PHOTO Shehu Sani
The Northern Nigeria (Hausaland)
The northern Nigeria of today comprises nineteen states, and to a very large extent, Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). Despite the heterogeneous ethnic composition of the North, the Hausa-Fulani ethnic group still predominates, with over 70% of its people belonging to the Hausa-Fulani ethnic stock. By extension, the historical evolution of the Hausa group is closely linked with other ethnic groups that can be found in the region.
The source of origin of Hausaland has been a subject of conjectures. There is a tradition which states that Hausaland was founded by a man named Abuyazigu (Bayajida). Bayajida was said to have fled from his father in Baghdad, (the present Iraq) after a quarrel. On his way, he arrived at Daura (Hausaland) now in Katsina State and allegedly helped to kill a terror snake, which had menaced the people for a long time. In appreciation of his gesture in killing the snake, the Queen of Daura, was said to have married him and a son, Bawo became the product of the union.
Bawo later got married, but still had a concubine. Legend had it that the wife gave Bawo seven legitimate sons and the concubine also gave Bawo seven other illegitimate sons. These sons proceeded to establish the fourteen Hausa states. This actually is the legend, but the true origin of the Hausa remains a subject of historical conjectures. The nineteenth century tourist, Heinrich Barth, in trying to establish the genealogy of the Hausa, links them with the Atlanter of Herodotus. It is, however, certain that some of the people we now refer to as Hausas had lived in a more interior part of the present northern states than that which they now occupy. The Hilal invasion brought into these lands Tuaregs, who were said to have been driven southward by the Barber Tribes of North Africa.
For sometime, the Tuaregs and Barbers lived in harmony and intermarried. Their intermarriages produced half-castes. These half-castes were said to have migrated southwards and founded various states, the most ancient of which appears to be Biran. Biran is considered to be the ancestor of the Hausas. His descendants, Daura, Gobir, Kano, Rano, Katsina and Zaria were the founders of the kingdom which still bear these names. These descendants together with Biran were called the seven legitimate Hausa states (Hausa Bakwai). The other states whose population had been mixed through intermarriages with foreign elements (Nupe, Gwari, Yauri, Bauchi, Zamfara, Kebbi) were known as bastard Hausas. (Hausa Banza Bakwa). These resulting kingdoms varied in extent. The oldest; Biran and Rano were not much larger than their capitals. However, the others developed considerably. The rulers of the various Hausa states are called Sarakai (Emir). Although they exhibited a slight variation in culture, they had homogeneity of language.
Islam in Northern Nigeria
The first contact with Islam by the people of Kano and the entire Hausa-land and by extension northern Nigeria was in 1370. It was introduced by merchants and scholars from Western Sudan (Mali) during the reign of Ali Tsamia, between 1349 and 1385. Ali Tsamia was also called Sarkin Yaji because of his hot temperament. He was at that time, the ruler of Hausaland. Apart from Islam, which was newly introduced at that period, there were other traditional, such as the bori-cult which was very influential, the rulers at these times did not reject Islam completely nor did they adhere very strictly to the principles and the teachings of the Holy Qur’an. Consequently, they were called pagans by revivalist and fundamentalist Hausa-Fulani.
In Kano, at that time, the king had the power to decide what the state religion should be, and with such power, Ali Tsamia, made Islam the official religion. In he process, he built a mosque and by his authority ordered the people of Kano to pray five times a day. He equally appointed Islamic officials such as Imam, Muezzin and Quadi. However, the fact that the king had accepted Islam did not mean that everybody else accepted it.
In deed, many people, after the demise of Ali Tsamia, were said to have refused to embrace the Islamic religion, and were deeply attached to their ancestral or traditional religion. In fact, the six successive rulers after Ali Tsamia were said to have equally refused to embrace Islam.
During the reign of Mohammed rumfa (1463-1499), Islam had penetrated Kano which was then inhabited by the Hausa people called Maguzawa. It was after the conquest by Uthman Dan Fodio (1802-1817) that Islam began to spread among the Maguzawa people. By the time the British arrived the area, it was estimated that about half of the Maguzawa had accepted Islam. Before the arrival of Islam, the Maguzawa had a belief in Allah as the Supreme Being who could be approached or invoked through other deities. They also had a belief on the last day when Allah will judge everyone, punishing and rewarding each person accordingly.
The maguzawa people also believed in and worshipped spirit (Iskoki orIskokai) who inflict or remove suffering from people when they are invoked. The religion of Islam appealed to the Maguzawa people because the beliefs and dictates of the religion were in synchronization with those of the Maguzawa. However, as time passed, some of the spirits were believed to be good and lived in the city where they were considered and compared to Muslims who lived in the city. The black spirits were seen as being purely wicked and evil and were considered as Maguzawa who lived in the bush.
Therefore, in many of the Hausa states, we saw how Islam existed side-by-side with traditional religions. Severally, there were frequent wars of proselytizing and supremacy between these Hausa states, yet, there were a number of factors which encouraged the development of unity among the Hausa states. One of them, and perhaps the most cogent, was the Bayajida legend which served as a unifying factor among the different Hausa sub-groups. The importance of the legend was primarily the fact that it provided the belief that all Hausa states had a common origin and derived from common ancestors. Another potential rallying point for unity among the Hausa states was Islam.
Maitatsine Uprising in Kano in 1980
The 1980 Maitatsine uprising marked the watershed of large-scale ethno religious conflicts comparable to a small-scale war in a smaller nation. It has become a landmark reference of ethno-religious conflicts in African nations by local and international media, policy makers and strategic political analysts. It was a conflict that heightened the Nigerian security operatives’ sensitivity to the activities of legal and illegal aliens on her shore.
The 1980 Kano Maitatsine massacre was said to have been ignited by a violent confrontation between the authority and the Al-Masifu sect led by Alh. Muhammadu Marwa Maitatsine. Maitatsine, an anti-home. The al-Masifu members estimated between 3000 and 5000 denounced ostentatious display of wealth, such as owning houses, wearing Muslim customs, such as facing Mecca while praying, an act which an average Kano Muslim considered sacrilegious. The sect members, therefore, sought to purify the practice of Islam to conform with the teachings of their leader. Perceiving the security implication of Maintatsine’s doctrine and disruptive behaviour, the security agents had swiftly swooped on him in his residence and hurriedly deported him and few of his lieutenants back to Cameroon. He managed to return to Nigeria towards the end of 1978.
