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

"He used a Honda CRV jeep and that was the very day that he learned how to drive. He was a successful businessman and left behind a wife and a son," Qaqa said.

Qaqa said 26-year-old Abi Yusuf was responsible for the bombing of the JTF headquarters in Maiduguri. "He was also a martyr whom we are going to miss a lot because of his outstanding mastery of how to improvise explosives," Qaqa said.

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

Algiers anti-terrorism forum expresses concern over AQLIM-Boko Haram ties

GMP20111118950017 Algiers El-Watan Online in French 0001 GMT 18 Nov 11

Excerpt from report by Salima Tlemcani headlined: "The relation between AQLIM and Boko Haram puts the world on alert", published by privately-owned Algerian newspaper El Watan website on 18 November

The forum on the fight against terrorism, which ended yesterday [17 November] in Algiers had focused the debate on the security and political challenges of the Sahel region: the connections between the armed groups in several countries with the flood of Libyan arms.

The mass flow of arms from Libya and the proven connection between al-Qa'idah in the Land of Islamic Maghreb (AQLIM), the Nigerian group, Boko Haram and the Somali Shabab disturb heavily the international community to the extent that it has become a focus of all the security services of the great powers. Thus, experts of the working group on the Sahel, linked to the Global Forum on Fighting Against Terrorism (FGLCT) and those of the 30 countries that had established it expressed their "concern" about the prevailing situation in the Sahel region, especially since a portion of the Libyan weapons came into the hands of AQLIM.

This organization, which funds its activities through ransoms (paid in exchange for the hostages' release) has just sounded the alarm after its alliance with the group Boko Haram of Nigeria, a country that weighs heavily on the world oil market.

In the document issued by the FGLCT, it was noted that AQLIM "attempts to exploit the structural weaknesses of some countries in the region in order to settle up by increasing its capacity to make hostage-taking and carrying out attacks against the countries of the area". The FGLCT believes that the threat is now affecting several countries in the area.

It cited the first circle, which consists of Mali, Niger, Mauritania and Algeria, followed by a second wider circle, which consists of Burkina Faso, Guinea, Senegal, Chad, Morocco and Nigeria. This is an axis which may extend to Yemen and then continue its way to Afghanistan. The challenge is important. This explains the awareness of the powerful of this world. But they know that the war against terrorism can not be won only with the gun.

It must be accompanied by a struggle against underdevelopment, poverty, exclusion and denial of rights. For this, the founding member states of the forum called for the promotion of regional and international cooperation and the establishment of a mechanism that would allow the experts in the field to meet and exchange experiences and information to better address their shortcomings and strengthen their capacity of riposte.

[Passage omitted: the participants in the meeting of the Sahel group and the topics discussed].

"Britain supports the position of Algeria on the need to criminalize the payment of ransoms and supports it strongly in its campaign", said the major general, Robin Searby, adviser to the British prime minister for the fight against terrorism in North Africa and the Sahel.

Speaking on the sidelines of the first day of the technical workshop of the Sahel group on the reinforcement of the riposte capacity, the official said that his country "calls along with Algeria at the UN to ensure that the payment of ransom will be illegal. We are working to convince other countries to accede to this proposal".

On his participation in the workshop, the major- general said: "We took part in this meeting to analyse the terrorist threat, which the world is facing and discuss the aspects defined by the forum related to security borders, the financing of terrorism and judicial cooperation. We have a very good expertise in the financing of terrorism and we are cooperating with Algeria in this area."

Asked about the weapons that had left Libya, the official acknowledged that "there is a proliferation but, he said, we do not know the quantity. This does not mean that we do not have good information. Only time is need so that things become clear because some of the weapons were purchased illegally by the regime of al-Qadhafi. Such thing makes it difficult to carry out any census or inventory of the stolen weapons."

Deepen the capacity of all states in the fight against terrorism in the civilian frame. The goal is that the services of justice, police, customs and all those which follow up the issue of financing terrorism, border security must involve the civil society and communities in this action.

This was stated on Wednesday [16 November] by Rezzag Bara, inter- ministerial coordinator for the fight against terrorism and adviser to the president of the republic on the sidelines of the proceedings of the technical workshop on the Sahel.

He added: "We have always said that the military and security aspect in the fight is very important, but it must be accompanied by the aspect of development, governance and the civilian capabilities of the states to better respond to the threat and its evolution".

According to Rezzag Bara, "the situation in the Sahel region has become a major concern because of the proliferation of arms from Libya and the kidnappings of humanitarians and foreign nationals by terrorist groups".

