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

While cautioning the people of the state to be on the alert for any danger signals, 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.

In 2009, the group unleashed mayhem in some northern states that led to the death of several losses of lives and property in clashes between them and security forces. The group opposes western education.

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

Nigeria: Borno Police Intensify Security Over Alleged Resurgence of Islamic Sect

AFP20100707565011 Ibadan Nigerian Tribune Online in English 07 Jul 10

[Report by James Bwala: "Security Beefed Up in Maiduguri Over Boko Haram Threat"]

Following the rumour in Maiduguri, Borno State capital, that the Boko Haram members were planning to celebrate the first memorial of their late leader, Mohammed Yusuf, who was killed last year in a police shoot out, heavy security presence was witnessed on Tuesday, in most parts of the metropolis, indicating the readiness of the police to curb any unforeseen situation that might arise.

The Borno State Police Commissioner, Ibrahim Abdu, has also reassured the people of the state of maximum security over the alleged resurgence of the Boko Haram sect members, who were said to have hoisted their flags in some parts of the metropolis.

Abdu's assurance came on the heels of the rumour that Imam Abubakar Shekau, the deputy leader of Boko-Haram was alive and not dead as claimed by the police during last July mayhem, when hundreds of lives were lost.

The rumour also claimed that Shekau would return to Maiduguri this month to carry out a revenge on the police and other persons that partook in the killing of their members.

But the state police commissioner, however, dismissed the rumour stressing that similar rumour was carried all over the state last December, when a digitally manipulated video of Abubakar Shekau was circulated through the bluetooth devices of phones, showing the purported clips of the fugitive delivering war sermons and threatening revenge.

Despite the police assurance, inhabitants of the state, were particularly skeptical on whether or nor the police would live up to their responsibility as they had in the past failed to protect lives and properties, when they had all the time in the world to prevent the first Boko haram attack from happening.

The police insisted that the said flags were not in any way like that of the Boko-Haram sect. "As a matter of fact when we got the wind of the flags being hoisted, we got there and secured them only to find out they were not the known white on black Boko-Haram flags that everyone knows; the two flag were pieces of clothes with printed Arabic inscription, while the real boko-haram flags we recovered last year were totally different", said the Borno CP [Commissioner of Police].

The CP added that the person arrested in connection with the hoisting of the Boko-haram flag was later found out to be insane, "who has cases of madness in their family". He added.

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

Nigeria: Boko Haram Leader Condemns US Over Al Quai'da Members' Death in Iraq Source City: Abuja

AFP20100714606006 Leadership in English 14 Jul 10 p 2

[Report by Unnamed reporter: "Boko Haram Leader Praises Al-Qeada, Threatens US"]

The leader of the radical Boko Haram Muslim sect that sparked the violence that killed 70 people last year Abubakar Shekau has issued a statement mourning the death of al-Qeada members in Iraq and threatening the U.S.

Shekau, a deputy for the Boko Haram sect whom police claimed to have killed during the July 2009 violence, issued the statement on a jihadist Internet forum. The message, translated yesterday by the SITE Intelligence Group, shows Shekau also praising Osama bin Laden and said: "Do not think jihad is over. Rather jihad has just begun. O America, die with your fury."

The message comes as the one-year anniversary of the violence approaches. Shekau made a videotaped statement in April claiming the group would launch new attacks.

[Description of Source: Abuja Leadership in English - Privately owned daily]

Nigerian Taliban Reportedly Reforming To Strike Again a Year After Uprising

AFP20100716670002 Paris AFP (World Service) in English 0728 GMT 16 Jul 10

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria, July 16, 2010 (AFP) - The 32-year-old perfume seller is ready for holy war, but he is waiting for orders from his leader, an Islamist believed killed in an uprising in northern Nigeria nearly a year ago.

"What happens in the next few weeks depends on the directives our leaders send to us," Yerima Faltaye said as he sold his goods on the streets in the city of Maiduguri. "Once the directive comes, nothing can stop us."

Late July marks one year since an uprising by an Islamist sect in Nigeria's north that left more than 800 dead and spread across four states, and there are fears the so-called Nigerian Taliban is reforming to strike again.

The uprising shocked the country, where roughly half of the 150 million population is Muslim and a dozen of the nation's 36 states have implemented Islamic sharia law, though it is selectively applied.

As a result, this city, the centre of the uprising, resembles a police state ahead of the July 26 anniversary.

A dozen vans with gun-toting police escorted by a siren-blaring armoured car regularly rumble through the dusty streets.

Tensions have been stoked by the release of video clips of one of the Islamist leaders believed killed, Abubakar Shekau, in which he threatens to "avenge the killings of our brethren."

A message attributed to him was also posted on a website this week, according to a US-based monitoring group, in which he threatens the United States and pays tribute to al-Qaeda leaders in Iraq.

