Boko Haram Islamist Cult

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Abubakar Shekau of Nigeria's Boko Haram 'may be dead'
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-23761048

Abubakar Shekau, leader of Boko Haram

Nigeria's militant Islamist leader Abubakar Shekau may have been killed by the security forces during a shoot-out, an army spokesman has said.

An "intelligence report" showed that Shekau, the leader of the Boko Haram group, may have died between 25 July and 3 August, Lt-Col Sagir Musa said.

Boko Haram, which has waged an insurgency in Nigeria since 2009, has not commented on the statement.

The US had put a bounty of $7m (£4.6m) on Shekau's head.

'Imposter'
The intelligence report suggested that Shekau was shot on 30 June, when soldiers raided a Boko Haram base at Sambisa Forest in north-eastern Nigeria.

"Shekau was mortally wounded in the encounter and was sneaked into Amitchide - a border community in Cameroon for treatment... It is greatly believed that Shekau might have died between 25 July to 3 August 2013," Col Musa said.

A video of Shekau, released on 13 August, was "dramatised by an imposter to hoodwink the sect members to continue with the terrorism", he added.

On 14 August, the military said it had killed Boko Haram's second-in-command, Momodu Bama, also known by his alias "Abu Saad".

Correspondents say there is no independent confirmation of Shekau's or Bama's death.

Thousands of people have died since Boko Haram began its insurgency in 2009.

A claim in 2009 that Shekau had been killed turned out to be untrue, they add.

He became leader of Boko Haram after its founder, Muhammad Yusuf, died in police custody in the same year.

The insurgency became far more brutal under Shekau's leadership, with Boko Haram carrying out a wave of bombings and abductions, including that of foreigners, in its campaign to create an Islamic state across Nigeria, correspondents say.

In May, President Goodluck Jonathan declared an emergency in three north-eastern states, saying the group threatened Nigeria's existence.

 

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Nigerian Islamists accused of cutting throats of 44 villagers
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/a ... ut-throats

Official says attackers gouged out eyes of some survivors of raid on Dumba village

theguardian.com, Saturday 24 August 2013 10.56 BST

Islamist extremists have been accused of cutting the throats of 44 villagers in continuing attacks in an Islamic uprising in north-east Nigeria.

An official from the National Emergency Management Agency said on Saturday the attackers hit Dumba village in Borno state before dawn on Tuesday. He said the method of killing was to avoid gunfire which could attract security forces.

He said the attackers gouged out the eyes of some of the survivors.

Dumba is near the fishing village of Baga, where security forces gunned down 187 civilians in March in retaliation for an attack by extremists.

It is difficult to get information from the area, which is under a state of emergency with mobile phone and internet services cut.

Borno is one of three north-eastern states under a state of emergency declared on 14 May to crack down on the Boko Haram terrorist network.

Since 2010 more than 1,700 people have been killed in attacks by Islamist insurgents, according to an Associated Press count.

 

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Now they strike in the capital. This will result in an inevitable crackdown where the military may well target anyone suspected of BH involvement.

Nigeria's 'Boko Haram': Abuja sees security forces targeted
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-24178048

Nigeria's north-east has witnessed a massive military deployment since May

A cell of suspected Islamist militants has opened fire on security forces in Nigeria's capital Abuja, say officials.

The clash occurred at about 03:00 local time after a tip-off about the location of a suspected Boko Haram weapons cache, Nigeria's spy agency said.

The State Security Service did not give any details about casualties. A witness told the BBC he saw nine bodies.

However, other witnesses told Reuters news agency the shooting came during an attempt to move squatters.

Six witnesses told Reuters the house was owned by a military man who wanted them to leave his property.

The BBC's Mohammed Kabir Mohammed in Abuja says the shooting took place at a two-storey building which has just been built but is not yet complete.

Young men have been using the building to sleep in at night, he says.

Boko Haram is most active in north-eastern Nigeria, where a state of emergency was imposed in May.

If confirmed, it would be the first time Boko Haram has staged an attack in Abuja this year.

Attacks in the north-east have increased recently despite a massive military deployment to the worst-affected areas.

In the latest incident in Borno state, officials said at least 87 people had been killed by militants, who disguised themselves in military uniforms at a checkpoint outside the town of Benisheik. They shot dead those trying to flee.

The group wants to create an Islamic state across Nigeria and has waged a deadly insurgency since 2009.

'Digging for arms'
The security team which approached the building were acting on information received from two men, agents said.

"No sooner had the team commenced digging for the arms, than they came under heavy gunfire attack by other Boko Haram elements," Reuters news agency quotes a statement from State Security Service as saying.

Our reporter says the building is in Abuja's Apo district, home to a huge residential complex for Nigerian parliamentarians.

Abuja suffered two major Boko Haram attacks two years ago, when a suicide bomber rammed a car into the police headquarters, killing eight people in June 2011.

About two months after that, the group attacked the UN headquarters in Abuja, killing 23 people.

The attack near Benisheik took place on Tuesday, but news of it was slow to emerge as all phone lines have been cut off in an effort to help the military offensive.

The Boko Haram members drove into the town in about 20 pick-up trucks, the AFP news agency quoted an anonymous security source as saying.

The BBC's Nigeria correspondent Will Ross says it was one of the deadliest since the state of emergency was declared.

In the three days since the attack, health workers have been loading dead bodies onto trucks and some reports say the militants killed more than 140 people.

"Apart from the dead bodies recovered today [Thursday], we collected 55 on Wednesday and the fact is that we did not go deep into the bush where I strongly believe that many people have fallen there," Nigeria's Daily Trust newspaper quotes Abdulaziz Kolomi, an official with state's environmental protection agency, as saying.

There was also an attack by suspected militants on Wednesday night in neighbouring Yobe state, which is also under a state of emergency but has not witnessed so much violence.

A resident of Buni Yadi told the BBC Hausa Service that Islamists attacked the town at about 22:30, burning the police station and other public buildings.

"A soldier was killed in a shootout and the wife of the [divisional police chief] was burnt to death in her home," state police commissioner Sanusi Rufa'i told AFP.

Local vigilante groups have been formed to help counter the militants but scores of these volunteers have been killed in recent weeks.

Last month, the army said it had killed Boko Haram's leader Abubakar Shekau but this has not been confirmed and the militants' attacks have continued.

 

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Abubakar Shekau: Boko Haram chief 'shown alive' in video
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-24274818

A grab taken from a video on 13 July 2013 shows the leader of the Islamist extremist group Boko Haram Abubakar Shekau dressed in camouflage and holding a Kalashnikov AK-47 rifle

Shekau in a previous video, released in July

A video has been released in Nigeria purportedly showing the leader of the Islamist militant group Boko Haram alive.

In August, the Nigerian military said it might have killed Abubakar Shekau during a shoot-out.

In the video a man believed to be Mr Shekau said the world "should know that he could not die except by the will of Allah".

Other previous reports of his death later proved to be unfounded.

Boko Haram, which is fighting to create an Islamic state across Nigeria, has been blamed for many violent attacks which have killed nearly 2,000 people since 2011.

In the video, the man alleged to be Mr Shekau sits in a jungle environment surrounded by dozens of lieutenants dressed in fatigues.

