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

Heavily armed and feral-looking soldiers dot the streets, routinely ordering commuters out of vehicles as they conduct searches for bombs and other weapons. The air is dense with panic; so dense that it chokes.

Suspicious glances are the norm. Hearts no longer beat; they thump violently, as people scurry away, hopefully in time before the next act of terror unfolds. Maiduguri may not be hell yet, but it cannot be more than a few streets away.

In the last three weeks, the scale and frequency of violence, authored by the Jama'atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda'awati wal Jihad, an Islamic sect known locally as Boko Haram, has ripped out the soul of the city.

Socio-economic activities are at an all-time low. Bombs explode regularly, killing huge numbers of people, especially at drinking dens in the city. The University of Maiduguri was closed down on 12 Jul, following the discovery of a threat letter, purportedly from the Boko Haram, calling for a closure of the institution before the end of this month.

The letter, dated 10 Jul read: "Our next target now is the university, which is our main target right from time. We give the school authorities till end of this month or before the beginning of Ramadan to release you all. If not, something very bad will happen."

Governments of states, especially in the South, moved to evacuate their citizens, some of them students of the university. But a spokesman of the group, who identified himself as Abu Zaid, told journalists via a telephone conference that the letter did not emanate from the sect. "It is belittling on our side to attack university students when our targets are places like the Aso Rock, the presidential villa and other high profile places in Abuja," he said.

Southeasterners resident in Maiduguri have been one of the worst hit categories. Between 10 and 16 Jul, Igbo traders, who dominate the Maiduguri commercial landscape, fled the city in large numbers. So did people from other parts of the country, with some vowing never to return.

Commercial motorcycle operators, whose business has been outlawed, have also been mortally hit. They have been leaving the city in large numbers. Igbo traders, some of whom had fled Maiduguri before the latest round of violence, claim that they are the prime targets of robbers believed to be Boko Haram members, who usually arrive armed on motorbikes and in broad daylight to relieve them of huge amounts of cash. Often, claim the traders, the robbers also kill.

Robbery incidents are said to be common on Ahmadu Bello Way, the hub for trade in machine and automobile parts; Baga Road, dominated by building materials merchants; and the Bank of the North area, where Igbo traders also sell auto spare parts.

About three months ago, Igbo traders complained to the Shehu of Borno, Abubakar Ibn Umar El-Kanemi, who had promised to intervene on their behalf. The nature of the intervention, if it was made at all, remains unknown and has had no effect

The Shehu himself is considered bad news by the Boko Haram, which murdered his brother, Abba Annas, on 30 May. Annas, an officer of the Civil Defense Corps, was chatting with his friends at the entrance to the Shehu's Palace when he was gunned down.

The sect, which obeys its own rules only, clashed with the Borno monarchy during the 2009 Ramadan period, when it announced that its members would pray at a time not in consonance with the time the generality of Muslims pray. This prompted the former Shehu, Alhaji Mustapha Umar El-Kanemi, to order the sect to rescind its decision.

But it was an impotent order and the late Shehu, apparently unwilling to irk the sect, backed down. The authority of the current Shehu, a retired permanent secretary, is not recognized by Boko Haram members, which consider him ineligible for the position.

The Shehu was installed by Ali Modu Sheriff, former governor of Borno State, whom the sect accused of involvement in the arrest and eventual killing of Mohammed Yusuf, its leader, in 2009.

The spark for exodus of Igbo from Maiduguri was the death, from heart attack, of one MC Tony, a building materials merchant who had shops at Gwange Zuwa Dawuri Junction. In April, four armed Boko Haram members arrived in Tony's warehouse and robbed him of N500,000.

Five weeks later, they returned and made away with a similar sum. Shortly after the second raid, Tony, 46, suffered a heart attack and died. In between the raids on Tony, furniture showrooms in the Gwange area were attacked by people suspected to be members of the Islamic sect.

