Tag Archives: Nigeria

Many Killed In Bombings in Northeastern Nigeria

Reports emerged Friday that many people have been killed in three explosions that occurred during Friday prayers at one of the largest mosques in the Nigerian city of Kano. The attacks come a week after one of Nigeria’s top Islamic leaders issued a call to arms to fight Boko Haram.

According to on the ground sources, the Grand Mosque in Kano was targeted Friday by suspected Boko Haram militants. The blasts occurred as Friday prayers had got under way at about 2:00 PM (1300 GMT). According to one local, “two bombs exploded, one after the other, in the premises of the Grand Mosque seconds after the prayers had started,” adding “a third one went off in a nearby road close to the Qadiriyya Sufi order. The blasts were followed by gunshots by the police to scare off potential attacks.” Eyewitnesses have reported that at least fifty people were killed in the attack, however officials have not released any official figures. National police spokesman Emmanuel Ojukwu confirmed that an attack had occurred in Kano however he noted that he was waiting for a briefing from officers at the scene and declined to comment further.

While Boko Haram has in the past targeted the city, which is the largest in northern Nigeria, several times during its five-year insurgency, most of its attacks have occurred in the eastern areas of the city.

The Grand Mosque is attached to the palace of the Emir of Kano, Nigeria’s second most senior Muslim cleric. The Grand Mosque is also where the influential Muslim leader usually leads prayers. The Emir, Muhammed Sanusi II, is currently in Saudi Arabia. Sources have reported that he arrived in Saudi Arabia late on Thursday night from Paris. Some have indicated that Friday’s attack on the Grand Mosque may be the result of comments made by the Emir last week in which he stated that northerners should take up arms against Boko Haram. In what are rare public comments by a cleric pertaining to political and military affairs, the Emir also cast doubts on the ability of Nigeria’s army to protect civilians and to end the five-year insurgency.

Friday’s explosions come after civilian vigilantes in the northeastern city of Maiduguri revealed that they had foiled a bomb attack against a mosque just five days after two female suicide bombers killed over forty-five people in the city.   Civilian vigilantes have disclosed that they discovered a suspected remote-controlled device that was planted in the Gamboru Market area of the city. Sources have indicated that while the bomb was successfully diffused by the police bomb squad another bomb near the area exploded. There were no casualties and the area has since been cordoned off. Locals have reported that the bombs were likely planted ahead of Friday’s prayers, as there is a mosque located nearby. Many suspect Boko Haram militants to be behind this incident, which also come just days after several arrests were made. If Boko Haram confirms this incident, then it would demonstrate that it is evolving its tactics, as the use of concealed roadside bombs is not typically a method that the group has used. In the past, Boko Haram has used direct hit-and-run tactics, car bombs and suicide attacks to carry out its deadly campaign of creating an Islamic state in northeastern Nigeria.

Twin Bombings in Maiduguri

In what is the latest wave of attacks to be blamed on Boko Haram, at least forty-five people were killed Tuesday when two female suicide bombers blew themselves up in a crowded market in northeastern Nigeria. The explosions come as suspected Boko Haram militants have control of another town in northeastern Nigeria.

The explosions occurred around 11 AM (1000GMT) on One Way road in the Borno state capital Maiduguri, near the Monday Market area where at least fifteen people were killed in an attack carried out by suspected Boko Haram militants on 1 July. An official from Nigeria’s National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) confirmed “many people have been killed,” but that an official death toll has not been compiled. According to on the ground sources, the first bomber stood by a motorized rickshaw packed with goods in the busy market and took a call on her mobile phone. She later dropped the mobile phone and blew herself up. Officials currently believe that the bomb was likely concealed in the rickshaw. According to an eyewitness, “about 10 minutes later, another woman who looked about 19 and carrying what looked like a baby on her back…arrived at the scene that was crowded with rescuers and locals….She then detonated the bomb on her back.”

In recent months, northern Nigeria has increasingly been hit by a wave of suicide bomb attack carried out by women. In July, there were four such attacks that occurred within a week in Kano city. Officials believe that Boko Haram is using either willing volunteers or coercing young women and girls into carrying out suicide attacks. According to sources, three women, said to be “female recruiters” for Boko Haram were reportedly arrested in July while an alleged trainer of women bombers was detained in August in Kano with up to 16 “trainees.”

Tuesday’s attacks also came after the militants seized control of another town in Nigeria’s restive northeast. Early Monday, Boko Haram took over the town of Damasak, located less than 200 kilometres (125 miles) from Maiduguri, in the far north of Borno, near the border with neighbouring Niger. According to local sources, the militants entered the town disguised as traders, carrying boxes that were packed with AK-47 rifles. They then set fire to houses and killed an unspecified number of people.

Nigerian Parliament Rejects Extension of Emergency Rule

On Thursday, Nigerian police fired teargas inside parliament in an apparent attempt to block opposition lawmakers, including the speaker of the lower house, from entering for a key security vote. In the midst of the chaos, lower house members rejected a government request to extend emergency rule in the northeast region, which has been hit by Boko Haram attacks, and announced that the special powers had expired. The country’s main opposition indicated Thursday that it opposed prolonging the state of emergency, describing it as a complete failure that had not curbed the Islamist violence. The decision to vote against the emergency ruling came as local government officials and residents reported that Boko Haram militants were suspected of killing at least 45 people on Wednesday in an attack on the village of Azaya Kura in the Mafa area of Borno state.

Earlier in the week, the Nigerian government announced that it would seek to extend emergency rule in the restive northeastern region of the country for another six months, effectively meaning that the measures will likely be in force for February’s presidential elections. On Monday, Justice Minster Mohammed Bello Adoke confirmed that officials have “…reviewed the state of emergency declared in three states and the government will be requesting the national assembly to grant the extension,” adding that the extension request will likely be given to lawmakers on Tuesday.

In May 2013, President Goodluck Jonathan declared a state of emergency in the northeastern states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe, stating that the military temporarily needed enhanced powers in order to end Boko Haram’s uprising. Despite mounting evidence that the measures had done nothing in order to ease the crisis, lawmakers in November 2013 and May 2014 approved two extension requests. On Wednesday however Nigerian Senators demanded to hear testimony from top military brass before voting on the government’s request for a third extension of the emergency rule. Many critics have indicated that the emergency rule has been a complete failure as violence has worsened since the emergency rule was imposed in May last year. Lawmakers in the upper house have so far refused to vote on the extension, with opposition senator Kabiru Gaya from northern Kano state telling journalists “I believe that we have to wait until we hear from the service chiefs, if they are able to answer our questions then we can take the next step.” The speaker of the lower house, Aminu Tambuwal, later called on lawmakers from that body of government back from recess in order to hold an emergency vote on the extension on Thursday.

The focus of the police aggression on Thursday appears to have been aimed at lower house speaker Aminu Tambuwal, whose defection to the All Progressives Congress (APC) party last month outraged the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP). Since then, the PDP had attempted to remove Tambuwal from the speaker’s chair and has stripped him of his security detail. On the ground sources reported that police repeatedly tried to stop Tambuwal, and 40 other lawmakers, from approaching the main gate of parliament. While the group managed the pass several police barricades, officers later locked the gate that leads into the parliament complex resulting in lawmakers pushing aggressively on the bars to force their way through, with some scaling the gate. According to police spokesman Emmanuel Ojukwu, officers were initially acting on reports that “hoodlums and thugs” had planned an “invasion” of parliament, adding that Tambuwal and his allied had defied police orders, assaulted officers and were to blame for the escalation in tensions. While Senate President David Mark ordered the immediate closure of both chambers over the teargas incident, with the chambers of the National Assembly remaining closed until Tuesday, House of Representatives spokesman Zakaria Mohammed later disclosed that the chamber had held a brief session before the parliament was shut down, where they decided to reject the extension of the state of emergency. The reluctance to sign off on the extension highlights the mounting criticism of the President’s state of emergency policy, with opposition senators on Tuesday describing the strategy as “a failure.”

In recent months, the crisis in northeastern Nigeria has deepened, with Boko Haram capturing and holding several key towns in the states under the emergency rule. Boko Haram is now believed to be in control of roughly two dozen towns in the region and appears to be attempting to position itself as a rebel authority in certain areas. While President Jonathan’s critics initially applauded the state of emergency, describing it as a sign that he was finally treating the Boko Haram threat with urgency, many now state that the President has over the past 18 months failed to back up the emergency rule, ignoring calls for sufficient troops and military hardware on the ground, amidst reports that Boko Haram militants are overrunning soldiers in many areas.