[Description of Source: Algiers El-Watan Online in French -- Website of privately owned daily; launched in 1990, it is the most widely distributed French-language newspaper in Algeria; while critical of the authorities, it used to have links to the military establishment and remains a good source for information on security matters; URL: www.elwatan.com]

Report Says Policemen Boko Haram Members, Hence Difficulty to Stop Sect's Activities

AFP20111118619007 Lagos Newswatch in English 14 Nov 11 - 21 Nov 11 12-19

[Report by Chris Ajaero: "A thorn in the flesh of the nation"]

Boko Haram, the deadly Islamic fundamentalist group in Nigeria, strikes again in Yobe State, killing more than 150 persons

In Damaturu, the Yobe State capital, a neighborhood called New Jerusalem is a popular abode for Christians. Most Christians think that it a safe haven to reside because many churches are also located there. It has the highest concentration of Christians and non-indigenes.

It was, therefore, not surprising that it was one of the targets of the Boko Haram sect when they unleashed mayhem on Damaturu and Potiskum on Friday 4 Nov. It was one of the deadliest attacks ever carried out by Boko Haram, the Islamic fundamentalist sect, which has become a thorn in the flesh of the nation.

The deadly strike claimed more than 150 lives and rendered thousands of people homeless. Churches, public buildings, commercial houses, and other properties worth millions of naira were destroyed. At the New Jerusalem area in the metropolis, some of the churches razed include St. Mary's Catholic Church and the Living Faith Church also known as Winners Chapel.

Others are the All Saints Anglican Church, Cherubim and Seraphim Church, and the Evangelical Church of West Africa [ECWA]. Garba Idi, the Yobe State chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria [CAN], confirmed that New Jerusalem which is dominated by Christians and non-indigenes was the worst hit.

According to him, 10 churches, 11 vehicles, a police station and seven motorcycles belonging to residents of the area were burnt during the attack. "So many Christians were killed and as I am talking to you now, some people are still calling us to say that they have just discovered the bodies of some of their missing relatives who were killed in the bush. We are not too comfortable with the security arrangements here," he said.

Newswatch, however, learnt that before members of the sect moved to New Jerusalem area, they had to first attack the office of the Anti-Terrorist Squad [ATS] along Maiduguri road near the NNPC mega station.

The bombing which took place at about 4.30 pm was executed by the terrorist group through a posh Honda CRV jeep bearing explosives driven into the two-storey building used as office and barracks by the ATS. The car bomb immediately exploded and shattered the building, killing the suicide bomber and one Aliyu Kabir, said to be an ATS constable. Many other people staying near the building, including children were also killed.

An eyewitness told Newswatch that when the bomb exploded, the whole area vibrated as if there was an earthquake and that the air was covered with smoke. Houses within the vicinity were destroyed. Among the houses affected were those of Kaigama Umar, the Yobe State commissioner for finance, and Abdullahi Bego, the special adviser to Governor Ibrahim Geidam on press affairs and information.

The headquarters of the Yobe State Police Command was also shattered by the explosives that were sporadically thrown into the building. The officers manning the ATS and the police headquarters were taken by surprise and could not immediately respond to the onslaught of the Boko Haram kingpins.

Having effectively bombed the ATS and the police headquarters, the bombers then moved to the popular New Jerusalem area. Edwin Silas, a resident of the area, said that they were traumatized by the manner the sect killed and maimed innocent people.

He said that when bombers approached the area with their explosives, they heard them shouting "Allah Hu Akubar" repeatedly. Within the twinkle of an eye, they started bombing the churches and killing people.

Narrating her ordeal in the hands of the bombers, Patricia Okoli said that when the bombers came, "they shouted Arne, Yanmiri, shege" and started shooting and burning. She said that before the police could come, they had killed so many people. "I don’t know how I survived, but my friends were killed before my eyes. I ran into the bush on the Bukar Abba University road and somehow I escaped," she said.

Fidelis Analado, another victim who was receiving treatment at the General Sani Abacha Hospital in Damaturu, sustained bullet wounds on his body while trying to escape when the bombers struck. He said that he escaped death by the whiskers. Apart from the bullet wounds that he sustained, his assailants burnt his house.

Another victim who identified himself as a member of the Winners Chapel said that he was among the first persons to build a house in the New Jerusalem area of Damaturu after the missionaries had established their churches there. Although his house and business premises were destroyed, he escaped with his family.

He described their escape as an act of God because their neighbors were not that lucky. One of the police officers who survived the bombings in Damaturu narrated how he escaped death by the whiskers. The police officer, who craved anonymity because of the security implications, said that he was lucky with one of his colleagues to be alive to tell their stories.

The police officer attached to the 'A' Division said that he was coming with his other colleagues from the New Jerusalem area of Damaturu where they had gone to remove a bomb planted by Boko Haram when they fell into their hands at the 'A' Division roundabout. According to him, members of the sect pursued their anti-squad vehicle, threw explosives on it and destroyed it.

The two policemen managed to escape with bullets in their bodies. At the Specialist Hospital Damaturu where he was receiving treatment, his bandaged left hand still had bullets still lodged in it. He claimed that though some of the Boko Haram members, were also killed, they did not abandon even one corpse, even at great risk to their lives.

