Nigeria: Report Gives Details, Says Terrorist Groups Gaining Foothold in Nigeria

The third term senator said members of the Borno Caucus in the National Assembly had been circumspect in commenting publicly on the situation in their state because of their strong belief that the situation could be peacefully brought under control.

He said they could, however, no longer continue to keep quiet as "the situation is deteriorating by the day and causing untold hardship on innocent citizens".

The Borno National Assembly Caucus, however, disclosed that it would conduct an on the spot assessment to ascertain the extent of damage to lives and property as a result of the Boko Haram crisis.

Meanwhile, it emerged Friday night that at least 25 people were killed and many others reported missing during a Nigerian military raid after a bomb blast blamed on Boko Haram, a statement from Amnesty International said.

The statement referred to an incident last weekend in Maiduguri, which has seen a wave of attacks attributed to the Islamist sect and where hundreds of troops have been deployed.

"In Kaleri Ngomari Custain, in Maiduguri, on Saturday 9 July at least 25 people were killed and at least 45 wounded, including women and children, when the Joint Military Task Force cordoned off a bomb site and went from house to house, shooting and arresting people living in the area," the organisation said.

"Many men and boys have been reported missing. According to eyewitnesses, the security forces burnt down several houses, forcing their occupants to flee."

The military had reported 11 dead in the wake of the incident, saying all were members of Boko Haram. Residents alleged that soldiers shot civilians and burnt down houses, but the military denied targeting innocent people.

"Reports say members of the security forces have repeatedly threatened to shoot everyone in the area if they failed to tip them off about future bombs," Amnesty said.

"As a results, thousands of people living in Maiduguri have already left the city, and many more continue to do so.

"Amnesty International calls on the Nigerian government to investigate the killings and bring to justice anyone found responsible for these heinous crimes.

"Allegations of rape of women by members of the Joint Task Force should also be investigated."

The military has also denied the rape allegations.

Amnesty said more than 140 people have been killed by Boko Haram bombings in Nigeria's north since January.

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

Nigeria: Suspected Islamic Sect Members Attack Police Vehicle in Borno State

AFP20110716598010 Lagos The Guardian Online in English 2300 GMT 15 Jul 11

[Report by John-Abba Ogbodo, Bridget Chiedu Onochie, Hendrix Oliomogbe and Njadvara Musa: "Violence Rages in Borno, Boko Haram Bombs Police Vehicle; Banks, Shops Close Operations; Delta Evacuates Students; Lawmakers Seek Withdrawal of Troops"]

It was still violence in Borno State yesterday as three suspected Boko Haram bombers attacked a police patrol vehicle stationed at the Bulunkutu Roundabout in Maiduguri at about 7.15am, injuring seven passersby.

The suspected armed sect members were said to have come in a vehicle, driven close to the police vehicle where one of them threw the bomb at the patrol van before members of the Joint Taskforce, Operation Restored Order (JTORO) came to the scene, firing at the vehicle used by he bombers.

Confirming the attacks, the spokesman of JTORO, Col. Victor Ebhaleme said the bombers attacked the police patrol vehicle, destroying it with the explosives.

"There was a blast targeted at the police patrol vehicle this morning by the Boko Haram sect members. The bombers used a vehicle to attack the policemen on patrol at Bulunkutu roundabout before soldiers came to protect the people in the affected area," he said.

The Guardian learnt that yesterday's bombing was a kilometre away from the scene of Tuesday's blast on the busiest airport road in the metropolis. There were no casualties in the blast, as only parts of the road were destroyed.

On whether any arrest had been made, Ebhaleme said immediately after the blast, policemen went for a house-to-house search for the fleeing bombers in Bulunkutu and Gomari wards.

Meanwhile, more residents have continued to flee Maiduguri over the security situation, as appeal by the Shehu of Borno, Alhaji Abubakar Umar Garbai Ibn El-Kanemi that the residents should stay appears to be falling on deaf ears.