He makes reference to recent events, such as an attack in Benisheik, Borno state, on 17 September in which at least 142 people are reported to have been killed.

BBC Hausa's Aliyu Tanko says the man's voice sounds like that of Shekau, and the video emerged from a source previously used by the Boko Haram leader.

Scepticism
On 19 August, the Nigerian military said intelligence suggested it might have killed Mr Shekau between 25 July and 3 August.

It claimed a video apparently showing Mr Shekau and circulated to journalists on 12 August was acted by an impostor.

But hundreds of people wrote in to the BBC's Hausa social media pages to express their scepticism at the announcement, which coincided with the Nigerian authorities' launch of a new brigade with special responsibility to tackle Boko Haram.

There was no independent confirmation of the army's claims.

 

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Really sickening, I know theres so much of this going on but it upset me when I heard about it on the radio. Shooting students in their beds.

Nigeria attack: Students shot dead as they slept
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-24322683

Militants regularly target schools in Yobe, such as this one in Mamudo

Suspected Islamist gunmen have attacked a college in north-eastern Nigeria, killing up to 50 students.

They were shot dead as they slept in their dormitory at the College of Agriculture in Yobe state.

North-eastern Nigeria is under a state of emergency amid an Islamist insurgency by the Boko Haram group.

Boko Haram is fighting to overthrow Nigeria's government to create an Islamic state, and has launched a number of attacks on schools.

Classrooms burned
Casualty figures from the latest attack vary, but a local politician told the BBC that around 50 students had been killed.

The politician said two vanloads of bodies had been taken to a hospital in Yobe's state capital, Damaturu.

One hospital source told Reuters news agency that 26 bodies had been brought there.

College provost Molima Idi Mato, speaking to Associated Press, also said the number of dead could be as high as 50, adding that security forces were still recovering the bodies and that about 1,000 students had fled the campus.

A military spokesman in Yobe state, Lazarus Eli, told Agence France-Presse the gunmen had also set fire to classrooms.

The college is in the rural Gujba district.

In May, President Goodluck Jonathan ordered an operation against Boko Haram, and a state of emergency was declared for the north-east on 14 May.

Many of the Islamist militants left their bases in the north-east and violence initially fell, but revenge attacks quickly followed.

In June, Boko Haram carried out two attacks on schools in the region.

At least nine children were killed in a school on the outskirts of Maiduguri, while 13 students and teachers were killed in a school in Damaturu.

In July in the village of Mamudo in Yobe state, Islamist militants attacked a school's dormitories with guns and explosives, killing at least 42 people, mostly students.

Boko Haram regards schools as a symbol of Western culture. The group's name translates as "Western education is forbidden".

 

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The war is getting very dirty on the State side as well.

Hundreds dead in Nigeria detention, Amnesty says
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-24528660

A screengrab taken in September and distributed to local reporters showing a man claiming to be the leader of Boko Haram, Abubakar Shekau

Most of the dead are thought to be connected to the militant group Boko Haram

Hundreds of people have died in detention facilities in north-east Nigeria as the army tries to crush an Islamist militant rebellion there, according to Amnesty International.

The human rights group said some detainees died from suffocation in overcrowded cells, others from starvation and extra-judicial killings.

In Wednesday's report, it calls for an urgent investigation into the deaths.

There has not yet been an official response to the report.

But the Nigerian army has rejected all previous accusations of human rights abuses.

A senior Nigerian army officer told Amnesty that at least 950 people had died in military custody during the first half of this year, according to an advance copy of the report seen by the BBC.

Most had been accused of having links to the Islamist militant group Boko Haram, Amnesty said.

Boko Haram is fighting to overthrow Nigeria's government to create an Islamic state, and has launched a number of attacks on schools.

About 50 students were shot dead earlier this month in their hostel, in an attack blamed on Boko Haram.

A state of emergency was declared in three northern states in May - Yobe, Borno and Adamawa - in response to thousands of deaths in militant attacks.

Children walking outside a charred house in the remote northeast town of Baga, Nigeria. (21 April 2013)
Many schools have been attacked by suspected Boko Haram militants
But while most of the recent news from has been about these civilian killings, BBC Nigeria correspondent Will Ross says this latest Amnesty report shines a light on another grim side of life in northern Nigeria.

At times, the number of people killed in these detention centres was so high that there were regular mass burials, Amnesty said.

The BBC has seen photos of bodies reportedly dumped outside the mortuary in the city of Maiduguri by the military.

The bodies showed no obvious signs of having been killed in combat.

Amnesty has called for an urgent investigation, but those who follow events closely in Nigeria will know that such an investigation is highly unlikely to happen, our correspondent says.

 

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'Boko Haram' gunmen kill 19 motorists in Nigeria
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-24604586

The BBC's Nigeria correspondent Tomi Oladipo reports

Militants wearing army uniforms have killed 19 people at checkpoints on a road in Nigeria's Borno state.

The armed men reportedly stopped motorists on the road and ordered them out of their cars before shooting them or hacking them to death.

Witnesses told the BBC the men were from Boko Haram, though the Islamist militant group has not yet commented.

North-eastern Nigeria is under a state of emergency as Boko Haram attempts to create an Islamist state there.

The group targets both the military and civilians, including in schools, and frequently clashes with the Nigerian armed forces.

The latest attack happened early on Sunday morning near the town of Logumani, not far from the Cameroon border.

'On the prowl'
Survivors said the gunmen were dressed as soldiers and were riding motorcycles before they ambushed their victims.

"We were asked to get out of our vehicles and lie face down by nine men dressed as soldiers who blocked the road," one man, who gave his name as Buba, told the AFP news agency.

"They shot dead five people and went about slaughtering 14 others before someone called them on the phone that soldiers were heading their way," he said.

He said the attackers then fled into the bush on their motorcycles.

Another survivor, Adamu Mallam, said he had heard the man next to him being killed with a knife.

Buba said he knew the attackers were from Boko Haram because they had beards, which soldiers do not.

"Everyone in this area knows Boko Haram is on the prowl, raiding villages and attacking vehicles. It has become a common occurrence," he said.

The BBC's Nigeria correspondent, Tomi Oladipo, says the army often sets up checkpoints on roads in the troubled region to stop the militants, and it could be that the gunmen copied the tactic to catch their victims unawares.

Boko Haram has waged a deadly insurgency since 2009 in its bid to create an Islamic state in the mainly Muslim north of religiously mixed Nigeria.

It has been blamed for many violent attacks which have claimed the lives of nearly 2,000 people since 2011.

The group's name translates as "Western education is forbidden", and it has carried out several attacks on schools and colleges, seeing them as a symbol of Western culture.

Last month, up to 50 students died when suspected Boko Haram militants attacked an agricultural college in the north-east.

The Nigerian military said in August that it might have killed the group's leader, Abubakar Shekau, in a shoot-out.

However, a video released last week purportedly showed him alive.

Other previous reports of his death later proved to be unfounded.

 

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Full text at link.

Vigilantes push Boko Haram from their Nigerian base
Local knowledge of informer group a ‘game-changer’ in fight against insurgents

The men from Boko Haram came tearing through the rural town of Benisheik, setting fire to houses, looting, shooting and yelling, “God is great!” residents and officials said. The gunmen shot motorists point-blank on the road, dragged young men out of homes for execution and ordered citizens to lie down for a fatal bullet.

When it was all over more than 12 hours later, they said about 150 people were dead, and even four weeks later, this once-thriving town of 35,000 is a burned out, empty shell of blackened houses and charred vehicles.
Boko Haram, Nigeria’s home-grown Islamist insurgent movement, remains a deadly threat in the countryside, a militant group eager to prove its jihadi bona fides and increasingly populated by fighters from Mali, Mauritania and Algeria, said the governor of Borno state, Kashim Shettima.

But about 40 miles away in Maiduguri, the sprawling state capital from where the militant group emerged, Boko Haram has been largely defeated for now, according to officials, activists and residents. It’s a remarkable turnaround that has brought thousands of people back to the streets. The city of two million, until recently emptied of thousands of terrified inhabitants, is bustling again after four years of fear.

Vigilante informers
For several months, there have been no shootings or bombings in Maiduguri, and the sense of relief – with women lingering at market stalls on the sandy streets and men chatting under the shade of feathery green neem trees in the 95-degree heat – is palpable.

Boko Haram has been pushed out of Maiduguri largely because of the efforts of a network of youthful informer-vigilantes fed up with the routine violence and ideology of the insurgents they grew up with. “I’m looking at these people: they collect your money, they kill you – Muslims, Christians,” said the network’s founder, Baba Lawal Ja’faar (32), a car and sheep salesman by trade. “The Boko Haram are saying, ‘Don’t go to the school; don’t go to the hospital’. It’s all rubbish.”

Shettima has recruited the vigilantes for “training” and is paying them $100 a month. In the sandy Fezzan neighbourhood of low cinder block houses, where the informer group was nurtured over the past two years, the walls are pockmarked with bullet holes from shootouts with the Islamists, a visible sign of the motivations for fighting the insurgents. ...

http://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/af ... -1.1570907

 

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Nigerian militants raid northern city of Damaturu
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-24672632

File photo of Nigerian troops patrolling in Borno state, August 2013

The Nigerian military has stepped up operations against Boko Haram in the north

Suspected Boko Haram militants have engaged security forces in a lengthy gun battle and raided a hospital in the northern Nigerian city of Damaturu.

Residents told the BBC that it was a "big, audacious attack" and that assailants stole drugs from the hospital and drove off in ambulances.

Meanwhile, the military said it had killed 74 suspected Boko Haram militants in a raid in Borno state.

Authorities have recently stepped up their campaign against the militants.

North-eastern Nigeria is the focus of an insurgency by the group that began in 2009 and aims to create an Islamic state.

President Goodluck Jonathan urged the military to up its campaign against Boko Haram five months ago.

Damaturu is the main city in Yobe state, which lies to the west of Borno. It has been calm for more than a year, and there is a large military presence in there.

'Slow response'
Nonetheless, gunfire rocked the city for some seven hours after a group of about 20 gunmen - some in military uniform - targeted the hospital late on Thursday.

Clashes between militants and the security forces spread to other parts of the city. A health worker described seeing a police vehicle ferrying corpses to the mortuary.

The resident who described the attack as "audacious" said the gunfire was heavy, continuous, and loud.

He also said that people in Damaturu were surprised that it had taken the military at least an hour to respond.

Authorities later imposed a 24-hour curfew, and streets were deserted on Friday.

The military raid in Borno state involved "ground and aerial assault" and "led to the destruction of the identified terrorist camps," said army spokesman Lt Mohammed Dole.

Lt Dole said the latest raid had been carried out on Thursday and that two soldiers had been wounded.

The BBC's Will Ross reports from Nigeria that it seems surprising that Boko Haram camps are still being found, given all the resources available to the army.

The army's claims about military operations against the group are hard to verify - there has been no mobile phone network in Borno state since the latest offensive was launched.

Nigeria's campaign has been criticised by human rights groups.

Amnesty International said earlier this month that hundreds had died in detention in north-eastern Nigeria, some from starvation or extra-judicial killings.

Nigeria's interior said the report was "not true".

 

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Nigerian wedding party in Borno State massacred by gunmen
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-24798395

File photo of Nigerian troops patrolling in Borno state, August 2013

The Nigerian military has stepped up operations against Boko Haram in the north

Gunmen in north-eastern Nigeria have killed more than 30 people in a attack on a wedding convoy.

It happened on a notoriously dangerous stretch of road between Bama and Banki in Borno State, east of the regional capital Maiduguri.

The groom was reportedly amongst the victims.

The Islamist militant group Boko Haram has carried out frequent attacks in the area despite a state of emergency declared in north-east Nigeria in May.

Thousands of additional troops have been sent there to fight Boko Haram - which had been fighting to create an Islamic state since 2009. However attacks on civilians have continued.

A week ago dozens of people were killed during a lengthy gunfight after suspected militants attacked the town of Damaturu, burning police and military buildings.

A motorist who saw the bodies told AFP news agency that many of the victims appeared to have suffered gunshot wounds.

"All the victims were brutally murdered by the attackers," said the driver, who did not wish to be named.

"My passengers and I were shocked when we met the dead bodies lying by the highway."

The fate of the bride and her family members is unknown.

 

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More hamfisted actions by the police.

Nigeria's Boko Haram crisis: Anger at lecturer Nazeef's arrest
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-25051886

Suspected Boko Haram sect members from left - Muhammed Nazeef Yunus, Umar Musa, Mustapha Yusuf, Ismaila Abdulazeez, and Ibrahim Isah - are paraded by Nigeria's secret police, in Abuja, Nigeria - 20 Wednesday November 2013

Lecturer Muhammed Nazeef Yunus (L) said he preached against Boko Haram

The family of a Nigerian Islamic studies lecturer accused of being a Boko Haram leader has told the BBC that his arrest was a "set up".

They said it was outrageous to suggest he belonged to the militants behind the insurgency in northern Nigeria.

Muhammad Nazeef Yunus was paraded before journalists this week, accused of recruiting militants in the central Kogi state where he lectures.

"In his research thesis, he condemned Boko Haram," his brother told the BBC.

Boko Haram's insurgency, which began in earnest in 2010, has centred in the largely Muslim north-east of Nigeria, where three states have been under emergency rule since May as the security forces try to crush the militants.

The group, which is opposed to Western education, wants to impose strict Islamic law in northern Nigeria.

Several thousand people have been killed in the past three years.

'Critical of authorities'

Mr Nazeef, who is an assistant lecturer in Arabic and Islamic Studies at Kogi State University, was paraded along with four other suspects accused by the secret police of plotting to launch attacks in Igalaland, Kogi state.

The BBC's Ishaq Khalid in Jos, the capital of Plateau state where the lecturer and his family live, says Mr Nazeef was arrested on 29 October, a few days after publicly criticising the Nigerian authorities.

In a sermon at a mosque in Jos he had said the way heads of security agencies were appointed was a concern, suggesting they were biased against Muslims, our reporter says.

"Certainly, this is a set up," the lecturer's wife, Sa'adatu Shu'aibu, told the BBC Hausa Service about the arrest.

"[Everybody] knows that Nazeef Yunus is not a member of Boko Haram. People are witnesses to his preaching and I also listen to recordings of the preaching and I never heard him preach violence," she said.

