KANO, Nigeria, Oct. 16, 2012 (IPS/GIN) - Locals in the city of
Maiduguri in the northeastern Nigerian state of Borno have intensified
their calls for the military to withdraw from the town, the stronghold
of the Islamist extremist group Boko Haram, after claims that they are
being maltreated and abused.
The people residing in Maiduguri have been paying a heavy price
for the Islamists’ guerrilla war, as the security forces accuse them of
non-cooperation and shielding the Islamists.
“We are terribly disturbed by the wave of incessant retaliatory
attacks by security forces on us,” local resident Bulama Abbagana told
IPS.
“Even if we were in a state of war with a rival country,
civilians should not be killed and maimed in the way the military is
doing,” Abbagana angrily told IPS over the phone.
Boko Haram, whose name means, “western education is sin”, has for
the past three years been attacking government institutions, including
suicide bombings of the United Nations building in the capital, Abuja.
The worst attack was the Jan. 20 assault at the ancient city of Kano
that claimed over 180 lives.
Boko Haram has adopted a Taliban style approach and is alleged to
have links with Al Qaeda in North Africa. They want to impose Islamic
law in a country sharply divided between a majority Muslim north and
Christian south.
One resident who does not want his name in print for fear of
reprisals told IPS: “We wish to be left with Boko Haram, we would have
incurred less trouble than with the military.”
Maiduguri, the headquarters of Boko Haram activity in Nigeria and
the staging point for the insurgents, appears to have become a
battleground.
The most recent attack was on Monday, Oct. 15 when sustained
strikes on the city by government soldiers resulted in a number of bomb
explosions and the lockdown of the city centre. On Sunday, Oct. 14 the
city was rocked by a roadside blast and two separate gun attacks that
killed at least four people including a local chief, residents and the
military said.
Prior to this, on Oct. 8, indiscriminate shooting allegedly
committed by the members of the Joint Task Force resulted in further
violence.
It is claimed that Nigerian troops in Maiduguri went berserk
after their patrol vehicle was hit with an Improvised Explosive Device,
killing two soldiers, including a lieutenant, and injuring others. They
were alleged to have started shooting indiscriminately in a densely
populated area of Lagos Street.
Residents say over 30 people were killed in the assault, and houses, businesses and shops were burnt down and vandalised.
“If you see the level of damage on our burnt houses and shops,
you may shed tears,” Bana Modu, whose own house suffered severe damage,
told IPS.
The feud between Nigerian security forces and residents in
Maiduguri has reached its climax, with both sides pointing a finger of
blame at the other.
The security forces claim that residents are not helping in the
fight against Boko Haram. In several instances, the military have
complained bitterly, accusing civilians of colluding with the attackers,
as Islamists have launched attacks on them from rooftops and trees.
In turn, local residents complain that the security forces regard every person in civilian clothes as an enemy.
“Whenever there is a bomb explosion, the security used to besiege
the area and beat any one found in their way. Some are killed in the
process,” banker Abubakar Mohammed told IPS over the phone.
Businesses here have been crippled in the last three years.
“Many people have fled the area. I don’t have anywhere to go, but
I could have left to escape from the attacks from two fronts: Boko
Haram and the security forces,” Msheliza Dalwa told IPS.
The government of Borno state, where the crisis erupted in 2009,
has shown no interest in withdrawing the troops, and has merely urged
the security forces to respect individuals.
“Believe me, if the federal government withdraws the Joint Task
Force from Borno, all of us will be chased out of the state by
insurgents,” state Governor Kashim Shettima said, addressing journalists
on the topic of the recent assault.
Shehu Sani, president of the Civil Right Congress, a local human
rights group in Nigeria, told IPS: “The Nigerian security forces have
been using disproportionate force which we see of equal magnitude with
that of Boko Haram.”
According to the New York-based Human Rights Watch, no fewer than
2,800 people have been killed in the attacks largely claimed by the
Islamists since the violence began in 2009. A report released by the
global rights watchdog last week says Boko Haram’s assaults could be
described as crimes against humanity.
“We will be happy to punish those committing wanton killings before
the International Criminal Court so that those involved will not go
free,” Ibarhim Badamasi, a resident in Maiduguri, told IPS.
The Joint Task Force is accused of embarking on house-to-house
searches to hunt down the insurgents, and is alleged to have engaged in
secret detentions.
“Some people arrested are dying in military cells without food,
even the way people are being tortured could lead to the death of many,”
a suspect arrested and subsequently released told IPS on condition of
anonymity.
The security forces have denied committing killings and torture
while restoring order. In a press statement to reporters, Lieutenant
Colonel Sagir Musa said his men did not kill or assault civilians.
“There are no established or recorded cases of extra-judicial
killings, torture, arson and arbitrary arrests by the JTF in Borno
state,” Musa said in a statement.
“Very few cases of unprofessional conduct by some personnel are
documented and those concerned have been punished while others are
undergoing legal processes and Court Marshal,” he added.
The JTF has declared success in the fight against Boko Haram. It
claims to have arrested over 60 members on Oct. 7 and killed a commander
called Bakaka or “one-eyed man”, who is said to be close to the group’s
leader, Abubakar Shekau. It also claimed to have killed the sect’s
spokesman, Abu Qaqa.
However, in a video message posted on YouTube, Shekau refuted the
claims of Qaqa’s death. He only admitted that some members have been
killed and their wives arrested by Nigerian forces.
A recent report by a U.N. panel of experts highlights the
connection between the recent political instability in Côte d’Ivoire and
Mali, and suggests that radical Islamists with links with Al Qaeda’s
North Africa branch are attempting to strengthen their presence across
Africa, Boko Haram included.
