Unic Press UK: The Shehu of Borno, Abubakar El-Kanemi has complained about the level of insecurity in Borno State, illustrating a scenery akin to a breakdown of law and order, saying that his people were being killed daily by the deadly terrorist group, Boko Haram – also known as the Islamic State West Africa Province.
Shehu of Borno, Abubakar Elkanemi
Speaking when the Nigerian president, Muhammadu Buhari visited his palace, Abubakar El-Kanemi, who is one of the foremost traditional leaders in northern Nigeria said:
“It is unfortunate that despite all efforts put in place to restore peace in our land and the north-east, we the people of Borno state are still under Boko Haram siege. Nobody can dare move out of Maiduguri by 10 kilometres without being confronted, attacked by Boko Haram. Quite a number of farmers are being killed and kidnapped on a daily basis around Molai General Area, which is just 10 kilometres away from the metropolis, along Maiduguri -Damboa -Biu road. Most of the surrounding villages and communities in Konduga, Damboa, Mafa and other local government areas have been razed down in the last two weeks,” the Cable newspaper and many other local media outfit reported Friday.
The situation in the northeast region of Nigeria is dire; apparently intractable under the Buhari administration; and this has been the case for years given the rate at which terror attacks are being unleashed by the Boko Haram.
On November 18, 2018, the Boko Haram attacked a Nigerian military base – 157 Task Force Battalion Defensive Location, Metele, Guzamala Local Government Area, Borno State – and killed many soldiers of the Nigerian Army.
About the Boko Haram
- Boko Haram is also known as the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP).
- 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.
