Friday, November 28, 2014

Mosque attack in Kano, Nigeria leaves dozens dead

Dozens have been killed in a gun and bomb attack during prayers at one of the biggest mosques in the northern Nigerian city of Kano, officials say.

Many more people have been hurt, with one rescue official putting casualty figures at almost 400.

The Central Mosque is where the influential Muslim leader, the Emir of Kano, usually leads prayers.

The emir recently called for people to arm themselves against Islamist militant group Boko Haram.

No group said it had carried out the attack, but the assumption is that Boko Haram was behind it.

The group has been waging an insurgency in Nigeria since 2009 and has killed more than 2,000 people this year, rights groups say.

President Goodluck Jonathan condemned the attack, calling on all Nigerians "to remain united to confront the common enemy".

He said the government would "continue to take every step to put an end to the reprehensible acts of all groups and persons involved in acts of terrorism". 'Helter-skelter'

Nigerian police said 35 people were killed in the attack, but some eyewitnesses said far more people lost their lives.

The rescue official, speaking to Agence France-Presse, put the casualty toll at 120 dead and 270 hurt, although this has not been independently confirmed.

Three bomb explosions were reported in and around the mosque. The attackers also turned gunfire on worshippers.

Some reports say the first bomb was hidden in a car which was driven straight into the worshippers.

One eyewitness told the BBC's Focus on Africa: "The imam was about to start prayer when he saw somebody in a car trying to force himself into the mosque. But when people stopped him, he detonated the explosions. People started running helter-skelter."

There was pandemonium as people ran for their lives.

But then several men then opened fire on the crowd killing more people. Three of the gunmen were caught, and - as the terror turned to rage - they were killed on the spot, the BBC's Will Ross in Abuja reports.

BBC Hausa editor Mansur Liman said one witness at a local hospital had described the scenes there as being the most horrible he had ever seen.

It is clear it is not only Christians who face the threat of violence in northern Nigeria. This is a major mosque, frequented by one of the country's most influential Muslim leaders, Kano's emir.

Emir Muhammad Sanusi II has criticised Boko Haram and only last week urged civilians to take up arms against the group. This has raised questions as to whether he was the target of today's attack - although he was out of the country at the time.

While violence in remote rural areas is no longer news for many Nigerians, the increasing attacks in larger cities are sending shockwaves across the country. The military's ongoing counter-terrorism efforts will need more concrete results to boost public confidence.

Our correspondent says Boko Haram will be the main suspects, as the attack bore all the hallmarks of the group.

No-one from the group has yet commented.

Boko Haram has stepped up attacks against civilian targets since the Nigerian military launched an offensive last year.

Boko Haram was also behind the kidnapping of more than 200 schoolgirls from Chibok in Borno state this year, an act that sparked international outrage.

BBC


Related stories: Emir of Kano former central bank governor Lamido Sanusi calls Nigerians to arms over Boko Haram


Video - The state of Nigerian governance and Boko Haram 

Bomb blast kills dozens in Adamawa, Nigeria

At least 25 people are reported to have been killed in an explosion in north-eastern Nigeria's Adamawa state.

Some reports said the blast was caused by a roadside bomb and occurred near the town of Mubi, close to the Cameroonian border.

This week Mubi was recaptured from Islamist group Boko Haram, which controls many towns in the region.

In April, the group kidnapped more than 200 schoolgirls in the town of Chibok, causing international outrage.

Curfew

A spokesman for the governor of Adamawa state told the BBC that most of the victims of the bomb attack in Marabar-Mubi, about 30km (18 miles) west of Mubi, were civilians, although five of the dead were said to be soldiers.

Earlier reports put the death toll as high as 35.

A witness told the Reuters news agency that several buses caught fire in the roadside explosion.

BBC

Thursday, November 27, 2014

Nigeria petroleum Minister appointed OPEC President

 Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has appointed Nigeria’s Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs Diezani Alison- Madueke, as newest president. Diezani was elected at the 166th General Meeting of the organization held on Thursday in Vienna Austria, making her the first female president of the organization.

Before her election, Diezani was the Alternate President of OPEC, a position she has held since January 1. She replaces Abdourhman Atahar Al- Ahirish, Libya’s vice Prime Minister for Corporation.

OPEC, an association of 12 oil producing countries, has 81 percent of the world’s proven crude oil reserves. The bloc, which works to maintain a stable and favourable oil price among its members, have been under pressure from the collapsing global crude oil prices.

It is expected to make decisions on how to tackle the price decline, though a sense of division surrounds measures to take. While the body’s poorer members want a cut in production to stem the price slide, the richer ones are thought to be not so enthusiastic, fearing it will affect their market share.

Diezani, born 1960, the same year OPEC was established, was formerly Nigeria’s Minister of Transport from 2007 to 2008. She was subsequently appointed Minister of Mines and Steel from 2008 to 2010 before accepting the position of Minister of Petroleum Resources 2010. Her appointment made her the country’s first female Petroleum Minister.

Ventures

Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Islamic leader accuses Nigerian military of cowardice

Nigeria's top Islamic leader on Monday accused the military of fleeing when Boko Haram attacks and terrorising civilians, in the harshest ever criticism from the key cleric, as violence persisted in the northeast.

