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

Fleeing residents of Alemderi who spoke to Nigerian Tribune said that the blast shattered the patrol vehicle of the Joint Task Force on Operation Restore Order in Borno, living an army officer dead.

According to the man who identified himself as Mohammed Sani, "immediately after the blasts, we could not tell exactly whether it was an exchange of fire between the JTF and Boko Haram members, or it was the military that were firing, but people were killed, shops were burnt and several cars also were damaged. The military went mad because it affected one of them as such we had to flee the area because we all knew what would happen next."

The JTF spokesman, Lieutenant-Colonel Mohammed Hassan, told Nigerian Tribune that the bomb was planted near a high tension cable on the road heading to Dala Kabamti (the local beer joint where hundreds of people were massacred by unknown gunmen).

According to Lieutenant-Colonel Hassan, the sect planted the bomb targeting the JTF which unfortunately got at them, adding that there would be a news release from the JTF to that effect and that they would explain everything later.

But when Nigerian Tribune contacted the Field Operation Commander, Colonel Victor Ebhaleme, he said that the blasts ripped apart the JTF vehicle killing a NAF officer.

He explained that this was what the JTF had been fighting and nobody was spared by the sect members. "We would get them and they would definitely face the music," he added.

Also, an elderly woman, who spoke to Nigerian Tribune in Bullumkuttu, Abuja ward, said she took some people to work on a farm and while coming home, she saw people running and those who knew her asked her to go back as soldiers had cordoned off the area.

According to her, she left her grandson at home who was still sucking, because the mother left him with her to go and write her examination at the university. "They said 'Mama, go back, there is shooting' and I told them it was not possible. I left my grandson at home, I had to go and see him no matter what. When I got home, soldiers were in front of my house, some of them were shouting and asking people to go back. I saw them beating somebody, I think they took him away because when my last born came to open the gate, we saw them beating people, but they didn't talk to us as I entered my house and closed the gate," she explained.

At the time of filing this report, several attempts to get the Borno State Police Commissioner, Mr Simeon Midenda, to speak on the issue did not yield result as his phone kept ringing without response.

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

NGO Accuses Nigerian Soldiers of Abuses After Deadly Bomb Attack

AFP20111011637006 Paris AFP (World Service) in English 2202 GMT 10 Oct 11

["Nigerian soldiers accused of abuses after deadly bomb attack" -- AFP headline]

KANO, Nigeria, Oct 10, 2011 (AFP) - Nigerian troops were accused of burning homes and shooting indiscriminately on Monday after a bomb attack in the country's northeast blamed on Islamists which killed a soldier and a civilian.

A military spokesman denied soldiers had carried out abuses and said the bomb blast in the violence-torn city of Maiduguri set off a fire fed by petrol canisters along the roadside that took three hours to douse.

"We have been forced to abandon our homes by shooting and burning of homes and vehicles by soldiers following the attack on their patrol vehicle," one resident said by phone. "Everybody is fleeing."

Another resident gave a similar account.

It was not the first time the military has been accused of abuses in Maiduguri, where thousands of residents have previously fled fearing further violence by Islamists and reprisals by soldiers.

The military said suspected Islamists remotely detonated a bomb that set off the fire.

"Three soldiers and one civilian were seriously injured following the explosion of a remote-controlled improvised explosive device planted along a dusty road in Dala area of Maiduguri," Lieutenant Colonel Hassan Mohammed said.

He said later in the day that one of the soldiers and the civilian died from their injuries.

The assailants were believed to be members of the Islamist sect known as Boko Haram, blamed for scores of attacks, mainly in the country's northeast.

The sect also claimed responsibility for the August 26 bombing of UN headquarters in the capital Abuja that killed at least 23 people.

"We believe that the device was planted by Boko Haram people. We have arrested eight suspects in connection with the explosion," said Mohammed.

The civilian was selling petrol by the roadside in the area at the time of the explosion, said Mohammed. Petrol canisters in the area contributed to the inferno, he said.

