Unic Press UK: United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has condemned the suicide attacks in Adamawa state, in the northeastern region of Nigeria, in which scores of people were killed, calling on the Nigerian authorities to swiftly bring the perpetrators to justice.
In a statement, the deputy spokesman for the Secretary-General, Farhan Haq, said:
“The Secretary-General condemns the suicide attacks on 21 November in Adamawa State, Nigeria, which resulted in scores of casualties. The Secretary-General extends his condolences to the bereaved families and to the Government and people of Nigeria for the loss of life. He wishes a speedy recovery to the injured. He calls for those responsible for these heinous acts to be swiftly brought to justice.The Secretary-General reiterates the solidarity of the United Nations with the Government of Nigeria in its fight against terrorism and violent extremism. He also renews the commitment of the United Nations to continue to support regional counter-terrorism initiatives.”
The attacks Tuesday blamed on the Boko Haram, a Jihad-oriented terrorist group, left for dead about 50 persons, the Agence France-Presse (AFP) said.
About the Boko Haram
- Jama’atu Ahl as‐Sunnah li‐Da’awati wal‐Jihad [simply called Boko Haram] is a Jihad-driven terrorist organisation that was founded in 2002 by one Mohammed Yusuf. This terror group held the belief that Western education/lifestyles were completely against the teachings of Islam.
- M Yusuf, the founder/spiritual head of Boko Haram was ‘extrajudicially’ executed in 2009 after the group clashed with Nigerian Police Forces in 2009.
- The end of Yusuf’s earthly life in the hands of Nigerian security operatives is widely seen as a critical turning point in the history of the Boko Haram. Many have contended that the killing of Yusuf further radicalized his followers, thereby escalating a bad crisis.
- It was after the killing of Yusuf that this terror group commenced full military operations in 2009, killing more than 15,000 people as of 2016.
- They have attacked a number of places, including military barracks, police stations, churches, mosques, motor park stations, United Nations building in Nigeria’s federal capital territory, and so on.
- In 2015, Boko Haram pledged allegiance to Daesh (Islamic State).
- Boko Haram’s goals center on Islamization of Nigeria, to enforce sharia law throughout the gamut of Nigeria. This goal is utter delusion as Nigeria is a secular state, a multi-ethnic and multi-cultural country of circa 200 million people. More than 50% of Nigeria’s population are Christians, most of whom reside in the southern part of the country.
- Abubukar Shekau, an eccentric character who appears deluded by virtue of his utterances in Boko Haram’s numerous videos, is the head of the main group. This is one man the Nigerian security forces had claimed several times to have killed, but each time the news of his death circulates, the man Shekau rises from nowhere proclaiming to the world that he is still alive.
- In 2015, the Global Terrorism Index, published by the Institute for Economics and Peace, said that Boko Haram topped the ranking of terror groups having killed 6,644 people in Nigeria in 2014 when compared to Daesh’s tally of 6,074 people in the same period.
