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Nigeria mosque bombers kill 22

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Two suspected female attackers blow themselves up inside and outside a busy mosque in northeastern Maiduguri city.

People walk in front of a mosque after a bomb attack in Maiduguri in 2012 [File: Olatunji Omirin/Reuters]

People walk in front of a mosque after a bomb attack in Maiduguri in 2012 [File: Olatunji Omirin/Reuters]

by Al Jazeera

Two female bombers killed at least 22 worshippers in an attack on a mosque on Wednesday, Nigerian rescue officials say.

The attack took place on the outskirts of the northeastern city of Maiduguri – the birthplace of the Boko Haram armed group.

Abdul Mohammed of the State Emergency Management Agency told The Associated Press news agency that another 17 people were wounded in the explosions early Wednesday.

Coordinator Abba Aji of the civilian self-defence Vigilante Group said one bomber blew up inside the mosque and the second outside as survivors tried to flee.

Aji said the mosque is in Umarari on the outskirts of the city that is now the command centre of the Nigerian military’s war against Boko Haram.

While there was no immediate claim of responsibility, blame will likely fall on the insurgents.

Boko Haram has increasingly used suicide and bomb attacks as Nigeria’s military pushes the group out of territories they once controlled. Several bombers have exploded themselves in recent months at roadblocks into the city manned by the military and vigilantes.

The US military calls Boko Haram the most violent armed group in the world.

Some 20,000 people have been killed and about 2.3 million displaced since it started its violent campaign in 2009.

Children have been particularly targeted by Boko Haram and have often been the victims of sexual abuse, forced marriage, and abductions.

Suicide blasts strike two mosques in northeast Nigeria

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At least 55 killed and more wounded after explosions hit mosques in state capitals of Adamawa and Borno.

Radio stations called for blood donations to help the victims of the blasts [AP]

Radio stations called for blood donations to help the victims of the blasts [AP]

by Al Jazeera

At least 55 people have died and almost 100 were wounded after suicide bombings that struck two mosques in different cities in northeast Nigeria, officials said.

A massive blast in Yola, the capital of Adamawa state, killed 27 people and wounded about 96 others during a Friday afternoon prayer that included officials helping to inaugurate a new mosque, said Saad Bello of the National Emergency Management Agency.

Earlier on Friday in the city of Maiduguri – the capital of Borno state and birthplace of the armed group Boko Haram, another suicide bomber killed 28 people in an explosion at a mosque.

Radio stations broadcast urgent appeals for blood donations for the victims. “We call on individuals to come and donate blood to save all lives,” Bello said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for either attack, but they appeared to bear the hallmarks of Boko Haram.

The group has in recent months resorted to increasingly attacking “soft targets” since the Nigerian army, backed by other African nations, seized large parts of the group’s stronghold in the country’s northeast.

Suicide bombers launch deadly attack on Nigerian mosque

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At least 30 killed after bombers struck while people were praying, with witnesses saying the toll could be much higher.

Security forces have been attempting to drive Boko Haram from areas the group claims in Borno [AP]

Security forces have been attempting to drive Boko Haram from areas the group claims in Borno [AP]

by Al Jazeera

At least 30 people have been killed and dozens have been injured in twin suicide bomb attacks on a mosque in the Mulai area of Nigeria’s northeastern Borno state, health officials tell Al Jazeera.

Sources said the force of the blast destroyed the mosque as worshippers were praying.

One bomb exploded inside the mosque, while another exploded outside, sources said.

“Sucide bombers targeted large crowds to cause maximum damage,” Al Jazeera’s Ahmed Idris, reporting from Maiduguri, said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, but among the suspects will be the Boko Haram armed group, which has launched a large number of suicide attacks in region over the past few months.

On Wednesday, three blasts in Borno’s capital Maiduguri killed at least five civilians and three suspected suicide bombers after the attackers were challenged by locals.

On October 1, at least 10 people were killed and 39 injured when four suicide bombers blew themselves up in a wave of attacks in Ajilari Cross, which is near Maiduguri airport and a military base.

On September 20, at least 117 were killed in the city when attackers hit a mosque and killed football fans watching a televised match, as well as bystanders.

Al Jazeera’s Idris said that the Nigerian army has had some success in pushing Boko Haram from territory it had claimed in its bid to carve out an Islamic state in the country’s northeast.