The sect, called Boko Haram ('Western education is sin' in local dialect), launched the insurrection last year from an enclave in Maiduguri in a doomed bid to establish an Islamic state.

Nigerian police and troops crushed the uprising after four days of street battles that left more than 800 dead, mostly sect members, including the group's leader Mohammed Yusuf.

Shekau, the man now appearing on video, was his deputy and had been thought killed, as well. Police still maintain that Shekau is dead and dismiss the video clips as digital mock-ups.

In one video clip being circulated on mobile phones, Shekau is clad in military camouflage and wears a white turban. He sits between two AK-47 rifles and claims to be the new sect leader.

The 30-minute long clip shows scores of masked young men conducting military exercises at an undisclosed desert location.

"We will definitely avenge the killings of our brethren, including Mohammed Yusuf. Jihad has just begun in Nigeria," he says in local Hausa dialect in a clip seen by an AFP reporter.

"What happened was only the prelude, the actual show has not started yet."

In another clip, Shekau is flanked by two masked men in military camouflage brandishing Kalashnikov rifles. His speech is interrupted by a ringing cell phone and a wailing baby.

"Most of our fighters escaped the fighting and are still around and are ready to fight as ever," Shekau says.

Borno state police chief Ibrahim Abdu said rumours the sect was readying to mark the rebellion anniversary have pushed security forces "to be on the watch-out for the members of the group".

Hundreds of anti-riot police reinforcements have been deployed in the city, Abdu said, while more intelligence personnel have been called in.

But that has only heightened tension among Maiduguri residents.

"The deployment of more policemen in the city and the daily patrols have only increased residents' apprehension of the possible re-emergence of Boko Haram," Maiduguri resident Mohammed Goni said outside his provision store as the patrol motorcade zoomed past.

Ibrahim Mala, a repentant sect member-turned-grocer at Maiduguri's main market, claims to know where Shekau is hiding.

"He escaped the fighting ... and is now hiding in the desert between Chad and Sudan," Mala said.

Police guard the sect's former headquarters reduced to rubble by Nigerian troops during last year's clashes.

"Two weeks ago a member of the sect came here to pray for t he soul of Mohammed Yusuf, who he said was his spiritual leader and a divine fighter," a police officer at the site told AFP, pointing to a heap of rubble that had been the mosque.

But a university lecturer who had contact with the sect's leadership while doing research on the group dismissed Shekau's threats.

"Shekau lacks the power of persuasion, the oratory and maturity which fetched Mohammed Yusuf followers," Ahmad Baba Tela, a linguistics professor at University of Maiduguri, said.

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

Fears of a New Generation of Nigerian Taliban Fighters

AFP20100730670002 Paris AFP (World Service) in English 1006 GMT 30 Jul 10

Maiduguri, Nigeria, July 29, 2010 (AFP) - She is a grandmother, but authorities tracking the remaining members of the Nigerian Taliban after crushing the sect's uprising a year ago may have reason for concern.

The 48-year-old whose son was among the sect members killed in the fighting said she will teach his six children left behind to follow in his footsteps.

"We may retreat but we will not surrender," she told AFP outside her house in Maiduguri, the northern city at the centre of the uprising.

"There are a lot of children like them and we will drill in them how their fathers were cut down in their prime by Nigerian security forces," she said, clad in a black veil revealing only her face.

A year after authorities put down the Islamist sect's uprising in northern Nigeria and killed its leader, some observers say there is a danger that the children of sect members could grow up to replenish its ranks.

Abubakar Tsav, a respected former police commissioner for Lagos who now lives in the country's mainly Muslim north, said Boko Haram, as the sect is also known, may rise again for that reason.

"The government may seem to have clamped on Boko Haram, but the real menace may be years away as the sect is now engaged in indoctrinating the children of its members, particularly of those killed during last year's violence," Tsav told AFP.

Troops crushed the uprising after four days of fighting that killed more than 800 people. Sect leader Mohammed Yusuf was shot on July 30 last year by police, who said he was trying to escape hours after his capture.

As the one-year anniversary approached, tension gripped Maiduguri following rumours the sect was planning to strike again, leading to the deployment of police reinforcements from neighbouring states and intelligence personnel.

There have been no incidents so far and apprehension among residents seems to have dissipated.

But some say a new generation of holy warriors may be developing.

"We have the fear that the real problem may not be now, but in years to come, when the children of Boko Haram militants come of age," said Shehu Sani of the Civil Rights Congress rights group based in the northern city of Kaduna.

Sani believes the insurgent group has not been completely stamped out, with many of its militant members having gone underground, "making the Boko Haram an unfinished business."

"One can imagine the type of human beings these children will turn out to be, having been trained to only hate, fight and kill in the name of religion right from their formative years," Sani said.

