Boko Haram: Terrorism and suicide Bombing in Nigeria

Pursuant to United Nations Security Council Resolution 1373, some “associated individuals and entities” engaged in terrorist activities are labelled terrorists and placed in a list maintained by a UN Counter Terrorism Committee. This Security Council Committee established pursuant to paragraph 6 of resolution 1267 (1999) concerning Al-Qaida, the Taliban and associated individuals and entities oversees the implementation by States of sanctions measures imposed by the Security Council on individuals and entities associated with the Taliban, Usama Bin Laden and the Al-Qaida organization. The Committee maintains a Consolidated List of individuals and entities subject to the sanctions measures. The resolution aimed to place barriers on the movement, organization and fund-raising activities of terrorist groups. Adopted unanimously on September 28, 2001, Resolution 1373 is a counter-terrorism measure passed following the September 11 terrorist attacks on the United States. The resolution was adopted under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter, and is therefore binding on all UN member states. All UM member nations are therefore obliged to cooperate in tracking and targeting any individual or entity added to the list. The contention of this article is that it is now expedient, that the Nigerian Islamist militant group Boko Haram, be formally declared a terrorist organisation and be placed in the consolidated list. Recent bomb attacks by the Islamist group, Jama’atu Ahl-Sunnati Lil Da’awati wal Jihad, popularly known as the Boko Haram, have raised questions about Nigeria's ability to defend itself. Of particular concern is that Boko Haram may be affiliated to Al Qaeda and might be receiving foreign finance. Having long regarded the Islamist sect as a localised problem, security sources now admit they believe the radical Islamist group to be receiving training and expertise from outside Nigeria. Boko Haram has, until recently, focused their activities in the far north-east of the country. The group sharply increased its attacks ahead of the country’s April 2011 presidential election. But on 16 June 2011, a suicide bomber believed to have been trained by al-Qaeda-linked terrorists in Somalia drove a car loaded with explosives into Nigeria's national police headquarters, killing himself and one other person. 20 others may have died in the explosion and scores injured. The fact that its national headquarters had been hit is hugely embarrassing to the Nigeria police force. The group has carried out similar attacks on police and army barracks in the past, but this is the highest-profile federal target they have hit. In a statement issued in Hausa, moments before the Abuja attacks and in response to the Nigeria Police chiefs’ threat to wipe out Boko Haram within weeks, the group said some of its members have just returned from Somalia where they went for training. If this claim proves true, it will be the first time a bomber trained in Somalia was used, again showing how Africa's most failed state, largely under control of jihadists inspired by al-Qaeda, is capable of exporting terror tactics far beyond its borders. Security sources believe Boko Haram fighters are travelling to Somalia for training, with some thought to have gone to Afghanistan too. That information has been partially corroborated by above statements claiming to be from Boko Haram, and unconfirmed reports that Somalis have been detained in Nigeria. After the Abuja bombing, the group said it planned more attacks, and they kept to their promise; yesterday suspected members of the Islamic sect bombed three beer gardens in Maiduguri, killing 25 people and wounding 12 others, Nigeria authorities said. President Goodluck Jonathan approach to the menace so far is to announce June 10 that his government will use a “carrot and stick” strategy to end the violence, offering patronage, jobs and amnesty to Boko Haram members if they agree to stop the attacks. There are doubts about this strategy’s prospects for success. Boko Haram’s organizational and leadership structure is opaque and the reasons for the attacks are unclear. This makes it difficult to negotiate with the group. The violence has come nowhere near levels seen in 2009, under late Nigeria President, Umaru Yar’adua, before a crackdown on the group resulted in the killing of an estimated 800 Boko Haram members and former leader Mohammud Yusuf. The Borno State Government also adopted "Operation Flush", an attempt to clamp down on the Islamist sect. So far there has been little sign that it works. In the last few weeks Boko Haram appears to be bombing police stations in the North-eastern state at will. Boko Haram, whose name in the local Hausa language means “Western education is sacrilege,” has not limited their attacks on government officials and the Nigeria Police. They also attack churches and businesses they claim violate sharia laws. Their stronghold is Maiduguri, which is about 540 miles (872 kilometers) from Nigeria’s capital, Abuja. The risk is that if not curtailed the attacks may inspire reprisals from Northern Christians. Many now agree with Reverend David Bridley, who told BBC that "Boko Haram is an expression of the al-Qaeda movement