But he said that security forces have been unable to prevent the group from carrying out suicide bomb attacks, which have increased in frequency.

Boko Haram kills scores praying in Nigeria mosques

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At least 140 people killed in Boko Haram attacks on three towns in country’s northeastern Borno State.

A witness said gunmen killed men and young boys in the mosques and then proceeded to burn the corpses [Reuters]

A witness said gunmen killed men and young boys in the mosques and then proceeded to burn the corpses [Reuters]

by Al Jazeera

Boko Haram gunmen have killed more than 140 people in three separate attacks on mosques and villages in Nigeria’s northeast Borno State.

A government official said that several mosques were attacked in the town of Kukawa on Wednesday night, with at least 97 men, women and children among the victims.

Two other villages were also attacked, with women and children again among the dead.

On Thursday, a suicide attacker also blew up a military checkpoint near Maiduguri, killing at least four people.

Al Jazeera’s Yvonne Ndege, reporting from Abuja, said Boko Haram had embarked on a “really bloody 72 hours in Borno State”, and the worst of the attacks had taken place in Kukawa, 180km northeast of Maiduguri, the biggest city in northeast Nigeria.

Officials said the people of Kukawa were in several mosques, praying ahead of breaking their daylong fast, when the fighters attacked.

“We are being told that Boko Haram fighters arrived in seven cars and on nine motorcycles in the town before embarking on their attack, and that over 1,000 Nigerian soldiers were in Kanwa, about 11km away but didn’t come to the rescue,” our correspondent said.

Officials in Kukawa said some fighters then broke into people’s homes, killing women and children as they prepared the evening meal.

“Some witnesses have described awful scenes,” our correspondent said.

“A witness called Kolo said they killed men and young boys in the mosques and then proceeded to burn the corpses they had killed. They then indiscriminately attacked women and children who were at home.”

News of Wednesday night’s gruesome incident only came to light on Thursday, our correspondent said.

The Kukawa attack came a day after the group attacked the village of Mussaram 35km away and killed another 48 men and boys.

On Tuesday night, Boko Haram invaded Mussaram, ordered men and women to separate and then opened fire on the men and boys, witnesses said.

“A total of 48 males died on the spot while 17 others escaped with serious injuries,” said Maidugu Bida, a local vigilante group commander.

The spate of attacks follow a directive from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group for fighters to increase attacks during Ramadan.

Boko Haram this year became ISIL’s West African franchise.

The Nigerian group, whose birthplace is Maiduguri, often defiles mosques where it believes imams espouse too moderate a form of Islam.

Report: At least 2,000 women abducted by Boko Haram

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Amnesty International says many of those captured in Nigeria since start of 2014 are forced into sexual slavery.

The abduction of 276 girls in Chibok one year ago sparked global outrage [Reuters]

The abduction of 276 girls in Chibok one year ago sparked global outrage [Reuters]

by Al Jazeera

Boko Haram have abducted at least 2,000 women and girls since the start of 2014, according to rights group Amnesty International.

A report published by the organisation on Wednesday says many of those captured have been forced into sexual slavery and trained to fight for the group.

The group based its findings on nearly 200 witness accounts, including with 28 people who escaped from the armed group, which recently had a pledge of allegiance accepted by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

“The evidence presented in this shocking report, one year after the horrific abduction of the Chibok girls, underlines the scale and depravity of Boko Haram’s methods,”  said Salil Shetty, Amnesty International’s secretary general.

The publication of the report coincides with the one-year anniversary of the mass abduction by Boko Haram of hundreds of school girls from the northeastern town of Chibok. The abduction of the 276 girls sparked global outrage, and 219 are still held by the group, the others managing to escape.

Amnesty says more that 5,500 civilians have been killed by the group, which has also forcibly conscripted men and young boys to take up arms in its war against the Nigerian government and other neighbouring countries.

“Men and women, boys and girls, Christians and Muslims, have been killed, abducted and brutalised by Boko Haram during a reign of terror which has affected millions,” Shetty said.

The group has implemented a harsh interpretation of Islamic law in the areas that it holds, and witnesses spoken to by Amnesty recount seeing the group carry out stonings and lashes.

Nigeria’s President-elect Muhammadu Buhari on Monday vowed to make every effort to free the girls abducted a year ago, but admitted it was not clear whether they would ever be found.

