in Northern Nigeria. A government that focuses on issues of governance and provides the leadership that the people need may not feel compelled to resort to such desperate tactics. In the North, Mohammed Yusuf and his band of fanatics, like El Zaky Zaky before them, have succeeded in further exposing the weakness of the Nigerian state and its institutions. For almost a week, the military and the police have been searching for the leader of the insurgency like a pin in a haystack. Pre-emptive strike indeed.

A big blow has been dealt again to the idea of national unity and cohesion. With incessant killings in Northern Nigeria, many Southerners in that part of the country have chosen to relocate elsewhere. Parents are reluctant to allow their children to participate in the NYSC [National Youth Service Corps] scheme in

the North. The gradual transformation of parts of the North into natural centres of violence has obvious implications for investment and development in that region. The religious elite in the North must take responsibility for the conversion of a religion of peace into a platform for less ennobling pursuits. The educated class in the north is also culpable. Apart from a few statements from the Northern Governors Forum, the JNI, the Sokoto Council of Ulamah and Imams, and the Sultan, they have all been very cautious in their responses. They are afraid, obviously. But more voices should be raised in condemnation of this primitive assault on the Nigerian public space.

Where is President Yar'Adua in all of this? He is, at the time of this writing, in Brazil sipping tea and exchanging diplomatic hugs. Meanwhile, Nigeria burns. The state visit to Brazil is so important to him he could not even ask that it should be postponed to enable him attend to the emergency at home. The Brazilians would have understood. But our president is in Brazil looking for partners. I hope he would have convincing explanations for those would-be partners about the slaughter of innocent women and children in Maiduguri, Yobe, Kano and Taraba. And hopefully, he will not feel embarrassed when his hosts draw his attention to sordid footages of the mayhem. What image of Nigeria would he sell to his hosts? The right place for President Yar'Adua to be, as a wave of violence spreads across Northern Nigeria, and as many as 500 lives have reportedly been lost, is home, not abroad. Leadership is about responsibility and care. Providing a justification for his trip, President Yar'Adua had insisted that he was scheduled to travel to Brazil last year, but the trip was aborted. Now, he cannot afford not to honour a second invitation!

In addition to the crisis in the Northern states, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU has been on strike for a month. There is disquiet in the Niger Delta with the militants, the Governors and ordinary people protesting the proposed siting of a Petroleum University in Kaduna State. Before jetting off to Brazil, President Yar'Adua said the situation at home is "completely under control". I don't think so. Everything seems to be out of control around here.

When the President returns, there are specific issues that have gone out of control that he will need to address: the architects of the violence must be hunted down and made to face the full wrath of the law, the displaced persons in all the states must be assisted, and every effort should be made to begin a study of the aims and methods of religious fundamentalists and common criminals who seem to be thriving so much in part because the Nigerian state has failed to develop a memory bank for responding to their impunity.


Nigeria: Sokoto State Police Intensify Security To Avert Insurgency by Fanatics


[Report by Mohammed Aminu: "Surveillance Intensified in Sokoto To Avert Violence"]

Sokoto Police Command has intensified surveillance in all the 23 local government councils of the state to prevent insurgency by fanatics that invaded Borno state and some parts of North-east.

This was against the backdrop of arrest of five suspected members of the "Boko Haram' sect at Gagi area of Sokoto three days ago where the police discovered 20 sharp cutlasses, knives, uniforms, drugs and injections in their possession.

Speaking at a meeting of security operatives held at the Police Officers' Mess Sokoto yesterday, State Police Commissioner, Alhaji Abubakar Mohammed, said the command had adopted a pro-active measure to ensure that the insurgents do not invade the state.

According to him, the move became necessary in order to protect the lives and property of the citizens of the state as well as avert anarchy in the state.


Nigeria: Police Say Former Government Official Shot Dead in Unrest


MAIDUGURI, Nigeria, July 31, 2009 (AFP) - Police Friday killed an ex-senior government official believed to have links with a radical Islamist sect that led a deadly uprising in northern Nigeria, sources said.

Alhaji Bujifai, 49, a former Borno state commissioner for religious affairs, was captured while in hiding in the city, brought to the police headquarters in Maiduguri, the capital, and shot dead, police sources said.

"Our men succeeded this morning in arresting... Bujifai at his hideout, following intelligence report," one of the sources said.

"He was brought to the police headquarters where he was shot dead just outside the gate," another police source said.

The self-styled "Taliban" group's leader Mohammed Yusuf was also gunned down the Thursday after his capture from a house in the sect's stronghold suburb in the city.

Bujifai, father of 13 children, resigned his post about two years ago from the state government, which he said was not sufficiently Islamic, and joined Yusuf's Boko Haram sect, they said.

But his neighbour, who demanded anonymity, denied that he was a member of the sect, adding that he was "innocent" and "unjustly killed."


Al-Jazirah Airs 'Exclusive' Footage of Body of Nigerian Boko Haram Leader

GMP20090731648007 Doha Al-Jazirah Satellite Channel Television in Arabic 1700 GMT 31 Jul 09

[Announcer-read report over video. For a copy of the video, contact [email protected] or the OSC Customer Center at (800) 205-8615. Selected video also available at OpenSource.gov.]

Al-Jazirah has obtained exclusive footage of what it seems to be the body of Muhammad Yusuf, leader of Boko Haram group in Nigeria. Yusuf appears handcuffed, and his body bears severe injuries and mutilations due to gunfire. Al-Jazirah points out that the mutilation of the body was blacked out owing to journalistic code of ethics.

Related Attachment

[Warning: very graphic image]

Click here to view the video on the OSC Video Server; or click here to view an attached WMV version.

[Description of Source: Doha Al-Jazirah Satellite Channel Television in Arabic -- Independent Television station financed by the Qatari Government]

Nigeria: Outrage Greets Boko Haram Leader's Death


Outrage has greeted the 30 July killing of the leader of the Nigerian Taliban aka Boko Haram, Mohammed Yusuf, at the headquarters of the Borno State Police Command, Maiduguri. This is just as a former Borno State Commissioner for Religious Affairs, Alhaji Buji Fai, and 22 other suspected members of the fundamentalist sect were reportedly killed by security agents on 31 July in Maiduguri.

Human Rights Watch researcher for Nigeria, Eric Guttschuss, described Yusuf’s killing as "a shocking example of the brazen contempt by the Nigerian police for the rule of law." Yusuf, 39, was seen by local journalists at the military barracks in Maiduguri after his capture. He had no visible injuries when he was taken from the Giwa military barracks to the police headquarters where he was killed after allegedly confessing to instigating the bloody violence in parts of northern Nigeria.

The Minister of Information and Communications, Prof. Dora Akunyili, has, however, promised that the federal government would investigate the circumstances of Yusuf’s death. Akunyili explained in Abuja on 31 July that the federal government was against extra-judicial killings, which the army and police have been accused of engaging in since the fighting broke out in Bauchi State on 26 July. Security agents picked over 200 bodies from the streets of the state capital as at 30 July, according to Aliyu Maikano, a senior Red Cross official.

Fai, believed to be a Boko Haram supporter, was among the 23 bloodied bodies found with what appeared to be fresh bullet wounds outside the police command on 31 July. Reuters said, "Our reporter counted 23 bloodied bodies with what appeared to be fresh bullet wounds outside the police command on 31 July, among them a former state commissioner for religious affairs believed to be a Boko Haram supporter, Alhaji Buji Fai." The report quoted the spokesman for the Borno State Police Command, Isa Azare, as saying, "Alhaji Buji Fai was killed along with other fleeing Boko Haram in an exchange of fire this morning along Benishek-Maiduguri road."

Security agents fought gun battles with followers of the radical Islamic sect for a sixth straight day on 31 July, after the group’s leader was shot dead while in police custody. Yusuf’s supporters, armed with machetes, knives, home-made hunting rifles and petrol bombs, have rioted in several states across the north in recent days, attacking churches, police stations, prisons, and government buildings. The violence broke out on 26 July when members of the group, loosely modeled after the Taliban in Afghanistan and whose name means "Western education is sinful," were arrested in Bauchi State on suspicion of plotting to attack a police station.

President Yar’Adua had said the group was procuring arms and learning to make bombs in order to impose its ideology on Nigerians by force. He then ordered the security forces to do everything necessary

to contain the sect. Around a dozen soldiers, police officers, and prison officials are among the hundreds of people killed in the unrest, while the remainder of the dead largely consists of suspected Boko Haram followers. Spokesman of the Nigerian Army, Col. Mohammed Yerima, has promised a military "show of force" to reassure civilians that they would be protected. Soldiers and police patrolled Maiduguri in armored personnel carriers and trucks on 31 July, continuing house-to-house searches for Yusuf’s followers. Yar’Adua, who is on an official visit to Brazil, spoke on telephone with northern governors on 30 July and urged traditional and religious leaders to use 31 July prayers to warn people about the dangers of such sects. Yusuf’s death deprives intelligence agencies of the opportunity to question him about possible links to other militant groups outside the country.


Nigeria: Islamic Sect, Boko Haram Poisons Wells in Bauchi

AFP20090731606008 Kaduna New Nigerian in English 31 Jul 09 p 5

The Boko Haram sect, currently waging a war against western education in some states in northern Nigeria, may have diffused poisonous substances into five wells in Bauchi. The Bauchi State Water Board raised the alarm yesterday in Bauchi. The state government had on 27 July raised concern over alleged plot by the zealots to poison sources of drinking water in Bauchi metropolis. Dr Musa Badara, the state’s Commissioner for Special Duties, has therefore, directed the water board to take sample of the alleged contaminated water for analysis. Badara also advised residents in the affected areas not to drink water from the wells until a thorough investigation was concluded. However, an official of the water board, who preferred anonymity, told the News Agency of Nigeria yesterday in Bauchi that the result of the test confirmed that the affected water sources had been contaminated. The official said the contaminated water source was traced to some wells dug by a member of the religious zealots at Fadamar Mada area of Bauchi metropolis.

He said the five wells were contaminated with phosphorous and cyanide which are harmful to human beings and animals. According to him, two of the wells are heavily contaminated while the three others had little quantity of the poisonous chemicals.

"Large deposits of phosphorous and cyanide were found in the contaminated wells and these chemicals are believed to have been used by the fanatics in making explosives.

Phosphorous affects internal organs of humans and animals while cyanide is harmful to the central nervous system. A copy of our findings has been forwarded to the state government. The report recommends that the water in the wells should be drained while the demolished residences of the zealots should be dug and evacuated. It is also recommended that residents of the area should immediately stop using the water either for human or animal consumption," the official added.

[Description of Source: Kaduna New Nigerian in English - federal government owned daily]

Nigeria: Information Minister Comments on Killing of Islamist Boko Haram Leader

AFP20090731617009 London BBC World Service in English 0730 GMT 31 Jul 09

[Telephone Interview With Nigerian Information Minister Professor Dora Akunyili in Lagos by "Network Africa" Host Akwesi Sarpong in London on 31 July on the killing of the leader of the Nigerian Islamic Boko Haram group, Mohamed Yusuf -- live; all sentences as heard]

[Sarpong] We appreciate your time this morning. What can you tell us for starters about Mohamed Yusuf's killing?

[Akunyili] Well, the leader of the group has been killed, according to security forces on ground. Normalcy is gradually returning to the region while security forces are right now carrying out house-to-house search and surrounding areas to flush out the remnants of the Boko Haram militant group.

[Sarpong] And there have been varying accounts in terms of how or where he was killed. The police say he was killed in a shoot-out; other reports suggest he was killed in police custody. Exactly, what happened?

[Akunyili] Well, it is actually the security forces that can tell where exactly he was killed. But what is important is that he has been right now, taken out of the way. So that he would stop using people to cause mayhem in the system.

[Sarpong, interrupting] But now that ...

[Akunyili, interrupting] I think that is what (?we have been offered) right now.

[Sarpong] But now that he is dead, how does the government and indeed the security force plan to get to the bottom of the problem posed by the Boko Haram sect?

[Akunyili] Well, basically, it is the leader and the deputy leader - these people - that are right now out of the way that were actually brainwashing and mobilizing people against so called Western education being evil and terrible and everybody becomes their enemy - both Christians and Muslim. Now, right now, what Nigerian Government is doing, we will intensify on, is to ensure that security is beefed up and as a matter of fact, Nigerian security services, by their quick, swift, and effective reaction, they were able to contain the violence. Because this will extend to other places and right now, we will focus on the seven-point agenda - the seven-point agenda that will generate employment because when these youths are more usefully employed, they will be less likely to be cajoled by anybody into militant tendency. The security forces are carrying out house-to-house searches right, searching surrounding states to make sure that this type of insurgence does not come up again.

[Sarpong] But will you be concerned if Mohamed Yusuf had been killed or was killed in police custody?

[Akunyili] Well, yes, I will be concerned but I am also consoled by the fact that his being out of the way is positive for the country because if he were still to be alive, he is capable of still making what has happened in the last few days come up again and government does not condone extra-judicial killing.

Right now, we believe in the rule of law. But I will get more briefing from the security agencies before I comment more on that.

[Sarpong] Now, Human Rights Watch is also saying that it is asking your government to immediately investigate this matter and hold to account all those responsible for an unlawful killing, if indeed, that was the situation. What would be your response to that?

[Akunyili] Well, Nigeria believes in human rights. We believe in rule of law and therefore, I believe that we are going to do something about it to find out exactly what happened. But it is too early right now for me to comment on that since I have not been briefed exactly on the spot where the man was killed and how he died. The only information I got which I will relate to you is that the man is dead and that a normalcy has returned and security forces are trying to ensure that there is no reoccurrence of what happened. And again, I can tell you quickly, it is too early to make allegations against government. It is better for us to wait a while so that the truth will unfold and we get back to you.

[Sarpong] So, at this point, is your government reassured that this violence, this campaign of violence is over then?

[Akunyili] Of course, it is over. Right now, as I speak, we are also trying to be proactive. That is why the security agencies will remain there for a while to ensure that it does not happen again. That is why again, we are carrying out, through the security forces, a house-to-house search and searching the surrounding states to ensure that there is no remnant of any Boko Haram militant group or person. And to be a continuous effort to secure the areas, the state governors are also working with government to this effect.

Alright then, Nigerian Information Minister Prof Akunyili, thank you very much.

[Description of Source: London BBC World Service in English -- External radio service of the United Kingdom's public service broadcaster]

Nigeria: Governor Warns Residents Against Harboring Members of Boko Haram Sect

AFP20090801614006 Abuja Hot FM in English 31 Jul 09

Borno State Governor Alli Mudu Sheriff has warned residents in the state not to harbor members of the Islamic extremist sect group, Boko Haram.

The governor handed down the warning following the killing of the leader of the discredited group, Mohammed Yusuf, by the police.

He said his government has ordered the house to house search for the sect members noting that anyone caught harboring members of the group would be dealt with.

The governor also announced the relax in the imposed curfew in Maiduguri which would now be from 9 PM to 6 AM as against 7 PM to 6 AM during the crisis.

Boko Haram leader, Yusuf Mohammed, according to the police died from bullet wounds.

Borno State Police Commissioner Christopher Dega who announced the captured and death of sect leader said Yusuf Mohammed was arrested hiding in a corner in his in-law’s home.

The Islamic extremist group, book Haram, had in the last five days staged unprovoked attacks in Bauchi, Kano, Katsina, Yobe, and Borno States.


Nigeria: Boko Haram Leader, Deputy Killed, Soldiers Take Over Extremists Enclave

AFP20090801614005 Abuja Cool FM in English 0545 GMT 31 Jul 09

The leader of the extremist Islamic sect, Boko Haram, Mohammed Yusuf, was killed yesterday during a shoot out with security forces after nearly two days of military attack on his Maiduguri, Borno State base.

Mr Yusuf’s deputy who was arrested two days ago has also been killed while the militants’ enclave has been leveled and the place taken over by soldiers.

Governor Alli Mudu Sheriff said the victory against the fundamentalists was achieved with the help of God and President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua who he said intervened quickly by deploying troops in the state.

Meanwhile, North East zonal coordinator National Emergency Management Agency [NEMA], Jedia Apollo, said problem of logistics is hindering delivery of relief materials to victims of sectarian crisis in Borno State.

Mr Apollo said items worth millions of naira could not transported to the refuge due to problems of transportation facing the agency.

The NEMA coordinator called on the state government to assist the agency with transportation facilities to move the relief materials to displaced people.


Nigeria: Normalcy Returns To North Eastern States


Commercial and social activities are gradually returning to normalcy in the states affected by violence perpetrated by the Boko Haram group.

Radio Nigeria correspondent in Yobe State reports that many people came out today to transact business unlike the situation in the past few days.

There are however checkpoints mounted by joint security teams in sensitive areas to prevent any threats to peace and order.

The situation was similar in Maiduguri, Borno State where many residents expressed happiness that the situation had been brought under control.

Reports from Bauchi, Kano, and Katsina States speak of a similar situation

Meanwhile, the Federal Capital Territory [FCT] Police Command has arrested 36 persons suspected to be members of the Boko Haram sect.

Parading the suspects in Abuja, FCT Police Commissioner, Mr John Haruna said investigations revealed that the group initially assembled in Kano to strategize on ways of attacking the Western part of the country.

Correspondent Sandra Odike has the details.

[Begin recording] [Odike] Represented by the command’s public relations officer, Mr Jimoh Moshood, the commissioner of police explained that the group included two nationals of Niger Republic.

[Moshood] Two buses loaded with 36 people were intercepted in Zuba along Kaduna/Lokoja Expressway. When they were questioned they told the police they are going to South western part of the country to look for menial jobs which is very very suspicious.

[Odike] In an interview however, two members of the group, Abdullahi and Isah denied the allegation saying that they were businessmen.

[Abdullahi] I am not a Boko Haram, I dey buy tailoring materials every four weeks or six weeks in Lagos. Kuma every time I reached Lagos when I entered market to buy my products around 6 O’clock or 5 O’clock then I go enter bus go back to Kano.

[Isah] I was entering motor in Gabadawa garage; I was selling petty things form Lagos Island.

[Odike] The FCT police command also paraded some suspected kidnappers, car snatchers, a vehicle inspection officer’s impersonator and recovered some vehicles.

The command therefore warned criminals hiding in the FCT to refrain from their negative acts.

To this end, all unlicensed operators of hotels and recreational centers in the territory are asked to vacate their premises adding that such location serves as hideouts for criminals.

The command’s public relations officer also spoke more on this.

[Moshood] These places have been overtaken by criminals like [words indistinct] a lot of snatching of handbags, robbery even rape have been reported.

[Odike] The police authorities warned that massive raids, arrests, and prosecution of the illegal operators have been ordered.

In Abuja, Sandra Odike reporting. [End recording]


Nigerians Condemn Sectarian Religious Violence in Northern Part of Country

AFP20090801578001 Ibadan Nigerian Tribune Online in English 31 Jul 09

[Report by Dipo Laleye, Adewale Ajayi, Clement Idoko, Okodili Ndidi and Isaac Shobayo: "Nigerians Condemn Sectarian Crisis in North"]

Nigerians have started condemning the sectarian religious violence in the Northern part of the country, blaming it on the adoption of Sharia by some state governments.

A Minna-based Islamic scholar, Sheikh Hassan Musa, on Thursday, in Minna, condemned the actions of the Boko Haram sect of Islam currently unleashing terror on Nigerians in parts of the northern states.

Sheikh Musa described the actions of the sect as criminal and unislamic; adding that Islam, as a peaceful and universal religion, forbided unnecessary blood shedding.

The General Superintendent, Deeper Life Bible Church, Pastor William Kumuyi, described the violence as "backward and retrogressive." He said the sect's action must be condemned by all, both Christians and Moslems.

Kumuyi, spoke while fielding questions from journalists at the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport, Abuja, on Wednesday, on his arrival ahead of the Youth Empowerment Summit, organised by the Youth Wing, Christian Association of Nigeria (YOWICAN) billed to take place tomorrow.

A Lagos based lawyer, Mr Festus Keyamo, said the adoption of Sharia legal system by the Northern governors was responsible for the crisis, just as he added that the mayhem had more political undertone than religious as being portrayed.

Speaking in the same vein, Mr. Bisi Adegbuyi, Action Congress (AC) Senatorial candidate in Ogun East in the last general election, said sectarian violence in the North was as a result of "failure of leadership, and failure of security."

The Fundamental Rights League International, has called for stringent punishment for those involved in the recent crisis instigated by an Islamic sect, saying that "it is the only way of discouraging religious fanatics from showing disregard to the lives and properties of Nigerians."

The suggestion was contained in a press statement made available to the Nigerian Tribune in Onitsha and jointly signed by Chairman and Secretary to the group, Comrades Mike Umezulike and Damian Ogudike.

Meanwhile, as the rumour of possible invasion by Islamic fundamentalists hit Jos, capital of Plateau State, an air of apprehension has gripped the people of the state, even as the state Police Command, on Thursday, arrested 18 people suspected to be members of the group called Boko Haram.

Parading the suspects, the state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Greg Anyangting, said the people were apprehended in Jos South Local Government area of the state following an intelligence report.


Nigeria: Ethnic Group Calls For Probe Into Death of Islamic Sect Leader

AFP20090801578005 Lagos The Guardian Online in English 01 Aug 09

[Report by Kamal Tayo Oropo and Isa Abdulsalami: "Afenifere Seeks Probe Into Boko Haram Leader's Death"]

The Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere Renewal Group (ARG) yesterday called for a probe into the death of extremist Islamic sect leader, Mohammed Yusuf in the hands of security forces.

The ARG described his death as extra-judicial murder.

Also yesterday, the Plateau State Police Command arrested 18 people suspected to be members of Boko Haram in Jos, the state capital.

The spokesman of the Borno State Police Command, Isa Azare, confirming the death on Thursday, said: "He has been killed. You can come and see his body at the State Police Command headquarters."

Acknowledging that though there were conflicting accounts from as many arms of the security outfits who spoke on Yusuf's death, the ARG said one fact that remained un-denied was that the 39-year old leader of Boko Haram did not die in a shoot-out but rather after he was reportedly arrested in a goat pen in his in-law's house.

"Afenifere Renewal Group (ARG) had earlier deplored the methodology of Boko Haram and the Talibans in using mayhem to demand their preferred civilization and rejection of western civilization without denying them their right to self-determination.

"We equally called on the security forces to bring the sectarian violence under control to avert further loss of lives and property, which was spreading like wildfire.

"But we seriously protest the murder of Yusuf without trial. This has shown the hollowness of the Rule of Law mantra of the Yar'Adua administration, which has largely been beneficial to high profile thieves in the last two years," the group said.

In a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Yinka Odumakin, the group, which has recently been in the forefront of calls for immediate convocation of Sovereign National Conference as a way of addressing the inherent contradictions of various groups in the country, said the future of Nigeria would have benefited more if he was allowed to speak at an open trial.

"We would have known the real motives of his group and its financiers. The large cache of arms and weapons manufacturing centres traced to the group were not something a 39-year-old school dropout would have easily put together without backers."

The group also noted: "No matter the offences Yusuf and his group might have committed, as a human being he was entitled to right to life under the 1999 constitution until a competent court of law pronounced that he had forfeited such by proven crimes. To summarily execute him in police custody was a violent violation of his fundamental right and blights the human rights temperature of the Yar'Adua administration.

"While we equally deplore the summary execution of other extremists caught in the crossfire, the fact remains that even if Yusuf was caught in the armed conflict, he was still protected by the African Charter on Human and People's Rights to which Nigeria is a signatory and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Matters."

The ARG called on all lovers of justice around the world to join in demanding the identities of those who killed Yusuf. "They should be put on trial so that we can know who authorized the murder," the group said.

ARG also warned the authorities not to "think that the murder of Yusuf is the end of Boko Haram or its models. It once assumed that the hanging of Ken Saro-Wiwa would put an end to the Niger Delta issue. Now, it knows better."

While parading the suspects before reporters, Plateau State Police Commissioner, Mr. Gregory Anyangting said from intelligence report, members of the group planned to attack Jos, which prompted security operatives to beef up security.

According to him, one suspect was arrested with a large quantity of camouflage army uniforms, shoes and beret, 15 CD plates and some materials with Arabic inscriptions.

The suspect told the Police that he belongs to the Taliban group and led police detectives to where he used to purchase the materials.


Nigeria: Police Say 36 Suspected Islamists Arrested

AFP20090801678001 Paris AFP (World Service) in English 1355 GMT 01 Aug 09

ABUJA, Aug 1, 2009 (AFP) - Police in Nigeria said they had arrested 36 suspected members of a radical Islamist sect after security forces crushed a violent uprising by the movement.

The independent newspaper Saturday Punch published a picture of the suspects, most of them young boys. Police said the suspects included two from neighbouring Niger.

"Thirty-six suspected members of the group, among them two nationals of Niger Republic, were intercepted and arrested... (on) July 30," according to a statement by Abuja police chief Haruna John.

The members of the group, known as Boko Haram, were arrested in Zuba, on the outskirts of the Nigerian capital Abuja, while travelling west on their way to Lagos, the commercial capital.

"Investigations reveal that all the 36 suspects left their different locations in Kano, Jigawa and Yobe -- all northern states -- to assemble in Kano before their planned movement to Lagos," John said in a statement read out to reporters on Friday by his spokesman, Jimoh Moshood.

All the suspects will soon face charges in court after an investigation, he said.

Clashes this week between the sect members and security forces left more than 600 dead in the northern states of Bauchi, Kano, Yobe and Borno.

The sect's spiritual leader, Mohammed Yusuf, was shot dead in controversial cicumstances.

The acting inspector general of police, Ogbonnaya Onovo denied in a statement that Yusuf was killed while in police custody.

"This is not true," Onovo said. "The Nigeria Police Force restates that Mohammed Yusuf died in a crossfire with security operatives."


Nigeria: Security Operatives Demolish Hideout of Militants in Gombe State

AFP20090802565002 Ibadan Nigerian Tribune Online in English 02 Aug 09

[Report by Ishola Michael: "Boko Haram: Gombe Demolishes Militants' Camp"]

Few days after the leader of the dreaded Islamic sect popularly called 'Boko Haram' Mohammed Yusuf, and several others were killed across the Northern states, security operatives in Gombe state, yesterday, demolished the hideout of the militants in the state capital.

The two-room apartments and a small mosque occupied by the militants was demolished by a detachment of joint security operatives at about 1:05pm led by Col. Modibbo Ahmad Alkali, Commander 301 Artillery Regiment Battalion, Gombe.

Found in the apartments were hard jungle booths and jackets that looked like that of the military, various machetes, turbaning materials and other clothing materials, but the occupants were said to have left for Maiduguri when crises erupted there.

Secretary to the Gombe State Government [SSG], Sule Bage, while speaking at the demolition site in Jankai Quarters, said the decision to demolish the structure was taken at a security meeting held last Friday and chaired by the Governor, Muhammad Danjuma Goje, who is the Chief Security Officer of the state.

Sule Bage also said that the decision was based on security report which indicated that the property was forcefully taken over by the Boko Haramun group and converted to their use preparatory to attacks anytime, as would have been directed by their dead leader before now.

The SSG further said that the action which is sequel to crises attributable to the sect in other Northern states and the need to beef up security in the state particularly the state capital prompted Gombe state government's action.

He further said that in an attempt to ensure calmness in the state, government had sensitized the Emirs, Chiefs and religious leaders on the need to educate and caution their subjects against the activities of the group.


Niger Delta Armed Group Leader Condemns Sectarian Violence in Northern Nigeria

AFP20090802565006 Isheri Nigerian Compass Online in English 2300 GMT 01 Aug 09

[Report by Emma-Enyinnaya Appolos and Julius Toba: "Nigeria Heading Towards Separation -Dokubo-Asari"]

Sequel to the religious uprising in the North, the Leader of the Niger Delta Peoples Volunteer Force (NDPVF), Alhaji Mujahid Dokubo-Asari, has said that it is now obvious that Nigeria only exists in the minds of a few people.

Dokubo-Asari, who is in Saudi Arabia, told the Nigerian Compass in a telephone interview that with the reactions in the Niger Delta and the North, Nigeria was heading towards separation.

He said this was so because in the first place there was never a consensus that those in the Nigerian state consented to live together.

He said that each tribe should be allowed to exist based on their values and way of life instead of being coerced into ways if living alien to them. He condemned the killing of people by the religious fundamentalists, arguing that those behind the act should be tried at the International Criminal Court [ICC].

Dokubo-Asari said, "I have always said that there is no country called Nigeria.

"Such country only exists in the mind of a few Abuja residents, who derive pleasure in exploiting the people.

"Otherwise, it is the fundamental right of a people to decide how they want their lives to be.

"Before the colonial rulers, the Hausa Muslims had a way of life.

"Western education was not part of their system and they lived in peace.

"So if they have come now to say that they don't want education, with their so-called Boko Haram, it is their fundamental right according to the Islamic law.

"So a Yoruba man or Igbo man should not dictate for an Hausa man how to live.

"In the same vein, an Hausa man does not have the right to decide for an Ijaw man or Igbo man how to live.

"The laws are not same for every tribe.

"There are different laws and value system for each tribe and the earlier they understand this and allow every tribe to live, develop and take care of their affairs at their pace, the better for the country called Nigeria.

"But I think the Northern militants should have pursued their right in a peaceful way and not by burning down properties and killing.

"On the other hand, the government did not live up its responsibility by ordering the killing of the people.

"It was an act of irresponsibility that people are being killed and I think that those behind the killing in the North should be tried at the International Criminal Court.

'It is obvious now that Nigeria is heading towards separation because there was never a consensus that we wanted to live together as a nation.

"We have our value systems and ways of life which each tribe preferred to the forceful co-existence that was done by the colonial rulers."

Meanwhile, a mosque in Gombe, the Gombe State capital, which had hitherto served as a recruitment centre for members of the Islamic group, Boko Haram, was demolished on Saturday.

Residents of Gombe gathered at an adjoining street along Jakadefari Quarters to watch the demolition done with a bulldozer hired by the state government.

The exercise commenced at 1.05 pm and ended at about 1.20 pm amid tight security.

The mosque, popularly known as Jankai Mosque, was sacked two days ago on the suspicion that it had housed scores of Talibans who came into Gombe recently.

Col. Moddibo Ahmed. Alkali, the Commanding Officer of 301 Artillery Regiment, who supervised the demolition, said it was done on the directive of the state government.


Nigeria: Authorities Organize Mass Burial for Victims of Clashes in Northeast


KANO, Nigeria, Aug 2, 2009 (AFP) - Nigerian authorities have given a mass burial to victims of last week's Islamist uprising in the northeastern city of Maiduguri, which killed hundreds of people, a government spokesman said Sunday.

"Our evacuation team has finished removing all dead bodies from the streets of the city. Families are nor forthcoming in claiming the dead bodies. Therefore, the government decided to bury them in mass graves," Usman Chiroma, spokesman of Borno State government, told AFP.

"It is difficult for them to do so (claim the bodies), because their dead relations were members of the Boko Haram (sect) that waged war against the government. They just don't want to be associated with them," he added.

Although the police and military declined to give a figure for the number of bodies involved, ThisDay newspaper put it at about 700.

Clashes between security forces and sect members in four northern states -- Bauchi, Kano, Yobe and Borno -- killed more than 600 people in five days of violence, according to police and witnesses.

Most of the dead were in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, where the Nigerian military bombarded the headquarters of the Boko Haram extremist sect and killed its leader Mohammed Yusuf, 39.

Yusuf's killing while in military custody has been condemned by rights groups.

Residents in Maiduguri told an AFP reporter by telephone that rotting bodies that had littered the streets of the northeastern university city had been removed for burial.

Lawan Galadima, a trader in Bayan Quarters, which was home to many followers of the anti-Western sect, said: "by yesterday (Saturday) evening, all dead bodies in this area had been removed."

"Health workers and police piled them into trucks and took them away. Now we are relieved of the nauseating stench that disturbed us in the past few days," he added.


Nigeria: Opposition Condemns Extra-Judicial Killing of Islamic Sect Leader

AFP20090803565001 Lagos Daily Sun Online in English 03 Aug 09

[Report by Geoffrey Anyanwu: "AC Condemns Killings of Sect Leader, Financier; Blames Sectarian Crisis on FG"]

The Action Congress (AC) has said the violence that swept across some states in northern Nigeria last week, leaving hundreds dead, could have been avoided if the Federal Government had been pro-active in dealing with the crisis.

In a statement issued in Lagos on Sunday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said beyond the usual knee-jerk reaction to such crisis, the government must work hard to end the conditions that make it possible to attract and brainwash youths into joining such senseless, cult-like religious groups like Boko Haram.

"An idle mind is the devil's workshop. When millions of our youths are unemployed and there is no hope of a better tomorrow, they become easy targets for apocalyptic preachers and mindless religious zealots.

The fact also that the alleged second in command of the sect is a Nigerian also speaks volume about the security of our borders and the nation's internal security. That is why this Federal Government must shake off its lethargy and address the myriad of problems facing this nation, so that our youths can channel their energies to productive ventures instead of becoming killing machines," it said.

AC also condemned the extra-judicial killing of the leader of the Boko Haram sect, Muhammed Yusuf, and the sect's alleged financier and former Commissioner for Religious Affairs in Borno State, Alhaji Buji Foi, after both had been arrested.

The party said the reported execution of the leaders of the sect is a blow to Nigeria's image as a country seeking to return to the path of the rule of law, after eight years of sheer lawlessness under former president Olusegun Obasanjo.

"No matter their offence, sect leader Yusuf and the group's alleged financier are better of being alive than dead. After they might have been interrogated to get a treasure-trove of valuable information that could help prevent future violence from them, they could then have been tried in accordance with the law of the

land. Executing them summarily is barbaric, unjustified and a big minus for the security agencies, which did a lot to contain the violence.

"The government must probe the circumstances surrounding the killings to prevent a recurrence," AC said, describing as an "after-thought" the police argument that Yusuf died in a "crisis situation."

Calling for pro-active measures to nip future violence in the bud, the party said while the security agents did their own part in monitoring the activities of the sect and even arresting sect leader Yusuf in November 2008 - only for him to be released on bail by the court in January 2009 - the Federal Government did not capitalise on the early warnings.

"The Boko Haram violence and the incessant sectarian crisis in Nigeria call for a different, pro-active approach by the government. It is now clear that whatever approach the government has been adopting to stop these crises is not working.

"The sect did not just emerge on the scene. It has been around under various names since 1995, and between then and now its members have launched several attacks against law enforcement agents and government infrastructure. Security agencies have also been monitoring and writing reports on the activities of the group," it said.

"Despite all this, the sect was still allowed enough space to destabilise five states within a week and cause the death of hundreds. This is a blot on Nigeria's image, and a great disincentive to foreign investors, especially considering the massive media coverage of the Boko Haram violence," AC said.

The party reiterated its stand that President Umaru Yar'Adua's decision to jump into his plane and fly off to Brazil on an official visit, even as his country was burning and hundreds of its citizens were dying, did nothing to advance his fatherly and leadership role.

"What kind of a father is that who will abandon his children in times of crisis?" AC queried.


Sahara Sahel militaries to discuss Nigeria events, Al-Qa'idah says paper�

GMP20090803950016 Algiers El-Khabar Online in Arabic 02 Aug 09

Sahara Sahel militaries to discuss Nigeria events, Al-Qa'idah - says paper

Text of report by privately-owned Algerian newspaper El-Khabar website on 2 August

Libya has called for an emergency meeting of the representatives of the armies and intelligence of six of Sahel and Sahara countries to discuss the recent developments in northern Nigeria. The coming meeting whose date and venue have not been specified yet will discuss the isolation of the militants of the Desert Branch of Al- Qa'idah in the Maghreb from the Islamist rebel group in northern Nigeria and the inclusion of Nigeria in the counter-terrorism military initiative of the Sahel countries.

Algeria accepted Libya's invitation to call for an emergency meeting to which Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Nigeria had been invited after the security situation in northern Nigeria had deteriorated, and the fears of its transformation into a guerrillas with the serious risks of support that the Islamist rebels could provide to the Desert Brach [of Al-Qa'idah], and the possibility of providing another safe haven for Al-Qa'idah in the Lands of the Islamic Maghreb -AQLIM in a location outside the traditional activity of the terrorists of Abdelmalek Droudkel's Organization.

According to an informed source, the fears had been reinforced several months ago when repeated recordings and statements were issued and which were attributed to Abu Yahya al-Libi, the terrorist who escaped from the American base Bagram [in Afhgnaistan], and who supported the actions of Al- Qaida Maghreb.

A few months ago, the possibility that Abu Yahya al-Libi and members of international Al-Qa'idah had infiltrated into northern Mali was raised. Then the fears increased of a possible geographical expansion of the activity of the Desert branch after the kidnapping of Western hostages some eight months in a place located less than 300 km from northern Nigeria.

The next meeting, which is prior to a routine gathering of representatives of the Sahel countries' armies, will discuss the opposition of Algeria and Libya to Western intervention in Mali, after a limited military

intervention of France in Mali through the provision of air cover by providing equipment to the army of Bamako.

Algeria and Libya are afraid of the deterioration of the situation in sub-Saharan Africa, with hundreds of Islamic extremists who wish to take up arms against the authorities in northern Nigeria, and the rapprochement of Al- Qa'idah Maghreb with the Nigerian group called ''Boko Haram" which has been active in areas very close to the common borders between Nigeria, Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso, and at less than 700 km from the strongholds of the branch of terrorist Yahia Djouadi in Adghagh Afougares. There are growing concerns about the transfer of AQLIM's combat expertise to ''Boko Haram".

According to an informed source, the command of US forces in Europe has decided to put long-range air forces in the bases of Rota, Spain, and Mildenhall in the UK, on alert in preparation for carrying out air operations to support Nigeria if it is necessary. This development has prompted the Sahel countries to discuss the situation. Algeria and Libya are trying through a joint security committee to prevent any communication between the terrorists of northern Mali and Niger with the Islamic extremists from Central Africa, and to prevent any Western military intervention in the region.

As for the situation on the ground, the regions of Kourou Tatali and Dontzat Mopti on the borders between Mali and Nigeria have seen security reinforcements to prevent the infiltration of Boko Haram movement's rebels into Mali. Also, the regions of Zinder and Petit, and Doukondouch Tahoe in Niger that are close to the areas of tension in northern Nigeria have seen the arrival of security and military reinforcements according to a source that follows the activity of anti-Terrorism in the Sahel.

[Description of Source: Algiers El-Khabar Online in Arabic -- Website of privately-owned, mass circulation newspaper. With a circulation of 459,180 copies, it is Algeria's biggest-selling "independent", with editorials critical of the government and a pro-demoracy slant; URL: http://www.elkhabar.com/accueil]

Nigeria: Niger Governor Says Ignorance Responsible for Emergence of Islamic Sect

AFP20090803583011 Abuja Daily Trust Online in English 03 Aug 09

[Report by Terkula Igidi: "Ignorance Responsible for the Emergence of Boko Haram Gov Aliyu"]�

Deterioration of educational standards in the north, occasioned by infrastructural decay and low teaching standards has increased the level of ignorance among the youth in the region, which the Niger state governor, Alhaji Mua'azu Babangida Aliyu has said is responsible for the emergence of Boko Haram.

He said that as the Chairman of Northern Governors' Forum, he was concerned about the standard of education in the north, stressing that the rot in the system is such that 200 pupils or students could be crammed in a classroom with many squatting on the floor. "Many of the teachers in our schools are not competent. I have entered many classrooms where I had to correct on the blackboard more than 20 spelling mistakes in just about four five sentences. So we benchmarked and said every governor should be able to renovate infrastructure so that by the time he finishes his four year tenure, there would have be enough on ground to at least improve the standard," he said.

Speaking during an interactive session last Friday with a team from Nigeria Governors' Forum (NGF), led by the Director General, Mr Asishana Okauru, governor Aliyu decried that some states were still unable to access the conditional grant scheme under the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in order to develop infrastructure in schools, adding that by peer reviewing states, the under performing ones would be challenged to work.

Earlier, Mr Okauru said that he was impressed with the level at which the state government has been able to access MDG funds to improve infrastructure in education and health sectors. "There are a few unique things I have found out here.


Nigeria: Police Discover Islamic Sect's Arms' Storehouse in Bauchi State

AFP20090803583013 Lagos Vanguard Online in English 02 Aug 09

[Report by Innocent Anaba, Olasunkanmi Akoni, Victor Ahiuma-Young, Abdulwahab Abdulah, Godwin Oritse & Patience Ogbodo: "Police Uncover Boko Haram Arms Depot in Bauchi"]

Bauchi -- The Bauchi State Police Command yesterday said it has uncovered a house in the town owned by the Boko Haram Islamic sect opposed to western education stocked with ammunition, bales of fake military and police uniforms, three sowing machines and other sophisticated weapons.

This is in the wake of wide condemnation of the killing of the sect's leader, Mohammed Yusuf, by groups including the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), the Action Congress (AC), and the Yoruba Pan-social organisation, Afenifere.

Speaking to newsmen, the Assistant Commissioner of Police in Charge of Operations, Water Inyang, while speaking to newsmen said the weapons and other items were recovered from a house in Kandaha in the state capital adding that the police had earlier arrested a boy and girl in that compound.

He said based on intelligence report, the police obtained a search warrant to enable them conduct the operation noting that "In the course of our assignment, sophisticated weapons were discovered in the house but no arrest has been made so far, except for a boy and girl seen in the compound."

According to Inyang, "It is not certain whether the weapons belonged to Boko Haram or are in preparation for another religious crisis in the state," adding that police investigation is still ongoing to know the truth of the whole matter.

Speaking further, he said one of the members of the sect that escaped during the hostility was disturbing policemen along the airstrip area.

He added that his men mounted a surveillance for him and when he surfaced, he attempted to escape but fell to the superior firepower of the police.

NBA condemns extra-judicial killings

Meanwhile, the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, weekend, condemned the recent massacre of innocent citizens by the religious extremists and the destruction of properties in the Northern part of the country, but added "we must however, hasten to equally condemn the reported extra-judicial killings of some of those captured by the security operatives".

According to the association, "we note the effort of the security operatives for rising to the occasion and nipping the horrific incident in the bud. We must also strive to unmask the real sponsors of these deviants and punish them appropriately".

Chief Oluwarotimi Akeredolu (SAN), NBA President, in the statement said, "we must however, hasten to equally condemn the reported extra judicial killings of some of those captured by the security operatives. It was widely reported that the leader of the Islamic extremist group, one Yusuf, was captured alive. The killing of this man in the police custody, however reprehensible his deeds must have been, must not be encouraged in a civilized society".

NLC blames government

On its part, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), said government should be blamed for the rise of the fanatical Islamic sect, "Boko Haram" which deadly assault on parts of Northern Nigeria last week led to the death of hundreds of people.

President of NLC, Comrade Abdulwaheed Omar, who spoke in Lagos faulted some aspects of the controversial executive Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) before the National Assembly that has attracted strong opposition from people of the Niger Delta region and other concerned Nigerians in recent time.

Comrade Omar, who was responding to questions from Journalists, also said government should be held responsible for the ongoing strikes by unions in the nation's university education and declared that only the government could resolve the crises.

He said: "Most of the blames should go to the government. There were reports that the group had been existing for a long time. What we know about security operatives is that because of preventive measures, these security operatives are made to infiltrate into suspicious groups to find out whether they are dangerous groups or not and then make appropriate reports. If this was done and government followed it and did the right thin g, those innocent citizens would not have been wasted.

There is no doubt that innocent people were killed and valuable properties destroyed during the violence. But today in Nigeria, all the security agencies in the country are concentrated around politics and politicians while other segments of the society are left unattended to."

Be pro-active, AC tells FG

The Action Congress (AC) said the violence that swept across some states in northern Nigeria last week, leaving hundreds dead, could have been avoided if the federal government had been pro-active in dealing with the crisis.

According to AC National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said beyond the usual knee-jerk reaction to such crisis, the government must work hard to end the conditions that make it possible to attract and brainwash youths into joining such senseless, cult-like religious groups like Boko Haram.

"An idle mind is the devil's workshop. When millions of our youths are unemployed and there is no hope of a better tomorrow, they become easy targets for apocalyptic preachers and mindless religious zealots.

The fact also that the alleged second-in-command of the sect is a Nigerien also speaks volume about the security of our borders and the nation's internal security. That is why this federal government must shake off its lethargy and address the myriad of problems facing this nation, so that our youths can channel their energies to productive ventures instead of becoming killing machines,'' it said.

AC also condemned the extra-judicial killing of the leader of the 'Boko Haram' sect, Muhammed Yusuf, and the sect's alleged financier and former Commissioner for Religious Affairs in Borno state, Alhaji Buji Foi, after both had been arrested.

The party said the reported execution of the leaders of the sect is a blow to Nigeria's image.

Afenifere Group condemns killing

Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere Renewal Group (ARG) also condemned the killing of Mohammed Yusuf, leader of the Boko Haram sect in police custody in Maiduguri hours after he was arrested. ARG stated it may be a cover up of some backers of the group.

In a statement by ARG spokesperson, Yinka Odumakin made available to Vanguard in Lagos, it said the killing of Yusuf is an extra-judicial one which it said may probably be a ploy to cover some of his backers from being exposed.

It said "Afenifere Renewal Group (ARG) unequivocally condemns the extra-judicial murder of the leader of Boko Haram, Mohammed Yusuf.

"We fear that his murder could have been a cover-up to shield his backers from justice. This has again exposed Nigeria to the sane world as a country founded on deceit and being sustained by siege."

FG should ensure normalcy -- UBAA

On its part, the University of Benin Alumni Association (UBAA) condemned the recent spate of sectarian killings in the Northern part of the country and called on the Federal Government to do everything possible to bring normalcy to the affected areas. This was contained in a communiqué issued at the end of the 59th Council meeting of the Association.

[Description of Source: Lagos Vanguard Online in English -- Website of the independent daily; URL: http://www.vanguardngr.com]

Nigeria: Security Service Deploys Special Squad in Sect Violence Affected States


[Report by Taiwo Adisa and Ishola Michael: "Sectarian Violence: SSS Deploys Special Squad in Flash Points, - We'll Investigate Death of Boko Haram Leader - Police Affairs Minister"]

Following the outbreak of violence in states of the North as a result of the activities of the Boko Haram sect, the State Security Service (SSS) is said to have deployed special forces in the troubled states across the country.

The special squads are to work alongside the anti-terrorism squads already unleashed in the frontline states, including Borno, Yobe, Bauchi and Kano.

Sources in Abuja confirmed that the Service is fully tracing elements of the Boko Haram sect in view of the widespread nature of their activities in last week's violence.

A source said however that the SSS had always been on the trail of such dissident groups but that the usage of the intelligence information had always been the deciding factor.

It was gathered that the task of the new squad is to ascertain the source(s) of funding of the sect and its basic aims and objectives.

"It is true that the group's name is Boko Haram, which means, Western Education is bad, but its leader displayed some level of sophistication and it shows that this group cannot be working as an isolated group in Nigeria. While there are no such groups popularly canvassing against acquisition of Western education, it is important to know whether there are further ulterior motives," a source close to the security agencies said on Sunday.

It was gathered that the security networks have decided to ensure that all affected areas are properly combed, while space is not yielded to surprise attacks.

"We have to watch out for possible attacks on Abuja, Lagos and Sokoto, because there are insinuations that some runaway leaders of the group might want to embark on retaliatory attacks, following the killing of their leader."

The police are said to be holding hundreds of inducted members of the sect, including women and children who have so far refused to renounce the sect.

Sources told the Nigerian Tribune that while the security agencies are taking pre-emptive measures against the recurrence of the violence, another effort aimed at determining the identities of the arrested sect members had been flagged off by the police.

While some Nigerians have blamed the outbreak of the Boko Haram-inspired violence on breakdown of intelligence, the SSS has proved that it was up and doing in this case.

The Service had arrested the leader of the sect, Mohammed Yusuf in November 2008, when he spent three weeks with the SSS in Abuja.

He was subsequently handed over to the Police, which charged him before an Abuja high court. But the court granted him bail and he was set free to join his associates in January 2009.

A source said that the tons of evidence prepared by the SSS against Yusuf overwhelmingly linked him with activities of the group and the threat to peace in states of the North.

The source wondered how the man was freed of the charges preferred against him by the police.

"The job of the Service ends with gathering intelligence and when he was handed over to the police, there were enough evidences, we do not know how the prosecution went and he was set free," a source said, adding that the special squads now in operation in the affected states will further uproot the remnants of the violent sect.

In a related development, the Minister of Police Affairs, Ibrahim Yakubu Lame has declared that government is still investigating the cause of the death of Mohammed Yusuf, leader of the Boko Haram sect in order to ascertain what actually led to his death considering conflicting stories trailing his death. Yusuf was killed in Maiduguri last Thursday.

Lame, who made the declaration while fielding questions from journalists in Bauchi on Saturday, said that in view of the controversy generated by the death of the sect leader as well as the invasion of some states in the Northern part of the country by the group, a decision would be taken after studying the report of the security agencies saying, "Government is studying the situation to really find out the root cause of the entire episode ."

According to him, the President Umaru Yar'Adua-led PDP government is taking the issue very seriously and once it is able to study the report of the security agency, a decision would be taken by government on what must be done, explaining that, "We are asking for vigilance on the part of the community, religious leaders and all Nigerians, we are asking for Nigerians to understand that doing the correct thing and following the law is the best way to live, also we are looking inwards into our security system to see how we can best perfect its functions and how we can make it respond to this kind of situation effectively.

He, however, assured that, "We believe there is no substitute to that, the orientation about security must be looked into and we believe we need to sensitise the Nigerian society to be vigilant and to understand that this kind of happenings do happen because society itself has decided to withdraw being the controller of its own problems."

Lame said further that, "Society must partake in controlling the problems that confront the society, not necessarily the government alone. Government is an agent of the society, society is the area where security is provided, government is an agent and as agent of society, we make sure that we keep our services as best as we can, to ensure legal processes, constitution process are put in place and executed to the best we can."


Opposition Says Government 'Mismanaged' Sectarian Crisis in Northern Nigeria


[Report by Njadvara Musa, Nkechi Onyedika, Auwal Ahmad: "'Sectarian Crisis, Symptom of Failed State'; Parties Fault Execution of Sect's Leaders"]

Leaders across the divide yesterday lamented that Nigeria was steadily moving towards and manifesting symptoms of a failed state.

Some political parties and religious leaders, who reacted to last week's sectarian violence in some northern states, said with the Federal Government's seemingly non-commitment to eradicating illiteracy among Nigerians, especially the youths, it was exposing the country to danger as groups like Boko Haram would always find recruits into their fold.

In fact, Islamic leaders in Borno State accused the nation's security agencies of failing to act on their reports that the Boko Haram and its leaders constitute threats to national stability.

The Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP) and the Action Congress (AC) said yesterday that the Federal Government mismanaged the mayhem.

And for executing the sect's leader, Mohammed Yusuf and his alleged financier, Alhaji Buji Foi, the opposition parties said Nigerians had been robbed of the opportunity of knowing the real masterminds of the recurring religious violence in the North.

The CNPP described the uprising as a signpost to the dangerous slide of Nigeria to a failed state.

While it consoled the victims' families, the coalition called for the investigation of the origin, metamorphosis of the sect, the extra-judicial killings and police alleged execution of Yusuf after his capture by the Nigerian Army.

The AC said the violence, which claimed hundreds of lives, could have been avoided if the Federal Government had been pro-active in dealing with the crisis.

In a statement issued in Lagos yesterday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the AC said: "Beyond the usual knee-jerk reaction to such crisis, the government must work hard to end the conditions that make it possible to attract and brainwash youths into joining such senseless, cult-like religious groups like Boko Haram."

Also, the CNPP in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Osita Okechukwu, said the killing of the sect's leaders, especially Yusuf, had "denied Nigerians the opportunity to unravel his masterminds, financiers, foreign contacts and his network profile. Thorough investigation is germane when reports show that the group has been around for over a decade.

"The investigation the CNPP envisages is an independent inquiry, capable of exposing the underbelly of such anti-establishment group, plugging the fault lines, indicting the judges who did not serve the cause of justice and making public its findings. Till now, we have not been told after government's inquiry who were the masterminds of the petrol tanker stationed at the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) headquarters before the announcement of 2007 presidential election result nor the outcome of the Ukraine aircraft alleged to be carrying arms to Equatorial Guinea that was arrested in Aminu Kano

International Airport. Do we allow the prediction a few years ago by the United States (U.S.) intelligence that Nigeria will disintegrate to come to pass?"

The CNPP also condemned the alleged lacklustre attitude of President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua to national matters.

"President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua and his henchmen in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) should be held responsible for the dangerous slide of Nigeria to a failed state," the CNPP said.

The AC said the reported execution of the sect's leaders (Yusuf and Foi) was a blow to Nigeria's image as a country seeking to return to the path of the rule of law.

"No matter their offence, sect leader, Yusuf and the group's alleged financier, are better of being alive than dead. After they might have been interrogated to get a treasure-trove of valuable information that could help prevent future violence from them, they could then have been tried in accordance with the law of the land. Executing them summarily is barbaric, unjustified and a big minus for the security agencies, which did a lot to contain the violence," Mohammed said.

"Desp ite all this, the sect was still allowed enough space to destabilise five states within a week and cause the death of hundreds. This is a blot on Nigeria's image, and a great disincentive to foreign investors, especially considering the massive media coverage of the Boko Haram violence."

About 50 Islamic clerics claimed at the weekend in Maiduguri that they warned and complained to the government and security agents about the activities of Yusuf.

Their spokesman, Imam Ibrahim Ahmed Abdullahi, told The Guardian yesterday that they alerted the government that Yusuf was a security risk and nothing was done by the appropriate authorities.

He said: "The entire Borno Islamic clerics, were, however, disappointed by both the state government and State Security Service (SSS) because we made several complaints about Yusuf's preaching to them but they failed to act until last week's mayhem."

Abdullahi said group's preaching and its interpretation of the Quran was recipe for violence and an affront to constituted authority. He said the sect had been involved in violence since 2005.


Nigeria: Red Cross Says Islamist Uprising Killed 780 in one Nigerian City


KANO, Nigeria, Aug 3, 2009 (AFP) - At least 780 people were killed in last week's Islamist violence in the northeastern Nigerian city of Maiduguri, the Red Cross said Monday.

"So far a total of 780 dead bodies were picked from the streets of Maiduguri and given a mass burial at three sites in the city," Nigeria Red Cross official Muhammad Zanna Barma told AFP.

Fighting erupted between security forces and members of an extremist Islamist sect after an attack on a police station in nearby Bauchi state, and later spread to Kano, Yobe and Borno states.

But Borno's capital Maiduguri, the stronghold of the group known as Boko Haram, bore the brunt of the violence.


Nigeria: Security Operatives Demolished Boko Haram Sect Hideout in Gombe

AFP20090803614001 Abuja Aso FM in English 1100 GMT 03 Aug 09

Security operatives in Gombe State have demolished a hideout of the Muslim militants’ sect otherwise known as Boko Haram in the state capital.

The twin apartments and a small mosque prepared by the militants were yesterday demolished under heavy security by a joint team of the army and mobile policemen.

Secretary to the state government, Alhaji Sule Barge, told newsmen in Gombe that the decision to demolish the structure was taken at a security meeting instituted by the government.

Alhaji Barge said the government had sensitized the political and religious leaders in the state on the need to educate their subjects against the activities of the group.

[Description of Source: Abuja Aso FM in English - Federal Capital Territory Administration owned, independent radio]

Nigeria: Security Tightens Around Abuja Prison With Boko Haram Members

AFP20090804606001 Kaduna New Nigerian in English 03 Aug 09 p 1

Security has been tightened around a suspected major coordinator of the Boko Haram sect, Abubakar Kamba, and 12 others in Kuje Medium Prison, Abuja. Kamba, who security agents believe to be the sect’s bomb expert and 12 others have been in prison custody in the last one year on the order of a federal high court in Abuja. But following the insurgence of the group in the last one and a half weeks, there has been increased surveillance on the 13 suspects.

A highly-placed security source, who spoke in confidence said, "The suspects have been on trial over alleged breach of security and threat to unleash mayhem on the country. The security agency that arraigned them in court opposed bail for them, leading to their remand in Kuje Prison. They have been in that prison in the last one year. In fact while in State Security Service cell, they had cause to meet with a Niger Delta militant, which created more suspicion that they could draw inspiration from the man. Since this Boko Haram crisis started, we have placed them on extra-security surveillance to avoid any further breach of security. Do not forget that the group specializes in attacking police stations and prisons as the case in Maiduguri. So, we cannot take things for granted."

Meanwhile, the Nigeria Prison Service [NPS] is still on the trail of 319 inmates who fled from Maiduguri Maximum Prison when it was torched by angry Boko Haram members. It was gathered that of the 350 that escaped from the prison on 29 July, only 31 inmates were either re-arrested or voluntarily gave themselves up to prison authorities. NPS spokesman Kayode Odeyemi confirmed that the service is still looking for 319 inmates.

He said: "So far, 31 out of 350 inmates are back at Maiduguri Maximum Prison. With the help of other security agencies, we rearrested some of these 31 inmates. A few others reported to the prison headquarters in Borno State. We are hopeful that other inmates will soon be located and brought back. Our men are already working round the clock in this respect."

The security source described Kamba as the arrowhead of the strategic committee of Boko Haram. "Kamba is a former 300-level Science student of the University of Maiduguri but he abandoned his course abruptly to join Boko Haram. With his rich knowledge of science and training in Algeria, he coordinated bomb/explosive making for the sect." Findings also revealed that Boko Haram has a five-man

Advisory Committee managing its activities. It was gathered that the membership of the Advisory Committee was deliberately reduced to five to avoid leakage of its activities.

It was learnt that six flashpoints had been identified as areas where Boko Haram had drawn its membership in the last few years. They are Zaria, Gusau, Kaduna, Kano, Hadejia, and Kaugama. There was tight security in churches in Maiduguri for yesterday’s service to prevent a breakdown of law and order. Armed policemen stood guard outside while people worshipped inside. Members of the Boko Haram sect had targeted churches, among other places, when they attacked some northern state last week.

[Description of Source: Kaduna New Nigerian in English - federal government owned daily]

Nigeria: AC Condemns Extrajudicial Killing of Boko Haram Sect Leader Yusuf

AFP20090804614011 Abuja Hot FM in English 03 Aug 09

Action Congress [AC] has condemned the killing of Islamic sect leader, Yusuf Mohammed.

The party also condemned the extrajudicial killing of the sect alleged financier and former commissioner for religious affairs in Borno State, Bukifori Atiku, after been arrested.

In a statement issued in Lagos by its national publicity secretary, Lai Mohammed, the party said the violence that swept across some states in the Northern Nigeria last week leaving over a hundred dead could have been avoided if the federal government had been proactive in dealing with the crisis.

The party said the reported execution of the leader of the sect is a blow to Nigerian image as the country seeking to return to the path of the rule of law.


Nigeria: Police Uncovered Locked Women, Children By Boko Haram Sect in Maiduguri

AFP20090804614012 Abuja Vision FM in English 0500 GMT 03 Aug 09

The police have found a fresh group of women and children kidnapped by the Boko Harma sect under lock in a house in Maiduguri.

This brings to more than 200 women and children found locked up in buildings in Borno State capital over the last week.

According to Red Cross officials, the women were taken from six different states across the Northern part of the country.

Officials say one baby is said to have pneumonia and another also in terrible conditions.

They are now staying in the local police headquarters where the Red Cross and the National Emergency Management Authority to pay them visit.

[Description of Source: Abuja Vision FM in English - privately owned, independent radio with bias for northern story]

Nigeria: Abuja Court Remands 36 'Suspected' Islamic Sect Members to Custody


[Report by Hussein Yahaya, Ibraheem A. Fatai and Usman A. Bello: "36 Suspected Sect Members Remanded in Prison"]

An Abuja magistrate court yesterday remanded 36 suspected Boko Haram members in prison custody, pending when their bail application will be heard.

The suspects were accused of unlawful gathering and allegedly belonging to a terrorist group contrary to Section 102 of the Penal Code Law.

Those arraigned include Ibrahim Ahmadu, Kano State, Saidu Suleiman, Jigawa State, Ibrahim Adamu, Kano State, Ibrahim Adamu, Kano, Magaji Sani, Jigawa, Ado Alfa, Kano , Bisibau Magaji, Kano, Idris Adamu, Kano, Ahmadu Haruna, Kano, Shehu Suleiman, Kano, Jibrin Ismaila, Kano, Yinusa Hassan, Kano, Tuhur Gbadamasi, Kano, Abdulbabagu Rabiu, Kastina, Sani Abdulahi, Kano, Mohammed Isiaka, Niger Republic and Musa Zakari, Niger Republic.

Others were Abdulahi Shaibu, Kano, Hassan Abdullahi, Jigawa, Ibrahim Ahmadu, Kano, Mustapha Mohammed, Yobe, Aau'walu Muazu, Kano, Abdulkudu Musa, Kano, Abduulahi Saidu, Kano, Mohammed Malam Audu, Kano, Umaru Ali, Kano, Isa Halilu, Kano,Mumindeen Olawumi, Oyo, Adamu Ibrahim, Yobe, Ali Maikudi, Kano, Alhassan Yau, Kano,Tanimu Isa, Kano, Danasshe Haruna, Kaduna,Nuhu Jafar, Kaduna, Hamisu Sani, Kano and Musa Sani, Kano.

Prosecutor Usman Jibrin told the court that on July 30, 2009, a team of anti-terrorist squad from the FCT police command arrested two buses with registration numbers XA582TYW and XA984TBD at Zuba that were conveying 36 suspected Boko Haram members into Abuja.

"A team of anti-terrorist squad arrested Ibrahim Ahmadu from Kano State and 35 others in two buses at about 3 am and reasonably suspected them to be members of the Boko Haram terrorist group," the prosecutor added.

According to the prosecutor, when the accused persons were interrogated, they could not give any satisfactory account of where they were going to at such time of the night.

When the charges were read to the accused persons, they all pleaded not guilty and their counsel requested for their bail which was vehemently opposed to by the prosecutor.

"If granted bail the accused persons may jump bail or interfere with investigations, which is still ongoing," the prosecutor stated.

He also revealed that none of the accused persons reside within the court's jurisdiction and informed the court to deny them bail until the police complete their investigations.

In her ruling, Magistrate Binta Mohammed ordered that the accused persons be remanded in prison custody till August 5 when the court will consider their bail applications, adding that their bail applications should come in forms of motions.


Nigeria: Government To Investigate Into Death of Islamic Sect Leader

AFP20090804565003 Lagos Daily Independent Online in English 04 Aug 09

[Report by Sukuji Bakoji, Baba Negedu, Paul Arhewe, Abdulkareem Haruna and Godwin Egbara: "Boko Haram: We'll Probe Crisis, Yusuf's Death FG"]�

After criticism from everywhere, Abuja has woken up to the impact of the recent mayhem in the North, with Police Affairs Minister, Ibrahim Yakubu Lame, disclosing on Monday that the government will probe the death of Muhammed Yusuf, the leader of the Jihadists who was captured alive and killed in police custody last Thursday.

Lame spoke with journalists in Bauchi, one of the theatres of the violence that also engulfed Maiduguri, Kano, and Potiskum, and took away nearly a thousand lives, with four times that number rendered homeless.

The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and other human rights canvassers have condemned the murder of Yusuf, and that of innocent civilians in the response of troops to the orgy of violence unleashed by Boko Haram, the Islamic sect led by Yusuf, which ravaged the North from Sunday to Thursday last week.

Lame said the government is studying the situation to find out the root cause of the episode.

The initiative sounds flat, however, with the report in Daily Independent on Monday that Islamic clerics and the military said they had for years alerted the authorities about the activities of Boko Haram, without action being taken.

"We will also investigate what caused, and what level of involvement of all those who partook in the sectarian crisis, and we will ensure that areas where we find lapses are corrected - as well as find a lasting solution to these recurring problems which have been happening, especially in this part of the country, for so many years," Lame added.

"We are looking inwards into our security system to see how we can best perfect its functions, and how we can make it respond to this kind of situation effectively.

Lame asked for vigilance from communities, religious leaders, and all Nigerians, arguing that following the law is the best way to live.

"Society must partake in controlling the problems that confront the society, not necessarily the government alone. Society is the area where security is provided while the government is an agent to make sure that we keep our services as best we can, so as to ensure legal and Constitutional processes are in place and executed as best we can."

The 19 Northern states have also resolved to monitor the activities of all religious groups in the zone, in a gambit where traditional rulers will be empowered to enforce laws that regulate such groups.

The Northern Governors' Forum (NGF) issued a statement to this effect on Monday, after a meeting in Kaduna, chaired by NGF Chairman, Mu'azu Aliyu, Niger State Governor.

The statement urged the Immigration Department to be more vigilant about the influx of foreign nationals who are hardline Islamists.

It condemned the activities of Boko Haram, and directed traditional rulers to complement the efforts of institutions that register births and deaths in their domains.

The Governors also resolved that all Northern states should enact appropriate laws to curb sectarian violence.

Aliyu noted before reporters that when people are poor, they are easily manipulated, and the crisis is a wake up call to look at the gamut of problems in the North.

The Ahmadu Bello Memorial Foundation joined the NGF in condemning Boko Haram, whose uprising "is inconsistent with philosophy and ideologies" of Bello, the late Sardauna of Sokoto.

Elsewhere, Borno State Governor, Ali Sheriff, met in Maiduguri with Ulamas (Islamic clerics) on the need to establish a committee that would regulate Islamic preaching and crusades in the state.

He urged all stakeholders to brainstorm on ways to prevent the re-emergence of the likes of Yusuf "who brought us pain, suffering, and destruction last week."

He said a Bill for the establishment of the Preaching Census Board (PCB) is being sent to the state House of Assembly, and all the 27 councils in the state should provide at least three knowledgeable Islamic clerics for the PCB.

Maiduguri remained calm Monday as police conducted street patrols in armoured vehicles filled with armed personnel.

Security agents also guarded key intersections and searched passers-by.

Security Team Commander, Colonel Ben Ahanotu said: "There are lots of them (sect members) still around. But only a few of them are still dangerous."

Police Spokesperson, Isa Azaza, confirmed that 20 members of Boko Haram are in custody.

A Red Cross Official, Muhammad Barma, noted that "so far a total 780 dead bodies were picked from the streets of Maiduguri (alone) and given a mass burial at three sites in the city."

In neigbouring Adamawa, Police Public Relations Officer, Altine Daniel, said the road blocks mounted in all the 21 councils of the state will be maintained until further notice.

Police patrols and surveillance have been intensified, particularly in towns on the border with Cameroon, he added.

[Description of Source: Lagos Daily Independent Online in English -- Website of the privately owned independent daily; URL: http://www.independentngonline.com]

Northern Coalition Seeks 'Overhaul' of Nigeria's Intelligence Agencies

AFP20090804565004 Lagos This Day Online in English 04 Aug 09

[Report by Chuks Okocha and Michael Olugbode: "Boko Haram: Northern Leaders Seek Overhaul of Security Agencies; CAN Laments Death of 3 Pastors, 20 Burnt Churches in Borno"]

Unity Forum, a northern coalition of former ministers and retired permanent secretaries, has called on President Umaru Yar'Adua to use the opportunity of the Boko Haram crisis that ravaged some states in the north to overhaul the nation's intelligence and security agencies by making them more responsive to local and external threats.

The group said, "it is disturbing and curious, on how the intelligence and security networks seemed to have disregarded such a group or if that is not the case, how the appropriate authority would have ignored intelligence information as sensitive to national security."

The call is however coming as the Chairman, Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) Borno state chapter, Rev. Yuguda Zubagai Ndurvuwa, while speaking with newsmen, lamented that over 20 churches were burnt, three pastors killed and properties worth N150 million [Naira] belonging to churches in Borno were destroyed during the recent crisis that enveloped the state. He decried the situation where christians are singled out for destruction in all religious crises in the North since the February 18 2006 religious crisis where almost all churches within Maiduguri were burnt down and pastors brutally murdered.

He lamented that the state government has done nothing about it till date.

In a statement titled, "The Religious Crisis in the North: The Way Forward" signed by the Unity Forum's chairman, former Permanent Secretary, Musa Magida Abdu, the group also urged the Federal Government to view the security situation in the country with seriousness and more comprehensively beyond the recent incident and handle the aftermath with utmost caution to avoid abuse or high handedness by the security agents.

The group also wants the Federal Government to re-inspire confidence in the public by assuring them that grievances can be addressed without recourse to violence or other unconventional method to get alternative redress.Also, the Unity Forum urged government to address the issue of education seriously so as to keep the youths off the streets and away from undesirable influences.

It also tasked the government to create employment opportunities by being deliberate about job creation, reviving ailing industries and fighting smuggling, as well as monitor political office holders, sanction any form of corruption, abuse of office and insensitivity in whatever way they manifest.

The statement said that it was concerned that such crisis was not only one too many but its decidedly anti-establishment stance was laden with lots of implication for the well-being of the country.


Nigeria: Bauchi Police, Islamist Clash Claim 200 Lives

AFP20090801678011 Uyo The Sensor in English 28 Jul 09 p 11

[Unattributed Report: "200 Feared Dead in Bauchi Police, Islamic Sect Clash"]

A shimmering standoff between men of the Nigeria Police in Bauchi State and members of an Islamic fundamentalist group, Boko Haram turned a pall of tragic conflagration yesterday in an early morning raid on a police station allegedly launched by the sect members to seize the ammunition stored there.

No fewer than 20 people, including members of the sect and security operatives, were feared killed with several others badly injured in the cross fire in Bauchi metropolis.

To avoid a spill over to neighbouring Plateau State, security personnel were put on red alert.

The Boko Haram sect is allegedly opposed to western education and values, a stance that had pitted it against the police and the state government since its founding in 2004. The group has a purported link with Osama Bin Laden's Al-Qaeda terrorist group and goes by the sobriquet The Taliban.

In Maduguri, Borno State, two would- be bombers of some public buildings, including some mosques, were at the weekend killed as they allegedly prepared explosives for their bombing spree.

Hassan Sani Balami and Isa Viga Gwoza were killed in Balami's home when devices suspected to be bombs went off as the duo prepared explosives for their planned public attack. The dead men were alleged members of an Islamic fundamentalists group led by one Mohammed Yusuf in Borno.

The explosion ripped off Balami's house, injuring his wife, Zainab, who is the sole survivor of the blast. However, she has been arrested along side her four-year old son over the incident.

The blast occurred barely three hours after the state Police Command paraded nine suspected bomb makers allegedly arrested with explosives.

Meanwhile, Borno State Governor, Ali Sherff, has charged residents of the state to be security conscious, saying that the safety of all from criminal activities of a few is a collective responsibility.

Sheriff spoke yesterday in Government House, Maiduguri, after a security meeting called against the backdrop of the Balami bomb blast.

However, security has been beefed up in the Maiduguri metropolis and its environs with armed mobile policemen yesterday standing guard at the churches across the state to prevent attacks on them by the Yusuf- led sect, which reportedly enjoys followership in Yobe, Kano, Sokoto and Kebbi States as well as in the Republic of Chad.

In Jos, the Plateau State capital, there was palpable fear by the residents that the riots in Bauchi could spill over to Plateau. After church service yesterday, the police rolled out armed personnel carriers that patrolled the metropolis.

Force Public Relations Officer (FPRO), Emmanuel Ojukwu, confirmed the Bauchi clash.

He said: "A group of fundamentalists this morning (yesterday) attacked a police station in Bauchi State. They were armed with guns, bows and arrows and explosives. There were some casualties but I cannot say how many for now."

Ojukwu said the police arrested more that 100 fighters and that the situation "is now calm".

Bauchi State Police spokesman, Mohammed Barau, said most of the dead were Islamist fighters.

"We have received a total of 42 bodies," Awwal Isa, a nurse at Bauchi Specialists Hospital, Bauchi, told Augene France Press (AFP) on telephone.

They were victims of "fighting between security personnel and members of the Taliban," he said.

The two sides exchanged gunfire after a failed dawn attack on a police station in Dutsen Tanshin.

"Our men succeeded in repelling the dawn attack by the Taliban", Barau said, adding that it appeared the assailants "wanted to steal weapons from the police station.

"We have launched a manhunt for other members of the group that have fled", Barau added.

Director of Press Affairs to the Bauchi Governor, Mohammed Maigari Khanna and other top government functionaries were seen at the Police Command Headquarters.

They however, declined to comment on the development, saying the state was studying it and would soon issue an official statement on it.

A source told journalists that about 4.00am over 100 Boko Haram members invaded an Izala Mosques at Dutsen Tanshin and later headed for the police station in the area, attacking it with sophisticated weapons.

The Boko Haram members reportedly chased away the few policemen on duty and forced themselves into the station destroying everything in sight as they made their way towards the armoury , which they, however, failed to break into.

After a distress call by the sacked policemen to the Command Headquarters, a reinforcement of armed policemen, regular and mobile, was drafted to repeal the attack.

The ensuing crossfire escalated, leading to the sacking of residents in the nearby Federal Low Cost Housing Estate, Yelwa, and Dan -danko suburbs of Bauchi.

[Description of Source: Uyo The Sensor in English -- Privately owned newspaper published thrice a week]

Nigeria: Activist Describes Alleged Execution of Islamic Sect Leader as 'Scary'


[Report by Francis Iwuchukwu: "Govt Must Probe Boko Haram Leader's Killing, Aturu Insists"]

Lagos lawyer and human rights activist, Bamidele Aturu, has described the alleged execution of Buji Foi, a leader of the Islamic sect, Boko Haram, by the police as "a scary and embarrassing act of reckless extra-judicial killing".

He demanded that the killing "must be investigated until the animals responsible for it are fished out and dealt with promptly according to law".

Aturu made the remarks in a statement in Lagos on Monday.

"There is no doubt that Boko Haram has to be extirpated with as much force as the state can muster and I admit that there can be no kid gloves for the patently illegal and maniacal organisation that wreaked death, and mayhem on peaceful and defenceless persons in the guise of religion.

"But then even in war there are acceptable and unacceptable conducts laid down in municipal and international bills that the cold murder of Foi grisly violated.

"The killers of Foi do not belong in a decent society of rational people. That we licensed such maniacs to bear arms in the first place shows how careless we are as a people and how dangerous our security agencies are.

"How can anyone in his or her right senses kill a suspect who has been arrested in cold blood?"

Aturu urged the Federal Government to set up a judicial commission of inquiry to probe what he termed the illegal and heinous incident as a matter of urgency.

"We cannot permit cold-blooded murder in the guise of dealing with murderers like members of the sect. It is not an exaggeration to insist that the way and manner Foi was killed is similar to the irrational activities of the sect in all material particular.

"How are we to know if truly Foi was a sponsor or just a political opponent of some powers that be?

"How has his killing after arrest helped our intelligence of the causes of the 'religious' madness?" Aturu asked.


Nigeria: Political Party Seeks Inquiry Into Alleged Killing of Islamic Leader


[Report by Abbas Jimoh: "DPP Calls For Inquiry"]

The Democratic Peoples Party (DPP) has called for inquiry to unravel the mystery surrounding the alleged killing of Boko Haram Sect leader Mohammed Yusuf by the police.

Acting Director of Media and Publicity of DPP Malam Abubakar Ateeku Yusuf told Daily Trust yesterday in Abuja that Yusuf's killing is uncalled for and a deliberate act of cover up.

"His killing should be investigated because his killing was uncalled for, unnecessary and unfortunate. How can a man who has been training people and gathering arms against the constituted authority be

killed immediately by the police, after his arrest and handing over by the army to the police without investigation?" Yusuf said.

He said that the army explored their intelligence and fished out the man, knowing their duty well, without killing the man or harm him but handed him over to the police for investigation.

He said, "Are the police afraid of confessional statement by the police? Are they also afraid of the man mentioning those government and security officials behind him, supplying him with armaments? These and other questions should be investigated by Yar'adua's administration. Nigerians need to know those highly placed people behind him."


Nigeria Sets Up Committee To Screen Preachers After Sectarian Violence


KANO, Nigeria, Aug 4, 2009 (AFP) - State governors in northern Nigeria have set up a committee to regulate the activities of religious preachers in a bid to avoid further unrest in the mainly-Muslim region.

The Northern Governors Forum, comprising 19 governors, met in the city of Kaduna late Monday to discuss last week's uprising by an Islamist sect and a subsequent military crackdown which claimed more than 800 lives.

"This forum has resolved to constitute a preaching board that will screen and approve competent Muslim and Christian clergy for evangelical activities," Niger state governor Babanginda Aliyu said.

"Islam means peace and we will therefore not condone any group of people who hide under its canopy to foment trouble and senseless killings in its name," he told reporters.

Nigeria's 140 million population is divided between Muslims, mainly in the north, and Christians, in the south, and 12 of the 36 states adopted Sharia law in 2000.

The Boko Haram sect began a five-day uprising on July 26 over the adoption of Sharia law across the nation.

The governors condemned the uprising which they said affected five northern states, although violence had only been previously reported in four.

"The Forum condemns in totality the sectarian activities of the religious sect called Boko Haram which caused mayhem in the states of Borno, Bauchi, Yobe, Katsina and Kano," he added.

Aliyu said the governors would empower traditional chiefs in the region to effectively monitor the activities of religious groups in their areas.

Fighting in last week's uprising was fiercest in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State, where the military bombarded the headquarters of Boko Haram and killed hundreds of suspected followers, along with the sect's leadership.


Nigerian President Orders Investigation Into Sect Leader Killing

FEA20090805880185 - OSC Feature - Daily Independent Online 04 Aug 09

[Report by Sukuji Bakoji, Baba Negedu, Paul Arhewe, Abdulkareem Haruna and Godwin Egbara: "Boko Haram: We'll Probe Crisis, Yusuf's Death FG"]�

After criticism from everywhere, Abuja has woken up to the impact of the recent mayhem in the North, with Police Affairs Minister, Ibrahim Yakubu Lame, disclosing on Monday that the government will probe the death of Muhammed Yusuf, the leader of the Jihadists who was captured alive and killed in police custody last Thursday.

Lame spoke with journalists in Bauchi, one of the theatres of the violence that also engulfed Maiduguri, Kano, and Potiskum, and took away nearly a thousand lives, with four times that number rendered homeless.

The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and other human rights canvassers have condemned the murder of Yusuf, and that of innocent civilians in the response of troops to the orgy of violence unleashed by Boko Haram, the Islamic sect led by Yusuf, which ravaged the North from Sunday to Thursday last week.

Lame said the government is studying the situation to find out the root cause of the episode.

The initiative sounds flat, however, with the report in Daily Independent on Monday that Islamic clerics and the military said they had for years alerted the authorities about the activities of Boko Haram, without action being taken.

"We will also investigate what caused, and what level of involvement of all those who partook in the sectarian crisis, and we will ensure that areas where we find lapses are corrected - as well as find a lasting solution to these recurring problems which have been happening, especially in this part of the country, for so many years," Lame added.

"We are looking inwards into our security system to see how we can best perfect its functions, and how we can make it respond to this kind of situation effectively.

Lame asked for vigilance from communities, religious leaders, and all Nigerians, arguing that following the law is the best way to live.

"Society must partake in controlling the problems that confront the society, not necessarily the government alone. Society is the area where security is provided while the government is an agent to make sure that we keep our services as best we can, so as to ensure legal and Constitutional processes are in place and executed as best we can."

The 19 Northern states have also resolved to monitor the activities of all religious groups in the zone, in a gambit where traditional rulers will be empowered to enforce laws that regulate such groups.

The Northern Governors' Forum (NGF) issued a statement to this effect on Monday, after a meeting in Kaduna, chaired by NGF Chairman, Mu'azu Aliyu, Niger State Governor.

The statement urged the Immigration Department to be more vigilant about the influx of foreign nationals who are hardline Islamists.

It condemned the activities of Boko Haram, and directed traditional rulers to complement the efforts of institutions that register births and deaths in their domains.

The Governors also resolved that all Northern states should enact appropriate laws to curb sectarian violence.

Aliyu noted before reporters that when people are poor, they are easily manipulated, and the crisis is a wake up call to look at the gamut of problems in the North.

The Ahmadu Bello Memorial Foundation joined the NGF in condemning Boko Haram, whose uprising "is inconsistent with philosophy and ideologies" of Bello, the late Sardauna of Sokoto.

Elsewhere, Borno State Governor, Ali Sheriff, met in Maiduguri with Ulamas (Islamic clerics) on the need to establish a committee that would regulate Islamic preaching and crusades in the state.

He urged all stakeholders to brainstorm on ways to prevent the re-emergence of the likes of Yusuf "who brought us pain, suffering, and destruction last week."

He said a Bill for the establishment of the Preaching Census Board (PCB) is being sent to the state House of Assembly, and all the 27 councils in the state should provide at least three knowledgeable Islamic clerics for the PCB.

Maiduguri remained calm Monday as police conducted street patrols in armoured vehicles filled with armed personnel.

Security agents also guarded key intersections and searched passers-by.

Security Team Commander, Colonel Ben Ahanotu said: "There are lots of them (sect members) still around. But only a few of them are still dangerous."

Police Spokesperson, Isa Azaza, confirmed that 20 members of Boko Haram are in custody.

A Red Cross Official, Muhammad Barma, noted that "so far a total 780 dead bodies were picked from the streets of Maiduguri (alone) and given a mass burial at three sites in the city."

In neigbouring Adamawa, Police Public Relations Officer, Altine Daniel, said the road blocks mounted in all the 21 councils of the state will be maintained until further notice.

Police patrols and surveillance have been intensified, particularly in towns on the border with Cameroon, he added.

Click here to view a 36-second video of President Yar'Adua announcing the probe.


Nigeria: Security Agents Uncover Another Sect Opposed to Western Education


[Report by Okey Muogbo: " Another Boko Haram Sect Uncovered - As Manhunt for Boko Haram's Sponsors Continues - Kano Businessman Implicated - Yar'Adua Orders Probe Into Boko Haram Leader's Death "]

As part of the efforts to nip the activities of dangerous sects like that one led by Mohammed Yusuf, leader of the Boko Haram sect in the bud, Nigerian Tribune has been informed that security agents have uncovered another sect that is opposed to Western education and way of life.

According to the sources, the sect is based in Niger State and although it shares the same philosophy with the Yusuf's group, it was learnt that the Niger State group is not violent, "at least for now," said one of the sources.

According to the source, security agents are keeping an eye on the new group because "that was how the Yusuf's group started as a non-violent group in 1995, then under the leadership of one Abubakar Lawan.

"But as soon as the founder left for further studies, Yusuf took over and turned the group into a violent sect that shook the nation," the source added.

Meanwhile, as the crisis caused by the activities of the Boko Haram Islamic group begins to die down, security agencies are said to be closing in on sponsors of the militant religious group.

Top ranking government officials revealed, on Tuesday, that one of such sponsors (names withheld) has been identified in Kano State.

The man, described as a wealthy businessman, was said to have freely sponsored the sect members many times in the past, including sending them on training outside the country.

The sources also disclosed that there were proofs of huge financial transactions between the businessman and late Mohammed Yusuf, the leader of the Boko Haram sect.

It was also gathered that security agents had closed in on a number of highly placed members of the society in parts of the far north of Nigeria.

The sources said that the backers of the murderous sect were mostly politicians, who needed the sect members' violent disposition to achieve their political and in some cases, economic ends.

It was gathered that the sect, though an Islamic group, it was not popular among the majority of mainstream Muslim clerics and its disposition to violence made them very useful to politicians.

Nigerian Tribune gathered that apart from the sponsors, the government is still keeping watch on members of the sect across the North who have not been killed or arrested as they could regroup and launch fresh attacks because of their fanatical commitment to the ideals of the sect.

It will be recalled that reports claimed that Yusuf's group had about 1.5 million members in Nigeria.

It was believed in security circles that part of the farm was used to train and indoctrinate members of the sect locally.

The source lamented that the greatest problem facing security agents was how to get politicians in power and authority to act on security report to save the country from crises like the Boko Haram's.

Meanwhile, President Yar'Adua has vowed to probe the killing of the Boko Haram leader, Yusuf, in Maiduguri.

The president, gave the assurance in Abuja, on Tuesday, when he addressed a joint media briefing with visiting Beninoise president, Mr. Boni Yayi.

He disclosed that he had already ordered a probe into the killing after the sect leader's men were crushed by security agents and the leader allegedly arrested and killed.

The president, who was commenting for the first time on the incident, said he had directed the National Security Adviser (NSA) to co-ordinate the probe into what transpired during the crises and report to him before the week ran out.

Yar'Adua said: "This is an incident that will be investigated, together with all the events that have happened. Yesterday, I directed the NSA to carry out a post-mortem with the security agencies as a first step so that we can have a full report of what happened during the crisis, including how the leader of Boko Haram was killed, the circumstances under which he was killed."

According to him, the position of the Federal Government was very clear on the issue of the rule of law, right from inception, pointing out tha t his personal belief and strong commitment to it were also known to all government functionaries.

"I have been emphasising since this administration came into power on our uncompromising stance on the rule of law and everybody in this country, and all the officials, are aware, clearly and unambiguously, of the stance of this administration on the rule of law and, indeed, my personal commitment and firm belief that it is the rule of law that will anchor good governance and progress in this country," he further stated.

He, however, insisted that his government would not rush into taking action on the matter until the result of the investigation had been known and confirmed.

"Now, it is after we get this report, which I hope before the end of the week, the NSA will make available this report. Then we will examine this report to determine what actions to take, whether we need to carry out further investigations into the entire matter, because it is really a very serious issue," he added.


Nigeria: President Promises Sect Leader Case To Be Investigated


KANO, Nigeria, Aug 5, 2009 (AFP) - The Nigerian army insisted on Wednesday that it handed over Islamist sect leader Mohammed Yusuf alive to the police last week before he was killed under controversial circumstances.

Colonel Ben Ahonotu, the commander of the operation that led to Yusuf's capture in the northeastern city of Maiduguri last Thursday, said the sect leader was interrogated by a senior military officer before the handover.

"I personally arrested Yusuf and handed him over to the police after a short questioning the same day, only to be told that he died in a shootout," Ahonotu told AFP.

"A senior military officer conducted the interrogation of Mohammed Yusuf," he said without disclosing the identity of the army officer.

Police have denied that the Boko Haram sect leader was killed while in their custody, saying he died in a crossfire with security forces while trying to escape.

Yusuf, 39, was killed after security forces crushed an uprising last week by the self-styled Taliban fundamentalist group in several northern states.

The violence left more than 800 people dead, the majority of them sect members.

President Umaru Yar'Adua said Tuesday he had ordered an investigation into the uprising and the controversial killing of Yusuf, 39.

"This is an incident that will be investigated together with the overall events that have happened," he said in response to reporters' questions about his reaction to Yusuf's killing.

UN human rights chief Navi Pillay and rights groups like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have called on the government to investigate the security forces' role in the violence.

Pillay called "upon the government of Nigeria to fully investigate all incidents and hold those responsible to account" and to ensure "every effort should be made to avoid unlawful killings".


Nigeria: Afenifere Condemns Extra Judicial Killing of Boko Haram Leaders

AFP20090805614003 Abuja Cool FM in English 0545 GMT 04 Aug 09

Afenifere Renewal Group [ARG] has called for a probe into the alleged killing of Islamic sect leader, Boko Haram, Sheikh Yusuf Mohammed, by the police.

ARG National Publicity Secretary Yinka Odumakin who faulted the action of the police in what he described as extra judicial killing said even a common criminal in a democratic system deserve a due legal hearing.

Mr Odumakin told correspondent Judges Adebayo that the killing was a ploy to distract attention from sponsors and master minder of the sect.


Nigeria: Niger State Seeks Yar'Adua's Advice To Act Against Islamic Sect


[Unattributed report: "Niger Alerts on Dar-el-Salam Sect"]

The Niger State government has written to President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua seeking advice on the actions of an Islamic sect called Dar-el-Salam which exists in the state.

According to the state Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice Barrister Adamu Usman, who spoke to our reporter after a joint security meeting with six emirs in attendance, the state government is waiting for instructions from the Federal Government on the proper line of action to take. He added that the sect is a made up of Nigerians and foreigners.

He explained that the sect is at the Mokwa axis, which is one of the volatile parts of the state, saying their presence since 1992 had been a source of concern as the mode of their operation contravenes the doctrine of the rule of law.

"The Dar-el-Salam sect has over 2000 people and as a government, we are concerned more that the Boko Haram case is unfolding. So we have written to the Federal Government notifying them of our intention to look into their activities and we are waiting their response for one week before we move in", he said.

He said already, security agencies in the state had been placed constant stand by in readiness to check any form of upheaval that may degenerate into loss of lives and property in the state.

He explained that the security meeting also looked into the issue of laws guiding the Islamic preaching law of 1989 with the aim of giving it full legal strength to perform its mandate of screening activities of practicing the religion with the aim of enforcing compliance with the law.

Usman said that as part of efforts to check any possible violence from sects in the state, any preacher who operates without the approval of the law would face severe sanctions.

"The idea behind reinforcing the preaching law is to ensure that there is compliance with set standards by the state on the practise of Islam. Anyone who fails to pass through the approval of the law and proceeds to preach will be arrested", he said.

In a related event, the Niger state police command has arrested 43 people of different nationalities in the state.

According to the state Commissioner of Police Mr Mike Zuokumor the police had to make the arrest based on suspicion, stressing that they had to be interrogated to know where and what they were doing.


Nigeria: Death Toll in Boko Haram Violence in Bauchi Increases To 52


Bauchi State police command yesterday said the death toll in 26 Jul Boko Haram sectarian crisis in the state has risen to 52.

The command’s public relations officer, Mohammed Barau, said 39 suspected members of the sect were initially killed during shoot out with the police.

He said 13 others who sustained serious injuries during the disturbances died in the course of treatment.


Nigeria: Killed Sect Leader Handed Over to Police Alive: Army


KANO, Nigeria, Aug 5, 2009 (AFP) - The Nigerian army insisted on Wednesday that it handed over Islamist sect leader Mohammed Yusuf alive to the police last week before he was killed under controversial circumstances.

Colonel Ben Ahonotu, the commander of the operation that led to Yusuf's capture in the northeastern city of Maiduguri last Thursday, said the sect leader was interrogated by a senior military officer before the handover.

"I personally arrested Yusuf and handed him over to the police after a short questioning the same day, only to be told that he died in a shootout," Ahonotu told AFP.

"A senior military officer conducted the interrogation of Mohammed Yusuf," he said without disclosing the identity of the army officer.

A video clip, almost six minutes long, widely believed to be that of Yusuf's interrogation before he was handed over to the police, is making the rounds on cellphones in some northern cities, an AFP reporter said.

During the questioning, a handcuffed Yusuf, who was standing naked from the waist up and surrounded by soldiers, reiterated his group's opposition to 'boko' or western education, which he said is a 'sin' (haram in Arabic/Hausa).

"All knowledge that contradicts Islam is prohibited by the Almighty. Sorcery or magic is knowledge but Allah has forbidden it. Polytheism is knowledge but Allah has forbidden it. Astronomy is knowledge, but Allah has forbidden it," he said in the video.

Ahonoto later said there was "no doubt" the clip was authentic, after its content was described in detail by an AFP correspondent over the telephone.

"From your description of the content of the clip it is no doubt authentic but I don't know how it leaked out to the public."

Police have denied that the Boko Haram sect leader was killed while in their custody, saying he died while trying to escape.

Yusuf, 39, was killed after security forces crushed an uprising last week by the self-styled Taliban fundamentalist group in several northern states of the Nigerian federation.

The violence left more than 800 people dead, the majority of them sect members.

President Umaru Yar'Adua on Tuesday ordered an investigation into the violence and Yusuf's killing.



Nigeria: Report Gives Instances Showing Yar'Adua's Loss of Control

AFP20090806619001 Lagos TheNews in English 03 Aug 09 - 10 Aug 09 pp 16-21, 23

[Report by Ademola Adegbamigbe: "A President Loses Control"]

President Umaru Yar’Adua manifests incompetence as captain of the Nigerian ship and it is all so apparent that he is losing control.

With the multiplicity of crises currently plaguing the country and sending his administration into confusion, President Umaru Yar’Adua could be likened to a factory hand manning the console of a brewery’s conveyor belt that has gone haywire. Just as the factory worker watches helplessly as bottles fly capriciously in different directions, Yar’Adua, in the view of most observers, has lost control of the button, string and lever of power, given the way violence follows mayhem across the country with dazzling frequency.

The President’s hands are, indeed, full: religious war in the North, the intractable Niger Delta problem, strikes all over local councils, the terrible power supply situation, poverty in the land and power play within his government. However, while there are people who believe that all these problems are self-inflicted because the President intrinsically lacks productive leadership qualities, other critics opine that Yar’Adua is a man of peace who cannot say boo to a goose.

The only trouble, according to the latter category, is that this ‘innocent’ Fulani man is being misadvised and pushed by fifth columnists within his government with the intention of making him look like Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, and Benito Mussolini rolled into one. In the end, according to observers, these hawks would push him over the cliff for them or their minions to assume power.

The concept of fifth columnists originated in 1936 when Emilio Mola, a rebel commander during the Spanish Civil War gave a speech on radio when his soldiers were marching on Madrid, the capital. He said that although their faces were made of four columns outside, he would conquer the city with the help of the "fifth column" of his supporters inside the city, who were "intent on undermining the Republican government from within". Political scientists have, since then, defined fifth columnists as "a group of people who undermine a larger group such as a nation from within to the aid of an external enemy."

In the history of Nigeria, the fifth columnist concept is believed to have led to the fall of many governments: Shehu Shagari who was overthrown by the military because of the austerity measures which his economic spin doctors waxed for him; General Muhammad Buhari, whose men, sometimes unknown to him, took actions that labeled his administration most inhuman; and Sani Abacha, who was driven into a state of schizophrenia by his advisers over insecurity complex.

In fact, Buhari, in an exclusive interview, revealed to TheNews (5 July 1993 edition) that in leadership you have to trust people. You have to give them jobs to handle and power to achieve goals. "But our administration was unlucky. There was a fifth columnist amongst us, and the success of that fifth columnist is what we are now in," the general lamented. According to him, there were certain people in the society who were embarrassed, that shouldn’t have been embarrassed because there was no reason for such embarrassment. One of them, according to Buhari, was Chief Obafemi Awolowo, whose house was ransacked by security people.

