Borno: Boko Haram vows more attacks, governor-elect proposes amnesty

Sunday, 01 May 2011 00:00 Hamza Idris & Yahaya Ibrahim, Maiduguri

Suspects of Boko Haram sect in police custody

A new governor has emerged in Borno State in the person of Alhaji Kashim Shettima. Wittingly, his coming on board coincided with a climax of uprising, occasioned by insecurity which has defied several security measures. In the build up to the governorship election, series of attacks were launched in Maiduguri and other parts of the state, but about a month ago, a new dimension was added to the violence which has rocked the once peaceful city.

Though people have been killed in many circumstances, including gunshots, the introduction of bombs into the series of the onslaught have elicited many questions.

The first bomb explosion was at a pharmaceutical shop in London Ciki area of the city. The owner of the shop, Ustaz Muhammed Mustapha, who was believed to be the target, escaped death by the whiskers when he left the shop along with his shop attendants before the bomb exploded and razed more than 70 percent of the shop.

Mustapha, a drug merchant, is said to be vast in Islamic studies and has a mosque at Gwozari, another area of London Ciki where he preaches and leads prayers. An unidentified man was said to have entered Mustapha’s medicine store and pretended he wanted to buy drugs before he dropped a polythene bag which later exploded.

This was followed by another explosion on the April, 9, 2011 during the National Assembly elections at a polling unit in Unguwar Doki area of the metropolis.

A police woman and nine other including corps members and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) officials sustained serious injuries from the bomb blast. While residents were yet to recover from the morning explosion, another bomb exploded at night at INEC collation centre in another part of the metropolis killing one youth service corps member and injuring others.

On April 20, another explosion killed a police inspector, Luckday Amadi and injured other policemen around London Ciki area of Maiduguri.

The police inspector and two of his colleagues were said to be coming back from the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH) where they took the remains of two people who were earlier shot by suspected gunmen when the vehicle they were moving in matched the explosive which was planted by the roadside.

And on the eve of the recent gubernatorial election, three bombs exploded in Maiduguri at night, two at  Tudu Palace hotel in Madiganari area in the city centre killing three people including a police inspector and injured 14 others including children.  The second bomb was tossed at one of the entrance of the popular ‘Tashar Kano’ but did not kill anyone.

Less than twelve hours after the attack at the drinking joint, two men who rode on a motorcycle reportedly threw a bomb into a police van at Kasuwar Shanu area. Though no one was killed, a policeman was injured and the vehicle got damaged.

On the day of the governorship and state House of Assembly elections, Maiduguri witnessed three separate bomb blasts, a development which negatively affected the turnout of prospective voters.

Borno State police commissioner, Mr Mike Zuokumor, confirmed that the first bomb was planted under a refuse dump by the roadside at ‘Dogo Mai Lamba’ in London Ciki area of Maiduguri.

It exploded when a commercial bus driver drove over it with his vehicle.  Another bomb which was buried by the roadside was discovered at Damboa road by some children who alerted a passerby. The man summoned courage, picked the bomb and threw it into a nearby cemetery.

The third bomb which detonated at Baga road hit a street light and damaged some electrical poles.

Though the police commissioner said that seven youths have been arrested by the operatives of the State Security Service (SSS) while trying to plant other bombs on the day of the gubernatorial election, their identity is not yet known.

Many theories abound as to the people who are responsible for the unabated blasts.  While some believe it is being carried out by members of the Boko Haram, others say it has a political undertone.

The state governor, Ali Modu Sheriff had about two month said some politicians were hiding under the Boko Haram to perpetrate evil. “The security threats are handiwork of detractors and not Boko Haram,” he said.

Others believe that the Boko Haram sect will cease fire if the ANPP government under Sheriff is voted out of power in the state but this argument was knocked out by a recent letter sent to newsmen by members of the sect.

In the letter, the group said insecurity and threats will continue in the country until the current democratic system is abolished. They also demand that the Nigerian constitution be replaced with Shari’a law.

In the three page letter which was written in Arabic and Hausa, the group said it will neither accept amnesty nor enter into any negotiations with the government.

“We are calling on Muslims all over the world, especially those in Nigeria, to understand that we need fairness from everybody because God has commanded us in the Holy Quran to be just in our dealings.

“We want to reiterate that we are warriors who are carrying out a Jihad (religious war) in Nigeria and our struggle is based on the traditions of the holy prophet.

“We will never accept any system of government apart from the one stipulated by Islam because that is the only way that Muslims can be liberated. We do not believe in any system of government, be it traditional or orthodox except the Islamic system and that is why we will keep on fighting against democracy, capitalism, socialism and whatever.

“We will not allow the Nigerian constitution to replace the laws that have been enshrined in the Holy Qur’an; we will not allow adulterated conventional education (Boko) to replace Islamic teachings. We will not respect the Nigerian government because it is illegal.

“We will continue to fight its military and the police because they are not protecting Islam. We do not believe in the Nigerian judicial system and we will fight anyone who assists the government in perpetrating illegalities,” the group said.

In the letter, the sect also made it clear that they were not sorry for all the people who have been killed.

“We are not sorry for all the people we are killing, including ward heads, politicians, police and the army because they are associating with the government by arresting Muslim brothers and sabotaging Islam.

“We want to make it clear that we are fighting, not just because our mosques and centres of learning were destroyed in Maiduguri, or because we were chased out of our houses. The reason we are at war is because our freedom has been curtailed.  For time immemorial, we have been advocating freedom of worship and assembly and the need for everyone to believe in Allah. We have been preaching that people should jettison modern democracy and embrace Islam as their religion,” the group added.

They lamented that while they were carrying out their religious obligations in 2009, they were provoked by the government, which according to them connived with some Imams and ward heads and attacked their members in many states.

But the governor elect, Alhaji Kashim Shettima, said political problems cannot be solved by military might.

“To my mind, the Boko Haram issue requires political solution which entails inviting the members to a round table for dialogue,” he said.

“We are going into dialogue with the members of the Yusufiyya movement. We would also look at the possibility of seeking amnesty for them so that they can get integrated into the larger society,” the new governor said.

“The dialogue with the sect members cannot be achieved without the full cooperation and understating of many people, including traditional and religious leaders, politicians and the general public.

“We want to see a day when there will be no need to have the Operation Flush (joint police and military patrol teams) on our highways. We want all the security outposts constructed in all parts of the state capital to be converted into other viable ventures,” Shettima said.

He said without peace and security of lives and property, no meaningful development can take place. “The Boko Haram people are human beings who deserve fair hearing. They are our brothers and I believe with dialogue, we will be able to arrive at a common ground because late President Yar’adua was able to achieve this in the Niger Delta amicably. I am sure we can also resolve our problem amicably,” he added.

Shettima said the amnesty programme will enable the sect members to return home and live with their families.

But some observers are of the opinion that extending amnesty may be the bargain of the incoming government which to a greater extent, did not include accepting or rejecting the clamour of the sect members for a comprehensive Shari’a state without external political tendencies.

It is now left to be seen how the new governor will handle the issue when he finally takes over power from the outgoing governor, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff.