FON news Spring '13.pdf - Friends of Nigeria

Nigeria Newsment personnel, and religious leaders.The commander in charge of North andCentral Bornu, Sheikh Abu MohammadAbdulazeez Ibn Idris, said that afterconsultation with the leader of the sect,Sheikh Abubakar Shekau, as well as interventionand pleading from respectfulindividuals and groups in the state, theycame to terms and agreed to lay downtheir arms. He also said that Muslimwomen and children had suffered untoldhardship during the past years. However,among other demands, he insisted thatthe government should immediatelyrelease all their members from custodyunconditionally, rebuild their placesof worship, and compensate them. Anofficial of the government respondedthat the government would criticallystudy the group’s cease fire terms beforeresponding.Since January 28, however, there havebeen several kidnapping attempts, an attemptedsuicide bombing in Maiduguri,and the killing of polio immunizationworkers in Kano. Moreover, on February20, leaflets linked to Shekau were distributedin Maiduguri, disassociating himfrom the ceasefire declaration and vowingto continue deadly attacks. (Sources:IRIN [Kano], 2/22/13; Vanguard [Maiduguri],1/28/13; [Lagos], 2/29/13).Nigerian Military Attacks TrainingCamps in Borno StateNigeria’s military said it killed 17insurgents in attacks on two trainingcamps belonging to Boko Haram. Themilitary was backed up by helicoptergunships as they moved in on the campsin Ruwa forest and the Sambisa GameReserve in Borno State. The camps werefortified and had training facilities, anarmory, living accommodations, a drugstore, kitchen, and a vehicle holding area.(Source: BBC News, 2/1/13).Boko Haram Training CampsFound in MaliHundreds of Boko Haram membersstayed at training camps for monthsin Timbuktu, learning to repair Kalashnikovsand launch shoulder-firedweapons, according to a new report.More than 200 Nigerians went to Timbuktuin April 2012 for training at a nowbombed-out customs-police building, interminglingwith the al Qaeda offshoot,Ansar Dine. They fled into the desertalong with other militants, days before aFrench air strike on January 20.A senior security chief allegedly statedthat Nigerian troops are now going toMali primarily to uproot the Boko Haramtraining facilities. However, NigerianChief of Army Staff Lt-General AzubuikeIhejirika stated that it is imperative forNigerian troops to join the internationalcampaign to free northern Malifrom militants. Nigeria is a leader of theECOWAS force in Mali. (Source: DailyTrust, 2/6/13).Gunmen Attempt Assassinationof Emir of KanoEight gunmen ran toward the convoy,shooting, as the Emir of Kano wasreturning to his palace after attendinga Qur’anic graduation ceremony andcommissioning an Islamiyya school onJanuary 19. The Emir survived, but hisdriver and three bodyguards were killed,apparently shielding him from the gunmen.A total of six persons were killed,while the emir’s two sons and about 16others sustained injuries.For many, it was unthinkable thatgunmen would attack the most importantMuslim leader in the country,after the Sultan of Sokoto. The emir’ssenior counsel, Abbas Sanusi, says thatthey have no idea who might have beenresponsible for the attack, although manyanalysts suggest that this was the work ofBoko Haram and are not surprised at theassassination attempt. A former militarygovernor in north-western Nigeria, UsmanFarouk, suggested that the masseshave determined that the emirs andchiefs are now stooges of the politicalclass and believe that this must stop. Hesaid that the budgets of these rulers arelargely paid by politicians, causing thosetraditional and religious leaders to becaught up in politics and to lose theirindependence. However, Sanusi said thathe does not believe that the attack happenedbecause of religion or politics. Hesaid that the emir is 83 years old and hasbeen on the throne for 50 years, and hasnot been involved in politics.The emir and his injured childrenwere flown to Britain a day after theincident aboard a chartered aircraft formedical attention. The emir was treatedfor trauma and is said to have recoveredcompletely. While there, the Archbishopof Canterbury visited him to bring hiscondolences and condemn the attack.The emir and his sons returned to Nigeriaon February 27 aboard a Nigeria AirForce plane.During the first week of February,security forces attached to the Joint TaskForce outfit operating in Kano Statearrested a retired police corporal as oneof the suspected masterminds of theattackers, who is also suspected of commandingseveral other attacks in Kano.He provided information that led to thearrest of two other suspects, includinga university undergraduate. (Sources:BBC News [Kano], 2/7/13; Daily Trust,2/11/13, 2/27/13, 2/28/13).States Ban Motorbike TaxisThe attempted assassination of theEmir of Kano has had drastic consequencesfor thousands of young menwho face losing their means of earninga living. Because the gunmen werereported to have fled on the back of motorbikes,Kano state has banned their useas taxis, known as “achaba”. The chairof the Kano branch of the AmalgamatedCommercial Motorcycle Owners andRiders Association of Nigeria (ACO-MORAN) said that no members of theassociation had given rides to gunmencarrying out attacks, and that banningthe taxis would only lead to other formsof criminality as a result of the loss ofjobs. The ban has cost “achaba” drivers$9 million a day, according to the Chairmanof the Kano ACOMORAN, as eachof the 1.5 million “achaba” drivers usedto earn an average of $12 a day. Borno,Yobe, Adamawa, Gombe, Plateau, Lagos,and Rivers States have imposed similarbans.Kano Governor Musa RabiuKwankwaso insisted that the govern-16 FON Newsletter Spring 2013