Buhari put it this way: "I didn’t know anything about the raid on his house. I ought to be told that the house of a person like Chief Awolowo was going to be searched. That should have been discussed at the Supreme Military Council. Alhaji Shehu Musa’s house was searched by some policemen. I got to know about these incidents after they had happened but I chose to keep quiet. I knew someone was playing games.

These incidents happened because the security had the right to such a level to quickly check on security issues. But then, it was later that I realized it was one of he master plans of the fifth columnist in my government to discredit me through embarrassing some leaders in certain localities without really any apparent reason to do so."

The regime of Buhari was so discredited for high-handedness that when General Ibrahim Babangida, the fifth columnist in Buhari’s government - he was Chief of Army Staff then snatched power, he was received with adulation to the nation’s peril later. Whether the President is on a self-destruct path or he is being led by the nose to his political stake, will remain a huge debate. But the premises for such conclusions are there for all to see.

Sectarian violence broke out on 26 July 2009 in Bauchi, leading to the death of hundreds of people. That was when security agencies clashed with an Islamic sect, the Boko Haram, who invaded the Busten Tanshi police state in Bauchi to seize weapons. The religious group was reported to be on the payroll of the Taliban of Afghanistan.

The group, numbering about 800, according to reports, wanted to wage a war using the arms it intended to confiscate against western values and education. But the warriors were resisted by security forces, which killed and arrested many of the invaders.

Within two days, the violence had spread to Kano and Borno States, leaving hundreds of people dead. The same sect attacked the police headquarters in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, resulting in the death of over 150 people. The group’s leader is one Mohammed Yusuf, a cleric. Yusuf’s men attacked the police armory, the Maiduguri new prison and the commander of the joint border patrol. The commander’s house, situated within the police headquarters, was razed by the fundamentalists.

Over 10 churches in Wulari, the police stations at Lamisula, Jere, Gomboru Kasuwan and Shanu were razed by the hoodlums. Among the dead were chief superintendent of police Mar Farrouk, deputy commander of the mobile police [MOPOL 6] at the Police College Training School, Maiduguri and another senior military officer. On 28 July 2009, when this magazine visited the Maiduguri police headquarters, it witnessed a jumble of corpses in the compound.

This magazine gathered that when intelligence reports first indicated a possible religious fracas in the state, the government allegedly ignored it. For the 10 hours that the Maiduguri clash lasted, economic activities were paralyzed. Abdulmumuni Ibrahim Mohammed, a secondary school certificate holder from Nasarawa State, said that the war was aimed at discouraging western education and the operation of the 1999 Constitution in Nigeria, a process which would give way to the application of the Sharia.

The Assistant Inspector-General of Police in charge of Zone 12, Bauchi, Moses Anegbode, waved off the religious group as criminal gang. Last Tuesday, a joint military and police force bombed Yusuf’s house in the railway area of Maiduguri, leading to the death of his second in command, L Sakerau. About 180 women and their children, and Yusuf’s wives were transported from Bauchi to Maiduguri and kept in a house in the same area.

One of the women, Rashida, informed TheNews that their husbands told them that they were brought to Maiduguri for a religious crusade. The police were by last weekend still arranging to transport them back to Bauchi.

Anegbode told a national daily: "They forbid anything western, yet their leader has an array of western materials in his possession. He even uses phone and the SUVs, I wonder if they were made by him. They are notorious for kidnapping, raping, intimidation and molestation and known to be anti-establishment."

AK 47 rifles, 270 rounds of live ammunition, a single-barrel gun, three locally-made single-barrel guns, two locally-made revolver pistols, five rounds of 7.66 live ammunition, 500 rounds of 7.66 mm live ammunition, 21 live cartridges, two bags of lethal gunpowder used for making explosives, 200 detonators and over 1,000 locally fabricated plastic cylinders were seized from their enclave in Fadama Mada in Bauchi metropolis. The violence later spread to Yobe and Gombe states.

The Yar’Adua administration had been forewarned on this latest round of violence in the North. When violence erupted in Plateau and Bauchi States last year, Pastor Ladi Thompson, head of the Macedonian Initiative, a non-governmental organisation, warned of a grim fact that terrorists had slipped into Nigeria.

"The terrorists have infiltrated government and some elite in the government are members, hence these hoodlums have been able to enter the country and strike unchallenged," he told a national daily. He compared the situation to that of Sudan, "where terrorists operated in pockets of places until they finally took over the leadership of the country and legitimize it."

Many analysts have posited that the Bauchi mayhem was the handiwork of Islamic zealots who wish to bring down the government of Yar’Adua’s son-in-law and governor of the state, Isa Yuguda. His sin, as a source in the state said, was that the governor came to power with the overwhelming help of the Islamists "only for him to abandon the All Nigeria People Party and defect to the PDP."

The source drew the attention of this magazine to the failed attempt of the PDP to rig the election in 2007 when Yuguda contested on the ANPP platform. "And when the Islamists went on rampage, pulling down the Independent National Electoral Commission office in Bauchi, Obasanjo ordered that ANPP should be announced winner," he said.

As the radical woman politician, Najatu Mohammed, told this magazine, "People of Bauchi State fought tooth and nail for him to be there. A lot of people were killed in the process. But because Yuguda did not perform and he has betrayed the people, he decided to marry the daughter of the President and decamp to the PDP, where he believes that whether he wins or not, whether he performs or not or whether he squanders or not, his ticket and fate would be assured by the PDP under Yar’Adua."

Yar’Adua’s critics have attacked him for showing insensitivity to the hundreds of people that perished while he decided to travel to Brazil last Tuesday. One of them lamented: "What kind of President is this, behaving like Emperor Nero who fiddled away when Rome was on fire? Clearly, if one of his children was among the dead, he would not have travelled. Yet, he is expected to be the father of all Nigerians.

That was exactly what President Shagari did when the Nigerian External Telecommunications building was on fire, he travelled out."

Another area where the President has lost control is in the Niger Delta, where the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, [MEND], headed by Henry Okah, has been waging a war for justice, development and a share of the proceeds of crude oil exploited from the littoral region.

Okah, who was arrested in 2007 and had been standing trial for treason and gun-running at the Federal High Court in Jos, was released last month after Michael Aondoakaa, the attorney general of the federation and minister of justice, entered a nolle prosequi at the court, citing Section 174 of the 1999 Constitution which gives him power in such matters. With the ruling of Justice Mohammed Liman, the case came to an end.

But while government was still regaling on the possible peace mileage that Okah’s release would bring to the Niger Delta problem, MEND attacked the Atlas Cove depot of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation located in Takwa bay, Lagos, to drive home the message that the crisis was far from over.

A source blamed the attack on the attorney general who "did not act with dispatch when Yar’Adua, instructed him to release Okah. Rather, Aondoakaa decided to travel to Sao Tome and Principe. Thus, when MEND thought government was deceiving it, it attacked the Atlas Cove. Okah was released hours after that. Was the attorney general’s action deliberate?"

Yar’Adua has destabilized his own peace process in the Niger Delta through the attempt to site the Petroleum University in Kaduna, and the hanky panky over the Petroleum Bill, developments that have set the PDP South-south governors against the President. What is curious, according to observers is why a President would be dealing with amnesty on one hand and provoking the people of the region simultaneously.

The anger from the Niger Delta was expressed to the media last week in Lagos by Governors Liyel Imoke, Emmanuel Uduaghan, Godswill Akpabio and Rotimi Amaechi of Cross River, Edo, Akwa Ibom and Rivers States respectively. Imoke, who chaired the interactive session said: "For us, we believe in the amnesty initiative. It is imperative that for it to succeed, it must have a sustainable programme we must all key into. The consequence of failure is all too dire to imagine. We are not politicizing it. There is no alternative."

Uduaghan, who revealed that he was one of those who campaigned for amnesty, said he asked questions about what would happen after amnesty and the President said they were being worked out. When this was on, the Petroleum Bill, comprising two issues, came up: participation of the communities so that the people would take responsibility for protecting the facilities and that the people should be paid a

percentage of the royalties. "In the old bill," Uduaghan explained, "they were there. But in the new one, they were left out. We thought all these would be part of the amnesty."

Akpabio argued that amnesty must not end with a six-month package because it is a long haul project. He maintained: "A militant cannot become a graduate within six months. If you bring money and they bring arms, it is forgotten and the boys may regroup." Akpabio, therefore, advocated a long plan that would look into human development (like education) for the youth.

Following this, as the governor revealed, was the movement of the university. The original plan by the Federal Executive Council in 2007 was that Petroleum Technology Institute in Effurun, Warri, would be upgraded to a university, for which the Delta State government had initially donated 250 million naira and the community provided a large expanse of land.

The Governor said that because of these developments, nobody could talk to the militants. "They boys will say, ‘where is our university? The amnesty will work after all these things are revisited." The four governors, therefore, vowed that despite their differences with regard to oil wells, they would stick together and fight the Niger Delta cause. A political scientist told this magazine that it is "as if a force is propelling Yar’Adua to self-destruct on the Niger Delta question."

The same force seems to be at work in the recent face-off between Governor Raji Fashola of Lagos State and President Yar’Adua. Indeed, it was Yar’Adua who stirred the hornets’ nest when he wrote a letter, dated 14 July 2009, to Fashola. Entitled: "RE: The Alteration of the Constitutionally Recognized Local Governments in Lagos State by the State Government and its Implication for Constitutionalism and National Unity."

The President referred to the continued existence and operation, within Lagos State of 37 Local Government Development Areas, [LCDA], created by the Lagos State Government out of the 20 constitutionally-recognized Local Government Areas listed in the First Schedule of the 1999 Constitution.

He added: "I am aware that on the 11th October 2008, the Lagos State Government, against the express advice of the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, conducted Local Government elections into 57 instead of 20 local government Councils within the state. Information available to me indicates that the said 57 Local Councils have continued to function as if they were validly created under the 1999 Constitution."

He reminded Fashola of the verdict of the Supreme Court in 2004, in the matter of AG of Lagos Vs AG of the Federation (2004) 20 NSCQLR, 1999, that the process of creating Local Government Councils by any state legislature remains incomplete until the National Assembly passes the consequential order amending Section 3, sub-section 6 and Part One of the First Schedule to the Constitution.

"I am not aware that the National Assembly has taken the step to regularize the creation of an additional 37 ‘Local Councils’ in Lagos State. In law and logic therefore, these councils remain unknown to the 1999 Constitution and to all intents and purposes are illegal administrative entities."

He further accused Fashola of disregarding the judgment of the High Court of Lagos State in Chief Taiwo Joseph Tovi-Hungeva and Abraham O. Ogabi and Four Others, delivered on 9 June 2008, which followed a Supreme Court judgment invalidating the continued functioning of the 37 LCDA. "I am particularly worried by the fact that disbursements from the Federation Account meant for the disbursement to the 20 constitutionally recognized councils are now being diverted to the funding of additional 37 illegal entities, under the direction and control of functionaries who have no legal basis for occupying their present office," Yar’Adua charged.

The President asked Fashola to revert the local government structures in Lagos State to the Local Government Councils recognized in the First Schedule of the 1999 Constitution within 14 days of the date of the letter. With a threat, the President concluded: "May I add that if the Lagos State government persists in breach of the Constitution in respect of this matter beyond the asserted 14 days, I shall be compelled to direct that necessary action is taken by the relevant organs of State to defend the Constitution and preserve the authority of the Federal Government."

In his 17 July 2009 reply, Fashola asked the President, an advocate of the rule of law, to seek the intervention of the judiciary, rather than his saber-rattling approach to the matter. The Lagos Governor cited the 1999 Constitution, which s very clear on the principle of separation of powers and reminded the President of the judgment of the Supreme Court on the matter. Fashola said that the President’s directive to shut down the 37 councils is not possible since they were created after valid laws were made by the Lagos State House of Assembly.

"In a constitutional democracy, the Federal Government does not enjoy the prerogative of compelling a state entity to conform to its will however well conceived except where that will conforms to the law," Fashola told Yar’Adua.

Citing two of the laws that led to the creation of the 37 councils – the Creation of Local Government Areas Law No.5 2002 and the Creation of Local Government Areas (Amendment) Law 2004 – he further quoted from the judgment of the Supreme Court: "If the Federal Government felt aggrieved by Lagos State creating more local government, the best solution is to seek redress in a court of law, without resorting to self-help. In a society where the rule of law prevails, self help is not available to the Executive or any arm of government."

The Governor expressed his disappointment that at this time "when our economy is challenged and our people are expectant and looking up to us for leadership and direction, our country can do without a political crisis over a matter which constitutionally and demonstrably constitutes no threat to the nation."

But why did Yar’Adua decide to revisit a crisis which he helped to resolve when he released the remaining funds which his predecessor, Obasanjo, sat on? Observers have raised many explanations about why Yar’Adua who had a chummy relationship with Fashola has suddenly become bellicose.

One belief is that certain ambitious elements in the Lagos State PDP, bent on capturing the state in the 2011 election, have been poisoning Yar’Adua’s faith in and close relationship with Fashola. Such elements may have been succeeding because of what many analysts believe is the President’s own weak constitution. Early in Fashola’s tenure, he struck a good relationship with Yar’Adua to the extent that the President did not only release Lagos State’s local government funds that his predecessor withheld, but he was also readily approving and, in fact, collaborating on the Governor’s projects, like the expansion of the Badagry expressway.

He also included Fashola in his economic management team and would always readily give him a listening ear on federal projects like the Apap-Oshodi expressway and Airport road, all in Lagos State. That Yar’Adua is suddenly doing a volte-face on Fashola, posited Umar Yahaya, a social crusader, shows that the President is infirm of resolve and can be easily manipulated. Such a leader, Yahaya scoffed, will find it difficult to hold together a sensitive country like Nigeria.

Another source says Yar’Adua wanted to cut Fashola to size because of the latter’s growing influence and popularity even in the President’s northern constituency. Two weeks ago, Najatu told TheNews: "I love Governor Fashola of Lagos; he makes me proud. He makes me believe that it is possible to govern well and to deliver." Also Dr. Sadiq Isah Rabbah of Bayero University and an in-law to Yar’Adua told TheNews (29 June 2009 edition): "I refer you to Governor Fashola who has proved himself in two years. He has my vote any time he wants to be Nigeria’s President."

The National Publicity Secretary of the Action Congress, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said: "The only reason we can think of right now for this shocking threat and totally unwarranted throwback to Obasanjo’s lawless and anarchic era is that the PDP is envious and the federal government is embarrassed at the success of the AC-led government in Lagos, hence both are looking for ways to throw a spanner in the works… what then is the fuss about? Is this the strategy of the hawks in the PDP to hijack Lagos in the next elections?"

Some critics have seen the extension of this war in what Ogun State PDP Governor Gbenga Daniel’s two publications carried on Lagos State last week. While the Westerner, his weekly magazine, carried an interview with former Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Femi Pedro, who alleged that Fashola wasted N36bn in two years, The Compass, Daniel’s national daily, came out screaming the same week that the EFCC and the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission were to storm Lagos.

The President has also lost control of the workforce. For the past few months, many unions have been on strike. The Academic Staff Union of Universities [ASUU]; the Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Universities [SSANU]; the Non-Academic Staff Union [NASU]; the Nigerian Postal Service [NIPOST]; the Power Holding Company of Nigeria [PHCN]; the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control [NAFDAC] and the Radio, Television and Theatre Workers Union [RATTAWU], have been on strike.

Perhaps, there is no better way to illustrate the situation of the Nigerian economy under Yar’Adua than the revelation at the recently held 37th annual general meeting of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria [MAN] that about 820 manufacturing companies in the country had closed down or temporarily suspended production between 2000 and 2008. As noted by Alhaji BAshir Borodo, the MAN president, there have been torrents of relocation to Ghana by companies desperate to avoid the unfriendly Nigerian business environment.

The major problem, according to Borodo, is the continuous breakdown of critical infrastructure in Nigeria. "This is a wake-up call for Nigeria to remove the infrastructure roadblocks and provide incentives. The reality is that notwithstanding the relocations already carried out and others that may follow, the obvious and primary market target of these industries remains Nigeria," said the MAN president.

There were hopes of a major turn-around in Nigeria’s infrastructural situation late last year with the generous allocation to the development of critical infrastructure in the 2009 Budget. The President had allocated about 91 per cent of the capital vote in the budget to five key areas with infrastructure taking N361.2bn, made up of capital allocations of 88.5billion naira for power, 15.4billion naira for aviation, 26.5billion naira for petroleum resources and 129.3billion naira for works and others.

Against this great expectation, government’s implementation of the 2009 Budget can at best be described as fitful. The high hope inspired by the budget among Nigerians is being dashed. The anger of Nigerians on Yar’Adua unfaithful implementation of the budget came to the fore on Tuesday 14 July, as lawmakers in the lower chamber of the National Assembly debated its non-implementation. This was against the claims of the Presidency that the budget cannot be implemented because of shortfall in government revenue.

The two committees set up by the House to investigate this claim described in their report submitted on 14 July, that the claim by the Presidency is false. As stated in the committee’s report, government made N27.98billion above its expected revenue projections in the first four months of 2009.

According to the lawmakers, the partial implementation of the budget by the executive has grounded economic and social activities, citing strikes by workers across sectors. Ita Enang, the chairman of the

House committee on rules and business, especially faulted the Presidency for the delay in the payment of monetization arrears to workers, which has resulted in strikes and threats of strike by workers in some federal government agencies.

The biggest area where Nigerians have in recent times been feeling the impact of government failures is in the area of power supply. Most parts of the country have been thrown into darkness as recent reports indicate that electricity generation in the country has fallen well below 1000 megawatts. Already, the parlous power situation and the attendant additional cost of production have forced companies like PZ, Dunlop and Lever Brothers, among others, to either shift production to Nigeria’s neighbouring countries or totally close down their operations.

As recently noted in an article by Professor Pat Utomi, power outage in Nigeria has never been as bad as it is in under Yar’Adua. Yet, indications are that contrary to government promise, improvement in electricity supply to Nigerians may be years away. Of late, the government has been giving reasons why even if the much vaunted 6,000 megawatts generation capacity is achieved by the end of the year, electricity supply to homes and business premises of Nigerians may not witness dramatic improvement. The reasons include hostility by communities which are hosting power projects under construction, problems with gas transportation pipelines and weak transmission infrastructure.

Manufacturers have also been under the pain of high exchange rate, inefficiency at the ports and high interest rates. As recently noted by the Transition Monitoring Group, a coalition of over 360 civil society organisations in press release, the failure of President Umaru Yar’Adua’s administration to find remedy to the country’s parlous power situation has not only made nonsense of the much trumpeted seven-point agenda, it has also heightened infrastructural decay and high cost of living in the face of declining value of wages and salaries and macro-economic policy instability.

Also, the falling value of the naira against major world currencies, this magazine learnt, has led to increase in cost of imported raw materials, a further hike in cost of production, and is responsible for the general rise in price level currently being experienced in the country. The net effect of the problems is increase in the rate of unemployment and high rate of inflation.

The most critical aspect of how Yar’Adua has lost control is the power play among different political tendencies in his government. One bone of contention between the President and governors on the one hand, and other elective officers in the PDP on the other, is the automatic ticket.

The governors proposed an amendment to Article 9:2. On page 18 of the document, the governors proposed that "the party shall issue automatic tickets to any first-term serving President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and all first-term serving governors who have expressed interest to re-contest for a second term without going through party primaries." But they can lose this privilege if the respective legislatures impeach them based on a serious petition.

However, the National Assembly has thrown its hat into the ring on this score. While the Senate President, David Mark, called for automatic ticket for senators in June, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dimeji Bankole, did so for members of the lower legislative chamber in July, because, as he put it, "it is desirable for the growth and stability of our nascent democracy."

He made this demand when he inaugurated the constituency projects of PDP Rep, Baba Shehu in Agaie, Niger State. According to Bankole: "In the legislative chambers, the rule of ranking off members is strictly adhered to in doing a lot of things and it is advantageous to have ranking members with experience as this has positive effects not only on legislations but also on the ability of the member to attract development to his constituency." By the time the executive and legislature work full circle at cross purposes, things, according to observers, will fall apart.

The Turai Yar’Adua factor is also very strong in the power play. According to Saharareporters, the "First Lady" is a woman "whose greed for self-enrichment and fascination with power has put her firmly in control of her husband’s notoriously colorless cabinet." It added that you could say that Turai is the real ruler of Nigeria, the Andy Uba of this dispensation. "Everybody knows that her husband has no control over her. And we know that if she doesn’t like any official, that official’s days in office are numbered. If you cross her, you’re done with." The President’s inability to rein in these tendencies of the wife is seen as another strong shortcoming of his.

There is also a conflict between the Katsina Mafia, those powerful elements that Yar’Adua brought from Katsina to work with him and other powerful elements from other states. These elements include Abba Sayyadi Ruma, the serving minister of Agriculture and natural Resources who was Secretary to the Katsina State Government, and Dr. Taminu Yakubu Kurfi, a former Finance Commissioner in the Katsina State government and former Managing Director of Federal Mortgage bank. He is the Chief Economic Adviser to the President.

There are also Dr. Yayale Ahmed, Secretary to the Government of the Federation; Governor Ibrahim Shema of Katsina State; Governor Bukola Saraki of Kwara and former Delta governor, James Ibori. Ibori and Saraki are said to harbor some bitterness towards one another. Other very powerful figures that are believed to be bigger beyond the President’s control are Alhaji Dahiru Manga, a business mogul from Katsina and Michael Aondoakaa, the Minister of Justice.

These people, according to critics, "fall over one another for the President’s attention so much that it is difficult for him to distinguish between genuine advice and self serving ones"

[Description of Source: Lagos TheNews in English - independent weekly news magazine]

Nigeria uncovers another sect opposed to Western education


Nigeria uncovers another sect opposed to Western education

Text of report by privately-owned Ibadan-based Nigerian Tribune Online on 5 August

[Report by Okey Muogbo: " Another Boko Haram Sect Uncovered -As Manhunt for Boko Haram's Sponsors Continues -Kano Businessman Implicated -Yar'Adua Orders Probe Into Boko Haram Leader's Death "]

As part of the efforts to nip the activities of dangerous sects like that one led by Mohammed Yusuf, leader of the Boko Haram sect in the bud, Nigerian Tribune has been informed that security agents have uncovered another sect that is opposed to Western education and way of life.

According to the sources, the sect is based in Niger State and although it shares the same philosophy with the Yusuf's group, it was learnt that the Niger State group is not violent, "at least for now," said one of the sources.

According to the source, security agents are keeping an eye on the new group because "that was how the Yusuf's group started as a non-violent group in 1995, then under the leadership of one Abubakar Lawan.

"But as soon as the founder left for further studies, Yusuf took over and turned the group into a violent sect that shook the nation," the source added.

Meanwhile, as the crisis caused by the activities of the Boko Haram Islamic group begins to die down, security agencies are said to be closing in on sponsors of the militant religious group.

Top ranking government officials revealed, on Tuesday, that one of such sponsors (names withheld) has been identified in Kano State.

The man, described as a wealthy businessman, was said to have freely sponsored the sect members many times in the past, including sending them on training outside the country.

The sources also disclosed that there were proofs of huge financial transactions between the businessman and late Mohammed Yusuf, the leader of the Boko Haram sect.

It was also gathered that security agents had closed in on a number of highly placed members of the society in parts of the far north of Nigeria.

The sources said that the backers of the murderous sect were mostly politicians, who needed the sect members' violent disposition to achieve their political and in some cases, economic ends.

It was gathered that the sect, though an Islamic group, it was not popular among the majority of mainstream Muslim clerics and its disposition to violence made them very useful to politicians.

Nigerian Tribune gathered that apart from the sponsors, the government is still keeping watch on members of the sect across the North who have not been killed or arrested as they could regroup and launch fresh attacks because of their fanatical commitment to the ideals of the sect.

It will be recalled that reports claimed that Yusuf's group had about 1.5 million members in Nigeria.

It was believed in security circles that part of the farm was used to train and indoctrinate members of the sect locally.

The source lamented that the greatest problem facing security agents was how to get politicians in power and authority to act on security report to save the country from crises like the Boko Haram's.

Meanwhile, President Yar'Adua has vowed to probe the killing of the Boko Haram leader, Yusuf, in Maiduguri.

The president, gave the assurance in Abuja, on Tuesday, when he addressed a joint media briefing with visiting Beninoise president, Mr Boni Yayi.

He disclosed that he had already ordered a probe into the killing after the sect leader's men were crushed by security agents and the leader allegedly arrested and killed.

The president, who was commenting for the first time on the incident, said he had directed the National Security Adviser (NSA) to coordinate the probe into what transpired during the crises and report to him before the week ran out.

Yar'Adua said: "This is an incident that will be investigated, together with all the events that have happened. Yesterday, I directed the NSA to carry out a post-mortem with the security agencies as a first step so that we can have a full report of what happened during the crisis, including how the leader of Boko Haram was killed, the circumstances under which he was killed."

According to him, the position of the Federal Government was very clear on the issue of the rule of law, right from inception, pointing out tha t his personal belief and strong commitment to it were also known to all government functionaries.

"I have been emphasising since this administration came into power on our uncompromising stance on the rule of law and everybody in this country, and all the officials, are aware, clearly and unambiguously, of the stance of this administration on the rule of law and, indeed, my personal commitment and firm belief that it is the rule of law that will anchor good governance and progress in this country," he further stated.

He, however, insisted that his government would not rush into taking action on the matter until the result of the investigation had been known and confirmed.

"Now, it is after we get this report, which I hope before the end of the week, the NSA will make available this report. Then we will examine this report to determine what actions to take, whether we need to carry out further investigations into the entire matter, because it is really a very serious issue," he added.


Nigeria: Group Says 'Excruciating Poverty' Responsible for Rise of Islamic Sect


[Report by Godwin Isenyo, Kaduna & Kunle Olasanmi: "ACF: N'Delta Militants not Different From 'Boko Haram'; We Handed Over Killed Sect Leader Alive, Says Army; South-South Leaders Reject NNPC Re-Organisation; Suspected Sect Members Arraigned in Abuja"]

The pan-Northern socio-political organisation, Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), insists yesterday that there is no difference between the Niger Delta militants and the Boko Haram Islamic sect.

Last week, the "do not accept Western education" members of the latter wreaked havoc on some states in the North.

But the ACF said the militants, holed up in the creeks of the volatile Niger Delta region, belong to the same category as the deadly Boko Haram sect, whose action led to the death of more than 800 people and the destruction of millions of naira worth of valuables in an orgy of violence.

Besides, the forum told the South-South governors, who withdrew their support from the Federal Government's amnesty for the quarreling militants, to tread softly over the matter.

Rising from a joint meeting of its Board of Trustees (BOT) and the National Executive Committee (NEC), and in what seems to be justifying the activities of the Boko Haram sect, the ACF insisted that excruciating poverty in the land gave rise to the existence of the Islamic group.

To the South-South governors, the ACF warned against their threat to withdraw support, saying it remains the position of the forum that in a democracy, political leaders do not pursue their interest by issuing threats.

"This is because democracy is a contest of ideas and reason. And since the legislature is the most deliberative institution where bills are debated, rejected or amended on the basis of superior arguments, those who feel dissatisfied by any aspect of the bill should canvass their positions in the hallowed chambers rather than resorting to insinuations."

The ACF noted with regrets that already, some people from the Niger Delta have gone as far as asking for the dismissal of the Petroleum Resources Minister, Dr. Rilwan Lukman, because a Petroleum Training Institute is to be built in Kaduna, arguing that in a democracy, those who feel dissatisfied about any bill should canvass their position rather than resorting to insinuations.

The forum, in a three-page communiqué it issued at the end of the parley, also condemned the alleged extra-judicial killing of the leader of the sect, Muhammad Yusuf.

Signed by the National Publicity Secretary, Anthony Sani, the communique said: "It is noteworthy that the followers of such sects as Boko Haram and Niger Delta militants are those who feel aggrieved by the prevailing conditions in the country. This attitude is aggravated by the widening gap between our affluent and ostentatious leaders and the broad masses of the poverty-stricken and deprived people.

"ACF notes with deep concern the seeming extra-judicial killing of the leader of the Boko Haram sect and other persons who might not have been part of the insurgency. It urges that in all future incidences, security forces must use minimum force and avoid unnecessary casualties.

"The first joint meeting of the Board of Trustees (BOT) under its new leadership and the National Executive Committee (NEC) of Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) met at its headquarters in Kaduna on Tuesday 4th August, 2009.

"The Chairman of BOT, Lt-Gen. J.T Useni (rtd), chaired the meeting which was supported by the Chairman of NEC, Maj-Gen. IBM Haruna (rtd).

"The meeting considered the Boko Haram crisis that erupted in some parts of the Northern states and noted the efforts by the government and security agencies that brought it under control.

"It commended their efforts and urged the government to beef up the intelligence gathering capacity of the security agencies so that such insurgences are nipped in the bud before they occur. Federal and state governments are also urged to control the quality of religious leaders and teachers to prevent undue indoctrination of our youths.

"The joint meeting considered the threats by the South-South governors and their political leaders to withdraw support for the amnesty, if the Petroleum Resources Bill does not address all their concerns.

"Arewa Consultative Forum (A CF) noted the efforts made so far in exploration of oil in Benue and Chad Basins. The forum commended the relevant agencies for such efforts and appealed to the NNPC [Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation] to step up investments for the volume, quality and pace of exploration in Benue and Chad Basins, since oil has been discovered in commercial quantities in the same belt across Niger and Chad Republics.

"Meanwhile, the forum urged that every effort should be made in ensuring that farmers embark on massive plantation of Jathropha for the purpose of improving the agricultural yield and in the hope of reducing the nation's dependency on fossil sources of oil. Jathropha farming may cut the Gordian knot after all."

Also yesterday, the Nigerian Army insisted that it handed over the leader of Boko Haram, Mohammad Yusuf, alive to the police before he was killed under controversial circumstances.

The commander of the operation that led to Yusuf's capture in Maiduguri last Thursday, Colonel Ben Ahonotu, said the sect leader was interrogated by a senior military officer before the handover.

"I personally arrested Yusuf and handed him over to the police after a short questioning the same day, only to be told that he died in a shootout," Ahonotu said yesterday, adding that "a senior military officer conducted the interrogation of (Mohammad) Yusuf."

He, however, did not disclose the identity of the army officer.

The police had said that Yusuf was not killed in their custody, but died in a gun duel while trying to escape.

President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua, on Tuesday, ordered an investigation into the uprising and the controversial killing of Yusuf.

"This is an incident that will be investigated together with the overall events that have happened," he said in response to reporters' questions about his reaction to the Boko Haram leader's death.

The United Nations (UN) human rights chief, Navi Pillay, and rights groups, such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, had asked the government to investigate the security forces' role in the violence.

Pillay called "upon the government of Nigeria to fully investigate all incidents and hold those responsible to account" and to ensure that "every effort should be made to avoid unlawful killings."

Meanwhile, weeks after the Federal Government re-organised the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) through the retirement of 15 senior officials and the appointment of 38 others, the South-South has rejected the exercise.

Acting under the auspices of the South-South Elders and Leaders Forum, the geo-political zone insisted that the re-organisation was against the region.

For instance, the leaders alleged that 13 of the 15 retired persons were from the South-South, noting that the new promotions were skewed against the region.

The sweeping condemnation of the alleged plot by the Federal Government to disempower the geo-political zone was contained in a nine-point communique issued by the leaders after their third consultative meeting at the Le Meridian Hotel, Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital, on Tuesday.

The leaders had met on July 5 at the same venue after holding its inaugural meeting in Warri, Delta State.

They alleged that there was an underground conspiracy by the Federal Government to ease out promising indigenes of the region from the civil service through premature retirement.

They said: "The recent well-publicised re-organisation in the NNPC where out of the 15 persons retired, 13 came from the South and two from Kogi and out of the 38 promoted, 21 came from the North, 14

came from the South-West and South-East and only three from the South-South, has further disempowered the South-South.

"The current recruitment and promotion into other services like the Nigeria Customs Services (NSC) clearly discriminate against the people of the region, while promising staff from the South-South were prematurely retired."

The forum also picked a hole in the co ntentious Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), describing it as "mostly insensitive", coming at a time indegenes of the oil-producing communities were yearning for the benefits of the oil and gas extracted from their areas.

The communique further said: "The newly-introduced Petroleum Industry Bill appears to be most insensitive to such yearnings as it clearly states that benefits from oil and gas would be totally and exclusively for the sovereign Nigerian State, emphasising more of Nigerian content without any attempt to be sensitive to the local content."

The communique was signed by Chief Edwin Clark and 52 leaders drawn from Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Rivers, Bayelsa, Edo and Delta states who attended the meeting.

In attendance are: Air Commodore Idongesit Nkanga (rtd), Ambassador Lawrence Ekpebu, Chief Francis Doukpola, Chief Dixy Idaka, Gen. David Ejoor (rtd), Prof. B.I.C Ijomah. Gen. Idada Ikponmwen, Sen. Roland Owie, Alabo Tonye Graham -Douglas, Chief Tari Sekibo, Senator Fred A. Brume, Col. Wole Ohunayo, Mrs. Akon Eyakenyi and Essien Okon, among others.

In Abuja yesterday, some suspected Boko Haram members were arraigned at a Chief Magistrates Court.

According to the prosecuting counsel, Usman Jubril, the 36 suspects were accused of unlawful assembly.

In the First Information Report, the police told the court that all the accused were arrested in a truck on their way to Lagos from Kano.

They pleaded not guilty to the charges and were later granted bail.

The police told the court: "The suspects were arrested on their way to Lagos from Kano in Zuba, Abuja. When they were arrested, they could not give a satisfactory explanation about where they were going".

After taking their pleas, their counsel urged the court to grant them bail. The police did not object to the application.

The case has been adjourned to September 9.


Nigeria Transfers Borno Police Chief for Controversy Over Sect Leader's Death


[Report by Rotimi Akinwumi: "Boko Haram: Govt Redeploys Borno Police Commissioner"]

Borno State Police Commissioner, Christopher Dega, has been transferred out of the state following alleged complicity in the death of Mohammed Yusuf, leader of Boko Haram, the Islamic sect that visited violence on four Northern states last week.

Daily Independent gathered in Abuja on Wednesday that Dega was recalled to Force Headquarters on Tuesday and has been assigned duties at the Special Project Department with immediate effect.

Yusuf was allegedly killed by the police under the watchful eyes of Dega after the soldiers who captured him had handed him over for possible prosecution.

Inspector General (IG) of Police, Ogbonnaya Onovo, who visited Borno State in the wake of the crisis then denied the involvement of the police in the alleged extra-judicial killing, insisting that Yusuf was killed in a cross fire with the police.

The army authority, however, faulted the claim, saying Yusuf was delivered to the police hale and hearty after he was captured, insisting that the police killed him in cold blood.

President Umaru Yar'Adua on Tuesday directed the National Security Adviser (NSA), Sarki Muktar, to investigate the killing on July 30 of Yusuf, with a mandate to turn in his report this week.

Yar'Adua issued the directive on Monday when he met with heads of the security agencies at the Villa in Abuja on his return from Brazil.

On Tuesday, he disclosed at a joint press conference with visiting Benin Republic President, Boni Yayi, that his administration remains committed to the rule of law but he would refrain from taking "precipitate" action until he receives Muktar's report.

He described the mayhem and the killing of Yusuf as "a very serious matter," saying it is important to get all the facts before taking further action.

Yar'Adua promised that once he gets the report, he will "determine what actions to take, whether we need to carry out further investigations into the entire matter".


Sectarian Leader's Family Reportedly Threatens To Sue Nigerian Government


[Report by Michael Olugbode: "Boko Haram: Sect Leader's Family To Sue Police, FG"]

The family of the slain Boko Haram leader, Mohammed Yusuf, is spoiling for a fight after it emerged that his father-in-law, Baba Fugu Mohammed, was also killed in police custody.

THISDAY learnt that the family is threatening legal action against the police, the Federal Government and any other party linked to the death of the 72-year old man.

The family claims Mohammed voluntarily gave himself up to the Borno State Police Command last Friday when he heard that he was a wanted man.

But he allegedly did not come out alive.

Spokesman for the family and son of the deceased, Baba Kura Alhaji Fugu, told THISDAY in Maiduguri, that his father fled his residence when the sectarian crisis erupted.

According to Fugu, his father sought abode in his sister's home but turned himself in when he heard the cops were searching for him.

He said news came back to the family that he was killed and his corpse deposited at the morgue of the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH). He was later buried in a mass grave at an undisclosed location.

Fugu stated that: "the news of his assassination came to the family and we are surprised how he would be assassinated by the police and his corpse deposited at the UMTH mortuary on Friday and he would be buried in a mass grave on Saturday."

Fugu, the eldest son of Mohammed, revealed that his father was diabetic, hypertensive and had been on prescription drugs for over four years.

He further revealed that his father who had 27 children and 50 grandchildren was a close friend of Yusuf's father. Mohammed, he claimed, took charge of the leader of Boko Haram because the latter's father had before his death, appealed that he treat him as his child.

Fugu revealed that his father gave the land on which Mohammed Yusuf built his house and mosque. He also continually warned him against his anti-government, anti-Western education rhetorics.

Furthermore, Fugu stated that he had sent a petition on the activities of his brother-in-law to the Borno State government before the incident last week.

He showed a copy of the petition addressed to the governor through the secretary to the state government to THISDAY and accused the government of laxity.

The petition was titled "Threatening Situation to Peace and Security of the State posed by Mallam Mohammed Yusuf and his Disciples."

Part of the petition written on July 15, 2009 reads: "It could be recalled that few weeks ago, some members of Mohammed Yusuf's disciples had a logger-head with Operation Flush II team near the Custom Bridge in Maiduguri in which few of Yusuf's disciples sustained injuries.

"Against this background, since the occurrence of this incident, the group under the leadership of ill-educated Mallam Mohammed Yusuf is mobilizing both men and resources to retaliate the injuries inflicted on them by the said Operation Flush II team."

It further reads: "The spate of which most of his disciples both within and far flung of Maiduguri are paying allegiance and solidarity visits to their leader shows they are busy preparing to launch an offensive attack on members of the Operation Flush II stationed at strategic locations in Maiduguri. In addition to this, they are targeting many government agencies and departments such as courts, the state house of assembly, police stations and formations across the state, the university and other tertiary institutions. They are also targeting all the democratic institutions and political office holders."

In the letter, Fugu advised the government to take action by alerting all security agencies in the North-east region.

Meanwhile, it has been revealed that about 300 Christians held hostage by the Boko Haram leader were forced to denounce their faith and convert to Islam. Some of them narrated their harrowing experience to journalists after being released.

It was gathered that even after some were converted to Islam by their abductees, they were slaughtered.

One of the victims, Th omas Ali, who escaped said he was kidnapped by the sect and was forced to take a bath as a sign he had accepted Islam. He claimed his escape was miraculous.

One Emmanuel Ndah, who was also abducted said they were arrested by the sect on their way to visit a widow at her home. He said they were taken to the Mohammed Yusuf Camp. Their names gave them away as Christians right away.

They were thereafter asked if they were ready to denounce their faith. One Pastor George Orji encouraged them to stick to their Christian faith.

"It was his encouragement that kept us till the time we were released. The men outside killed so many of us Christians who were even forced into Islam. I could not say how I survived it but I made it by the Grace of God," said Ndah. But Pastor Orji never came out alive, he stated.

Also giving his testimony, one Okechukwu Nwankwo said he was abducted with his wife and children and was forced to wash up and accept Islam, which he did under duress.

Luckily, he was asked to leave. He however witnessed the death of Orji who was executed because he refused to cave in.

In another development, Governor of the state, Ali Modu Sheriff has said democracy has provided fundamental human rights on one hand. On the other hand, it has led to abuse, leading to incessant crisis in the system, he stated.

Represented by his Deputy, Alhaji Yuguda Dibal at a gathering of people from one of the most affected parts of the state, Sheriff observed that fundamentalists were abusing freedom by indoctrinating unsuspecting members of the public.


Nigeria: Court Grants Bail to 36 'Suspected' Islamic Sect Members


[Report by Esther Okugo: "Court Grants 36 Boko Haram Suspects Bail"]

The 36 suspected members of Boko Haram, who were last week arrested in Abuja, were on Wednesday arraigned before an Abuja Chief Magistrate Court by the Police. They were, however, granted bail by the court.

Chief Magistrate Binta Mohammed granted them bail in the sum of N1,000,000 [Naira] and two sureties each in like sum.

One of the sureties, according to the court, must be a civil servant not below the rank of Grade Level 7 and a fixed permanent address.

Alternatively, the suspects must produce a village head who must be recognized by the local government chairman.

The suspects, who were charged for unlawful assembly were also requested to provide a letter of undertaking to the court for verification before they could be releases on bail.

It was Abubakar Animiokhali from the law firm of John Erameh who moved and argued the bail applications on behalf of the suspected sect members.

He urged the court to admit his clients to bail since the offence for which they were brought to court was bailable.

Besides, he said they were ready to provide reasonable sureties and would not jump bail.

The police prosecution counsel, Ibrahim Usman (DSP) had, earlier raised objection to the bail application on the grounds that they could jeopardize investigations, which, he said was on-going.

Animiokhali told the court that his clients were businessmen and not members of the Boko Haram.

According to him, they were on a business trip before their arrest by the police.

But in her ruling, Chief Magistrate Mohammed agreed with the submissions of the defence counsel and granted the suspects bail.

She relied on the provision of Section 36 of the 1999 Constitution that deals with the presumption of innocence of an accused person until proven to the contrary by a court of law.

The case has been adjourned till September 9, 2009 for hearing.

It would be recalled that the police authorities in Abuja arrested the suspects in the early hours of last Friday in Zuba.

According to the FCT Command Public Relations Officer, Jimoh Moshood, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), the 36 men were arrested last Friday in two buses at an intersection in Zuba on the outskirts of the FCT.

Two of the men are Nigeriens with no specific means of livelihood. They claimed to be travelling to the South western part of the country in search of greener pastures.


Paper Criticizes Nigerian Authorities' 'Leniency' in Tackling Religious Riots


[Editorial: "After Boko Haram"]

The only new thing about the religious crisis that spread from Bauchi through Borno to Yobe, Kano and Katsina, was that it was by a sect hitherto unknown - Boko Haram.

Loss of indeterminate number of lives, the attacks on police stations, churches and innocent individuals was typical. The assistance the rioters got across Nigerian borders is another usual trait of these uprisings.

The sect that caused the latest in Nigeria's long list of religious riots is said to be opposed to Western ways of living, including education. Its members shun those ways and attack those who do not.

Nigerians are tired of riots. The fact they are rooted in religion should give the authorities some concerns about the liberties that are permitted under the guise of religion.

Granted that our Constitution permits freedom of worship, this provision does not allow the abbreviation of others' rights to worship whatever they believe in. In the same way, religious belief is not a reason to take the lives of those who hold contrary views.

The role of governments in these riots worries ordinary Nigerians. It is no longer enough to condemn them. Governments must monitor and maintain security in their domains. It is a constitutional and primary responsibility of governments to the people.

Mohammed Yusuf, the leader of Boko Haram was well known. The position of his sect was not a secret. The threats to attack institutions and individuals with different views of life were made publicly, yet there was no official response to them.

If security agencies acted proactively, they would have been able to forestall the riots and the losses they caused.

Nigerians would soon be bored with a post-mortem verdict of security lapse. Was that not the verdict given on last year's riots in Jos? When would the security agencies start living up to their responsibilities?

It is important that the roots of these riots are noted beyond the usual explanations that youth unemployment and religious fanaticism propel them. It is obvious that there must be some people sponsoring the riots. What are their motives?

Money would be required to mobilise the rioters and procure the arms they used. Their ability to secure those arms hints at compromises of security. The attacks on police stations and prisons to release their held members exposed the poor security of those places.

The authorities exhibit too much leniency in dealing with religious riots. This attitude is a dangerous precedent that can only encourage more riots. There should not be a different law for religious rioters and other criminals.

What would the security agencies learn from Boko Haram? What would be the attitude of the authorities towards improving security? Would they wait for the next riot before acting?

Religion has its place in society. It does not include taking others' lives if they do not believe differently. This standard must be impressed on all sects, in addition to stiff punishments for those who choose to disturb the peace.


Nigeria: Ulama, Sultan, Blames Politicians On Religious Crisis

AFP20090806696001 Kaduna KSMC Kaduna in Hausa 1720 GMT 31 Jul 09

["From evening news"]

The Council of Ulamas, Kaduna state chapter, has called for an urgent meeting between Muslim governors, Islamic organizations, and Ulamas, to fashion ways of dealing with un-Islamic groups in the country. This was contained in a communiqué after the council’s meeting in Kaduna. According to the communiqué, the proposed meeting would look at issues that border on the cooperate existence of the Muslims according to the teachings of the Quaran. It condemned the recent act of violence by the Islamic sect, "Boko Haram", and also blamed the government for not taking drastic action early enough to stop the activities of the group. They commended the house of representatives for its stance on the issue of the "Boko Haram" group.

Similarly, the Sultan of Sokoto, Sa’ad Abubakar, has warned Nigerians against making inciting comments on the current sectarian crisis in some northern states. He gave the warning when he led the northern traditional rulers to a meeting with their south-eastern counterparts in Owerri. The Sultan stressed that any defamatory comment in any part of the country could be misinterpreted and lead to breakdown of law and order. He said the current crisis was among Muslims, and regretted that some youths attacked police stations without any cause. He also lamented that the crisis was not unconnected with some "self-serving" politicians who may have caused this to "unleash terror on people".

[Description of Source: Kaduna state media corporation radio in Hausa -- Kaduna state government owned radio station]

Nigeria: Report Says Boko Haram Leader Lived False Life Contrary to his Teachings

AFP20090807619001 Lagos Newswatch in English 03 Aug 09 - 10 Aug 09 pp 12-18

[Report by Demola Abinboye and Sam Adzegeh: "Mayhem in Northern Cities"]

Members of Boko Haram, an Islamic sect, attack some Northern cities killing more than 1000 people

The attacks had all the ingredients of a well planned onslaught. Before Nigerians could fathom what was happening, the religious zealots who tagged themselves Boko Haram, meaning, "western education is a sin," had struck in four states - Borno, Bauchi, Kano, and Yobe, all in the northern part of the country. The attacks were simultaneous, between Friday, July 24 and Tuesday, July 28, 2009.

When the smoke from burning churches and mosques cleared partially, charred remains of hundreds of innocent citizens as well as those of the fanatics lay on the street. Guesstimates put the death toll between 1,000 and 1,400. Thousands of people abandoned their homes and moved to barracks which they considered safer.

The first theatre of war was the organization’s headquarters in Maiduguri, sprawled over four kilometers. The mayhem began in this ancient centre of Islam when a locally made bomb exploded in the home of one of the Islamic fundamentalists. It killed one and wounded many others. Thereafter, the militants, armed with home made hunting rifles, bows and arrows and scimitars, attacked police stations, churches, mosques, prisons and government buildings.

By press time on Thursday, July 30, guns still boomed in Maiduduri, the Borno State capital. There was a fierce battle the previous night between federal troops and the armed militants. Major General Saleh Maina, commander of the army garrison in the town, said that the fundamentalists were felled. Mohammed Yusuf, the leader of the sect, reportedly escaped with scores of his followers.

