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

The statement, which was written in Hausa language, said: "We killed him not because he was a journalist but for his personal misconduct." The statement also warned that the group would not hesitate to kill anyone that stepped on its toes.

But colleagues of Isa have described the killing as barbaric and an act of injustice. The Nigeria Union of journalists, in a statement signed by Shuaibu Naman, its national secretary, in Abuja, called on Nigerians to rise up against the unwholesome act, saying if the act was not put in check, it would hamper good governance, fairness and social justice badly needed in the country.

Daniya Mohammed, the NTA Maiduguri manager, said that he had "no reason to believe that Isa was working as a spy for the security agencies."Zakariyya Isa was a dedicated and loyal staff. He was a kind of person who could not hurt a fly. I was, therefore, shocked and sad when I learnt that he had been killed by some gunmen."

The State Security Service also said that Isa was not their agent. Marilyn Ogar, spokesperson of the service, denied the alleged involvement of Isa in any work of the agency.

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

Xinhua: 2nd LD: Over 100 Killed in Northern Nigeria Bomb Attacks

CPP20111105968140 Beijing Xinhua in English 1349 GMT 05 Nov 11

[Xinhua: "2nd LD: Over 100 Killed in Northern Nigeria Bomb Attacks"]

[Computer selected and disseminated without OSC editorial intervention]

DAMATURU, Nigeria, Nov. 5 (Xinhua) -- Officials at the Damaturu General Hospital told Xinhua that over 100 dead bodies were lying at the morgue as of Saturday noon.

The hospital officials said relatives of the deceased have been trooping to the hospital to identify the victims.

A press conference by the state Police Commissioner Sulaimon Lawal set for 12:00 local time was postponed, as the security operatives in the state were said to be making frantic efforts to curtail further attacks by the dreaded sect.

Gunmen suspected to be members of the Boko Haram on Friday launched bloody bomb attack late Friday in Damaturu, capital of northeast Yobe State.

Six bombs went off in different parts of the town the main targets being the 360 Housing Estate, the Anti-Terrorism Squad office and the Police headquarters.

At least one church - St Mary's Catholic Church - was burnt by the rampaging men. The parish priest was reportedly taking refuge at a police station. Gun shots shook the town for much of last night, forcing residents to stay indoors.

Meanwhile, three suspected suicide bombers died on Friday in northeast Nigeria when the explosives they attempted to use exploded prematurely.

The suspected bombers driving a black SUV sped up at the gate of the Joint Task Force (JTF) Headquarters in the state capital Maiduguri when the device exploded, the News Agency of Nigeria reported. The bombers were believed to be members of Boko Haram.

JTF spokesman Hassan Mohammed confirmed the incident, saying no one other than the bombers was killed.

He said the gate and some parts of buildings around the entrance to the headquarters were damaged in the blast.

Two other explosions were reported in the Bulumkutu and Nganaram Bulabulin areas of Maiduguri on Friday, but there were no casualties, Mohammed said.

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

Suicide Bomber Hit Nigeria Police Building

AFP20111105650005 Paris AFP (World Service) in English 1357 GMT 05 Nov 11

["Suicide bomber hit Nigeria police building: police chief" -- AFP headline]

LAGOS, Nov 5, 2011 (AFP) - A bomb that ripped through one of the police offices in northeastern Nigeria's city of Damaturu during a wave of attacks on Friday was a suicide blast, a police chief for Yobe state said Saturday.

"It was a suicide bomb attack at one of our buildings. The attacker came in a Honda CRV and rammed into the building and explosives exploded," police commissioner Suleimon Lawal told AFP on the phone.

At least 63 people were killed in the city when attackers went on the rampage, bombing police stations and churches, a Red Cross official and residents said.

It could not be immediately established if the building referred to by Lawal was the police headquarters, one of the offices hit.

No-one has claimed responsibility for the Friday attacks that kicked off in Maiduguri, a northeastern city that has borne the brunt of violence blamed on the Islamist group known as Boko Haram.

