Tag Archives: Mohammed Yusuf

Nigeria’s Boko Haram problem

January 11, 2013 by IndepthAfrica

It is not known if the word dysfunctional was invented specifically to describe the Nigerian state — several other candidates also come to mind — but the word certainly fills the bill. The political institutions of Africa’s biggest country are … read more »

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Nigerian Terrorist Group Boko Haram Must Be Contained

December 31, 2012 by IndepthAfrica

By Stephen Hayes Stephen Hayes is president and CEO of the Corporate Council on Africa. Boko Haram, a major language and tribe of northern Nigeria, which loosely means “Western education is forbidden” in Hausa, has emerged as a major threat … read more »

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Inside the lion’s den of Nigeria’s Boko Haram

December 4, 2012 by IndepthAfrica

My five days in Maiduguri in northeastern Nigeria – the epicentre of violence perpetrated by the armed group, Boko Haram – was fraught with danger. I had been trying to get access to report from the city for over a … read more »

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Nigeria’s military Killed Boko Haram commander Ibn Saleh Ibrahim

November 16, 2012 by IndepthAfrica

Nigeria’s military has killed a top commander of militant Islamist group Boko Haram in the north-eastern city of Maiduguri, an army spokesman has said. Ibn Saleh Ibrahim was killed in an exchange of fire with six of his lieutenants, the … read more »

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Nigeria: Boko Haram Dialogue Option – A dangerous Option

November 15, 2012 by IndepthAfrica

By Ben Nanaghan  On 1 November, 2012 the dreaded Islamic fundamentalist organization known as boko haram offered the olive branch through its second-in-command Abu Mohammed Ibn Abdulaziz in a telephone conference chat with journalists in Maiduguri, the  Borno State Capital. … read more »

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Bomb explodes near Islamic school in Zaria, Nigeria

September 30, 2012 by IndepthAfrica

(AP) — Officials say a bomb detonated in northern Nigeria near an Islamic boarding school, causing unknown casualties. Yushau Shuaib, a spokesman for Nigeria’s National Emergency Management Agency, said the bomb blew up Sunday morning in Zaria, a city in … read more »

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Nigeria in talks with Boko Haram via “back door channels”

August 27, 2012 by IndepthAfrica

Nigeria’s government is reaching out to radical Islamist sect Boko Haram, talking with some of its members via “back room channels” as it seeks a peaceful way out of the north’s conflict, the president’s spokesman said on Sunday. The militants … read more »

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Nigeria: Letter to Secretary Clinton On Her Forthcoming Trip to Nigeria

August 8, 2012 by IndepthAfrica

The Honorable Hillary Rodham Clinton Secretary of State United States Department of State Dear Secretary Clinton, In light of your forthcoming trip to Nigeria, we would like to bring to your attention some of our recent research findings and recommendations … read more »

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‘Obama, you are a terrorist’, Says Nigerian Islamist group

August 5, 2012 by IndepthAfrica

The suspected leader of Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram criticised US President Barack Obama in an online video on Saturday over Washington’s decision to label him a “global terrorist”. “You said I’m a global terrorist, then you are a terrorist … read more »

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Gunmen in army uniform execute five in east Nigeria

May 6, 2012 by IndepthAfrica

Gunmen in military uniform abducted five people in eastern Nigeria, tied their hands and shot them dead, police said on Saturday. The attack overnight took place in Dananaca village, Taraba state, which is usually peaceful but which suffered a bombing … read more »

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Nigeria: al-Qaeda’s new heartland of terror

April 9, 2012 by IndepthAfrica

Con Coughlin Few outside Nigeria noticed the death of Mohammed Yusuf, a radical preacher, at the hands of the country’s famously brutal police almost three years ago. The only achievement of a man who had publicly insisted that the Earth … read more »

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Boko Haram: Killing in God’s name

April 4, 2012 by IndepthAfrica

On January 20, the ancient city of Kano in Nigeria was racked by mass violence. Eight explosions across the sprawling city of more than three million people were accompanied by day-long sporadic gunfights. In the aftermath, 186 people lay dead, … read more »

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Boko Haram talks liason pulls out

March 18, 2012 by IndepthAfrica

Lagos – A respected cleric mediating in peace talks between the Nigerian government and the Boko Haram Islamist sect announced on Saturday he was quitting the talks, accusing the government of insincerity. Ibrahim Datti Ahmad who heads the Supreme Council … read more »

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Nigeria cops torture, corrupt – chief

February 14, 2012 by IndepthAfrica

Abuja – Nigeria’s corrupt police force acts on the whims of the highest bidder and officers carry out extra-judicial killings and torture, the acting inspector general of police said. President Goodluck Jonathan has ordered a complete overhaul of the police … read more »

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Calls grow in Nigeria for peace talks

January 28, 2012 by IndepthAfrica

Kano, Nigeria – Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram has killed hundreds in an onslaught of attacks that authorities have been unable to stop, prompting growing calls for talks to bring an end to the bloodshed. The group has long had … read more »

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Boko Haram ‘leader’ issues new threats

January 27, 2012 by IndepthAfrica

Kano – The purported leader of Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram has issued new threats in a message posted on YouTube while also saying last week’s attacks in Kano were over the torture of its members. “We were responsible,” a … read more »

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Nigeria: Was it a 14-day dream?