His brother, Hadi Yunus, agreed that Mr Nazeef, who is also the director of a secondary school in Jos which follows an Islamic and Western curriculum, often lectured against the ideologies of Boko Haram.

One of the suspects arrested along with Mr Nazeef said he was recruited in May after he lost his job and was paid ($315, £195) a month by the group.

Along with the other young men paraded before journalists in the capital, Abuja, he alleged that he had been indoctrinated by Mr Nazeef, the alleged leader of the cell in Kogi state.

"I was shocked when the other suspects insisted that I was a member and the one that recruited them into the sect. I have never been a member of Boko Haram for one minute in my life, I even preach against them," he said.

Boko Haram, which along with its offshoot Ansaru, was last week blacklisted as a terrorist organisation by the US.

On Wednesday, MPs in Nigeria's lower house of parliament unanimously backed extending the state of emergency in the north-east for a further six months following a closed-door briefing by security chiefs.

The upper house had already given its consent after President Goodluck Jonathan's extension request earlier this month.

 

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Nigeria raid: Suspected Boko Haram gunmen kill 12
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-25073702

Map of Sandiya, Borno state, Nigeria

Suspected Boko Haram Islamists have killed 12 people in a raid on a village in north-east Nigeria, police say.

Police said about 30 gunmen also burnt houses and stole cars in the village of Sandiya, in Borno state.

One resident, quoted by the AFP news agency, said Boko Haram accused villagers of collaborating with the security forces to track them down.

President Goodluck Jonathan declared a state of emergency in parts of north-east Nigeria in May.

A resident of Sandiya, Modu Judum, told the Reuters news agency that about 30 armed men, travelling in a convoy of pick-up trucks and motorcycles "stormed the Sandiya village and started chanting 'Allahu Akbar' [God is great], before opening fire on the helpless".


"Hoodlums invaded the community and killed 12 people," said Borno state police commissioner Lawal Tanko in a statement.

He said the gunmen burnt scores of houses and stole several vehicles in Thursday's raid on the village, which is about 85km (53 miles) from the Borno state capital, Maiduguri.

The Nigerian government imposed a state of emergency in Borno and two other areas of northeast Nigeria in May, to try to combat Boko Haram.

In recent months, the Islamist group has carried out a series of raids in remote north-eastern areas of Nigeria, killing hundreds of civilians.

"The gunmen were on a revenge mission," Sandiya resident Sabitu Ali told AFP.

"They are accusing us of collaborating with security men in tracking them."

Boko Haram, which was declared a foreign terrorist organisation by the United States earlier this month, is fighting to create an Islamic state in the north of Nigeria, where Muslims are in the majority.

 

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Will Rose of the BBC raises an interesting question: How is it that significant numbers of well-armed Boko Haram militants are still driving around Borno State causing havoc?

Analysis

Will Ross
BBC News, Lagos

Once again there is a startling discrepancy between the official version and eyewitness accounts of these pre-dawn attacks on Maiduguri. The lack of clarity is not helped by the fact that the mobile phone networks have been switched off for months.

We are told only two military personnel were injured - an extremely surprising statement given that these co-ordinated attacks on the city's air base and other military barracks lasted for hours and left buildings as well as aircraft destroyed.

In recent months most of the violence has been in rural areas and Maiduguri had seemed far safer than it used to be.

But this attack right at the heart of the military is an embarrassing setback and ought to lead to tough questions over security lapses.

How is it that significant numbers of well-armed Boko Haram militants are still driving around Borno State causing havoc?

Nigeria crisis: Boko Haram attack Maiduguri airbase
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-25187142

No traffic is visible on Kashim Ibrahim Way in the heart of Maiduguri on 02/12/2013

Main roads in Maiduguri were deserted on Monday in the wake of the attack

Boko Haram insurgents have attacked a military airbase in north-eastern Nigeria, destroying two helicopters, the authorities say.

Eyewitnesses say hundreds of militants attacked several areas of the city of Maiduguri, starting early on Monday.

A 24-hour curfew has been imposed in Maiduguri. Its civilian airport was also briefly closed.

A BBC correspondent says the large-scale, co-ordinated attack is a big setback for the Nigerian military.

Thousands of people have been killed since 2009, when Boko Haram launched its campaign to install Islamic law.

In May, a state of emergency was declared in Borno state, of which Maiduguri is the capital, as well as two neighbouring states, while there has been a massive military deployment to the worst-affected areas.

'Crying and wailing'
Ministry of Defence spokesman Brig Gen Chris Olukolade said in a statement that two helicopters and three decommissioned military aircraft had been "incapacitated" during the attack which had been repelled.

He said some army bases had also been targeted, while 24 insurgents had been killed and two soldiers wounded.

Local residents told the AFP news agency that hundreds of heavily armed Islamist gunmen besieged the air force and army bases, razing buildings and setting shops and petrol stations ablaze.

"I saw two air force helicopters burnt," a local official told AFP.

Bomb and gun attacks were carried out in Maiduguri, an AFP reporter in the city said.

A resident said: "We heard women and children in the barracks crying and wailing. At the gate, I saw some vehicles destroyed and the checkpoint there in shreds."

There are reports of military checkpoints being attacked in different parts of the city.

Some eyewitnesses told the AP news agency they had seen bodies with their throats slit.

Others said several vehicles had been driven out of the air base carrying the bodies of victims.

map
Government and military officials said scores of people may be dead, AP reported.

A spokesman for the Nigerian civil aviation authority told the BBC that the airport had not been attacked, while Brig Gen Olukolade said flights had now resumed.

Recent Boko Haram attacks have been in more rural areas, and it had appeared as though the military operation had made Maiduguri city far safer, says the BBC Nigeria correspondent Will Ross.

Mobile phone links to the city have been cut since May, when the state of emergency was declared.

Boko Haram was founded in Maiduguri in 2002 and was also the scene of its first uprising, in 2009.

 

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Nigeria Boko Haram emergency: 'More than 1,200 killed'
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-25407126

Burned out lorry near air force base in Maiduguri. 2 Dec 2013

Attacks by Boko Haram have been continuing despite a big military offensive

The UN says more than 1,200 people have been killed in Islamist-related violence in north-east Nigeria since a state of emergency was declared in May.

The UN said the figure related to killings of civilians and the military by the Islamist group Boko Haram in the states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe.

It also includes insurgents killed by security forces repelling attacks.

This is the first time independent casualty figures have been issued since emergency rule was declared.

Thousands of people have been killed since 2009, when Boko Haram launched its campaign to install strict Islamic law in northern Nigeria.

'Scarce information'

The figures, released on Monday, do not include those killed during military operations, a spokesman for the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha) told the AFP news agency.

"The humanitarian situation in north-east Nigeria has been increasingly worrisome over the course of 2013," the UN said.

There have been 48 separate "Boko Haram-related" attacks in the region since emergency rule was declared, its statement added.

"Information on the situation is scarce", with figures of those displaced by the conflict and those who have fled to neighbouring states "hard to gauge", Ocha said.

In May, a state of emergency was declared in Borno state, of which Maiduguri is the capital, as well as Adamawa and Yobe, while there has been a massive military deployment to the worst-affected areas.

Attacks by Boko Haram are continuing despite the big military offensive.

The military initially switched off the mobile network across the region, apparently to block Islamists from co-ordinating attacks.