After a two year period during which the sect members increasingly intimidated citizens living near their enclave in Kano and a month after which a policeman was killed by the sect members, the then Kano State governor, Mohammed Abubakar Rimi, felt that enough was enough. He decidedly sent a letter to Maitatsine and his followers ordering them to leave Kano immediately. The sect leader received the governor’s order, but decided to ignore it damming any consequences of his action or inaction.
The beginning of the end for the Maitatsine’s reign of terror came exactly three weeks after the governor’s expulsion letter was issued. On December 18, 1980, the Al-Masifu sect members allegedly attacked orthodox Muslims praying outside Kano city grand mosque. Police attempt to bring the situation under control was rebuffed by the sect members and the governor of the state was thus constrained to ask the Federal Government to send in the military. After some initial resistance that lasted about ten days, the army and airforce went into action and dislodged the sect from its enclave in Kano city.
At the same time, during the crisis, the orthodox Muslim residents of Kano sought out and killed anyone suspected of belonging to the sect. this resulted n heavy casualties with the combined team of the Nigerian army and airforce having an upper hand in the confrontation. Realizing this, some of the sect members armed with bows and arrows and a number of modern weapons, mainly seized from the police and army, retreated to a nearby village, and the fighting continued until January 3 1981. at the end of the confrontation and the military campaign against the sect, over 4, 177 people, including Maitatsine, some policemen and a reporter with Nigeria’s Daily Times newspaper, had been killed and another 8,712 sustained different levels of injuries. Property worth several millions of naira were reportedly lost in the conflict.
The Taliban
The world first became aware of a group called Taliban when they were appointed by the Pakistan’s government to protect a convoy attempting to open a trade route between Pakistan and Central Asia. This group, made up of Afghans trained in religious schools in Pakistan along with former Mujahidden holy warriors who were the Islamic fighters of AI Queeda, proved effective as bodyguards. They prevented other Mujahidden groups who attempted to attach and loot the convoy. The Taliban was formed by Mullah Mohammed Umar, a one-eyed puritanical cleric who was described as one of the most improbable characters in Afghanistan’s tortuous history. He recruited students from Qur’anic schools and this resulted in the Taliban being referred to in its early days as a student movement.
Between 1979 and 1989, there were visible armed Taliban uprisings against the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. The Talibans from Afghanistan, however, succeeded in forcing the Russians out of their country. The Federal Government’s intelligence arm is apparently aware of the infiltration of Nigeria by foreign Islamic fundamentalists. A renowned Islamic scholar and leader of a popular Islamic scholar believed to have escaped arrest in either troubled Sudan or the war-ravaged Afghanistan. The unidentified Islamic scholar was for eight months allegedly hidden by Alhaji Musa. A national daily reported that it was because of this that Musa himself was arrested in Katsina prior to the rounding up of his guest by security agents. The police swooped on Musa’s IBB Way residence in Katsina in anticipation of getting incriminating evidence in connection with the expatriate.
A faceless Islamic group was also recently indicted in connection with recruiting several students from Qur’anic schools in Nigeria for terrorist training in Mauritania. This was carefully done under the cover of Islamic training. The state security service had on July 7, 2004, released Alhaji Bello Damagun (a businessman and director of Media Trust Ltd) along with Mallam Mohammed Nazifi Inuwa and Mallam Mu’awuya Babayo, who were arrested, interrogated and detained since June 2001, on the allegation of illegally sponsoring some students to Mauritania for Islamic studies.
Reports from national dailies had it that some of the youths absconded from the camp less than seven months into their four year training programme because they were allegedly dumped in a desolate and isolated area 58 kilometres from Mouakchott, capital of Mauritania.
The reason for taking these youths to a desolate place for training, it was learrnt, was to harden them so that when they come back, they would have been conditioned to be full of bitterness for the Nigeria’s socio-economic and political situation. The training of these youths, who are said to be about 10 years old, was to orientate them to be capable of inhuman responses to issues.
The Yobe Talibans
The self-styled Talibans of Yobe were not Afghans who infiltrated Nigeria; rather, they were Nigerian university undergraduates, ex-military personnel and professionals. They were easily identified by their Spartan dress code and long beard, reminiscent of Osama Bin Laden. The Yobe Talibans emerged around 2002. the group, on emergence, decided to call itself AI Sunna Wal Jamma, which in Arabic language is literally translated as, “followers of Prophet Mohammed’s Teaching”.
The sect had its first camp at Zagi-Biriri, a desert village in Tarmuwa Local Government Area of Yobe State, located some 70 kilometres, north of Damaturu, the state capital. The sect had deliberately withdrawn to the desert settlement, so that they could be totally immuned from what they perceived as the corrupt Nigerian system, and to also effectively dedicate themselves to the life of prayer and the study of the Qur’an. This is preparatory to a revolution that would overturn the corrupt administration at all levels in the country. The Talibans had hoped to replace the corrupt incumbent administration with a more holier government founded purely on the teachings of the Qur’an and the Hadith. Security reports had it that the group was also engaged in covert military training and warfare.
The Identity of Yobe Talibans
There was confusion as to the true identity of the group that enacted the bestial act that held Yobe hostage for three weeks. Those who seem to know, saw them as the reformed Maitatsine sect of the 1980s. while others said the Yobe Talibans could be those sympathetic to the Al-Qaeda Cabal of Osama bin Laden, who spilled over to Nigeria in their bid to escape the United States aggression in 2001. From the foregoing, it is evident that the true identity of the Yobe Taliban was a mystery.
The Taliban and the Government
The Yobe Talibans were unreservedly acerbic in their public criticism of government officials for failing to implement “True Sharia” in the 12 northern states where the system was operational.
The Yobe Taliban’s Crush
At its first camp at Zaji-Biriri, the Yobe Talibans were said to have lived a simple and quiet lifestyle. They had refused to mix freely with the larger society for obvious reasons. They were said to have worked on people’s farms where they got paid. They in turn used the money to buy food. They Yobe Talibans soon exhausted the good will they had until that moment enjoyed, after they had beaten up a middle-aged married woman who dared to challenge their fishing rights in the local pond. The woman had told them that since they did not own any portion of the pond, they had no right whatsoever to fish in the stream. The Yobe Talibans were said to have told her that since the pond was created by Allah, who also created the fish that swam in it. An ordinary mortal could not lay claim to any section of the pond, let alone decide who should fish in it. A hot exchange of words was said to have ensued between the group and the woman. She was thus beaten black and blue for daring to challenge them.
The Yobe Taliban quickly became unpopular among the villagers who alerted the police of their presence in Zaji-Biriri. Following police reports indicting them of criminal activities, the Yobe State Government convened a security council meeting which resolved that the group be given a three-day ultimatum to leave Zagi-Biriri. With great reluctance, the group relocated to Kenanma, a homogenous community of about 3000 inhabitants, east of Zagi-Biriri, in Yunusari Local Government Area of the State on Sunday, December 21, 2003. Kanamma, a very remote area, located some seven kilometers away from the Nigerian border and Niger Republic was strategically chosen. This is with the hope of getting away from the attention of the authorities while going ahead with their training and hermetic meditation on the teachings of Islam. Having set up a new camp in Kanam, they had refused to forgive the police for the previous role it played in their hurried exit from Zaji-Biriri. Their renewed intention to avenge on the police thus led to a bloody confrontation..
The Yobe Taliban Revolution
The following day, the Yobe Taliban went into the town, where they demanded to see the DPO, the local government chairman and the district head of Kanama. But the villagers told them that none of these people were around, so they left a message that when they returned to town, they would only come back to kil all those whom they had requested to see. When the people concerned received the message, the DPO sent a report to the police headquarters in Damaturu requesting permission could come, they (Taliban) returned on Wednesday, December 24, 2003, and burnt the police station, local government secretariat, local government’s logde as well as the residence of the chairman, DPO and the district head, killing a new police recruit. The residence of the community leader was torched because they saw him as the representative of government in the village.
After burning down government-owned structures in the village, they clearly knew the repercussion which would follow. They therefore, initiated a series of fortification measures for the eventual confrontation which they knew must come. They had abducted eight villagers and forced them to dig trenches around their camp. They were to later engage armed troops in battle from these trenches. Before the confrontation with armed soldiers, some mobile police force units had arrived their camp, intent on sacking the group, but retreated in the face of the superior fire power of the Talibans, coupled with the advantage provided by the trenches that fortified their camp.
Sects in Islam
Who are Boko Haram?
Book Haram are Islamic sect based largely in the North Western part of Nigeria. Their leader was one Mallam Muhammad Yusuf, until he was killed in a questionable circumstances.
Yusuf was born in Girgir village of Yobe State. The Boko Haram group started as Sahaba group in 1995. The main leader of the group then was one Abubakar Lawan who later left for the University of Medina to study, when he left, the older clerics conceded the leadership to Yusuf, who was young and versatile man.
But immediately Yusuf took over, the doctrine of the sect changed and he abandoned the older cleric and came up with Boko Haram. At the initial stage of their growth, the sect was entrenched in Borno, Yobe, Katsina, Kaduna, Bauchi, Gombe and Kano States, but now have covered virtually all northern states and are advancing their frontiers to other parts of the country.
Muhammad Yusuf, because of his brilliance was a favorite student of Sheik Jafar Mohammed, the highly influential and well known preacher who was shot dead in Kano by gun men while leading the dawn prayers in his mosque on the eve of 2007 general election. Yusuf later fell out with his mentor Sheik Jafar, even before his death.
On at least seven occasion, teacher and student met, sometimes one on one at other times in company of third parties, with the aim of ironing out their differences, on other occasion, several other clerics also tried to dissuade Yusuf from his rigid ways. On most of those occasion, the student gave the impression that he would mend his ways, yet no sooner did he return to his base than he reverted to his condemnations of all things western, often he went even further by more or less declaring his counselors apostates. Yusuf had severally described his groups as non-militants, but simply a group of youths who are bent on upholding the words of Allah. He warned that they will rather die than to succumb to the present corrupt system in the country. That they vowed to continue to fight the authorities and their accomplices until they succeed or die in the process.
The Name
Although the group has come to be popularly known as Boko Haram, it is not clear whether the group actually called itself by this name. some called them Yusufuya sect. but some called them Jamaatul Takfur Wal Hyra Ahlus Sunna, some still called them Khawaarji and some called them Jamaatu Alhlissunnah Lidda’awatiwal Jihad, which they approved oof.
Book itself is the Hausa name for western education. It was derived from the word “Boka” or sorcerer. As years rolled by, though and the educated elite took charge of things and (initially) did a good job of it. Book became a respected word in the Muslim North. The Boko school taught Islam more effectively than the local Islamiya school (Makarantar Allo) did and many Yan Boko have a deeper knowledge of Islam than most peasant have. The local Islamiyah schools production of Almajiri was also a minus for them and the armies of Boko Haram sect must have been recruited from the Almajiri. Besides the Muslim community’s initial fear that Boko could lead to wholesale proselytization did not happen.
Even though Boko improved the community’s material lot and did not lead wholesale conversion as the Muslim feared, it led to wholesale westernization and secularization, to the chagrin of traditionalist. It brought great dependence on income and the lifestyle, opulence, ego and vanity of the yan Boko alarmed traditionalist. Governance become ineffectual in Yan Boko’s hand and their white collar crime tarnished the country’s image. On collapse of societal values, thus triggering a call for a change.
Origin and Values
Available information indicates that the group emanated from an orthodox teaching slightly resembling that of the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Their school of thought considers anything western as an aberration or completely unislamic. The group viewed the western influence on Islamic society as the basis of the religion’s weakness. Hence their declaration that western education and indeed all western institution is infidel and as such must be avoided by Muslims.
At first, both cleric and the larger community ignore the gospel as they dismissed the preacher as unknowledgeable, other see them as share age propagandist who will not get the attention of the modern Muslims but events proved all wrong as the sect began to grow from strength to strength. In Bauchi, Yobe, and Borno State, many young people dropped out of school, including university student to join them, workers including highly placed administrators and tertiary institution lecturers also joined them. That was when the clerics began to fire at them with great vehemence knowing fully well that it was no longer a tea party. But it was getting late then, as many youth have already separated from their families, while many people abandoned their jobs for the group. It was gathered that most people sold their belongings to contribute to the coffers of fighting the cause of Allah to save Islam from the clutches of western influences and domination.
Their Belief
Some of the fundamental argument of beliefs held by the group is that banking, taxation and jurisprudence in the country are completely infidel submitting to these void. The entire faith of a true Muslim, they also argue that western education was unislamic as it embodies all that Islam projected, while it propagates the negative of what Allah and his prophet had ordained.
For instance, the mixing of boys and girls under the same shade, the propagation of the theory of that men evolved from the family of monkey as well as the sun in the sky is static. According to them, all these are in conflict with the direct words of Allah who said Muslim must not mix sexes under the same umbrella and that he created men from clay as well as the sun, earth and the moon each move on its own axis.
They further argue that today’s banking system is shylock and Islam forbids interest in financial transaction, just as the laws of the land are manmade, in replacement of the ones ordained by Allah.