and the attack on Christianity." Several Islamic clerics who dared criticise Boko Haram have been assassinated. The rest are in hiding. The question is: who finances Boko Haram activities? The group claims “they were inspired by al-Qaeda and the Taliban”, but that financial support was coming from "brothers inside Nigeria". Boko Haram’s attacks have for the most part been tactically unsophisticated, employing small arms and homemade explosives. . However, the group appears to have improved its arsenal and tactics, as seen in the June 7 coordinated attacks on St. Patrick’s cathedral and the Gwange police station. This matches the typical pattern of evolution for small militant groups of Boko Haram’s ilk. Observers say the improvement in weapons quality likely means the group has made contact with suppliers in Chad or Niger, two countries awash in small arms. One notable attack targeted a joint police and military unit in Maiduguri on May 12. The militants reportedly used a command-detonated improvised explosive device on the side of the road near the unit’s checkpoint. To successfully construct and deploy such a weapon requires technical and tactical capabilities vastly superior to those demonstrated in previous Boko Haram attacks. And according to STRATFOR, a research body: “This may indicate that some Boko Haram members or cells have received outside training — possibly from Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) or another of the more sophisticated militant groups with an interest in stirring unrest in Nigeria. Connections between Boko Haram and AQIM have long been rumored, but there is no way to verify a link”. STRATFOR also said their sources report “seeing Nigerians in AQIM training camps near the Niger-Mauritania border, but these were not necessarily affiliated with Boko Haram” Sources at the Nigeria Force Headquarters said the preliminary reports by the experts assembled by the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Alhaji Hafiz Ringim to unravel how the person carrying the bomb entered into the force headquarters and successfully detonated the bomb showed that the mega-tonne bomb, used could be found only in military and related installations. Nigerian newspaper, the Guardian suggesting insider help says “not only was the specie which wrecked the havoc similar to what is being kept in military armouries, the level of accuracy in detonating the bomb has left the NSA with no option than to raise queries on the dependability of certain elements posted to certain strategic exclusive places and vulnerable points”. Many scoff at President Jonathan's much vaunted "carrot and stick". They say his solution is seemingly getting ever lighter in the vegetable department. The poor leadership offered by President Goodluck Jonathan to resolve the nation’s plight compounds the problem. It is hardly surprising that Boko Haram has shown little interest in the two "carrots" on offer - dialogue and amnesty. In a defiant posture, the Boko Haram sect said last week it was not ready for any dialogue as being offered to its members by the Borno State government and police. The sect’s spokesman, Abu Zaid, told journalists their refusal to go into any negotiation is hinged on the fact that the security agents were using threats and brutal force against the sect. He said that Islam encourages dialogue when certain conditions are met adding, “It is mandatory for Islam to have a sovereign land where Sharia is being practiced in the strict sense so that the dialogue will be between the Islamic country and the country of the unbelievers.” attacks by the Islamist group, Jama’atu Ahl-Sunnati Lil Da’awati wal Jihad, popularly known as the Boko Haram, According to the Blueprint magazine, Abu Zaid, further said: "We are urging Nigerians not to under-estimate us. We are capable of doing more than what we did at the police headquarters in sha Allah...our targets are government institutions and government officials, especially the security agents and politicians... So far, we have screened nearly 100 persons for suicide attacks for this year alone in Nigeria, while more than this number are getting ready for next year". What next? It is left for President Goodluck Jonathan and Nigeria Security Agencies to stop treating Boko Haram as ‘Boy Scouts’. What we have in our hands is a fully evolved Terrorist group. Nigeria media could help by stopping to refer to this group as ‘militants’. Pundits commit grave error by equating Boko Haram with ethnic agitators like MASSOB, OPC and MEND. MEND, MOSOP, OPC and other militant groups in the country were formed by people to vent their anger against years of neglect by government to the questions of injustices, social, economic and political problems facing the nation. Boko Haram is a terrorist Organisation whose exact makeup is unclear, their aims and agenda is obscure. The group seems to largely lack organizational structure or strong leadership. Like Al Qaeda, Boko Haram is most likely a loose confederation of militant cells or individuals operating relatively independently from one another. This Nigerian Islamist militant group should be formally declared a terrorist organisation and be placed in the UN Security Council consolidated terrorist list. Written by Daniel Elombah #end