Boko Haram leader Abubaker Shekau is believed to have died in Cameroon, according to the Nigerian military. A senior officer said Shekau was gravely wounded in a military raid on June 30, and that a video of Shekau released on Aug. 13 was “dramatized by an imposter to hoodwink the sect members to continue with […]
Authorities claimed that Momodu Bama, Boko Haram’s operations officer under Abubaker Shekau, has been killed in Borno. Bama, who is also known as Abu Saad, was killed along with his father, Abatcha Flatari, when the military attempted to arrest them. The Interior Ministry said that the army is making progress against Boko Haram; on Aug. […]
The Nigerian military claimed to have captured over 1,000 members of Boko Haram since the government declared emergency rule three months ago in the northeastern states of Adamawa, Borno, and Yobe. The al Qaeda-linked group still has an estimated 6,000 active fighters, who have moved into other states to continue the insurgency.
A confusing recent series of claims and counterclaims by members of the group and the government do not obscure the group’s ongoing campaign of Islamist terrorism.
Seventeen Boko Haram fighters and a policemen were killed when the Islamist group attacked a police station in Bama. Fifteen more Boko Haram fighters and two soldiers were killed in a clash in Malam Fatori.
The High Court is considering the possible extradition of Lawal Olaniyi Babafemi, a Nigerian al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula operative who is wanted by the US on terrorism charges. The US-based operative, who allegedly trained with Anwar al Awlaki and Samir Khan in Yemen, fled to Nigeria after realizing the FBI sought to arrest […]
The head of police said Nigeria’s war on terror is not over as insurgents in Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa states continue to inflict harm despite the imposition of a state of emergency. Joint Nigerian and Nigerien operations resulted in the arrests of Boko Haram terrorists who had been driven out of northern Nigeria into Niger. […]
Nigeria: Kano Arms Cache – ‘Lebanese Suspects Knew About Bunker’
Suspected Boko Haram militants on motorbikes stormed a construction site in Yobe state and stole about 275 pounds of dynamite. Nigeria began pulling some of its 1,200 soldiers out of Mali to help confront the Islamist insurgency at home. Hackers infiltrated the computer system of the army headquarters in Abuja, sending out fraudulent messages.
Security forces detained 42 suspected Boko Haram fighters during raids in the states of Lagos and Ogun. Intelligence indicates that Boko Haram is moving some of its fighters to the south. Armed militias, supported by the military, continue to patrol Maiduguri in an attempt to protect neighborhoods from Boko Haram.
Security agencies issued a “red alert” after receiving credible intelligence of bombings being planned for locations inside the country near the end of Ramadan. Several bomb blasts rocked the northern city of Kano, killing at least 29 people and injuring scores more. Nigerian prosecutors added charges of money laundering and smuggling to the terror charges […]
A military spokesman said that Boko Haram gunmen killed 20 civilians and wounded a dozen others in Dawashe in Borno state after a civilian vigilante group had arrived in the village to look for insurgents. No information was given as to insurgent casualties. The vigilante leader claimed that the insurgents killed five vigilantes and 20 […]
Three suspected Boko Haram gunmen who reportedly stormed a mosque in Maiduguri with the intention of killing the imam were themselves killed by angry members of the congregation; security forces claimed Boko Haram was not involved. Local residents in southern Kaduna state killed five gunmen from a militant group who were attacking a village. Protests […]
Unidentified gunmen attacked a divisional police headquarters in Kaduna state, killing two policemen. The government is said to be planning to pull some of its 1,200 soldiers out of the UN peacekeeping force in Mali, “because of the domestic situation in Nigeria.”
A court denied bail to Mustapha Fawaz, Abdallah Thahini, and Talal Ahmad Roda, three Lebanese Hezbollah members who are suspected of plotting attacks on Israeli and Western targets in Nigeria; a fourth suspect remains at large. The military lifted a phone blackout in Adamawa state that had been imposed in May when Adamawa, Yobe, and […]
Drones in Niger Reflect New US Tack on Terrorism
Yesterday Alhaji Tanimu Turaki, the head of the government’s amnesty committee, announced the signing of a ceasefire with Boko Haram, saying Boko Haram members had agreed to lay down their arms. Today Turkaki said the deal had not yet been finalized but that Boko Haram was already observing the ceasefire. Influential Boko Haram member Imam […]
Schools in Yobe state were ordered to be closed after suspected Boko Haram militants attacked a school dormitory with guns and bombs yesterday, killing 42 people. The military killed 22 Boko Haram militants during a raid in Yobe on July 4. Yobe state authorities asked the military to restore mobile phone service, which has been […]
Suspected Boko Haram militants killed at least 29 students as well as a teacher in an attack on a boarding school near Potiskum in Yobe state. The attackers set the school on fire, then shot students as they tried to flee; a number of students were burnt to death, and some reports put the death […]
Nigeria Weighs War, Amnesty for Boko Haram
Vigilantes in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state, burned the home of Mala Othman, a politician accused of supporting the Islamist terror group Boko Haram. Human Rights Watch urged Nigeria to prosecute grave crimes by Boko Haram, not incorporate them into an amnesty deal. The head of the amnesty committee asked Islamic leaders to convince […]
Suspected Boko Haram militants attacked seven villages in Borno state with IEDs and petrol bombs, killing 15 people, burning houses, and seizing livestock and food. Police confiscated weapons and police uniforms from a Boko Haram hideout in Yobe state. Some 30 gunmen stormed a medium-security prison in Ondo state and freed 175 inmates. A youth […]
The government accused Mustapha Fawaz, Abdalah Tahini, and Talal Rouda of arms importation offenses as well as training and serving with Hezbollah; the three Lebanese men pled not guilty and have filed a counterclaim against top Nigerian officials for unlawful detention. Defence officials displayed weapons and communications equipment seized during the military’s ongoing offensive against […]
Nigeria charges Hezbollah-linked Lebanese with terrorism
Boko Haram fighters who had holed up in the Sambisa Game Reserve seized the towns of Bama and Gwoza in Borno state and warned civil servants and Christians to leave or be killed; thousands of residents have fled. The government banned the use of cellphones in northern Nigeria because they have been used by Boko […]
Abu Zinnira, a Boko Haram spokesperson, claimed that the group will begin targeting youth vigilante groups that have formed recently in Borno and Yobe states to counter Boko Haram’s violence. Hundreds of Boko Haram fighters are said to have regrouped in the Mandara mountains, between Borno and Adamawara states and Cameroon; there the militants have […]
Suspected Islamists stormed a school in Maiduguri and shot nine students dead. Two days ago, suspected Boko Haram gunmen killed two teachers and seven students in an attack at a school in Damaturu in Yobe state. The insurgents also attacked a nearby military checkpoint, wounding three soldiers critically; two insurgents were killed in the attack […]
Security forces detained a Ukrainian plane at Kano International Airport that was suspected of carrying military hardware. The impounded plane, which was said to be carrying military hardware to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, was released 12 hours later. Three suspected Lebanese Hezbollah operatives arrested last month in connection to a large weapons cache […]
Challenges at frontline of Nigeria extremist fight
Suspected Boko Haram members killed 13 people in Maiduguri yesterday; witnesses said the attackers had hid their weapons in a coffin. Eight of the attackers were killed. The previous day, security forces killed eight Boko Haram members in a gunfight in Maiduguri. On June 4, the Nigerian government formally banned the Islamist terror groups Boko […]