Nine vehicles parked along the narrow road were burnt, he said.

The bomb "was detonated by a remote control targeted at one of our patrol vehicles. The device exploded as our patrol vehicle was passing by. The vehicle was flung metres away", he said.

Soldiers have previously been accused of shooting civilians and burning homes after accusing residents of cooperating with the Islamists.

Amnesty International has said security forces killed at least 23 people following a bomb blast in Maiduguri in July and 25 people died in a raid following another bomb attack earlier that month.

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

Nigeria: Violent Islamic Sect Kills Four in Maiduguri

AFP20111012686008 Port Harcourt The Neighborhood in English 12 Oct 11 p 13

[Report by Bisi Ojediran: "Boko Haram Kills Four in Maiduguri"]

Members of the Boko Haram sect have killed four persons and injured three others in separate attacks in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.

Three of the casualties were reportedly killed by the sect’s gunmen at Baga International Fish Market, while a soldier died when a bomb exploded in Gwange area of the town. Three other persons were injured.

An international timber market near the fish market has been shut down for fear of possible attack by the sect.

The gunmen were said to have trekked into the fish market, where neighboring Chadians, Nigeriens and Cameroonians usually buy dry fish, and shot two local tea sellers.

An hour earlier, members of the sect had killed a patent medicine seller in the town, bringing the casualties to three. Several people were injured in the sporadic shootings that followed the fish market attack.

The Joint Task Force [JTF] spokesman, Lt.-Col. Hassan Mohammed, told reporters on phone that he was not aware of the incident, but said: "something happened in Baga Road area this morning". He said: "I have sent my men to Baga Road area where we learnt that something happened. I cannot tell authoritatively whether or not there was an attack, but we shall surely arrest whatever situation we find there."

Some traders told reporters that they were tired of the activities of JTF officials, who allegedly shoot at innocent civilians.

A fish seller, Mallam Ahmed Ibrahim said: "We are in a serious dilemma here. Some gunmen come into the market and kill our people everyday. Instead of the JTF going after them, they are busy chasing us out of the market and forcing us to leave our shops unattended." The two international markets have been closed.

Mohammed said some unidentified persons planted an Improvised Explosive Device [IED] near a high tension electricity pole in Dalla and detonated it when a JTF vehicle was passing by. He said the explosion shattered the area.

Mohammed said the fire from the explosion caught a petrol hawker by the road side near a mechanic workshop, adding that it destroyed some cars.

The JTF spokesman said the injured were taken to the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital [UMTH] for treatment. He said the JTF has begun investigations and that some suspects have been arrested over the blast.

Some residents who spoke to our correspondent accused the JTF of setting the area ablaze leading to destruction of cars and not a petrol hawker as JTF claimed.

[Description of Source: Port Harcourt The Neighborhood in English -- Privately owned daily]

Nigeria: Suspected Boko Haram Gunmen Kill Policeman in North East of Country

AFP20111016586001 Paris AFP (World Service) in English 1835 GMT 15 Oct 11

["Nigeria policeman shot dead by suspected Islamists: police" -- AFP headline]

LAGOS, Oct 15, 2011 (AFP) - Two men suspected of belonging to the Boko Haram Islamist group shot dead a policeman in northeast Nigeria, police said on Saturday.

Maliki Audu was killed late Friday in his home in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state.

"The two gunmen we believe to belong to Boko Haram sect fired several shots into the chest and the head of the policeman in his house, killing him on the spot," Borno state police commissioner Simeon Midenda told AFP.

"From all indication they trailed him to his house."

The Boko Haram sect has been blamed for scores of shootings and bomb attacks, mostly in Nigeria's northeast.

The group claimed responsibility for the bombing of the United Nations headquarters in Abuja on August 26 that killed at least 23 people.