Newswatch gathered that after the Boko Haram gunmen had killed and maimed residents of New Jerusalem area, they went through the town, blew up two commercial banks and carted away huge sums of money from the vault. The federal secretariat located along Gashua Road in Damaturu was burnt by members of the sect.

They also attacked, at least, three police stations leaving them in ruins. They continued through the night of Friday, 4 Nov and raided Potiskum, another town some 100 kilometers from Damaturu where they killed many innocent people.

Many military and police vehicles were burnt by members of the sect and the following day being Saturday, 5 Nov, the vehicles along with burnt corpses of their drivers were still seen in their seats. Indeed, corpses littered all over the town and Damaturu was like a war zone.

A day after the bloody bombing in Damaturu, Suleiman Lawal, the commissioner of police, said that 53 people lost their lives. According to him, out of the 53, 11 were policemen, two army officers, two officers of the Federal Road Safety Corps, one Immigration officer, one Customs officer and an officer of the Nigeria Civil Defense Corps.

Three other causalities were a female member of the National Youth Service Corps identified as Remmy Eucharia from Enugu State serving with the Yobe State Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs and a professor with his driver who were travelling from Jos to Maiduguri.

The causality figure later increased to more than 150. However, the police commissioner said that security agents and innocent civilians were not the only people who lost their lives. According to him, seven of the sect members were also killed in the exchange of fire with the security agents.

As part of measures to forestall security in the state, Ibrahim Geidam, the governor, who was in Saudi Arabia forth is year's Hajj, had through Abubakar Aliyu, his deputy, imposed curfew on Damaturu, starting from Sunday, 7 pm to 7 am.

The state government said that the curfew would continue until normalcy was restored to the town. However, by press time last week, Geidam was being expected back in Damaturu, from Saudi Arabia.

On his part, President Goodluck Jonathan expressed doubt if the attackers were "true Muslims" for causing mayhem during a holy period. In a statement issued by Reuben Abati, his senior special adviser on media, the president promised that "the security agencies were 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."

The massacre of innocent people in Damaturu and Potiskum has shocked many residents of the area who hitherto considered Yobe as a peaceful state. But one person who is not surprised by the ugly incident is an Igbo police officer who was posted to Damaturu some months ago.

Indeed, it would appear that the police officer had a premonition of disaster that awaited indigenes of Damaturu, the Yobe State capital and Potiskum, its neighboring town. Clad in a short and T-shirt that day in June, the man, in a discussion with some fellow young Igbo men at a motor park in Damaturu, counselled them thus:

"What are you people still doing in this town?" he asked, in Igbo language. Using his hand for effect, he said: "It is happening, (he pointed forward), in your front, meaning Maiduguri and in your (as he pointed backward), back, meaning Potiskum, so, what are you still doing here?"

The Newswatch reporter who was in their midst, could not help but laugh at the view but the two men were not amused. They individually explained to the officer why it was not possible for them to just suddenly abandon a place they had lived in for long.

But the police officer was not impressed as he insisted that "life or safety should come ahead of any other consideration." For him, he had seen enough of Damaturu and was taking a leave of absence, which explained why he was east-bound that morning after which he would decide whether to continue with police work.

There is no doubt that the police officer was worried about the manner the Boko Haram sect, had turned some of the major towns of Bomo and Yobe States as well as Abuja, the seat of power, into killing fields in recent times. Exactly five months after he fled the town, the sect unleashed mayhem on Damaturu and Potiskum.

Since the incident, many other non-indigenes of Yobe State have followed the footsteps of the disgruntled police officer by leaving Damaturu and Potiskum in droves. Many Igbo traders and some of their kinsmen have resolved to relocate to the Southeast or Lagos.

Their fear was heightened by the statement by Abul-Qaqa, a Boko Haram spokesman, claiming responsibility for the bombings and vowing that "more attacks are on the way" to unleash hell on non-Muslims in their continued bloody sectarian fight.

Even the patrol by the military and policemen on the streets of Darnaturu and Potiskum could not stop the mass exodus of people from Yobe State last week. Hundreds of residents besieged the major motor parks in the two towns with their families and property to relocate to either their home states or other parts of the country they believe do not harbor members of the dreaded Boko Haram sect.

Okey Obiozor, an Igbo trader resident in the New Jerusalem area said that he was relocating to the Southeast with his entire family because he no longer considers Damaturu a safe place to stay and do business. "What will I gain if I remain in Damaturu and make all the money and then lose my life or any of my family members?"

He said that it was clear from what happened on that Friday evening that, the Christians were the target of the religious sect. "God saved my life and those of my family members. So, it will be foolhardy for us to continue to stay in a town where we are not wanted," Obiozor said.

