Curfew in Bauchi, North East Nigeria Over Religious Clash afp20090727614002 Abuja Hot fm in English 26 Jul 09

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.

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

Nigeria: Normalcy Returns To North Eastern States

AFP20090801614008 Abuja Radio Nigeria-Abuja in English 2100 GMT 31 Jul 09

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]

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

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.

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

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.

[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/]

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."

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

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.

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

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.

[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]

Nigeria: Authorities Organize Mass Burial for Victims of Clashes in Northeast

AFP20090802641001 Paris AFP (World Service) in English 1216 GMT 02 Aug 09

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.

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

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.