The military in Maiduguri said suicide attackers in a black sports utility tried to enter its heaquarters before setting off their explosives outside, at around midday on Friday.

Another bomb went off outside the offices of the state intelligence agency in the same city.

Hours later the similar attacks were launched in Damaturu, around 120 kilometres (75 miles) to the west of Maiduguri.

Boko Haram claimed to be behind the August 26 suicide bombing of the UN headquarters in the capital Abuja which killed 24 people, as well as a June attack on the national police headquarters, also in the capital.

The string of attacks came two days ahead of the annual Muslim celebration of Eid al-Adha, or the Feast of Sacrifice.

Nigerian police have been placed on red alert nationwide.

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

Nigeria: Islamic Sect Claims Responsibility for Killings in Yobe State

AFP20111106598002 New York Sahara Reporters in English 0049 GMT 06 Nov 11

[Unattributed report: "Mayhem as Boko Haram Goes on Killing Spree"]

Militants belonging to the dreaded Boko Haram sect have unleashed mayhem in two of Nigeria's north eastern states, with the death toll rising to more than 150, according to officials of the National Emergency Agency (NEMA). The Boko Haram killers have swept through Damaturu, Yobe State as well as Maiduguri, Borno State, engaging in an unprecedented orgy of violence over the last 24 hours.

Boko Haram has claimed responsibility for the killings of church goers in Damaturu. The group is also suspected to be responsible for extensive violence in the already volatile city of Maiduguri, which has become Nigeria's bloodiest hotspot where Islamist killers seem to easily overwhelm Nigeria's security officials with impunity.

Meanwhile, a close aide of President Goodluck Jonathan said the president considers the reign of terror as a politically motivated effort to undermine his government.

"The president appears helpless to offer a solution," an evangelical pastor in Damaturu told SaharaReporters. "We are being slaughtered and the government is doing nothing about it," he complained.

Mr. Jonathan has offered his condolences to the victims of the violence. In addition, he announced that he was cancelling his attendance of his brother's wedding in Bayelsa State.

"How does it help us that he is not going to his brother's wedding?" a source in Maiduguri asked, adding that the residents of the city are completely at the mercy of the militants, undefended by the Nigerian security agencies.

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

Al Jazeera.net: Nigeria Group Threatens More Deadly Attacks

GMP20111106966053 Doha Al Jazeera.net in English 1300 GMT 06 Nov 11

["Nigeria Group Threatens More Deadly Attacks" -- Al Jazeera net Headline]

[ Computer selected and disseminated without OSC editorial intervention ]

(Al Jazeera net) -

Nigeria's Boko Haram has threatened to carry out more attacks, a day after a series of blasts and gun battles claimed by the group killed at least 69 people in the West African nation's northeast.

The group's spokesman, using the nom de guerre Abul-Qaqa, promised "more attacks are on the way", speaking hours after witnesses reported "scenes of carnage" in Damaturu, the capital of Yobe state.

Boko Haram, which means "Western education is sacrilege", has claimed responsibility for previous attacks and Friday's was the deadliest since the group attacked a UN building in the capital Abuja in August, killing at least 20 people.

"We will continue attacking federal government formations until security forces stop their excesses on our members and vulnerable civilians," Abul-Qaqa said in an interview with the the Daily Trust, the newspaper of record across Nigeria's Muslim north.

Suleimon Lawal, the police commissioner of Damaturu, told Al Jazeera a suicide bomber drove a vehicle apparently laden with explosives into a building housing the anti-terrorist court.Lawal said the attack killed 53 people but he did not disclose how many among the casualties were security officials.

"The explosives rocked the building and there were casualties. Two of them [suicide bombers] perished in the bomb," he said.

Lawal insisted the group was not gaining an upper hand and vowed that it would be crushed."My strategy is a security strategy [that] I cannot disclose on air. So as they're not [Boko Haram] disclosing their security strategy, I don't think it is safe for me to tell the whole world what I am doing," he said.The Red Cross said the death toll stood at 63. But an official of the country's road safety agency who took part in the collection of bodies, told the AFP news agency that 150 people had been killed.