The man who taught his disciples to detest western education escaped in motor vehicles manufactured through western technology. He was reportedly sighted in a convoy of two jeeps heading towards the country’s border with the Chad Republic. But his deputy was unlucky. He was killed in the midnight shelling of the group’s headquarters by soldiers. However, by evening of last Thursday, the police in

Borno announced that Yusuf was dead. Isa Azare, spokesman for that command said: "He has been killed; you can come and see his body at the state police command headquarters."

Newswatch gathered that the sect leader was arrested by soldiers after he fled his organisation’s headquarters. He was picked up in a goat pen in his in-laws house in Maiduguri and handed over to the police. But few hours later, the police announced his death. The husband of four wives and father of 12 children was said to have been shot while attempting to escape from custody.

A source said that the casualty figures among the sect members numbered more than 500. "They are killing these people like chickens," he told Newswatch.

For a greater part of last week, Nigerians were awestricken especially the governors of the affected states. "Their plan was to attack everybody. Governors should brace up and clean their states of this rubbish," warned Isa Yuguda, governor of Bauchi State on Sunday, July 26, 2009 after the riot broke out in Bauchi, the state capital. But he had hardly finished this warning when the religious militants who were clamoring for the abolition of western education in Nigeria and the imposition of Sharia on all the states of the country struck almost simultaneously in Kano and Yobe States last Monday.

At least 43 people were killed on Wednesday in the clashes between security forces and the group in Yobe State. Not fewer than 41 persons, including a soldier and a police officer lost their lives during exchange of fire with the fanatics in Bauchi.

It was like Nigerians underrated Yusuf. Indeed, for many years, he has lived among the residents of Maiduguri without the people feeling any negative impact of his strangle Islamic teachings. It only took one week of bloodshed and wanton destruction of properties in Bauchi, Maiduguri, Gombe, Kano, and Portiskum for his true identity to be unmasked.

People who knew him said Yusuf that lived a false life and deceived his followers. Yuguda said that he was the opposite of what his followers believed he was. Speaking to journalists in Bauchi last week after a combined team of soldiers and policemen rescued the state from terrorism unleashed by the group, the banker-turned politician made a startling revelation:

"Imagine, their leader who is about 32 years old but he rides exotic cars including expensive jeeps, he has his children in choice private schools receiving sound and quality education, has private lawyers and doctors who treat and attend to him, yet he has the powers to indoctrinate people."

Mohammed Ali Ndume, minority leader in the House of Representatives and an indigene of Maiduguri, told Newswatch that Yusuf was known everywhere in the state. He revealed that the man had been

arrested twice by security agents in the state but released to continue with his business. "He should have been checked. The problem is that we are never serious about security issues in this country, otherwise the problem should have been nipped in the bud" he said.

The federal lawmaker also gave a vivid description of the kind of organisation Yusuf established and the strength of the army he had assembled. He said that the Boko Haram group was an assemblage of youths, some of who are school dropouts and unemployed university graduates. They have been indoctrinated to believe that their state of hopelessness was caused by government which imposed western education on them and failed to manage the resources of the country to their benefit.

He said that the group was also taught to believe that the only way out was to attack the government and its institutions and that whoever dies in the process would go to heaven. Members of the group were said to be armed with such modern sophisticated weapons as rocket propelled grenades, RPGs, and AK 47 rifles. They were trained in guerrilla warfare and had support from rebels from neighboring states.

"One of the unit commanders said that they had evidence that they had strong support from foreigners. But you see, the boys also had one other advantage; they were not afraid to die because of what they were taught to believe," Ndume said.

The strength of the religious fundamentalists is widely believed to be responsible for the high degree of success they achieved before they were flushed out in the respective towns they attacked. In Maiduguri, for instance, Newswatch learnt that the group mounted roadblocks and engaged a combined team of policemen and soldiers for three days. The situation was so unpredictable that the security agents had to call for reinforcement from the army formation in Jos and Bauchi.

Ndume told Newswatch that corpses of people killed in the process littered the streets without anybody picking them up for three days. He also expressed concern that epidemic might break out as the corpses decomposed and that hunger may also kill people as banks and market places remained closed. "The situation is getting critical.

"For three days, people could not come out because of the raging battle. Markets and banks remained closed. Supplies are running out and hunger will soon take over," he said. He expressed anger that President Umaru Yar’Adua who is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces travelled out of the country to Brazil at a critical time when major cities in the North were under attack and people were dying.

In Wudil, a town located about 45 kilometers from Kano, security operatives battled relentlessly with members of Boko Haram. Fifty five of them had been nabbed by Wednesday, July 29. This followed an attack by the sect on the police station in the town the previous day. Among those arrested was 14-year-

old Aisha Abbas, a female junior secondary school student of Maidoki Junior Girls’ Secondary School, who said that she was advised by her uncle to join the sect.

Salisu Al-Amin Aljasawi, believed to be the leader of the Yusufiyya sect in Kano State, however, escaped and was believed to have fled to Maiduguri to join forces with Yusuf, the overall leader of the movement.

Findings by Newswatch in Wudil showed that the sect members, numbering more than 300, mobilized in the Sabon Gari part of the town at about 2 am on Tuesday morning and headed for the police station located about two kilometers away from Aljasawi’s mosque and residence which served as the operational headquarters.

Using firebombs and other assorted weapons, they attacked the police facility, shattering the early morning peace of the chilly town. The attack was, however, repelled because the police had been in a state of readiness following security reports about the impending attack.

Baba Muhammed, public relations officer of the Kano State Police Command, showed Newswatch Wednesday, July 29, an assortment of weapons discovered when the police searched Aljasawi’s residence as well as his mosque. These included bows and arrows, daggers, knives, locally manufactured guns as well as materials for making bombs.

He said that the bomb disposal squad of the Nigeria Police Force, after proper analysis reported that the materials were made up of 75 per cent potassium nitrate, sulfur, 15 and charcoal 10, a composition powerful enough to cause extensive damage.

Newswatch learnt that three of the five sect members were killed during the assault on the police station while the two others, who had been injured in the fracas, died in police custody.

Sager Idris, the divisional police officer in charge of Wudil, was shot in the leg. Another mobile police officer sustained injuries. Muhammed said that the state government had ordered the immediate demolition of the residence of the sect leader as well as his mosque in Wudil. Barely two hours after his disclosure, a team of policemen, accompanied a bulldozer descended on the buildings and reduced them to rubbles.

Newswatch learnt that Aljasawi came from somewhere in Plateau State to settle in the town about nine years ago. Described as a very friendly person with an imposing presence, he set up his operational headquarters on a piece of land given to him by a wealthy woman resident in Kano.

Musa Adamu Garki, chairman of Wudil local government area, disclosed that Aljasawi’s mosque was a meeting place for adherents of the sect who used to stop over in Wudil on their way from Maiduguri to Kano. He said that the motive for attacking the police station in the town was to acquire weapons with which to launch a bigger offensive on other targets.

While in the town, Aljasawi was known for his penchant for making trouble. He had last year attempted to change the Friday Jumat prayers hour usually held at 2 pm. He was said to have summoned his followers to hold the prayers at 10 am. The attempt was frustrated through the intervention of the local government authorities as well as traditional leaders of the town. This fact as well as the attack in Wudil brought into question the seriousness of the Kano State Government to secure the state against such violent eruptions which have been recurrent in the state.

Adebayo Mikhail, special adviser on inter-community relations to Ibrahim Shekarau, the governor of Kano State, however, disagreed with such insinuations. He told Newswatch that the fact that the plan to attack the police facility had been discovered was a pointer to the readiness of the state government to forestall any outbreak of violence in the entire state.

On the dimension of the crisis, Mikhail said that he had been in contact with all the religious and community leaders in Wudil and that the attacks were not motivated by ethnic or religious sentiments. He argued that the sect members were simply misled in their opposition to western education since Prophet Mohammed himself had admonished his followers to seek knowledge to whatever length they could.

Throughout last week, Kano metropolis remained peaceful. The police had given an assurance that they were on top pf the situation. Adamu Abdullahi, the acting deputy governor of the state, condemned the sect for the violence in Wudil which he described as unwarranted and uncalled for. He commended security agencies in the state for promptly arresting the situation.

The situation was, however, different in Katsina State where members of the sect attacked a police station in Danja local government early Tuesday morning. The police rebuffed the attacks, and forced the invaders to flee and abandon a large quantity of petrol with which they had planned to burn down the station. Some of the sect members were arrested. Abdulmajid Ali, deputy commissioner of police, confirmed the development and said that arrangements were being made to fish out other members of the sect.

In neighboring Kaduna State, security agencies were put on red alert following the outbreak of the violence in Bauchi. Men of the Operation Yaki, the security outfit set up by Namadi Sambo, the state governor, immediately made their presence felt with the arrest of 21 persons suspected to be members of the sect.

Most of them were arrested in Badarawa, a thick populated suburb of Kaduna. Governor Sambo condemned the violence, saying that it was capable of truncating the nation’s democracy. He said that the federal government would do everything necessary to stem the tide.

The police in Sokoto State also arrested five persons on Tuesday, July 28, for allegedly planning to attack members of the public and security outfits in the state. Muhammed Umar, the state police public relations officer, said that the arrests followed the beefing up of security in the entire state in the wake of the violence. The five persons were arrested in the residence of one Kabiru Atiku, while holding a meeting during which they hatched plans to carry out the attacks. One of them is a former lecturer in the department of Islamic Studies, Katsina State University.

Shamsu Atiku, 16, another suspect, said that they were part of a group called Dawah, but added that he had withdrawn his membership of the organisation on his father’s advice. He said that he had come to the meeting to inform the other members of his decision to quit the group when he was nabbed.

Abdulrahman Abdullahi, 29, said to be the deputy leader of the group, disclosed that Dawah had 27 members. He admitted that they were against a secular state. Magatakarda Wamakko, the governor of the state, warned those who would breach the peace to stay away from the state. He said that the state was the most religiously tolerant in Nigeria.

Sources in Jalingo, the Taraba State capital, said that the situation in the state remained calm. Security has been beefed up all over the state. In Bauchi, the curfew imposed in the state capital from 9 pm to 6 am by Yuguda remained in force throughout last week. The governor said that such a measure was necessary to sustain security after the group was flushed out of the state capital.

Yuguda described the recent militancy in the northern part of the country as an act of terrorism that cannot be allowed to continue. He stressed that the problem was not regional but a national one and that there was the need for collaboration by all the 36 states in the federation to curb the problem. Describing members of the group as lunatics and people who have psychiatric problems, the governor said: "I alerted all the governors, particularly those in the north-eastern states because the fanatics have the capacity to threaten the peace of the country if allowed to continue or treated with soft gloves.

"Very soon, the Northern Governors Forum will meet to discuss the issue. I have discussed the problem with the chairman of the 36 governors’ forum and he will call for an emergency meeting. We are taking it up at the zonal and national levels and very soon, it will be a solved problem."

The governor added that the plan of the militants was to attack churches first so as to give an impression that it was a crisis between Christian and Muslims." By the time we demolished their houses, there was no single Holy Qur’an found there or in their possession."

The government announced that it had uncovered a plot by the terrorists to poison some major water sources in the Bauchi metropolis as part of their efforts to destablise government. Mu’azu Badara, the commissioner for special duties, who raised the alarm in a statement, said that the government discovered that the fanatics dropped a chemical substance in a well whish serves as source of water in times of pipe borne water scarcity to a rural community close to the metropolis. He revealed that the well was discovered during the demolition exercise of some houses belonging to the suspected fanatics at Fadaman Mada area within the Bauchi metropolis.

He said that the government had taken samples of the substance and water from the well for laboratory analysis. He added that the owner of the house where the contaminated well was located was at large. He, however, advised residents of the affected area not to use the water from the affected well and other sources of drinking water near the scene until thorough investigation is concluded.

There was pandemonium at the scene of the demolition exercise at the Fadaman Mada area when a substance suspected to be a hand grenade exploded while bulldozers were trying to pull down a house belonging to one of the suspected fanatics.

Sanusi Mohammed, a journalist who witnessed the incident, told Newswatch that people around the area took to their heels when the substance exploded, while mobile policemen who had accompanied the demolition team short randomly into the air, apparently to scare the fanatics and their sympathizers.

Moses Anegbode, assistant inspector general of police of Zone 12, told journalists that no fewer than 176 suspects were arrested in connection with the Bauchi mayhem.

Ilorin, the capital of Kwara State, north central Nigeria, remained peaceful last week as residents went about their businesses normally. Bukola Saraki, the governor, on Wednesday, summoned an emergency security council meeting where additional measures were ordered to prevent the spread of the crisis to the state. Saraki, Newswatch learnt, called on the security operatives, particularly the police to be extra vigilant particularly during the Jumat prayer last Friday.

Ben Duntoye, the state commissioner for information and orientation, told Newswatch that he did not envisage the spread of the crisis to the state. "As you can see for yourself, the state is peaceful and we have put in place measures to ensure that it did not spread to Kwara. While we commiserate with those who have lost their lives, we plead with those causing the problem to have a rethink and embrace peace," he said.

He is not the only one calling for peace. Ishaq Akintola, the director of Muslim Rights Concern, urged the perpetrators of the crisis to lay down their arms in the interest of peace. "As a religion of peace, Islam has spelt out in unambiguous terms acceptable modes of expressing dissent. Violence is not one of the options open to dissatisfied Muslims. On the contrary, those who engage in excessive display of aggression are condemned as associates of Shaytan (Devil)," he said.

In a statement issued on July 27, the national headquarters of the Jama’atu Nasril Islam, dissociated Islam from what it described as the "anti-Boko misguided group." It denounced the wanton killing of innocent persons as well as the destruction of property perpetrated by the group. "We call on all Muslims in the country to condemn these criminal activities and give maximum support to security agencies in preventing these misguided youths from attacking anybody or agencies in the country," Abdulkarim Mu’azu Palladan, acting secretary general of the organization said in the statement.

The Christian Association of Nigeria also condemned the violence, saying that the attacks were obviously premeditated. Jon Joseph Hayab, the publicity secretary, blamed security agencies for not detecting the plan. "If this is the way our security agencies work, we will continue to have multiple problems because they are not doing anything," he said.

Yinka Odumakin, national publicity secretary of the Afenifere renewal group, however, said that the sectarian violence in some northern states was a confirmation that the rating of Nigeria as a failed state is not an exaggeration. He said that for the perpetrators to have carried out their activities for so long without security agencies detecting them has "exposed the porosity of Nigeria’s intelligence network, the failure of governance and the escalation of the unresolved nationality question in Nigeria."

Odumakin said that his group had no problem with any section of the country opting for any civilization that suits them. "That is why we have been at the forefront of the campaign for the restructuring of Nigeria along federal lines in a conference of all ethnic nationalities. Every section of the country should be able to self-determine in line with the preference of their people. If any section of the country chooses nudity as its dress code in 2009, the rest of the country should accept their choice for as long as they are not forcing others to follow suit."

He said that his group was against people using weapons of death to canvass their civilization. "The challenge today for the hegemonies running Nigeria is to know that they can no longer run from renegotiating Nigeria. We must sit down and talk now." He called on the Talibans to lay down their arms and join others to press for a conference of all ethnic nationalities to determine the future of Nigeria.

[Description of Source: Lagos Newswatch in English - independent weekly news magazine]

Nigeria: Radio Tasks Leaders To Be Up and Doing To Curb Sectarian Crisis

AFP20090807614007 Abuja Radio Nigeria-Abuja in English 2100 GMT 05 Aug 09

[Commentary Examining the recent sectarian Clashes in the Northern part of the country written by Mohammed Bello -- presented by Nourah Mohammed]

Last week, a militant religious sect known as Boko Haram unleashed havoc on innocent citizens, public facilities, schools, and some police stations across some states in the North.

Worst hit were Bauchi, Borno, and Yobe States. In the wake of that violence, quiet a high number of people mostly followers of the sect died, casualties were also recorded among law abiding citizens and security agents.

The quick and prompt presidential directive to the security outfits brought normalcy to those areas.

Though, there have been strong condemnations from many quarters on Boko Haram act of terrorism, many Nigerians are still apprehensive that such occurrences have been happening rather too frequently.

Apart from Maitasine crisis in the 80’s in Kano, there had been other violent eruption of crisis of religious nature.

Members of the Boko Haram sect claimed to be Muslim and practicing the religion of Islam. Their names, places of worship do suggest that.

Their grouse is against western education and culture.

Many Muslims have asked some pertinent questions. Is the Islam been practiced by the Boko Haram sect, the same with the Islam practiced from the time of Prophet Ibrahim to the time of Prophet Mohammed?

Is the sect believed in conformity with Islam’s tradition of been a religion of peace, tolerance, compassion, knowledge-based, and a complete way of life?

Does fighting a Holy war in the cause of Allah involve unprovoked attacks against others? The Holy Quran is unambiguous about religion. It says in Chapter 2 Verse 256, "There is no compulsion on religion, verily the right path has become distinct from the wrong path."

Prophet Mohammed was quoted to have advised Muslim in the early days to seek knowledge at all cost at all times, and even far away locations.

In fact, the first Quranic verse revealed to Prophet Mohammed in the cave of Hirah was "read in the name of your Lord who created all that exists, who though man, writing by the pen."

It is not surprising therefore that [words indistinct] Islamic history from Middle East to Central Asia and sub Saharan Africa as well as some parts of Europe was a world where Muslim scholars and men of learning flourish.

They contributed in no small measures to science, astronomy, law, arts, architecture, algebra, and other sphere of human endeavor.

Islam as a religion had nurture and preserve the quest for learning for many centuries. The recent events in Northern Nigeria poses a great challenge to the Muslim community. Collectively, they owe it a duty to Islam and all Nigerians to maintain peace in the country.

It is incumbent on the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs to intensify its efforts to [words indistinct] and understanding in Islamic practices by generating goodwill from Muslims scholars, Friday sermons and teachings in Islamiyah schools.

The Boko Haram saga has underscored the need to further re-invigorate the nation’s intelligent services and also address the poorer security boarder posts in view of the suspected involvement of some foreigners in the sale and proliferation of arms in the country.

By and large, a nation’s marching quest for development is in the platform of seven point agenda cannot afford any form of instability with just 11 years to realize the Vision 2020, every citizen owes a duty to live a letter of his life under the provisions of the 1999 Constitution.

President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua has left no one in doubt as to his sincerity of purpose and forthrightness to put Nigeria on the path of development, the much we can do is to contribute positively, that is obviously not through sectarian radicalism or religious fanaticism.


Nigeria: Taraba State Police Intercept 50 'Suspected' Islamic Sect Members


[Report by Ossie Sunday: "Boko Haram 50 Suspects Arrested in Jalingo"]

Taraba State Police Command has intercepted about 50 people suspected to be members of the Islamic Fundamentalists, Boko Haram in Jalingo.

Daily Sun investigation on Thursday revealed that the suspects who include men, women and children and conveyed in a truck, were intercepted around Jalingo main market when trying to uphold some of their members before moving ahead at about 4:00pm by the joint patrol of soldiers and mobile police.

According to a reliable source at the police headquarters who pleaded anonymity the suspected sect members may be among those who fled from Borno after participating in the recent mayhem in Maiduguri and other northern states.

Confirming the arrest, the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Taraba State Command, Usman Isa Baba, revealed that recovered from the suspects were military uniforms, knivies and different charms. Though, he said as of now he cannot conclude whether they are members of Boko haram or not but the police are busy screening them to know their mission in the state.

He further added that some of them during the investigation confessed that they are coming from Jigawa State to Jalingo in search of odd jobs to enable them survive the present hardship.

He said already his command has alerted the office of the Inspector-General of Police about the development and it will continue to feed him with necessary information especially the outcome of their investigation for further action.

The DCP, therefore, appealed to members of the public to cooperate with the police in the state especially during the stop and search exercise in order to fish out the bad eggs in the society.


Nigeria: Religious Body Says Northern Governors 'Badly Managed' Sect Violence


[Report by Abu-Sadeeq Amokpa and Stephen Osu: "Boko Haram: CAN Accuses Governors, Security Agents of Cover Up Fifty Suspected Members Arrested in Jalingo"]�

Days after Northern governors threatened fire and brimstone against prospective perpetrators of sectarian violence in their domains, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Northern chapter, has descended heavily on the governors.

They were not the only people tongue-lashed yesterday over the Boko Haram mayhem that led to the death of over 700 persons and massive destruction of valuables in some Northern states.

The angry CAN leaders also blasted security agents for their conduct before, during and after the violence.

To them, the governors and security agents acted hypocritically over the bloodbath.

The leaders of the association bared their minds on the unpleasant development in an interview with newsmen shortly after their "appreciation visit" to the Niger State Governor and Chairman of the Northern Governors Forum, Dr. Babangida Aliyu, at the Government House, Minna, the state capital, yesterday.

The association's Assistant Secretary, Dr. Haruna Karatu, accused some of the 19 members of the forum of having a hand in the crisis, as collaborators of the leaders of the Boko Haram sect.

Besides, he alleged that some of the governors colluded with security agents to hasten the killing of the sect leader, Mohammad Yusuf, saying that they were afraid that he could reveal their secret dealings and spiritual relationship with him.

According to Karatu, the late Yusuf and scores of his followers were in close contact with some of the governors, who secretly contracted them as personal prayer warriors.

He said the governors, whose names he refused to disclose, abandoned the Boko Haram leaders to their fate, "when the crisis became full-blown and the governors' secrets were about to be revealed."

The Assistant Chairman of CAN, Rev. Umar Garba Dutse, however, stated that Moslem Ullamah and the Moslem community in the North should also take part of the blames for the Boko Haram violence, saying they did not monitor "negatively-minded immigrants from the neighbouring countries" who sneaked into Nigeria to perpetrate violence.

The CAN leaders who expressed regrets that the Moslem community in the geo-political zone was all too quick to embrace such foreigners in their midst, without investigating their background, argued that the slain leader of the Boko Haram group hailed from Niger Republic.

His words: "You see, the Moslems in the North have this attitude of embracing just any stranger who arrives in their midst, so long as he or she pronounces Allahu Akbar (God is most supreme). But they forget that it's not all the mouth that praises that are Moslems, let alone steadfast faithful.

"May be if the Moslem leaders in our midst had eschewed sentiment as to be mindful of finding out the background of strangers looking like faithful who appear suddenly from nowhere, may be the Boko Haram crisis would have been averted. If the truth must be told, even the leader of the group, Mohammad Yusuf was not a Nigerian. He came all the way from Niger Republic."

CAN Secretary, Elder Saidu Dogo, argued that the crisis was badly managed by the concerned Northern state governments and the security agencies.

In Jalingo, the Taraba State capital, 50 suspected members of the sect were arrested yesterday.

The Nigerian Compass gathered that the suspects arrived in the town in the early hours of the day through the Jalingo-Numan road when they were picked up at the Jalingo Main Market.

Shortly before entering the town, security operatives at the city gate quickly alerted soldiers on patrol in the city, an action which led to their arrest.

Seized from them were machetes, charms and military uniforms.

The Deputy Commissioner of Police, Malam Usman Isa Baba, confirmed the arrest.

"They denied any link with the dreaded Boko Haram, insisting that they were going to Iware, a Muslim town in Taraba for a wedding but, so far, they have failed to explain why they have military uniforms and weapons with them."


Nigeria: Christian Group Blames Government for Outbreak of Sectarian Crisis


[Report by Saxone Akhaine: "CAN Blames Northern States, FG for Boko Haram Crisis; Demands Rebuilding of Burnt Churches"]

Officials of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in the 19 Northern States and Abuja have faulted the Northern Governors on the decision to enact a law which will empower traditional rulers to regulate the activities of religious preachers, just as they blamed the federal and state governments in the region for the outbreak of the Boko Haram crisis.

Besides, the CAN leaders demanded the re-construction of the churches destroyed in the states where the Islamic fundamentalists, Boko Haram sect, unleashed violence and killed three pastors and eight other Christian worshippers.

Addressing a press conference in Kaduna yesterday, the Secretary General of Northern CAN, Elder Saidu Dogo pointed out that "since the incident, some northern leaders including the federal and the Borno state governments appear to be suppressing the facts of the violence as it affects Christians in Maiduguri and we feel it is imperative to tell the world about the callousness and barbarism that the Islamic sect meted out on Christians."

"The Boko Haram sect went about wielding dangerous weapons and abducting Christians to the enclave of their leader, Mohammed Yusuf in the name of implementing Sharia in Nigeria," he said, adding that, "they were forcefully converted to Islam after they were tortured."

According to Dogo "three pastors and eight other Christians who resisted the forceful conversion were beheaded on the order of the leader of the Islamic sect, while 20 churches were burnt by the fundamentalists. The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in the 19 Northern States is holding the Federal Government and the five state governments where violence erupted responsible for the mayhem, especially the Borno state government."

"The authorities in Borno State must be blamed for laxity in acting promptly on issues that have to do with security of lives and property. For instance, on Monday July 20th, this year, before the violence erupted CAN in Borno State had received information indicating that the leader of the Boko Haram, Mohammed Yusuf and his followers were brazing up for a show down. The following day, the CAN officials in the state alerted the appropriate security agencies, expressing their fears about the activities of the Islamic sect, but they were assured that the Christian community was not the target of the blood thirsty hoodlums."

Dogo also disclosed that "on the 25th of July, the governor of Borno State, Senator Modu Sheriff also came out to assure that the security of citizens was guaranteed and urged them to go about their normal duties. "However, to our greatest surprise, on the 26th of July, at about 11 pm, Christians and their churches were attacked by the Islamic fundamentalists as they set our churches and vehicles ablaze".

He said: "The federal government was equally aware of the existence of terrorist groups in the country. This is because long before now, the Director General of the State Security Services (SSS) had informed the nation of the existence of terrorist groups in the country. The federal government was aware of the existence and activities of these terrorists groups. The Federal government and other relevant authorities were adequately informed about the activities of these people. We also have had cause to alert the nation about the existent of these terrorist groups and their training grounds, but the authorities did not take us seriously. In fact, a prominent traditional ruler in the North who travelled to the United States denied that there are terrorists in Nigeria. Indeed this violence in Maiduguri, Bauchi, Kano and Potiskum has vindicated the SSS and CAN in the Northern states."

The Northern CAN, therefore, demanded that the Federal Government and the Borno state government "immediately rebuild the churches that were destroyed during the violence in Maiduguri".

"We are extremely worried about these frequent attacks on Christians and their churches in the north and it is our prayer that this madness should be nipped in the bud before t he younger generations who are watching this callous behaviour decide to take the laws in their hands," the CAN officials added.

"The government must address this issue of Sharia which is being implemented in some of the northern states seriously. Since the introduction of Sharia, the northern states have increasingly become a hotbed for religious and ethnic crises. Thousands of people have lost their lives in bloody religious crises in the North," they added.

Meanwhile, the Northern CAN Publicity Secretary, Reverend Joseph Hayep who also spoke on the decision by the 19 Northern Governors to regulate religious preaching through the traditional rulers in the north said that the governors would not succeed in their mission because religious activities cannot be placed under the bureaucratic control of government.


Nigeria: NGO Rejects Yar'Adua's Order To Probe Killing of Islamic Sect Leader


[Report by Yetunde Oyegbami: "Group Faults Probe of Boko Haram Leaders Execution"]

A non -governmental organization [NGO], Access to Justice (AJ) has rejected the probe ordered by President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua into the killing of the leader of Boko Haram, Mohammed Yusuf.

Speaking at a press conference in Lagos yesterday, the Executive Director, Access to Justice, Mr. Joseph Otteh said the Security Adviser lacked the legal competence and power to undertake the "quasi -judicial assignment."

Joseph noted that the Security Adviser is a retired military officer whose balanced judgment could not be guaranteed.

"There is nothing in the manner that the President intends to investigate this that assures this inquiry will be impartial, independent, open and thorough," he said.

"A security adviser cannot exercise the power necessary to reach the truth of how the death of a much vilified criminal suspect came about; he cannot compel the witness, order the production of evidence, protect witness from prosecution and take evidence scrutinized by cross examination," he said.

Otteh further said that President Yar'Adua had allowed the reign of a culture of impunity and lawlessness within the police to continue in spite of his avowed rule of law policy, stating that many lives had continued to be lost to police brutality, torture, sexual violence and deliberate executions.

He also called on the Police Service Commission to place on suspension all the policemen involved in the reported killing of Yusuf.

The group urged the new Inspector General of Police, Mr. Ogbonna Onovo to demonstrate that he will not condone further extra judicial killings in the force and set the police towards a new culture of respect for human rights.


Nigeria: Police Arrest 50 'Suspected' Islamic Sect Members in Taraba State


[Report by Ibe Uwaleke and Charles Akpeji: "Police Arrest Suspected Boko Haram Sect Members in Taraba"]

About 50 suspected members of Boko Haram Islamic sect have been arrested by the Taraba State police command.

The suspects, made up of both sexes, as well as children, are presently undergoing interrogation at the command headquarters in Jalingo, the state capital.

A senior police officer told The Guardian that the suspects were arrested at about 5pm yesterday on their way "from either Kano or Jigawa State to Taraba State."

The suspects, he added, "were arrested at the Jalingo central market in a truck covered with tarpaulin by the military/police joint patrol team.

Confirming the arrest, the state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Musa Aliyu, through his deputy, Usman Isa Baba, told journalists that the arrested suspects were presently undergoing "screening" and promised to speak with journalists afterwards.

He said: "It is true our men intercepted these people, but we are still trying to get information from them. Some of them claimed that their mission to the state was to search for menial job's, while some claimed to be sorcerers."

Meanwhile, the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has commended the Presidency for ordering law enforcement agencies to investigate the circumstances surrounding the death of Mohammed Yusuf, the leader of the sect.

The Presidency had in the wake of widespread condemnation of the alleged summary execution of Yusuf and some of his members, ordered a probe into how he and his members were killed.

Reports had it that the Operation Flush captured Yusuf alive and handed him over to the police, but he was found dead the next day in police custody.

BOTh the military and the Police have been trading blames over who was responsible for the death of the sect leader.

NBA was among groups, institutions and individuals that condemned his killing, describing it as ex-judicial murder, which is unconstitutional and against global best practices.

Justifying its stance on Thursday on the issue, NBA President, Mr. Oluwarotimi Akeredolu (SAN [Senior Advocate of Nigeria]), who spoke in Lagos said the action of the law enforcement agents in killing Yusuf "was most unfortunate and a violation of the constitution."

According to him: "Everybody has a right to life and according to the constitution, the only way one's life can be eliminated is where there is a judicial pronouncement to that effect."

He said any other means applied to eliminate somebody, which is not within the laws, was unconstitutional and condemnable, adding that no matter the crime a person must have committed, a judicial process must still have to be applied to solve the riddle.

Akeredolu further stated that, it is the courts that should determine the proper punishment to be meted out to any suspect, no matter how heinous his crime was, whereby it is the same courts that can award prison sentences or death penalty, where appropriate.

He revealed that a number of police stations carry out extra judicial killings every now and then, particularly the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) of the Nigerian Police, noting that some people who the police regard as armed robbers may not actually be so.

He regretted that they are shot at and killed without arresting, investigating and charging them to court for the judiciary to confirm who they actually are.


Nigeria: Authorities relax curfew in northern Nigeria's Bauchi State

AFP20090808011003 Nigerian Tribune Online in English 08 Aug 09

Authorities relax curfew in northern Nigeria's Bauchi State

Text of report by Nigerian Tribune website on 8 August

[Report by Ishola Michael, Dipo Laleye: "Boko Haram: Yuguda Relaxes Curfew; Fear Grips Niger Residents -Police on Red Alert"]

As normality gradually returns to Bauchi State after the smashing of the Islamic sect, Boko Haram, penultimate Sunday, the dusk-to-dawn curfew imposed on the state capital has been relaxed by the state government from the initial 9.00 p.m to 6.00 a.m, as it will now take effect from 12 midnight to 6.00 a.m.

This new development was contained in a release signed by the Permanent Secretary, Special Services, Abdu Aliyu Ilelah and made available to Saturday Tribune on Thursday.

The release said that, "latest reports from security agencies in the state indicated that the security situation in Bauchi metropolis and its environs since the recent unfortunate sectarian crisis has improved considerably.

In view of this new development, coupled with appeals from several quarters, government has decided to relax the curfew imposed on the metropolis, while the curfew will now operate from 12.00 midnight to 6.00am."

The state government also appealed to the public to remain calm and go about their normal businesses, assuring that government is taking necessary measures to ensure maintenance of peace, law and order in the state.

It will be recalled that the Boko Haram violence that started in Bauchi on July 26 spread to other states of Yobe, Borno, and Kano, leading to the killing of people and destruction of properties.

Despite the fact that normality is gradually returning to the affected states, security operatives are still searching for the fleeing members of the sect who have vowed to re-group and launch their attack on security operatives.

The crisis which started in Bauchi State, was quickly nipped in the bud through the assistance of both police and military deployed to overpower the group.

Saturday Tribune gathered that the sect's members have targetted some important public buildings and individuals for destruction, should they have succeeded in launching their jihad in the state.

Also, fear gripped residents of Minna, the Niger State capital, on Friday following speculations that members of the Boko Haram Islamic sect planned to unleash terror on the state.

Most of the residents received text messages advising them to remain indoors from noon when members of the sect were expected to begin to strike.

As a result, some of members of the public did not go out of their houses. Those who did returned quickly. The police moved out their men to strategic locations in the city to ward off any trouble.

Also, mobile policemen loaded in not less than eight trucks moved round the city. The state Commissioner of Police, Mr Michael Zuomoukor, told Saturday Tribune that the force was aware of the text messages being sent to members of the public and assured that the police were ready to deal with anyone who attempted to foment trouble.

"Niger is the most peaceful state in the country and we will not compromise its security," Zuomoukor said, adding that people should go about their lawful businesses.

In the meantime, the police on Friday arrested three armed robbery suspects who sneaked into Minna from a town in the eastern part of the country.

Zuomoukor, who confirmed the arrest, said sophisticated weapons were also seized from the suspects who, he said, would be charged to court after investigations were completed.

[Description of Source: Unidentified Source in English ]

Nigeria: Report Says 30,000 Nigerians Killed in Violence

AFP20090810686006 Port Harcourt The Neighborhood in English 10 Aug 09 P4

[Unattributed report: "Report Says 30,000 Nigerians Killed in Violence"]

The International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety), a human rights group, has said that over 30,000 Nigerians may have been killed in various violence in the country between 1999 and this year.

"We have observed that over 30,000 Nigerians might have died since 1999 or in the past 10 years, as a result of extra-judicial killings, assassinations and sectarian violence.

"While over 5,000 citizens lost their lives to the Onitsha Traders Association [OTA] and the Bakassi Boys killings in Anambra State between 1999 and 2002, 3,500 persons were reportedly killed in Abia State under similar circumstances and periods.

"Over 1,500 others were believed to have been killed in Imo, Ebonyi and Lagos states by the Bakassi Boys and the Odu'a People's Congress [OPC]. More than 150 prominent Nigerians had been assassinated since 1999 by politicians and Nigeria's security forces," stated the group.

In a report signed by its Chairman, Emeka Umeagbalasi, the group said over 20,000 Nigerians have died in the hands of religious extremists and over-zealous government security forces.

Those who died in the hands of the security forces, according to the report, included victims of Odi, Zaki Biam/Tiv massacres and the recent Niger Delta military invasions.

In the Jos religious crisis of late 2008, for instance, it said "About 700 persons were reportedly killed, though the Nigerian authorities claimed that about 300 persons were killed." Also, the highly disputed 2007 general elections in Nigeria reportedly claimed about 300 lives, it said, citing Human Rights Watch reports.

It said the grand summary of the report is that till date, the perpetrators of the killings so highlighted, are still on the prowl with impunity.

These, it said, have resulted in "the entrenchment of a consociation democratic culture in Nigeria," which it defines as "a democratic system with deep-rooted animosity, deepening ethnic or sectional divisions, economic backwardness, corruption and selective justice."

It decried unending violence targeted at non-Moslems by various Islamic extremists in Nigeria and said it was condemnable.

"The leaders of the Boko Haram and other religious fundamentalist movements are deceiving their followers. The tagging of the so-called 'Western Education' as sacrilegious, is totally false and a product of ignorance," echoing the views of Moslem scholars in the country.

According to it, "History has shown that apart from Egypt being the headquarters of Arabism/Islamism, it is also the origin of the world ancient university, the Egyptian System Mystery Schools, where the philosophy which gave birth to today's university disciplines originated.

"The modern world's oldest university, Al-Ahzar University of Cairo, which was built in 970AD, is also located in Egypt. The division of days into seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks and months originated from the Egypt and the Babylon or Iraq, before their transformation into the Gregorian calendar," it noted.

It, however, condemned the extra-judicial killing of the leader of Boko Haram, Ustaz Yusuf, by the police.

[Description of Source: Port Harcourt The Neighborhood in English -- Privately owned daily]

Nigeria: Retired Army Officials Reportedly Trained Cults Involved in Sect Crisis


[Unattributed report: "'Boko Haram Members Trained by Soldiers'"]

The level of military sophistication exhibited by the Boko Haram cult has been traced to the military training they allegedly got from retired military men.

Nigerian Tribune reliably gathered from a retired military officer, (name witheld), who was contacted for recruitment, that key people associated with the sect approached him and some of his colleagues to train members of the sect.

The retired soldier, who currently works with a company in Zamfara State, when asked why he refused the offer, which he said was juicy, said he refused to be enlisted in a project that could dismember the country.

"In spite of the shoddy treatment we were -- and are still being given -- I remember we fought a war to keep this nation one. How could I then be involved in a move that could break up this country? That singular thought prevented my taking the sect's offer," he said, adding that other demobilised soldiers had taken up the training offer.

The recruitment, he disclosed, was done in the North among retired soldiers, who were already disenchanted with how they were being treated.

The demobilised soldiers were said to have trained them in military tactics, which resulted in the level of difficulty the military authorities had in tackling them.

The Federal Government had expressed surprise at the level of resistance by the Boko Haram cult.

Contacted, the Force spokesman, ACP Emmanuel Ojukwu, said he had no such information at his disposal yet.

The group was founded in 2002 in Maiduguri by Ustaz Mohammed Yusuf. In 2004, it moved to Kanamma, Yobe State, where it set up a base called "Afghanistan", used to attack nearby police outposts, killing police officers.

Yusuf was hostile to democracy and the secular education system, vowing that "this war that is yet to start would continue for long" if the political and educational systems were not changed.

In Bauchi, the group was reported to have refused to mix with local people. The group includes members from the neighbouring Chad Republic and who speak only Arabic.

Boko Haram opposes not only Western education, but also Western culture and modern science as well. In a 2009 BBC interview, Yusuf stated that the belief that the world was a sphere was contrary to Islam and should be rejected, along with Darwinism and the theory that rain comes from water evaporated by the sun.

In July 2009, the Nigeria Police started investigating the group, following reports that the group was arming itself. Several of its leaders were arrested in Bauchi, sparking off deadly clashes with Nigerian security forces and the estimated deaths of, at least, 700 people.

In Yobe State, fighters reportedly "used fuel-laden motorcycles" and "bows with poisoned arrows" to attack a police station. On 30 July, allegations were made that Yusuf himself was killed by Nigerian security forces after being taken into custody.

Prior to the clashes, many Muslim leaders and, at least, one military official had warned the authorities about Boko Haram. Those warnings were reportedly ignored.


Nigeria: NGO Faults Formation of Panel by Yar'Adua To Investigate Sect Violence


[Report by Akeem Nafiu: "Boko Haram: NGO Denounces Administrative Panel"]

A Human Right Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), Access to Justice (AJ), has denounced the setting up of an administrative panel by President Umaru Yar'Adua to probe the recent unrest in some parts of the Northern states occasioned by the Boko Haram Islamic militants.

The organisation's position was made known by its executive director, Joseph Chu'ma Otteh, while speaking at a one-day workshop on public interest litigation aimed at expanding individual rights and social justice held at the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, University of Lagos, Akoka.


Nigeria: Ethnic Leader Faults Yar'Adua for Visiting Brazil Amid Sect Violence


[Report by Taiwo Oluwadare: "Boko Haram: Yar'Adua Blasted for Brazil Trip"]

Following the violence that erupted in some Northern states of Nigeria by some sectarian religious groups, Co-ordinator of Ijaw Monitoring group, Comrade Joseph Evah took a swipe against president Yar'Adua as a care-free leader for traveling amidst the crisis to Brazil.

"Was Yar'Adua in the country? The country was burning; Yar'Adua was playing football in Brazil. Yar'Adua is a disgrace to this generation. Because of his heart problem, he didn't travel to Brazil the other time. Now, thousands of people are dying. He could not abort his traveling. We should be ashamed of him.

He said the amnesty granted to the militants must be reciprocal, saying "it is not the duty of the federal government to give us amnesty, we are also to give federal government amnesty because they have polluted our environment. But yet, government is not serious.

The money government is coming up with about 15 billion or 16 billion Naira is for the PDP to rig the election. We are talking about employment but they are talking about something else. Thus, you will agree with me that the federal government needs spiritual deliverance. We want our people to work. But they are after bribing to rig the elections. I want all Nigerians to agree with me that any other violence that comes from Niger-Delta, you hold the federal government responsible.

From the materials you put on, textile products cannot come out without petrochemical industries. Without it, you cannot have tyre industies and other products that come from it. If the federal government and oil companies are not involved in this amnesty. We are telling the oil companies not only to lift oil but do what they do in other countries. Why don't you clear bushes in Niger-Delta and provide industries for us to engage our idle brains in Niger-Delta?

He said "we are doing our best. I give scholarships. According to him, we should go into private development schemes. I give scholarships in my community and other communities. What we are saying is that our environment is destroyed. There is no economic activity in our environment. The way oil companies are polluting our environments, they should provide alternatives as they do in Saudi Arabia, Dubai and other areas. If you don't make our Niger-Delta to be like Abuja, no oil company will operate.

The children in the womb are more deadly than our generation. If you don't do what we want, no amount of amnesty is acceptable to us as far as is this generation is concerned. Government doesn't want to even involve oil companies in amnesty."


Nigeria: Former Taraba Governor Denies Involvement in Islamic Sectarian Violence


[Report by Stephen Osu: "Nyame: I am Not a Member of 'Boko Haram' Senator Condemns Killing of �Sect's Leader"]

Afraid that security agents might rely on the rumour that he was a member of the Boko Haram sect to clamp down on him and. his loyalists, former Taraba State governor, Rev. Jolly Nyame, has denied membership of the deadly sect which wreaked havoc in some states in the North for one week.

He declared that as a law abiding citizen, "I cannot directly or indirectly do anything that will amount to the breach of law and order and this is the only reason I and my political associates had to put off a meeting earlier scheduled for my country home in Zing town."

The former governor stated this while addressing journalists at his residence on Jolly Nyame Way, Jalingo, the state capital in response to an earlier suspension of all political meetings in the state by Governor Danbaba Danfulani Suntai which many believe was an action by the governor to frustrate the ambition of his predecessor, a move that has further worsened the crisis between the duo.

The belief in the North-East state is that the story of his perceived membership of the sect is being spread by those opposed to him to ensure his arrest.

Nyame, the self-acclaimed godfather of Taraba politics, also used the forum to declare that he and members of his group are law abiding citizens and can never do anything that will jeopardise the peace of the state. "We have no link and will never have any link with the deadly Boko Haram sect."

The governor said before the meeting, he wrote to the police commissioner for permission but the police boss replied that he did not have enough men to provide security at the venue. "Because of this, we turned the meeting to a dinner and this was communicated to the police commissioner."

He said he decided to obey the law of the land not because he was afraid of the governor but because of the situation in the land.

His words, "I am still powerful and even more powerful than when I was in government. As you can see, the calibre of people I have around me is enormous. Ahmed Yusuf is here even as the governorship candidate of Action Congress. Njika Njobdi, Danlaadi Baido, two former Speakers of the House of Assembly, former deputy governor, Uba Maigheri and Senator Ikenya. I think everybody can agree with the fact that I am still powerful.

"Look, if we had decided to go against security, the state command of the police cannot contend us but with this calibre of people and myself as the former chief security officer of the state, we can never do anything that will jeopardise the law and order of the state.

Meanwhile, the Senator representing Taraba South district, Joel Danlamin Ikenya, has condemned the killing of the sect's leader, Muhammed Yusuf.

He urged the Inspector-General of Police, Ogbonnaya Onovo, to bring the officers involved in the killing to book.

The Chairman, Senate Committee on Commerce said: "The Nigerian Army said Yusuf was captured alive but the police said he was killed in a shoot-out. The IGP must investigate the killing. If he were to be alive, Yusuf would have provided useful information to security agents that will help to curb fundamentalists' excesses but now, that is not going to be."


Nigeria: NGO Takes Census of Boko Haram Sect Members Widows


An NGO [Non Governmental Organization], the Nigerian Widows and Orphans Foundation, yesterday began registration of women who lost their husbands in the Boko Haram mayhem in Bauchi State.

The chairperson of the foundation, Sa’adatu Opomo, said that the association had already registered 50 women who lost their husbands in the July 26th crisis.

She said the exercise would also covered children and orphans adding that the headcount was designed to compile a comprehensive data of affected widow and their needs.


Interior Minister Blames Unemployment for Sectarian Violence in Northern Nigeria


[Report by Njadvara Musa: "Minister Blames Sectarian Crisis on Unemployment, Others"]

Minister for Interior, Dr. Shettima Mustapha at the weekend blamed the recent sectarian violence in some parts of Northern Nigeria on unemployment and qualitative education.

He stated that the four Northern states of Borno, Yobe, Bauchi and Kano affected by the Boko Haram sect crisis had not done enough in terms of creating jobs and quality education for the masses.

The minister made the observations at the weekend in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, while condemning the Boko Haram sectarian crisis when he visited Governor Ali Sheriff of Borno at the Government House.

He said: "We are here today in Borno to sympathise with the people and relations of the killed sect members. Violence and taking to arms to champion one's religion were, however, not the root causes, as claimed by some traditional and religious leaders in the country."

Shetimma further disclosed that the truth about the Yusufiyya sectarian crisis, which claimed many lives and property, was that "the governors of the four affected states in North, however, failed to address the unemployment and educational problems they had been facing since independence." He stated that the incorrect interpretation of the Holy Quran by the religious sect was, however, not the root cause, but the irresponsibility of the elected leaders to provide more jobs and qualitative education to their people.

He therefore urged Sheriff to go back to the drawing board to identify the true causes of the mayhem, instead of attributing the religious crises on the sect members' taking to arms to fight the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) administration and security agents.

He said even though security reports were made available to the governor on the activities of the sect leader, Mohammed Yusuf, since 2004, the state government, however, failed to take any proactive measures that could contain Yusufiyya sectarian activities in Borno and three other states in the North.

But Sheriff in his welcome address said that the intervention of the military and the joint patrol team of Operation Flush II, had assisted a lot in quelling the violence.

While denying that unemployment, illiteracy and poverty, as the main causes of the Boko Haram, he disclosed, that 90 per cent of the sect members were educated, who either shunned government employment and job opportunities or shredded their university degree and National Diploma certificates, as mandatory conditions of joining the Yusufiyya religious sect.

He said about 455 of the sect members in Maiduguri alone also sold their houses and other property in funding the dangerous religious sect, maintaining that his administration would not condone any criminality against his administration and the people that elected him into office.