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

Xinhua: 2nd LD Writethru: Bomb Explosion Hits Nigerian Mobile Police Base, Casualties Feared

CPP20111016968086 Beijing Xinhua in English 1100 GMT 16 Oct 11

[Xinhua: "2nd LD Writethru: Bomb Explosion Hits Nigerian Mobile Police Base, Casualties Feared"]

[Computer selected and disseminated without OSC editorial intervention]

GOMBE, Nigeria, Oct. 16 (Xinhua) -- An early morning bomb explosion on Sunday hit the Nigerian police mobile base in northern Gombe State.

A competent source told Xinhua that a powerful explosion rocked "Mopol 34" in Gombe state at about 4. a.m local time, saying casualties are feared.

The source said some unknown gunmen suspected to be members of the dreaded Islamist group Boko Haram hurled a bomb at the mobile police base leading to the explosion.

"Two building and seven operational vehicles were badly burnt, " the police source told Xinhua.

But the police at the scene said they could not confirm the figure at this stage.

Xinhua's reporter at the scene said the mobile police base is some few km away from the state capital, noting that the police was able to discover another bomb that was yet to be exploded.

He added that the gunmen carted away some undisclosed arms and ammunition.

State commissioner for police Erubebe Ebikume confirmed the attacked to Xinhua in his office, but decline to give further details.

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

Nigeria: Suspected Islamic Sect Gunmen Kill Policeman, 3 Others in Gombe State

AFP20111017598002 Lagos This Day Online in English 17 Oct 11

[Report by Segun Awofadeji and Seriki Adinoyi: "Gombe: 4 Killed as Gunmen Attack Mobile Police"]

A police officer and three civilians were in the early hours of Sunday killed when unknown gunmen suspected to be Boko Haram members attacked 34 Squadron Mobile Police Base along Dukku Road on the outskirts of Gombe metropolis.

Also in Jos, Plateau State, a soldier was lured to his death, while a reprisal by the Special Task Force (STF) led to the death of a civilian.

Security has been beefed up in Gombe with multiple checkpoints as every passing vehicle is now being stopped and searched.

THISDAY counted 14 operation vehicles of the police parked close to the armoury which were completely burnt, with the charred remains of the officer on duty. The armoury was blasted with explosives.

The Gombe State Commissioner of Police, Orubebe Gandi Ebikeme, confirmed the attack and deaths but said they were still working on the details of the attack which took place at about 2am Sunday.

Commenting on the development, the Assistant Inspector General of Police, Yola Zone, Mr. John Moronike, expressed relief that the attack on the armoury was not as severe as initially feared.

Moronike refused to ascribe the incident to the Boko Haram sect, armed robbers or any group but said the matter would be thoroughly investigated before they could be sure of the actual culprits.

He said: "We are still working and investigations are on. I don't want to rush into judgment because it is too early to suspect anyone or group. But one thing I will assure you is that the police are on top of the situation."

In Jos, a soldier attached to the STF, Sgt. Baba Wuya, was on Saturday night killed along Lasisi Street of Ali Kazaure area of Jos North Local Government Area of the state.

The sergeant was said to have been lured by some youths in the area into a corner where he was killed in cold blood.

This angered the other soldiers, who mobilised and launched a reprisal in the early hours of Sunday, resulting in the death of a civilian, the Ward Head of Ali Kazaure, Alhaji Ahmadu Ali Kazaure, while several others were said to have been seriously injured and are receiving treatment at the Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH).

A resident of the street, who gave his name as Abubakar, said the soldiers raided Lasisi Street in great anger and shot at random, killing the man and injuring several others. He said the corpse of the late Kazaure had been deposited at the mortuary in JUTH.

A statement from the STF spokesman, Cpt. Charles Ekeocha, confirmed that the soldier, an STF member, was killed while on duty.

"A soldier serving with the special task force was machetted to death by unidentified persons along Lasisi Street, Ali Kazaure area of Jos and his weapon carted away.

"The soldier, Sgt. Baba Wuya, was on his way to check another of his guard post when the incident occurred," the statement added.

Ekeocha said it was condemnable that the same people the soldiers had been sent to protect were in turn killing them.