The raid led to the killing of three of the Igbo traders. At Mairi, Sabon Layin, and Umarari areas, Igbo owned drug stores also suffered the same fate. At Mairi and Umaran, the shop owners were also gunned down after being robbed.

Last month, Maiduguri, a city not accustomed to news of bank robberies, was badly shaken by a raid on the Finbank branch on Bama Road. Six men, said to be Boko Haram members, went to the bank on motorbikes, detonating 12 bombs along the way.

They gained entry into the bank, killed the security guard for attempting to close the gate and snatched three cash-loaded bags. As they left, they shot into the air and also threw up crisp naira like confetti.

People who had fled the streets at the sound of gunfire suddenly ran out of hiding to pick the cash. While that was going on, another Boko Haram squad was shooting joyfully at the Gwange Police Station, located beside the bank. The assault on the police station left five policemen dead.

Zaid admitted that the sect had carried out two bank robberies because banks support causes that contravene Islamic injunctions. "The banking system in Nigeria does not allow small depositors of between N20, 000 and N100, 000 to bear the loss of a failed bank.

Rather, it is the government or the top management of the banks that bear the losses. Anybody who knows the operations of the banks will realize that we are not touching the poor people's money and Islam has obligated us to do so. So, big banks like Bank PHB, Unity Bank, and First Bank fall under the banks we will continue to attack, Insha Allah," Ziad said.

While the sect has claimed responsibility for bank robberies, killing of traditional rulers, ward heads, and numerous politicians, they have never taken responsibility for attacking Igbo traders.

There are indications that the sect is already factionalized. A month ago, a prominent member, Al-Wazihri, was disowned through a statement issued by a group within the sect. Before then, Al-Wazhiri, who functioned as the spokesman, was held in high esteem within the group.

He frequently related with the international media. He is said to have been suspected of working with security agencies and some politicians to break the ranks of the sect.

Late last week, a bolder evidence of rift was supplied by the threat of a faction, the Yusufiyya Islamic Movement [YIM] to expose the other group, which it described as evil. The YIM is made up of followers of their slain leader, Mohammed Yusuf.

In an unsigned two-page statement distributed as leaflets last Tuesday, the YIM condemned attacks and bombing of residences and places of worship by the other faction that claims to be waging a holy war in the North. "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," the statement read in part.

The YIM explained that it was moved to adopt its new stance because of the concern expressed by individuals and groups to the suffering of innocent citizens in the sect's fight with the security apparatus of the state and the prospect of reconciliation, through dialogue, with the federal government.

The statement then enunciated the group's objective. "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 Yar’ Adua," it said. The YIM added that the former president has been called by Allah in an answer to the sect's prayer for support against his aggression.

"Finally," added the YIM, "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."

The spokesman for the Joint Security Task Force [JTF], Lt. Col. Hassan Mohammed, confirmed the distribution of the leaflets by Boko Haram factions and temporary ceasefire in Borno State. The split within the sect, perhaps, would lift the mood in Maiduguri, which has been turned into a suburb of hell by the Boko Haram.

The group's credentials as an audacious collection of murderous men have been strengthened by the bomb attack on the Police Headquarters in June. It has also emerged that it has affiliates in other countries, where members are sent for military training. Sudan, Somalia, and Mali are three of such countries.

Three months ago, some of its members were arrested in Damaturu, the capital of Yobe State and birthplace of the group's executed leader. The arrest, at a police checkpoint, was the product of a tip-off. Many of those arrested were found carrying Malian passports and a vast collection of ammunition.

Boko Haram's hard men bona fides have been exhibited without restraint. Last month, it bombed pubs at the Mammy Market at Wulari Police Station and in the Bulumkutu area of Maiduguri. While no official casualty figures were released for the incident at the barracks, the Bulumkutu bombing claimed over 25 lives.

For the Boko Haram sect, the bombings served a dual purpose - an advertisement of its readiness to enforce Islam's abhorrence of alcohol and its disdain for security agencies accused of killing of its members.

