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

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.

[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: Red Cross Says Islamist Uprising Killed 780 in one Nigerian City

AFP20090803683002 Paris AFP (World Service) in English 1521 GMT 03 Aug 09

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.

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

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.

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

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

AFP20090804565001 Abuja Daily Trust Online in English 04 Aug 09

[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.

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

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.

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

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.