Five Fatalities Reported In New Violence By Boko Haram

  Nigerian Police Force

A new outbreak of violence in the troubled region of Maiduguri claimed three lives over the weekend. Three security personnel are said to have died at the hands of militants of Boko Haram in Budum. The group also claimed reponsibility for the murder of two soldiers enforcing order in the troubled city in Gwange ward.
In another development, a bomb explosion placed near a police checkpoint in the city caused two fatalities. Authorities said the device was planted beside the road.


The carnage comes on the heels of complaints of extortion of the local community by area police. In interviews with SaharaReporters, residents said Nigerian police and soldiers - in particular the notorious mobile unit of the Nigerian police force commonly refered to as the "Kill and Go", were demanding money, firing their weapons recklessly and creating a sense of siege in the neighborhoods..

According to the residents, innocent young men are randomly arrested after they are accused of belonging to Boko Haram. Some are tortured until their parents can provide bribe monies of up to N150,000 to get them released.
Boko Haram, a group which opposes Western education and wants to see Islamic law imposed across Nigeria, recently declared in a published statement: "We will never accept any system of governance apart from the one described by Islam because that is the only way Muslims can be liberated."
"We do not respect the Nigerian government because it is illegal. We will continue to fight its military and police because they are not protecting Islam."
Boko Haram Islamic militants in Maiduguri continue to kill and maim government officials, Islamic leaders and traditional elders around the palace of the Shehu of Borno in a campaign of terror which has left the Nigerian security agencies in the state helpless.


 

By Saharareporters, New York