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

AQLIM leader made initial contacts with Boko Haram, also known as the Taliban-Nigeria Movement, and pledged to provide them with ammunition and military gear to defend Muslims in Nigeria and face the march of the Crusader minority, as he put it, in a country which has been witnessing violent ethnic and religious conflicts between Muslims and Christians.

Experts in Islamic groups' affairs warned that Al-Qa'ida plans must be taken seriously. Judicial sources in Mauritania said that Al-Qa'ida decision to contact Nigeria's Taliban has already been made, and added that it will not be hard for the Al-Qa'ida armed fighters to find their way into northern Nigeria via border with Niger.

Boko Haram first appeared in 2002 in northern Nigeria two years after Usama Bin Ladin urged the Nigerians to revolt. The organization says it is affiliated with the Taliban Afghanistan Movement. When translated from Hausa, a local dialect, the name Boko Haram means 'Western education is forbidden.' In 2009, the Nigerian Army crushed the group after five days of bitter fighting that killed 800 people.

Although the number of Al-Qa'ida elements joining Boko Haram is still relatively limited, the alliance of the two groups might turn things upside down in the region. [end recording] [Archival footage of AQLIM and the aftermath of the 2009 Nigeria clashes]

[Description of Source: Doha Al-Jazirah Satellite Channel Television in Arabic -- Independent Television station financed by the Qatari Government]

Alliance between Al-Qa'idah and Nigeria's Taliban causing alarm - Al-Jazeera

GMP20100615950017 Doha Al-Jazirah Satellite Channel Television in Arabic 2100 GMT 14 Jun 10

Alliance between Al-Qa'idah and Nigeria's Taliban causing alarm - Al-Jazeera

A nascent alliance between Al-Qa'idah in the Land of Islamic Maghreb (AQLIM) and Nigeria's militant Islamist Boko Haram Movement, also known as Taliban, is causing alarm, Al-Jazeera TV reports on 14 June.

The Algerian leader of AQLIM, Abou-Musa Abdel Wadoud, has been making contact with the Nigerian movement since February, Al-Jazeera TV quotes unnamed Islamist affairs experts as saying.

The channel quotes Abdel Wadoud as saying he will supply the movement with arms to "defend Muslims in Nigeria and stop the advance of a minority of Crusaders."

Al-Qa'idah is eying sub-Saharan Africa as "its strategic depth that would give it a bigger scope for manoeuvre and a new battlefront," according to the channel.

Boko Haram (literally meaning "Western education is a sin") has threatened to shift its operations to outside of Nigeria and to target foreign interests, including the US, Al-Jazeera TV notes.

Legal sources in Mauritania are quoted by Al-Jazeera TV as saying AQLIM has already taken the decision to have ties with the Nigerian movement and Al-Qa'idah members can easily get to Nigeria via Niger.

"The number of Boko Haram members who have joined AQLIM may be still relatively small but the emerging alliance between both groups is bound to cause an upheaval in the area," says Al-Jazeera TV.

In a live interview with Al-Jazeera TV, a Mauritanian anti-terror expert, Mohamed Lamine Sidi Maouloud, says: "Countries in the region and their intelligence services and their western allies in the so-called war on terrorism are concerned about recent news reports about the emerging alliance. Media sources and websites quoted Boko Haram deputy leader, Omar, as saying an alliance with Al-Qa'idah is imminent."

"If this was true, this would lead to widening the sphere of influence of Al-Qa'idah, which puts spreading its influence to African countries as one of its priorities," says Sidi Maouloud.

"In its most recent operation, Al-Qa'idah abducted a French engineer in Niger, which has vast borders with Nigeria hitting about 1,500 kilometres long. This makes Al-Qa'idah members more effective in their field operations in Niger and makes their movement into Nigeria easier," he says.

Current conditions in Nigeria help Al-Qa'idah considering the "popular resentment" that was provoked by the "genocide" committed against civilians and some members of Boko Haram, Sidi Maouloud opines.

In July 2009, more than 300 people - mostly Boko Haram members - were reportedly killed as a wave of unrest spread from the city of Bauchi through Nigeria's northern states.

"As much as Boko Haram benefits from receiving arms from Al-Qa'idah, the latter is also benefitting from extending its reach in Nigeria as well as from having access to vast stretches of land and other channels that help it break a blockade imposed by security forces in Algeria, Morocco, Mauritania and Mali," he says.

"Boko Haram has never sought to be involved in a global confrontation with the west as is the case of Al-Qa'idah. In terms of beliefs, there are radical differences between both groups," Sidi Maouloud says.

Considering acts committed against Boko Haram and the limited condemnation by the international community, the movement turned to AQLIM for support, he says.

"They [Boko Harama] also stand to benefit from Al-Qa'idah, which has a high level of training and significant weapons. They are present in five provinces in the north [of Nigeria] on the border with Niger where Al-Qa'idah has strong activities. Therefore, from their perspective the alliance is mutually beneficial," Sidi Maouloud says.

[Description of Source: Doha Al-Jazirah Satellite Channel Television in Arabic -- Independent Television station financed by the Qatari Government]

Experts reveal contacts between Al-Qa'idah Maghreb, Nigeria's Boko Haram group

GMP20100615950024 Algiers El-Fadjr Online in Arabic 0001 GMT 15 Jun 10

Experts reveal contacts between Al-Qa'idah Maghreb, Nigeria's Boko Haram group

Text of report by Algerian newspaper Al-Fadjr website on 15 June

Security experts in the Mauritanian capital, Nouakchott, have revealed initial contacts between the terrorists of the Sahel region and armed groups from Nigeria and expressed their fears regarding the danger of an alliance between the two extremist groups for the African continent.

According to the Mauritanian security sources, the emir of what is known as Al Qa'idah in the Land of the Islamic Maghreb, the terrorist Abdelmalek Droukdel alias Abou Moussab Abdelwadoud, has embarked on contacting the violent group named "Boko Haram" and nicknamed the Taleban of Nigeria to escape from the pressure of the Sahel. The sources also said that Droukdel dreams of expanding his area of influence to the south.

A statement by the terrorist organization had expressed openly the desire of the leadership of Al Qa'idah in the Land of Islamic Maghreb to set up an alliance with the active organization in Nigeria. It said "We are ready to train your children to use weapons and help them as much as we can, whether with men or weapons, ammunition and equipment to enable them to defend our people in Nigeria and repel the aggression of the minority of Crusaders".

A Nouakchott-based expert in terrorism in Africa said that the decision to contact the Taleban in Nigeria had been taken and that for the elements of Al Qa'idah in the Land of the Islamic Maghreb - who are moving in an area of the Sahel easily, especially in the Niger adjacent to the north of Nigeria - "the matter is not difficult" and added that there were really contact attempts between Al Qa'idah in the Land of the Islamic Maghreb and the Taleban of Nigeria and that some armed terrorist elements of the two parties had met and discussed the issue.

For his part, the French researcher and one of the authors of the reports for the American Centre of Research "Carnegie", Jean-Pierre Filho explained that although the causes of violence in Nigeria are local and non-imported, the fact that the leader of the Salafi Group for Call and Combat [GSPC, which renamed itself as Al-Qa'idah in the Land of the Islamic Maghreb] has offered his services suggests that Nigeria has become the primary concern of Al Qa'idah in the Land of the Islamic Maghreb. He added that at the present time only a few members of the Taleban of Nigeria had joined Droukdel's organization. He said "This was done on a criminal basis rather than on an ideological consensus through the networks of smuggling or organized crime".

[Description of Source: Algiers El-Fadjr Online in Arabic -- Website of privately owned daily critical of the government; not widely read; URL: http://www.al-fadjr.com]

Al-Jazirah.net Discusses Likelihood of Al-Qa'ida-Boko Haram Alliance

GMP20100617676001 Doha Al-Jazirah.net in Arabic 16 Jun 10

[Corrected version: Adding multimedia caveat. Report by Firas Nammus: "Did Al-Qa'ida Ally With Boko Haram?;" For assistance with multimedia elements, contact OSC at (800) 205-8615 or OSCinfo@rccb.osis.gov.]