“We do not know if the Chibok girls can be rescued. Their whereabouts remain unknown. As much as I wish to, I cannot promise that we can find them,” he said in a statement.

Buhari wins – but the new president of Nigeria faces an enormous challenge

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by Catherine Gegout, The Conversation

Second time round for Buhari. EPA/STR

Second time round for Buhari. EPA/STR

Nigerians have chosen General Muhammadu Buhari, a former military ruler, over incumbent Goodluck Jonathan, to be their president. Following an election that saw 41 people killed in the north of the country, Goodluck conceded defeat, and congratulated Buhari on his victory.

Buhari’s military regime from 1983 to 1985 was draconian: he systematically repressed freedom of expression through the jailing of journalists, radical public intellectuals, and student protesters. He is now saying that “the global triumph of democracy has shown that another and a preferable path to change is possible”.

Nigerians decide. EPA/Tife Owolabi

Nigerians and the international community will be watching whether this time around Buhari will work for the common good in Nigeria.

Corruption and crisis

The general political and economic situation in Nigeria is problematic. Nigeria is home to a corrupt government. According to Transparency International, Nigeria is ranked 136 out of 175 states in terms of perceptions of corruption. Women are underrepresented in political affairs: until now, the House of Representatives had only one female principal officer, and only 7% of the 362 members were women. The House of Representatives committee on women has called for more participation from women in the nation’s politics. We will now see if the new government responds to this demand.

The economy is in crisis: Nigeria has an unhealthy dependence on its oil exports, which represent more than 80% of its national income. There has now been a drop in oil prices, which means that public sector jobs will have to be cut; 24% of Nigerians are unemployed. Nigeria must double its investment in infrastructure, and improve its power sector, the water and sanitation sector, its road networks, and its air transport safety.

Nigeria has to be serious about health. The World Health Organisation recommends that governments spend 15% of their budget on health, but Nigeria spends only 6% of its budget. Nigeria had 40,000 pregnancy-related deaths a year account for approximately 14 percent of the world’s total in 2012.

Northern exposure

The situation in northern Nigeria is critical. Since 2014, more than 6,000 civilians have been killed by Boko Haram. Around one million Nigerians have been forcibly displaced within the country, and 200,000 have fled to Cameroon, Niger or Chad. Colonel Joseph Nouma of the Maroua Defence Regiment in the Nigerian army told the IRIN news service:

When you go to border villages, all you see are women and children and old people. Young [men], between the ages of ten and 45 are no longer there. They are across the [Nigerian] border with Boko Haram militants.

In the north, regional actors have been more active than the Nigerian government in fighting Boko Haram. With the approval of the African Union, Nigeria and its neighbours – Chad, Niger, Cameroon and Benin – have deployed a 8,700-strong Multi-National Joint Task Force (MNJTF) to fight around 4,000-6,000Boko Haram Islamist militants.

Presidents from the Economic Community of Central African States (ECOWAS) pledged in early 2015 to create a US$87m emergency fund for military, medical, and logistical support for the MNJTF. Nigeria’s current president expects Boko Haram to be defeated within a month. However, even with the presence of regional allies, Boko Haram is likely to go into hiding and conduct a guerrilla campaign.

Past policy vacuum

The way the government has addressed violence in the north has been abysmal: very few measures have been taken. Muslim clerics identified lack of good governance as the primary reason Boko Haram succeeded in recruiting members. According to a US official, “they warned that similar crises would occur if the government failed to address social problems”.

In terms of social measures, when Boko Haram started fighting in 2009, a “societal reorientation programme” was created in the north. However, according to one US official, this programme only made it possible for Boko Haram to “recruit more members”, as it had no impact on the population’s well-being.

Military action against Boko Haram has been deplorable, probably because Boko Haram had clear connections to the government. The Nigerian army committed serious human rights violations in its response to Boko Haram. Hundreds of civilians and suspected Boko Haram members have been killed, and detainees have died in military custody.

In 2015, President Jonathan’s national security adviser, Sambo Dasuki, only mentioned the creation of a single social policy – in Kuje prison in the capital Abuja which aims at deradicalising former insurgents. The new government will have to develop social policies to reduce inequalities in order to prevent further violence.

