Boko Haram Threatens Jihad in Borno

Claims responsibility for killings  || They’re our biggest headache – IGP  || The dreaded Boko Haram has threatened Jihad against the government, even as it  claimed responsibility for the killing of prominent citizens of the Borno State among whom were the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) governorship candidate of the state, Alhaji Modu Fannami Gubio and five others last week.

Boko Haram, in a message placed at strategic locations across the state by its leader Imam Abubakar Bin Mohammad, also known as Shekau, insisted that it was responsible for the dastardly acts that have elicited calls for the declaration of a state of emergency in the state.

But the state government has dismissed such calls as unnecessary describing those behind the calls as “enemies of progress and undemocratic elements.”

On Tuesday, Governor Ali Modu Sheriff told reporters that the killings were politically motivated. He pointedly absolved Boko Haram of blame.

“If it is all about Boko Haram as we earlier thought, then, why are the targets restricted to politicians only? First, it was our late party chairman and deputy zonal chairman, Awagana Ali Ngala, who incidentally was my cousin, and then last Friday they attacked our gubernatorial candidate and my younger brother alongside five other innocent souls. We all know the patterns of the Boko Haram people who will just rush out, shoot in the air and run into hiding; but all those that died on Friday were shot right in the head, and only specially trained persons can do that,” said Sheriff.

The sect in a statement said that “as we have been telling people around the world, these attacks just like the one we launched on the eve of Christmas in Borno and Suldaniyya (Jos) and the ones we are launching in Bauchi, we are actually doing these (attacks) in order to propagate the name of Allah and to liberate ourselves and our religion from the hands of infidels and the Nigerian government.”

Boko Haram warned people not to sit close to the abode of security agents or politicians because such people, according to them, were behind the illegalities being meted out to Muslims, even as they threatened to launch a full-scale war soon.

Still on the call for the state of emergency, the state commissioner of information, home affairs and culture, Alhaji Abubakar Kyari, at a press conference in the state capital pointed out that while government condemned the brutal killing of the ANPP gubernatorial candidate Gubio, Governor Sheriff’s brother Goni Modu Sheriff and several other innocent citizens, it would frown at attempts to play politics with other people’s lives.

He insisted that the condition for the declaration of state of emergency did not exist in Borno, and added that if a state of emergency was imposed on the state it would destroy all the democratic structures in place.

Kyari maintained that although the governor is the chief security officer of the state, “it is the security agencies that are saddled with the primary responsibility of maintaining peace and order.”

He, however, appealed to the public to continue to pray for peaceful co-existence in the state while admonishing them to go about their normal business as government was doing everything possible to protect their lives and property.

Meanwhile, the inspector-general of police (IGP), Mr. Hafiz Ringim has described the Boko Haram crises as the biggest headache and challenge to the police and other security agencies, even as he said they would leave no stone unturned in finding solutions to the security challenges in the country.

Addressing the police hierarchy during the monthly meeting of senior police officers for February at the Force Headquarters, Abuja yesterday, Ringim disclosed that the police was most challenged by the Boko Haram crisis in Borno and Bauchi States as well as the recurrent civil strife in Plateau State.

He, however, said the police was resolute and would not be dragged into the political and social crises in different parts of the country, even as he stated that the federal government has resolved to end the crises in the three states as soon as possible.

Ringim said the federal government aims at achieving this by enhanced operations and intelligence gathering of security agencies in the affected states and had provided over 450 vehicles and motorcycles to security agencies in the areas to aid the discharge of their duties.

The vehicles, the police boss said, would be delivered to them within one week, even as he assured that normalcy would return to the troubled states.

He explained that the conference of senior officers was called to brainstorm on the security situation in the country and proffer ideas and strategies on how it could be addressed, noting that the solutions to the crises in parts of the country depended on good thinking and performance of security agencies.

Ringim therefore, tasked the officers to suggest ideas and strategies that could help the police to combat the security problems in the country.

He praised his men for their performance during the recent nationwide party primaries, particularly, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) convention in Abuja, in which, according to him, no policeman was indicted for partisanship.

He said, “Police conduct during the exercise is a classic for other security agencies. Some mischief-makers among the political class engaged in some tricks, but the police maintained its neutrality. I have observed an increased level of desperation among the political groups, I have seen the chicanery as well as the gambling, but we must remain resolute and not be dragged in, as we have resolved.”

Following the killing of two persons by anti-riot policeman in Mpape area of Abuja on Monday, the IGP, has ordered a full-scale investigation into the incident.

He has also directed that a criminal suit be brought against the errant officer who shot dead a taxi driver and his passenger for parking in front of a commercial bank.

The police chief assured law-abiding citizens to go about their lawful business of protection, even as he warned members of the public from taking the law into their hands.

“It is regrettable that miscreants, thugs and other criminals used the incident to attack the bank in the area and set it ablaze,” he added.

-Leadership

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Posted by admin on Feb 3 2011. Filed under Borno, State News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry