Terrorism and Nigeria’s development
From an editorial in The Sun. Proves the news media isn't afraid of the T word. Secondly, not every thing that appears on the news stands in Lagos appears online.
Quote:
The savage killings and wanton destruction of property that characterised the recent terror attacks in Damaturu, Yobe State, have left a shell shocked nation and many commentators scratching their heads and searching for answers to the Boko Haram phenomenon. The carnage left in its wake over a hundred dead bodies. Charred remains of vehicles dotted the streets of Damaturu, and many public buildings went up in smoke. This is not the Nigeria many of us dreamt of or grew up to know.
http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpage...-2011-008.html
A news story captioned "Negotiating with Boko Haram terrorists" in the The Daily Eagle : http://www.thedailyeagles.com/2012/0...am-terrorists/
Another story captioned Terrorists may bomb Abuja Luxury Hotels in The Guardian. http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/index...nal&Itemid=559
US weighs response as extremist group expands reach across Nigeria
Article from the "Stars and Stripes" about BH and US response. Seems to be some confusion as to what to do. John Campbell (who is widely reviled in Nigeria's South and seen as a lackey of powerful Northern politicians), naturally opposes US involvement. The others are not quite sure.
Quote:
STUTTGART, Germany — A series of high-profile attacks in Nigeria in recent weeks that claimed scores of lives appear to be focused on fueling instability and mistrust between the country’s Christian and Muslim communities, and there is growing concern that the Islamic extremist group Boko Haram could be extending its reach and establishing links with other terrorist groups.
According to Human Rights Watch, more than 253 people were killed in the first three weeks of 2012, including 185 killed in a series of attacks in the northern city of Kano, the nation’s second largest.
“Many of the attacks in the past month have specifically targeted Christians and southern Nigerians living in the north,” Human Rights Watch said.
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But there is growing concern that Boko Haram could be seeking ties with other terrorist groups, making it a potential threat beyond the borders of Nigeria.
A recent United Nations report on development in West Africa warned of “growing concern in the region about possible linkages between Boko Haram and al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb,” an al-Qaida affiliated group in north Africa.
The U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee on homeland security also recommended in its own report that the U.S. increase its support for Nigerian counterterrorism efforts.
“It is critical that the U.S. work more closely with Nigerian security forces to develop greater domestic intelligence collection and sharing with the U.S. Intelligence Community,” stated the House report, titled “Boko Haram: Emerging Threat to the U.S. Homeland.” “Military cooperation is vital to a successful counterterrorism strategy.”
However, experts on the region caution that closer alignment of the U.S. with Nigerian security forces — which experts say are in need of major reform and are known for brutality against civilians in the Muslim-dominated north — could shift the focus of a locally oriented extremist group into a jihadist movement that sees the U.S. as its enemy. It also could generate more popular support for Boko Haram among much of Nigeria’s Muslim population, experts caution.
“In so far as the U.S. becomes identified with those security services, you are turning popular sentiment in an anti-American direction,” said John Campbell, a Nigeria expert at the Council on Foreign Relations. “[Boko Haram] rhetoric is very far away from al-Qaida rhetoric. While it’s quite a big threat to security in Nigeria, it’s not to the United States.”
http://www.stripes.com/news/us-weigh...geria-1.167077
I think this argument is quite academic. There is a government in Abuja, and specific demands are likely to be made by that government - these demands will depend on how that government perceives the evolving threats. The USG will either accept or reject these demands.
It is unlikely that the Nigerian Army will change its modus operandi and the Nigerian Army does not meekly accept all the orders sent to it by its civilian overlords (not quite the Pakistan Military but not US mil-civilian relationship either). It might seek the services of other military services that play the brutal crackdown game.
Boko Haram threatens to attack Sokoto
Sokoto is in the North-West. It is a very significant Muslim city - the seat of the Sokoto caliphate. The Sultan of Sokoto is seen as the leader of the Muslim community in Nigeria.
Quote:
MAIDUGURI – ABUL-Qaqa, the spokesman of the Jama’atu Ahlis Sunnati Lidda’awati Wal Jihad, also known as Boko Haram, yesterday, alleged that security agents have arrested “many” of its members in Sokoto and called for their immediate release.
He however, urged senior citizens in Sokoto and other neighbouring states to intervene in order to avert the replication of what he described as “the big attack in Kano State.”
Qaqa, who spoke to journalists on phone yesterday said: “This is an open letter to the emir of Sokoto (Sultan of Sokoto) Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar 111, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Alhaji Aminu Tambuwal and the Acting Governor of Sokoto State.