He said that if the government failed to integrate Boko Haram children into society, they "will certainly pick up from where their parents had fallen and continue with the insurgency with more vigour, ferocity and dedication."

The government in Borno state, where Maiduguri is located, has outlawed the sect.

"Despite the risk, we are determined to continue with our struggle and our children are following our footsteps by teaching them to be mujahideen (Islamic fighters)," Yerima Faltaye, a 32-year old perfume vendor and sect member told AFP.

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

Nigeria: Questions Remain a Year After Nigerian Taliban Chief's Death

AFP20100730670004 Paris AFP (World Service) in English 0832 GMT 30 Jul 10

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria, July 30, 2010 (AFP) - The police chief has a stern warning a year after authorities gunned down the leader of the Nigerian Taliban and crushed his group's uprising, leaving its headquarters in ruins.

"It's a crime to pronounce those words," Borno state police commissioner Ibrahim Abdu said, referring to Boko Haram, as the Islamist sect is also known. He then refused to answer any questions.

It has been a year since the military and police put down an insurrection by the sect in mainly Muslim northern Nigeria with a brutal assault, leaving its mosque and headquarters a pile of crumbled concrete that remains at the site.

The movement's leader, Mohammed Yusuf, was captured alive and then killed on July 30 last year by police, who said he was trying to escape. More than 800 people died in the fighting that lasted nearly a week.

Many observers now say the remaining sect members are dispersed and may be incapable of reforming and striking again anytime soon, though they are still committed and would like to.

But troubling questions persist over why such a group sprouted in northern Nigeria in the first place, with some saying the country's massive corruption and wide gap between the rich and poor led to the movement and may do so again.

Young people convinced such conditions will not change made them susceptible to Yusuf's message that Nigeria should become an Islamic state, some observers said.

"They can't distinguish that you can practice Western democracy differently from the one they see," said Kyari Mohammed, a Nigerian university professor preparing a book on the sect.

Authorities in Maiduguri, the sleepy northern Nigerian city that was the centre of the uprising which spread to four states, rejected the explanation but refused to speak in detail about the uprising.

They say there is no danger now, and that measures have been put in place to keep a similar episode from happening again in Africa's most populous nation, including requiring religious leaders to be approved by the state government.

They also insist that Yusuf's deputy, Abubakar Shekau, was killed last year, though he has recently appeared on video issuing new threats. Police say the clips are digital mock-ups.

"We are assuring our people ... and the whole world, that such a situation will never happen again," said Isa Sanda Beneshiekh, state information commissioner.

Security was tightened this week, with night checkpoints and intelligence agents blanketing the city.

Agents monitored some of the movements of journalists reporting in Maiduguri. Police also refused to allow residents near the site of the sect's destroyed headquarters to answer reporters' questions.

One man claiming to be a member of the sect, but who said he did not participate in the violence, told AFP that Shekau was the new leader.

He claimed sect members had weapons hidden in various part of the country -- no surprise considering illegal arms are widespread in Nigeria -- but would not comment in detail on when the group could strike again.

"We are ordained by Allah to be prepared and amass weapons in case the enemy attacks," said the 35-year-old, who refused to be named.

"Anybody who doesn't like Islam, works against the establishment of an Islamic state, who is against the prophet, is an enemy."

Yusuf, believed to be only 39 at the time of his death, had at one point claimed to have 3,000 students, but it is difficult to find a reliable estimate of the group's numbers.

A communications lecturer at the University of Maiduguri who closely followed the situation said the government bore responsibility for allowing the sect to develop.

"It was not totally unexpected, given the situation in the country," said Mohammed Gujbawu, 42, naming unemployment as a major factor. "The ground was well-prepared for this kind of tragedy to happen."

As Yusuf's rhetoric grew more militant, the military and police assigned a task force to trac k Boko Haram, which means "Western education is sin" in local dialect.

According to the sect member interviewed by AFP and professor Mohammed, one incident seemed to be the final straw.

There was a confrontation between authorities and sect followers seeking to attend a funeral for Boko Haram members killed in a road accident. It escalated and resulted in police shooting several sect followers, they said.

The group then decided to attack police posts, leading to nearly a week of fighting that ended with the sect's headquarters destroyed.

There have been accusations that both authorities and the sect killed civilians in the process. Police have said 32 of its members died.

"What we have seen, we don't want to see with our eyes again," a police officer guarding the ruins of the mosque said.

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

Profile of Late Nigerian Taliban Chief

AFP20100730670014 Paris AFP (World Service) in English 0837 GMT 30 Jul 10

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria, July 30, 2010 (AFP) - Mohammed Yusuf, the Nigerian Taliban chief killed a year ago, led an uprising in the country's north but some say he was a reluctant fighter who had settled in to a comfortable life.