Boko Haram was founded in Maiduguri in 2002 and the city was also the scene of its first uprising in 2009.

 

[ramonmercado]

Nigeria insurgents attack Bama military barracks
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-25472369

The UN says more than 1,200 people have been killed in Islamist-related violence since emergency rule

Suspected Islamist militants have attacked a military barracks in north-eastern Nigeria in a fierce battle that lasted for several hours.

The military later deployed fighter jets to put an end to the assault on the camp on the outskirts of Bama town.

Families of soldiers inside the barracks and Bama residents say women and children are among the dead.

This is the second serious attack on the military this month in a region which is under emergency law.

For several years, militants from the Boko Haram group have been fighting an insurgency in the mainly Muslim area to impose strict Islamic law in northern Nigeria.

A vehicle burnt by the Islamist group Boko Haram in the north-eastern town of Bama - 7 May 2013
It is not the first time that Bama has come under attack this year
It is not the first time that Bama, which is about 40km (25 miles) south-east of the Borno state capital, Maiduguri, has been attacked.

In May, Boko Haram fighters raided the town's barracks, police station and government buildings, killing more than 50 people and freeing 105 prisoners.

A week later the government declared a state of emergency in Borno and two neighbouring states, Adamawa and Yobe.

map
A Bama resident told the BBC Hausa service that the attack began at about 03:00 local time (02:00 GMT) on Friday and gunfire and explosions were heard.

The aerial bombardment began at about 06:00 and the fighting died down about an hour later, he said.

Several residents told the AFP news agency that the insurgents had swarmed the barracks in a convoy of 4x4 trucks, armed with assault rifles, explosives and rocket-propelled-grenades.

The BBC's Will Ross in Nigeria says that despite claims of success by Nigerian officials, it is clear that the Islamist fighters still pose a considerable threat to the stability of the country.

Earlier this month, Boko Haram launched co-ordinated attacks on Maiduguri's air base and other military barracks that left buildings as well as aircraft destroyed.

The UN said this week that more than 1,200 people had been killed in Islamist-related violence in north-east since the state of emergency was declared.

 

[ramonmercado]

Nigerian military 'kills Bama attackers'
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-25505027

The UN says more than 1,200 people have been killed in Islamist-related violence since emergency rule began

At least 70 people are said to have died when Nigerian forces attacked those behind a raid on a barracks.

Fifty insurgents, 15 soldiers and five civilians died in the clashes as those who raided the barracks in Bama sought to flee to Cameroon, officials said.

Some 1,200 people have been killed since May, when a state of emergency was declared in the three states worst affected by attacks by Boko Haram.

The group wants to establish Islamic law in the region.

More than 20 vehicles carrying insurgents were destroyed during the latest clash, according to the statement from Maj-Gen Chris Olukolade.

He said air surveillance was used to track down those who attacked the barracks last week.

There has been no independent confirmation of the casualty figures and Boko Haram has not commented on Friday's raid on Bama.

The army used fighter jets during a fierce battle lasting several hours on Friday.

Several witnesses said that the families of soldiers were abducted during the attack, but this was denied by Gen Olukolade.

Residents said that women and children were among those killed in Bama barracks.

 

[ramonmercado]

Nigerian mosque attacked in Kano village of Kwankwaso
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-25655454

Gunmen have attacked a mosque in the northern Nigerian state of Kano, killing three worshippers and wounding 12 others, police say.

The attackers sprayed bullets into the mosque in the home village of Kano governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso.

His elderly father was in the mosque, but escaped unhurt, witnesses said.

No group has said it carried out the raid. Islamist group Boko Haram has also staged several attacks in Kano, and elsewhere in northern Nigeria.

The run-up to elections in oil-rich Nigeria is often marred by violence between rival political groups.

Mr Kwankwaso was among five influential governors who defected from President Goodluck Jonathan's People's Democratic Party (PDP) to the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) in November.

President Goodluck Jonathan in PDP robes
It is not clear if President Jonathan will seek re-election next year
Heshimu Suleiman, one of the governor's supporters, said the attack was politically motivated to punish Mr Kwankwaso for defecting, reports the AP news agency.

The PDP has not yet commented on the allegation.

In December, Nigeria's ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo said it would be "morally flawed" for Mr Jonathan to seek re-election next year.

He said Mr Jonathan had failed to tackle Nigeria's many problems, including corruption and an insurgency led by the militant Islamist group Boko Haram.

Mr Jonathan defended his record in government, but has not yet declared his candidature.

 

[ramonmercado]

And so it continues.

Nigeria violence: Deadly bomb blast in Maiduguri
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-25732319

Boko Haram sent a message to journalists saying it was behind the attack

A car bomb has exploded in the north-eastern Nigerian city of Maiduguri, killing at least 17 people.

The Islamist group Boko Haram said it carried out the attack. A suspect has been arrested, the military says.

The bomb went off near a market, sending up a large plume of smoke. People were seen fleeing the scene covered in blood.

Boko Haram has been conducting a four-year campaign of violence to push for Islamic rule in northern Nigeria.

The immediate aftermath of Tuesday's blast was described as chaotic, with bodies on the ground and troops firing automatic weapons.

One witness told the BBC: "I heard a very loud explosion followed by several other explosions. After a while, I came out of my shop and saw many lifeless bodies lying on the floor."

A screen grab allegedly showing Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau (C) flanked by militants
Boko Haram has carried out many attacks as part of its push for Islamic rule
Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state, was considered the epicentre of activity by Boko Haram, which translates as "Western education is sin".

But members of the group were forced out of the city by a combination of security forces and a vigilante group known as civilian JTF following the imposition of emergency rule in May last year, BBC Hausa Editor Mansur Liman reports.

map
This is the latest in a string of attacks attributed to Boko Haram. On Sunday, militants are reported to have attacked a market in the village of Kayamula, also in Borno state. Five traders were killed.

Boko Haram was also suspected of being behind an attack on 20 December on a military barracks in the town of Bama, south-east of Maiduguri.

The group carried out co-ordinated attacks on Maiduguri's air base and military barracks - also in December - causing extensive damage.

The state of emergency declared in May was imposed in Borno and the neighbouring states of Adamawa and Yobe.

United Nations figures suggest more than 1,200 people have been killed in Islamist-related violence since the state of emergency started.

 

[ramonmercado]

Could it be that this group is being used by others? To split Nigeria?

Nigeria 'Boko Haram' attacks leave scores dead
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-25916810

A Nigerian policeman patrols with Nigerian soldiers in the north of Borno state (file image)

A security offensive to combat Boko Haram's insurgency in north-eastern Nigeria has been unable to put a stop to the violence

Suspected Islamist militants have attacked two villages in north-eastern Nigeria, leaving 74 people dead, say police and witnesses.

Militants attacked Kawuri village in Borno state as a busy market was packing up on Sunday, setting off explosives and setting houses ablaze.

Witnesses said 52 people were killed in that attack, while 22 died in an attack on a church service in Waga Chakawa village, Adamawa state, on Sunday.

The attacks were blamed on Boko Haram.

The Islamist group - whose name means "Western education is forbidden" - is especially active in north-eastern Nigeria.

Borno and Adamawa are two of three north-eastern states - along with Yobe - put under emergency rule last May, as the military attempts to combat the insurgency.