What the new government has to do

The economic involvement of the Nigerian government is inadequate. Only half of the investment projects in the north were completed in 2014.

In 2015, the government created a US$133m emergency fund for the north in order to finance 94 different projects such as road construction, railways, energy and agriculture, but the precise use of this fund remains to be seen.

The new president will have to address three long-standing and critical issues in the north: economic development, education and health. Economic development is needed to counter Boko Haram, which is paying men around US$700-a-month to join its ranks.

The economy

The new government must tackle the difficult issue of unemployment which, among all age groups, is at least 75%. Many young people, especially recent graduates, say it is impossible to find decent work. For the few who do have a job, the minimum wage is US$70 a month. The new government will also have to address the lack of economic resources and food in the north.

GDP Index (per capita). UNDP (2009) Human Development Report Nigeria 2008-2009

The map above of GDP per capita, and below for malnutrition, show the important north-south economic divide.

Severe acute malnutrition: 2015 burden and prevalence in the Sahel. OCHA 2015 Humanitarian Needs Report

Education

The new Nigerian government will have to prioritise education. When Boko Haram started attacking civilians in 2009, it was known to oppose “western education models”. However, young men fighting for Boko Haram could not have had much knowledge of education. In 2011 in northern Nigeria, half of the men had no education at all, only 7% completed primary education, and only 6% completed secondary education. Education in the north should therefore be a priority for whoever has power next. This is important not only for men, but it is also essential for women: in 2011, 65% of women had no education, 6% completed primary education, and 3% completed secondary education.

Health

The new president will be held accountable for improving health in the north, as clinics are under-staffed, and women are ten timesmore likely to die in childbirth than in the south.

With these conditions Boko Haram filled a vacuum. The militants will now be much harder to remove but ultimately, the next government can take steps to start tackling the problems that allowed them to gain a foothold.

Catherine Gegout is a Lecturer in International Relations at University of Nottingham.

The Conversation

Nigerian Army destroys Boko Haram headquarters

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The Nigerian town of Gwoza, home of Boko Haram's command center, has been recaptured, the military reported Friday. (Screenshot: Twitter)

The Nigerian town of Gwoza, home of Boko Haram’s command center, has been recaptured, the military reported Friday. (Screenshot: Twitter)

by Ed Adamczyk, UPI

The Nigerian town of Gwoza, home of Boko Haram’s command center, has been recaptured, the Nigerian military reported Friday.

A Twitter announcement by the Defense Headquarters said, “FLASH: Troops this morning captured Gwoza destroying the headquarters of the terrorists self-styled caliphate,” a reference to the militant organization’s expressed goal of establishing a Muslim government in western Africa.

In a later statement, military spokesman Chris Olukolade said, “These successful operations have culminated in the dislodgment of terrorists from towns and communities in Adamawa, Yobe and Borno states. A massive cordon and search has commenced to locate any of the fleeing terrorists or hostages in their custody.”

Gwoza is near Chibok, where over 200 girls at a boarding school were kidnapped by Boko Haram forces in 2014, initiating an international outrage. Despite suggestions the abducted girls were hidden in Gwoza, the Nigerian military made no reference to them in its statements.

Earlier this month, Boko Haram announced its allegiance to the Islamic State (Daesh). The capture of their operations center can be regarded as a major triumph for the Nigerian army, which has worked since the start of 2015 with armies of neighboring countries to push back Boko Haram advances.

Boko Haram declares allegiance to Islamic State

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Video purportedly by leader of Nigeria group posted after female Islamists suicide bombers kill at least 50 in coordinated attacks in Maiduguri

The main gate to the Monday Market, Maiduguri, where a suicide bomb attack took place on Saturday. Photograph: Tunji Omirin/AFP/Getty Images

The main gate to the Monday Market, Maiduguri, where a suicide bomb attack took place on Saturday. Photograph: Tunji Omirin/AFP/Getty Images

by Daniel Boffey, The Guardian

Nigeria’s militant Islamist group Boko Haram has sworn allegiance to Islamic State, which rules a self-declared caliphate in parts of Iraq and Syria, according to a video posted online. The pledge came in an Arabic audio message with English subtitles alleged to have come from Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau and posted Saturday on Twitter, according to the SITE Intelligence monitoring service.

