Nigerian security forces claimed victory today over a radical Islamic sect blamed for some of the worst violence to hit the West African country for years after police shot dead its leader.---------------------------------------------------------
Mohammed Yusuf, leader of the so-called Nigerian Taleban, was killed after he was captured on Thursday night at the end of a four-day manhunt. His bullet-ridden body was shown to journalists by police shortly after his death.
Human rights campaigners immediately alleged that he had been executed and warned of revenge attacks. Police said today that he died in a shoot-out.
Dora Akunyili, the Nigerian information minister, welcomed his death. She told reporters that his death was “positive” for the country.
She said that the Nigerian Government “does not condone extrajudicial killings” but added: “What is important is that he [Yusuf] has been taken out of the way, to stop him using people to cause mayhem.”
The militant group led by Yusuf, a militant cleric who professes admiration for Osama Bin Laden, has been blamed for days of violent unrest in which hundreds of people died in clashes between his followers and security forces in the north of the country.
“This group operates under a charismatic leader. They will no more have any inspiration,” said a spokesman for the National Police. “The leader who they thought was invincible and immortal has now been proved otherwise.”
He added that there were still pockets of violence in the largely Muslim north, but otherwise “life is back to normal”. The Government was concerned that the violence would degenerate into Muslim-Christian killings that periodically hit Africa’s most populous nation, but have not taken place for several years. New York-based Human Rights Watch called for an investigation.
“The Nigerian authorities must act immediately to investigate and hold to account all those responsible for this unlawful killing and any others associated with the recent violence in northern Nigeria,” said Corinne Dufka, the group’s senior West Africa researcher.
Witnesses said that calm prevailed today in most of city of Maiduguri, the base of the cleric and his followers, mainly consisting of unemployed university students.
However, it was unclear whether Yusuf’s death would end the violence or inspire revenge attacks by the group, also known as the Boko Haram sect, which seeks the imposition of strict Sharia in the country.
Sheikh Yusuf had encouraged his followers to rid themselves of all material wealth while he was chauffeured around in a Mercedes all-terrain vehicle and amassed dozens of vehicles at his compound.Nigerian troops shelled the compound on Wednesday but the 39-year-old leader escaped with about 300 followers, some of them armed.
Officials said that Yusuf was found on Thursday in a goat pen at his in-laws’ home in the northern town of Kernawa.
Officials imposed partial Sharia in much of the north but Boko Haram members were increasingly angry that full Islamic law had not been implemented, especially the law’s demand for a social welfare system helping poor people. The militants attacked police stations, churches, prisons and government buildings in a wave of violence that began last Sunday in Borno state and quickly spread to three other northern states.
President Umaru Yar’Adua, a Muslim, said that security agents had been ordered to attack when the movement started gathering fighters from nearby states at its sprawling Maiduguri compound in preparation for “the holy war”.
Mohammed Yusuf, leader of the so-called Nigerian Taleban, was killed after he was captured on Thursday night at the end of a four-day manhunt. His bullet-ridden body was shown to journalists by police shortly after his death.
Human rights campaigners immediately alleged that he had been executed and warned of revenge attacks. Police said today that he died in a shoot-out.
Dora Akunyili, the Nigerian information minister, welcomed his death. She told reporters that his death was “positive” for the country.
She said that the Nigerian Government “does not condone extrajudicial killings” but added: “What is important is that he [Yusuf] has been taken out of the way, to stop him using people to cause mayhem.”
The militant group led by Yusuf, a militant cleric who professes admiration for Osama Bin Laden, has been blamed for days of violent unrest in which hundreds of people died in clashes between his followers and security forces in the north of the country.
“This group operates under a charismatic leader. They will no more have any inspiration,” said a spokesman for the National Police. “The leader who they thought was invincible and immortal has now been proved otherwise.”
He added that there were still pockets of violence in the largely Muslim north, but otherwise “life is back to normal”. The Government was concerned that the violence would degenerate into Muslim-Christian killings that periodically hit Africa’s most populous nation, but have not taken place for several years. New York-based Human Rights Watch called for an investigation.
“The Nigerian authorities must act immediately to investigate and hold to account all those responsible for this unlawful killing and any others associated with the recent violence in northern Nigeria,” said Corinne Dufka, the group’s senior West Africa researcher.
Witnesses said that calm prevailed today in most of city of Maiduguri, the base of the cleric and his followers, mainly consisting of unemployed university students.
However, it was unclear whether Yusuf’s death would end the violence or inspire revenge attacks by the group, also known as the Boko Haram sect, which seeks the imposition of strict Sharia in the country.
Sheikh Yusuf had encouraged his followers to rid themselves of all material wealth while he was chauffeured around in a Mercedes all-terrain vehicle and amassed dozens of vehicles at his compound.Nigerian troops shelled the compound on Wednesday but the 39-year-old leader escaped with about 300 followers, some of them armed.
Officials said that Yusuf was found on Thursday in a goat pen at his in-laws’ home in the northern town of Kernawa.
Officials imposed partial Sharia in much of the north but Boko Haram members were increasingly angry that full Islamic law had not been implemented, especially the law’s demand for a social welfare system helping poor people. The militants attacked police stations, churches, prisons and government buildings in a wave of violence that began last Sunday in Borno state and quickly spread to three other northern states.
President Umaru Yar’Adua, a Muslim, said that security agents had been ordered to attack when the movement started gathering fighters from nearby states at its sprawling Maiduguri compound in preparation for “the holy war”.
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