The streets of Maiduguri as well as the markets and schools have remained deserted and closed. At the Ramat Shopping Complex, only a few shops were opened, including the ones on Baga Shehu Laminu and Kashim Ibrahim roads. All the banks on these roads have also been closed as the spokesman of the sect was said to have on Wednesday, in a telephone interview with reporters, vowed to attack more banks that failed to operate according to Sharia legal system.

At Bank PHB, the two gates were closed. One of the security guards said: "We are not opening this bank to public because of the directives from above that all banking services be suspended until the security situation improves." Customers yesterday queued up at all the Automated Teller Machines (ATM) of banks with security guards at most of the ATM booths in Maiduguri.

The only two banks that opened to customers were the United Bank of Africa (UBA) and the Central Bank of Nigeria located adjacent to UBA.

The Boko Haram sect has continued with its bombing threats yesterday, as Mallam Abu Zaid, who claimed to be spokesman of the Islamist sect said they were targeting the Presidential Villa and claimed responsibilities for the robbery attacks on three banks in Katsina, Bauchi and Borno States.

In a recent telephone interview of Zaid with journalists at the Government House, Maidugui, he called for immediate withdrawal of troops of the Joint Taskforce on Operation Restore Order (JTORO), claiming that the presence of soldiers in Maiduguri metropolis was a "a sad tale for innocent people."

The sect's spokesman said it knew its targets, stating that members of Boko Haram sect may consider a temporary ceasefire on condition that all the soldiers are withdrawn from the streets of Maiduguri. Zaid also admitted that "it is our men that carried out all the attacks on some banks in the state." According to him, they were forced to attack the banks because they were not operating within the precepts of Islam.

"They are not working for the cause of the masses and they are not operating within the Islamic system. We attacked them because we believe it is our right to do so," Zaid maintained, refusing to disclose the location from where he was speaking to journalists on phone.

Meanwhile, a total of 585 students of Delta State origin have been evacuated from the University of Maiduguri (UNIMAD) by the state government as a result of the spate of bombings and killin gs by the militant Boko Haram Muslim sect in Borno State.

On hand to receive some of the students in Asaba yesterday was the Commissioner, Bureau of Special Duties, Dr. Tony Nwaka, who reinstated the government's commitment to the welfare of all Deltans, no matter where they may be residing.

Nwaka who condemned the activities of the radical group was however happy that none of the students was either killed or died in an auto crash on their way back home from the long journey.

And despite the rising state of insecurity in Borno State with attendant mass exodus of people from the state in the wake of attacks by Boko Harram sect members, lawmakers in the National Assembly from the state have called on the Federal Government to immediately withdraw soldiers moved to the state to quell the violence.

Addressing journalists yesterday in the National Assembly, the Borno federal lawmakers under the auspices of Borno State National Assembly Caucus, led by Senator Ma'aji Maina Lawal said they resorted to addressing the press as the situation appeared to have crossed all normal boundaries.

The caucus maintained that the use of force would not provide the necessary solution to the problem of the sect, recalling that it was tried in the Niger Delta and some other trouble spots in the world but failed. It, therefore, called for dialogue with the sect and possible amnesty.

"Just like what happened in the Niger Delta, it was not the brute force that brought out the solution but the unconditional amnesty granted by the government. We are accordingly calling for a similar approach. Dialogue should commence with unconditional amnesty so that when people are coming to the table, they are not coming with swords and guns pointing on their necks and heads. We believe that engaging the elements in an honest process is better than guns so that peace and unity can return to Maiduguri and, consequently, to the northern Nigeria and Nigeria at large,'' they said.

[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: Edo Indigenes Return Home; Detail Islamic Sect's Terror Activities

AFP20110717598005 Isheri Nigerian Compass Online in English 0021 GMT 17 Jul 11

[Unattributed report: "Boko Haram in Military Uniform Shoot at usEdo Returnees"]

They are back to the safety of their various ancestral homes in Edo State. That did not, however, remove the anxiety with which they had lived in the last few weeks.