At a press briefing through the telephone, on 12 Jul, the Boko Haram reiterated its conditions for a ceasefire.

Apart from its oft-stated desire for the Islamization of 12 Northern states, the sect also demanded that the JTF be withdrawn from Maiduguri. Last week, when President Goodluck Jonathan met with elders from Borno State - the Northeast elders and leaders of the Arewa Consultative Forum [ACF] over insecurity in the North, it was resolved that the military will remain in Borno State until peace is restored.

Mr. Labaran Maku, the minister of information and communication, who briefed reporters after the meeting, said that all the parties agreed that the army should remain in the state till further notice. "There were broad-based consultations on the outcry for the withdrawal of military.

But in the light of this discussion, the meeting generally agreed that it is premature to withdraw the military. What was needed was that if there are cases of individual misbehavior by members of the Joint Task Force, the authorities will look into those cases," he said.

This is unlikely to appease the Boko Haram wing committed to an out-and-out war against the state and some residents, who feel that the JTF has gone beyond its peace-keeping brief. The heavy presence of gun-wielding JTF men on street patrol in Maiduguri and its environs has not completely snuffed out Boko Haram threats, but it has reduced them.

But just like the sect, the sight of the JTF continues to spook residents. This has continued to attract calls from prominent Borno elders that the soldiers be withdrawn. A statement signed by a group of Borno elders said: "Hundreds of youths have been shot dead by soldiers for no reason other than them being young people."

One of the elders told TheNEWS that he buried four young, innocent youths in his neighborhood on 11 Jul and that he is unsure whether their killers were Boko Haram members or soldiers.

Prominent figures in the state like Dr. Shettima Ali Monguno, Alhaji Bukar Bolori, retired General Abba Kyari, and Air Vice-Marshal Al-amin Daggash are of the view that the soldiers constitute a threat to the public. They have called for their replacement by competent policemen.

"The soldiers have been burning down houses, killing innocent people, looting private property, harassing innocent passersby, and even burning down cars and raping young girls," alleged the elders in a statement. After two early morning explosions on 12 Jul on Baga Road, JTF men allegedly fired into the air as people fled the scene.

The shooting was said to have continued till late in the evening. A Volkswagen Golf car, bearing passengers, got in the way of the bullets, which killed three of its occupants. The driver survived, but was gravely wounded.

The JTF claims that the gunmen were Boko Haram members but bystanders claimed that they were farmers. Instructively, no weapons were found on them. All through last week, the long stretch Road, a commercial part of Maiduguri, was cordoned off and shops and offices on street could not open for business.

Passersby were ordered by soldiers to put their hands above their heads as they walked through the checkpoints. The orders were accompanied by threats like ‘give am one bullet" and "shoot am down."

Last week, commuters leaving and entering Damaturu in Yobe State, complained about the activities JTF men, who searched vehicles and bodies for weapons. The exercise resulted in a traffic gridlock that wore out commuters' patience.

Many of them were overheard questioning the effectiveness of the searches, saying that no Boko Haram member will take bombs or weapons through an established checkpoint. On the surface, that sounds plausible but the sect was capable of doing the implausible, with the bombing of the Police Headquarters the model of the genre.

On 16 Jun, the car park of the Police Headquarters in Abuja went up in smoke following a blast from an explosive-laden car driven into the premises. The attack, which claimed at least two lives, came barely 24 hours after the inspector general of police, Hafiz Ringim, boasted that the Boko Haram would be suppressed in a matter of days.

The explosion took place shortly after Ringim's convoy rolled into the compound. The bomber was said to have followed the police boss’s convoy and got into the premises in spite of efforts to dissuade him by policemen riding in the convoy's last vehicle.