It was on their bid to run away from all of these vices that members of the sect decided to cluster themselves in strategic location in the outskirt of most major town of Bauchi and Yobe.
Another Angle to Mohammed Yusuf’s emergence
As early as 2002, Yusuf was seen by many as a likely heir to the renown late Sheik Jafaar Mahmud Adam in Maiduguri on account of his brilliance and closeness to the late renowned scholar. But all that changed shortly when one Mohammed Alli (now late) approached late Yusuf with reasons to boycott democracy, civil service and western oriented schools.
Late Yusuf then disengaged his service with the Yobe State government. Then in a 2006 press release signed by the sect’s Shura (consultative) council, they stated that Islam permits them to subsist under a modern government like Nigeria but has explicitly prohibited them from joining or supporting such government in so far as their systems, structures and institutions contains elements contradictory to core Islamic principles and beliefs.
However, the late Alli argued that the sect must embark on Hijra (migration), but late Yusuf decline and Alli proceeded to Kannamma in Yobe with his faction, and one thing led to another, the group launched an insurgent attack on the police that resulted in the loss of many lives and properties in Kanamma and later in Gwuza in Borno State.
Although the insurgent, a renegade group that called itself “Taliban” led by Alli, fiercely disagreed with late Yusuf and many of the escapees later returned to Yusuf.
Unlike Alli, Yusuf went on undeterred, though he was prevented from preaching in several mosques and was denied TV/Radio appearances in the state, but he set up a preaching outlet in the front of his house at the Railway quarters and at Anguwar Doki, millionaires quarters among others. The demand for his tapes increased by the day all over the north and the proceeds there from increased tremendously. He then asked his landlord and in law, late Baba Fugu Mohammed to allow him to build a mosque who he named Ibn Taimiyya Masjid.
It was in Ibn Taimiyya Masjid that the late Yusuf together with his hard line top --- Abubakar Shekau, alias “Darul tauhid”began to build an imaginary state within a state. Together they set up laginas (department), they had a cabinet, the shura, the Hisbah, the brigades of guilds, a military wings, a large farm, an effective microfinance scheme, and late Yusuf played the role of a judge in settling disputes.
Each state had an Amir (leader) including Amirs in Chad and Niger that gave account of their stewardship to Yusuf directly.
The sect led by Yusuf, took advantage of the poor quality of our educational system, the incessant strike, cult activities, widespread malpractices and prostitution that is made worse with no offer of job after graduation to lure many youths to abandoned schools and embrace Yusuf’s new and emerging state that promises to offer them a better education.
Late Yusuf also took advantage of the irresponsible leadership of all level of government, unemployment, poverty, corruption and insecurity. And as he point out such failures, citing verses of Quran and the saying of the prophet, the youth see him as the leader that will indeed deliver them from malevolence to the promises lend.
Membership
In the early stage of the group, he was able to attach membership from the families of the high and mighty in Borno State. Infact, at a point, one of the sons of the former SSG in one of the State of the North East region was a member of this group. His father was from jakusko while his mother is from Barde. Many other members of prominent families from Borno and Yobe States reportedly join or later became sympathetic to his cause and supported it financially.
His Threats
Sheikh Muhammed Yusuf style of preaching was reportedly inecting yet he bothered less, but nonetheless had some confrontations with the law enforcement agents. In truth, the authorities could hardly claim ignorance of the activities of Mohammed Yusuf and his men. As a matter of fact, he was arrested on several occasion by the police in Maiduguri but before the police could roll out the drums and start celebrating his capture, Yusuf would have resurface in his vast compound in Maiduguri.
There was a time when the man returned from Abuja barely five days after his arrest. Infact people from all the way from Kaduna, Bauchi and Kano came to welcome him. There was a long motorcede from the airport as thousands of his members trooped out to lead him to his house. He came back like a hero – a resident observed.
In January 2009, Yusuf was arrested and prosecuted in Abuja, but he was reportedly granted bail and subsequently returned to Maiduguri.
“Before he was killed, you should have been here on a Friday, you would think a big party was going on here. The whole area (Railway Quarters) would be lined by exotic cars as very powerful individuals went to see Yusuf. They went in cars with tinted glasses and so nobody would be able to see them. That is why many people believed that the man was being sponsored by some very powerful individuals”, said a resident.
The First Attack-shooting of 17 mourners
The Operation Flush was a Borno State owned security outfit launched for an all war against robbers who had become very daring and were terrorizing residents, motorist and commuters plying highways. At the onset, the Operation Flush tackled robbery to a near standstill. However, with innocent people becoming the squad’s victim, it became a source of worry for the residents of the state. The security outfit became notorious for brutalizing people in Maiduguri, causing traffic disorder extorting money from people and usurping the functions of the law enforcement agencies on the state.
The shooting of 17 mourning followers of Sheik Yusuf by men of the Operation Flush raised concerns about the excesses and human rights abuse indulged by security outfit with impunity.
Investigation revealed that trouble began when the sect members were on their way to a cemetery in a procession to bury four of their members who died in a motor accident along Biu – Maiduguri road, a day earlier. Some of them who rode on motorbike were intercepted by an Operation Flush petrol team and asked why they were not wearing crash elements. The sect members did not take kindly to the enquiry which they thought was a provocation given that they were in a funeral procession. The Borno State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Christopher Dega, said the group had disagreement with members of the joint military and police petrol team known as “Operation Flush” in Maiduguri “over traffic-related violations by the procession”. He said “one thing led to another and a member of the patrol team stationed at the custom’s roundabout opened fire to save his colleagues from the mob”. The members of the group and three onlookers were crowded in the process.
Those injured were rushed to the emergency of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital where they were treated and discharged.
Days later, the cleric, Sheik Yusuf, made a pronouncement through his well circulated Friday sermon in Maiduguri to retaliate the shooting of his men, boasting that his group would be prepared to confront all the security agencies in the State as well as government which he described as the enemies of Islam. Government sources claimed President Umaru Yarardua and the National Security Adviser (NSA), General Abdullahi Sakin Muktar were adequately briefed on Mohammed’s threats.
The Bauchi Strike
The Boko Haram men were largely known to have lived at Jadaman Mada and near the Airport where they have their jummat mosque. They neither buy commercial food, nor eat from dishes prepared by non members, due to its sources (Haram). Infact, they do not eat much, some of them are said to live on fruits and dates only. They normally dress in similar costumes as the Taliban of Afghanistan or Pakistan, with long sleeve robe, shortened trousers, a turban, long beard, a small coat cover the long sleeve robe, covering the abdomen (like a bullet proof jacket) and a chewing stick.
That fateful day on July 26, 2009, a small group of about 30 youths marched towards the Dutsen Tanship Police Station in Bauchi Town around 6.00am. All of them were carrying assorted weapons that include matchetes, bows and arrows, daggers and dene gun. The police seemed to be prepared as they opened fire on them as soon as they attacked. Five of them attacked were left dead instantly. Soon the police inconjunction with the military swiftly surrounded the entire house suspected to be their abode, early that morning.
Most of their belonging were taken along and displaced for official inspections. Items found include sewn military uniform, boots, live ammunition, shells, locally made explosives, lethal gun powder.
Immediately after the encounter, the houses belonging to their sect were destroyed by the authorities. Those who were neither killed nor arrested escaped into the thin air. Most of those arrested were found to be indigenes of Yobe and Borno States.
In a chat with newsmen that fateful Sunday morning, Minister of Police Affairs, Dr. Ibrahim Yakubu Lame said the police will further their investigations to ensure that all tose connected to the attack were arrested, while their sponsor will be brought to justice, whoever they may be in the society.
Governor Isa Yuguda told the newsmen he was satisfied with the commitment and accuracy of the security operatives. “This calls for celebration as we have succeeded in the pre-emptying them”.
He indicated that intelligence report had showed that they had prepared well to attack, but government preempt them and caused them to be on the defensive. He said that he had earlier warned his neighboring colleagues and had informed them of his intention that is why there were less civilian involvement in the conflict.
“This is not a religious violence. It is a case of military. I consider them as lunatics who should be referred to the psychiatrist. Infact their action is not religious, but a case of wanton militancy” Yuguda said.
The Assistant Inspector General (IGP) of Police, Zone 12, Mr. Moses Anegboda confirmed that 41 persons were killed in the crisis between the police and the sect. He told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that 39 persons were members of the group while a policeman and a soldier were also killed.
He said 176 suspected members of the sect had been arrested. The police according to him were working in collaboration with the office of the Attorney General of the Federation to draw up charges for the prosecution of the suspects.
“The police will continue to do 24 hours surveillance and mop-up operations on the activities of the sect across the zone”, he said.
The AIG noted that about 210 weapons were recovered from the sect with 200 detonates, two corrusters, two bags of lethat gun powders, seven bags of poltesum, one basis of nitrate used for making explosives and an AK-47.
Reactions of Sheikh Mohammed Yusuf
The leader of the sect in his reaction said his group will not take kindly to the killing of dozens of its supporters in Bauchi. While speaking to journalist on the clashes, between his supporters and the police in Bauchi, said his men were ready to die to ensure the institution of a strict Islamic society.
The Yobe Crises
Few days later, the Bauchi conflicts between the Boko Haram sect and the security operatives spread to Yobe State. The sect members launched attack on the central police station on Potiskum on Monday and soon retreated into a hide out at Mamudo, where security agent swooped on them. Three police officers and one fire service officer died on the clash.
Briefing reporters in his office, Commissioner of Police, Mohammed Abba, said, “At about 0800 hours, a combined team of the Police/Army launched a counter attack on the hide out of the extremist at a location opposite CGC Construction Company, near Mamudo village along Damaturu – Potiskum Road.
“The encounter with the hoodlum left thirty three (33) of the extremist dead. Six rifles, one pistol, one dene gun, three AK-47, empty magarines, thirty two (32) rounds of 7.62 mmm live ammunition and eighty one (81) of 9 live ammunitions were recovered from the suspects”.
Abba said the extremist were using a bus and a J5 vehicle with registration number XB 591 KTG and XA 888 MKA. The vehicles, he said were equally recovered by the security agents.
“Two of the suspects that escaped from the scene were arrested at Potiskum town based on information from members of the public and two other suspects were arrested in Fika”
“Information has it that the Boko Haram sect were about fifty in number when the attack was launched at their hide outs. Some of the suspects snatched a hilux vehicle belonging to Yobe State government around Mamudo and escaped into the bush.
“A man hint for the fleeing suspects has been launched by the security agents with a view to arresting the suspects”. He said.
Response of the Governor
Governor Ibrahim Geidem condemning the sectarian strife, describing it as an embarrassment to Islam. The governor was at the Police Command Headquarters on Gugbe Road in Damaturu. He thanked the police and other security agencies for containing the situation.
The combined team of soldiers and policemen embarked on a house to house search for this sect. The security men were said to have stormed houses occupied by the sect members, freeing hundreds of women and children. The sect believed that women and children should be kept indoors. No fewer than 2000 people were said to have fled to police station and hospitals to escape being killed.
In Kano
The house and mosque of the sect leader in wudil, Salihu Al-min model at Sabon gari was demolished by the Kano State Police Command order. The police are however still on wudil’s trail. He went into hiding following the attack on Wudil Police Station.
The building were marked “illegal structure” before demolition. Before dawn the building was pulled down including his mosque men of Kano State Urban Development Authority was directed to destroy the structure. A government source said one unit of mobile force was drafted to Wudil before the demolition to forestall resistance from remnant of Boko Haram followers.
During the raid on Wudil’s house, explosive substances including fuel bottle, jack knife, dane gun, locally made pistol, arrows and charms were discovered.
According to the police command anti-bomb unit, a bag of yellow powdered substance discovered in the house contain 15% charcoal, 25% potassium nitrate, 20% sulphur as is highly inflammable when ignited with fire.
Arrest were made. At the Bompai Police Headquarters, in Kano, a member of the Boko Haram arrested told the journalist that he was not disturbed by this present condition.
“Allah be praised, we are simply passing a period of tribulation and I know that even if I die now, I would be hugely rewarded by Allah. They cannot stop us. We must propagate the message of Allah. Only sharia we believe and western education is a taboo”. He said as he groaned in pain.
The Maiduguri main battle
The Bomb Blast
A few hours after the Borno State Police Command paraded nine followers of Sheikh Mohammed Yusuf, with 74 locally made bomb shells in Biu local government area, that a locally made bomb exploded in the residence of another followers, blasting him to death, while his friend sustained severe injuries and is being hospitalized at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital.
The follower, whose name was given as Hassan Sani Badamu from Biu was killed on (Friday July 20) night after the explosion occurred in his bedroom at his residence in Gwaindangari, behind Railway Quarters while he was with a friend, also a follower of Yusuf.
A guide book on bomb making was recovered from the blasted room. Commander of a joint military and police petrol team, tagged operation flush, Colonel Ben Ahanotu told newsmen.
Wife of the deceased, sect member, sect member, Zainab Dauda who was weeping while answering questions from newsmen narrated that she was in the kitchen preparing evening meal for her husband when she heard a loud explosion from the room and before she knew what was happening, her husband was lying in his own blood while his fraud who was inside the bedroom with the husband was rushed to the hospital by members of the operation flush who rushed to the scene.
Zainab who said she was pregnant as she held her four year old son, added that she had been advising her late husband to stay away from the sect as she had been told that the group carried weapons.
“I had always warned my husband to leave that group, I was told that they moved about with knives and because of my fear, I used to check my husband’s handbags which he used when he was going for activities of the sect, but every time, I checked, I only saw copies of Holy Quran. I didn’t even know his friend was inside his room, I was in the kitchen”, Zainab said crying.
Commander of Operation Flush, Ben Ahanotu told journalist that they received intelligence report that the men was trying to fix something in the locally made bomb along with his friends, when it exploded and killed him. He said when security men arrived at the scene, the man was found dismembered and he gave up the ghost after he was taken to hospital.
Colonel Ahanotu said that some components for making local bombs were recovered from the scene. He said security men were working round the clock to guarantee peace and security of lives and properties in the state.
On Friday afternoon, the police had paraded more members of the sect in whose possession 74 empty home made bomb shells and bomb head were found. Other items found in the possession of the nine were three swords, three bags containing gun powder, 11 motorcycles filters, one tin of plastic filter, bottle of methanol, explosive acids, seven rubbers containers of sodium chemicals, an equipment for measuring chemicals, two screw drivers, and other components for making bombs.
The Maiduguri Battles
In Maiduguri, the sect members appeared to have grouped themselves on batches and simultaneously attacked targets around the city at about 12.30am. They ambushed at the State Police Headquarters, sparking off a shoot out that lasted for over three hours. Fifty of the sect followers were killed there and the other retreated.
In the various battles, at least eight police officers, two soldiers and three prison officers were reportedly killed, the new prison in the city was broken and prisoners freed, while homes of policemen and police stations were also set ablaze in an apparent fulfillment of the promises of retaliations, attack made by the sects leader, Sheikh Yusuf.
The sect members killed a police sergeant by the gate of the police headquarters, burnt nine residents of mobile police trainees college near the city and also killed four policemen undergoing promotional courses in the college.
They also killed the second-in-command officer of a mobile police unit whose name was given as Superintendent Usman Farouk.
Somewhere in the city, another batch of the sect members overpowered men of the Nigerian Prison and freed inmates. A team of the sect members also killed a policeman at the residence of the Commandant of the Mobile Police Training College. They also burnt Lamisula and Gamburu Police Stations in Maiduguri and vandalized properties. The sect member had a long exchange of fire with men of operation flush a combined military and police anti-robbery team.
A similar attack was reportedly launched by the sect members in Damasak Headquarters of Mobber local government area of the state and killed a policeman.
All activities were brought to standstill in Maiduguri as fewer vehicles moved around amidst intense stop and search mounted by the police and the military. Communications were disrupted and telecoms installations in Maiduguri were attacked.
Later in the day, Governor Ali Modu Sheriff declared a dusk to dawn curfew in all parts of Maiduguri and Jere, a neighbouring local government area. The governors Director of Press, Usman Chiroma, said in a statements that the curfew was from 7.00pm to 6am and will continue until security situation improves.
Security Response
The next day, security forces raided the enclave of the radical Boko Haram sect in Maiduguri in an all act attempt to crush the group whose supporters ignited violence in five states in union more than zoo persons, including security personnel died.
The army moved in six light armoured war tanks and deployed hundreds of heavily armed soldiers and mobile policemen and regular policemen around Maiduguri to destroy the residents of the sect leaders, Yusuf, which also serve as the group’s headquarters.
The security forces also cordoned off Maiduguri, Galadima, Kasuwan Sharu and low cost areas, which have been under the control of the sect members since Sunday nights when the crises began.
The military action came a day after more than 150 people were killed in Borno, Yobe and Kano States in a gun battles between the sects followers and security forces.
The offensive which started in Maiduguri was led by the GOC 3rd Armoured Division of the Nigerian Army, Jos, Major General Salah Maina, came on the order of President Umaru Yaradua, who said his administration would no longer tolerate any armed insurrections in any part of the country.
The military ordered resident to evacuate the affected areas and as 5.30pm, sounds of explosions were being heard and thick smoke billowing into the sky.
Security source said the leader of the sect in Kano, was killed while he was about to enter Maiduguri to bring reinforcement to his members. Streets of Maiduguri remained deserted as very few cars moved around. Residents were seen in fronts of their homes speaking in small group.
The traditional Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said over 4000 persons took refuge at different military and police quarters. Assistant Zonal Coordinator of the Agency in the North East, Apollos Jedial said of the displaced resident, 3000 persons were taking refuge at the Maimalari Barracks, 600 were at the State Police Headquarters while 19 were at the Giwa military barracks.
He said the agency ordered release of relief materials mostly food items and beddings, which he handed over to the Borno State government for distribution to the victims.
Spokesman for the Borno Police Command, Isah Azare, confirmed that 90 of the rioters as well as eight police officers, three prison officials and two soldiers had been killed in the clashes with the security forces that Monday.
President Umaru Yar’Adua’s Reactions
Speaking to newsmen at the Nnamdi Azekiwe International Airport, shortly before he jetted out to Brazil on a free day visit, Yaradua said he had asked security agencies to deal squarely and promptly, with the leader of the Boko Haram, sect and end the crisis by yesterday evening.
The Arrest and Death of Mohammed Yusuf
The battle between security forces and followers of the Boko Haram sect came to an end with the killing of the leader of the group (yesterday, Thursday July 30) few hours after he was captured in Maiduguri. The police claimed that Mallam Mohamed Yusuf whose followers battled troops and policemen for five days in many state, was reportedly killed in a shoot out with security men, but a BBC reporter in Maiduguri said Yusuf was arrested and paraded before journalist with apparent signs of injuries.
“He has been killed. You can come and see his body at the state police command headquarters, spokesmen for the Borno State Police Command, Isa Azare told Reutes news agency.
The State Police Commissioner, Christopher Dega had earlier announced the capture of Yusuf and said he was being held at Giwa Barracks. Announcing the death of the late sect leader, Assistant Inspector General of Police in charge of Zone 12, Mr. Moses Anagbode, said Yusuf was killed in a shoot out with security men yesterday in afternoon. Security sources told newsmen that the sect leader was arrested hiding among cattle inside his father inlaws home, situated around the sects bombed enclave, which was destroyed by the military and a counter insurgency operation.