January 27, 2012 by IndepthAfrica

It may appear like business as usual but people do not experience such an outpouring of solidarity and power and remain unchanged. The apathy barrier has been broken and there has been a shift in consciousness. Is the Nigerian ‘revolution’ … read more »

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Nigeria’s police chief Hafiz Ringim ‘forced to retire’

January 25, 2012 by IndepthAfrica

Nigeria’s president has sacked the chief of police, Hafiz Ringim, forcing him to retire early, a statement from the presidency says. It follows a wave of attacks by the Islamist group Boko Haram, the latest in Kano on Friday in … read more »

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Nigeria’s Boko Haram claim bombings

November 28, 2011 by benim

Kano – Nigeria’s Islamist Boko Haram sect was responsible for a string of weekend bombings targeting government buildings and churches in Geidam in the northeast, its purported spokesperson said on Monday. Abul Qaqa, who claims to speak for Boko Haram, … read more »

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Nigeria Pursuing Link Between Al-Qaida, Boko Haram

October 3, 2011 by benim

Nigeria’s government says Islamic militants in northern states are linked to al-Qaida-affiliated terrorists in the Sahel and in Somalia. Definitively proving that link has brought more international attention to Nigerian terrorism, but may be overshadowing its domestic causes. Nigeria’s State … read more »

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5 Nigerian cops say they didn’t kill sect leader

July 19, 2011 by benim

A Nigerian court has accused five officers of killing the leader of a radical Muslim sect and of committing an act of terrorism in Africa’s most populous nation. Court documents on Tuesday show that the officers were charged with “unlawfully … read more »

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Nigerian troops ‘on anti-terror training abroad’

June 30, 2011 by benim

Nigerian soldiers are undergoing anti-terrorism training abroad following a recent spate of deadly gun and bomb attacks blamed on a radical Islamist sect, an army spokesman said on Thursday. “This new type of act of terrorism is alien to Nigeria. … read more »

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Army hunts northern Nigeria bombers

June 28, 2011 by benim

Security forces tightened their grip on restive northern Nigeria Tuesday as they hunted for the perpetrators of a spate of bombings that has left at least 30 people dead in just two days, including two girls. In the latest attack, … read more »

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Bombs kill 25 at Nigerian drinking spot: sources

June 27, 2011 by benim

Suspected members of a radical Islamist sect threw bombs at a drinking spot in Nigeria’s northeastern town of Maiduguri on Sunday, killing around 25 people, witnesses and military sources said. The attackers — who the military said were suspected members … read more »

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Nigeria: 7 cops charged with killing sect leader

June 23, 2011 by benim

LAGOS, Nigeria – Nigerian police say officers accused of killing the leader of a feared Muslim sect will appear in court next month. The national police spokesman told The Associated Press Thursday that seven officers charged with “unlawfully killing one … read more »

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Home grown frustration behind Nigeria bombing

June 22, 2011 by benim

Bad governance and poverty fuelled the rise of an Islamist sect which claimed the bombing of Nigeria’s police headquarters and politicians need to look closer to home before blaming foreign militants. Boko Haram, a radical sect from the remote northeast, … read more »

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Are Nigeria’s Boko Haram getting foreign backing?

June 21, 2011 by benim

Last week’s bomb attack by Boko Haram in the capital Abuja has raised questions about Nigeria’s ability to defend itself. But a reassessment is also being made of the nature of the enemy they are confronting. Having long regarded the … read more »

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Nigeria sect spreads reach with suicide bombing

June 19, 2011 by benim

LAGOS, Nigeria – The radical Muslim sect has shot police officials and clerics from atop motorcycles, torched churches and even freed hundreds in a brazen prison escape in Nigeria’s restive north. But this week, Boko Haram expanded its reach and … read more »

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Bombs hit vaccine centre, government in northern Nigeria

June 2, 2011 by benim

Suspected extremists hurled bombs at a child vaccine warehouse and government offices in the restive city of Maiduguri in northeastern Nigeria, police said Thursday. No casualties were recorded in the attacks that took place overnight and during the day on … read more »

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Nigeria security forces clash with sect, five dead

December 5, 2010 by benim

Nigerian security forces shot dead two suspected members of a radical Islamist sect in a gunbattle in the remote northeast, and three civilians were killed in the crossfire, police said on Sunday. The battle is one of the heaviest in … read more »

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