Tony Ogah, a businessman in Damaturu, said that he had been nursing the idea of leaving the town because of so many issues which have to do with his faith as a Christian. He said that the latest offensive of Boko Haram in Yobe left him with no option but to leave and settle somewhere else where he would have peace of mind.

Samuel Musa, one of those who left Damaturu last week, said that many residents had resolved to leave because they feared that the members of the sect could strike again in spite of the show of force by soldiers and mobile policemen."I am at the Damaturu Mass Transit Park with my family and many other people who are leaving the town because I have lived here for about 20 years but I can't afford to stay here any longer.

The bombing of 4 Nov is enough warning because the incident was terrible and we don't know the next target," he said.

Security agents launched a manhunt on those who perpetrated the act shortly after. Their efforts paid off 72 hours later when the Joint Task Force arrested nine of the suspects at a secret location in Gujba in Yobe State.

The names of seven of those arrested are: Mohammed Musa Kafinta; Abbana Madu Melle; Babakura Madu Melle; Ba'ana Barbadus; Madu Melle; Suleiman Umar, and Mohammed Ali Waziri. The suspects were later moved to Damaturu for interrogation.

Sources told Newswatch that task force’s preliminary interrogation of the suspects revealed that they were among those who executed the bombings in Damaturu and Potiskum. From records, the suspects were on the wanted list of security agencies for the series of bombings in the Northeast.

Security agencies are working on the clue that Boko Haram men, who attacked two major towns of Yobe State, may have had external support, including the al-Qaeda. "There is also a suspicion of external collaboration.

It seems the Boko Haram is now operating from some of the neighboring countries which have always had links with al-Qaeda," a security source told Newswatch last week.

A few days after the mayhem in Yobe State, the United States Embassy in Nigeria said that it had received intelligence report that the radical Islamic sect intended to attack several locations and hotels in Abuja during the Muslim holiday.

It said that potential targets were luxury hotels in Abuja including the Nicon Luxury, Transcorp Hilton and the Sheraton Hotels. In an advisory posted on its website warning American citizens, it said that all US government personnel have been instructed to avoid the locations.

The advisory reads: "Emergency Message for American Citizens (November05, 20l1).The US Mission in Nigeria issues the following emergency message for the attention of all US citizens in Abuja, Nigeria.

Following the recent Boko Haram, aka Nigerian Taliban, attacks in Borno and Yobe State, the Embassy had received information that the group may plan to attack several locations and hotels in Abuja, Nigeria, during the Sallah holiday. Potential targets may include the Nicon Luxury, the Sheraton Hotel, and the Transcorp Hilton Hotel. "

All US government personnel have been instructed to avoid these locations and previously scheduled events have been cancelled. American citizens should expect additional police and military checkpoints, additional security, and possible roadblocks in Abuja for the foreseeable future. "The US government has no additional information regarding the timing of the possible attacks.

The Embassy reminds US citizens to exercise additional caution. Please maintain a high state of vigilance and personal awareness, particularly in and around Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, near Nigerian government facilities, diplomatic missions, large gathering places, hotels, markets and malls, and places of worship.

We advise all US citizens to review their personal security plans, remain aware of their surroundings, including local events, monitor local news stations for updates, and report specific incidences of targeted violence to the Embassy in Abuja or the Consulate General in Lagos at the numbers below.

US citizens should maintain a high level of vigilance and take appropriate steps to enhance their personal security."

The statement also advised US citizens who travel to or reside in Nigeria to enroll through the State Department's Smart Travelers Enrollment Program to make it easier for the Embassy or Consulate to contact them in case of emergency.

But in a swift reaction to the security alert issued to its citizens by the US Embassy, General Owoye Azazi, national security adviser, dismissed it as alarmist and promised that adequate counter-measures have been put in place by the nation's security services to secure lives and property.

He said the US alert was eliciting unhealthy public anxiety and generating avoidable tension. According to him, "the current threat to attack three hotels in Abuja is not news and for over three months security services have taken pro-active measures to protect the designated critical facilities and others."

He urged members of the public to go about their normal businesses without fear or hindrance because security agencies have been placed at alert.

In her reaction, Marilyn Ogar, spokesperson of the State Security Service, said that although there was no nation in the world that does not have security challenges, the bombings in Yobe State were not enough to say that the security agencies have been overwhelmed. "I do not see problems that are beyond the Nigerian security agencies because we have deployed men and we all know that we have beefed up security everywhere.

On 26 Oct, we had alerted Nigerians that text messages were going around which said that targets were going to be burnt in Abuja and we traced the senders of the messages to a secondary school in Madara, Niger State.

We all know that every nation wants to ensure it can take care of its citizens and if the U.S sent out any message, it is nothing so strange, it is not because our country is disintegrating. If Canada had followed suit, there is nothing new to it. Yes, we have challenges but the challenges cannot overwhelm us," she had said.