“Before we visited Kano, we wrote open letter to senior citizens there on the imperative of releasing our members but nobody cares to talk. Indeed, we sent three warnings to Kano before we strike,” Qaqa said.
http://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/01/w...mbuwal-others/
The Nigerian press uses the term "terrorist"
Look at this article:http://leadership.ng/nga/articles/14...caliphate.html
Quote:
The terrorist group named Boko Haram has threatened attacks on Sokoto State if some of its members arrested there are not immediately released by the security agencies.
The Islamic group called on the Sultan of Sokoto and the speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, to intervene or risk throwing the state into a tragedy similar to that of Kano.
Penultimate Friday, the sect bombed many police stations, offices of the State Security Service and Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) in Kano. leaving over 200 innocent people dead.
The terrorists claimed that the authorities in Kano State failed to heed their warning.
The spokesman of the sect, Abul Qaqa, warned neighbouring states to also mediate with a view to averting a replication of what he described as “the big attack in Kano State”.
In a telephone interview with some journalists in Abuja, he said: “This is an open letter to the Emir of Sokoto (Sultan of Sokoto) Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, the speaker of the House of Representatives, Alhaji Aminu Tambuwal, and the acting governor of Sokoto State, Alhaji Lawali Zayana.
“Before we visited Kano, we wrote an open letter to senior citizens there on the imperative of releasing our members, but nobody cared. Indeed, we sent three warnings to Kano before we struck.
“What happened in Kano will be inevitable in Sokoto unless you (Sultan and others) intervene and ensure the immediate and unconditional release of our members who were specifically arrested in the city of Sokoto on Thursday.”
He faulted the call for dialogue by President Goodluck Jonathan. “There is gross inconsistency in all the proclamations of the Nigerian leader. Our members are being trailed and killed on one hand, and, on the other hand, some people are telling us to surrender our arms and come out. This is impossible,” he said.
I don't think the word "terrorist" is of much significance here. Nigerians understand what these people are up to and as they become more prominent that word will be more widely used.
In the heat of the Niger Delta crisis, there was an argument as to whether the word terrorist or militant was more appropriate. Many argued that since their demands were legitimate that militant was most appropriate. On the other hand, BH hadn't done anything spectacular until it attacked the Police HQ at Abuja last year.
An organisation that has gone out of its way to adopt the modus operandi of AQ is clearly terrorist.
We Will Defend Ourselves, Churches, Homes – Pastor Adeboye
This statement comes from the most respected Christian leader in Nigeria:http://leadership.ng/nga/articles/14...r_adeboye.html
Anyone who understands Nigeria appreciates the significance of this statement.
Quote:
At last, the highly respected Pastor Enoch Adejare Adeboye has broken his silence over the incessant attack on Christians, their homes and places of worship by the Boko Haram, an Islamic sect in the North Eastern part of the country.
Several homes and churches had been burnt and Christians have been killed in their hundreds by the sect and the most unforgettable one was the attack on the worshippers at a Roman Catholic Church in Mandalla, Niger state where no fewer than 48 lives have been confirmed dead.
The Cleric, who is the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) has read a Riot Act to the sect warning its members to stop attacking Christians, their homes and churches or face the consequences. “We are not allowed to burn mosques or kill people of other religious beliefs but d Bible says we are allowed to Defend ourselves, churches, homes. ‘Be gentle as a dove but Wise as a Serpent’", Adeboye posted on his Face Book wall yesterday.
This position tallies with the resolve of the Christian leaders in the North who met recently in Abuja where they vowed never to attack anyone but tasked their members to defend themselves, their homes and the churches against any further attack.
At the meeting a fire-spitting cleric (name withheld) whose church is located in Area One, Abuja was asked to teach on the position of the Bible on religious intolerance.
The Pastor, according to an eye witness, took his audience from the Old Testament to the New where he cited how Christians were able to defend themselves against any unprovoked attack.
“We need to remind these murderers that Jesus, our Lord and Saviour, is both the Lamb of God who took away our sins and the Lion of the tribe of Judah. He is the Lamb to us but Lion against our foes. And more importantly, the roaring of a lion is purposely for the territorial protection. We used to run before but henceforth we run no more,” the Pastor decleared.
One of the things holding Nigerian together right now is the remarkable restraint of the Christian community in spite of extreme provocation. We sometimes take it for granted, but unlike the Copts of Egypt, Nigerian Christians are not a minority.
And they are unlikely to behave like one when pushed to the wall. This thing is getting extremely serious.