Some of the fleeing indigenes of Edo State who arrived from Borno State on Friday night disclosed that in several instances, members of the Boko Haram sect in military uniforms unleashed terror on citizens, maiming and killing at will.

Breathing the air of freedom, after they were lifted off from the killer fields, the fleeing Edo indigenes said that they had for weeks been in the grim embrace of death.

Narrating their ordeal at the University of Maiduguri, Mohammed Ali Abdullazeez who led the Edo students Association University out of the state and is financial secretary of the body said: "Outside the school environment, it had been continuous bomb blasts and gunshots from various angles."

Kingsley Oshoneme Atsegbua, a 400-level Business Management student painted a horrific picture of how he and his sister, Adiza, escaped death by the whiskers.

He said: "When the circular was given to us on Monday to evacuate on Tuesday, we left from school for an area called Shagari Low Cost estate for safety not knowing that that area was worse. That very day, there were a series of bomb blasts, so we had to stop somewhere and went to mechanic site. As we were there, we heard another bomb blast.

"Some men in military uniforms started shooting any one fleeing. They were killing people, irrespective of who they were. When we heard the bomb blast, we hid somewhere not knowing that the people in military uniforms were coming after us. My sister and I were sitting, together with our luggage. All of a sudden, we saw some guys running towards us. There was a wall behind us. Immediately I saw them, I scaled the fence and sustained ankle injury. Where we were, we didn't know that others in military uniforms were there pointing guns at us. My sister also managed to jump the fence and joined me. She came to me and we ran and ran. In fact, she was shivering and I was shivering too."

He continued: "About 30 minutes later, I went back to see if the situation was okay. There was this woman in that particular area who is the wife of a security man.

She called us and said that the men in military uniforms just left. They were four, cracking guns and shouting "where are those people that ran here?" The woman screamed that there was nobody. They said "No. No. We saw some people here."

The returnee said further: "They saw a warehouse and asked: 'Where is the key to the place?' The woman said that she didn't have any key. They went and shot the place open to make sure that there was nobody. After the incident, another man came and he was wet all over with mud. When I asked him what happened, he said he went out to pick his shoes when the men in military uniforms ran towards him. As he was trying to hide, he did not know there was a mud behind him. He had to force himself as if he was swimming so as not to be caught. Luckily, he escaped."

He added that: "On our way home, we saw a man who shot at that point. He was just coming from the opposite direction when they shot him. They killed him. He was not a student, but they killed him."

On the situation in Maiduguri, he said: "So many people were stranded at the motor parks, not only the state capital but also in the neighbouring states. The people that were going far were calling for attention to leave for safer areas. Even in those areas, they were told there was still crisis and they had to leave."

Receiving the returnees at the Government House yesterday, Oshiomhole described the situation in Borno State as unfortunate. He expressed optimism that the Federal Government would soon find a solution to the problem.

[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: Maiduguri Residents Relocate to Kano Following Islamic Sect Crisis

AFP20110720598003 Abuja Daily Trust Online in English 0400 GMT 20 Jul 11

[Report by Lawan Danjuma Adamu: "Boko Haram: Maiduguri Residents Relocate to Kano"]

Hundreds of Maiduguri residents fleeing the city because of the crisis in the area have relocated to Kano State. Our correspondent reports that most of them comprising of children, women and elderly persons are living under very difficult conditions.

Daily Trust gathered that many of the residents arrived Kano aboard trucks conveying grains. It was also learnt that some of them paid as much as N5,000 to be conveyed to Kano.

While a few of them managed to escape with their belongings, some left Maiduguri with only their motorcycles.

A mother of 13, Hajiya Hadiza Isuhu told our correspondent that she relocated to the Kano about nine days ago and has been sharing an Uncompleted two bedroom mud house with 19 other displaced persons at Rimin Kebe part of the state.

The woman, who expressed fear that two of her sons might have been killed by soldiers in the rampage, said she was resident in Bulunkutu area of Borno State before the attack.