Nigeria: Taraba State Police Chief Confirms Arrest of 71 Islamic Sect Members


[Report Charles Akpeji: "Police Arrest 71, Release 38 Suspected Sect Members in Taraba"]

Police Commissioner in Taraba State, Musa Aliyu, yesterday confirmed arrest of 71 members of the Boko Haram sect, contrary to the 50 reported in the media.

While journalists were informed last week that about 50 suspected members of the sect were nabbed in the state by a joint military/police patrol team, the commissioner confirmed that the arrested members were 71.

"Seventy-one suspected members of the Boko Haram sect were arrested by a joint military/police patrol team in a Daff driven by one Idi Adamu from Darazo Local Council of Bauchi State," the police chief said.

He disclosed that 33 of the suspected sect members have been released after thorough investigation "because we found no single evidence against them."

According to Aliyu, police boots, army uniforms, assorted dangerous weapons, among other crude implements were found in the possession of the remaining 38 suspects whom he said "will be taken to either Maiduguri or Bauchi for proper interrogation because those are the places where the crisis took place and it will be easy for them to detect if the suspects are among those wanted."

Taraba State, he said, is not the ideal place for the trial of the suspects as the crime was committed outside the state.

On the alleged Boko Haram school located in Jalingo, the state capital, the police commissioner said his men are making strident efforts to arrest the proprietor of the school, Sadiku Abdulkadir, who is presently at large.

The commissioner, who spoke with newsmen at the command's headquarters in Jalingo, urged the people of the state to go about their duties as police are working round the clock to sustain the already existing peace and stability in the state.

He admonished parents and guardians to caution their children and wards on the need to desist from acts capable of jeopardising the calm atmosphere presently being enjoyed by all and sundry.


Nigeria Orders Security Agencies To 'Overhaul' Intelligence Gathering System


[Report by Madu Onuorah, Kelechi Okoronkwo, Inem Akpan-Usoh and Olayinka Olagoke: "Security Agencies Get New Order on Kidnapping, Sectarian Crisis"]

Security challenges thrown up by the recent Boko Haram crisis in some northern states, rising cases of kidnapping and arms smuggling across the country have been taken up by the Federal Government.

Shocked at the quantum and nature of weapons recovered from the Islamic sect's den in Maiduguri, Borno State and the ease with which the members carried out their activities, the government has ordered the nation's armed forces and security agencies to overhaul their intelligence gathering system.

The agencies that have reportedly received the government's directive, according to police and defence sources, are the Directorate of Military Intelligence (DMI), the State Security Service (SSS) and the Police.

It was also learnt that paramilitary outfits such as the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) and the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) are to go beyond their routine functions, especially to check influx of aliens and arms proliferation in the country.

Consequently, the heads of such security agencies have been asked to organise refresher courses for their personnel on proactive measures to nip such crises in the bud.

The move is also allegedly directed at ensuring that the gains of the ongoing amnesty offer to militants in the Niger Delta are not eroded by "profiteers" of the crisis, who might want it to continue by instigating violence in the region.

The SSS yesterday may have taken the lead in the update of its personnel with intelligence gathering skills when at a training workshop in Abuja yesterday, it directed the operatives to be more proactive in their functions to prevent the outbreak of violence and sectarian riots in any part of the country.

Although no reference was made to the government's order, the SSS leadership identified the issues of security as the most challenging in the country.

The outfit directed security officers in the North to tilt their intelligence towards indicators of sectarian violence, clashes between herdsmen and farmers and smuggling while their counterparts in the South were asked to watch out for militants' activities like kidnapping, hostage-taking, arms proliferation and armed robbery.

Addressing participants of the Executive Intelligence Management Course 2 (EIMC-2) yesterday, the Director-General of SSS, Mr. Afakriya Garzama through the Director of Administration, Mr. Uzoma Akuma, said it was high time security personnel updated their intelligence skills through regular researches and studies to have an edge on the perpetrators of criminal and violent activities.

Forty-one senior members of staff drawn from the National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), the Nigeria Police, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and the SSS are participating in the six-month intelligence course of the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) inaugurated yesterday.

According to Garzama, the training was designed to enable the participants to understand the need for collaboration between the community and the security agencies.

Akuma, who also spoke in his personal capacity, said the success of any security scheme depended on the intellectual capital of the group's commander and the ability of the security agencies to collaborate in the discharge of their duties.

"The sector that is faced with the greatest challenge in the country is the security sector. Therefore, we the security personnel should always update ourselves...for the security personnel serving in the South-East, South-South and South-West. Their concern should be on armed robbery, militancy, armed proliferation and thuggery. For those working in the North, the concern should be on religious intolerance, smuggling and clashes between herdsmen and farmers," Akuma said.

From Garzama's speech, which he delivered, he said: "Security today is about governance and it is a key for public good. Its efficient management by the services that constitute the national security infrastruct ure is a central component of good governance. The complications and sophistication of the security challenges in Nigeria dictate the need for the security sector actors to appreciate and understand the need for collaboration at both strategic and tactical levels.

"The power of intellectual capital of the commander helps define the competence and professionalism in managing and co-ordinating intelligence for directional purposes. The development of the power of critical thinking by individual security officers by reading books and updating their professional skills is important for adding value in the discharge of their mandate for different services...it is what you learnt after you have learnt it that counts...not your degrees," Gazarma said.

Meanwhile, the Federal Government Committee on Amnesty, Disarmament, Demobilisation and Rehabilitation of Militants has said there is no truth in the reports linking the death of a militant leader, Mr. Woki Godswill, alias Kitikata, to the ongoing amnesty programme.

Minister of Defence, Maj.-Gen. Godwin Abbe (rtd), also said there was no way the Joint Task Force (JTF) could be involved in the killing of Kitikata as they had specific instructions not to shoot at anyone unless in self-defence. He noted that since the count-down to the 60-day amnesty, he had not received any incident involving the JTF and any militant or group.

He also asked Nigerians to be wary of some elements who would want to derail the implementation of amnesty package because of their gains from the violence and instability in the region.

Abbe, who was on his maiden visit to Defence Headquarters as minister, said it would be foolhardy to believe that those benefiting from the killings and insecurity in the region would lie low.

He said: "When Mr. President declared amnesty, JTF had specific instructions not to shoot at anyone unless in self-defence. And since the commencement of the 60-day countdown on the amnesty (implementation), the response from most of the militants has been most encouraging and we think that we are making fantastic progress and we are going to succeed by the grace of God.

"But as a nation, we should not be unmindful of those who may be against the survival of our country. And it will be foolhardy for anyone to believe that there will not be a few people who have not been benefiting from these killings and insecurity in the Niger Delta region. These ones will not fold their arms. They will rather wish that the confusion and the killings continue.

" I want you to be rest assured that the amnesty granted by Mr. President is unconditional. It is real. It is a deal of faith between Mr. President and this country. There is no hidden agenda. He just wants peace in this country so that, that part of the country can be developed. And whatever ills, whatever grievances the Niger Delta people have can be addressed in a constitutional manner, in a manner that will bring lasting solution to the problem..."

The Media Co-ordinator of the Amnesty panel, Dr. Timiebi Koripamo-Agary, said in a statement that the body would not in any way implement any cash for arms programme "as being alleged by some," adding that rumours that some militants were being paid for arms they had surrendered were incorrect.

Koripamo-Agary said: "There is no truth whatsoever in the story that the late Kitikata was on his way to an arms collection centre to surrender his arms when he was ambushed and killed. He was indeed engaged in a confrontation with security forces sometime in April 2009 during which he sustained injuries and died as a result of those injuries at the weekend.

"While we are sad that any youth should lose his life at this time, it is necessary to inform the Nigerian people that the confrontation between him and the security forces took place about three months before the proclamation and commencement of the amnesty programme. Therefore, those who have tried to link his death with the amnesty programme are being unfair and deliberately m isinforming the Nigerian public."

Meanwhile, the slow space being experienced at arms collection and registration centres may not be unconnected with the meeting of the President with the leaders of the militants.

This view was expressed by the Akwa Ibom State Co-ordinator of Federal Government Amnesty Implementation Committee and Permanent Secretary, Deputy Governor's Office, Michael Eyoh, yesterday in Uyo.

He expressed the hope that by the end of the meeting, the camps would experience the influx of militants, noting that at the end of the parley, more terms would have been reached between the Presidency and the militants.

The state government has ordered immediate police patrol of Ekpene Ibia community in Uruan Local Council following attacks on the area by suspected kidnappers whose ring leader, Asuquo Etetim, has been arrested by the police.

The Deputy Governor, Patrick Ekpotu, handed down the order when he visited the community alongside the Assistant Commissioner of Police, the council chairman, Dr. Eventus Edem and the paramount ruler, Edidem E.B. Ekamem, to assess the damage by the vandals.


Nigeria: Borno Governor Denies Allocating Land To Deceased Islamic Sect Leader


[Report by Gbenga Akingbule: "I Never Gave Land to 'Boko Haram' Leader, Says Borno Gov"]

Governor Ali Modu Sheriff of Borno State yesterday denied ever giving Mohammed Yusuf, the late leader of the Islamic sect, Boko Haram, any plot of land in the state.

Boko Haram, the religious group that preaches against western education and civilization, unleashed mayhem in some Northern states in which at least 800 people were killed late last month.

Sheriff was alleged to have allocated 80 kilometeres of land to Yusuf for farming but which the latter turned into a training ground for members of his sect in various camps. It was also alleged that attempts by security agents to prevail on the governor to revoke the allocation were rebuffed.

But Sheriff declared that the allegation was not only baseless but "very malicious."

Speaking through the Secretary of the Borno State Government, Ambassador Ahmed Baba Jidda, the governor said he was not aware that "Yusuf had even a plot of land in the whole of Borno State, not to talk of Maiduguri. Eighty Kilometres of land will almost be the entire stretch between Borno and Yobe states. In fact, it will be more than five local governments put together. So, where will the Governor get such a large expanse of land and what excuse would he give for giving out such? Let anybody who claims that Yusuf had any piece of land anywhere in the entire state come out with the evidence."

Ambassador Jidda explained that when the report "attributed to a faceless security source came to our attention, the governor ordered the relevant ministries to check their records and bring the documents.

"It turned out that the land in question which was the headquarters and camp of the Boko Haram sect near the railway station in Maiduguri belongs to Yusuf's father-in-law, Alhaji Baba Fugu Alhaji Mohammed, the same man in whose house he went to hide when the heat was turned on him after he had set Maiduguri ablaze.

"According to the documents from the Ministry of Land and Survey, it was acquired in 1973. Where was the Governor in 1973 and where was Yusuf? If he died at the age of 39, it then means he was a mere five-year-old-boy by 1973 and remember he was not an indigene of Borno."

The SSG further explained that: "From available records, Alhaji Fugu made an application for the grant of a right of occupancy on January 20, 1973, an application which was granted by the Borno State Commissioner of Works and Housing on January 23, 1978. The instrument was registered as No 218 at page 218 in Volume 6 (Certificates of Occupancy) of the Lands Registry in the Office at Maiduguri and the land in question is 1.173 hectares. The Certificate of Occupancy No is NE/1422. In fact, Alhaji Baba Fugu personally signed to say that he received the original title deed on January 31, 1978. All the documents are there and most of those who were in charge then are alive, so these facts can easily be cross-checked. And if the governor did not give the man any plot of land, how could the security people prevail on him to revoke a non-existent allocation as being reported?"


Nigeria: Investigators Interrogate 'Suspected' Members of Islamic Sect


[Report by Isa Umar Gusau: "Investigators Grill Sect Suspects, Visit Trouble Spots"]

Fourteen investigators who arrived Maiduguri from the Criminal Investigations Department of the Nigeria Police headquarters in Abuja to probe the recent crisis in parts of the north have interrogated suspected members of the Boko Haram sect who are in custody at the state police headquarters, security sources told our correspondent yesterday.

The investigators, led by a commissioner of police, Adeola Adeniyi, recorded statements of the over 40 suspects.

The detectives have also visited some areas that were most affected during four day crisis that erupted in parts of Borno State, leading to the death of over 700 people including policemen and soldiers.

The team which came to Maiduguri on Sunday was said to have visited the destroyed Ibn thaimiya, which used to be the residence of the late leader of the sect, Malam Mohammed Yusuf which also served as enclave of the sect at Unguwar Doki near the railway terminus in Maiduguri on a fact finding mission.

Sources also said the team also visited the Maiduguri new prisons and numerous police stations and other public buildings that were destroyed during the crisis spread across Gamboru, old Maiduguri, Low cost, Kasuwan Shanu, Abbaganaram, Galadima among other parts of Maiduguri Metropolitan Council and Jere Local Government Area.

It was gathered that the team is likely to visit Potiskum in Yobe State and parts of Bauchi where similar crisis involving the sect members and security men took place and will likely re-interrogate suspects in police custody. It was not clear if the team is visiting Kano or whether a different team would be deployed by the force headquarters.

President Umaru Yar'Adua had ordered a comprehensive probe into the crisis which began in Bauchi on Saturday 25th July, 2009 and spread to Borno, Yobe and Kano the following day. The crisis lasted four days in parts of Borno during which soldiers battled the sect members.


Nigeria: Yar'Adua Orders Investigation Into Killing of Religious Sect Leader

AFP20090805578003 Abuja Nigeriafirst in English 1509 GMT 04 Aug 09

[Unattributed report: "Death of 'Boko Haram' Religious Sect Leader Under Probe"]

President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua has ordered an investigation into the alleged killing of leader of the fanatical religious sect Boko Haram and the events that led to the recent religious unrest in some parts of the country.

At a joint news briefing he held on Tuesday August 4 with his counterpart from the Benin Republic, Mr Boni Yayi, at the end of the bilateral talks at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, President Yar'Adua said government will act decisively on the findings.

The President will get the report in one week.

President Yar'Adua explained to the nation that at a security meeting on Monday which he summoned shortly on arrival from Brazil, he directed the National Security Adviser with other security agencies "to carry out a post-mortem of the recent religious unrest and the events that unfolded as a first step towards during the crisis".

The President said the investigation is expected to review how Malam Mohammed Yusuf, leader of the Boko Haram religious sect was killed and the circumstances under which he was killed.

"We will examine this report to determine what actions to take; whether we need to carry out further investigations into the entire matter because it is really a very serious issue. I have been emphasizing since this administration came into power on our uncompromising stand for the rule of law. Everybody in this country and all officials are aware, clearly ad unambiguously, on the stand of this administration on the issue of rule of law", the President said.

President Yar'Adua also explained further that it was not in the best interest of the nation for hasty decisions to be taken in such sensitive matters

"Things like this when they happen, you do not rush to take precipitate actions. We first try to investigate, confirm and make sure that we get to the facts as they happen.

"Now this is the action I took as soon as I came back from Brazil yesterday. I met with all the security agencies and decided on this cause of action".

[Description of Source: Abuja Nigeriafirst in English -- Website of the Nigerian Government Office of Public Communications; URL: http://www.nigeriafirst.org]

Nigeria: Official Says 'Unemployment' Responsible for Recent Sect Violence


[Report by Chibuzor Emejor: "NDE Boss Blames Boko Haram Mayhem on Unemployment"]

Director General of the National Directorate of Employment (NDE), Abubakar Mohammed, has observed that youth unemployment and poverty were responsible for the recent destruction of lives and property by the Islamic sect, Boko Haram, in some northern states.

Mohammed stated this when he led the management of the NDE to inspect and assess the extent of damage of the agency's office complex, vehicles and other vital documents in Maiduguri, one of the centres of the mayhem.

He expressed sadness over the unfortunate incident that resulted in the burning of the ground floor of the directorate's office complex, four operational vehicles, and administrative records.

The DG wondered why the agency saddled with the responsibility of creating jobs for the unemployed populace should be the target of Boko Haram's attack.

He, however, commended the staff of Borno office for their resilience and dedication to duty in spite of the un-conducive environment they have been exposed to.

Earlier, the state Coordinator of NDE, Wakil Kalanga, had narrated how some members of the religious sect camped in the NDE office for four days.


Nigeria: Detectives in Borno State to Probe Boko Haram Leader's Death

AFP20090815614006 Abuja Hot FM in English 11 Aug 09

Fourteen detectives from the criminal investigation department of the Nigeria Police Force have arrived in Maiduguri, Borno State in compliance with President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua’s directive to probe the sectarian crisis in Borno State.

The team which is led by a commissioner of police, Adeola Adeniyi, is expected to conduct full investigation into causes of the crisis and whether or not the leader of the Boko Haram sect was executed by the police as widely reported.

President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua last week stated that the federal government could not take action on the alleged extra judicial killing of the Boko Haram leader, Yusuf Mohammed, until an investigation is conducted on the issue.

However, calm has returned to Borno State after days of violence that claimed hundreds of life.

Meanwhile, Sokoto State Police Commissioner Mohammed Abubakar says his officers and men were still at alert after the recent Boko Haram religious uprising in some Northern states.

Abubakar told newsmen in Sokoto Monday that intelligence officers have been deployed on foot patrol in the metropolis and the local government areas.

He explained that their duty was to monitor the conduct and behavior of the people.

The police chief said mosques, banks, markets, and other public places have also been provided with sufficient personnel to effectively mange the security situation.

Abubakar added that the command would continue to evolve security strategies aimed at improving security in the state.

Abubakar assured the people that the police were ever ready for action as far as maintaining law and order in all parts of the state with concern.


Nigeria: Boko Haram Vows To Continue Religious War

AFP20090815606002 Abuja Punch in English 14 Aug 09 p 1

A new twist has emerged in the Boko Haram crisis, with the new leadership of the sect threatening to launch attacks that would make Nigeria ungovernable. The group, which claimed to have ties with Al Qaeda and its leader, Osama bin Laden, said it would wipe out non-Muslims and turn Nigeria into an Islamic state. In an email to Punch, titled, "We speak as Boko Haram," the Acting Leader of the group, Mallam Sanni Umaru, said the sect was opposed to Western civilization. Umaru said the sect had started a Jihad to ensure what he described as "the rule of the majority Muslims" in the country. He wrote, "We will teach Nigeria a lesson, a very bitter one. From the month of August, we shall carry out series of bombings in Southern and Northern Nigerian cities, beginning with Lagos, Ibadan, Enugu, and Port Harcourt. The bombing will not stop until Shari’a and Western Civilization is wiped off from Nigeria. We will not stop until these evil cities are tuned into ashes."

But speaking at a news conference in Lagos on 14 August, Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka has described the current effort by the federal government to address the Boko Haram uprising in some states in the North as "a flight into escapism." Soyinka explained that until the core issues bordering on "corruption, inequality, social injustices and the lack of educational opportunities, religious intolerance and arrogant claim to interdict the dissemination of religious beliefs in some part of the country are addressed," Boko Haram would continue to be a recurring event in the polity.

Umaru said the killing of their leader, Mohammed Yusuf, "in a callous, wicked, and malicious manner will not in any way deter us. They have lost their lives in the struggle for Allah." According to him "Boko Haram lost over 1000 of our martyr members killed by the wicked Nigerian army and police mostly of Southern Nigeria extraction; that the Southern states, especially the infidel Yoruba, Igbo and Ijaw infidels will be our immediate target." Umaru refuted the common belief that Boko Haram means "western education is a sin." "Boko Haram actually means ‘Western Civilization is forbidden.’ The difference is that while the first gives the impression that we are opposed to formal education coming from the West, that is Europe, which is not true, the second affirms our belief in the supremacy of Islamic culture [not Education], for culture is broader, it includes education but not determined by Western Education."


Nigeria: Religious Sect Leader Vows To Continue Waging Religious War


[Report by Joseph Ushigiale and Segun Awofadeji: "Boko Haram: We're Ready for Battle, New Leader Says Soyinka Links Crisis to Prevailing Impunity"]�

The emergent leader of the controversial Boko Haram religious sect, Sanni Umaru has vowed to continue waging a religious war "in Nigeria which no force on earth can stop." Umaru in an e-mail sent to newsrooms said his group's aim "is to Islamise Nigeria and ensure the rule of the majority Muslims in the country," adding that "we will teach Nigeria a lesson, a very bitter one."

But speaking at a news conference in Lagos Friday, Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka has described the current effort by the federal government to address the Boko Haram uprising in some states in the North as "a flight into escapism." Soyinka explained that until the core issues bordering on "corruption, inequality, social injustices and the lack of educational opportunities, religious intolerance and arrogant claim to interdict the dissemination of religious beliefs in some part of the country are addressed," Boko Haram would continue to be a recurring event in the polity.

In the statement, "We Speak as Boko Haram", Umaru outlined a six-point agenda which he said the sect is ready to unleash on both the Northern and Southern parts of the country beginning this month.

According to him: "from the Month of August, we shall carry out series of bombing in Southern and Northern Nigerian cities, beginning with Lagos, Ibadan, Enugu and Port Harcourt. The bombing will not stop until Sharia and Western Civilisation is wiped off from Nigeria. We will not stop until these evil cities are turned into ashes."

Umaru said the killing of their leader, Mohammed Yusuf, "in a callous, wicked and malicious manner will not in any way deter us. They have lost their lives in the struggle for Allah."

According to him "Boko Haram lost over 1000 of our martyr members killed by the wicked Nigerian army and police mostly of Southern Nigeria extraction; that the Southern states, especially the infidel Yoruba, Igbo and Ijaw infidels will be our immediate target."

Meanwhile recent statistics released by the Bauchi State Police command reveal that death toll in the recent religious disturbance in the state has risen to 52. Spokesman of the State Police Command, ASP Muhammad Barau, confirmed that the number of the sect's members killed during last month's clash with the police in Bauchi metropolis has risen to 52.

Police had earlier announced that 39 people were killed in the clash which erupted when members of the sect attacked a police station in the state capital on a Sunday morning. The crisis was to later spread to other neighboring states of Borno, Yobe and Kano.

The state police public relations officer said the death toll rose following the death of 13 additional members of the sect who previously sustained life threatening injuries during the crisis and were receiving treatment at the state's specialist hospital in Bauchi

He said the victims were given mass burial to prevent the possible outbreak of an epidemic after their families failed to come forward to claim their bodies for burial.

Umaru refuted the common belief that Boko Haram means "western education is a sin." "Boko Haram actually means 'Western Civilisation is forbidden.' The difference is that while the first gives the impression that we are opposed to formal education coming from the West, that is Europe, which is not true, the second affirms our belief in the supremacy of Islamic culture (not Education), for culture is broader, it includes education but not determined by Western Education."

Soyinka who spoke during an interactive session with newsmen in Lagos said he was "worried by some satanic language which tend to lull society into a sense of insecurity," adding that "Boko Haram and other ambiguities of anti-humanistic offences are a grab-back of other anomalies of the realism of our existence."

Citing serveral cases of religious crises mostly in the North that culminated in scores of deaths, Soyinka noted that "in all these incidents both government and the citizenry had exhibited complacency in the matter of extra- judicial killings".

The Nobel Laureate stated that "I abhor all forms of extra-judicial killings and there is no evidence of a rigorous attempt by government to pursue the killers and everyone went to sleep and these again went

unchallenged. So these are the root causes of Boko Haram where language of appeasement has been used to encourage it or these things are happening with government's tacit support."


Nigeria: Report Says Borno Governor to set up Preaching Censors Board

AFP20090815619004 Lagos TheWeek in English 10 Aug 09 - 17 Aug 09 pp 27-30

[Report by Sunny Nwankwo: "A Controversial Death"]

Muhammed Yusuf, the Controversial leader of the Boko Haram Sect is killed under controversial circumstances after being captured by the military. But will his death end sectarian crises in Northern Nigerian?

After five days of terror unleashed upon the northern region of Nigeria by an Islamic sect that he single-handedly built with the vile of his tongue and suspected charm of his esoteric wizardry, Muhammed Yusuf the self-styled leader of the infamous Boko Haram Islamic Sect had met his waterloo in the arms of the security forces.

He was killed along side hundreds of his other followers, even though many others had been on the run on hearing that Yusuf the mighty baobab of his invincibility was suddenly picked up in a goat pen and shot dead.

Although the Boko Haram Leader’s death had raised a dust of controversy within and outside the country where in extra-judicial killings were being alleged, the people of Maiduguri and environs had heaved a heavy sigh of relief about his demise. However, following international outcry, President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua is said to have ordered a probe into the death of the militant leader.

Even though his suspected disciples have hitherto faced the wrath of the raging police which is leaving no stone unturned to see that the Boko Haram sect members are extinct once and for good. The arrest and killing of a former commissioner in the Ali Sheriff first term, Alhaji Buji fai, had really shocked the entire state.

Fai who was a former commissioner for religious affairs had suddenly resigned his appointment in 2007, gave up political life and devoted his time to the promotion of the Boko Haram sect’s ideology and his little business. He was said to have been one of the chief financiers of the sect until his death.

Upon hearing of the killing of their leader, Fai took to his heels and the police were said to have trailed him to his village in Fai, where he was a political figure, but was said to have been rejected by those whom he had been their benefactor. He returned to Maiduguri and on a tip off, the police surrounded him in one of his buildings where he continued to engage the security team with fire until he ran out of bullets.

He was simply picked up and chained. He demanded that he must see the state governor. The curious commander of Operation Flush took him to the government house but unfortunately the governor was not in the office. He was then taken to the police headquarters where he was shot.

Meanwhile, impeccable sources from within the security team who participated in the operation that led to the arrest of the dead Sect leader, revealed that Muhammed Yusuf was actually arrested, riddled alive and even interrogated before he eventually faced summary execution in the hands of the angry police and soldiers who had allegedly riddles his body with about 100 bullets.

During the brief interrogation, unremorseful Yusuf defended his order that his men should arm themselves and even make explosives. According to him, "that is the only way I can defend myself from you the police and soldiers who are after my life."

Though the killing of Yusuf has given the tormented residents of Maiduguri and environs some degree of rest of mind and assurance that the nucleus of the sect had been busted, a fresh controversy had since crept into the way and manner the sect leader was killed.

The Human Rights Watch led by Eric Guttschuss has demanded an investigation in to what they described as the extra-judicial killing of Muhammed Yusuf in police custody, which they described as "shocking example of the brazen contempt by the Nigerian police for the rule of law."

Other right activists added that the Nigerian authorities must act immediately to investigate and hold to account all those responsible for this unlawful killing and any others associated with the recent violence in northern Nigeria.

This allegation had set the men of the Nigerian police and the army against one another as they tried to clear themselves of the alleged extra-judicial killing.

Colonel Ben Ahanotu, who commanded the military operation against Boko Haram, claimed that he personally captured Yusuf, who was met unarmed and he gave himself up willingly, "All I know is that in the attack, I was able to pick him up from his hideout and handed him over to police," he told the BBC. "I asked him why he did what he has done and his response was that he would explain to me later. But he was OK. As I got him alive, I handed him over to the authorities."

But the police Deputy Inspector General Operations, John Ahmadu, had earlier told the Nigerian Television Authority that Yusuf had been "killed by security forces in a shoot-out while trying to escape". A policeman reportedly said that Yusuf "pleaded for mercy and forgiveness before he was shot."

When journalists tried to probe further into the alleged killing of the sect leader while in custody, the state Commissioner of Police Christopher Dega, told journalists at a press conference that actually Yusuf was handed to them by the military, but "he could not make it because he sustained bullets wounds during a shootout."

In a related development, shortly after the killing of Muhammed Yusuf, his father-in-law, Alhaji Baba Fuu gave himself up to the police when he suddenly appeared at the state police command headquarters and declared: "I am Baba Fu’u, the father-in-law of Muhammed Yusuf.

According to police sources, he confessed to have been the sole arms importer to the sect members. He contributed both his land and houses for his son-in law to build his mosque and provided hostels for their increasing members. As at the time of filling this report it could not be confirmed whether the father-in-law was alive or had been killed.

Due to the enormity of the battle that took better part of concluding days of July, the Chief of Defense Staff, Air Vice-Marshall Paul Dike and the Inspector General of Police Mr. Ogbonna Onovo had to fly into Maiduguri to give a first-hand assessment of the situation.

The two top security chief were conducted round the town where they witnessed the destruction that took place within the five days of war between a blinking sect members and the government security forces. As at the time the CDS and the IGP visited the Boko Haram enclave, the entire place leveled by earth movers while remains of over 1000 burnt motorcycle and several cars belonging to the sect members were seen.

Meanwhile the state governor, Ali Modu Sheriff had hurriedly convened a meeting with all popular Ulamas (Islamic cleric) on the need to establish a high powered committee for the censoring o all Islamic preaching and crusades in the state. This is meant to avoid the future recurrence of the last week’s experience where a notorious religious sect, led by the 39 year-old Yusuf, wrecked havoc that claimed the lives of nearly 700 in the wake of the madness.

At the meeting that held in the multi-purpose hall of the government house, Sheriff who had on Friday July 31, 2009 met with all the district and village heads in the state and read a riot act to them stressing that all of them should go back to their respective domains and seek out any one suspected to be members of the illicit sect and hand them over to the police; and failure to do so, such district or village head stands to lose job if the police goes into their domain and arrest a confirmed member of the Boko Haram sect.

Also at the meeting with the Islamic clerics, the governor said that it was high time all stakeholders in the state sat down and brainstormed on the ways to curb the re-emergence of individuals like the late Muhammed Yusuf, "who had brought us pains, sufferings and destructions last week."

Sheriff said a bill for the establishment of the Preaching Censors Board is already on its way to the state assembly, hence he said that all the 27 council areas of the state must provide at least three renowned and knowledgeable Islamic clergies who will be part of the board.

Even though normalcy had returned to the city of Maiduguri and commercial activities had since picked up, with banks, hospitals and other government and private agencies opening their business offices, the fear of the likely regroup of the dislodged sect members, still trouble the minds of many in the state.

It is even more upsetting to many residents when some of the women groups and wives had threatened to pick up the fight from where their dead husbands left it. "This goes to show that this people are really dogmatic and they can still fight back a fierce retaliation most especially as they believe that if they die in this way they will go to paradise," said one Aliyu Baba, a school teacher in Maiduguri.

But top security officials maintained that the women were only fooling themselves and that most of the sect members actually depend on their dead leader Muhammed Yusuf and his second-in-command, Bukar Shekau, who were both killed in the fight.

"But with the destruction of every structure that represent their so-called spiritual headquarters located at Bayan Quarters area of Maiduguri, the sect members at large have no better preoccupation before them than to keep running and hiding until we catch up with them," the Police Public Relation Office, Isa Azare, said.

The state police commissioner, Christopher Dega, had in a press briefing, urged members of the Maiduguri metropolis to go about their normal business life as normalcy had been restored. He noted that members of the public should be conscious of their security and try to observe the ongoing curfew until when the security situation is fully guaranteed.

The killing of Mohammed Yusuf means the end of a paradigm in the Islamic sectional ideology. THE WEEK magazine has been able to look into his past from those who know him well. And it was said that he was a son of an Islamic scholar and was born somewhere in a remote village of Yunusufari before he moved to Potiskum where he started his divisive life as Tsangaya Quranic teacher.

His family later moved to Maiduguri where he at a point joined the Shiite Movement which he later abandoned. Those who knew him said he later became the Amir (spiritual leader) of Shahabul Islam a sect that tried to differentiate itself from the Izalatul Bidya Wa Iqamatul Sunna (IZALA) Movement.

Within the Shababul Islam sect, he was later asked to leave the popular Ndimi Mosque where he used to deliver sermons, for his negative attitude towards acquisition of western education. He them moved to Nguwan-Doki where he continued with his kind of preaching before he finally moved to where his present enclave which he developed to become a headquarters.

He was also said to have visited many parts of the United Arab Emirate and neighbouring countries like Chad, Cameroon and Niger. An on several occasions denied admission into the University of Maiduguri and the University of Medina for lack of prerequisite papers and background. Some said this formed part of his hatred for western education which he later transferred to become the philosophy of his sect the Boko Haram (western education is prohibited).

[Description of Source: Lagos TheWeek in English - independent weekly news magazine]

Nigerian Police Evict 3,500 Members of Islamic Sect in Niger State


[Report by Aisha Wakaso: "3,500 Islamic Sect Members Evicted in Niger"]

Following the warning by the Niger State Government to the Federal Government of a base in Mokwa for Islamic sect, 3, 500 members of the sect most of whom are from neighbouring countries of Niger, Chad and Cameroon, among others, were yesterday evicted from the camp by the police. The women covered themselves with black veils, while the men were in white clothes.

It took over 1,500 combined team of armed policemen from the Niger State Command and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

THISDAY gathered that the policemen from the two commands invaded the area together with immigration officials acting on the directive from the Presidency.

The Presidency, it was also gathered, took the decision to avoid a similar problem with that of the religious crisis of the Boko Haram in some northern states which resulted into loss of lives of hundreds of Nigerians.

The combined team of Immigrations officers who were there to collate data and asertain the foreigners among them while the police searched and evacuated men, women and children from the place.

THISDAY also gathered tht the team of policemen commenced the operation at about 4 am with eight lorries. The fundamentalists were relocated to Government Technical College, Mokwa for their initial camping pending government's next line of action.

Speaking in an interview, the Commissioner of Police for the Niger State Command, Mr. Mike Zuokumor, described the raid as successful without any casualty recorded on both sides.

He disclosed that the immigration officers who had already commenced the screening of the members to determine those who are Nigerians would ensure that the illegal aliens among them are repatriated.

According to him, "We have received series of report about the activities of the sect from the neighbouing communities, the local government and the emirate. Most people have been expressing apprehension concerning the activities of the group and it is our duty to ensure law and order.

"Some people have said their family members are forcefully held by the sect and wives are forcefully exchanged and that the people act without recourse to constituted authority."

He disclosed that the police would conduct its investigations and charged the people to court if needs be.

He regretted what he described as poor medical healthcare of especially the children in the camp and high mortality rate particularly as according to him; the sect is against the immunisation against the five child killer diseases.

Zuokumor also disclosed that no weapon was found on them when a house to house search was conducted, but maintained that the police had to expedite action following complaints by members of the community in which the sect reside.

The leader of the sect, Amrul Bashir Abdullahi, while speaking in an interview with THISDAY at the camp, disclosed that he had been living in the area before the police invasion since the past 17 years.

He denied the allegations that the sect never believed in Western education or Western medicine.


Nigeria: Islamic Group Threatens To Attack Lagos, Ibadan, Enugu, Port Harcourt


[Report by Daniel Alabrah, Sola Balogun, Samuel Olatunji and Sunday Ani: "We'll Bomb Lagos, Ibadan �Boko Haram; Police Beef-Up Security; They'll Meet Their Waterloo OPC; Don't Provoke Igbo Ikedife"]� �

You wake up early in the morning in Lagos and head towards Victoria Island from the mainland, only to discover that the Third Mainland Bridge had been cut off by Islamic jihadists.

In Ibadan, also in the South West, the rampaging insurgents have struck, cordoning off the State Secretariat after the governor had sat down in his office.

The South East had equally been cut off from the rest of the country with the bombing of the Niger Bridge, and Aba Road and Diobu in Port Harcourt are in flames, sending jitters down the spines of government officials and the security agencies across Nigeria. Like before, there was warning by the sect members but no one took them serious until they struck.

This is the ugly scenario stalking the nation with the latest threat of the Boko Haram sect to inflict mortal injuries on the cities of Lagos, Ibadan, Enugu and Port Harcourt beginning from this month of August. Their targets - Yoruba, Igbo, Ijaw - whom the sect described as infidels.

This time around, the nation might ignore the latest threat to its peril if the chilly scars of the 9/11 terror attacks are anything to go by. In an electronic mail statement to the media, the new leader of the group, Mallam Sanni Umaru, warned: "We have started a Jihad in Nigeria, which no force on earth can stop. The aim is to Islamise Nigeria and ensure the rule of the majority Moslems in the country. We will teach Nigeria a lesson, a very bitter one.

"From the month of August, we shall carry out series of bombings in Southern and Northern Nigeria cities, beginning with Lagos, Ibadan, Enugu and Port Harcourt. The bombings will not stop until Sharia is established and western civilisation wiped off Nigeria. We will not stop until these evil cities are turned to ashes."

The Bokom Haram bombshell is coming two weeks after the fundamentalists struck in four states in the North, namely Bauchi, Kano, Yobe and Borno, killing scores before their leader, Ustaz Mohammed Yusuf, an alleged financier of the group, Alhaji Buji Foi, and close to 1000 members were felled by the combined force of the army and police.

Already, the police authorities have placed their men on read alert and have beefed up security at strategic areas across the country.

In a telephone interview with Sunday Sun, Lagos police command spokesperson, Mr Frank Mba, said the command was not aware of any formal threat from the radical Islamic group but that they have put in place security measures to prevent the Borno kind of attack from happening in Lagos.

"I am not aware that such a formal notice was issued. However, no state is in isolation. Since the event in Borno occurred, the command has been putting security measures in place to prevent such attack. The first thing we did was to call meeting of religious and tribal leaders to prevent ripple effect.

"We have also deployed undercover operatives to sensitive areas. We have engaged what we call high visibility policing. That is a measure where police men are everywhere. The armoured vehicles, police cars, stop-and-search are part of the high visibility policing we are talking about.

"There is also a special team monitoring movement of people in and out of the state. I want to assure people that Lagos is safe and it will continue to be safe. Lagos is not a fertile ground for such activity," Mba said.

The leadership of Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) reacted angrily to the threat with a stern warning to the religious fundamentalists to stay off Yorubaland or meet their waterloo. Both the OPC founder, Dr Frederick Fasehun, and the National Coordinator, Otunba Gani Adams, condemned the threat, insisting that the Yoruba would not fold their hands and watch Islamic fundamentalists cause mayhem on their land.

Adams, who berated the Islamic group for attempting to cause chaos in Nigeria, warned that they will meet their waterloo should they venture into Yorubaland.

"We are ready for them and we will match them force for force if that is the only thing they under stand."

Adams, in a telephone interview with Sunday Sun, revealed that the OPC had alerted all its units across the six Yoruba states immediately the police reportedly arrested some people in Abuja on their way to the Southwest to cause havoc.

According to him, "we have our men on alert already since the police arrested some of them in Abuja coming to Lagos. We are ready for them. They should not come and disrupt the harmony in Yorubaland. We have a secular society in place here and they won't come and disturb it. We have a plan in place that would effectively curb their advance anytime they decide to come to the South West."

The OPC founder was equally incensed over the report, warning that an attack on Yorubaland would be seen as provocation and be so treated.

Fasehun, who noted that the report was just an empty boast, however advised the security agencies not to take it lightly.

Likewise, the immediate past president of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Dr Dozie Ikedife, has warned the federal government not to take the threat lightly.

Speaking in a telephone interview with one of our correspondents on Saturday, he warned that should the group come to Igboland it would be seen as extreme provocation, which would be resisted accordingly.

The Igbo leader advised the government not to take the threat as an empty one before the whole country is thrown into crisis, adding that Nigeria cannot afford any war again.

Ikedife asked the group to seek peaceful separation from the country if they don't want to be part of Nigeria instead of resorting to bombing and killing as it cannot be an answer to their grievances.

He doubted if the group actually represents the Islamic religion, stating that there are unseen hands supporting its activities and advised the federal government to ensure that such faceless individuals are unmasked.

"There is an Igbo adage which says that a little bird dancing by the road side has the drummer within. The federal government must find out these drummers," he stated.


Nigeria: Muslim Scholar Condemns Activities of Islamic Sect

AFP20090816583010 Abuja Daily Trust Online in English 2300 GMT 15 Aug 09

[Report by Terkula Igidi: "Boko Haram is Embarrassment to Islam -Scholar"]

An Islamic scholar, Ustaz Hassan Idris has described the activities of Boko Haram as against the teachings of Islam and an embarrassment to the religion.

Speaking in an interview with newsmen in Abuja, Ustaz Idris said the Boko Haram group has dented the image of Islam. "we believe in the values of Islam and we will defend the values of Islam. But we will not tolerate people who exploit the ignorance of our people and try to cause mayhem."

He said the activities of the Boko Haram were unacceptable, in the 21st century when other nations are making scientific and technological breakthroughs to better the standard of living of their people, it is worrisome that a group would wake up and cause damage that could only bring Nigeria backwards.

Ustaz Idris explained that knowledge is power, saying that Prophet Muhammad (SAW) said "all Muslims should seek knowledge even if it would lead them to the city of siem which as we understand today is Beijing in China."

"Knowledge and education are the same, so for anybody to wake up today and regard western education as a sin, we believe that is the highest level of ignorance and we will not accept that," the Islamic Scholar stated.

He called on the Federal Government and North East Governors to continue to put in more efforts to do away with this criminal act of Boko Haram completely in the North East in particular, and the country in general, so as to ensure peaceful co-existence among our people.

Ustaz Idris then commended the Sultan of Sokoto and President General Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affair (NSCIA) Sultan Muhammad Sa'ad Abubakar III for coming out to condemn the activities of Boko Haram, saying that "Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affair firmly and categorically dissociated Islam and Muslims from this group because what they were preaching is against the teachings of Islam."

He also commended the Governor of Borno State, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff for announcing that a Preaching Board would be set up with a view to regulating the activities of preachers in the state so as to ensure that only learned scholars were allowed to preach.


Nigeria: Police Evacuate 4,000 Islamic Sect Members in Raid in Niger State


KANO, Aug 16, 2009 (AFP) - Police raided an Islamic sect's compound in central Nigeria, evacuating some 4,000 members, weeks after an uprising by another sect left 800 dead in five northern states, officials said Sunday.

"Our action of evacuating members of the sect from Darul Islam is necessary to forestall any religious crisis in the (central) state" of Niger, state police commissioer Mike Zuokumor told AFP.

He said around 1,500 police from Abuja carried out the operation on the sect in a large compound in Mokwa, some 100 kilometres (60 miles) from Minna, the Niger state capital, on Saturday.

He said the action followed complaints by the state government that the existence and activities of the group could cause a religious crisis, and fears of possible deadly violence like the uprising last month by the self-styled Taliban fundamentalist group Boko Haram in northern Nigeria.

"They are being kept in a government technical college so as to question them about their activities," Zuokumor said.

He added that members of the sect did not resist the authorities and no weapons were found on them. "Our operation was peaceful," he said.

He said the suspects could face prosecution if their activities were found to be detrimental to religious peace in the state.

But Darul Islam's leader Malam Bashiru Abdullahi Sulaiman said in a telephone interview with AFP that the sect was founded 16 years ago to "enable us to practice our faith as purely as possible and not to mingle with ordinary people."

The state government had invited the police to take action after it became worried about the activities of the group, spokesman Bala Abdukadir told AFP.

"We don't want a repeat of the Boko Haram episode in Niger state," he said.

The Boko Haram violence which erupted on July 26 was crushed after days of clashes between the sect and security forces.

Nigerian President Umaru Yar'Adua has ordered an investigation into the violence and the killing in police custody of the sect's leader Mohammed Yusuf.


Nigeria's 140 million population is divided between Christians in the south, and Muslims mainly in the north, where 12 of the 36 states adopted Islamic sharia law in 2000.


Nigeria: Police Detain 4,000 Islamic Sect Members in Niger State

FEA20090817896903 - OSC Feature - AFP (World Service) 1546 GMT 16 Aug 09

KANO, Aug 16, 2009 (AFP) -- Police raided an Islamic sect's compound in central Nigeria, evacuating some 4,000 members, weeks after an uprising by another sect left 800 dead in five northern states, officials said Sunday.

"Our action of evacuating members of the sect from Darul Islam is necessary to forestall any religious crisis in the (central) state" of Niger, state police commissioer Mike Zuokumor told AFP.

He said around 1,500 police from Abuja carried out the operation on the sect in a large compound in Mokwa, some 100 kilometres (60 miles) from Minna, the Niger state capital, on Saturday.

He said the action followed complaints by the state government that the existence and activities of the group could cause a religious crisis, and fears of possible deadly violence like the uprising last month by the self-styled Taliban fundamentalist group Boko Haram in northern Nigeria.

"They are being kept in a government technical college so as to question them about their activities," Zuokumor said.

He added that members of the sect did not resist the authorities and no weapons were found on them. "Our operation was peaceful," he said.

He said the suspects could face prosecution if their activities were found to be detrimental to religious peace in the state.

But Darul Islam's leader Malam Bashiru Abdullahi Sulaiman said in a telephone interview with AFP that the sect was founded 16 years ago to "enable us to practice our faith as purely as possible and not to mingle with ordinary people."

The state government had invited the police to take action after it became worried about the activities of the group, spokesman Bala Abdukadir told AFP.

"We don't want a repeat of the Boko Haram episode in Niger state," he said.

The Boko Haram violence which erupted on July 26 was crushed after days of clashes between the sect and security forces.

Nigerian President Umaru Yar'Adua has ordered an investigation into the violence and the killing in police custody of the sect's leader Mohammed Yusuf.


Nigeria's 140 million population is divided between Christians in the south, and Muslims mainly in the north, where 12 of the 36 states adopted Islamic sharia law in 2000.


Nigeria Apologizes to UN for Alleged Killings of Islamic Sect Leaders


[Report by Atika Balal and Abdulhakeem Akinola: "Boko Haram: FG Apologises to UN Over Killings"]

A Federal Government delegation was in Geneva, Switzerland, at the weekend to apologise to the United Nations [UN] for the alleged extra-judicial killings of Boko Haram sect leaders last month, head of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) Ronald Ewubare said in Abuja yesterday.

The delegation comprised Attorney-General of the Federation Michael Aondoakaa, the NHRC boss and the state house counsel.

In Lagos yesterday, Aondoakaa , who confirmed the Geneva trip, said the Federal Government would punish members of security forces found to have perpetrated the alleged extra-judicial killings.

Hundreds of Boko Haram followers were allegedly summarily executed in Maiduguri, Borno State, where violence that started with attacks on police and other establishment formations left more than 700 dead. Though the police claimed to have killed the Boko Haram leaders in combat, video evidence later showed that the sect leader Mohammed Yusuf and alleged financier Buji Foi were shot dead in captivity.

Aondoakaa said at the opening of the 2009 Nigeria Bar Association [NBA] Annual Conference in Lagos that the Federal Government had contacted the UN commissioner in Switzerland towards conducting full investigation into the Boko Haram killings.

Speaking when he received visiting Australian High Commissioner to Nigeria Jeff Hart, the NHRC executive secretary Ewubare said the Nigerian delegation told the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navanethem Pillay that they were in Geneva to plead so that the country would not be sanctioned by the UN. He said Nigeria assured the UN that as soon as ongoing investigation is concluded those found culpable would be punished in accordance with the law.

"President Umaru Yar'Adua's state house counsel (and others) were at Geneva on Friday to apologise to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navanethem Pillay and to indicate to her in very strong terms that what happened in the north-eastern parts of Nigeria is taken very seriously and that severe efforts will be made to bring those responsible for those horrendous crime to book," he said.

He said that consequences of the Boko Haram crisis provided an avenue for the commission to be proactive. "We all know that the Boko Haram leader was despicable and was responsible for the deaths of several people but executing him alongside Buji Foi was a wrong step to take," Ewubare said.

Speaking on efforts of the Federal Government towards the dispensation of justice, Aondoakaa said various bills have been sent to the National Assembly to be enacted into law. The bills, he said, include Prison Service Bill, Violators of Human Rights Bill, Police Act Bill and Legal Aid Council Bill.

The minister called on the bar and the bench to unite for the law profession to thrive.

