More than 50 dead in Boko Haram raid

 

According to a number of sources, 55 people have been killed in Bama, in the north eastern Nigerian state of Borno, in a co-ordinated attack by Boko Haram militants. It is understood that 200 heavily armed members of the Islamist group arrived in the town in the early hours of Tuesday morning and attacked a police station, military barracks and government buildings before freeing 105 inmates. Among the dead are police officers, prison wardens, soldiers, a small number of civilians and 13 members of Boko Haram.

The attack represents the rebels' single most deadly strike since the uprising began in 2009 and possibly the most significant since the Kano bombings in early 2012. It follows a government raid in Baga last month, also in the state of Borno, targeting rebels who had earlier attacked a military patrol. Over 200 people were allegedly killed and thousands of buildings destroyed in what was described by some observers as the government's use of “excessive force”. Similar operations by the authorities in late 2012 were thought to have diminished the threat posed by Boko Haram, who killed an estimated 1,000 people last year.

President Goodluck Jonathan has established a committee to lay out the terms of an amnesty for the group, but so far their leader, Abubakar Shekau, has declined to enter negotiations. Boko Haram wishes to establish an Islamic, Shari'a state in Nigeria, a country roughly divided equally between Christians and Muslims, and has previously carried out several prison breaks to free it members.

For more news and expert analysis about Nigeria, please see Nigeria Focus and Nigeria Politics & Security.

© 2013 Menas Associates

Nigeria arrests Boko Haram spokesman

Nigerian officials have said they have arrested the spokesman for the Islamist militant group Boko Haram. A police official told Associated Press news agency, the man known as Abul Qaqa, was arrested in the north eastern city of Maiduguri, Borno state.

Officials are still trying to confirm the identity of the man arrested on Wednesday 1st February. An unnamed officer told Reuters news agency: “We are still taking to him. Since 'Abu Qaqa' is a pseudonym for the Boko Haram spokesman, we want to be sure of who we have with us."

It is estimated that more than 150 people were killed by Boko Haram last month, when a number of co-ordinated explosions were set off near security buildings and passport and immigration offices around the northern city of Kano.

The group wants to overthrow the government and install Islamic law around the country. Boko Haram militants have recently attacked police stations and security officials around the country, also bombing churches and killing many civilians in the process. The most recent attack, however, is said to have been the bloodiest.

Sources: AP, BBC News, Reuters

For more news and expert analysis about Nigeria, please see Nigeria Focus and Nigeria Politics & Security.

Boko Haram bombs Abuja police headquarters

The Islamist militant group Boko Haram have taken responsibility for bombing Nigerian police headquarters in Abuja on Thursday 16th June. Nigerian officials have said that the attack left at least two people dead, one of them reportedly a suicide bomber.

The bombing follows a visit by Nigeria's police Chief Hafeez Ringim to the north-eastern town of Maiduguri, where the group is based. Boko Haram is striving to overthrow the State and implement Islamic law across Nigeria. The group, responsible for killing dozens of police officers, politicians and critics, has recently reformed after the group's leader Mohammed Yusuf was killed in 2009.

Boko Haram has also taken responsibility for several explosions in Abuja, and other States, following President Goodluck Jonathan's inauguration last month. In a statement, about the latest attacks, the group said: “We are responsible for the bomb attack on the police headquarters in Abuja which was to prove a point to all those who doubt our capability.”

Ringim, who visited Maiduguri earlier this week, said that the Boko Haram problem would be solved within months. The group counteracted the statement with a car bomb outside the police headquarters, which exploded minutes after Ringim arrived for work.

A bus commuter who saw the explosion told the BBC's Focus on Africa programme: "All of a sudden there was this loud explosion. Everybody was scared and people began to run around."

Boko haram has killed dozens of people across the country but mainly in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state, where it is located.

Sources: BBC News, ABC Online, AFP, Reuters

For more news and expert analysis about Nigeria, please see Nigeria Focus and Nigeria Politics & Security.

Nigeria: Muslim cleric killed by suspected Boko Haram gunman

A prominent Muslim cleric has been shot dead by a suspected Boko Haram militant. Ibrahim Birkuti was shot in north-eastern Nigeria by a gunman on a motorcycle. The cleric had previously openly criticised the Islamic group for killing dozens of security agents and politicians near the city of Maiduguri.

Birkuti was killed outside his house in the town of Biu, 200km south of Maiduguri, where the group has carried out most of its attacks in recent months. Birkuti's neighbour Babagana Hanafi told AFP news agency, that a “gunman riding a motorcycle stopped outside the house and brought out a gun from under his shirt and shot him twice at close range before fleeing”.

Last week, Boko Haram told the BBC it had carried out a series of bombings after President Goodluck Jonathan's inauguration. The group's spokesman said Boko Haram was also responsible for killing the brother of one of Nigeria's most important Islamic leaders.

Sources: BBC News, AFP, People's Daily Online

For more news and expert analysis about Nigeria, please see Nigeria Focus and Nigeria Politics & Security.