She accused soldiers in Maiduguri of raping married women in the presence of their husbands.

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

Al Jazeera.net: Nigeria Admits Police Were 'overzealous'

GMP20110720966180 Doha Al Jazeera.net in English 2010 GMT 20 Jul 11

["Nigeria Admits Police Were 'overzealous'" -- Al Jazeera net Headline]

[ Computer selected and disseminated without OSC editorial intervention ]

(Al Jazeera net) -

The Nigerian government has for the first time admitted that its soldiers were "overzealous" in their fight against a radical Muslim group.

The military has been accused of extra-judicial killings and causing the deaths of civilians during its crackdown on the Boko Haram sect.

Boko Haram, whose name means "Western education is sacrilege" in the local Hausa language, has waged a violent campaign against Nigerian police and politicians.

Al Jazeera correspondent Emike Umolu reports.

[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: Lawmakers Avoid Boko Haram Discussions Over Attack Fear

AFP20110721606003 Lagos Vanguard in English 21 Jul 11 p 6

[Report by Ben Agande: "Fear of attack scare Reps' from discussing Boko Haram"]

The fear of a possible reprisal attack against them or members of their families has kept the house of representatives from discussing the growing menace of the Boko Haram which has been engaged in violent confrontations with security forces in Borno and other northern states, Vanguard investigations have revealed.

A cross section of members of the house of representatives who spoke with Vanguard, admitted that though the Boko Haram threat was a source of worry and concern to them, they were reluctant to raise the issue because of fear of attacks on them or members of their families. To underscore the fear, almost all members who spoke with Vanguard did so on the condition that they would not be quoted. A member from Borno State, who claimed he had lost some constituents and relatives to Boko Haram attacks, said the threat posed by the sect was greater than being reported in the media.

He said: "Look the issue is more serious than it is being reported. For those of us who know and have felt their viciousness, there is a serious problem ahead except the issue is nipped in the bud. All hands must be on deck to arrest this monster. For those of us in the state, we know that many of the leaders and commanders of the sect were trained in Somalia, Yemen and other crisis-prone parts of the world. They only use our vulnerable children as cannon fodders for their nefarious acts."

[Description of Source: Lagos Vanguard in English -- Independent widely read daily]

Nigeria: Boko Haram Sect Disagrees, Splits

AFP20110721606004 Lagos Vanguard in English 21 Jul 11 p 6

[Report by Daniel Idonor & Ndahi Marama: "Boko Haram sect splits"]

Confusion has crept into the camp of the Islamic sect, Boko Haram which has unleashed a reign of terror in the northern part of the country for several months as the sect has split into two factions. One faction, the Yusufiyya Islamic Movement, [YIM] has vowed to expose the other faceless group, which it described as evil group. The Yusufiyya group is made up of followers of slain leader of the Islamic sect, Mallam Mohammed Yusuf. This development came as President Goodluck Jonathan, yesterday, held talks with elders from Borno State, over growing insecurity in the state, which is believed to be the abode of the sect. The Yusufiyya Islamic Movement, in a two-page statement contained in leaflets yesterday, condemned the attacks and bombing of residences and places of worship by the other sect that claimed to be fighting a Jihad in the North. The leaflets were distributed on Tuesday to the various wards, Post Office Area and media houses in Maiduguri, Borno state capital.

Confusion, misinterpretation

The leaflets read in part: "The Yusufiyya Movement has come to mean different things to different people in the last few months. This confusion and misinterpretation have made it necessary for us to come out publicly with the clear truth regarding our concept, struggle, aim and ultimate objective, as our declaration would guide in distinguishing the Yusufiyya movement from the various labels ascribed to us, as the Boko Haram.

This is necessary in the light of genuine concern by individuals and groups to the mass suffering of innocent citizens caught in the cross fire between our members and the Nigerian troops. This concern has again brought to the fore, the daunting issue of reconciliation, through dialogue, with the Nigerian authorities and individual leaders involved in the naked abuse of our birthright to the peaceful propagation and practice of our religion as we understand it."