At 8.31 last night news Agencies flashed the story of the killing of Yusuf.
A journalist said the body outside the state police headquarters had several gunshot wounds. It was learnt that before he was killed, Yusuf requested that people should pray for him to have the mercy of God.
Security source said Yusuf had tricked the military into believing he fled out to the bush after a stage on his headquarters, but he instead remained within the area taken over by security forces.
Federal Government Apologizes to UN over Killing
A federal government delegation was in Geneva, Switzerland to apologize to the United Nations for the alleged extrajudicial killings of Boko Haram sect leader. Head of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Roland Ewubare said in Abuja.
The delegation comprised the Attorney General of the Federation, Michael Aondakaa, the NHRC boss and the State House Counsel.
Speaking when he reacted visiting Australian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Jeff Hert, the NHRC Executive Secretary, Ewubare said the Nigerian delegation told the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navanethem Pillay that they were in Geneva to plead so that the country would not be sanctioned by the United Nations. He said Nigeria assured the United Nation that as soon as ongoing investigation is concluded, those found culpable would be punished in accordance with the law.
Alhaji Buji Fai killed, so also Baba Fugu
A two time Chairman of Kaga local government areas of Borno State and former Commissioner of Religious Affairs and Water Resources who was a member of Boko Haram was captured in his farm along Bui – Danboa Road and later killed in the early hours of the next day at the Police Headquarter, Maiduguri.
Alhaji Fai, who dumped politics to join the sect, left the services at Borno State government when he was the Commissioner for Religious Affairs and fully involved himself in the activities of the sect. It was reliably gathered that his farm was used to habour the families of the militant sect, where he was later arrested after a fierce gun battle with the security operatives.
After he was arrested, the former commissioner demanded to meet the state governor, Alhaji Modu Sherif, who was not in office, when he was taken, had tied, to the Government House. The late Buji Fai was later carried to the police headquarter where he was reportedly killed.
The Role of Mohammed Fugu, a Maiduguri based businessman in the episode
Fugu was reportedly shot to death by the police at the police headquarters in Maiduguri. He had reportedly gone to the police headquarters to give himself up after having been told that the police were looking for him. He did not even wait for his lawyers before going to meet with the police. Since he did not have any skeleton in his cupboard, he had no reasons to fear. He was reportedly detained with his gown removed and handcuffed. It was later on the day that the family started hearing that he had been killed and his corpse deposited in the mortuary. His corpse alongside with others was reportedly dumped in a mass grave in Maiduguri.
The state government officials reportedly later stormed Railway Quarters with bulldozers and demolished Mohammed Yusuf’s house as well as Fugu’s compound. Items worth more than N160 million were reportedly destroyed in the house.
Dissatisfied with the development, the family went to court, accusing the police of extrajudicial killing of their patriarch. The court gave its judgment asking the Nigerian Police to pay the sum of N100 million to the family, but the police appealed the verdict.
Borno Probes Sect Violence
Governor Ali Modu Sherif of Borno State later inaugurated a 13 man administrative committee of inquiry on the Boko Haram sectarian violence or party of the state.
The committee however didn’t have representatives from the Jammatul Nasiru Islam (JNI), an umbrella body of Muslims and the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN).
Members of the committee include Past Public office holders, serving civil servants, retired police and representatives of security agencies.
Sheriff explains that inquiry would give government clear information on the mayhem and advise it on strategies to prevent re-occurrence. The committee was to submit its report within three weeks.
Boko Haram Bombs Police Headquarters
Eight persons were feared dead and 44 others injured when a powerful bomb ripped through the car park of the Nigerian Police Force Headquarters in Abuja.
The police headquarters bomb blast, which the police described as a suicide attack, was apparently targeted at the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Hafiz Ringim.
The attack came four days after Ringim announced renewed efforts by the police to eliminate the dreaded sect in Borno State, where it has been blamed for a number of killings and bomb attacks.
The IG’s convoy had driven into the force headquarters also known as Louis Edet House around 10:40am unaware that there was a Honda Civic trailing it.
The suspected bomber reportedly drove into the premises a few minutes after the IG’s four vehicle convoy entered and attempted to park close to it near the entrance of the building. According to a witness policemen, who observed the driver’s suspicious moves directed a traffic warden to escort him to the car park and search the car. The traffic warden joined the strange man in the car and as they got to the parking area, the bomb went off, causing a huge fire that wrecked 77 vehicles in the park.
Ringim was yet to enter his office located on the sixth floor of the building when the blast went off, causing panic among police personnel, visitors and contractors in the premises.
Chunk of human flesh were splattered all over the scene of the explosions and on vehicles at the car park. The impact of the blast was so massive that it shook the building, shattering its glass windows.
Policemen abandoned their duty post and fled to safety just as a truck colum of smokes billowed from burning cars. Firemen were swiftly deployed in the complex to put out the blaze.
Chronicle of Boko Haram menace
26 July 2009 – First clash with security agencies in Bauchi State after an all-night attack on Dutsen-Tanshi Police. 39 members, two policemen, one soldier killed.
27 July 2009 – First attack in Yobe State during an invasion of Potiskum Divisional Headquarters, leading to the death of three policemen, one fire service officer.
29 July 2009 – Confrontation with security men at Mamudo Village, along Potiskum/Damaturu Road, Yobe. 33 Boko Haram members killed.
29 July 2009 – An all-night battle with combined security operatives at Railway Terminus, Maiduguri, Borno State. Scores killed and operational base destroyed.
8 Sept 2010 – Set ablaze Bauchi central prison and fired members of the sect who were jailed there.
28 January 2011 – Killed governorship candidate of the Borno State chapter of the All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP), Alhaji Modu Fannami Gubio and six others at Lawan Bukar ward, Maiduguri.
2 March 2011 – Killed two policemen attached to the residence of a Divisional Police Officer (DPO), Mustapha Sandamu at Rigasa area of Kaduna State.
30 March 2011 – Bomb explosion in Damaturu injuring a policeman.
2 April 201 – Bombed Dutsen-Tanshi police station, injured two policemen.
4 May 2011 – Shot dead a prison warder at Maiduguri Prison on Kashim Ibrahim Way
5 May 2011 – Shot Duty Officer at Maiduguri Government House, Umaru Shehu, at his Abuja Talakawa residence of Maisandami ward killing a 13-year-old boy and injured another.
9 May 2011 – Killed two Islamic clerics, Sheikh Goni Tijani and Mallam Alhaji Abur at their residences in Mairi and Bulabulum wards of Maiduguri.
9 May 2011 – Killed Bauchi State Chairman of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Ibrahim Dudu Gobe and injured his son, Mohammed.