“We announce our allegiance to the Caliph of the Muslims … and will hear and obey in times of difficulty and prosperity, in hardship and ease, and to endure being discriminated against, and not to dispute about rule with those in power, except in case of evident infidelity regarding that which there is a proof from Allah,” said the message.

The video script identified the caliph as Ibrahim ibn Awad ibn Ibrahim al-Awad al-Qurashi, who is better known as Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of Islamic State and self-proclaimed caliph of the Muslim world. Baghdadi has already accepted pledges of allegiance from other jihadist groups in the Middle East, Afghanistan, Pakistan and north Africa.

Boko Haram has been waging a six-year military campaign to carve out an Islamic state in northern Nigeria.

Earlier on Saturday, four bomb blasts killed at least 50 people in the northeastern Nigerian city of Maiduguri in the worst attacks there since Boko Haram militants tried to seize the town in two major assaults earlier this year. Female suicide bombers believed to be acting for the group launched a series of attacks in markets, while another detonation was reported at a bus station.

In a fifth incident, a car bomb exploded at a military checkpoint 75km outside the city, wounding a soldier and two members of a civilian defence unit. The attacker in this incident had wanted to reach Maiduguri, a police officer at the scene said. In total, it is believed 58 people have been killed in the incidents and 143 wounded, but both figures were expected to rise.

Maiduguri was once the base of the Islamist group, which has been conducting a campaign of violence pushing for Islamic rule in Nigeria. At least 13,000 people have so far been killed in the campaign. After being pushed from the city last year, the militants retreated to the nearby Sambisa forest, from where they launched attacks on villages and towns in the region, taking over swaths of territory.

Last month experts warned Boko Haram was likely to increase its attacks on civilian targets in response to the successful campaign by government forces to retake several of the group’s former strongholds.

The first attack on Saturday occurred at the city’s Baga fish market at around 11.20am, according to Abubakar Gamandi, head of the fisherman’s union in Borno state. “A female suicide bomber exploded as soon as she stepped out of a motorised rickshaw,” said Gamandi, who was at the scene. “Eighteen people were killed.” A market trader, Idi Idrisa, said: “I saw many bodies and several badly injured”.

About an hour later a second explosion rocked the Post Office shopping area near the market, leaving many casualties. A further series of bombs then rocked what is known locally as the Monday market, the biggest in Maiduguri, killing at least 15.

A trader there told the BBC that two other female bombers seemed to have targeted the market. One had a bomb strapped to her body that detonated as she was being scanned at the entrance gate, he said. Another woman was said to have exploded a bomb she was carrying in a bag a few feet away.

A fourth bombing came shortly after 1pm at the nearby busy Borno Express bus terminal, where witnesses said about 12 people were left either dead or injured. A survivor of the first blast said it occurred when a boy aged about 16 moved into a crowd by the gates holding what looked like a remote control. Security officials were about to stop the teenager when there was a blast. The witness said he was blown over by the impact and when he came to he saw at least six bodies.

A vigilante leader in Borno, Danlami Ajaokuta, whose civilian fighters have been working with the military in the region to fight Boko Haram, said security forces had ordered the closure of all businesses in the city given the apparently coordinated nature of the bombings and the fear there could be more. The state’s justice commissioner, Kaka Shehu, confirmed the attacks but declined to discuss casualties.

Last week, President Goodluck Jonathan said the tide has “definitely turned” against militant Islamists as Nigerian troops and their regional allies recapture territory.

Boko Haram has recently launched attacks on villages in Cameroon and Niger, as Nigeria’s neighbours are forming a multinational force to confront the spreading Islamist uprising.

Chad’s President Idris Déby last week said his forces knew the whereabouts of Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau and warned him to surrender or face death. Shekau’s fighters are massing at a headquarters in the northeastern town of Gwoza, in apparent preparation for a showdown with multinational forces, according to witnesses who escaped the town. An intelligence officer told Associated Press that they were aware of the movement, but that the military is acting with care as many civilians are still trapped in the town and Boko Haram is laying land mines around it.

Nigeria’s presidential and parliamentary elections have now been postponed by six week to 28 March to give troops time to push back the militants. Shekau has vowed to disrupt the vote and widespread unrest, especially near polling stations, could prove disastrous. Hundreds of thousands of people displaced by the conflict are living in Maiduguri, swelling the city’s population to well over two million.

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