An AFP reporter counted 97 bodies in a hospital mortuary in northeastern Nigeria on Saturday. The remaining bodies had reportedly been already collected for burial.

"It is diffcult to verify these reports especially since this is a very remote part of the country," Al Jazeera's Yvonne Ndege reported from Abuja.

The violence followed a series of attacks reported in the neighbouring cities of Maiduguri and Potiskum on Friday afternoon.

"There's that fear that something might possibly happen again," Ibrahim Bulama, a spokesman for the Nigerian Red Cross, said.Security vehicles torched

News agencies, quoting officials, said after the attack on the building, armed men went through Damaturu, blowing up a bank and attacking at least three police stations and five churches, leaving behind their rubble.People began hesitantly leaving their homes on Saturday morning, after seeing the destruction left behind, which included military and police vehicles burned by the armed men, with the burned corpses of the drivers who died still in their seats.

Boko Haram wants the strict implementation of Islamic law across the nation of more than 160 million people, which has a predominantly Christian south and a Muslim north.

Nii Akuetteh, a former executive director of Africa Action, a Washington-based rights group, said the group appeared to be growing strong.

"The government has been saying that it will deal with them and that it will get a handle on the problem, but it's not been able to," he told Al Jazeera.

"Previously, the attempt made was to try and fight them militarily - to send the secuirty forces after them - but that has created its own problem.

"I know for a fact that there're Nigerian groups in and outside the government, including the media, who are suggesting that the government should try to talk to Boko Haram. But my own impression is that they don't seem to be particularly ready or inclined to talk."

Split into factions

The Associated Press news agency, quoting a diplomat, said the government was facing an increasingly dangerous threat from Boko Haram, adding that the group had split into three factions, one allied with al-Qaeda's North Africa branch.

It said one faction remains moderate and welcomes an end to the violence while another wants a peace agreement with rewards similar to those offered to MEND, which has been fighting for a greater share of Nigeria's oil wealth.

The attacks occured just before Eid al-Adha, or the feast of sacrifice, celebrated by Muslims around the world.

Police elsewhere in Nigeria had warned of violence in the run-up to the celebration in the country that has previously been rocked by religious violence.

Goodluck Jonathan, Nigeria's Christian president who took office amid religious and political rioting that saw at least 800 die in April, cancelled a trip to his home state of Bayelsa for his younger brother's wedding on Saturday.

His spokesman, Reuben Abati, said the president did not consider those who launched the attacks "true Muslims," as the assault came during a holy period.

Abati also promised that "every step will be taken" to arrest those responsible - the same pledge made again and again as Jonathan has visited other sites bombed by Boko Haram.

"The security agencies will tell you that what happens on this scale is even a fraction of what could have happened considering the scope of the threat," Abati said.

"The security agencies are busy at work trying to make sure the will of the majority of the Nigerian people is not subverted by a minority [group] with a suicidal streak."

[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: Unknown Gunmen Kill Police Official in Borno State

AFP20111107565006 Abuja Daily Trust Online in English 0400 GMT 07 Nov 11

[Report by Hamza Idris: "Police Inspector Killed on Sallah Day in Maiguguri"]

Some gunmen yesterday trailed a police inspector and killed him while on his way back from Eid prayer ground in Maiduguri.

The killing took place amidst tight security mounted by members of the Joint Task Force following last Friday's deadly attacks in the state capital.

The incident took place in the London Ciki area of Maiduguri metropolis around 10am when thousands of worshippers were trooping back home from various Eid grounds.

Witnesses said the gunmen drove in an unmarked Honda 86 model salon car and intercepted the police inspector who was driving in company of his friends and acquaintances.

"From the look of things, the gunmen know the deceased very well because though there are many people moving along with him, they singled him out and shot at him severally before they fled," Baba Bay, a resident of London Ciki said.

He said there was pandemonium at the scene of the killing and that the sound of gunshots soon attracted the attention of members of the Joint Task Force who had intensified surveillance in the state capital.

"The JTF operatives pursued the assailants who had already raced away from the scene. They later abandoned the car and disappeared through some narrow pathways," Mallam Gana, a friend of the deceased said.

Borno State police commissioner Simeon Midenda confirmed that an inspector was killed but did not reveal his name.

"Yes, we lost one of our officers. He was actually not on duty and he was in plain cloth when the gunmen trailed and killed him while he was about reaching his house from the mosque," Midenda said.

"Apart from the killing of the inspector, there was no any other attack. The Sallah celebration was generally peaceful because with the help of God, we have intensified surveillance," he said.

Gunmen ordered the family away, then shot the inspector to death, Midenda said. The sect members later allowed his family to drive the car away, he said.

"Our men who live in the midst of the Boko Haram are not safe," Midenda said.

Meanwhile it was learnt yesterday that Professor Murtala Aliyu, the Provost of the Federal College of Veterinary Research Institute, Vom in Plateau State was among the over the over 100 people that were killed in Damaturu, Yobe State during the last Friday's serial attacks launched by members of the Jama'atu Ahlis Sunnati Lidda'awati Wal Jihad, also known as Boko Haram.

The brother of the deceased, Mahmud Aliyu, a lecturer at Modibo Adama University of Technology Yola confirmed to our correspondent on phone yesterday that his brother was killed in Damaturu.

"The professor was on his way to Maiduguri to celebrate the Sallah with his family when he was caught in the midst of the crises around 7pm in Damaturu," Mahmud said.

He said Late Professor Murtala Aliyu was on secondment in Vom. "He was a lecturer at the Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Maiduguri before he went to Vom," he said.

Our correspondent reports that the commissioner of police in Yobe State Suleimon Mamman had earlier confirmed that a professor was among the 53 people that were killed in Damaturu.

Meanwhile, members of the Boko Haram yesterday denied claims by the Yobe police boss that 7 suicide bombers died in the multiple attacks in Damaturu.

Spokesman of the groupAbul-Qaqa who spoke on phone also denied the figures given by the spokesman of the JTF in Borno State Lieutenant Colonel Hassan Mohammed that five suicide bombers also died in the Friday's attacks in Maiduguri.

"We want to put the records straight. We only registered two martyrs in all the attacks we launched on Friday. We lost only one person in Maiduguri. He was the one that bombed the JTF headquarters. The other one was the martyr that bombed the two story building of the police in Damaturu," he said.

Abul-Qaqa added that their men had successfully hit all the areas they targeted. "It is not true that we lost about twelve people on Friday," he said.

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

Nigeria: Boko Haram Suicide Bombers Target Government Building, Banks

AFP20111107509002 Doha Al Jazeera English TV in English 06 Nov 11

[For a copy of the video, contact GSG_GVP_VideoOps@rccb.osis.gov or the OSC Customer Center at (800) 205-8615. Selected video also available at OpenSource.gov.]

Al Jazeera English reports that the Islamist group Boko Haram attacked a government office in the town of Damaturu, Nigeria. Also hit were the town's police station and two banks. Suleiman Lawal, police commissioner of Damaturu, described the attacks as being perpetrated by suicide bombers in vehicles.

Click here to view the 1-minute 46-second report in .wmv format.

[Description of Source: Doha Al Jazeera English TV in English -- International English-language news service of Al-Jazirah, independent television station financed by the Qatari Government]

Al Jazeera.net: Who Are Nigeria's Boko Haram?

