Nigeria: Boko Haram claims responsibility for attack on UN building
By Emeka Umejei – Lagos: Nigeria Islamist Group, Boko Haram has claimed responsibility for Friday attack on UN building Nigeria’s capital city, Abuja. A man claiming to be a spokesman for the Islamist group known as Boko Haram claimed responsibility for the attack on the United Nations’ headquarters in Abuja on Friday.
“Through the wisdom of Allah, we have launched the attack with absolute precision,” the man, who identified himself as Abu Darda, said in a telephone call to an AFP journalist.
“The attack was carefully scripted and executed. We have said it several times that the UN is one of our prime targets.
“We will provide details of the martyr who carried out the suicide attack.
“More attacks are on the way, and by the will of Allah, we will have unfettered access to wherever we want to attack. We have more than 100 men who are willing to lay down their lives for the cause of Allah,” the man said.
The veracity of his claim could, however, not be verified.
Boko Haram which means Western or non-Islamic education is a sin is a Nigerian terrorist Islamist group that seeks the imposition of Shariah law in the northern states of Nigeria.
The official name of the group is Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati wal-Jihad, which in Arabic means “People Committed to the Propagation of the Prophet’s Teachings and Jihad.
Boko Haram is known to be responsible for widespread bomb attacks across northern part the country with emphasis on of Borno,Yobe,Adamawa and Bauchi states.
Some attacks carried out by the group includes January 2010 killing four people in Dala Alemderi ward in Maiduguri metropolis, Borno state; On September 7, 2010, when the group freed over 700 inmates from a prison in Bauchi State; December 2010, a market bombing in Borno; April 1,2011 attacked o a police station in Bauchi state and April 15,2011 bomb blast on in Maiduguri,Borno state.
Followers of the sect are said to be influenced by the Koranic phrase which says: “Anyone who is not governed by what Allah has revealed is among the transgressors”.
Boko Haram promotes a version of Islam which makes it “haram”, or forbidden, for Muslims to take part in any political or social activity associated with western society. This includes voting in elections, wearing shirts and trousers or receiving a secular education. Boko Haram regards the Nigerian state as being run by non-believers, even when the country had a Muslim president.
It was on this fulcrum that charismatic Muslim cleric, Mohammed Yusuf, formed Boko Haram in Maiduguri in 2002. He set up a religious complex, which included a mosque and an Islamic school. Many poor Muslim families from across Nigeria, as well as neighbouring countries, enrolled their children at the school. But Boko Haram was not only interested in education. Its political goal was to create an Islamic state, and the school became a recruiting ground for jihadist to fight the state.
In Bauchi the group was reported as refusing to mix with the local people. The group includes members who come from neighbouring Chad and speak only in Arabic.
Boko Haram is known to be responsible for widespread bomb attacks across northern part the country with emphasis on of Borno, Yobe, Adamawa and Bauchi states.
Some attacks carried out by the group includes January 2010 killing four people in Dala Alemderi ward in Maiduguri metropolis, Borno state; On September 7, 2010, when the group freed over 700 inmates from a prison in Bauchi State; December 2010, a market bombing in Borno; April 1,2011 attacked o a police station in Bauchi state and April 15,2011 bomb blast on in Maiduguri,Borno state.
The group was also blamed for a series of bombings in northern Nigeria on May 29, 2011 that left 15 dead.
Other attacks include June 17, 2011, bomb attack on the police force headquarters in Abuja that was specifically targeted At Police Inspector-General Hafiz Ringim and July 03, 2011, bomb attack on a beer garden in Maiduguri which killed about 20 people.
Boko Haram onslaught has also led to teh closure of University of Maiduguri on July 11, 2011 citing security concerns.