The sect argued that it was in the process of exercising their right to propagate their religion as they understood it, that their leader, Mohammed Yusuf was killed as well as the destruction and confiscation of their landed and moveable property in Maiduguri. Following their leader’s murder, the members therefore "resolved to wage a struggle between justice and injustice, between truth and falsehood, right against wrong, in which the sect was sure of victory."

The statement, however, noted that the public must know that the Yusufiyya Islamic sect is far from the image of the heartless terrorists, arsonists or sadistic robbers painted by other people with a distinct agenda, saying "it is therefore unbecoming to attribute attacks on the civilian population or places of worship to our group, the Yusufiyya Islamic Movement."

Referring to the factions in the Boko Haram sect, the statement further explained that; "ours is a clear fight for the blood of our founder, Mohammed Yusuf and other leaders who were slain in cold blood by former governor of Borno State (names withheld), the former Borno state commissioner of police and the late President", adding that the former president "has since been seized by Allah in an answer to the sect’s prayer for support against his aggression".

"We therefore distance our group from all the bombings targeted at civilians and other establishments and equally condemn them and pray that Allah expose those who perpetrated them and attributed them to us." Exonerating the Yusufiyya sect from other factions of Boko Haram sect, the statement declared: "We are concerned that some people with evil motives have infiltrated our genuine struggle with a false holy war that is outright un-Islamic. We call on this evil group to desist, failing which we shall have no option than to expose and hunt them. Finally, we have resolved to temporarily halt our fight against the assassination of our leaders in compliance with the prohibition of fighting in the holy month of Ramadan."

JTF in Borno to restore order

The Joint Security Task Force (JTF) spokesman, Lt.Col. Hassan Mohammed confirmed the statement and distribution of the leaflets on Boko Haram factions and temporary ceasefire in Borno State. He said: "The JTF is on top of the insecurity situations in Borno State. The factions being created in the Boko Haram sect and the temporary ceasefire from the Yusuffiyya Islamic sect could bring peace and the restoration of law and order by nipping all acts of terrorism by the other factions of Boko Haram sect."

Speaking on the alleged excesses of soldiers in fighting terrorism and other acts of violence, Mohammed said: "We are here in Borno to restore law and order and not to intimidate or harass any residents of the affected wards in Maiduguri metropolis." He said, "the truth of the matter, is that terrorism is the enemy of the entire world, including the killings and bombings of Maiduguri residents and their places of worship". He added that if the people could not live in peace without the protection of their lives and property, soldiers would not have place or relevance in any democratically elected country, like Nigeria. Nigerian soldiers, according to him, are learned and civilized professionals that are here in Borno State to protect people’s lives and property.

Military to remain in Borno - FG

Meanwhile, President Jonathan, yesterday, met behind closed doors with a forum of elders from Borno State; North East Elders and Arewa Consultative Forum, ACF, over the growing concern of insecurity in the North, following activities of the radical Islamic sect, Boko Haram. It was resolved that the military will remain in Borno State until enduring peace is restored. Those who attended the peace talks included Vice President Namadi Sambo, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, Senator Anyim Pius Anyim; Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr Mohammed Adoke; Chief of Defence Staff, National Security Adviser, Gen. Andrew Azaazi; ACF Board Chairman, Gen Jerry Useni; Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Senator Bala Mohammed and the Chief of Staff to the President, Chief Mike Oghiadomhe.

The meeting which began at about 1500 GMT, held at "House 7" of the Presidential Villa, perhaps to avoid the media that usually swarm on those suspected to have met with the President over sensitive issues. The elders who arrived Abuja on 19 July were said to have been accommodated at the Sheraton Hotel, before they were conveyed in a 30-seater Toyota coaster bus to the venue of the meeting. Information Minister, Mr Labaran Maku who briefed reporters after the meeting, said, all the parties agreed that the army should remain in the state till further notice.