GMP20111107966041 Doha Al Jazeera.net in English 1545 GMT 07 Nov 11

["Who Are Nigeria's Boko Haram?" -- Al Jazeera net Headline]

[ Computer selected and disseminated without OSC editorial intervention ]

(Al Jazeera net) -

Nigeria has experienced one of its worst days of violence in two years. Churches, mosques, banks and police stations were attacked as multiple bomb blasts rocked the city of Damaturu, killing at least 69 people, with some reports putting the number as high as 150. There were also separate bombings in the town of Maiduguri, where at least four people were killed.And Nigeria's Islamist Boko Haram group, which claimed responsibility for the attacks, has warned that more are planned.These attacks have fuelled an already steep sectarian divide in Africa's most populous country, but who are Boko Haram and what motivates their violence? How big a threat do they pose to the country's stability and why have they decided to escalate their violence now?

Inside Story, with presenter James Bays, discusses with guests: David Zounmenou, a senior researcher and specialist on Nigeria and West Africa for the Institute for Security Studies; Jonathan Offei-Ansah, the editor of News Africa; and Anthony Goldman, the director of a political and business consultancy called PM, who is also a former Nigeria analyst with the Economist Intelligence Unit and the FT.

[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: Gunmen Kill 2 in Kaduna Church

AFP20111108686004 Port Harcourt The Port Harcourt Telegraph in English 07 Nov 11 p 3

[Unattributed report: "Two Church Members Shot Dead in Kaduna"]

Kaduna appears set again for violent ethno-religious war following the killing of two persons at the St. Joseph Catholic Church in Tabak village, near Zonkwa, in Zangon-Kataf Local Government Area of the state, at about midnight on Thursday.

Already, youths from the area yesterday embarked on a street protest and reportedly held Governor Patrick Ibrahim Yakowa hostage for about two hours, hurling missiles at him over what they described as state of insecurity in the state. Yakowa was in the area, on condolence visit to about 11 other persons who were injured during the attack and currently receiving treatment at the St. Louis General Hospital, Zonkwa.

The state Commissioner of Police, Bala Nasarawa, along with the General Officer Commanding [GOC], one Division of the Nigerian Army, Kaduna, Major-Gen. Joseph Shoboiki, and the state director of State Security Services [SSS], Yomi Zamba, were also on Yakowa's entourage to the hospital.

Eyewitness accounts said that the gunmen attacked the church at about 11.45 pm on Thursday while the congregation was holding a night vigil.

The development sent the entire community running for cover as report of alleged invasion of members of the dreaded Boko Haram Muslim group spread. As at the time of this report last evening, there were no reports of any arrest made but the Kaduna State Police Command Public Relations Officer [PPRO], Aminu Lawan, who confirmed the attack noted that investigation into the matter was in progress.

The governor pledged that government would take care of the hospital bill of those receiving treatment in the hospital.

A press statement by Gov. Yakowa's spokesman, Reuben Buhari, said that, "the Governor visited St. Louis Hospital, Zonkwa to sympathize with those affected in the current shooting incident in Tabak, Zangon Kataf Local Government area where two people were killed and several injured. His Excellency condemns in totality the unnecessary and reprehensible shooting. The governor also took time to interact with youths of the area and listened to their complaints, advising them not to take the law into their hands.

"His Excellency views with dismay that some criminally-minded people are bent on creating unnecessary tension within the state. His Excellency further appeals to all residents of Zonkwa in particular and Kaduna State in general to shun any acts capable of shattering the peace that the state is currently enjoying, while security agencies continue with investigation into the incident.

"People of the state are further enjoined to remain security conscious and report any suspicious movements to security agencies. Furthermore, his Excellency has stated that the medical bills of those currently in hospital will be taken care of by the state government."

Kaduna State chapter of Christian Association of Nigeria [CAN] condemned the attack in a statement by its Secretary, Rev. Yunusa Nmadu. According to him, "indeed, the trouble makers in Kaduna have taken their senseless killings to the doorsteps of God, and this is very dangerous for us as a state. We are worried that in spite of the heavy presence of soldiers in the area, this kind of attack can still be carried out.

"Information reaching me from the local CAN in Zonkwa confirm that sophisticated rifles were used. We call on the government of Kaduna State to ensure that the perpetrators of this evil act are fished out and brought to book and we call on all Christians to be calm and prayerful in the face of this new dimension of attack on the church."