The driver of the bomb-laden car attempted to park the car beside that of the police boss but was stopped by a traffic warden, who forced him to move to an adjacent parking space. The traffic warden, who entered the vehicle to direct him to the car park, was blown up along with the driver as soon as they got to the park.

The explosion affected, according to the police, 700 cars, with half of them destroyed. The Boko Haram wasted no time in claiming responsibility for the incident, which is regarded as the first ever suicide bombing in Nigeria.

The adoption of suicide bombing seems to have achieved a variety of objectives. It advertised the group as one with an intrepid, come-get-us attitude. Two, given that it is generally more destructive than other terrorist attack the scale of destruction achieved was huge.

It also suggested to the public that an assailant ready and willing to die is much more likely to accomplish his aim of causing maximum damage target. In addition, the shock element of the incident also added to its media impact.

Until recently, the sect’s trademark was the use of gunmen on motorbikes, but there has been a big shift. From gunmen on motorbikes, their activities have risen to another level. The group first gained prominent attention in 2009 with a deadly and well-organized assault on Maiduguri and Bauchi, which claimed an estimated 700 lives.

The attempt of the government to rein in the group led to shoot-outs in the streets. Hundreds of Boko Haram supporters were killed and thousands of residents fled Maiduguri. When the government security forces finally seized the group's headquarters, capturing its fighters and killing Yusuf, its leader, the round of violence ended. But the killing of Yusuf proved incapable of diluting the sect's resolve.

The group has continued to advocate its opposition to Western civilization including education and political system. The sect's slain leader, Yusuf, once told the British Broadcasting Corporation that Western education spoils the belief in one God.

"There are prominent Islamic preachers, who have seen and understood that the present Western-style education is mixed with issues that run contrary to our beliefs in Islam," he said. "Like the rain, we believe that it is a creation of God rather than an evaporation caused by the sun that condenses and becomes rain.

There is also the saying that the world is a sphere. If it runs contrary to the teachings of Allah and we reject it. We also reject the theory of Darwinism," he added.

Since 2010, the sect has executed high-profile and powerful terrorist attacks. In September 2010, members of the sect stormed Bauchi prison, freeing 700 inmates. Some of those freed were its members. The group said that it did not want its members to undergo court trials influenced by Western legal codes.

Last February, the group also claimed responsibility for the murder of Alhaji Modu Fannami Gubio, the gubernatorial candidate of the All Nigeria people's Party. Ali Modu Sheriff, governor of the state, had described Gubio's death as politically-motivated until the Boko Haram sensationally claimed responsibility via posters pasted in Maiduguri.

The group also claimed responsibility for a series of bombings, following the inauguration of President Goodluck Jonathan, the killing of the Shehu of Borno's brother as well as Islamic clerics, who criticized their activities.

The sect has also widened its sphere of influence and range of activities, which were once limited to the Northeastern part of the country. From a marginal, violent and radical Islamic sect, the Boko Haram has grown into an insurrection that seems to have gained more widespread support.

The group claimed responsibility for the Christmas Eve bombings in overwhelmingly Christian-dominated areas of Jos in Plateau State. Officially, the death toll was put at 32, while 74 people were listed as injured. On 10 Jul, a bomb went off at the All Christian Fellowship Centre in Suleja in Niger State.

The explosion, according to official information, claimed three lives and left many injured. The Boko Haram also claimed responsibility for the attack, showing that it has the capacity to operate outside its immediate environment.

Abu Zaid, who spoke for the group in the wake of the attack on the Police Headquarters, was quoted by the Abuja-based Blueprint newspaper as saying that the group has members from all over the country.

Different beer garden bombings, targeting revelers in Maiduguri, have also taken place. The most sensational occurred on 26 Jun, killing 25 people and wounding 30 others. Shortly after, 10 people were killed in a car bombing incident in Maiduguri.

For those fleeing Borno State, things have been tough. Almost everything on wheels is overloaded with desperate residents. At Tashan Kano, a major motor park beside the NYSC Orientation Camp in Maiduguri, transporters have become lords.