Aondoakaa also said the Federal Government has a firm conviction that unconstitutional means will not be use to solve differences with Lagos State on the controversial 37 Local Council Development Areas.

Chief Justice of Nigeria Justice Idris Kutigi, who was represented by the justice minister, condemned delay of dispensation of justice at the courts and urged lawyers and judges to work together.


Nigeria: Ogun State Police Command Arrests 4 members of Islamic Sect


[Report by Kunle Olayeni: "Four Suspected 'Boko Haram' Members Arrested in Ogun Distribute �Almanacs, Pamphlets"]

Four men suspected to be members of the violent Boko Haram Islamic sect have been seized by men of the Ogun State Police Command, creating the fears that the group might have started making incursion into the South-West geo-political zone.

The suspects - Muhammad Nuru, Waliu Muhammad, Ahmadu Musa and Siaku Adamu - were arrested on Sunday in Ibafo, Obafemi-Owode Local Government Area of the state, allegedly in possession of "inciting materials."

The police said they arrested them with many copies of almanacs and pamphlets showing the various photographs of the late Boko Haram leader, Muhammad Yusuf, and the remains of several members of the sect who unleashed violence in some parts of the North last month.

Parading several crime suspects yesterday at the Police Command Headquarters, Eleweran, Abeokuta, the state capital, the state Commissioner of Police, Alhaji Hashimu Argungu, declared that the suspects would soon be arraigned in court following the conclusion of police investigation.

Argungu stated that the police were yet to ascertain where the suspects obtained the inciting documents and the motive behind the circulation.

"The police had been able to arrest four of them with inciting and incriminating documents, which they were distributing among tanker drivers in Ibafo, on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway," he said.

The police boss, however, assured members of the public not to be jittery over the development, adding that the command was determined to ensure the security of lives and property in the state.

Argungu also paraded several armed robbery suspects, cultists and a middle-aged man said to be a ritualist, Rasaki Yekini, who was allegedly arrested with a fresh human head.

The police commissioner said the alleged ritualist who was apprehended penultimate Wednesday by an anti-crime patrol team on the Ibadan-Ijebu-Ode road, concealed the human head in a black polythene bag.

While saying that 21 stolen vehicles had also been recovered from various parts of the state, Argungu disclosed that some cult members who killed a policeman in Adigbe area of the state capital about two weeks ago had been arrested.

The Boko Haram sect had unleashed mayhem on four states in the North last month during which more than 700 lives were lost and valuables worth millions of naira were destroyed.

They launched a campaign against Western education, attacking the security agents and government property in the process.

Their two prominent leaders who were caught alive, while the violent raged, were allegedly summarily executed by security agents.


Nigeria: Group Warns of Possible Genocide Attack by Islamic Militants


[Report by Geoffrey Anyanwu: "MASSOB Raises Alarm Over Boko Haram"]

Apprehension could best describe the mood in the South East following an alarm that Islamic militants have perfected plans to attack the zone. Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), which raised the alarm at the weekend, said already most of the mosque and militancy formations in the area have been stockpiled with arms and ammunition for the purpose.

In a swift reaction, the immediate past President-General of Ohaneze Ndigbo, Dr. Dozie Ikedife, has urged the Federal Government not to treat with laxity the matter but to investigate it.

MASSOB Director of Information, Comrade Uchenna Madu, in a statement alleged that the killing of Boko Haram leader, Mohammed Yusuf was deliberate in order to destroy the evidence that large consignment of arms and ammunition were being stockpiled in mosques and army depots in the South East and South-South for the planned attack.

"MASSOB through Biafra intelligent agency have uncovered plot by the northern government sponsored Islamic Militant Fundamentalist to launch genocide attack on Biafrans.

"Through our security reports, some mosque in Biafran land has become armoury depot for them.

MASSOB, however, warned that though it is a non-violent organisation, it would not sit and watch any group unleash genocide on Biafran land, urging the South easterners to be on alert.

"Biafrans are advised to be alert and ready to defend their fatherland. Even though MASSOB is a non-violent organisation, we will not fold our hands and watch Biafrans slaughtered like rams by Arewa people.

"MASSOB condemned the hurried manner in which the leader of Boko Haram, Mohamed Yusuf, was killed even when he (Yusuf) was handed over to police alive by soldiers.

'MASSOB reasoned that his hurried execution by the Nigeria government was to destroy the evidence that large consignment of arms and ammunition are being off-loaded in some selected arms depots and mosques in the South-East/South-South purposely to launch deadly attacks on the Biafran people and also to save the faces of some northern influential politicians, religious/traditional leaders and businessmen who are directly and indirectly connected to Mohammed Yusuf and his group."

Meanwhile, Dr. Ikedife has asked the Federal Government to ensure that every piece of information in a situation like the one the nation was in is not treated with ignominy.

"Even if it is true or not, this is an alarming situation and we are warning whoever that is trying to fish for trouble should do so in his fathers home and not in Igboland. We also urge the Inspector General of Police, Ogbonnaya Onovo, to look into this matter before it gets to an uncontrollable situation.

"We urge the Federal Government to take all necessary steps to nip this in the bud and avert more lost of lives and property in our country. Those who are trying to draw a final knife of disintegration should allow it to be done peaceful instead of shedding blood of innocent peopl.

"But it is important to add that we may have no other option than to defend ourselves if it gets to that level, but I still have implicit confidence in the Federal Government and the inspector general of police that this looming danger would be averted."


Nigeria: Report Gives Details of Litany of Police Extra-Judicial Killings

AFP20090819619003 Lagos Newswatch in English 17 Aug 09 - 24 Aug 09 10-18

[Report by Kazeem Akintunde: "Wasted Lives"]

Here are the gory tales of how thousands of Nigerians are framed up and killed by the police annually

July 12 would forever remain indelible in the memory of Onyeka Osadebe for the rest of his life. And that is if he survives his present ordeal in the hands of the Nigeria Police. On that day, Osadebe’s life turned full circle. He began the day a freeman but ended it in police custody as a robbery suspect. He was shot in the thigh by the police to force him to confess that he was a notorious armed robber.

He was later dumped in the cell for two days without medical attention. When he did not admit that he was an armed robber, he was ordered to be transferred to the dreaded anti-robbery squad, [SARS] in Ikeja by the divisional police officer of Alagolo Police Station. On the way to SARS, Osadebe attempted to escape. He was again shot in the scrotum.

Osadebe is now at the Lagos Island General Hospital where he is chained to his hospital bed. Friends and relations are not allowed to see him. A police officer is on hand to watch over him. Perhaps, if he had an inkling of what was in store for him that day, he would not have left his house at all.

His ordeal began around 10 a.m. on that fateful day when he was accosted by youths in Ayobo, a Lagos suburb, on the allegation that his movement in the area was suspicious. He was taken to the residence of SA Akiniyi, a prominent chief of the area, who invited the police. Osadebe was taken to Alagolo Police Station where he was accused of "breaking and entry." Emeka Okezie, the divisional police officer perceived him as an armed robbery suspect. He was later shot in the thigh.

His family has, however, approached the Committee for the Defense of Human Rights [CDHR], a non-governmental organisation, for help. CDHR has written a petition to the inspector general of police claiming the sum of N500 million on behalf of Osadebe. The police, the CDHR demanded, should also bear the total cost of his treatment while police officers responsible for the shooting should be brought to book.

In the petition dated August 4 and signed by Olasupo Ojo, president of the CDHR, the NGO threatened that failure to pay the said amount within seven days the organisation would be left with no other option than to institute a legal action against the police. Frank Mba, the police public relations officer of the Lagos State command, told Newswatch that he was not aware of the matter.

Osadebe can count himself lucky. He is still alive and trying to enforce his fundamental human rights.

Muhammed Yusuf, the leader of a religious sect known as Boko Haram, (western education is evil), Buji Foi, a former commissioner in Borno State, and Baba Fugu Muhammed, in-law to Yusuf, were not that lucky. The three were killed by the police in controversial circumstances. While Yusuf was arrested by men of the Nigeria Army and handed over to the police, Foi and Muhammed allegedly gave themselves up after they were declared wanted. The three were allegedly killed by the police. But the police account is that Yusuf, the sect leader, was killed while trying to escape from police custody on the night of July 30, while Foi and Muhammed were killed in a gun duel.

Ben Ahanotu, a colonel, who led the military onslaught against the Boko Haram group, exonerated his men from the killing, saying that he personally captured Yusuf and handed him over to the commissioner of police in Maiduguri.

The worldwide condemnation of the extra-judicial killing of the trio forced the federal government to order an investigation. President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua said that the investigation was necessary because of his administration’s uncompromising stance on the rule of law as an anchor to good governance and progress in the country.

Sarki Muktar, a retired major-general and the national security adviser, who heads the committee, is set to submit its report to the federal government after hearing from Christopher Dega, the Borno State commissioner of police and Ahanotu. In Nigeria, extra-judicial killings take place on a daily basis.

One case of extra-judicial killing that Nigerians would not forget in a hurry is that of six young Nigerians who were killed by the police in Apo area of Abuja in June 2005 on the pretext that they were armed robbers. The six who were of Igbo extraction had on June 7, 2005, gone out in a Peugeot 406 saloon car to visit friends. On their way back after the outing, they were stopped by policemen who were at a pin-down point at Gimbiya Street, Area 11, Garki Abuja.

Those in the vehicle were Anthony Nwokike; Chinedu Meniru Ifeanyi Ozor; Isaac Ekene; Paulinus Ogbonna and Augustina Arebun. The five young men were traders in Apo Mechanic Village in Abuja while the girl, Augustina; was a girlfriend to one of the victims.

An argument had ensued over bribe demanded by one of the policemen and Ozor. The police officer who was reeking of alcohol reportedly shot Ozor. He died on the spot. In a bid to cover the dastardly act, the remaining five occupants were killed by the police at different locations few hours later. The most pathetic was the case of the only female among the six who was strangled to death. Danjuma Ibrahim, a deputy commissioner of police was alleged to have killed the victims. The following day, their bodies were paraded before newsmen as armed robbers killed by the police in a shoot-out.

For the charge to stick, the police claimed that two locally made pistols, two live cartridges, two expended cartridges, two daggers, and one cutlass were recovered from the car.

But the stiff resistance of other traders at Apo Mechanic Village as well as the determination of Amobi Nzelu, a lawyer, ensured that the Apo-Six got justice. Nzelu was able to prove in court that the victims were extra-judicially killed by the police. At the end of the sordid saga, the federal government was forced to set up a judicial commission of inquiry headed by Justice Goodluck Olasumbo which indicted the police. The commission, which was set up on June 27, 2005, began sitting on June 29 and rounded up its sitting on August 5, 2005.

It submitted its report to the government on August 24, while the government’s white paper on the matter was made public on November 9, 2005. Broderick Bozimo, then minister of police affairs, had to formally apologize to the families of the victims on behalf of the federal government. He also conveyed to them government’s decision to pay a token of three million to each of the victim’s family to assuage their grief.

Surprisingly, while the case was going on, one of the six police officers indicted in the killings, Othman Abdulsalami, a chief superintendent of police, escaped from custody in Abuja. To date, nothing has been heard of him. The other five police officers were, however, subsequently arraigned before Justice Ishaq Bello of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory on a nine-count charge of criminal conspiracy, punishable under section 97 (1) of the penal code.

The case is still in court while most of the indicted police officers have been granted bail. The list of extra-judicial killings in the country is endless.

Sagamu in Ogun State recorded its share of extra-judicial killings last year. Funmilayo Abudu, a mother of three was shot and killed by the police and her body was later paraded before newsmen as the female head of a 20-member armed robbery gang. A day after the police parade, Abudu’s employers, Demirs Poultry Farms, located on Sagamu-Ikenne Road, identified her as a member of staff and insisted that she was not a robber.

Indeed, it has now been confirmed that she was not a robbery kingpin. On the day she was killed, she had been sent to a nearby Texaco Petrol station to buy fuel for the farm’s power generator. Within minutes that her company driver dropped her off at the station, she heard the sound of gunshots between the police and armed robbers. And like everyone else that heard the combatants’ crossfire, she ran to take cover in the nearby bush to avoid being hit by the stray bullets.

Abudu hid herself in a swamp from where she telephoned a female colleague, Mama Tosin, to alert other workers of the gun battle. When she noticed that the sound of gun duel had gone down, Abudu tried to come out of hiding, but that proved deadly as she never lived to tell her story. She was shot dead by the police.

In order to cover up the reckless murder, the police allegedly decked her corpse with charms and amulets and then displayed it as evidence of her involvement in armed robbery. In a twist, however, the Sagamu Divisional Police Station, where Abudu’s remains were first taken and displayed, pulled another surprise.

The officers there suddenly remembered to put beside the lifeless body, an old AK47 rifle to support their claim. The police also stripped the lifeless body. A male staff of Texaco filling station confirmed that Abudu bought fuel a few minutes before the gun duel between the police and armed robbers. To date, members of her family are still crying for justice.

Alade Odunewu, a veteran journalist, is yet to come to terms with the gruesome murder of Modebayo Awosika, his son-in-law, who was also allegedly killed last year by the police and said that he was an accident victim. But evidence later confirmed the contrary.

The police first said that the young man, a banker, died after his vehicle hit a police van and somersaulted several times before catching fire but later changed the story after an autopsy report showed he died of ‘missile injury’ (gun shot). The new version of the police account was that they shot at his vehicle to demobilize it after he failed to stop at a check point.

The case is now in court and the veteran journalist has vowed not to rest until those that killed his son-in-law are brought to justice.

Last year, Abayomi Ogundeji, a journalist, was also killed by the police in controversial circumstances. Ogundeji was allegedly killed by the police at a check point around Akowonjo in Lagos, but his death was attributed to armed robbers. A female friend beside Ogundeji who was identified as Tunmise, who witnessed what happened had to relocate to Sagamu when it became obvious that she might be killed by the police in order to cover their tracks.

Her relocation did not, however, prevent her being killed as she was reportedly lured out of her Sagamu home and killed. A coroner’s inquest into the circumstances of his death is now on in Lagos State. The inquest, on Wednesday last week, temporarily moved to Alagbeleye Specialist Hospital, Ketu area of Lagos where Johnson Adeniken, an assistant commissioner of police, who was said to be on admission in the hospital and being treated for cancer, would give his testimony on oath on his sick bed.

Last year, Human Rights Watch conducted on-the-ground research in Jos, Plateau State on the ethnic violence that rocked the Tin City. The body found out that while most of the deadly inter-communal clashes took place on November 28, the vast majority of killings by the police and military took place the following day after Jonah Jang, the state governor issued a "shoot-on-sight" directive to the security forces.

Human Rights Watch claimed that it documented 118 cases of alleged arbitrary killings by the security forces that took place between 7 a.m. and 1 p.m. on November 29, alone.

In 2002, Izuchukwu Ayogu and Nnaemeka Ngwoke, who were students at the Nsukka High School, in the Nsukka area of Enugu State were arrested by the police and later detained at the Nsukka police station for wandering. When their parents got to know that they were in the police custody in the evening, they went back home to raise money to bail the boys.

But by the time they returned to the station the following day, their whereabouts could no longer be ascertained. After a search party was raised, their remains were found in a shallow grave in a neighboring community. The Civil Liberty Organization [CLO] took up the matter and went to court.

The court later convicted 15 police officers who were connected to the extra-judicial killings of these two young men and awarded N30 million cost to the parents of the victims. To date, the police have not paid the N30 million, neither are the indicted police officers serving any jail terms.

In a report replete with innumerable examples of extra-judicial killings, the CDHR reckons that innocent Nigerians are killed and maimed while errant policemen go unpunished. For instance, policemen from the Delta State Command beat one Peter Osimiri, a businessman, and left him dead in June last year when he refused to pay N20 bribe at a police checkpoint in Kwale. The policemen who committed the heinous offence, according to the CDHR, are yet to be brought to book.

In Nigeria, getting the actual number of people killed yearly by the police and other security agencies through extra-judicial killings is like looking for a pin inside the ocean. Most of the cases of extra-judicial killings are not reported to the National Human Rights Commission [HRC].

For example, in 1996, no single case of extra-judicial killing was reported to the commission. In 1997, six cases were reported while in 1998, another six cases were recorded. In 1999, eight cases were reported, while in the year 2000, 17 cases of extra-judicial killings were reported to the HRC. In 2001, 20 cases were reported, 11 cases in 2002, six cases in 2003, five cases in 2004, 13 in 2005, seven in 2006 and another seven cases in 2007 and 22 in 2008.

There is no government institution that is saddled with such a task while many of the non-governmental organizations also have only rough estimates. Access to Justice, an NGO, claimed that more than 8,000 Nigerians have been killed through extra-judicial killings in the past eight years. Every year, many Nigerians are killed.

One of the twin pillars of natural justice requires that a person must be heard before any punitive measure can be taken against him. Audi alterem patten is a legal phrase which means "hear the other party." The fundamental human rights of every citizen are amply recognized in virtually every local and international legal instrument on human rights.

Indeed, section 36 (1) of the 1999 Constitution provides that a person shall be entitled to fair hearing within a reasonable time by a court or other tribunal established by law and constituted in such a manner as to secure its independence and impartiality." Again, section 36 (5) provides that "every person who is charged with a criminal offence shall be presumed innocent until he is proven guilty."

At the global level, article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states emphatically that "everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person."

The CDHR, in its 2000 report noted that it had hoped that with the return to democratic rule, "there would be a reduction in extra-judicial killings in Nigeria but rather surprisingly, there was an increase in incidences." The group observed that what could have been responsible for this was a relapse in the security situation in the country which also led to an upsurge of private security organisations and ethnic militia groups.

"The return to democratic governance led to the birth of organisations like the Odua People’s Congress, OPC, and the Bakassi Boys which were used by politicians for illegitimate duties," CDHR stated.

The Human Rights Violations and Investigations Commission also known as the Oputa Panel had, in the course of its sitting in 1999, condemned the rate at which the police was engrossed in extra-judicial killings. Chukwudifu Oputa, a retired Supreme Court justice, noted that of all the petitions before it, the human rights violations perpetrated by the police and other security agencies ranked the highest.

The panel said that it was worrisome that those who were saddled with the responsibility of protecting the law and defending the constitution were the greatest abusers and violators of legal codes. The panel was established by former President Olusegun Obasanjo in 1999 to investigate human rights abuses during the Nigeria’s three decades of military rule. In spite of the return to democracy, nothing seems to have changed. The police still kill with impunity.

Olasupo Ojo, president of the CDHR, said that once a superior police officer gave an order that an armed robbery suspect should be "escorted" or "sent on an errand," it is a euphemism for such a robbery suspect to be killed. He said that the tradition now is for a robbery suspect to be taken to SARS to be shot on the leg.

"The police or any of the armed forces have no power to punish anybody under our law. If anybody has infracted upon any part of our law, the only thing they can do is to arrest such a person, carry out an investigation, submit their report to the ministry of justice which will then institute a charge against such a person for trial under due process according to law where fair hearing, and fair trial would be guaranteed. If at the end of the day the person is adjudged guilty then the court will pronounce the appropriate punishment," Ojo said.

Mba, the Lagos PPRO, denied the allegation that robbers are shot at SARS. "Is there anybody that came to you to say he was shot in SARS while being investigated? We must rise above petty complaints. You see, there are a lot of NGOs that want to remain relevant. They keep talking just to remain relevant and it is unfair to destroy the image of another institution on the grounds of petty complaints," Mba said.

In 2005, the United Nations was so miffed with Nigeria’s human rights records that it sent a special rapporteur to the country to investigate cases of extra-judicial killings. That was immediately after the Apo-Six were killed. Phillips Alston, special rapporteur of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights on Extra-judicial, Summary or Arbitrary executions, in his report, indicted the police.

"Let me only add that almost all of the ingredients, from the killings of alleged robbers to the fraudulent placement of weapons, to the failure to undertake proper post-mortem procedures, to the denial of wrongdoing and to the flight of an accused senior police officer, have been repeated many times over in relation to cases brought to my attention during my visit," he said.

The death of Yusuf, Foi, and Muhammed in the hands of the police has once again exposed the antics of the police. Already, the Nigeria Bar Association [NBA] has condemned in strong terms the manner the trio were killed without giving them fair-hearing.

Rotimi Akeredolu, the president of the NBA, in a statement, said that though the association criticized the massacre of innocent citizens and the destruction of properties in the northern parts of the country by the religious extremists, "the reported killings of some of those captured by the security operatives must also be condemned. The killing of these men in the police custody, however reprehensible their deeds must have been, must not be encouraged in a civilized society."

He contended that killing of anyone caught alive not "only offends the time-tested axiom that nobody must be condemned without trial, even if the object of the guilt is apparent. The killing denies the country the opportunity to unmask the real financiers of confusion in the polity; those who consciously design programs to keep their people in perpetual servitude. Anyone suspected of committing an offence must be given adequate opportunities to defend himself. This is a fundamental right that must be protected by all civilized people."

The Conference of Nigerian Political Parties [CNPP], Action Congress, AC, and the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria [CSN] in their separate statements, have also condemned the extra-judiciary killings of the leaders of the group by the police.

The AC said that the violence that swept across some states in northern Nigeria which led to the death of hundreds could have been avoided if the federal government had been pro-active in dealing with the crisis.

Lai Mohammed, its national publicity secretary, said that the federal government should be blamed for the mayhem unleashed on the people by the group. "Beyond the usual knee-jerk reaction to such crisis, the government must work hard to end the conditions that make it possible to attract and brainwash youths into joining such senseless, cult-like religious groups like Boko Haram, he said.

The party said that the reported execution of the leaders of the sect is a blow to Nigeria’s image as a country seeking to return to the path of the rule of law "after the eight years of sheer lawlessness under the anarchic presidency of Olusegun Obasanjo." "No matter their offence, sect leader Yusuf and the group’s alleged financier are better off being alive than dead.

After they might have been interrogated to get a treasure-trove of valuable information that could help prevent future violence from them, they could then have been tried in accordance with the law of the land. Executing them summarily is barbaric, unjustified, and a big minus for the security agencies which did a lot to contain the violence," he said.

Louis Odudu, a reverend father and deputy secretary general of the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria [CSN] in a statement, also canvassed for a thorough investigation into the killings by the police of Yusuf and Foi after their capture by the army. The CSN noted that their killing denied Nigerians the opportunity of unraveling the financiers, foreign contacts, and network profile of the Boko Haram leader.

Mustapha Ibrahim, immediate past chairman of the Kaduna State branch of the Nigeria Bar Association described the killings as condemnable in the light of the circumstances leading to the deaths of the Boko Haram leaders. Ibrahim told Newswatch that the killings were not in accordance with the rule of law mantra of the Yar’Adua administration.

While condemning religious intolerance leading to crisis, he said that extra-judicial killings had no place in a democratic setting. "Official figures have it that not less than 700 people died in the latest crisis. In spite of all the worldwide attention that was focused on the post election crisis in Iran, only 20 persons were said to have been killed. This should raise serious concern about what is happening in our country. We must ask ourselves what went wrong."

He also noted: "For those of us in the legal profession, it has been an open secret that armed robbers arrested by the police are often wasted by the police under very suspicious circumstances with the usual excuse that they were killed while attempting to escape from custody," he said.

Khalid Aliyu Abubakar, the chief Imam of the Fibre mosque in Jos, also described the killings as barbaric. Abubakar said that instead of killing the Boko Haram leaders, efforts should have been made to listen to their grievances. "I think these people should have been listened to. What are their opinions? What do they mean by Boko Haram? Instead, the government only gave an order to crush them," he said. He, however, condemned the activities of the sect, describing their anti- western education stance as lamentable.

Governor Muhammad Danjuma Goje of Gombe State is, however, happy that Yusuf and his colleagues were dispatched to the great beyond. "Anyone who kills must definitely die, no matter how. I don’t understand all the hype this thing is generating. We should rather commend the efforts of the security operatives for getting on top of the situation. What if these people had overpowered the security? The whole area would have been in a terrible situation.

These people have killed innocent souls just because they wanted everybody to be in their camp. I am a victim of their dastardly act, as one of my cousins, a promising young man who was getting on top of his God-chosen career as a police officer, was killed by these people in Maiduguri. We should not pity them at all. They have killed and so should be killed too."

Goje, who said that he is a supporter of human rights in every ramification, described the Boko Haram sect members as very deadly as they just embarked on the killing of innocent people at will for no just reason. He wondered what else could have been done to them, saying "we should consider the tremendous work done by the security operatives and not overstress the killing of the sect members. Well, I will not want to say more because already the matter is under investigations."

He also had support in Ibrahim Khalil, the chairman of the Kano State council of Ulama. He saw nothing wrong with the summary execution of the Boko Haram leaders.

Ojo Maduekwe, minister of foreign affairs, had in February this year put on a feeble attempt at defending the poor human rights record of the country. Speaking during the 4th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review, UPR, in Geneva, Switzerland, he said the federal government would never condone a policy where members of its security forces deprive any human being of his life.

"I want to stress with all the emphasis at my command that the democratically elected government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria has never and will never condone a policy where members of its security forces deprive any human being of his life," he said.

But he was quick to add that in Nigeria, like every country in the world, security personnel are not without a few bad eggs. "In the very rare instances when security personnel have been found guilty of extra-judicial killings or gross misconduct, they are punished in accordance with the law. We have cited examples of such exceptional cases in our National Report," Maduekwe said.

Emmanuel Ojukwu, the police public relations officer, however, told Newswatch that there was no indication of an increase in extra-judicial killings in the country. "We don’t have any indication to show that there is rising wave of extra-judicial killing in the country. It is the contrary. I don’t think we have had any instance of extra-judicial killing in Nigeria, of recent," he said.

He also said that there are no circumstances under which a police officer could kill without following due process. "The police are meant to save, protect and not to kill. Killing is an aberration. It negates our calling," he said. The way out of the quagmire, according to experts is to carry out a complete overhaul of the various security forces in the country.

Ibuchukwu Ezike, acting executive director of the CLO, said that Nigeria should have a second look at the type of people it recruits into the police. "We have illiterate people in the police who have no conscience and are recruited into the force through a flawed process," he said and noted: "If you go to your village, you may find out that people who are deviants, who are seen as criminals, have been enrolled into the police force. So what do you expect from such persons?" he queried.

He said that to compound the problem, during the police training for those recruits, many of them were made to pay in other to pass their examinations. "Many of them have to pay to pass. It does not matter whether you are intelligent or not," he said.

Dupe Atoki, chairperson of the Network on Police Reform in Nigeria, at a public hearing organized by the Human Rights Commission in Ibadan, Oyo State, said that the hearing was put together in order to restore the fading hope of Nigerians on the police. She pleaded with victims of police brutality to understand the constraints of an average police officer.

She admitted that officers and men of the police work under difficult circumstances and challenging conditions and called on the government to improve the welfare and operational capabilities of the police. "The Police Service Commission and the leadership of the Nigerian Police Force must intensify efforts to end impunity for egregious abuses within the police force by ensuring that no abuse goes unpunished. Victims’ access to redress must also be enhanced and guaranteed," she said.

Comfort Alebiosu, special adviser to the governor of Oyo State on security matters, also said that police brutality is not limited to the country alone. She identified frustration occasioned by the poor state of the economy, which in turn results in poverty as the root cause of the acts of bestiality.

"I think what we need to do is to curb this menace by encouraging the police commission not only to improve the condition of service of the police, but most importantly, to also ensure that men of the Nigerian police are involved in different seminars and workshops, which will be aimed at improving the attitude. But will that stop extra-judicial killings? Only time will tell.

[Description of Source: Lagos Newswatch in English - independent weekly news magazine]

Nigeria: Immigration Body Orders Repatriation of Suspected Islamic Sect Members


[Report by Stephen Gbadamosi: "18 Boko Haram Suspects Arrested in Oyo"]

Eighteen young men, whose ages range from 15 to 27 years, and suspected to be potential Boko Haram members, were, on Wednesday, penciled in for repatriation to Niger Republic on the orders of the Comptroller-General of the Immigration Service, Mr. Chukwura Udeh.

The suspects, who were said to have been intercepted by men of the Oyo State Police Command at the Ibadan end of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway in the early hours of Wednesday, were later handed over to the state command of the Nigeria Immigration Service.

According to the Oyo State Comptroller of Immigration, Mr. Chibueze Adike, who addressed journalists in Ibadan, prior to the boys' arrest by the police, the suspects had gained entry into Nigeria illegally through the Benin-Malaville-Kamba routes and were heading to Lagos state.

At the time they were intercepted, they were traveling in a hired commercial Toyota Hiace bus with registration number KEBBI AA 660 KMB marked, Kebbi State Transport Service.

While parading the suspects, who were all Nigereans, but without genuine travelling documents, Adike said preliminary interrogation and screening revealed that "they are bound to be security risk to the nation."

He added that "we can't afford to sacrifice the security of this country. We are all aware of the recent crisis by people of this age bracket. This is why we are commending the police and urging continuous inter-agency cooperation and networking which has now paid off. We sincerely thank men of the Nigeria Police for their efforts in this regard."


Group Urges Governors, Government To Strengthen Economy of Northern Nigeria


[Report by Saxone Akhaine: "How To Check Sectarian Crisis in North, by ACF"]

To stem the tide of religious extremism, the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) at the weekend said that government at all levels must engage in efforts to curtail activities of fundamentalists in the country to save the North and Nigeria in general from further sectarian crisis.

Besides, the ACF, which urged the northern governors to reject the appeal by the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) against the move to regulate preaching, however, said that both the governors and the Federal Government should strengthen the economy of the northern states.

He added that Islamic fundamentalist leaders have taken advantage of a weak economy to recruit an army of unemployed youths to unleash violence.

National Publicity of the ACF, Malam Anthony Sani, who spoke with The Guardian on Tuesday, said the body had earlier condemned the activities of members of Boko Haram, which led to the recent crisis in some parts of northern states.

He pointed out that CAN would not help matters by saying that it was wrong for both the governors and Federal Government to regulate religious preaching.

Sani cited how religious extremism, which emerged in Europe and some parts of North America, was controlled by political leaders in order to pave way for peace and development in the 19th and 20th centuries.

He added: "Nigeria's situation is not different, you can imagine the level of poverty in the country. These boys who were involved in Boko Haram crisis had nothing to do. A young boy who thinks his future has been lost and his opportunity in life lost would continue to be an easy target for religious extremists to recruit. So, the government has to control these things, particularly religious preaching.

"In fact, both the Federal and State Governments have to engage the army of unemployed youths by generating employment and other ventures that can engage them".

Sani further argued: "This is a serious matter, our governments have not tasked themselves enough as to how to generate employment in the country to take care of the youths.

"Have you ever seen where employment becomes a serious campaign issue among our leaders in the country?", he queried.

"But in other developed countries, this is a major campaign tool. I have the feeling that the Boko Haram problem has to do with the issue of poverty, which is being exploited by religious leaders to recruit their followers", he added.

The ACF chieftain, therefore, condemned CAN's attempt to criticise plans by governors in the North to use traditional rulers in checkmating the excesses of some religious clerics through their unregulated preaching.


Nigeria: Borno Governor Warns Islamic Sect Members Against 'Suicide Mission'


[Report by Gbenga Akingbule and Demola Babalola: "Boko Haram: Sheriff Vows To Deal With Suspected Members Immigration Deports 18 to Niger"]�

Suspected members of the Boko Haram sect who are planning to avenge the killing of their leader, Muhammed Yusuf, have been warned that they would be dealt with by security agents "if they embark on the suicide mission."

Governor Ali Modu Sheriff of Borno State, who disclosed this in Maiduguri, the state capital, warned the people behind the sending of text messages on the planned attack that "the full weight of the law will be brought down on them immediately."

He declared that security operatives "are already on a red alert. Any person or group trying to cause panic should as well be ready to face the full wrath of the law as the government is not ready to take chances in view of the recent killings."

The governor gave the warning when the management of Zenith Bank paid a condolence visit to the state. The bank donated N10 million [Naira] to the victims of the mayhem.

Sheriff said no one in the guise of religion would be allowed to put the people of the state through another crisis again.

The governor was reacting to the rumour that some of the fleeing members of the sect are threatening to return to the North-East state and continue with their evil activities.

"It is most unfortunate things like these could happen to Borno State, the home of peace. I must assure the people of the state that nothing like this will ever be allowed to happen again. Borno will not be a place

for them again. Even if they come, they are going to face the wrath of the government of Borno. We are prepared to deal ruthlessly with anyone who is bent on formenting trouble

"Life is unquantifiable and the damage was colossal and unimaginable. Those who did this will by now be facing the judgment of God."

The Deputy Managing Director of Zenith Bank, Mr. Godwin Emefele, who presented the cheque, said the effort of the governor during the insurgence was appreciable as it could have been worse without his prompt intervention.

Meanwhile, 18 foreigners whose ages range between 15 and 27 and suspected to be potential 'Boko Haram' members were yesterday repatriated to Niger Republic on the orders of the Comptroller-General of the Immigration Service, Mr. Chukwura Udeh.

The suspects, who were intercepted by men of the Oyo State Police Command on Lagos/Ibadan expressway in the early hours of yesterday, were later handed over to the State Immigration Service.

Prior to their arrest by the police, the Oyo State Comptroller of Immigration, Mr. John Adike, who briefed reporters said the suspects entered Nigeria illegally through Benin-Malaville-Kamba routes to Nigeria and were heading to Lagos State.

As at the time they were intercepted, they were traveling in a hired commercial bus with Kebbi State registration number.

While parading the suspects who all hail from Niger Republic, the state Comptroller of Immigration Service said preliminary interrogation and screening revealed that 'they are found to be security risk to the nation'.

He said: "We can't afford to sacrifice the security of this country. We are all aware of the recent crisis by people of this age bracket and leanings. The Inter agency cooperation and networking have paid off and we thank men of the Nigeria Police Force for their efforts in this regard.''


Nigeria: Authorities Deport Islamist Sect Members to Niger


KANO, Aug 20, 2009 (AFP) - Nigeria has deported 300 suspected members of an Islamist sect to neighbouring Niger after a bloody uprising in its Muslim-dominated north by a fundamentalist group, officials said.

The alleged members of the 'Darul Islam' (house of Islam in Arabic) sect to their country of origin is part of a government plan to repatriate foreign sect members, a senior immigration official told AFP Thursday.

The sect members, including women and children, were deported on Monday in trucks and buses from Minna, capital of the central Niger State.

They had "no valid papers and proof of proper documentation and means of earning a living", Ibrahim Danladi Auta, said on telephone from Minna.

"They are the first batch of hundreds of foreigners we have planned to send back to their countires of origin after screening them and establishing their nationalities", Auta said.

About 1,500 policemen raided the sect's compound on Saturday in Mokwa, 100 kilometres (60 miles) from Minna, weeks after an uprising by a self-styled Taliban fundamentalist sect left 800 dead, Niger State police commissioner Mike Zuokumor said.

He said the action followed complaints by the state government that the activities of the group could cause a religious crisis in the state and fears of possible deadly violence like the uprising last month by the Boko Haram group.


Nigeria: Yar'Adua Said Trapped Between Islamists in North, MEND Fighers in South

AFP20090812638003 Paris Jeune Afrique in French 09 Aug 09 - 15 Aug 09 pp 34-35

[Report by Marianne Meunier: "Yar'Adua Caught Between Two Fires"]

The Islamists are in the north, while pro-independence fighters of the Niger Delta are in the south. The head of state is fighting on several fronts thus endangering the unity of the country.

A week after the end of the Maiduguri massacre, the Nigerian police and the Red Cross were still counting the decomposing corpses that are often thrown into mass graves right in the streets. The police counted 700 victims while the Red Cross put the toll at 1,000. But whatever its source and its evolution, the result of the clashes between the security forces and the followers of Boko Haram -- an Islamic sect that supports the implementation of shari'ah (the Islamic law) throughout the whole country and also hostile to any reference to western culture - already makes one to shudder.

Five days, from 26 to 30 July, were enough to put to fire and the sword the capital of Borno, this northern Nigerian state with borders with Chad and the Republic of Niger and which counts a little over four million people.

Five days of exchange of fire and explosions that paralyzed the inhabitants who were frightened of being mistaken for the followers of "Boko Haram" by the security forces.

"Operation Flush": the name given to the joint mission -- between the army and the police -- deployed in Maiduguri announced the deadly nature damages. "The method used by the security forces in indiscriminately killing innocent inhabitants and the adepts of Boko Haram is unbelievable," protested Shamaki Gad Peter, chairman of the Human Rights League in Jos, Plateau State (the Central Region of the country). According to him, street hawkers as well as members of the sect who had already laid down their weapons were targeted by the security officers.

Could these be pointless deaths? The question also refers to the death of Mohammed Yusuf, 39, the presumed leader of that religious movement. Captured alive on 30 July, he was later showed to journalists with his corpse riddled with bullets. Was he killed by the soldiers? To the NGO, Human Rights Watch (HRW) that evoked extra-judiciary execution, there is no doubt about that. Consequently, the head of state has ordered for an inquiry.

Elected in April 2007, Umaru Yar'Adua, 58, is the first civilian to rule over Nigeria since its independence. Contrary to all his predecessors, this president, an academic and former chemistry lecturer, never passed through any military barracks or bore any grade stripes. Nevertheless, his civilian clothing was not enough to deter the security forces from their traditional reflex inherited from the long period when they were taking and keeping power: making them to believe, thanks to an atmosphere of generalized impunity, that they can do everything they like.

TRIGGER HAPPY

In November 2008 the events in Jos had already confirmed that the "Khakis" had always been trigger-happy. On 28 and 29 [November 2008] allegations of electoral rigging during local assembly elections led to fighting between Christians and Muslims. The security forces intervened to restore order. According to HRW, the toll of the two infernal days was 700 deaths including 130 "arbitrary ones" and "the operation involved both the police and the army."

Umaru Yar'Adua had nothing to do with it: on the contrary, the governor of the Plateau State (of which Jos is the capital) and member of the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP), had given the order to meet fire with fire. He was taken for his word.

Always afraid of the breaking up of a federation of 140 million citizens, 36 states, and 1,000 cracks, Yar'Adua, the civilian, does not hesitate to resort to the use of force to curb the propagation of violence. In May this year, a joint mission of the army and police was launched in the south "to completely chase out" the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), this nebulous group of militiamen which, with the backing of some local politicians, is demanding a fairer share of the oil revenue through abductions and sabotaging oil installations.

However, "Restore Hope" -- the name of the operation was counterproductive: to the air raids (which did not spare villages in the area), the rebels retaliated with a threat of an imminent "hurricane." The storm was really launched two months later. On 12 July, the MEND dynamited a jetty inside the Lagos port, leaving at least five people dead. The MEND, which ordinarily limits itself to its stronghold, the Delta region -- which brings together the oil producing states of the federation --, this time, hit the economic capital, which constitutes quite a symbolic development.

In the north as well as in the Niger Delta region, the radical raids of the army rather reopened the old and deep wounds that are occasionally remembered by Nigerian leaders. In Jos, or in the northern states of Kaduna and Kano, Olusegun Obassanjo, Yar'Adua's predecessor, had already had a religious problem. In the Niger Delta, demands of the armed movements are not a new issue.

The central government in Abuja today finds trapped in the middle as it was in the past. On one hand, there is a northern agricultural Sahelian region - chiefly cotton and groundnut producing areas -- devoid of infrastructures; a north where 12 states hid themselves behind the shari'ah law at the beginning of the 2000's. Seen as a way of guarding against the failure of the judiciary system and in a more general term, as a way of checking the socio-economic problems, the Islamic law has created among Christians in the region (the minority) a strong feeling of isolation, which is propitious for inter-religious conflicts. On the other hand, here we are with a Niger Delta, in isolation, very rich in oil resources -- Nigeria is the leading oil producer in Africa -- but of which the sole local repercussions are the impoverishment of the 31 million inhabitants of the region and the pollution of their immediate environment.

ANGER AND FUSTRATION

In the end, there is, on either side of Nigeria, anger and frustration, a feeling of injustice, and a state of neglect by the central government, constituting a cocktail that is regularly exploited by the local administrations. "The acts of violence in the north and in the Niger Delta are caused by the failure of the government to provide opportunities," Corinne Dufka, director of the Dakar HRW bureau, explained.

To her, if military reprisals do not cause any collateral casualties, they are "legitimate but largely insufficient. What is needed is to fight corruption."

Corruption is an omnipresent ill, which is eating into all the aspects of political and economic life in Nigeria. On this issue, by creating an ad hoc structure, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Olusegun Obasanjo showed firm handedness because the said commission scored some successes with the arrest of some governors. But with Yar'Adua, "the country has moved back on the issue because there is no more political willingness to arrest the big shots involved in acts of corruption," a source in Lagos that wanted to remain anonymous felt.

Judged to be more inclined to dialogue than his predecessor, Yar'Adua particularly tackled the Niger Delta problem. He tried some policies of openness such as the amnesty that he granted to the combatants of the rebel movements or the creation in September 2008 of the Ministry of the Delta Affairs that have not yet yielded any results. But the decision was very much criticized... in the north of the country. "If the government creates a ministry for all those who are shouting, how many ministries will there be in the country?" a religious leader in the northern state of Sokoto wondered ironically with a touch of jealousy.

[Description of Source: Paris Jeune Afrique in French -- Privately owned, independent weekly magazine]

AQIM Calls Crackdown on Islamic Sect 'Crusade' Against Muslims

FEA20090820905062 - OSC Feature - Jihadist Websites -- OSC Summary 19 Aug 09

On 19 August, forum participant "Murasil al-Fajr" posted a statement to the Islamic Al-Fallujah Forums website from the Al-Qa'ida Organization in the Land of the Islamic Maghreb (AQLIM) entitled "A Statement of Condolence, Support, and Solace to Our Brothers and People in Nigeria." In this statement, the group describes the recent clashes in Nigeria as a "Crusade" by the Christian minority against Islam to "destroy Islam and annihilate its people." The statement was published by the Al-Fajr Media Center.

The Islamic Al-Fallujah Forums website, formerly known as Al-Fallujah Islamic Minbar, at www.al-faloja.info/vb is a jihadist forum containing discussions and statements in support of the insurgency in Iraq and global jihad in general.

A translation of the statement follows:

"A Statement of Condolence, Support, and Solace to Our Brothers and People in Nigeria

"Praise be to God. Peace be upon the Messenger of God, his household, his companions, and his followers.

"We witnessed with aggrieved hearts the massacre that befell our people and brothers in Nigeria a few days ago. This brutal crime and hideous revenge that was perpetrated against some 800 Muslims by destroying their mosque, bombing their hospital, razing their houses, and mutilating their bodies, by the rancorous Christian Nigerian army before the very eyes of the entire world that brags of humans rights and the false values of freedom and justice. God says: 'And they ill-treated them for no other reason than that they believed in Allah, Exalted in Power, Worthy of all Praise!' [Koranic verse, Al-Buruj, 85:8].

"The Christian minority which dominates the Muslim majority in Nigeria tried to justify its crime by promoting lies and tarring the image of our Salafi brothers and their supporters from the common Muslims. However, the scene of the innocent, completely unarmed, sick, women, and children who were killed, in addition to the scene of the caller and martyr Shaykh Muhammad Yusuf, may he rest in peace -- the barbaric torture being clear on his pure body after his arrest -- are all hard evidences which clearly indicate that it is a profligate and unjust Crusade led by the Christian minority in Nigeria against a majority that approaches 80 million Muslims under the slogan: 'Destroy Islam and annihilate its people.'

"The thing which upsets us is that this dreadful massacre will pass, while the 1 billion Muslim ummah is silent from the east to the west. At least we did not notice demonstrations or denunciations.

"Given this calamity afflicted our Muslim brothers in Nigeria at large and our Salafist, jihadist brothers in particular, led by martyr Shaykh Muhammad Yusuf, may he rest in peace, we can only console, announce loyalty to, and stand together with our brothers as a single hand against our enemies. We express our heartfelt condolences to the families of the martyrs and injured people. We ask God the Almighty to reward them plentifully for their patience in this calamity, to comfort them after it, and to relieve the families of the killed and injured people with patience and solace.

"We remind them that trial is the predestined law of God in his calls as He says: 'Alif Lam Mim. Do men think that they will be left alone on saying, "We believe," and that they will not be tested? We did test those before them, and Allah will certainly know those who are true from those who are false' [Koranic verses, Al-Ankabut, 29:1-3].

"We cannot miss advising our brothers and loved ones there to shun division and disagreement, as it is a priority to unify their ranks in order to stand against the infidels in one line as a cemented structure.

"We say to them that the blood of the martyr is light and fire. The blood of Shaykh Muhammad Yusuf and his martyr brothers will not be shed with impunity. That will furnish the course of Muslims in

Nigeria with light, burn the worshipers of the cross, and water the tree of Islam in Nigeria in defiance of the infidels.

"O God, reward our brothers plentifully for their calamity, comfort them after it, and support them with patience and solace.

"O God, champion your Muslim servants in Nigeria over their enemies. Be with them and not against them. O God, accept them as martyrs, heal the injured among them, release their prisoners, and secure them. Praise and glory be to God. We bear witness that there is no other god but You. We seek your mercy and forgiveness.

"Al-Qa'ida Organization in the Land of the Islamic Maghreb"

[This item was originally filed as GMP20090820569008]

Nigeria: Police To Charge 97 Members of Islamic Sect to Court in Borno State


[Report by Kingsley Omonobi: "Boko Haram: Police Dock 97 Sect Members; 24 Policemen Killed, 30 Missing in Borno Alone; Former Borno CP Moved to Force Hqtrs"]

In the aftermath of the Boko Haram attack in Maiduguri, Borno State in which hundreds of people were killed and property worth billions destroyed, the Police authorities have concluded arrangements to charge 97 members of the Islamic sect to court in Borno State today.

Indication to this effect emerged yesterday even as Commissioner of Police [CP], Ibrahim Abdul, formerly the CP, Police Air Wing, was yesterday appointed the new Borno State Police Commissioner. He takes over from Mr. Chris Dega who has been recalled to Force Headquarters, Abuja.

Vanguard gathered that the sect members who were responsible for the death of 24 police officers in Borno alone, while about 30 officers have been declared missing in action because their bodies were either burnt after killing them or buried in unknown locations, are to be charged for treason, arson and culpable homicide.

According to Police sources, charging the 97 members of the sect to court was in consonance with the rule of law policy of the Federal Government even though investigations have revealed that members of the sect are not only unrepentant of the massacre inflicted on 24 Police officers and Police stations, but agreed that most of the 30 others declared missing in action were either burnt to ashes or buried indiscriminately.

Noting that hundreds of the sect members had been relocated from their main camp to another place where eagle eyed security operatives are putting an eye on them, the source noted that even at the point of arrest and confinement, the sect members still say they are against Western education while the Nigerian constitution is not recognised by them because it is a Christian document.


Nigeria: Editorial Sees Recurrence of Religious Riots as Failure of Government


[Editorial: "Boko Haram: Matters Arising"]

Like other religious riots precipitated by Islamic fundamentalists in the North, the Boko Haram mayhem left death and destruction in its trail. Between 800 and 1,000 human lives were reported to have been wasted in the uprising. This last episode of religious onslaught had new dimensions -- the wide coverage area and the rapidity of its spread. Four states -- Bauchi, Borno, Yobe and Kano -- were engulfed in the disturbances that lasted a few days. Each time the Islamic fundamentalists strike, their primary targets are churches. This time round, the Boko Haram members extended their attacks to mosques and fellow Muslims.

