Who Are These "Boko Haram"s?

There’s a lot of
money to be made
today in foreign
security contracts.


Following the appearance of the group popularly referred to as ‘Boko Haram’ in Borno, Nigeria during the late Yar’adua’s government, new ones seem to have turned up during Jonathan Goodluck’s administration.

So what are the characteristics of these new ‘Boko Haram’ groups?

- They are repeatedly described in the media as modelled after the Taliban in Afghanistan and fighting to “impose sharia law across Nigeria” but unlike other such groups around the world, this bunch make no attempt at implementing sharia law nor engage in any propaganda to win hearts and minds of locals with promises of fair law and justice [they prefer to portray themselves as terrorists and kill innocent civilians].

- They are reported to have raided and robbed a bank in Maiduguri, Borno State [seeking easy ‘haram’ money?].

- They generally avoid attacking corrupt politicians and their property [police stations and poor civilians preferred targets].

- They have a great trust for BBC Hausa for making their attack claims [an odd pro-boko inferiority complex behaviour towards the BBC?].

- They are practically untraceable after making phone calls to journalists [in a country where most calls come from mobile phones these days].

- They take too special care in sending out their oral and written messages in Hausa [feeling rather academic seeing as it’s obvious they understand English and are behaving like politicians].

- They generally attack everyone but take care to direct their claims against CAN, christians and southerners [seeking foreign media attention?].

- They have a standard BBC/CNN description copied word for word and re-broadcast by many local Nigerian news media [product branding?].

- They make claims to foreign media and deny the claims to local media [constant communication errors or false callers?].

- They have good information on police/security details, plans and police hangouts and ride motorcycles [thus suggestions they’re actually also policemen].

- They are able to pull of high profile security escapes [or someone on the ‘inside’ letting them off?].

- They are mobile, doing something in one state then running off to another state [in a pattern similar to that of armed robbery gangs].

- They are able to carry out attacks on police stations and escape totally unscathed and never caught [either they ride, park and attack then run back to their bikes unchallenged or they ride by tossing explosives and shooting randomly?].

- Given their love of attacking overpowered or unprepared policemen and civilians, they were surprisingly quiet for over one week when thousands poured out into the streets to protest the Nigerian government’s fuel subsidy removal [or were they scared they’d be caught in the midst of a crowd, pulled off their motorcycles, their identities exposed, then get lynched?].

- They behave a lot like hitmen and assassins [often attack as if to punished people for acting in a many undesirable to their masters e.g. coming out to protest and appearing all over YouTube].

- They definitely not ‘poor man’ [well-funded and boko-educated even].

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FG uncovers plot to bomb INEC, CBN offices
From MURPHY GANAGANA, Abuja
Tuesday, January 24, 2012


Defence authorities have reportedly uncovered a plot to bomb the national headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

Also on attack in a fresh orgy of violence set to be unleashed on Abuja, the federal capital, is a highbrow hotel in the heart of the city (name withheld by us).

However, detailed analysis of the plot, which was said to have been picked by the Directorate of Military Intelligence (DMI) as well as the Defence Intelligence, reportedly indicated that it had a political undertone and was part of the fireworks over next month’s gubernatorial elections in Adamawa and Bayelsa States.

Military sources confided that the planned attack on the critical facilities, if executed, would be blamed on the rampaging Islamist sect, Boko Haram, but an analysis of information available to the military intelligence authorities traced the plot to the machinations of ‘do-or-die politicians’.

Specifically, the plot to bomb the INEC head office in Abuja is said to be linked to the governorship polls slated for Adamawa and Bayelsa States on February 4 and 11 respectively.
While a former military administrator of Lagos State, Brig. Gen. Mohammed Buba Marwa (retd.) of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) and incumbent Governor, Vice Admiral Murtala Nyako (retd.), are the major contenders in Adamawa State, Governor Timipre Sylva is slugging it out with a federal legislator, Hon. Seriake Dickson in Bayelsa State.

Intelligence sources said the bombings on the CBN headquarters and the hotel had been planned to take place simultaneously to give an indication of coordinated attacks on national assets with a pre-arranged plan for a fake Boko Haram spokesman to announce through a foreign media station that the sect was responsible for the attacks.

Consequently, the defence authorities have reportedly placed a security alert on the FCT with a directive that the present military strength at INEC, CBN and the hotel, among other critical facilities, should be beefed up.

The Borno State director of the SSS, Ahmed Abdullahi, disclosed on Wednesday night that his officers had arrested the man who goes by the pseudonym Abul Qaqa in Maiduguri.

Qaqa, who had been speaking on behalf of the Boko Haram sect for the past six months, had been issuing statements claiming responsibility for various bomb attacks.

Speaking to newsmen yesterday, the state director of SSS, Mr. Ahmed Abdullahi, said Qaqa was picked from his hideout in Maiduguri, the capital city of Borno State, through the global positioning tracking system (GPS)

Although Mr. Abdullahi declined comment on the precise area where the sect’s spokesman was nabbed, he explained that a team of experts within the service had been on the trail of the suspect, saying, “We have finally got him and he is currently in our custody,” he said.

This claim has however been disputed by the SSS headquarters through spokesperson Marilyn Ogar who said last night that she had no idea where the information on Qaqa’s arrest came from. “We do not have him,” she said emphatically.
http://www.informationnigeria.org/2012/02/intrigues-over-arrest-of-qaqa-boko-harams-spokesman.html

It was gathered that Qaqa, an indigene of Kogi State and a native of Igala tribe, was finally arrested after the SSS had been monitoring his phone calls, despite the fact that he used numerous numbers and always replaced them with new ones.

Shortly after the announcement of the capture of the spokesman, an unidentified member of the sect who spoke with reporters on phone confirmed that their spokesman had indeed been nabbed.

“Yes, I can confirm to you that our spokesman has been arrested at his residence in Maiduguri. In fact, he was just arrested without any confrontation as he was taken unawares… our warriors who normally guard him were absent when the security agents raided his hideout,” the sect member said.

He however stated that Qaqa’s arrest would not deter the sect from carrying out more violence against the authority and security agents, adding: “Our struggle was not for worldly gain; rather it is to be close to Almighty God by establishing Islamic system of governance, so why would we be discouraged just because one of us was nabbed?”

The man assured that the group would make a formal reaction over the issue, “We are ready to sacrifice our lives for this cause as the arrest of one of our top leaders will only further motivate us.”