Major transporters, who normally solicit for passengers, now have more requests than they can cope with. By the morning of 15 Jul, any intending passenger who got to the park even as early as 6:30 a.m. was told to add his or her name to the already long list of passengers who may be lucky to find a seat on buses bound for Aba, Onitsha, Port Harcourt, Lagos and other destinations, four days after.

Desperate travelers now resort to bribing touts offering seats on already fully-booked buses. The situation is the same at the other motor parks. Intra-city transport is equally hellish.

The ban on motorcycles, either for commercial or personal use, has resulted in an acute shortage of means of transportation. The only option to waiting endlessly is to proceed on long treks. Alhaji Kashim Shettima, the governor of Borno State, has continued to urge patience and has assured residents that the government will soon provide means of moving around.

According to the governor, 7,000 tricycles and 100 brand new buses will soon be made available for intracity transport. Operators of commercial motorcycles - the dominant means of transportation before the crisis in Maiduguri, are relocating to states like Yobe, Adamawa, Gombe, Bauchi, Kano, Kaduna, and Sokoto, where their business is not allowed.

[Description of Source: Lagos TheNews in English - independent weekly news magazine]

Nigeria: Islamic Sect Threatens To Attack Kano State 'If' Members Not Freed

AFP20110729581011 Abuja Daily Trust Online in English 0400 GMT 29 Jul 11

[Report by Hamza Idris: "Release Our Members, Boko Haram Tells Kwankwaso, Bayero"]

Members of the Jama'atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda'awati wal Jihad, also known as Boko Haram yesterday said security agencies have arrested many of their members in Kano State and called on Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, the emir of Kano, Alhaji Ado Bayero;, Wamban Kano, Alhaji Abbas Sunusi and Dan Masanin Kano, Alhaji Yusuf Maitama Sule to intervene before the situation gets out of hand.

They threatened that if their members are not released immediately, they will launch attacks in the ancient city of Kano, just like what is happening in Maiduguri, Borno State.

In a letter signed by Abu Zaid, the spokesman of the group which was sent through an email, the group said the present security situation in Maiduguri, coupled with attacks on security agents, ward heads, politicians and the subsequent bomb blast in some part of the country including the force headquarters suicide bomb attack was because their members were arrested and killed two years ago without reasons.

The letter said: "Every one may say it (attacks) is unfortunate uncalled for or what have you, but truth is sacred and will remain so even if people don't like it."

"Having got the clear picture of what happened, it has come to our notice that the present Police Commissioner, Director State Security Service (SSS) and ward heads have jointly started arresting our members in your state (Kano).

"Therefore, our member should be allowed to stay where ever they wish. We did not touch you, therefore, our members (Muslims) should not be touched.

"These same security agents' attitude made Maiduguri which was known as home of peace before to what it is today. This ugly attitude must be check and stopped with immediate effect and all those arrested should be released immediately, other- wise, I swear with Almighty Allah, we may be forced to deploy our men to Kano and make it worse than Maiduguri by the grace of Allah," they said.

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

Nigerian Top Muslim Leader Says Sect Not Behind All Violence

AFP20110729646002 Paris AFP (World Service) in English 1552 GMT 29 Jul 11

["Nigerian top Muslim leader says sect not behind all violence"-- AFP headline]

KANO, Nigeria, July 29, 2011 (AFP) - Nigeria's top Muslim leader has urged authorities to stop blaming an Islamist sect for all violence in the country's northeast, hit by scores of recent bomb attacks, and pursue those responsible.

Sultan of Sokoto Sa'ad Abubakar also criticised a deployment of troops to the region, with soldiers accused of brutal raids that have allegedly left dozens of people dead and houses burnt.

"Most of the crises in the northeast are not caused by Boko Haram sect, so we have to ask ourselves, 'Why is there violence in the northeast? Who are those behind them?'," the sultan said late Thursday.