What's New In W. Africa (Nigeria)

[Keke Napep]

Before becoming totally overwhelmed with the tragic events now being played out in Kenya, it should be remembered that various branches of Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb have committed many atrocities in mamny of the countries of sub-Saharan Africa.

The Kenyan atrocity being given the full spotlight of media attention is more newsworthy because it is being directed at Christians and a number of non-Africans have been victims in Nigeria, the military try to play down what is happening particularly in the north of the country, however, hundreds have died both there and in (safe ) Abuja during the last 2 weeks:

Death toll in northeast attack rises to at least 142

The death toll from an attack in northeastern Nigeria that saw insurgents dressed as soldiers set up checkpoints and gun down travellers on a highway has risen to at least 142, an official said today.

“We recovered 55 bodies on Wednesday and 87 on Thursday,” Abdulaziz Kolomi, an official with the environmental protection agency in Borno state where the attack occurred, told AFP. The previous toll from the attack late Tuesday in the Benisheik area was 87.

The insurgents, suspected to be from Islamist extremist group Boko Haram, also burned scores of homes and buildings in the assault and left corpses littering the roadside.

The motivation behind the assault was not immediately clear, but Boko Haram members have repeatedly carried out revenge attacks against residents over the emergence of vigilante groups that have formed to assist the military.

Benisheik was also the scene of deadly clashes on Sept 8 between suspected Boko Haram gunmen and vigilantes.

Residents described a gruesome assault on Tuesday, saying the attackers singled out people from Borno, while letting people from other regions pass through checkpoints.

One security source said in the wake of the attack that “they came in droves, driving about 20 pickup trucks.”

Army General Mohammed Yusuf, who briefed the state governor on the attack, said troops ran out of ammunition while combatting the assault. He said the insurgents were armed with “anti-aircraft guns.”

Northeastern Nigeria has seen an outburst of violence in recent days, leaving scores of people dead and casting doubt over the effectiveness of a military assault seeking to end Boko Haram’s four-year insurgency.

The insurgents say they are fighting to create an Islamic state in Nigeria’s mainly Muslim north, but their aims have repeatedly shifted and much of their recent violence has targeted defenceless civilians.

In mid-May, Nigeria declared a state of emergency across the northeast, Boko Haram’s stronghold, and launched a sweeping offensive aimed at crushing the group’s four-year insurgency.

While the military has claimed major successes in the campaign, the attacks may have simply shifted from cities to more remote areas.

The phone network in Borno has been switched off since the emergency measures were imposed, a move the military said was aimed at blocking the Islamists from coordinating attacks.

Some have suggested that the lack of phone service has prevented civilians from sounding the alarm during attacks. It has also made it difficult to verify information from the region.

The insurgency was estimated earlier this year to have killed at least 3,600 people since 2009, including deaths caused by the security services, but the current toll is likely much higher.

Nigeria is Africa’s top oil producer and most populous country, roughly divided between a mainly Muslim north and predominately Christian south. — AFP

Controversy over killing of Boko Haram 'suspects' in Abuja

Friday's reported clash between Nigerian security operatives and suspected members of the militant Islamic sect Boko Haram in the capital city of Abuja has triggered a groundswell of controversy in the country, amid allegations that those killed were not terrorists but petty traders, artisans and others.


PANA reports that the State Security Service (SSS) had said security operatives were deployed to an uncompleted building behind the Apo Legislative Quarters housing some federal MPs in the early hours of Friday to exhume weapons buried there by suspected Boko Haram elements

SSS spokesperson Marilyn Ogar said the operatives were dispatched following a tip-off from two Boko Haram suspects, Kamal Abdullahi and Mohammed Adamu, who were arrested earlier.

“They led the security team to the uncompleted building where arms were purported to have been buried underground,” Ogar said.

“No sooner had the team commenced digging for the arms than they came under heavy gunfire attack by other Boko Haram elements within the area.

“As a result, some persons were injured while 12 others were arrested in connection with the incident and are making useful statements,’’ she added.

Though the statement did not say if anyone was killed, the police in Abuja - which said they were not involved in the operation - later said seven people were killed.

On Saturday, the local media quoted eyewitnesses and survivors as saying the uncompleted building in question was occupied by over 100 homeless people, including tricycle operators, artisans and labourers from the northern part of the country, not terrorists as the SSS claimed.

They also said no one engaged the security operatives in a shootout.

“We are no Boko Haram,” the online Premium Times newspaper quoted one the 17 persons who were injured, 20-year-old Ibrahim Danladi as saying. “I sell pure water and none of us are Boko Haram. The soldiers just arrived suddenly and started shooting at us.”

The paper also quoted witnesses as saying the owner of the building must have set them up for the attack, as he had given them a one-week ultimatum to vacate his residence

“He gave us one week, one week to leave his house. He threatened us saying he would bring soldiers to do anything to us if we don’t leave after one week. But just two days later, they came to attack us,” it quoted an unnamed survivor as saying.

PANA reports that the SSS has not commented on reports that the security operatives might have shot innocent people and then labelled them Boko Haram suspects.

Nigerian security agencies are not taking anything to chance over terrorist attacks because of the horror that has been perpetrated by the Boko Haram Islamic sect, which has killed over 3,000 people in gun and bomb attacks since 2009.

Though the sect has operated largely in the predominantly-Muslim northern Nigeria, it has previously struck in Abuja.

The sect claimed responsibility for the 26 August 2011 bombing of the UN Complex in Abuja that killed at least 21 and left 60 injured, as well as the 16 June 2011 bombing of the police headquarters in the capital city.

Attacks in the city have, however, tapered down in recent times, even though the sect has continued to rampage in the north, despite the imposition of a state of emergency on the three states worst hit.

How long will it be before Boko Haram or Ansaru attempt a copy-cat attack in Nigeria. Lagos is a particularly soft target with easy escape routes by water