Global Terror Attack Deaths Increase Sharply in 2013

According to a new report into international terrorism released this week, the number of deaths caused by terrorism increased by 61% between 2012 and 2013.

The 2014 Global Terrorism Index has revealed that in 2013, there were nearly 10,000 terrorist attacks globally, which represents a 44% increase from the previous year. Over the past year, 17958 people died from terrorist attacks, with the largest increase in deaths primarily due to the on-going civil war in Syria, which began in 2011. Of this number, 14,7222, or 80% of the total of deaths, occurred in just five countries: Afghanistan, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan and Syria. India, Somalia, the Philippines, Yemen and Thailand were the next five, accounting for between 1% and 2.3% of global deaths due to terrorism.

According to the report, which is produced by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP), 66% of all deaths from terrorist attacks in 2012 were due to four main terrorist groups: Islamic State, al-Qaeda, the Taliban and Boko Haram. Iraq was the country that was most affected by terrorism in 2013, with more than 6,000 people dying. The report notes that “not only is the intensity of terrorism increasing, its breadth is increasing as well.”

The report, which also investigates terrorism between 2000 and 2013, indicated that while Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries only experienced 5% of all deaths from terrorism since 2000, the report did note that these countries suffered some of the deadliest attacks that have been carried out over the past thirteen years. This includes the 11 September 2001 attacks in the United States; the 2004 train bombings in Madrid, Spain; the 2005 London bombings and the 2012 bombing and shooting attack that occurred in Norway. In 2013, Turkey and Mexico were the OECD countries that had the highest number of deaths from terrorism, 57 and 40 respectively.

Boko Haram Invades Three Towns in Northeastern Nigeria

In the past twenty-four hours, Boko Haram militants have invaded three towns in Nigeria’s northeastern states of Adamawa and Borno after being ousted from a key town in the area by civilian vigilantes.

Reports surfaced Friday that Boko Haram militants have seized control of the northeastern town of Chibok, which is home to more than 200 schoolgirls who were kidnapped by the insurgents in April. According to local residents, militants attacked and took control of the town on Thursday evening. Ali Ndume, a senator for Borno state, confirmed that Chibok is now under Boko Haram’s control, adding that security forces posted in the town left the area as the insurgents attacked. The capture of Chibok came hours after the militant group seized control of two other towns in neighbouring Adamawa state.

According to local residents, the Islamist fighters raided the towns of Hong and Gombi, located some 100 kilometres (62.5 miles) from the state capital Yola after they were pushed out of the commercial hub of Mubi, which they seized two weeks ago. Locals in Mubi reported Friday that many of Mubi’s residents have not yet returned to the town over fears that Boko Haram may launch further attacks in a bid to recapture the key town. Mubi, the second largest town in the northeastern Adamawa state, was the biggest town under the militants group’s control and is the first it has lost since August, when Boko Haram’s leader Abubakar Shekau declared a caliphate in the seized areas. Unconfirmed reports have suggested that vigilantes reclaimed the town of Maiha on Wednesday after a fierce battle, with scores of insurgents said to have been killed.

Despite apparently losing control of Mubi, which Boko Haram had renamed Madinatul Islam, or “City of Islam in Arabic, the invasion of Hong and Gombi effectively see’s the militant group moving closer to the state capital city, where thousands of residents have taken refuge in recent months. Local residents in Gombi have reported that since taking control of the town, Boko Haram militants have been patrolling the streets and firing heavy weaponry at random, with other locals disclosing that many are either staying indoors or have fled into the bush, adding that militants burnt down the police station, the local government secretariat and the town’s market after they overpowered the local police. In Hong, which is located 20 kilometres away, the police station was also razed, with the militants reportedly raising their black flag outside the home of a retired military general.

Boko Haram is believed to be in control of more than two dozen towns in the northeastern states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe. As part of its goal of establishing a hardline caliphate in the region, in recent months Boko Haram has opted to attack and hold towns in the region, a move that was not previously seen in the militant group’s five-year insurgency.