President Umaru Yar'Adua has been effusively commended for ordering an investigation into the activities of the religious sect and the circumstances surrounding the death of its leader, Mohammed Yusuf. Before the outpouring of eulogies on the president for this initial step, Nigerians should impress it on him the need for a well-thought-out and frontal attack on the recurring problem of sectarian violence. This investigation, as the president said, should be nothing but a preliminary exercise, which should be followed immediately by a full-scale judicial inquiry. This is the only way to unravel the facts about the operations of the sect and the death of its leader.

Media investigations and information volunteered by different individuals have shown that this last orgy of religious turbulence was brought about by a combination of factors. It is already obvious that connivance or outright collusion on the part of people in authority was a contributory factor to this latest incident of mindless destruction of life and property.

It is now common knowledge that the leader of the sect had been arrested and charged to court in the past but security agents that should have gone to testify against him failed to show up. He was subsequently set free in spite of the mass of allegations against him. It has been made public that before the sect unleashed mayhem on the people, intelligence reports were made available by security agencies but nothing was done to nip it in the bud. It is already in the public domain that members of the sect had been flagrantly disobeying laws but were being left alone because of their connection with people in high places.

There have been allegations that top government officials were among the sect's sources of funding and that these officials had been giving cover to its members in their lawless conduct. It is already known that Mohammed Yusuf was not killed in a shoot-out. It has become crystal clear that his death was an incontrovertible case of extra-judicial execution. He was reported to have been arrested in a goat pen by a team of military men after which he was handed over to the police and later paraded before journalists. How could the question of a shoot-out have arisen? And what about the killing of Biji Foi, an alleged sponsor of the inimical group, who was a former commissioner in Borno State, and one of Yusuf's deputies? Was his killing also in a shoot-out?

The assignment of the investigative panel is thus simple and straight forward. The bulk of what it has to establish is already public knowledge. The central characters in the execution of the two men should be identified and asked to explain how men in police custody came by guns and developed extra hands to train the guns on their captors and engage them in a shoot-out. It is abundantly clear that key members of the sect were hurriedly eliminated to achieve a cover-up of vital facts that are badly needed to get to the root of the religious madness. The persistent recurrence of mass murder in the name of religion is attributable to nothing besides the failure of government to take decisive actions against the perpetrators of past episodes. Our expectation is that this will be different. And it can only be different if the president can muster the will to tackle the menace with the seriousness it deserves.

Before useful evidence begins to disappear, the government should inst itute a full-scale investigation that will yield information about the sect's formation, geographical spread, modus operandi, sources of funding and sources of other forms of support. There have been allegations that the sect's members have been rendering services to top political office holders as spiritual consultants. There have been stories that the sect has been in existence for the past 14 years during which it has been freely preaching religious bigotry and intolerance. These, along with others, are the allegations to be looked into as facts after which the characters involved should be made to face the full wrath of the law. Failure to do so will be an encouragement for a recurrence in no distant date. The country is today paying for the failure of past governments to deal with those involved in past cases of religious turbulence.

The president is reported to have engaged the services of international security consultants who are to join hands with the State Security Service (SSS) in mounting surveillance on crisis areas in the country. This, we believe, is a sheer waste of public funds. The SSS was reported to have filed a series of reports on the existence and activities of the Boko Haram sect. It was the failure of government to act on the reports that brought about the heavy toll in life and property. The international security experts will not provide more than intelligence reports. It is the sincerity of purpose and will to act on the part of the government that can put paid to the nefarious activities of religious fundamentalists.

The government should realise that the destructive acts of fanatical religious devotees put strains on the cord that binds the country together and diminish the country's estimation in the international community. This is why Yar'Adua should decisively deal with this situation. Pervasive unemployment and consequent poverty have created a large pool of idle hands and social malcoltents from which the likes of Mohammed Yusuf can always draw followers. This should be the Federal Government's area of primary attention, not the pursuit of cheap political points with any state government.


Commentary Says Nigeria Needs To Establish Body To 'Screen' Religious Preachers

AFP20090821581016 Gamji.com in English 21 Aug 09

[Commentary by Aliyu A. Ammani: "Boko Haram Uprising: Not Seeing the Wood for the Trees"]

The point of departure in this write-up is that Boko Haram is a movement not an Islamic sect. The late Muhammad Yusuf , or his Boko Haram movement, was not the first northern Nigerian Muslim, or Islamic movement, to see, view, regard or consider boko (western education) as haram (unlawful). My grand father and his contemporary members of the then Ulama of what is today known as northern Nigeria said so more than a hundred years ago, when the white Christian missionaries first came with ilmin boko. However, there is a world of difference between their reasons for considering boko as kafirci or haram and the reasons that informed Muhammad Yusuf's verdict.

From the very beginning, in this part of the world, literary knowledge has always been associated with religions. Islam brought Arabic/Islamic literary education. Christian missionaries brought boko alongside the Christian religion. The Malams then saw, and justifiably so, boko in light of the divide between Islam and kafirci: as an avenue through which the missionaries seek to convert Muslim boys and girls to the Christian faith. Thus, their then conclusion that boko was haram as it leads to kafirci.

More than a hundred years and counting, despite series of policy and curriculum reviews, this belief in the kafirci of boko is still popular among some northern Muslims, particularly among the Gardawa: Tsangaya or Madrasas graduate students of the Qur'an. Interestingly, Muhammad Yusuf was a Gardi, a product of the Madrasas school system. He never received any form of western education, this much he admitted in his debate with Ustaz Isa Aliyu Fantami in Bauchi some three years ago. Never mind baseless newspaper reports describing him as "educated and proficient in the English language".

The chief argument of the group that boko is haram is predicated on the view that the content of some subjects of instructions in our schools contradicts the tenets of the Islamic religion, notably, the Big Bang Theory, Darwinism, the Law of Conservation of matter and energy; and the views of some free thinkers and philosophers that question the existence of God or divine religions. Granted that there are aspects of the contents of our educational curriculum that appeared to be in conflict with the code of belief of the Islamic faith, is the curriculum process not a continuous one: subject to both evaluation and review? But how do you expect an illiterate, in the boko sense, to appreciate this? To Muhammad Yusuf and his followers, we must take up arms to purge our curriculum of heresy.

It is mystifying that someone who has never seen the four walls of a primary school hinges the chief argument of his movement on the content matter of academic subjects he knew next to nothing about. Even more perplexing is the question: how was it possible for an illiterate, in the boko sense, to mobilized tens of thousand of men and women, including students, university graduates, civil servants (including even a retired permanent secretary), politicians (including a former Hon. Commissioner), academics, etc. to such a bleak cause? Perhaps the people have lost confidence in both the system and the powers that be, and their support for such anti-establishment movement is a manifestation of their blind desire for a change, overhaul or even a total destruction of the system.

Muhammad Yusuf was not the first leader of an Islamic movement in Nigeria to declare the government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria a dagut: not worthy of allegiance to by good and upright Muslims. Neither was he the first to urge his members to drop from school, nor was he the first to declare working in any form of government employment unlawful. In all three cases, the Islam Only movement of Ibrahim El-Zazzaky set the precedence in the late 1970s and the 80s. Again, interestingly, Muhammad Yusuf was a principal officer in that movement, 1985-1990, according to his 'teacher' Auwal Albany of Zaria.

Even in the area of attacking police posts and personnel, Muhammad Yusuf's movement was following in the steps of the Maitatsine's movement of the 1980s.

Many social commentators and analysts implicated poverty and massive youth unemployment in the country for the incessant sectarian crises in the North. No doubt, there is a widespread feeling of despondency as a result of the blatant failure of both the democratic system, particularly the highly distorted electoral process's inability to entrench good leadership; and the woeful state of the economy: overcrowded cities, poor social infrastructure, high unemployment rate, corruption in high places and the ever increasing gap between the rich and the poor. While these negatives are not the preserve of the North, I make haste to add the following three paragraphs from my 2007 essay, Nigeria: Washing our Dirty Linen in Public, which in my opinion is the catalyst of the phenomenon of religious crises in the North:

"In Nigeria, Islamic religious authority or power has been diffused at a local level among countless scholars or Mallams, who lack a clearly defined hierarchy, organization, minimum standards for entry, or even a curriculum for doctrine training. While every serious member of the Ulama has a right to use all the knowledge and experience he posses in the service of Islam and the community he belongs; he must not, however, be allowed to mix-up his own prejudice, conjecture and conclusion with the interpretation of Islamic texts, particularly the Qur'an, which is perfectly perspicacious. Yet, the absence of a body which has the authority and legal muscle to screen and licensed all Islamic preachers in such a way that only those found worthy, both in character and learning, will be licensed to preach; make Islamic preaching in particular, and all other forms of religious preaching in general, an all comers affair along with its attendant consequences.

"In a typical northern setting, particularly within the Hausaland, any person vocal enough to stand in the mosque or in a public place to voice his views on issues, no matter how misinformed, quoting Qur'anic verses, no matter how out of place, is instantly regarded as a mallam or even a sheikh. And if he happens to be antagonistic towards the powers that be, he quickly win large following as a fearless and God fearing Mallam. Thus, the vocal mallams held their followers spellbound and dogmatized. Majority of the followers accept whatever comes out of the mouth of the Mallam as the Qur'anic truth. To argue with Mallam is to blaspheme. Giving the impression of a form of totalitarian arrangement, that demand and get complete obedience from people with no independent mind.

"This brand of mallams is fatwa happy. Fatwa is open for all. Yet, one will make bold to say, without the fear of contradiction that the bulk of these mallams are ignorant of the logic, philosophy and workings of the socio-economic and political systems they were falling over themselves to give fatwa on. The fatwa are supported by distortions of facts and by appeals to passion and prejudice, often deliberately false and misleading, all in an attempt to persuade through emotional appeal..."

The thrust of this essay is that neither the ideology nor the methodology of the Boko Haram movement is new to northern Nigeria; it is the dysfunctional socio-economic, particularly the cultural and religious environment that encourages the emergence and growth of groups such as the boko haram movement. It is the constitutional responsibility of the government to protect life and property of its citizens. Government must establish a competent body that will have the authority and legal muscle to screen and license all religious preachers in such a way that only those found worthy, in character and learning, will be licensed to preach. This in my view is the only way out of the woods.

[Description of Source: Gamji.com in English -- independent Nigerian news portal; URL: http://www.gamji.com/]

Nigeria: Government Sets Up 'Another' Security Panel on Recent Sect Violence


[Report by Taiwo Adisa: "Boko Haram: FG Inaugurates Fresh Security Inquest"]

The Federal Government has inaugurated another security inquest into the recent religious uprising, leading to the death of about 300 people in Northern parts of the country.

Though the Boko Haram sect, which spearheaded the violence, appeared to have been subdued, sources close to the government had indicated that there was the need to nail the source of such uprising.

President Umaru Yar'Adua was said to have mandated the National Security Adviser (NSA), Major General Sarki Muktar, to constitute a high-powered security team to further investigate the outbreak of the crisis.

It was learnt that the government had initially ordered the State Security Service (SSS) to provide details of the Boko Haram violence, the causes and the promoters. But a source said the president decided that there was the need for another team, headed by the NSA, to dig into the remote and immediate implications of the crisis.

It was gathered that the government had also charged the committee with the responsibility of looking into the situation in the Niger Delta, with a view to identifying hitches to the ongoing disarmament and amnesty.


Nigeria: Borno Court Remands 96 'Suspected' Islamic Sect Members to Custody


[Report by Mustapha Isah Kwaru: "96 Boko Haram Members Remanded in Prison Custody"]

A Wulari Chief Magistrate Court sitting in Maiduguri, Borno State on Friday remanded 96 suspected members of the Boko Haram sect in prison custody. Sunday Trust gathered that the suspects were arrested in Maiduguri metropolis, Biu and Gamborou local government areas, when the mayhem was brought under control.

The First Information Report (FIR) obtained by our correspondent when the case came up for mention, indicated that the suspected sect members were arraigned before the court on 10-count charge of criminal conspiracy, joint act, inciting disturbance, membership of unlawful assembly and joint assembly armed with deadly weapons.

Others were voluntary causing grievous hurt to deter a public servant from his duty, mischief committed after preparation made for causing death or grievous hurt, mischief by fire, culpable homicide and treason contrary to sections 97, 80,114,102 and103.

Other were sections 24,410 and 415 of the Penal Code, Federal Provision Act of Northern Nigeria 1994, and laws of the federation of Nigeria 2004.

When the charges were read out, the first accused person, Inusa Ibrahim Sabo pleaded guilty while other suspects denied the charges.

The prosecuting police officer, Barrister Richard Balami asked the court to give him more time so as to gather additional evidence.


Nigeria: Borno Court Remands 96 'Suspected' Islamic Sect Members to Custody


[Report by Mustapha Isah Kwaru: "96 Boko Haram Members Remanded in Prison Custody"]

A Wulari Chief Magistrate Court sitting in Maiduguri, Borno State on Friday remanded 96 suspected members of the Boko Haram sect in prison custody. Sunday Trust gathered that the suspects were arrested in Maiduguri metropolis, Biu and Gamborou local government areas, when the mayhem was brought under control.

The First Information Report (FIR) obtained by our correspondent when the case came up for mention, indicated that the suspected sect members were arraigned before the court on 10-count charge of criminal conspiracy, joint act, inciting disturbance, membership of unlawful assembly and joint assembly armed with deadly weapons.

Others were voluntary causing grievous hurt to deter a public servant from his duty, mischief committed after preparation made for causing death or grievous hurt, mischief by fire, culpable homicide and treason contrary to sections 97, 80,114,102 and103.

Other were sections 24,410 and 415 of the Penal Code, Federal Provision Act of Northern Nigeria 1994, and laws of the federation of Nigeria 2004.

When the charges were read out, the first accused person, Inusa Ibrahim Sabo pleaded guilty while other suspects denied the charges.

The prosecuting police officer, Barrister Richard Balami asked the court to give him more time so as to gather additional evidence.


Official Says Nigerian Body Cleared Over Alleged Influx of Islamic Sect Members


[Report by Njadvara Musa: "'Immigrations Free of Blame Over Boko Haram Crisis'"]

The Nigeria Immigration Services (NIS) has been exonerated over the alleged influx of Boko Haram sect members from the neighbouring Niger Republic, Chad and Cameroun before the suspected armed sect members launched violent attacks on Sunday, July 26, 2009, in Borno State.

The declaration was made at the weekend in Maiduguri by the state NIS Comptroller, Alhaji Mohammed Sambo Gwandu, while briefing journalists on the nationalities of 96 arrested Boko Haram sect members in Maiduguri.

He said most of the arrested suspects of the religious sect were, however, Nigerian citizens, who had been living in Borno and the neighbouring Yobe, Bauchi, Kano and Jigawa states until they became members of the Yusufiyya religious sect.

The Immigration chief, however, noted that before the Boko Haram religious crisis, the NIS intercepted and arrested three aliens with arms and ammunition at the borders with Niger Republic and Chad.

He said that after the arrested suspects were handed over to the police for prosecution, the NIS also submitted a report to Governor Ali Modu Sheriff on proactive measures to be taken against the influx of aliens.


Nigeria: Militancy, Sectarian Crisis Said Not Posing Threat to Country

AFP20090826646003 Uyo The Pioneer in English 21 Aug 09 6

[Unattributed Report: "Violent Agitation by Militants, Boko Haram Sect Will Not Disintegrate Nigeria"]

The violent agitations by militants groups in Niger-Delta and the seeming Islamic uprisings in the Northern parts of the country do not pose any threat to the unity of Nigeria, the former Secretary General of Commonwealth of Nations, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, has said.

Chief Emeka Anyaoku who dismissed these crises as signs of disintegration of the country, expressed disappointment in the nation's secret security outfit for its inability to detect the Boko Haram at its formative stage until the recent wanton killings and destruction of property in some northern states.

Fielding questions from newsmen at the maiden edition of a special Mentoring Lecture organized by a member of the House of Representatives, Mrs. Abike Dabire-Erwa, and graduation ceremony of ICT Training Center in Ikorodu, Lagos Stat, Chief Anyaoku affirmed that the unity of the nation was intact.

The former chief scribe of Commonwealth said he did not share the opinion that the Boko Haram squabble or any other was an indication that Nigeria was at the brim of disintegration.

His words: "I don't believe that the Boko Haram crisis is a sign that Nigeria is about to disintegrate, but I think that it was very unfortunate that Boko Haram could not be detected for a long period that they were in gestation."

He, however, expressed delight following the swift intervention by the security operatives that brought the situation under control, noting that the swiftness of their response had forestall further loss of lives and property.

The diplomat who declined further comment on the Boko Haram issue, said it would not be appropriate to speculate on some sensitive aspects of the matter, such as the death of Yusuf Mohammed.

According to him, it was better to wait for the outcome of the presidential panel of inquiry set up to investigate the matter, expressing absolute faith in the ability of the members of the panel of inquiry to do a good job.

[Description of Source: Uyo The Pioneer in English-Akwa Ibom State owned daily.]

Nigeria: Islamic Sect Members Reportedly Relocate to Taraba State


[Report by Charles Akpeji: "Police Mobilise as Boko Haram Shifts to Taraba"]

Members of the Boko Haram Islamic sect who recently caused sectarian crisis in some northern states have allegedly relocated to Taraba State.

The sect was flushed out of Gombe, Bauchi and Borno states by the military and police after a four-day offensive. The Guardian learnt that the members have shifted base to Taraba.

Though the state Police Commissioner could not be reached to confirm the report, a senior police officer who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the police "are very much aware of their presence.

"We have been intimated by the Force Headquarters of the presence of Boko Haram people in this state and we are already putting heads together to bring them to book".

The officer, who did not mention their camp sites, said security had been intensified "as we have dispatched our surveillance teams to the entire axis of the state to help in monitoring them".

"Like I earlier revealed to you, we have received signals from our Force Headquarters that these people are here in the state and that they are planning to re-launch their attack from here.

"So the idea of where they pitched their tent should not arise now because I am not in a position to speak with you on this issue. Even the commissioner, I believe, would not mention the camp to you", he said.

The sect, which opposes Western education, allegedly has its members predominantly in Sunkani, the headquarters of Ardo-Kola Local Council of Taraba State.

Though no information was made available to The Guardian by the police on the recent deployment of more mobile policemen to some councils, an official of one of the councils said "such action has become necessary because of the alleged presence of Boko Haram sect members".

Special Adviser on Security Matters to the Governor, Charles Marijuana, has placed an embargo public preaching by religious leaders and political rallies.

The decision, he said, was aimed at dousing tension and preventing any form of religious uprising in the state.


Nigeria: Sokoto State Government Receives Islamic Sect's Disbanded Deportees

AFP20090826578011 Kano Daily Triumph Online in English 26 Aug 09

[Report by Umar Danladi Ado: "Sokoto Receives Darul-Islam Deportees"]

Sokoto state government has received members of the Jama'atul Muslims who were recently disbanded from their bases in Darul-Islam near Mokwa town in Niger state.

Members of the sect, who were in large numbers were dislodged from the bases by the Niger state government following the recent Boko Haram disturbances in some parts of the country.

The members who included women, children and aged people arrived the state capital yesterday in possession of their belongings mainly household materials and motorcycles.

It could be recalled that the members who founded a village in Niger state called Darul-Islam guided by Qur'an and Hadith of Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him), looked healthy while being received by the Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji Sahabi Isa Gada who said government has made adequate arrangements to accommodate the returnees before taking them to their respective local government areas.

Alhaji Isa Gada said: "We directed the local governments to make comprehensive lists of persons from each area to know their actual number but at the moment honestly I don't know how many there are", he confirmed.

The Amir of the group, Umar Bin Abubakar described Jama'atul Islam as a peace loving body which never preached violence and wondered why they were dislodged from the village they established.

He said Darul Islam community lived within the teachings of Islam and accept Western education and commended Sokoto state government for its assistance to the body.

The deportees are from Wamakko, Isah, Sabon Birni, Bodinga, Rabah and Illela local government areas of the state.


Nigeria: Okiro Denies Insinuation Over Police Negligence on Boko Haram sect

AFP20090827614006 Abuja Radio Nigeria-Abuja in English 2100 GMT 24 Aug 09

The immediate past inspector general of police, Mr Mike Okiro, says the police responded to earlier security reports on the Boko Haram sect contrary to widely held opinion.

Mr Okiro said on "Eagle Square," the Radio Nigeria’s public accountability program, that the police had arrested and prosecuted 65 members of the sect who were later released on bail.

[Begin Okiro recording] Early this year, I arrested this Yusuf mafia, and charged them to court and they were granted bail. The same people went back and caused this mayhem, what else could I have done? You want us to gather them together and shoot them? We have to charge them to court and that is what we have done, we can’t do more than that, but the same people charged to court and granted bail early this year went ahead and caused this mayhem, how can you say the police had done nothing? [End recording]

Mr Okiro expressed dissatisfaction in the manner in which some judges release very known criminals. He said such a situation could frustrate the efforts of the police.

The former inspector general said lack of equipment posed a big challenge to effective policing in the country.

[Begin Okiro recording] In order to enable the police perform very well in a democracy, we need the equipment to work with, the where withal to work with. We cannot police democracy empty handed. For democracy to survive, the police must be well equipped. [End recording]

On the allegation that he was owing some failed banks, Mr Okiro described it as an attempt to embarrass him. He said the case in question involved his wife’s company which has since been reconciled with the bank.

Mr Okiro advised the new inspector general to beware of rumor mongers in the force and to execute his jobs with forthrightness.


Nigerian Police Arrest 30 Afghan-Linked Islamists


KANO, Nigeria, Aug 27, 2009 (AFP) - Thirty members of a militant Islamist sect who fled after the group's recent armed uprising in north Nigeria that claimed at least 800 lives have been arrested, a police officer said Thursday.

The members of the Boko Haram group were arrested Wednesday outside Yola, Adamawa State capital, where they fled from Maiduguri, centre of last month's uprising, following a military crackdown, the officer told AFP by telephone from Maiduguri, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"The 30 arrested young men were brought here yesterday (Wednesday) in two buses and 10 of them confessed that they received training in bomb-making in Afghanistan," said the officer who is involved in the investigation of the suspects.

He said the men were arrested following a tip-off when five of them left their hide-out and went to Yola to buy food and other basic needs.

"Their appearance -- disheveled and bearded -- gave them away and people alerted the police who arrested them and raided the hide-out where 25 others were rounded up," he said.

He would not say whether weapons were found with them.

Members of the radical Islamist sect who call themselves the Taliban clashed in July with security forces in several northern Nigerian states.

At least 800 people were killed in the violence.

Sect leader Mohammed Yusuf, 39, was killed after his capture by security forces in Maiduguri, capital of Borno State.

Maiduguri city has for centuries been renowned for its Islamic scholarship, producing some of west Africa's best known clerics.


Nigeria: Police Say Arrested Islamists Confess to Afghan Links

FEA20090828918902 - OSC Feature - AFP (World Service) 1908 GMT 27 Aug 09

KANO, Nigeria, Aug 27, 2009 (AFP) - Thirty members of a militant Islamist sect who fled after the group's recent armed uprising in north Nigeria that claimed at least 800 lives have been arrested, a police officer said Thursday.

The members of the Boko Haram group were arrested Wednesday outside Yola, Adamawa State capital, where they fled from Maiduguri, centre of last month's uprising, following a military crackdown, the officer told AFP by telephone from Maiduguri, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"The 30 arrested young men were brought here yesterday (Wednesday) in two buses and 10 of them confessed that they received training in bomb-making in Afghanistan," said the officer who is involved in the investigation of the suspects.

He said the men were arrested following a tip-off when five of them left their hide-out and went to Yola to buy food and other basic needs. "Their appearance -- disheveled and bearded -- gave them away and people alerted the police who arrested them and raided the hide-out where 25 others were rounded up," he said.


Members of the radical Islamist sect who call themselves the Taliban clashed in July with security forces in several northern Nigerian states. At least 800 people were killed in the violence. Sect leader Mohammed Yusuf, 39, was killed after his capture by security forces in Maiduguri, capital of Borno State.

Maiduguri city has for centuries been renowned for its Islamic scholarship, producing some of west Africa's best known clerics.


Nigeria: Adamawa State Police Arrests 30 Islamic Sect Members


[Unattributed report: "Police Arrest 30 'Boko Haram' Members in Adamawa"]

Thirty members of the militant Boko Harma Islamist sect who fled after the group's recent armed uprising in the Northern part of the country have been arrested, a police officer said yesterday.

They were arrested Wednesday outside Yola, Adamawa State capital, where they fled from Maiduguri, centre of last month's uprising which claimed at least 800 lives.

A police officer did not want to be named said: "The 30 arrested young men were brought here yesterday (Wednesday) in two buses and 10 of them confessed that they received training in bomb-making in Afghanistan."

He said the men were arrested following a tip-off when five of them left their hideout and went to Yola to buy food and other basic needs.

"Their appearance - disheveled and bearded - gave them away and people alerted the police who arrested them and raided the hideout where 25 others were rounded up," he said.


Members of the radical Islamist sect who call themselves the Taliban clashed in July with security forces in several northern Nigerian states.

At least 800 people were killed in the violence.

Sect leader Mohammed Yusuf, 39, was killed after his capture by security forces in Maiduguri, capital of Borno State.

Maiduguri city has for centuries been renowned for its Islamic scholarship, producing some of West Africa's best known clerics.


Nigeria: Religious Group Denies Links With Islamic Sect


[Report by Emeka Mamah: "Shiite Disowns Boko Haram"]

The Shiite Islamic sect otherwise known as Islamic Movement of Nigeria denied, yesterday, any link with the Boko Haram Islamic sect, saying it could not be against western education when it currently has over 300 schools across Nigeria teaching both western and Islamic education.

In a statement signed by the national coordinator, Resource Forum of the movement, Dr. Abdullahi Danladi, the group dismissed the claim that its leader, Sheikh Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, is the founder of the Boko Haram group, asking the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) and the Jama'atu Nasril Islam (JNI) to sanction those propagating such ideas through their Tasfir.

Danladi said that Zakzaky cannot have anything to do with the Boko Haram group while sponsoring several schools across the country, adding, "How Sheikh Zakzaky excelled in his academic pursuit in the ivory tower is no hidden secret. It is pertinent to note that two of his children are currently in the university while the rest are attending schools in Zaria. How, for God's sake, do all these tally with their ineffectual idea that Sheikh Zakzaky is the founder of the Boko Haram idea? It is haram to lie. Apart from

this, the movement has over 300 schools across the country that teach both western and Islamic education".

Danladi accused an Islamic preacher of spearheading what he called a campaign of calumny against its leader saying that "it is noteworthy to state that the preacher's current attack and onslaught on the members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria and its leader is ultimately aimed at inciting the general public against the peaceful and law abiding members of the Islamic movement at the curious behest of his masters, both domestic and foreign.

"The preacher's regrettable utterance did not stop at cursing the Shia and the Islamic Movement in Nigeria, he has gone ahead to attempt to link the movement with the Boko Haram idea. It is obvious that he has mixed things up. The preacher has further toed a dangerous path by accusing the Islamic Movement of stockpiling arms to attack Muslims in mosques. We will not be surprised if it is part of the plot to stage manage bomb attacks in Nigerian mosques and blame it on the movement.

"If his statement is true that the movement is stockpiling arms, the general populace would have known this in the movement's over 30 years of existence."


BBC Monitoring: Review of Al-Qa'ida Activities in North Africa 16-30 Aug 09

GMP20090830950025 Caversham BBC Monitoring in English 30 Aug 09

From 15 to 30 August, the Algerian and Moroccan newspapers as well as Mauritanian independent Al-Akhbar news agency dealt with a number of issues in relation to the activities of Al-Qa'idah in the Land of the Islamic Maghreb (AQLIM). These included AQLIM's scathing attack on the Muslim Brotherhood organization and its branches in Algeria and in the Palestinian territories; AQLIM's claim of responsibility for the suicide attack which targeted the French embassy in the Mauritanian capital;

Algerian and US efforts in the Sahel region to confront AQLIM and the latter's efforts to forge links with radical Islamist groups in Nigeria and the Philippines.

AQLIM attacks Muslim Brotherhood

AQLIM has lashed out at the Muslim Brotherhood organization, in particular its branches in Algeria and in the Palestinian territories, the Movement of Society for Peace (MSP) and the Palestinian Hamas movement respectively. The attack came against the background of the Rafah incidents between Hamas and Abi al-Nur al-Miqdisi group (Jund al-Ansar).

Under the headline "AQLIM leader Abdelmalek Droukdal charges Palestinian Hamas with infidelity and accuses MSP of apostasy", Algerian privately-owned Arabic daily Ech-Chourouk reported on 23 August that, in a statement published by an Islamist website, AQLIM had described as "disgraceful" the position of MSP founder late Mahfoud Nahnah towards the country's security crisis in the 1990s, and he referred to his movement as a "pro-Jewish and Christian pillar and a poisonous dagger which stabbed the back of the Muslim nation". According to the newspaper, AQLIM viewed MSP's 19-year political experience as "one of the catastrophes" of the Muslim Brotherhood's branch in Algeria.

Ech-Chourouk quoted the AQLIM statement referring to the incidents opposing Hamas and members of Jund al-Ansar group in the White Mosque, in Rafah, as "terrible carnage and a brutal crime which shocked us and about which we will not remain silent". It viewed the "victims of Hamas's bullets" as "martyrs of the Muslim nation" and the actions of Hamas as an "ideological stupidity requiring an immediate rectification, which can only be done by handing those accused of killing Shaykh Abi al-Nur al-Miqdisi over to the Islamic court".

On 26 August, privately-owned Algerian Arabic newspaper El Fadjr quoted an MSP official urging AQLIM members to endorse President Abdelaziz Bouteflika's Charter for Peace and National Reconciliation: "We urge AQLIM to abandon armed action, to join the national reconciliation efforts and to serve the faith and the homeland. The door is still open for all Algerians and the hand continues to be extended to the misguided to embrace society and to return to live with their families in order to pave the way for construction and prosperity".

The paper said MSP spokesman Mohamed Djouma had responded to AQLIM's statement regarding the Rafah incidents and quoted him as saying: "MSP has nothing to do with the Rafah incidents. However, we urge Muslims to close their ranks in the face of Israel. The attacks against and vilification of late Mahfoud Nahnah by the leader of the terrorist organization, Abdelmalek Droukdal, is not something new in the thinking of this blood-thirsty individual".

AQLIM claims responsibility for Nouakchott attack

On 18 August, Mauritanian independent Al-Akhbar news agency reported AQLIM's statement on an Internet website in which it claimed responsibility for the 8-August suicide attack which targeted the French embassy in Nouakchott, and in which it identified the suicide bomber as "Abou Oubeida Moussa Basri," indicating that he came from Nouakchott's Basra District. The agency quoted the statement as saying that the suicide bomber had "planned to blow himself up inside the embassy. However, unforeseen circumstances had prevented him from entering the building, and so he blew himself up at the embassy gate wounding a number of French gendarmes who were guarding the building."

Al-Akhbar quoted the statement as saying that the attack was a "message to the tyrant agent of the Crusaders, President Mohamed Ould Abdelaziz, and to the services of oppression responsible for the recent arrests and torture of the pure Muslim youths in the land of beloved Mauritania. Such aggression will not go unpunished and the spark of jihad which began in the land of the Islamic Maghreb will continue."

US, Algeria and Sahel region

On 25 August, privately-owned Moroccan daily Al-Ahdath al-Maghribia reported that after Algeria had opposed US presence at a recent meeting in its southern Tamenrasset City on terrorism in the Sahel region - which brought together army and intelligence chiefs of Algeria, Mali, Niger and Mauritania - military advisors from US Command in Europe would soon pay visits to Niger, Mali and Mauritania.

The paper quoted media sources as saying: "The objective of the visits is to evaluate the security situation on the ground, to review field units in these three countries and the extent of the preparedness of their border guards to face up to the threats of terrorism. The US military advisors will also compare these countries' requests for armament with their needs on the ground, after the US, France and Spain have decided to provide them with military aid and finance programmes to train their intelligence officers to face up to organized crime and terrorist threats."

For its part, El Khabar on 24 August reported that a US Europe Command delegation had arrived two days earlier in Niger. The paper quoted an "informed source" as saying that the US security delegation would also "visit Mauritania and Mali in a week-long tour of the Sahel region," and that the "delegation will meet military and security officials from Bamako, Niamey and Nouakchott, and will inspect airbases in the three countries as well as a naval base in Mauritania, believed to be the Nouadhibou military port".

The paper quoted the same source as saying that during the tour, the "US intelligence officers and officials will review the military and logistic capabilities of the three countries' armies in order to plan operations to transport weapons if needed". El Khabar said such a move would "not rule out the scenario of direct military intervention in these countries which bear the responsibility of curbing AQLIM's expansion in the Sahel region".

On 28 August, El Khabar quoted an "informed source" as saying that "some 20 military trucks coming from Algerian Tamenrasset Province had arrived in Mali loaded with munitions, individual weapons and equipment, including binoculars, night vision and satellite navigation equipment". The paper said the dispatch of the military equipment was the "result of an agreement between Algerian and Sahel armies' representatives" during their recent meeting which was held in Tamenrasset.

El Khabar also quoted "available information" as saying that the shipment of arms was provided "under strict conditions prohibiting their use against the Tuareg rebels". It also quoted the source as saying that Algeria would also "supply Niger with military equipment".

AQLIM's "ties" with Boko Haram, Abu Sayyaf groups

Under the headline "In an effort to deploy in Africa and to seek new financial backers, Al-Qa'idah in the Land of the Islamic Maghreb calls for alliance with Boko Haram group in Nigeria," El Fadjr reported on 21 August that AQLIM had urged the Nigerian Islamists to join it to form a new force in the African Sahara and had threatened the Abuja authorities that it would avenge the killing of the leader of the Nigerian Islamist group, Mohammed Yusuf, and of the "Muslim victims of recent incidents".

El Fadjr quoted a statement by AQLIM as saying: "We present our condolences and express our support to our brothers in Nigeria. We notice the absence of world reaction to the violations committed by the Nigerian armed forces against the victims before the eyes of the world which boasts about human rights and the pseudo values of freedom and justice. AQLIM is determined to take revenge on the Christian minority in Nigeria and to fight infidels in the region. We urge our Salafi jihadi brothers to join our organization to form a united front in order to establish Islamic Shar'iah and to fight the Nigerian army and the infidel Crusaders."

For its part, El Khabar reported on 23 August that the country's security services had been monitoring "contacts" between AQLIM and the southern Philippines Islamists of the Abu Sayyaf group: "A security official has spoken to El Khabar about disclosing details following the arrest of two recruits who returned recently from jihadi operations with the Abu Sayyaf group. The security services were able to examine details of a nascent cooperation between Algerians recruited by AQLIM - who entered the Philippines through Indonesia - and elements belonging to the Abu Sayyaf group in southern Philippines."

El Khabar recalled that the US viewed the Abu Sayyaf group as being close to Al-Qa'idah and listed it as a terrorist group which finances parts of its activities through kidnappings and the racketeering of companies and rich businessmen and it usually targets Americans and Europeans.

[Description of Source: Caversham BBC Monitoring in English -- Monitoring service of the BBC, the United Kingdom's public service broadcaster]

Chad: Muslim Scholar Says Boko Haram Leader Has Ties With Bin Ladin

AFP20090901651006 N'Djamena Le Progres in French 12 Aug 09 p 3

[Article by Adoum Tchere: "Chadian Imams Denounce Boko Haram"]

Scholars and imams of mosques in N'Djamena condemned the uprising of the Boko Haram [Western education is a sin, in a Nigerian dialect] brotherhood followers which caused the death of 880 people two weeks ago, notably in Maiduguri, Nigeria. In the Friday Sermons of 7 August, Imams that preached on the incident denounced the clashes, saying such behavior has nothing to do with Islam. "A Muslim, worthy of that name, cannot be the cause of several innocent people's death. Mahamat Youssouf, leader of the Boko Haram sect, that caused the painful incidents which happened in July in Nigeria, did not have true knowledge of Islam", said Cheikh Khalil Mahamat Djibrine, second Imam of the Abou Zahr Khoufary Mosque, in Repos I district.

"All the Muslim scholars have for a long time promoted debates and dialogue instead of violence, to make themselves understood", he said. Cheikh Khalil Mahamat Djibrine noticed that since the beginning of these incidents, many people accused Muslims and above all Sunnis of being violent. "If the followers of Mahamat Youssouf wear beards, it is not the beard which makes the Sunna (the Prophet's tradition). Jews wear beards but they are not Muslims. The Sunna is the implementation of Prophet Muhammad and the Koran's tradition," said the Imam of the Abou Zhar Khofary Mosque.

Sunnis Are Not Against the State

He stated that, Sunnis disagree with raising an army against the state's authority. According to him, in Chad, Sunnis were the first to alert the authorities in 2002, about the infiltration of the "djama'a t'al-hidjra

wal tafkir" brotherhood of which the Boko Haram leader was a member. At that time, the former chairman of the Association Ansar Al Sunna Al Salafiya, Cheikh Oumar Adam Ibrahim, denounced the behavior of a Sudanese national, Djafar Deffallah, follower of the brotherhood that tried to teach the principles of his brotherhood to young Chadians. "Cheikh Oumar Adam stands in the way of religious extremism" was the headline of the Le Progres issue 1058 of 21 August 2002. According to some students of the former chairman of the Association Ansar Al Sunna Al Salafiya, Djafar was the one to teach violence to Mahamat Youssouf and his followers. "The acts committed by Mahamat Youssouf's companions were similar to the principles of the "djama'a t'al-hidjra wal tafkir" taught in 2001 by Djafar Deffallah, said professor Oumar Adam Ibrahim.

Ignorance Brings About Extremism

Cheikh Khalil Mahamat Djibrine that knew the leader of Boko Haram very well, stated that, Mahamat Youssouf identified himself with Usama Bin Ladin. For the followers of this brotherhood, said the Imam, all those that did not share their vision, or the Muslim leaders that did not rule according to the strict rules of Islam, were disbelievers. Cheikh Khalil Mahamat Djibrine said that, he himself was called a disbeliever by the leader of Boko Haram, in Nigeria in 2003 for disagreeing with his opinion.

In this brotherhood's philosophy, whoever submits to the law of a country rather than the Islamic one strays from Islam. It called "haram" (forbidden), and act of disbelief, Western education, the learning of French, English etc. some young people tore their diplomas before joining this brotherhood. Cheikh Khalil Mahamat Djibrine said that ignorance was the cause of religious extremism. For Imams, those that commit acts of violence misinterpreted the verses of the Koran. Violent groups are led by young individuals in their thirties, said Cheikh Khalil Mahamat Djibrine. That was the case of Ahmat Ismail Bichara that declared the jihad in the end of June 2008 in Kouno, Baguirmi in Chad and Mahamat Youssouf in Nigeria in 2009. The mind of a man reaches wisdom only from 40 years old and Islam gives preference to a wise leader.

[Description of Source: N'Djamena Le Progres in French -- Pro-government daily, reportedly owned by Communication Minister Mahamat Hissene, a member of the ruling Patriotic Salvation Movement Reference:]

Nigeria: Kano State Police Charge 5 Suspects Allegedly Belonging to Islamic Sect

AFP20090902578006 Abuja Daily Trust Online in English 02 Sep 09

[Report by Lawan Danjuma Adamu: "More Boko Haram Members Charged in Kano"]

A month after the arraignment of dozens of Boko Haram members before a magistrate's court in Kano State, police yesterday charged five men for allegedly belonging to the sect.

The five suspects were arrested by policemen in the Bachirawa area of Kurnan Asabe in Kano metropolis. The alleged sect members who are mostly teenagers, are being accused of belonging to an unlawful society contrary to Section 97 of the Penal Code Law, the police First Information Report (FIR) said. The suspects include Mallam Bashir Shekarau, Ibrahim Alkasim, Abdulhamid Harisu, Ibrahim Sa'idu and Lukman Harisu.


Nigeria: Boko Haram Relocates Base to Taraba

AFP20090902606001 Lagos Ray Power 2 Radio in English 0900 GMT 26 Aug 09

Members of the Boko Haram Islamic sect who recently caused sectarian crisis in some northern states have allegedly relocated to Taraba State. The sect was flushed out of Gombe, Bauchi, and Borno states by the military and police after a four-day offensive.

Though the state police commissioner could not be reached to confirm the report, a senior police officer who spoke on condition of anonymity said,

[Begin Police recording] The police are very much aware of their presence. We have been intimated by the Force Headquarters of the presence of Boko Haram people in this state and we are already putting heads together to bring them to book. Security had been intensified as we have dispatched our surveillance teams to the entire axis of the state to help in monitoring them. Like I earlier revealed to you, we have received signals from our Force Headquarters that these people are here in the state and that they are planning to re launch their attack from here. So the idea of where they pitched their tent should not arise now because I am not in a position to speak with you on this issue. Even the commissioner, I believe, would not mention the camp to you. [end recording]

The officer did not mention their camp sites. The sect, which opposes Western education, allegedly has its members predominantly in Sunkani, the headquarters of Ardo-Kola local council of Taraba State. Though no information was made available by the police on the recent deployment of more mobile policemen to some councils, an official of one of the councils said such action has become necessary because of the alleged presence of Boko Haram sect members. Special Adviser on Security Matters to the Governor, Charles Marijuana, has placed an embargo on public preaching by religious leaders and political rallies. The decision, he said, was aimed at dousing tension and preventing any form of religious uprising in the state.


Nigeria: Borno Police Arrest Islamic Sect's Bomb Expert Trained in Afghanistan

AFP20090903565001 Lagos This Day Online in English 03 Sep 09

[Report by Michael Olugbode: "'Boko Haram Bomb Expert Trained in Afghanistan'"]

The Borno State Police Command has discovered a bomb specialist sponsored by fundamentalist Boko Haram sect for training in Afghanistan.

Boko Haram, which means Western Education is Sin, caused an uprising in July that left some 700 people dead.

Abdulrasheed Abubakar, aged 23, confessed to the authorities that he was sent to the country by the sect's late leader, Mohammed Yusuf, and was promised the sum of N5.5 million [Naira] upon return.

He learnt how to manufacture local bombs for the group's use, the police disclosed.

Previously, a Christian by name Jeremiah Samuel, the Boko Haram faithful was converted to Islam seven months ago by one Mallam Umar in Yola, the Adamawa State capital.

Abubakar claimed that he had a Diploma in Theology from Christ Disciples Bible Church, Enugu. He was influenced by the Ramadan preaching of Yusuf that was recorded on a tape, he said.

According to him, "I was introduced to Mohammed Yusuf by a friend, having listened to some of his preaching. I was really fascinated by the Islamic teaching not the Boko Haram ideology," he confessed.

Abubakar continued: "The sect leader took me to the Abuja airport from Maiduguri in a Toyota Sienna bus. I travelled with another man who identified himself as Ali Mohammed and underwent a three-month training in Afghanistan."

Information made available to THISDAY shows that he was arrested by the police at an undisclosed hideout in Yola and brought to Maiduguri where the headquarters of the sect (Markas) was located, on his return to Nigeria.

He said he took off from Nigeria to Afghanistan through South Africa, claiming that all the travelling documents were retrieved from him as soon as he came back from the trip in late July. He did not name the airline which he boarded from Nigeria to South Africa before connecting to Afghanistan.

Narrating his journey, Abubakar said: "Mohammed Yusuf gave the two of us who went for the training some telephone numbers of our trainers and we called them as soon as we arrived Afghanistan. I can't recollect the town or place where the training took place because they covered our faces and led us to a house where we spent about three months," he explained.

The Borno State Commissioner of Police, Alhaji Ibrahim Abdul, told journalists that the suspected bomb specialist was picked up in Yola by the police following intelligence reports.

Abdul disclosed that some arms including seven hand-made rocket propelled grenades, over seven locally made pistols, rifles and casting pistols were recovered from Boko Haram hideouts.

He said that the police would be proactive in discharging its duties.

Abubakar was born in Numan, Adamawa State. He comes from the Bachama tribe. He claimed that he speaks Hausa, Fulfude and Igbo.

He said that he was adequately briefed by the sect leader of his mission before he was sent to Afghanistan.

The sect's leader died in July, in an incident decried by some as summary execution. The authorities previously stated that Yusuf lost his life during a shoot-out with the police.

A picture showing him in handcuffs emerged, casting doubt on the statement issued by police authorities.

It also emerged that the police received several warnings and tip-off about the activities of Boko Haram. One of its leaders was also arrested but later released on bail.

The issue came to the fore when the group attacked a police station in Bauchi. The altercation between the police and members of the sect spread to Maiduguri and Yobe States, leading to the destruction of properties and loss of lives.

Some Christians detained by the group were later released. Details of the death of some were released to newsmen too.


Niger State Police Says Nigerian Government Approved Islamic Sect's Dislodgement

AFP20090909565006 Lagos The Guardian Online in English 09 Sep 09

[Report by John Ogiji: "Police Defend Relocation of Islamic Sect Members in Niger"]

The Niger State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Michael Zoukomou, has said that the dislodgement of a religious fundamentalists called Daru-Islam from its enclave in Mokwa last month by his men had the approval of the Federal Government, as their continued stay poses a threat to peace and security of not only the state but the country.

Briefing newsmen in Minna on the successful completion of the evacuation exercise, the Commissioner of Police disclosed that the action was taken in order to forestall the reoccurrence of the Boko Haram crisis and other similar religious uprisings that the country had witnessed in the past.

According to him, there are elements of religious cultism in the Daru-Islam as it was discovered from their activities that "it was a republic within a republic and the nation was sitting on a keg of a gun powder waiting to explode."

The commissioner, who was part of the committee set up by the government to carry out the relocation of the sect members, maintained that the government strongly believed that the continued stay of the group

would lead to something that might be difficult to control in future because, according to him, similar groups that were allowed to operate in the past later metamorphosed to a dangerous institution.

Zoukomou said that the fundamental rights of the sect members were not in anyway violated by the government as being insinuated in some quarters because of their peacefulness, moreso that no arms was found with them during police search on their abode. He pointed out that experience has shown that such group usually start peacefully but later ended disastrously.

According to him, the government could not fold its arms till there is an explosion before acting, because it might be too late and the public would turn around to start blaming government and by extension the police.

Earlier, the Chairman of the relocation committee and Commissioner for Health, Dr. Ibrahim Sule, said that the state government spent N77 million [Naira] for the dislodgement of the group with N58 million of the amount going for compensation to members of the sects.


Nigeria: Bauchi State Police Arraign Islamic Sect Members Over 8-Count Charges


[Report by Segun Awofadeji: "Boko Haram Suspects Arraigned for Treasonable Felony"]

Two months after security agencies quelled a violent religious crisis in Bauchi, capital of Bauchi State, by a sect, Boko Haram, the state police command at Chief Magistrate's Court 11 yesterday slammed a total of eight count charges on the 184 suspected members of the religious group.

Their offences include treasonable felony, criminal conspiracy, unlawful possession of firearms and culpable homicide.

Other charges read out to the first batch of suspects, which comprise a female, include public disturbances and unlawful assembly, which violently caused the death of two persons in Bauchi.