The head of the Islamist sect was believed to be only 39 when he was gunned down by police on July 30th last year, yet he had built a strong following with his message that Nigeria should become an Islamic state.

He was a charismatic leader who convinced young people in Africa's most populous nation to join him despite seeming to have only elementary knowledge of the Koran, according to one professor writing a book on the sect.

Recordings of his sermons sold briskly in this region of the mainly Muslim north before last year's insurrection, but they are difficult to find now since police have outlawed them.

A theology undergraduate dropout from the Islamic University of Medina in Saudi Arabia, Yusuf was born in Girigiri village in northeastern Yobe, a state bordering Niger.

According to observers, he was expelled from several mosques for his extreme views in the years before the uprising.

In 2002, when he was a student at one of the largest mosques in Maiduguri, the city at the centre of the uprising and where the sect was based, he was kicked out after he tried to push his views on others.

"We did all we could," said Aliyu Mohammed, 65, a security worker and worshipper at the mosque. "Muslim clerics had spoken with him (about his views)."

He eventually wound up at the mosque that would later serve as the headquarters of the sect, which was also known as Boko Haram, or "Western education is sin" in local dialect.

But some observers say he was more moderate than his deputy, Abubakar Shekau. According to their account, Shekau pushed him into violence sooner than he would have liked.

"The general argument was that even though Yusuf was the leader ... he was not yet ready to give his life for the cause," said Kyari Mohammed, the Nigerian professor preparing a book on the sect.

"For them, he was becoming too comfortable with the world."

He is believed to have collected large amounts of money through donations from sect members and liked to drive around in SUVs, said Mohammed.

The military and police crushed the sect's uprising a year ago, destroying its mosque and capturing Yusuf. Police later shot and killed him, saying he had been trying to escape.

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

Nigeria: Borno State Government to Screen Islamic Preachers

AFP20100805696009 Kaduna KNR Kaduna in Hausa 1700 GMT 04 Aug 10

A 12- member Islamic preaching board to regulate the conduct of preachers in Borno State has been inaugurated. This is coming on the heels of the forthcoming Ramadan fasting.

Performing the inaugural ceremony, Governor Ali Madu Sherrif said the board was aimed at preventing a reoccurrence of the 2009 Boko Haram crisis in the state. He said the state government discovered that some Islamic preachers take advantage of the fasting period to incite their followers against constituted authorities by using derogatory languages.

Governor Sherif charged members of the board to use their vast knowledge of the Quran and Hadith to checkmate bad preachers. He said that henceforth, only scholars who are duly licensed by the board would be allowed to preach in the state.

[Description of Source: Kaduna Nagarta Radio in Hausa Radio owned by pro- ruling Peoples Democratic Party Generals Aliyu Gusau and Former President Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida]

Nigeria: Boko Haram Allegedly Kills 3 Police Officers

FEA20100827008770 - OSC Feature - Daily Trust Online 2300 GMT 26 Aug 10

[Report by Hamza Idris and Sharafa Dauda: "Boko Haram Snipers Kill 3 Policemen"]

Members of the outlawed Boko Haram sect appeared to have resorted to guerrilla warfare as they waylaid and shot dead three policemen in Damaturu and Maiduguri, centres of the deadly violence sparked by the group in July last year.

In Maiduguri, Borno State, two policemen were shot and their guns taken by four suspected members of the sect, who came riding bikes on Wednesday night, while another cop was killed in Damaturu when other gunmen attacked the private residence of Yobe State Governor Ibrahim Gaidam also on Wednesday.

Inspector Shettima Mustapha and newly-decorated Corporal Ahmed Mohammed, both of the Bulunkutu-Gomari Divisional Police Station in Jere Local Government Area in the outskirts of Maiduguri city, were attacked near the Gomari central mosque by four men dressed in black overalls.

The gunmen drove towards the policemen, who were also riding a bike, thereby felling them, before firing at them at close range, according to accounts of security sources. The sources said 16 shells of used ammunition were found at the scene of the killing.

Borno State Police Commissioner Ibrahim Abdu, who confirmed the shootings, told newsmen yesterday the cops were on their way to their beat at the Gomari bus stop for the routine stop-and-search operation and also the enforcement of the ban on the movement of motorcycles, which was recently extended to 10pm.

"They were on a motorcycle. The inspector was riding and the corporal was backed on the motorbike. As they were moving, unknown to them, two motorcyclists were trailing them from behind. They came very close to them, opened fire and killed them. They shot them from behind at the back of their neck," Abdu told newsmen.

He said police investigations are pointing to a particular direction, which he did not mention, following recent series of killings of policemen in similar pattern. "But we do not want to disclose and pre-empt investigations. The SSS and military intelligence are assisting us. The security outfits are all working together to see that the perpetrators are brought to book," he added.