13 May 2011 – Two people killed by bomb explosion at London Chinki, Maiduguri.
15 May 2011 – Planted bomb at Lagos street, Maiduguri which injured two soldiers, three policemen. A policeman was also shot dead same day in the city.
29 May 2011 – Bombed Bauchi military barrack, killing 14.
31 May 2011 – Shot dead Shehu of Borno’s brother, Alhaji Abba Anas Garba El-Kanemi.
1 June 2011 – Five people killed during attack on police stations in Maiduguri.
12 June 2011 – Four persons killed at a drinking joint in Bulumkutu, Maiduguri.
16 June 2011 – Four children killed in a bomb explosioin at Damboa town, Maiduguri.
16 June 2011 – Bombed Force Headquarters, killing two people.
Timeline of bomb explosions
· October 19, 1986 – A parcel bomb kills Dele Giwa, the founding Editor-in-Chief of Newswatch Magazine in Lagos.
· March 31, 1995 – A bomb explosion occurs during the launch of Maryam Abacha’s Family Support Programme.
· January 18, 1996 – A bomb blast at Darbur Hotel, Kaduna claims the life of a correspondent of The News, Bagauda Kaliho.
· April 25, 1996 – Explosion occurs at Air Force Base, Ikeja, Lagos.
· January 20, 1996 – A bomb explosion at Aminu Kano International Airport.
· November 14 1996 – A bomb explosion near the Murtala International Airport, kills the chief security officer of the airport, Olushola Omoshola and a man named Nelson Gbolahor Kasim.
· December 16, 1996 – Bomb blast rocks Colonel Buba Marwa’s convoy in Lagos.
· December 18, 1996 – A bus belonging to Lagos State Task Force on Environmental Sanitation was hit by a bomb explosion
· April 22, 1997 – A bomb blast in Evans Square, Lagos claims three lives and injures several.
· December 13, 1997 – Lt Gen Oladipo Diya escapes death at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.
· May 12, 1997 – A bomb explosion occurs in front of the Federal Min of Works and Housing at Eleyele Road, near Jericho Hospital, Ibadan
· January 20, 2002 – An explosion at the Ikeja Military Cantonment after an accidental detonation of explosives leaves over 600 dead.
· May 28, 2005 – A bomb blast occurs at the residence of the Ikono Head of Council of the area, in Ikono Akwa Ibom State.
· November 25, 2006 – An explosion destroys parts of PDP secretariat in Bayelsa State.
· November 28, 2006 – A car bomb explosion kills one Godwin Aigbekhai in Owan East Local Council, Edo State.
· December 5, 2006 – Dynamites explode at the then Governor Goodluck Jonathan’s campaign office in Bayelsa State.
· December 11, 2006 – Thugs attack Ndudi Elumelu’s campaign office in Aniocha/Oshimili Federal Constituency, Delta, with dynamites in Delta State.
· December 23, 2006 – MEND claims responsibility for a car bomb that exploded outside the offices of Nigeria’s Rivers State government in Port Harcourt
· March 18, 2009 – A student of a Government Secondary School in Nasarawa State is blown to pieces by a bomb on a farm in the Ikeja Military Cantonment.
· July 12, 2009 – MEND attacks Atlas Cove, an oil facility in Lagos with dynamite and guns, killing 5.
· December 22, 2009 – A letter bomb purportedly targeted against Superscreen Television explodes midway to the station ‘s office.
· April 11, 2010 – A military grenade explosion at Dandin Kowa area of Jos, chops off the hands of Abdulsamad Mohammed (18) leaving him with multiple bruises.
· March 16, 2010 – Two bombs detonated at the post-amnesty dialogue organized by Vanguard newspapers in Warri, Delta State, killing one person.
· May 2, 2010 – A car explodes in he Yenagoe, Bayelsa, close to a guesthouse owned by the deputy state governor Peremobowei Ebebi.
· May 3, 2010 – An explosive device is detonated at a mechanic’s workshop along Melford Okilo Road, Bayelsa.
· October 1, 2010 – A twin car bomb explodes close to the Eagle square Abuja, killing 12, injuring 36.
· December 27, 2010 – A bomb explodes in Barkin Ladi, a town on the outskirts of Jos, Plateau State.
· December 24, 2010 – Three bombs explode in the central Nigerian city of Jos, kills 30
· December 31, 2010 – Explosion at Mogadishu Mammy Market, Abuja, claim four lives.
· April 7, 2011 – An explosion hits a polling booth at Unguwar Doki, Maiduguri, Borno State injuring more than ten people.
· April 8, 2011 – Bomb explosion at the Independent Electoral Commission office in Suleja, kills 11
· April 15, 2011 – Youths riding on a motorcycle, throw a locally made bomb into the premises of the Maiduguri council office of the INEC.
· April 21, 2011 – Two suspected bomb makers die in a blast in Kaduna.
· June 11, 2011 – A bomb blast is averted during at the United Methodist Church opposite the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital, Bauchi during a church service.
· April 25, 2011 – Three bomb blasts rip through Tudu Palace Hotel and Kano Motor Park in Maiduguri, Borno State.
· April 27, 2011 – A bomb blast is averted at on INEC collation centre in Oron, Akwa Ibom State several hours before the commencement of voting in the state.
· May 28, 2011 – 13 people die and 40 are injured after a blast occurred at the mammy market of Shandawanka Barracks in Bauchi, the Bauchi State capital.
· May 29, 2011 – Eight victims lose their legs after an explosion occurred at Zuba, a suburb of Kubwa in Abuja.
· June 16, 2011 – A massive explosion at the National Police Headquarters building in Abuja.
Ways out of Boko Haram
1) Almajiri reform and enhanced
2) Effective poverty alleviation policies and enforcement by the government.
3) Isolate and address grievances of all interest groups as fair as possible.
4) Government regulation of preaching in religious gathering
5) Effective job provision and sustainability by the government
6) Enhanced criminal intelligence by the security agencies
7) Cooperation and intelligence sharing by the different intelligence agencies.
8) Effective implementation of police reform policies reducing the high turn over of the inspector general of police and establishing a legal procedure to elongate or fix a tenure of say five years for them.
9) Enhance border petrol and regulations of the influx of immigrants or aliens.
10) Put in place good policies to promote effective and efficient leadership, good governance transparency and a mechanism to check, prevent and totally eliminate corruption.
11) Put in place effective mechanism for conflict mediation and resolution and also an alternative dispute resolution.
12) Enhance the citizen security agencies relationship towards maintenance of Internal Security and stability.