Observers see in Al-Qa'ida an organization that does not recognize political or geographical borders. Neither color nor race has a place in its literature. Based on this, people perceived as serious the declaration attributed to the leader of the Al-Qa'ida Organization in the Land of the Islamic Maghreb[AQLIM] that Al-Qa'ida was willing to support the Boko Haram group in Nigeria and to train its members.

The declaration was announced by the AQLIM leader known as Abd El Malek Droukdel [Abu-Mus'ab Abd-al-Wadud]. According to Agence France-Presse, a statement was attributed to him, in February, when he offered to train members of the Boko Haram group and supply it with men and ammunition "so as to be able to defend our people and defeat the crusaders."

But the declaration of this connection, which was already decided upon, and the expansion across the borderless western Africa area -- as described by one judge in Nouakchott who asked not be named -- make Niger, all the way to the southern coast, a hotbed for Al-Qa'ida members.

A Western diplomat in Nouakchott says: "We saw preliminary contacts that were merely manifested in the form of talks; and thus far they have not gone beyond this." However, he opined that this will benefit the Taliban Movement and the Al-Qa'ida organization, as they will be able, as a result, to claim penetration and success.

In a report by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, French researcher Jean-Pierre Filiu also sees huge danger in this connection. He admits that sectarian violence in Nigeria is inflamed from within; however, Droukdel's proposition means that Nigeria has become one of the Al-Qa'ida organization's priorities.

Only a few people in Nigeria have joined Al-Qa'ida so far; however, people familiar with this file say that if this alliance materializes within the coming days or months, it will pose a real threat and lead the region to all-out chaos.

The Beneficiaries

Former Algerian diplomat Muhammad al-Arabi Zaytut does not agree with these analyses. He categorically rejects the premise of an alliance of this nature. The Boko Haram -- meaning "Western education is prohibited" -- is usually described by its enemies as the Taliban of Nigeria "in an attempt to demonize it, as they demonized the Afghan Taliban." However, it is only an educational group that rejects the Western approach to teaching and prohibits it.

There is no resemblance between the work of Al-Qa'ida and the work of this group, which lost more than 1,000 members to acts of violence in July 2009. Human rights organizations said that most of them were civilians. Some of them were executed in the streets. This calls for an investigation into the identity of who wins and loses from this "media-proposed" connection between the two parties and into how, accordingly, Al-Qa'ida can expand southward.

Zaytut, who is also a founding member of the Algerian Rachad Movement, responds by saying that the beneficiaries are many, especially the United States, which seeks to enter the area under the pretext of fighting terrorism so as to control the wealth of this region dubbed "the second gulf" because of its huge oil and mineral reserves.

The second beneficiary -- according to Zaytut -- is the Algerian intelligence apparatus. This will allow it to interfere in the affairs of another country again under the pretext of fighting terrorism, just like the United States. He also says that this will enhance its position in the struggle against the presidency wing, enabling it to control many significant aspects [of the administration of the country].

Some regimes in the region will also benefit from this. It will be convenient for them to hide behind fighting terrorism and "the outside enemy" to tighten the grip on liberties, and find an excuse in "terrorism" for their totalitarian policies and practices. They will also have an excuse to coerce the opposition.

The biggest loser -- in his opinion -- is the Boko Haram and the Nigerian Muslims, whose names will be thrust into a matter that does not concern them. He added that AQLIM is also one of the losers, since the "media went out of their way to connect it to the drug trade."

Al-Qa'ida and Drugs

Press reports connect Al-Qa'ida to drug smugglers from Latin America and Afghanistan. Some reports even link it to the "Colombian cartels" saying Al-Qa'ida secures safe passage for the cartels to smuggle drugs into Europe in exchange for money.

But Zaytut sees that what is happening in Africa is a re-enactment of what is happening in Afghanistan with regard to the link between the Taliban and drug-smuggling, although it was proven that senior officers and officials in some governments of the region were the ones directly involved in the smuggling, according to him.

He affirmed that some people write under aliases on subjects of this nature -- such as the relationship between Al-Qa'ida and Boko Haram, and the smuggling of drugs.

The question remains as to the point of assuming a relationship between a militant group that operates militarily, and the leader of which is reportedly dreaming of expanding its influence southward, and a group that rejects Western education and the ideology of which is yet unclear.