'No house left standing'
Gunmen planted explosive devices around Kawuri village prior to the attack, said a witness and security official.

Map
They also killed civilians in their homes, dozens of which were set ablaze in the attack.

"No house was left standing," Ari Kolomi, who fled from the village to Maiduguri, the Borno state capital, some 70km (43 miles) away, told AP news agency.

"The gunmen were more than 50 [in number]; they were using explosives and heavy-sounding guns."

Mr Kolomi said he did not yet know if his relatives had survived the attack.

Earlier on Sunday in neighbouring Adamawa state, gunmen attacked a busy church service in Waga Chakawa village, an army spokesman said.

They set off bombs and fired into the congregation, killing 22 people, before burning houses and taking residents hostage during a four-hour siege, witnesses told Reuters news agency.

The army suspects Boko Haram of being behind both attacks.

Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan sacked his military high command earlier this month.

No reason was given, but the move came amid concern that Boko Haram have been able to continue their bloody campaign despite the wide-ranging powers given to the military to tackle the insurgency last year.

Since the state of emergency was imposed in May, UN figures suggest more than 1,200 people have been killed in Islamist-related violence.

 

[ramonmercado]

Militants?Given their methods and aims, I think the term Terrorists is appropriate here.

Nigeria militants kill dozens in Borno state attack
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-26152049

About 39 people are believed to have been killed in an attack by Islamist militants on a Nigerian town.

Local residents said the attack on Konduga, in the north-east Borno state, lasted several hours, beginning shortly before sundown on Tuesday night with the arrival of gunmen in 4x4 trucks.

A mosque and more than 1,000 homes were razed to the ground, residents said.

The region is a stronghold of the Boko Haram Islamist group that is waging an insurgency against the government.

Konduga is 35km (22 miles) from the Borno state capital of Maiduguri.

An Associated Press reporter counted at least three children among 39 bodies ready for burial on Wednesday.

Wailing farmers described the attack on the town of 13,000 to visiting Borno state governor Kashim Shettima.

A screenshot taken on 12 December 2013 from a video showing a man claiming to be the leader of Nigerian Islamist extremist group Boko Haram, Abubakar Shekau
Borno is a stronghold of militant group Boko Haram, which is waging an insurgency against the government
Soldiers and police stationed there fled, they said. They asked why it took hours for the military to scramble an aircraft that strafed the attackers until they fled.

A man who fled to Maiduguri told the BBC they were in the market when they suddenly heard gunshots coming from all directions and were forced to sneak out of the town under cover of darkness.

Most survivors made their way to Maiduguri on foot. A Red Cross official in the city said all civilians had left Konduga by late Tuesday night.

The death toll has not yet been independently confirmed and a source at the Maiduguri Teaching Hospital said that the focus now was on saving the injured.

A spokesman for Col Muhammad Dole, of the Nigerian army, said the military was still awaiting full details of the attack.

Numerous villages in the area have been attacked, and hundreds killed, in recent months, despite Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states all being under emergency rule

Frustrated with their efforts to combat the rebellion, Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan replaced his top military brass on 16 January. The attack on Konduga is thought to have been the biggest in the restive region since those new appointments.

This picture taken in June 2013 shows Nigerian police, part of the joint forces in Borno state, prior to a patrol in Maiduguri
Nigeria's president is frustrated by the security forces' apparent lack of progress in defeating Boko Haram

 

[ramonmercado]

Nigeria's Boko Haram 'in village massacre'
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-26220300

Nigerian soldiers patrol in the north of Borno state close to a Islamist extremist group Boko Haram former camp, file image from 2013

Northern Nigeria is under emergency rule, but attacks have intensified

Suspected Islamist militants have raided a Nigerian village and murdered dozens, according to witnesses.

The gunmen reportedly rounded up a group of men in Izge village and shot them, before going door-to-door and killing anyone they found.

Officials said they suspected the Boko Haram group was behind the attack.

Boko Haram, which claims to be fighting to create an Islamic state in northern Nigeria, is notorious for extreme violence and indiscriminate attacks.

More than 30 people were killed in the town of Konduga earlier this week in an attack blamed on Boko Haram.

Some witnesses estimated the number killed in Izge was as high as 90, while others said roughly 60 had died.

"All the dead bodies of the victims are still lying in the streets," resident Abubakar Usman told Reuters news agency.

"We fled without burying them, fearing the terrorists were still lurking in the bushes."

Other witnesses described how the attackers had arrived on Sunday morning in trucks and motorcycles.

They asked the men in the village to gather, and then they hacked and shot them to death.

Numerous villages in the area around Borno state capital Maiduguri have been attacked in recent months, despite the state being under emergency rule.

Frustrated with the army's efforts to combat the rebellion, President Goodluck Jonathan replaced his top military brass on 16 January.

If confirmed, the attack on Izge will be the biggest since those new appointments.

Boko Haram has killed many hundreds of Christians and Muslims since it launched a campaign of mass violence in 2009.

 

[ramonmercado]

Nigeria's Boko Haram crisis: Bama attack mars victory claims
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-26254480

Nigerian soldiers patrol in Nigeria (file photo)

North-eastern Nigeria is under emergency rule, but attacks have intensified

There are reports of a "massive" attack in northern Nigerian border town of Bama, a day after a presidential spokesman said the army was "winning the war" against Islamist militants.

Borno state senator Ahmed Zanna told the BBC the attack on Bama had lasted for five hours on Wednesday morning.

On Tuesday, spokesman Doyin Okupe said the military was "on top of the situation".

More than 245 people have been killed this year alone by suspected Islamists.

Several thousand have lost their lives since Boko Haram began its uprising in 2009.

'Better armed'
Map
Mr Okupe's statement contradicted the comments of the governor of Borno state, where Boko Haram was founded.

Governor Kashim Shettima called for reinforcements and said the insurgents were "better armed and better motivated" than the security forces.

Details of what happened in Bama are still sketchy but residents have also contacted the BBC Hausa service to report the attack.

The town has been attacked several times in the past.

A state of emergency was declared in Borno and two neighbouring states last year, with thousands of extra troops sent to the region, but the attacks have continued.

The BBC's Wills Ross in Nigeria says the army has at times taken hours to respond to attacks, allowing the militants to kill, destroy homes, schools and mosques, and loot before retreating.

On Saturday, 106 people were killed in an attack on the village of Izghe.

After meeting President Goodluck Jonathan, Mr Shettima said that without reinforcements "it is absolutely impossible for us to defeat Boko Haram".

But this was denied by Mr Okupe, who said Nigeria's army was one of the best equipped in Africa.

"We state authoritatively without any fear or equivocation whatsoever that Nigeria is already winning the war against terror and the activities of the insurgents will be terminated within the shortest possible time."

 

[Heckler]

Bama attack mars victory claims

Wait they attacked Mars? That won't go well.

Mind you.....

[Jeff Wayne] The chances of anything coming from Mars are a million to one they say. [/Jeff Wayne]

 

[ramonmercado]

All very odd. The attackers often have time to destroy whole villages before retreating

Nigeria Boko Haram crisis: Anger over second Izghe raid
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-26322224

Nigerian soldiers patrol in Nigeria (file photo)

North-eastern Nigeria is under emergency rule, but attacks have intensified

A Nigerian senator has expressed outrage over the security forces' failure to prevent a second attack on a town by suspected Islamist militants.