"The soldier was murdered in cold blood ostensibly by the same people he is trying to protect. His murder borders on criminality and that is why his rifle which is the target of the killing was carted away. This weapon will in turn be used to perpetrate crimes on the innocent citizens of Jos and its environs.

"The STF wishes to use this medium to draw the attention of the citizens of Plateau State that any individual or group of persons who are bent on fomenting trouble with the sole aim of truncating the peace of the state are not welcomed," he said.

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

Nigeria: Suspected Islamic Sect Members Kill Lawmaker in Borno State

AFP20111017598001 New York Sahara Reporters in English 0017 GMT 17 Oct 11

[Unattributed report: "Boko Haram Kills Lawmaker in Maiduguri"]

A member of the Borno state house of assembly representing Konduga local government area. Hon. Modu Bintube, has been killed by suspected Islamists in Maiduguri on Sunday.

Alhaji Bintube,50, was reportedly shot in the head at his residence early evening on Sunday.

Radical militant group, Boko Haram, claimed responsibility for the killing.

[Description of Source: New York Sahara Reporters in English -- Nigerian Diaspora human rights-oriented news website; URL: http://www.saharareporters.com]

Boko Haram now Reportedly Targets Prominent Nigerians in Abuja, Kano, Kaduna

AFP20111022619004 Lagos National Daily in English 17 Oct 11 - 24 Oct 11 1, 7

[Report by Olutayo Olubi: "Boko Haram targets prominent Nigerians"]

It might take quite a while for the present wave of terror acts currently raging in the country to subside. This is in view of the readiness of the country's latest face of terror, the Boko Haram sect to carry out more attacks.

Investigation has revealed that the sect that has gained unwholesome notoriety within the last two years has promised to carry out more attacks, specifically in the nation's capital territory, Abuja and some state capitals in the North, to wit: Kaduna and Kano.

The sect has also expressed its willingness to direct the attacks at notable and influential Nigerians living in these cities. The unrepentant and deadly Nigeria's Islamic group claimed that it has devised new strategies to detonate bombs in parts of the country especially in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory.

The statement "issued by the sect reads: "This is to let the residence know that we have no device in Abuja but we are planning an attack in two weeks time. People should steer clear. Our commodores are working on a different tactics against the Nigerian state.

"Insha Allah, we will be guest in Abuja," the terse message stated. Findings revealed that security operatives have been placed on red-alert in Abuja and most state capitals in a bid to counter any planned attack by the dreaded Islamic sect.

Another attack

However, no matter the security checks put in place seemed not to be effective because the Federal Capital Territory last Thursday evening witnessed another explosion as three buildings in the highbrow Maitama District were partially damaged.

In the explosion, residences of retired General Lawrence Onoja, a former principal general staff officer to the late Head of State, General Sani Abacha and ex-director general of the defunct National Security Organization, Alhaji Umaru Ali Shinkafi, on Lahn Crescent, Maitama District, Abuja, were affected. The third building affected is located at No.3 of the street which is barely 500 meters away from the official residence of the inspector general of police, Alhaji Hafiz Ringim.

Expectedly, the incident created panic among residents and security agents within the vicinity where the official residences of some ambassadors and heads of foreign missions are also situated, as people scampered for safety amid fears that the dreaded, Boko Haram, might have struck again.

Confirming the incident in a telephone chat, Ringim said that it was an explosion and not a bomb blast. According to Ringim, "it is true that there was an explosion, but it wasn't a bomb.

What happened was that the owner of the plot had contracted a construction company to build a structure for him and in the course of doing the job, the workers used explosives to blast stones, which caused the destruction. Police are investigating the incident to determine how they came about the explosives."

At the residence of General Onoja, who was also a former military governor of Katsina and Plateau states, red mud covered the entire compound just as the roof of his building was partially ripped open.

Also, the front and rear windscreens of a sleek Mercedes Benz car with registration number Abuja CF 476 ABJ, were completely shattered.

A resident, who pleaded anonymity said that the was car was parked at the periphery of the fence behind the retired army officer's residence but was pushed to the front close to the security post by the impact of the blast which occurred directly behind the building.