After taking arguments for bail and jurisdiction from the prosecution counsel and the counsel to the accused persons, Chief Magistrate Aliyu Usman ordered the accused persons to be remanded in prison custody pending the transfer of the case to a court of competent jurisdiction within the state.

Prosecution counsel, ASP Bandawa, said the offences committed by the accused persons are not bailable and are punishable under Sections 221 and 441 of the Penal Code and Section 3 of the Robbery and Fire Arms Law Cap 146 of the Laws of Nigeria 1990.

He pleaded with the court to transfer the case to a court of competent jurisdiction.

However, counsel to the accused persons, Mr. Abubakar, argued that continuous detention of the accused persons violates their rights under Sections 41 of the Constitution since they are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

Abubakar also sought bail for his clients to enable them receive proper medical attention, saying their incarceration visibly exposed them to catarrh and other illnesses.

Chief Magistrate Usman, in his ruling, ordered the accused to be reminded in prison custody pending proper application for transfer of the case to a court of competent jurisdiction and directed the police to ensure that they have proper medical attention.

While briefing newsmen on the arraignment of the accused persons, the state Police Commissioner, Alhaji Yusuf Atiku Kafur, disclosed that after rigorous investigations, 11 of the suspects, including a female, were released when it was discovered that they had nothing to do with the religious sect and were only arrested because they were at the scene of the crime at the time of the incident.

Kafur further explained that 10 out of the 11 released were discovered to be athletes in the employ of the state Sports Commission and were practising Taekwondo at the IBB Square when security personnel raided the area in search of members of the sect.

He said the female, Rukayyatu Abdullahi, is a minor who was forcefully taken by Adamu Abdullahi, a member of the sect, from Liman Katagum without the consent of her parents.

The police boss said the delay in arraigning them was to ensure that no loopholes were left in the prosecution process, adding that "if you don't prosecute well, an offender will get away with the offence at the detriment of the entire society."

About two months ago, violent religious crisis orchestrated by Boko Haram sect had engulfed some states in the North, which led to loss of lives and destruction of property.

Members of sect, which means Western education is sin, had clashed with policemen in Bauchi, leaving many dead in the wake of the attack.

The violence soon spread to Borno, Yobe and Kano States with even more casualties recorded. The Maiduguri enclave of the sect was levelled by the Nigerian security forces. Though the military men had taken control of the headquarters of the sect, however, the fleeing members of the group were alleged to have set ablaze the Makera Police Station in the suburb of Maiduguri.


Nigeria: Ethnic Group Rules Out Possibility of Militant Leader's Surrender

AFP20090914565012 Lagos Vanguard Online in English 14 Sep 09

[Report by Emma Amaize: "Tompolo Won't Surrender Arms, Says Ijaw Youth Group"]

IJAW youth leaders in the Niger-Delta, under the auspices of the Ijaw Youths Leadership Forum (IYLF), weekend, said militant leader, Government Ekpemupolo, alias Tompolo, was fighting the cause of Ijaw people and ruled out the possibility of his surrendering arms when the federal government has not commenced feasible development of the coastal communities.

Leader of the forum, of which Tompolo is an active member, Mr. T.K Ogoriba, who was flanked by other youth leaders, told newsmen after a meeting of the IYLF at Effurun, Delta state, that surrendering of arms was an issue.

"Surrendering is not an issue here. What you have to know is that Tompolo is doing what he is doing for his people.

What are the issues bothering the people that have brought about non-development of the region?

"Everybody knows the issues that are bothering the people of the Niger Delta and everybody wants development.

"Because amnesty is what they are talking about, that brought about the issue of Tompolo but you can't talk about him without the issue of May 13, everybody knows, and it is now history. But how can we forget about it like that?

"Government feels that if Tompolo surrenders his arms, every other militant would surrender his arms. The point we want to hammer on is that before any other thing they should start developing our area.

"What we are trying to say here now is that the way they are going about all this is to cow us down and it is a further perpetration of oppression, enough of that".

So long as there is peace and development in our area, nobody needs to carry arms. So we don't have to welcome disarmament.

"What we want is to dialogue with the people that are oppressed and address the issue that made them start to carry arm, everybody knows about it.

"And if you are disarming the people of the Niger Delta, it is not only the Ijaws that are the people carrying arms; the Itsekiris are there, Urhobos, Ilaje and others are there, all carrying arms, even in the North, we saw the Boko Haram, MASSOB are carrying.

"After the civil war till today, there was no disarmament, so why are you so particular about the Ijaws or do you have an agenda to continue to suppress the Ijaws in perpetuity?

"We want to send a word across to the federal government that we stand strong and very strongly behind the young man called Government Ekpemupolo, alias Tompolo, and the open letter he wrote to the President must be considered very strongly.

"Without dialoguing before disarmament and amnesty, it will not go anywhere. Since everybody is talking about peace, development must have to start at the appropriate course of the peace and that is the essence of what we are talking about."

Corroborating Ogoriba, Niger-Delta activist, Annkio Briggs said: "We are saying don't call Tompolo or anybody else to come out for amnesty when the issues that led to the carrying of arms have not been addressed.

"None of those things have been addressed. For instance, we are hearing that the NNPC [Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation] under the authority of the federal government has been instructed to build three gas stations in Katsina; where are the gas going to come from when there is no one gas station in the entire Niger Delta state?

"You can see the perpetration of injustice. While the federal government is saying it is looking for a way out of the Niger Delta crisis, no matter what you are doing, it does not show that you are sincere.

"After five weeks, we are saying that we are not convinced about the issue of the amnesty; it is not in the favour of the Ijaw people because it is only the Ijaw people that are being asked to surrender their arms.

"OPC, Ibos, many people have carried arms in the country, they have not dropped their arms, why are we talking about the Ijaws?

"I am not saying that the Ijaws should go on running around with arms; we are saying that they have criminalized the Ijaws for their struggle for survival. We are not happy about the process of the amnesty and ending it in October is not acceptable to us (Ijaw).

"Nobody is going to advise Tompolo to do anything other than what he wants to do. There must be dialogue. One of the things we requested during the peace process was that the President should visit the Niger Delta.

"It is not going to Bayelsa State to commission project, go to the creeks and see what the people are going through. We will take you to Oloibiri and show you what we have suffered so that you can have gas going to Katsina."


Nigeria: Police Release 11 'Boko Haram' Detainees

AFP20090916686015 Port Harcourt Niger Delta Standard in English, English - Psl 16 Sep 09 P3

[Unattributed report: "Police Release 11 'Boko Haram' Detainees"]

The Bauchi State Police Command has released unconditionally 11 of the 195 suspects arrested in connection with the July 26 Boko Haram mayhem. The commissioner of Police, Mr Atiku Kafur, told newsmen in Bauchi on Tuesday that the suspects, 10 men and a woman, Rukayya Abdullahi, were released, based on the legal advice from the Ministry of Justice.

He said investigation had revealed that the suspects had no link with Boko Haram disturbances and were also not prosecuted. Kafur said the 10 men were members of a Taekwondo group attached to the Ministry of Youth and Sports, and were at Babangida Square for training when they were arrested. He said the

female suspect was forcefully taken by a member of the Boko Haram sect from Liman Katagum village and locked up in a room without the consent of her parents. ``She was released because she committed no offence," he said.

The News Agency of Nigeria [NAN] reports that the police had on Sept. 14 arraigned 184 suspected members of the Boko Haram sect for alleged treason and murder. The Magistrate's Court, however, ruled that it lacked locus standi to entertain the case, and ordered the police to hasten prosecution of the suspects before a court of competent jurisdiction. The court also ordered the suspects to be remanded in prison custody. No fewer than 50 persons lost their lives during the shoot-out between members of the sect and the police.

Five members of the sect were killed on July 26 when the group attacked a police station in Dutsen Tanshi area of Bauchi metropolis, while others lost their lives during gun duel between the group and security agents. More than 180 abducted women and children were also freed by security agencies at a school belonging to the Muhammad Yusuf led- Boko Haram sect in Maiduguri.

[Description of Source: Port Harcourt Niger Delta Standard in English -- Rivers State owned daily]

France: Jihadist Reportedly Trains in Afghanistan To Make Explosives� � � �

AFP20090915638003 Paris Jeune Afrique in French 06 Sep 09 - 12 Sep 09 p 7

[Unattributed Confidential Report: "Nigeria: A Taliban Made in Afghanistan"]

Investigations continue on the bloody clashes in the north of Nigeria in July between the security forces and the members of Boko Haram's Islamic sect (leaving more than 700 dead).

The police have uncovered that one of Boko Haram's fighters had received training in Afghanistan.

Christian, recently converted to Islam, the young man - he is 23 years - confessed that he was sent to the Taliban to learn how to make explosives.

In exchange, the leader of the sect, Mohammed Yusuf, killed during the recent combats, had promised him $35,000.

The apprenticed religious fighter pointed out that he made a stop over in South Africa, but was not able to identify the training camp in Afghanistan where he stayed; his instructors took care to blind fold him on arrival.

[Description of Source: Paris Jeune Afrique in French -- Privately owned, independent weekly magazine]

Nigeria: Kaduna Police on Red Alert To Avert Reprisal Attack by Islamic Groups

AFP20090920565003 Isheri Nigerian Compass Online in English 2300 GMT 19 Sep 09

[Report by Godwin Isenyo: "Police, Shiite Clash: Kaduna Police on Red Alert; No One Can Crush us, Says Sect"]

To forestall any reprisal attack, the police in Kaduna State said at the weekend that it has placed its officers and men on a red alert to curtail the Shiites Islamic fundamentalists.

The state Commissioner of Police, Tambari Yabo Mohammed, at a media briefing yesterday told reporters that the Command received security reports that the movement was regrouping to attack the police in the state just as the Shiite group vowed to resist any move to sack them.

Following Friday clash between the police and the Shiite group which left two people dead in the ancient town of Zaria, during procession to mark the end of the Muslim Ramadan fasting, the Shiek Ibraheem El-zakzaky-led movement alleged a plot by the government to crash them.

The group claimed that the federal government had mapped out a blue print to wipe out the sect and kill its leader the way the Boko Haram leader, Muhammad Yusuf, was killed.

A Shiite member, who craved anonymity told our correspondent that the government was after the sect and that the antics of the government was recently exposed.

"What happened yesterday when the police shot at our members and killed about two of us was a pointer to the truth of our allegation against the government."

He added: "We've exposed their plans of killing and they denied it; but now it's clear to everyone. But they would never crush us."

The organisation wondered why a mere The Qud's day procession turned bloody.

He claimed that the Qud's Day procession was a yearly affair, saying that they were at a loss as to why it turned out to be the last procession for two of their members.

The Qud's Day procession was declared by the late Aya-tollah Khomeini of Iran every year for Muslims across the world on every last Friday of the month of Ramadan in condemnation of Israel occupation of Quds Mosque and Palestinians land.

According to a source, those killed by the police in the clash are, Muhammad Tasi'u Jaji and Abdulrahman Isa Gyallesu, "while four -Musa Usman Cikaji, Iliya Usman Lamban Zango, Mubarak Abdulkadir Magume and Dalhatu Hussaini Gyellesu were seriously in-jured."

"They (police) took the corpse of one of the killed persons to an unknown destination, while they have arrested some of our members. We do not know their whereabouts yet."

But the police said that it was untrue that three Shiites members died during the skirmishes.

Rather, the police said, two Shiites died while two policemen are lying critically ill in hospital following injuries sustained from the attack.

According to him, two of his men, ASP Umaru Buba and Corporal Paul Maigari were injured during the clash, adding that while Buba was shot in the buttocks by the Shiites, Maigari was shot on the head with a catapult.

He said that the police was not leaving any stone unturned, as according to him, "the Shiite members are well armed."

Tambari said that the reports about the planned procession by the Shiite movement was received by the police and the state security council headed by the state governor, Arch. Mohammed Namadi Sambo, about two weeks ago, adding that the council asked the police to allow them conduct their affairs peacefully which they did.

The police boss, however said, "But as they were approaching Kofan Doka, many people had gathered there and policemen were controlling the traffic to allow them easy passage. ASP Umaru Buba who was controlling traffic there was crossing the road to join his colleagues when he was shot on the buttocks and he fell down.

"The Shiites members however removed his gun from him and used the butt to hit him on the head, mouth and every part of his body. It was at this time that a shootout between the police and the Shiites

members started. Two Shiites died immediately and Corporal Maigari who was shot on the head with a catapult was seriously injured.

"The Shiites provoked the crisis because in Kaduna, nothing happened because there was a peaceful demonstration. Two people died and no t three and I challenge anybody to bring out the third corpse of the Shiites.

"ASP Buba suffered from excessive hemorrhage and this was exactly what happened. We had no reason to open fire when we were not provoked. Our riffle was snatched and they used the butt of the gun to assault the ASP.

"The Shiites are known to be die hard and they can do anything. We will not take anything to chances. The Shiites have arms and they may be planning a reprisal attack on the police. We have recovered our gun and no gun belonging to the police is with them.

"Before this time, we had ceased all the bayonets people imported from Israel and were using it as part of their dressing everywhere. I am not aware of the number of arrest so far made."


Nigeria: Islamic Sect Reportedly Planning To Attack Prisons in Kano State


[Report by Lawan Danjuma Adamu: "Prison Boss Says: Boko Haram Regroups in Kano"]

Members of the notorious Boko Haram religious sect that scattered from Maiduguri after their violent clash with the authorities last July are regrouping in Kano State, state Controller of Prisons Alhaji Lawan Abubakar said in Kano yesterday. He also said security reports indicated there were plans by the sect members to attack prisons in Kano State in order to free their detained colleagues who were captured in the wake of the sect's ill-fated uprising.

In the wake of the uprising, dozens of Boko Haram members were arrested in Wudil town, some 40 kilometers away from Kano. The leader of the sect has been at large since the Kano government destroyed his house and the Boko Haram mosque in the area. Police authorities confirmed the arrest of 53 sect members in Wudil and another five in Bachirawa area in Kano metropolis.

Abubakar, who was explaining to Daily Trust why men of the Prisons Service fired sporadically into the air while arraigning sect members at a court in No Man's Land last week, said adequate measures had already been taken to beef up security around all prisons where members of the sect are being detained. He said armed policemen and men from the Civil Defence Corps have also been deployed to strengthen security around the prisons.

He said his men fired those shots at No Man's Land court premises in order to disperse the surging crowd that turned out to witness the arrival of the prison Black Maria truck conveying the sect members to court.

The prisons controller said security reports indicate that sect are now regrouping in Gezawa Local Government area of Kano State with the intent of launching attacks on some prisons where their colleagues are being detained.

Abubakar also said long before the security reports came in, his men were on red alert to forestall any threat to prisons, especially where Boko Haram members are held. That was why, he said, the prison wardens took pre-emptive action at the court premises because sect members could be lurking among the crowd.

However, the Prison Controller's claim that the Boko Haram members were regrouping in Kano was disputed both the police and the State Security Service (SSS) in the state, which said they were not aware of any such plan. Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) of the Kano State Police Command Alhaji Baba Mohammed said he was not aware of any such reports and that all is calm in Kano State. He said, "There is no cause for alarm as we are always on top of any security situation."

Kano State Director of State Security Service Alhaji Bello Tukur Bakori said such security reports as indicated by the Prisons boss did not emanate from SSS. He demanded to know where it came from.


Nigeria: Islamic Leader Urges Government, Universities' Union To Resolve Dispute

AFP20090921583007 Kano Daily Triumph Online in English 21 Sep 09

[Report by Umar Danladi Ado: "FG, ASUU Face-off: Sultan Adds Own Voice"]

Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa'ad Abubakar has appealed to the federal government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to sheathe their swords to ensure that Nigerian universities are re-opened soon.

Abubakar made the passionate plea yesterday in Sokoto while addressing Nigerian Muslims as part of the Eid-el-Fitr celebrations.

According to the Sultan, the prolonged ongoing ASUU strike is a serious souce of concern for parents and other stakeholders.

Said he: ``The two parties should please have a re-think and compromise with a view to re-opening the universities."

The Sultan added that the stakeholders and the traditional rulers as leaders of the people are ready to give the required support and cooperation toward resolving the impasse.

Abubakar further commended the three tiers of government for their untiring efforts to better the lots of Nigerians.

``I want to specifically commend the Sokoto state government in this direction and the opening of the Ramadan feeding centres," the monarch stated.

He also urged other state governments to emulate it adding, ``the youth skills acqusition programme deserves a special commendation."

The Sultan further called on the Sokoto state government to introduce cooperative shops to alleviate the suffering of the people especially during various religious and cultural festivities.

The Sultan decried the recent Boko Haram crises in some parts of the country, suggesting that the only panacea to such a happening is for the people to acquire both Western and religious education.

''This is the only way they will be able to separate the chaffs from the grains as regards Western education and know the solutions rather than rejecting it completely," he explained.

Abubakar further appealed to the Ulama in the country to preach with the highest sense of caution and the fear of God.

'' The clerics are very important in uniting the Muslim Ummah as well as the peace and unity of the nation generally,'' the Sultan added.


Nigeria: Lawyer Condemns Killing of Boko Haram Sect Leader

AFP20090922651003 Lagos Channels Television in English 2200 GMT 05 Aug 09

Still on violence in northern Nigeria, the former president of the Nigerian Bar Association [NBA], Mr Olisa Agbakoba, has also condemned the killing of the Boko Haram leader, Mohammed Yusuf. Mr Agbakoba said that the violence is a symptom of a deeper problem, bordering on Nigeria's unity as a nation. He said that unless the different tribal groups in Nigeria agree to stay together and adopt one nationality, the country is heading towards disintegration.

[Begin Agbakoba recording] Two identities. How can we have a country with two identities? For instance, my good friend, Governor Fashola is very strong on his tax administration and you can see what he is doing with tax in relation to the environment. But the question I ask is: why should I be good to pay taxes but not good to stand for election. Can I Olisa Agbakoba, stand election in Lagos?

That is the reason you have the conflict in now Maiduguri because there is this nonsense about indigenes and non indigenes and the constitution recognizes it. And yet we talk about a strong, united Nigeria. It is not possible. Not possible at all. So our leaders must really address these sore points. We need a new constitution that flattens Nigeria and creates one Nigeria. [end recording]

Meanwhile, the Nigerian Army is insisting that it handed over sect leader Mohammed Yusuf alive to the police last week before he was killed under controversial circumstances. The commander of the operation, Col Dan Ahanotu, said that the sect leader was interrogated by senior military officers before the handover. Col Ahanotu said that he personally arrested Mr Yusuf and handed him over to the police after a short questioning the same day, only to be told that he died in a shoot-out.

He goes on to say that a senior military officer conducted the interrogation on Mohammed Yusuf.

The Nigeria Police have denied that the Boko Haram sect leader was killed while in their custody, saying that he died while trying to escape.

The sect leader was killed after security forces pounced on the self-styled Taliban fundamentalist group in several northern Nigerian states.

[Description of Source: Lagos Channels in English -- independent television]

Nigeria: Group Uncovers Alleged Plot To Launch 'Jihad' in Cross River State

AFP20090922565005 Lagos Daily Sun Online in English 22 Sep 09

[Report by Boniface Nzama: "Boko Haram: CAN Alleges Jihad Plot on C' River"]

There is palpable fear of sectarian bloodbath in Cross River State, as leadership of the state chapter of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has uncovered an alleged plot by some Islamists to launch a holy war in Calabar.

The state chapter of CAN, other senior clerics and heads of various Christian churches have already sent a save-our-soul message to Governor Liyel Imoke, saying "now is the time to avert the looming religious carnage," as the fundamentalists were reported to have set up training camps in strategic parts of the state, in preparation for a bloodbath.

Clerics who signed the SOS included the President of Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria (CSN), Archbishop Joseph Ukpo who doubled as the Catholic Archbishop of Calabar Metropolitan Archdiocese, state President of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Bishop Archibong E. Archibong, President of Christian Council of Nigeria (CCN), Bishop Tunde Adeleye, President of Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), Bishop Emma Isong, and the leader of Evangelical Churches of West Africa (ECWA), Reverend Ijioma Okoro.

Others who signed the SOS entitled, "Bloodbath imminent in Cross River State," were the state Vice president of CAN, Reverend Farther Malachy E. Ephraim, State secretary of CAN, Most Reverend O. Ukpabi, and the State treasurer of CAN, Reverend Augustine Ogar.

Coming few days after the sectarian bloodbath in which several Christian clerics were killed and property worth millions of Naira destroyed in some parts of the North by members of the Boko Haram sect, CAN in Cross River State, has alleged that some Islamic sect members have sent messages through internet and

text messages, informing heads of various churches about their preparation to unleashed terror on the state.

Following the bloodbath scare, Daily Sun checks revealed that weekly activities in some churches have ebbed, as scores of Christian faithfuls were said to have become scared of participating in their routine church programmes.

The CAN leadership in the state said sources privy to the plot, have allegedly linked the sect to Al Shabad and Al Quadda which were said to have penetrated the state, in their alleged effort to impose Islam on all parts of Nigeria.

In a two-page document which was addressed to the state Governor and made available to Daily Sun, the state leadership of CAN said authentic information gathered, allegedly revealed that the fundamentalists have planned to carry out a ten-day jihad in the state, from September 29 to October 8.

The Jihad was allegedly intended to capture Cross River State, to enable the sect establish a base to raid the entire South-South, and other southern parts of the country.

According to the petition which was copied to the State House of Assembly, Assistant Inspector-General of Police in-charge of zone six, Calabar, the Chief Justice of the State, Commissioner of Police, and Paramount Rulers, the Clerics alleged that the sect has listed "203 Christians, especially clergymen and businessmen in the state,"| as targets for elimination in the course of the jihad.


Islamic Leader Says Nigeria 'Not Yet Addressed' Root Cause of Sectarian Crisis


[Report by Mohammed Amin: "Boko Haram Saga Not Yet Over, Says Sultan"]

Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa'ad Abubakar III, has said the Boko Haram debacle that engulfed some parts of the country recently is not yet over, as the root cause of the problem has not been addressed by the Federal Government.

Speaking during a chat with newsmen in his palace in Sokoto yesterday, the monarch maintained that the death of the sect leader, Mohammed Yusuf, would not bring an end to the problem.

He noted that most of those killed during the crisis came from outside the state, adding that most of Borno State indigenes who belonged to the sect were not killed.

He said despite the death of the sect leader, the followers are still lurking around and are likely to regroup, stressing that the government had not yet addressed the root of the problem.

"If you look at the issue critically, you will observe that the problem is still there, despite the killing of the Boko Haram leader. Now that the leader of the sect is dead, what about the followers, they have scattered and there are indications that they are regrouping," the Sultan stated.

According to him, the problems that led to the emergence of the sect had lingered over a given period of time because people were not really talking to one another, but expressed optimism that with concerted efforts such problems were surmountable.

The monarch further said recent measures adopted at the Nigerian Inter Religious Council (NIREC) deliberations were assuring that, in a couple of years, all these issues would be a thing of the past.

He expressed satisfaction with the conduct of some Islamic scholars who showed a lot of understanding during the Ramadan fast, by not attacking religious sects and the views of other preachers.

On the recent sack of some traditional rulers by the state government, the Sultan explained that the dethroned district heads went into politics, contrary to the warning issued to them at the inception of the present administration.

On the global economic meltdown, the monarch said Nigeria is not really worst hit, as most businesses in the country are not linked to the global economic system, adding that with the ongoing reforms embarked

upon by the Central Bank Governor (CBN) Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, the financial sector would witness change.

The Sultan stressed the need for Nigerians to come up with new ideas on how to solve problems bedevilling the nation rather than criticizing government policies and blaming past leadership.

"I think we should focus on how to solve the myriad of problems afflicting the nation rather than apportioning blame on the military and past leadership. This will not augur well for the progress of the nation," he said.

About two months ago, violent religious crisis orchestrated by the Boko Haram sect had engulfed some states in the North, which led to loss of lives and destruction of property.

Members of Boko Haram, which means Western education is sin, had clashed with policemen in Bauchi, leaving many dead in the wake of the attack.

The violence soon spread to Borno, Yobe and Kano States with even more casualties recorded. The Maiduguri enclave of the sect was levelled by the Nigerian security forces. Though the military men had taken control of the headquarters of the sect, however, the fleeing members of the group were alleged to have set ablaze the Makera Police Station in the suburb of Maiduguri.


Nigeria: Commentary Says Modernization 'Not' Dependent on Western Education


[Commentary by Iguda: "The Dilemma of Western Education"]

Contrary to what anti-western education (Boko Haram heretics) thought, many scholars studied and analyzed the impact and imprint of this system of education on our natives culturally and socially. Yoruba Muslim community of Lagos was almost the first victim of western education since 1899, terrified by missionary schools engulfing them turning their children to Christianity.

At times missionaries' confession scared natives to not wholeheartedly open up for the new system of education especially in Northern part of the country. Take for instance the confession of Mr. P.G.S Baylis on 23rd December 1926 thus ' attempt must therefore be made to harmonize our new learning with the indigenous culture with the aim of finding a society psychologically sound and able in which was best and what should be proved acceptable in western culture were without prejudice accepted. By this attempt of harmonization, lip service be paid to some aspect of Islam ( Qur'anic schools inclusive) and with such a deliberate neglect , it would possible to eliminate the Islamic value by the result of this harmonization'. Ref. No k6487 (142), 1926.

Historians and political scientists are in the best position to further explain this impact and the motive behind colonial education in terms of funding and content of the curriculum. This is what obviously raised suspicion against what ever bears or rather assumes western pattern, be it education or life style, particularly in Muslim dominated region of the North.

If these facts and many other substantial proves do exist, is it therefore rational to boycott western education? This, is what some Muslim intellectuals try to find out solution for , especially when a glance is cast on the negative impact of Western education on present generation of Arab Muslims in Tunis, Lebanon, Syria to mention but a few. On their coming back from Paris after graduation, two renowned Egyptian ladies, Huda Sha'arawy and Safiya Zuglul, celebrated their liberation from shackles and gags of Islam and tore hijab and then set it ablaze before a crowd of hundred young ladies. Here in Nigeria a similar episode happened when some graduates developed Marxist ideology as freethinkers.

Subsequently, an idea of Islamization was introduced in America by an erudite scholar, Ismail Alfaruqi, to emancipate future generation from intellectual slavery and cultural imperialism.

My little book (Dafin Boko Da Maganinsa) is nothing but an attempt to popularize Islamisation of knowledge Project that seeks to link all fields of knowledge with the teachings of Islam. Let there be hardworking and prudent young Muslim generation which would excel in pure and applied sciences, engineering and arts as true ambassadors of the faith. The book is however unconnected in whatever form with putting barrier between Islam and modern science and technology, and also unconnected with bypassing the law, encouraging violence or intimidation. From the beginning, the book discussed concept of society and social system, relationship between education and society (full excerpt of the famous speech of Alhaji Junaidu Wazir of Sokoto, October 1981 during the National Merit Award at A.B.U Zaria) was portrayed. The book went further to show the contribution of Islam to Science and Technology

and how Europe benefited from ample discoveries and intellectual treatises of Muslim scholars especially via Sicily and Italy. A worth noting point here is the unit explaining some Quranic verses that explicitly and vividly shade light on anatomy and human embryology, geology, oceanography and astronomical facts in full agreement with the findings of modern Sciences.

In the second chapter, the book discusses the historical background of Hausa land before and after the advent of Islam thereby highlighting the social reformation attained by Hausaland after the advent of Islam, Shehu bn Fodio revivalism up to the coming of Whiteman with western type of education. The preceding chapters of the book discussed in greater detail the impact of western education on the present world Muslim generations(excerpt of the famous book of the Late Malam Lawan Danbazau; Gazawar Yanboko A Dangantakarsu Da Jama a) was highlighted. In the third chapter, the concept of Islamisation of knowledge was discussed pointing out the successes and impediments so far recorded by the project. Food for thought on different topics of interest on the Islamic contemporary issues was annexed in the chapter. The book contains appendixes on important historical notes on Sultan Attahiru famous poet 'Zuwan Annasara' speeches of Luggard in 1903 and famous but inspired speech of the Late Wazir of Sokoto Alhaji Junaidu on Education And Society 1978 and 1980 were all illustrated.

The book came to vehemently oppose the view of the extremists who held that acquiring knowledge in western system of education is haram and at the same time came to sensitize those who look at westernization in education as a sacred cow, facts pointed out by Walter Rodney in his book How Europe Underdeveloped Africa are living testimony that westernization is not a prerequisite for development. Professor Samuel Huntington on his visit to Saudi Arabia in 1996 interestingly observes 'It's possible after all to modernize without westernizing. This optimism is based on three powerful examples, M'azab region, Saudi Arabia and Malaysia. Indeed after decade of fantastic modernization the young Saudi intellectuals seem to be more committed to orthodox Islam than they were 15 years ago.'


Nigeria: Kano State Governor Rejects Reported Regrouping of Islamic Sect Members

AFP20090928578013 Kano Daily Triumph Online in English 28 Sep 09

[Report by Aliyu Yusuf: "Alleged Regrouping of Boko Haram Members: Kano is Safe, Shekarau Re-Assures"]

Governor Ibrahim Shekarau of Kano state has refuted insinuations that members of the Islamic sect "Boko Haram'' are re-grouping in the state, saying the notion is baseless.

Reputing the insinuations during a popular two-hour radio programme: ''Da bazarku'' at Radio Kano, yesterday morning, the governor disclosed that such information got its root from unsubstantiated remarks by one prison official in the state.

He explained that government in collaboration with all security agencies is doing its best to ensure that nothing like "Boko Haram'' re-surfaces again in the state, saying that all hands should be on deck to achieve that.

The governor then called on the people in the state to report any strange activity to relevant authorities so that adequate measures can be taken.

Commenting on ASUU [Academic Staff Union of Universities] strike, the governor described it as unfortunate, saying the situation has created problems for both students and the university system in the country.

He lamented that both the federal government and ASUU members have problems for failing to bring out issues as they were as well as understand what is possible and what is not.

Governor Shekarau said to any right thinking person, strike actions should be viewed as a hindrance to educational development of any nation and therefore both parties should go back to drawing board and arrive at a consensus.

Expressing concern on the issue further, the governor said on his part he has contacted the relevant authorities including the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), and chairman of the Governors Forum on the matter, saying very soon, the forum would hold a meeting with a view to seeing what impact the governors will make in bringing to an end the ASUU and federal government's face off.

On the recent confrontation between some pensioners and the state government, the governor said the problem resulted from mis-understanding from some of them which is directly political.

He explained that it was a leadership tussle among members that created such misunderstanding , saying some of them have vowed to create confusion, but everything is now over.

He, however, gave them an opportunity to come up with anything new that will guide the government to ensure that they get their entitlements promptly.

Re-acting to a question on the policy which stipulates that permanent secretaries should retire after serving eight years, the governor described the development as dangerous, adding that at the end this will encourage corruption and other related offences among the permanent secretaries who know that they are going after certain period.

He recalled that something like that had happened during the military era of President Ibrahim Babangida which was reversed by the late Sani Abacha regime.

The governor assured people in the state that his administration will not relent in the execution of projects despite the short-fall in the federal grants.


Nigeria: Report Says Fears of Religious Fundamentalists' Attack Still Lingers

AFP20091002619005 Lagos TheWeek in English 28 Sep 09 - 05 Oct 09 pp 16-20

[Report by Aliyu Askira: "The Road to Chaos"]

Few months after the Boko Haram uprising in some parts of the North, Islamic fundamentalist groups are once again raising the flag of a fresh war. Fears over their agenda and tactics grip the nation.

On Monday, September 21, Alhaji Lawal Abubakar, Kano State controller of prisons, woke up unusually early and with a strange feeling, in spite of the air of festivities around the Eid-el-Fitir public holiday. He had earlier placed several calls to his men who assured him that all was well but Abubakar was still not ready to take any chance.

The prison boss quickly organized a press briefing to raise an alarm about the plan by members of Boko Haram to attack Kano prisons and free their members detained there. The alarm, he added, was based on an intelligence report indicating that several members of Boko Haram group were regrouping in Gezawa local Government Area of Kano State with the aim of attacking prisons in the state.

The strategy worked for Abubakar as men of the civil defense corps and the police later moved in to secure the Kano main prison.

Abubakar's assertion however caused serious uproar in the city’s security circle. In an interview with THEWEEK, the Kano State police public relation officer, Baba Mohammed, said that the police was not aware of any threat by the Boko Haram sect.

"We are not aware of any security threat by the Boko Haram and if there is any useful information from any quarters we are ready to follow it up," he said, adding that the police in Kano was ready for any threat.

In a related development, the Kano State director of the State Security Service [SSS], Alhaji Bello Tukur Bakori also told newsmen that such security report as indicated by the prison boss did not emanate from the SSS.

Two days earlier, specifically on Friday, September 18, members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria, also known as the Shittes trooped out in their thousands in most parts of the North to commemorate the annual Quds day in solidarity with the people of Palestine in their struggle in the Middle East.

This had led to a bloody clash between them and the police in Zaria where three people died in the process, though the Kaduna State police commissioner, Mahammadu Tambari Yabo, confirmed the killing of only two people, insisting that the Shiites were the first to attack his men. In the long procession, the group carried placards and banners with anti-American and Israeli inscriptions.

Two months ago, the Boko Haram, an Islamic sect which is opposed to western values and education led by one Mohammed Yusuf, was engaged in a bloody battle with the Army in Maiduguri, capital of Borno State and other States in the North. Yusuf was later captured and summarily executed while over 1,000 members of the sect, including a former commissioner in the State were killed.

Less than two weeks after the Maiduguri uprising, the police, acting on a tip-off from the Niger State government, had invaded a village in the Mokwa area of the State to dislodge about 4,000 members of another Islamic sect, the Darullslam.

The police and the immigration service later screened the group and deported many of them to their countries of nationality. The police later arrested the leaders and charged them for forceful abduction, restriction of members' movement, wife swapping, to mention a few.

The leaders of the remnants of the Boko Haram sect were also arrested and detained in Bauchi, Kano and Maiduguri. The detention however has not lowered the antenna of fear in security circles. Shortly after the death of Yusuf, security operatives stumbled on a fresh intelligence report that members of the group were regrouping under new leaders in a state in the North-West.

The group, according to the report, had planed to wage another war soon in its bid to Islamize the country. It also threatened to attack some 'infidel' southern states. The new leader of the group, one Mallam Sani Umaru added that the group has "started jihad in Nigeria and that no force on earth can stop it."

In what looked like a confirmation of the threat, last week, the Christian Association of Nigeria [CAN] last week raised an alarm that the group had perfected plans to attack some cities in Cross River State. The association in its letter signed by its chairman, Bishop Archibong Archibong, to the state governor, alleged that the group, which had links with AI Shabab of Somalia and Alqaeda, had moved assorted weapons to an undisclosed location in Calabar, the State capital.

The group was said to have marked churches, prominent Christian and business leaders for attack. The association also sent some copies of the letter to the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, the State Chief Judge, the State Police Commissioner and the Zonal Assistant Inspector General of Police.

But the state government, according to the chief press secretary and the special assistant to the governor on media, Mr. Patrick Ugbe, had vowed to crush any attempt to breach the peace of the State.

Early this month, tension was high in Agege, in the Agege Local Government Area of Lagos State with a high population of Hausa and Muslims. Police and soldiers were immediately drafted to the area after a wide-spread rumor of an impending Boko Haram attack.

Unlike the Boko Haram movement, the Shiites that operate under the leadership of Sheik Ibraheem Zakzaky, a Zaria-based Islamic cleric, who is a graduate of Ahmadu Bello University Zaria is also different from the Darul Islam that were recently dislodged from Mokwa in Niger State.

But in spite of their differences, all their leaders, except Mallam Mohammed Yusuf of the Boro Haram, are graduates. The groups are allegedly sponsored by groups based in Iran, Iraq, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Palestine, and Sudan.

After the clash in Zaria last week, Sheik Ibrahim ZakZaky allegedly went underground but his followers said that he was arrested and taken to Kaduna for questioning. In Kaduna, security sources told this Magazine that Zakzaky was taken to the SSS headquarters in Abuja.

Meanwhile, the aftermath of the clash in Zaria and the whereabouts of EI Zakyzaky are causing serious tension in Sokoto, Zaria, Kaduna, Maiduguri, Kano, Katsina, Gombe, Bauchi and several other states in the North.

To contain the rising tension, Islamic and political leaders in the north have been meeting to counter the plot of the fundamentalists. The leaders are also appealing to Muslims to shun religious extremism.

The Sultan of Sokoto and head of Amirul Mumini in Nigeria in his Ed-filtr sermon called on Islamic scholars to fear Allah in their conduct of Islamic propagation. He argued that Islamic scholars also need education because according to him, even Allah himself decreed that Muslims are free to go to any length of the universe to seek for knowledge and this, he said, include Western Education, which some scholars said is haram. "Boko is not haram," he added.

The Sultan maintained that most of our societal problems today was caused by poverty, disease and bad leadership and enjoined those in the position of authority to purge themselves of corrupt tendencies.

He lamented that the Boko Haram saga might repeat itself because the government has not really addressed the root of the crisis.

He noted that in spite of the death of the Boko Haram leader, his followers are still lurking around and they are likely to regroup and strike again. He added that the recent measures adopted at the Nigerian Inter Religious Council's deliberation were assuring and that the crisis would soon be a thing of the past.

Similarly the Emir of Kano, Alhaji Ado Bayero has also called for calm in the North. The Emir said that the activities of Boko Haram, Darul Islam and other fundamentalist groups are threats to the peaceful co-existence of the nation, adding that people should desist from engaging in the non-conformist ideas. He urged the government to deal decisively with the remnants of Darul lslam and Boko Haram.

Also, the secretary of the Arewa Consultative Forum [ACF], Mr. Anthony Sani told TheWeek that one of the causes of religious intolerance is electoral fraud and rigging. Islam and many religions he said, frowned at cheating and imposition of leaders on the electorate.

"So, what is happening in the country today is not surprising," he said.

Last week, the magazine got a snippet of the report of the General Abdullahi Sarki Muktar-Ied committee that investigated the Borno Boko Haram uprising. The report, which is ready to be presented to the president when he returns from Saudi Arabia where he went on an official visit, revealed that late Muhammed Yusuf and his group actually planned to topple the government of Yar'Adua.

A Security source insisted in Kaduna last week that this was partly why Yusuf was summarily killed to protect his backers. The report established that the plot was to spark off a nationwide uprising that would eventually topple the present government led by Umaru Yar'Adua.

The Mukhtar report also revealed that the attacks on police stations in Maiduguri, Gombe, Bauchi, Potiskum, and parts of Kano were actually a prelude to a general uprising meant to overthrow the federal government in order to establish an Islamic Republic, which is the ultimate goal of the group.

Meanwhile, Shehu Sani, president of the Civil Right Congress, in a statement in Kaduna last week, called on the international community to keep a tab on the issue so that a report will not be fabricated to justify the extra-judicial killing of Muhammed Yusuf leader of the Boko Haram and the members of his group.

"We are in a civilized society and we are signatory to the United Nations charter on human right. What happened to Yusuf and his group, to say the least, is barbaric, it was a clear case of extra-judicial killing and we in the civil right community condemn it in totality," he said.

Speaking to the press in Zaria last week, the spokesman of the Shiite leader, Dr. Abdullahi Danladi, debunked the claim that their leader, Sheik Ibrahim Yakubu El-Zakzaky had fled the country. Danladi alleged that the present predicament of the group stemmed from the attempt of the Kaduna State commissioner of police, Tambari Yaro, to bring down the group and its leaders at all cost on the allegation that the Shiites were stockpiling arms.

EI Zakyzaky had earlier denied this allegation himself. But the police commissioner Yabo, who also addressed the press, revealed that the group shot his men and in the process two of them were killed, while three were injured. Yabo vowed to retrieve all weapons in the possession of the sects because since they are piling arms, the probability that they were planning to strike was high.

Meanwhile, the leadership of the CAN gathered two weeks ago in Abuja to officially mourn the death of the pastors killed in the Maiduguri uprising. With the new threats of violence in the air, can the security forces prevent another round of mourning? Only time will tell.

[Description of Source: Lagos TheWeek in English - independent weekly news magazine]

Nigeria: Police Arrest 46 'Suspected' Islamic Sect Members in Lagos State

AFP20091004565005 Lagos Daily Independent Online in English 04 Oct 09

[Report by Joe Omokaro: "Police Arrest 46 Boko Haram Suspects in Lagos"]

Police in Lagos have arrested 46 persons suspected to be members of the violent religious sect, Boko Haram, which in July caused bloodbath in the Northern part of the country.

Sunday Independent gathered that the suspects were apprehended at Berger Area, an entry point to Lagos on the Lagos-Ibadan expressway.

Dependable police sources told this weekly on Friday that the suspects were being conveyed in a lorry when the police stopped the vehicle for a search and were stunned to see a large number of human beings instead of goods. Their number was said to have aroused suspicion, prompting the policemen to order the suspects out of the lorry for a thorough search and to explain their mission to Lagos.

It was also learnt that when their explanation could not convince the policemen, they were subsequently taken into custody and later transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) Panti, Yaba, for further investigation into their mission to Lagos.

Sunday Independent further learnt that they claimed to be Lagos residents who do menial jobs and were returning from Sallah holiday.

It was also gathered that majority of the suspects claimed to be natives of Kebbi State sharing borders with Niger Republic while few of them are said to be coming from Kwara State.

Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Marvel Akpoyibo, was said to have directed the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) in charge of Operations, Lateef Junaid, to liaise with the DCP in charge of SCID to investigate the matter. of the suspects "so that those who are not sect members should not be detained unjustly".

Akpoyibo, however, did not confirm or deny the arrest, but cautioned that issues that border on security should not be subjected to public knowledge, in order not to discourage foreign investors.


Nigeria: Group Condemns Government's Selective Approach to Social Deviants

AFP20091007606007 Abuja Leadership in English 07 Oct 09 p 1

The last may not have been heard of the Boko Haram episode as a group, Tawheed Initiative for Good Governance and Accountability [TIGA] has accused the federal government of sponsoring a mass killing of innocent young men, women, and children on the pretext of uprooting the troublesome sect. In a release entitled "Boko Haram: the culpability of Mr. President," and signed by its chairman, Dr. Adam Ahmad Abere, legal adviser, Barr. Sadau Garba, and publicity secretary, Mal. Aliyu Shehu Ibrahim, the group condemned what it described as the government's selective approach to social deviants in the country, saying that the Boko Haram mayhem could have been settled peacefully but for the order given by President Yar Adua to crush the sect.

The group, which also heaped blames on the Sultan of Sokoto, whom it said was contradictory in his comments on the mayhem and the subsequent killing of the sect's leader, traced the Boko Haram phenomenon to 1895 when the British invaded the Sokoto Caliphate. The Kaduna-based group said, "Since 25 July the world has been inundated with the so-called Boko Haram episode. Some people, especially the elite, felt and genuinely too that a group using Islam as a platform can successfully wage a war against western-designed education and could even go ahead and protectively arm itself against the Nigerian state.

"Between 25 July when the crisis broke out in Bauchi State and 6 August when the report of the government's killing of Sheik Muhammad Yusuf's in-law came in, more than 1,000 Muslims were killed by agents of the federal government in Bauchi, Kano, Yobe, and Borno states. Most of them were young men, women, and children. While at TIGA we do not support Sheik Muhammad Yusuf's style of rebelliousness against the state, we feel that as violently dramatic as the episode was it is typically inconclusive.

"Not only should Nigerians, especially Muslims, penetrate beyond government's claims and media reportage on the consideration, intent and philosophy of the group, they should be scientifically cursory about the corrosive and grossly over-killing method used by Umaru Musa Yar’Adua's government in solving the problem

"We are stupefied by the contradictory positions taken by His Eminence, the Sultan, JNI and Nigeria Inter-religious Council [NIREC]. In one breath, the Sultan commended the federal government and the security agencies for promptly containing the situation of the criminal activities of a devilish group called

Boko Haram while in another he condemned the killing of the leader of the group in police custody in what appears as an extra-judicial killing."

The group, which also condemned government's double standard seen in its engaging the Niger Delta militants in dialogue and granting them amnesty but massacring the Boko Haram sect, called on the president to apologize to Nigerians for the massacre of youths and to the Muslim Ummah for deliberately decimating its population.

[Description of Source: Abuja Leadership in English - Privately owned daily]

Nigeria: Yar'Adua Orders 'Full Scale' Probe of Sacked Intelligence Agency Chief

AFP20091015590007 Lagos Vanguard Online in English 15 Oct 09

[Report by Daniel Idonor: "Yar'Adua Orders Probe of Sacked NIA Boss"]

Abuja -- President Umaru Yar'Adua has ordered a full scale investigation into the alleged role played by the sacked Director-General [DG] of the Nigerian Intelligence Agency, NIA, Mr Enaruna Emmanuel Imohe, in the issuance of a Federal Government circular currently making the round in Nigeria's missions abroad that no mission should entertain any inquiry from the duo of former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai and former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu.

Beside the sack of the NIA DG, President Yar'Adua through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has directed all Nigerian missions abroad to disregard the earlier directive mandating such missions not to render any consular assistance to the embattled duo.

Also, the President has directed Nigeria's former Ambassador to Benin Republic, Oladeji Olaniyi, who is the most senior in rank to the outgoing DG to assume duty as the acting Director-General of the NIA immediately.

A circular exclusively obtained by Vanguard, dated October 13, 2009 with file no. MSO. II/53, from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to all foreign missions, said "the Federal Government has directed that the content of Tel. s.111 dated September 17, 2009 should be reversed. Consequently, any request for re-issuance of passport or any consular assistance to the former FCT Minister [Federal Capital Territory], Mallam Nasir el-Rufai and former EFCC Chairman, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, should be entertained."

According to the circular signed by the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bagudu Hirse, "for the avoidance of doubt, the said directive had no authority of Mr President who has ordered an investigation into the matter.

Furthermore, the Federal Government has reiterated that all Nigerian missions should give requisite consular assistance to any Nigerian, repeat, any Nigerian that requests for such assistance in any Nigerian mission abroad in line with the avowed commitment of the present administration to democracy and the rule of law".

It further stated that "Indeed, it is the inalienable right of every Nigerian to seek and be granted a Nigerian standard passport as enshrined in the Nigerian Constitution".

It also advised "all heads of mission should ensure immediate and strict compliance".

Imohe, was removed from his position, due to what industry watchers termed haphazard handling of a sensitive national matter.

According to our source in the Presidency, the removed NIA boss, who reportedly got approval from all necessary security authorities, including the office of the National Security Adviser to send a memo to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs instructing the nation's missions abroad not to provide consular services to the duo of el-Rufai and Ribadu was said to have allowed the said memo to leak.

"He should have couched such sensitive instructions in ciphers so that even if it falls into unsuspecting hands, they would not understand its contents," our source said.

It was also alleged that his sack may not be unconnected with the fact that the NIA did not provide the needed intelligence on the international connection of the Boko Haram sect, which instigated violence and bloodshed in some states in northern Nigeria recently.

Accordingly, Imohe who was appointed by former President Olusegun Obasanjo has been directed to hand over to the next in rank, Ambassador Olaniyi, who is currently on a 2-week course in the United States.

Ambassador Olaniyi is to head the NIA in an acting capacity, since he is also billed to retire from the service in January 2010.


web viewhe appealed to traditional and community leaders to watch what happens in their domains,

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