Gunmen believed to be from the Boko Haram group killed several residents and burnt down Izghe over the weekend.

A week earlier, 106 people were killed by gunmen in a raid on Izghe.

Borno state Senator Ali Ndume told the BBC it was clear that a state of emergency imposed by the government to end the insurgency was not working.

More than 500 people had been killed in Borno in the last two months, he said.

The state government has pledged to spend up to $2m (£1.2m) to help rebuild areas affected by the violence.

'Burnt everything'
President Goodluck Jonathan declared a state of emergency in three north-eastern states - Borno, Yobe and Adamawa - last year, giving the security forces extra-ordinary powers to fight Boko Haram.

Map of Nigeria
However, soldiers were in a "pathetic situation", and there was no sign of the army having taken extra-ordinary measures to end the violence, Mr Ndume said.

"The Nigerian army can deploy more troops, more equipment and be more committed to the execution of this emergency rule," he told the BBC.

The army had failed to deploy troops to Izghe after the first attack, opening the way for Boko Haram to re-enter the town, Mr Ndume said.

Many people had fled after the first attack, but some elderly residents were still staying there.

A resident in Izghe told the BBC that three women and a man were killed in the raid.

"They [the gunmen] came to the to the town and burnt everything. They burnt all the houses," he said, on condition of anonymity.

The government has repeatedly said it is winning the war against the militants, who are fighting to establish a strict Islamic state across northern Nigeria.

Boko Haram has killed thousands, including many Muslims and Christians, since it began its uprising in 2009.

Residents stand in front of destroyed properties and houses following an attack in Kawuri, January 28, 2014.

The attackers often have time to destroy whole villages before retreating

 

[ramonmercado]

They kill children and liberal Imams. They are a death cult.

Nigeria school raid in Yobe state 'leaves dozens dead'
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-26338041

This screen grab taken on 25 September 2013 from a video distributed through an intermediary to local reporters and seen by AFP, shows a man claiming to be the leader of Nigerian Islamist extremist group Boko Haram Abubakar Shekau, flanked by armed men.

Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau (C) has appeared in several video recordings in recent months despite claims he had been killed by the military

Suspected Islamist militants from the Boko Haram group in north-eastern Nigeria have attacked a school and shot some students, the military has said.

Dozens of pupils are reported to have been killed. Police told Reuters that all the dead were boys and that some of the bodies "were burned to ashes".

The attack took place in troubled Yobe state, the military said.

Residents of the town of Buni Yadi said the attackers struck at night, slitting the throats of some students.

They said that others were shot.
r
Teachers at the remote Federal Government College boarding school in Buni Yadi told the AP news agency that as many as 40 students had been killed in the assault which began early on Tuesday morning.

Hospital sources in Yobe told the BBC 29 corpses had been brought in following the attack.

The BBC's Isa Sanusi, from the Hausa service, says Boko Haram tends to attack schools that teach Nigeria's national curriculum which the militants consider to be Western.

The group follows an extremely strict version of Islam and its name means "Western education is sinful" in the northern Hausa language, he says.

Earlier this month the militants claimed responsibility for killing a prominent northern Nigerian Islamic scholar, Sheikh Mohammed Awwal Albani, because he said the group's actions were un-Islamic.

'Pursuit of the killers'
The military has confirmed that an attack took place on "student hostels" but says it cannot yet give further details.

Homes destroyed by Boko Haram militants in Bama, Borno State (February 2014)
Boko Haram have been accused of numerous attacks in northern Nigeria including one earlier this month in Borno state
"Details are still sketchy due to lack of telephone access, and it is still not clear how many students were affected in the attack," Yobe military spokesman Lazarus Eli told the AFP news agency.

"Our men are down there in pursuit of the killers," he said.

Boko Haram has frequently attacked schools in the past.

Scores of people were killed in two attacks last week. In one incident, militants destroyed a whole village and shot terrified residents as they tried to escape.

The failure of the army to destroy the militants has fuelled anger in the north-east, correspondents say.

Thousands of people have been killed since 2009, when Boko Haram launched its campaign to install Islamic law.

Tuesday's attack in Yobe is close to where suspected Boko Haram fighters killed more than 40 students last September.

The latest offensive ordered by President Goodluck Jonathan in May has been blamed for triggering reprisals by militants against civilians.

Addressing a news conference on Monday, the president defended the army's record, saying it had achieved some successes against Boko Haram and that the militants had been contained to a small area of north-east Nigeria close to the border with Cameroon.

He said that Nigeria was working with Cameroon to stop the militants from staging attacks in Nigeria and then escaping over the border.

The BBC's Will Ross in Nigeria says that Yobe has been relatively peaceful this year, unlike neighbouring Borno state where at least 250 people have been killed in a series of large scale attacks by the militants.

Our correspondent says that the latest killings show the scale of the task the military still faces.

 

[ramonmercado]

Nigeria's Boko Haram blamed for Adamawa killings
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-26368183

The government has vowed to defeat the militants

Suspected militant Islamists have killed at least 37 people during an assault on a town and nearby villages in north-eastern Nigeria's Adamawa state, witnesses said.

Banks, shops and houses were also looted and burnt during the six-hour raid by militants armed with rocket-propelled grenades, they added.

Six of the militants were killed in a counter-offensive, the army said.

The Islamist group Boko Haram is waging an insurgency in Nigeria.

Thousands have been killed since the conflict started in 2009.

On Thursday, France's President Francois Hollande pledged support for Nigeria in its fight against Boko Haram.

Continue reading the main story
“
Start Quote

It is curious that under an emergency rule when security operatives are on red alert, this mayhem still persists”

David Mark
Senate president
"Your struggle is our struggle," he said at a security conference in the capital, Abuja.

Witnesses told the BBC Hausa Service that the victims were shot dead, others had their throats slit or were burnt in their homes.

The attacks took place in the town of Michika, which has a population of several hundred thousand, and the villages of Shuwa and Kirchinga.

Nigeria's Senate President David Mark described the assault as an "open declaration of war", the Associated Press news agency reports.

"It is curious that under an emergency rule when security operatives are on red alert, this mayhem still persists," he is quoted as saying.

'Eliminate terrorism'
Residents told the BBC the security forces fled their posts because they were in no position to confront the heavily armed militants, who travelled in a convoy of pick-up trucks.

"Everyone has left the village. We've all run away into the bush," a resident of Shuwa told the BBC.

The remains of the burned out Federal Government College in Buni Yadi, Nigeria (25 February 2014)
Boko Haram has been blamed for a spate of attacks in recent weeks
"We think the military have responded and there were exchanges of fire," he added.

Nearly all the shops in Michika have been looted and destroyed, residents said.

A police station and three banks in the town were also raided, they added.

Boko Haram often targets such buildings to finance and arm its fighters, correspondents say.

Continue reading the main story
map
Nigerian students living in fear
It has not commented on the latest attack.

It was blamed for killing at least 29 people in an attack on Monday night on a rural boarding school in Yobe state.

President Jonathan declared a state of emergency in Adamawa, Yobe and Borno states last year in an attempt to curb the insurgency.

His critics say the state of emergency has been ineffective, with Boko Haram stepping up attacks in the region.