Investigation revealed that the worst hit was House No. 3 Lahn Crescent, which had its roof almost totally damaged. No fewer than 10 persons were seen fixing the damaged roofs and other parts of some of the affected buildings when reporters from this newspaper visited the area.

General Onoja, who was seen at his residence trying to put things together, declined comments.

Basis for negotiation

These attacks are seen as an attempt by the sect to set the appropriate tone for possible negotiation with the federal government. The Islamic sect insisted that the release of its detained members remained the first condition for dialogue. The pronouncement came after three people were killed in renewed attacks in Maiduguri, Borno State.

Restating its position for negotiation with government, the spokesman for the sect, Ahu Qaqa said in a statement, "our position remains the establishment of shariah law in all Muslim states in Nigeria. But as a temporary measure for peace, we will accept to talk with the government only when all our members in captivity all over the states are released."

He added that the sect had the records of its members arrested either by the police, the State Security Service or other security agencies. Qaqa also pointed out that the group did not have any other motive than the entrenchment of Islamic law in Nigeria.

He, however, faulted the claim of the Gaji Galtimari-led federal government committee on security challenges in the Northeast that members of the Boko Haram is ready to dialogue with the government. "We only heard the story in the media; nobody contacted us throughout the sitting of the committee.

So, it is wrong for them to recommend dialogue with us when they did not make any effort to meet with us. The idea of appointing the Sultan of Sokoto as a mediator between us and the government is also not acceptable to us because the Sultan is not the authentic Muslim leader in Nigeria."

Assault list

It will be recalled that a suicide car bomber and member of the Boko Haram sect on 26 Aug 2011 blew up the UN headquarters in Abuja, leaving at least 24 persons dead and dozens more injured among several other deadly attacks.

Earlier in Yobe state, Boko Haram fighters reportedly used fuel-laden motorcycles and bows with poison arrows to attack a police station and in January 2010, the group struck again in Borno State, killing four people in Dala Alemderi ward in Maiduguri metropolis while on 7 Sep, 2010, the sect members freed over 700 inmates from a prison in Bauchi State.

In December 2010, the group was blamed for a market bombing following which 92 of its members were arrested by police, while on Friday 28 Jan, 2011, the Borno State candidate of the All Nigeria People's Party for the April 2011 gubernatorial elections was assassinated along with his brother, four police officers, and a l2-year old boy.

Meanwhile, on Tuesday 8 Feb, 2011, Boko Haram gave conditions for peace, demanding that the Borno State governor, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, should step down from office with immediate effect and also allow members to reclaim their mosque in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State but on 9 May, 2011 the sect rejected an offer for amnesty made by the governor-elect of Borno State, Kashim Shettima.

On 1 Apr, the eve of Nigeria's legislative elections, suspected Boko Haram members attacked a police station in Bauchi State and on 9 Apr, a polling centre in Maiduguri was bombed while on 15 Apr, the Maiduguri office of the Independent National Electoral Commission was bombed, and several people were shot in a separate incident on the same day.

On 17 Jun, 2011, the group claimed responsibility for a bombing attack on the police force headquarters in Abuja that occurred the previous day, just as security officials believed that the attack was the first suicide bombing in Nigeria's history and that it specifically targeted the police inspector general, Hafiz Ringim.

On 26 Jun, 2011, the sect carried out another bomb attack on a beer garden in Maiduguri, according to officials and witnesses. Militants on motorcycles threw explosives into the drinking spot, killing about 25 people and the next day, yet another bombing in Maiduguri attributed to the group killed at least two girls and wounded three customs officials.

On 10 Jul, 2011, the All Christian Fellowship Church in Suleja, Niger State was allegedly bombed by the sect.

Dogma:

The Boko Haram group is opposed to not only Western education but Western culture and modern science as well as it forbids the wearing of shirts and pants and the act of voting in elections, and believing that the Nigerian state is run by non-believers.