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70 killed in Islamic sect,
police clash
From PAUL ORUDE, Bauchi
Monday, July 27, 2009
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•Photo:
The Sun Publishing |
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No fewer than 70 members of a fundamentalist Islamic sect, Boko
Haram were reported killed in the early hours of Sunday as the group
engaged security agents in a bitter battle in Bauchi, capital of
Bauchi State.
Already, a dusk-to-dawn curfew has been imposed on the state capital
just as 176 suspected members of the radical group have been arrested
by the police. 15 persons who sustained varying degrees of injuries
in the clash are said to be receiving medical attention in different
hospitals in Bauchi.
Bauchi State Police Command has confirmed 39 deaths. Eye-witnesses
said, however, that the dead are more than that number.
Awwal Isa, a nurse at the Bauchi Specialist Hospital, told AFP that
a total of 42 bodies had been deposited at the hospital.
Trouble started early in the day when members of the group, numbering
hundreds, sacked the Dutsen Tanshi Police Station around the Federal
Low-cost Housing Estate.
After chasing away the few policemen on duty at the station, the
fundamentalists broke into the station and devastated the entire
place. Their attempts to break into the armoury were unsuccessful,
however.
Armed soldiers and anti-riot policemen were promptly drafted to
the place. In the ensuing battle, many members of the sect were
killed and wounded.
An unidentified soldier was also killed just as two policemen received
gunshot wounds. The base of the group in Bauchi was completely pulled
down by the security agents who are also combing the surrounding
hills in search of the fundamentalists.
Daily Sun gathered
that members of the sect have, for many months, been planning a
demonstration in Bauchi, but have been rebuffed by the state government.
Some government officials were said to have expressed concern that
the doctrine of the sect believed to be anti-West could lead to
a religious crisis in the state. Some of their teachings are believed
to be completely contrary to the teachings of Islam, especially
as regards peaceful co-existence with other religions.
Bauchi State Police spokesman, Mohammed Barau, who confirmed the
clashes, said more policemen had been drafted into the area to maintain
order. He added that more security measures were being taken to
ensure that the crisis did not spread beyond the area.
Minister of Police Affairs, Ibrahim Yakubu Lame said the Acting
Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Ogbonnaya Onovo, has been ordered
to ensure peace and security of lives and property of innocent citizens
across the country. In his words, “in-as-much-as the Federal
Government is committed to freedom of religion, it will not condone
any acts that might lead to the breakdown of law and order in the
country.”
The Director of Press Affairs to the Governor, Mohammed Maigari
Khanna and other top government functionaries declined to make comments
on the development, but promised that as soon as the situation was
properly studied, government would make its position public.
The radical sect made its debut in 2004 when it set up a base dubbed
Afghanistan in Kanamma village in northern Yobe State, on the border
with the Niger Republic, from where it attacked police outposts
and killed police officers. Its membership is mainly drawn from
university dropouts.
One of the leaders of the group, Aminu Tashen-Ilimi, had told AFP
in a 2005 interview that the group’s mission was to lead an
armed insurrection in a bid to rid the society of immorality and
infidelity.
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