Speaking at the security summit, Mr Jonathan called on countries to work together to eliminate "terrorism".

An act of terror against one nation was an act of terror against all nations, he said.

Regional leaders, including those of Niger and Senegal, are attending the summit.

It coincides with celebrations to mark Nigeria's centenary.

The West African state was formed following the amalgamation of the mainly Muslim north and Christian south during British colonial rule in 1914.

 

[ramonmercado]

Boko Haram does not have mass support, its difficult to see where it has any support. It has no fish to swim among. How are they getting away with this?

Twin Nigeria blasts kill at least 50 in Maiduguri
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-26403225

People gathered on the spot after two explosions rocked in Maiduguri, north-eastern Nigeria, a region plagued by Islamist insurgency of Boko Haram.

There were two bombs within minutes of each other

Two explosions targeting a busy market in the town of Maiduguri in northeast Nigeria have left at least 50 people dead, the Red Cross says.

Hospital sources say many of the victims were children.

Maiduguri is the headquarters of a military force fighting against the Boko Haram Islamist group, which has stepped up its attacks in the area.

No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack on Saturday night.

It happened at a crowded market near the airport. The blasts were so powerful that buildings were reduced to rubble.

The bombs were hidden inside a truck full of wood and inside a saloon car. As people tried to rescue victims of the first blast, the second was detonated.

At the time of the explosions many people were crowded in a video hall in the area watching football. There was also a wedding taking place nearby.

Air strike
In a separate incident, eyewitnesses told the BBC that 20 people were killed in a government air strike in the village of Daglun on Friday.

Map showing Nigeria
Military jets have been bombing the area for weeks as part of a campaign against the Boko Haram group.

An army spokesman told the Associated Press that he was unaware of the death of any civilians in an air strike.

President Jonathan declared a state of emergency in Adamawa, Yobe and Borno states last year in an attempt to curb the insurgency.

His critics say the state of emergency has been ineffective, with Boko Haram stepping up attacks in the region.

The group is thought to have killed at least 37 people during an assault on a town and nearby villages Adamawa state on Thursday.

It was also blamed for killing at least 29 people in an attack on Monday night on a rural boarding school in Yobe state.

Boko Haram has been conducting a four-year campaign of violence to push for Islamic rule in northern Nigeria.

 

[Mythopoeika]

They are getting away with it because (a) nobody knows who they are and (b) because the Nigerian authorities haven't got their act together.

 

[ramonmercado]

Nigeria violence: Many die as militants destroy village
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-26408708

Site of a twin car bombing in Maiduguri, Nigeria, on 2 March, the day after the attack

A market area of Maiduguri was devastated by Saturday's twin bomb attack

Suspected militants have shot dead at least 39 people in an attack on a village in north-eastern Nigeria.

The attackers - believed to be from the Boko Haram group - destroyed the entire village of Mainok, about 50km (30 miles) west of the city of Maiduguri.

The incident took place late on Saturday, hours after two bomb blasts killed at least 50 people in Maiduguri.

Boko Haram has been conducting a four-year violent campaign to demand Islamic rule in northern Nigeria.

The morning after the latest attack, bodies were lying in front of the mosque waiting to be buried and buildings in Mainok were still on fire, the BBC's Will Ross reports from Lagos.

An eyewitness described how the attack unfolded: "They started shooting everywhere, they started burning all the houses in the village.

"I don't think that there is any house that is standing in the village and they have killed at least 39 people in the village.

"These people have guns - AK47, RPGs and so on and so forth, they can come and attack anybody and kill, including women and children, they kill everybody that can see them."

Earlier two bombs exploded in a densely populated area of Maiduguri - a city which Boko Haram has often targeted.

Map showing Nigeria
The first bomb was concealed inside a truck full of wood. As people tried to rescue victims the second explosion occurred.

At the time many people were crowded in a video hall in the area watching football.

There was also a wedding nearby and many of the dead were children.

President Goodluck Jonathan declared a state of emergency in Adamawa, Yobe and Borno states last year in an attempt to curb the insurgency.

His critics say the move has been ineffective. Hardly a day goes by without reports of another deadly attack by militants, our correspondent says.

 

[ramonmercado]

Nigeria's Boko Haram 'attack' Borno state's Mafa town
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-26418161

People gather on 2 March 2014 near a car which had exploded in the city of Maiduguri in northern Nigeria

Bombs exploded in Maiduguri within minutes of each other

Suspected militant Islamists have killed at least 29 people in an attack on a town in north-eastern Nigeria's Borno state, a lawmaker has said.

Government troops fled when the militants raided Mafa town on Sunday night, Ahmad Zannah added.

The attack brings to about 150 the number of people killed in Borno since Friday in attacks by the militants and the military, reports say.

The Islamist group Boko Haram is waging an insurgency in Nigeria.

President Goodluck Jonathan declared a state of emergency in Borno and two other states in May, giving the military extra powers to curb the four-year insurgency.

Continue reading the main story
“
Start Quote

When the attack took place, all of them ran away, along with the villagers”

Ahmad Zannah
Nigerian senator
However, Boko Haram has stepped up its violent campaign, with hardly a day going by without reports of a deadly attack by militants, says BBC Nigeria correspondent Will Ross.

Thousand of people have been killed in the conflict and hundreds of thousands have fled their homes.

'Air raid'
Mr Zannah, a senator from Borno state, told BBC Focus on Africa that Boko Haram had warned about a week earlier that it planned to attack Mafa.

Schools were shut and most residents fled to Maiduguri city, about 45km (28 miles) away, he said.

Military reinforcements were sent to Mafa, but soldiers still lacked the firepower or numerical strength to confront the militants, Mr Zannah added.

"When the attack took place, all of them ran away, along with the villagers. There was no resistance," he said.

People gathered on the spot after two explosions rocked in Maiduguri, north-eastern Nigeria, a region plagued by Islamist insurgency of Boko Haram.
Maiduguri, the birthplace of Boko Haram, has been badly affected by the conflict
Two policemen were killed by a bomb on Monday morning and fourteen soldiers were missing, Mr Zannah said.

On Saturday night, suspected Boko Haram fighters reportedly destroyed the entire village of Mainok, about 50km west of Maiduguri.

The militants attacked the village with assault rifles, rocket-propelled grenades and explosives, killing 47 people, residents said.

Earlier on Saturday, two bombs killed about 50 people in a densely populated area of Maiduguri - a city which Boko Haram has often targeted.

Map showing Nigeria
Borno state senator Ali Ndume told BBC Hausa that about 20 people, many of them elderly, were killed when the army launched an air raid on Daglun village on Friday night.

However, the defence ministry denied the allegation.

"The reports are believed to be part of the design by those bent on discrediting the counter-terrorist mission," its spokesman Chris Olukoladehe is quoted by the AFP news agency as saying.

He said government forces had killed a number of Boko Haram fighters in an operation on Sunday evening, including those believed to have killed at least 29 people in an attack on a rural boarding school in Yobe state more than a week ago.

Boko Haram members suspected to have been involved in the bombings in Maiduguri have also been arrested, Mr Olukoladehe said, AFP reports.

Both the Nigerian army and Boko Haram have repeatedly been accused by rights groups of committing atrocities during the conflict in the region.