A statement from the country's top Muslim body, the JNI, described the military's handling of the five-year Islamist uprising as "unfortunate, worrisome and embarrassing".

The JNI speaks for Nigeria's top cleric, the Sultan of Sokoto Muhammad Sa'ad Abubakar, and included the harshest ever-criticism of the military from a key Islamic leader.

"Soldiers take to their heels and abandon their bases, arms, ammunition and other military hardware on the approach of the insurgents!" the statement said.

"Nigerian Security Forces only surface after the deadly attacks and terrorise an already terrorised people by installing road blocks and searching homes," it added.

The condemnation came after similar remarks last week from Nigeria's number two Islamic cleric, the Emir of Kano, and will likely infuriate President Goodluck Jonathan's government, which expects traditional monarchs to abstain from political commentary.

In a speech released at the weekend, defence spokesperson Chris Olukolade meanwhile accused the media and other "campaigners" of distorting the military effort against Boko Haram, tarnishing Nigeria's global image and hurting troop morale.Bodies lying dead

Another attack occurred Monday, when suspected Boko Haram gunmen entered a market in the northeast town of Damasak at about 11:00 (10:00 GMT) and opened fire on unarmed traders, a military officer and a local government official told AFP.

The militants were disguised as traders, carrying containers they claimed were full of goods for sale but which in fact were stuffed with AK-47 rifles, the official, Mohammed Damasak, said.

The gunmen "inflicted horror", he said, adding: "Many traders escaped with bullet wounds while many are lying dead at the market."

A military officer with direct knowledge of the attack but who requested anonymity said soldiers had deployed to the market and were battling the militants "for control of the town".

Damasak, in northeast Borno state, is close to the Niger border, a remote region with a poor telephone network.

It was not immediately possible to establish a death toll or whether the Islamists had chased out the military.

Boko Haram is believed to have taken over more than two dozen towns in recent weeks as part of a campaign to establish a strict Islamic state in the northeast.Government should 'wake up'

While there has been no official response to the tough JNI statement, it will likely ratchet up tensions ahead of Nigeria's general elections in February.

The main opposition All Progressives Congress is widely expected to nominate a candidate from the mainly Muslim north against Jonathan, who is a southern Christian, and Nigeria's religious divide will be a key factor in the vote.

The JNI, speaking on behalf the Sultan, condemned the recent Boko Haram violence while urging the government "with the loudest voice, to wake up to its fundamental and obligatory responsibility of protecting lives".

It accused the government of "wallowing in diatribe" against a growing number of critics who say the military response to Boko Haram's five-year uprising has been woefully inadequate.

Stop 'ridiculing' our nation

Military spokesperson Olukolade said Nigeria's management of the Islamist conflict had been hugely distorted by the media and "campaigners" who have concealed their political bias against Jonathan.

The attack on so-called campaigners was a reference to the Bring Back Our Girls protesters carrying out daily marches to demand the release of the 219 schoolgirls held hostage by Boko Haram since mid-April.

The local media valued "reporting war" above "the nation's image or collective destiny", he said in a speech in the US city of Atlanta.

The foreign press had shown "disdain for objective reportage" and inflated claims of rights abuses by Nigerian troops, he added.

AFP

Related stories: Nigerian soldiers attack own army commander

Video - The state of Nigerian governance and Boko Haram  

Suicide bombings kill more than 60 in crowded market in Maiduguri, Nigeria

Two explosions at a crowded market in northeastern Nigeria have killed more than 60 people, sources told Al Jazeera.

The twin bomb blasts on Tuesday hit the Monday market in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state, the sources said.

"After the first explosion happened and people started to gather, a second explosion took place," Al Jazeera's Rawya Rageh, reporting from Abuja, said.

"Many people are saying that they believe the second explosion was carried out by a female suicide bomber. At least that is what an initial reports are indicating."

Soldiers and police officers cordoned off the area while rescue workers helped survivors to the hospital.

Hospitals have been flooded with injured residents, Al Jazeera sources said.

No official statements have been issued yet.

Maiduguri is a stronghold for the armed group Boko Haram. Borno state is one of the three states in northeastern Nigeria that are under a state of emergency because of the extremist violence.

Towns seized


Also on Tuesday, government and security sources told AFP that Boko Haram had taken over another town in Nigeria's northeast.

Maina Ma'aji Lawan, who represents Borno in Nigeria's senate, said the group was in control of the border town of Damasak.

Nigerian soldiers and hundreds of residents fled across the frontier to seek sanctuary when the heavily armed fighters opened fire on traders on Monday morning, he said.

"There is not a single male in Damasak," Lawan said. "Boko Haram is in control because all males and soldiers have fled."

Boko Haram has seized more than two dozen towns in Borno and neighbouring Yobe and Adamawa states, marking a change in strategy from its previous trademark of deadly hit-and-run strikes or high-profile strikes against government, police or military targets.

The group wants to create an Islamic state in northeastern Nigeria, and its seizure of towns has raised fears about a potential loss of government control in the region.


Aljazeera