[Description of Source: Doha Al-Jazirah.net in Arabic -- Website of Al-Jazirah Satellite Channel Television, an independent television station financed by the Qatari Government; URL: http://www.aljazeera.net]

Nigeria: Borno Police Intensify Security Over Islamic Sect's Planned Anniversary

AFP20100626565024 Lagos The Guardian Online in English 2300 GMT 25 Jun 10

[Report by Njadvara Musa: "Security Beefed Up in Borno Over Boko Haram's Planned Anniversary"]

Security has been mounted by the Police in Borno State following alleged plan by the Boko Haram Islamic sect to mark the killing of its leader, Mohammed Yusuf, during last July's sectarian crisis that claimed many lives and property in Maiduguri, the state capital.

According to Borno State Commissioner of Police, Ibrahim Abdu, measures are being taken to ensure that no breach of peace is committed by any of the Islamic sect members during the anniversary.

Briefing the Chairman of the Police Service Commission, Mr. Parry Osayande, on the state of security in the state, the police chief said: "We have already taken measures to ensure that there is no breach of peace and security. The police should not be caught unawares."

He urged residents of Maiduguri and other communities to report any one suspected to be connected with the sect, appealing that the general public should fully cooperate and be tolerant with the police whenever they are subjected to searches at strategic points in the Maiduguri metropolis, Biu, Gwoza, Damasak and Bama.

Governor Ali Sheriff had last month signed an order declaring the Boko Haram Islamic sect illegal and dangerous to government, making it unlawful for anyone to belong to the sect or practice its ideologies.

The governor said he acted on the recommendations of a committee pursuant to the powers vested in him by Section 97 (A) of the Penal Code Law, CAP 102 Laws of Borno State and all other powers enabling him.

Earlier in the year, video clips were also circulated in Maiduguri, claiming that the deputy leader of the sect, Mallam Abubakar Shekau, was alive and was planning to regroup members of the Boko Haram sect to launch fresh attacks in the state.

But the Police Commissioner said the Police had it on good authority that Shekau was killed in August 2009.

[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: Boko Haram Threatens Attack to Honor Leader's Death

AFP20100630606008 Abuja African Independent Television in English 1900 GMT 25 Jun 10

The Police in Borno State has increased security following alleged plan by the Boko Haram Islamic sect to mark the one year anniversary of the killing of its leader, Sheikh Mohammed Yusuf, and other members during last July’s sectarian crisis that claimed many lives and property in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.

The State Commissioner of Police, Ibrahim Abdu, who disclosed this to newsmen in Maiduguri, said the group plans an attack for the commemoration. Yusuf was killed by Nigerian military force in July 2009 after he stirred up a four-day riot in northern states.

[Begin Abdu recording] It has come to our knowledge that some faceless people suspected to be members of Boko Haram are trying to cause mayhem in the state as part of the one year remembrance of their fallen colleagues killed during the July 2009 uprising. We have put in place a surveillance team, stop and search patrol, as well as plain clothes policemen. Police officers have also been deployed to strategic positions in the state as part of security arrangements. [end recording]

The police commissioner called on traditional and religious leaders as well as members of the public to assist the police with useful information on the whereabouts of the proscribed Boko Harm members. He advised people to go about their normal businesses, assuring them that the police and other security agencies are in position to guarantee their safety. The Boko Haram group is campaigning against Western knowledge.

[Description of Source: Abuja African Independent Television in English -- privately owned independent Television station]

Nigeria: Islamic Sect Leader Declared 'Dead' by Police Reportedly Re-Emerges

AFP20100701581006 Abuja Daily Trust Online in English 2300 GMT 30 Jun 10

[Report by Habeeb I. Pindiga and Isa Umar Gusau: "'Dead' Boko Haram Leader Re-Emerges in New Video"]

Deputy leader of the Boko Haram sect who the police said they killed in Maiduguri during last year's clashes has re-emerged in a new video clip, saying he has assumed command of the group and would continue to propagate its anti-Western education ideology.

Imam Abubakar Shekau was the second-in-command to Mohammed Yusuf, who was killed by the police in July last year after days of fighting between security forces and the sect's followers. The police said last year that Shekau was shot dead in the clashes.

But a 25-minute video clip, shot on April 19 and obtained by Daily Trust in Abuja during the week, showed Shekau answering questions from a journalist at his hideout believed to be in Maiduguri.

In the clip, Shekau is seen wearing a headdress, with an AK-47 gun and a stack of religious books behind him. People who know Shekau very well identified him in a still image captured from the video clip.

Proclaiming himself as leader of the sect, Shekau said during the interview that with the death of the former leader, he "being the deputy (to Yusuf), stepped in and assumed leadership to continue in the pursuit of religious knowledge."

However, the police in Maiduguri insisted on Tuesday that Shekau is dead.

Borno State Commissioner of Police Ibrahim Abdu told our reporter that information available to the police indicated that both leaders of the sect--Yusuf and Shekau--have been killed.

"I have not seen the clip and I cannot comment on what I have not seen. (But) to the best of my knowledge, Shekau and Mohammed Yusuf are dead. If anybody can identify them and tell us their location, we are ready to act. But to us they are dead, if they are alive, they are wanted persons," Abdu said.

There had been no conclusive evidence of the claim that Shekau was killed in the Boko Haram clashes, unlike the case of Mohammed Yusuf, whose death was confirmed because of the wide circulation of the photo of his dead body.

Initial speculations were that Shekau was killed at the sect's Ibn Taimiyya enclave, when soldiers engaged the members in a gun battle on the second day of the clashes. But there were rumours later that the second-in-command had escaped out of the state.

Asked to explain how he survived the onslaught by security forces during the 4-day clashes, Shekau said in the video clip that he was shot in the thigh but was rescued by "fellow believers and protected by Allah."

He argued that his men were not the first to attack security agencies, but that they retaliated in self defence after they were hit. He claimed that during the Boko Haram clashes, only a few of his men were killed and that the major casualties were mere passersby, mad people and young hawkers.

Shekau vowed to retaliate for the killings of his followers in Maiduguri and other places.

Asked why they use guns even though the guns were also products of Western education, he said, "Guns are not products of boko... we also can make guns, we even made and used guns."

On where his sect gets weaponry, Shekau said, "We get them from where we get them. God said we should get them (weapons), the Holy Prophet said we should get them."

He insisted that the pursuit of Western education is prohibited, and that his group would continue to propagate the Boko Haram ideology.

"What we are saying is that it is not permissible to seek for boko (Western education) under the prevailing system and given the un-Islamic things introduced in boko," he said.

"We are not fighting Western education itself, what we are opposed to are the various un-Islamic things slotted into it and the system upon which the study of Western education is rested. These are the reasons why we say it's not permissible to study it."

The video clip was shot by a journalist, who told Daily Trust that he sought to interview Shekau through some followers in Maiduguri. They then arranged and picked him up at night on April 19 at a location within the city, blindfolded and drove him to a hideout.

The journalist said the place should be in Maiduguri because the drive took just about an hour and did not feel like a movement out of the city. He said he was taken into a house and to a pre-set stage for the interview in a room. He also said Shekau had armed guards with him.

Shekau was, besides being a second-in-command of the sect, the most influential and feared member of the Boko Haram group.

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

Nigeria: Again Islamic Extremists Threaten Mayhem

AFP20100701606004 Abuja African Independent Television in English 1900 GMT 28 Jun 10

The Borno State Police Command has revealed it had uncovered a plot by the extremist Islamic sect, Boko Haram, to cause trouble in the state. Speaking to newsmen in Maiduguri, the state capital today, the State Commissioner for Police, Ibrahim Abdu, said the attack would be to mark the first anniversary of the death of the leader of the sect, Sheikh Mohammed Yusuf.

[Begin Abdu recording] It has come to our knowledge that some faceless people suspected to be members of Boko Haram are trying to cause mayhem in the state, as part of the one year remembrance of their colleagues who were killed during the July 2009 uprising. We have put in place a surveillance team, stop and search patrol, as well as plain clothes policemen. Police officers have been deployed to strategic positions in the state as part of security arrangements. [end recording]