Two videos of the suicide bomber, who detonated explosives to the United Nations (UN) building on August 26, have emerged. The bomber was identified as Mohammed Abu Barra, a married auto mechanic.

The videos, obtained by the French News Agency, AFP, showed members of Boko Haram preparing for the attack amid concerns by the authorities that the Islamist sect had formed links with outside groups such as Al-Qaeda’s North African branch.

The State Security Service (SSS) yesterday placed a N25 million compensation on the head of Mamman Nur, the mastermind of the blast who is on the run.
The possibility of such links has led to deep concern among western nations and mounting pressure on the government in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country and its largest oil producer.

General Carter Ham, the head of the US military’s Africa Command, said Al-Qaeda’s North African branch, Shebab militants in Somalia and Boko Haram have expressed a will to “more closely collaborate and synchronise their efforts.” Boko Haram’s attacks have grown increasingly sophisticated and it had not been known to target international institutions before the United Nations building bombing in Abuja.

A man, who identified himself as a spokesman for Boko Haram, claimed responsibility for the bombing on the day of the August 26 attack. The two videos, said to be from the group, include speeches totaling some 25 minutes from the alleged UN bomber. It was not possible to verify the authenticity of the videos, but they seem to offer a window into a form of Islamist extremism in Nigeria that authorities have so far shown little capability of addressing.

They bear hallmarks of past Boko Haram clips and feature speeches by a man identified as Abubakar Shekau, its suspected leader who went into hiding following a 2009 uprising by the group put down by a military assault. While the sect was long considered a domestic group targeting symbols of Nigerian authority, the videos also showed an international emphasis. They were mostly in the Hausa language but also partly in Arabic.

The voice said to be Shekau’s called the UN headquarters a “forum of all the global evil,” while also offering praise for the late Osama bin Laden. The video, focusing on the UN bombing, which killed at least 23 people and was among the deadliest targeting the world body, was more than an hour and 15 minutes long. A soft-spoken, 27-year-old smiling man said to be the UN bomber pleaded with his family to understand his actions, and a vague warning was sent out to “Obama and other infidels.”

During much of his time on the video, he held an AK-47 while two others leaned against the wall. Two gas cannisters were on the floor at his feet. He was rail-thin and wore a striped, polo-style shirt, a turban and what looked to be a suicide vest. In a phone interview with AFP, a man, who claimed to be a spokesman for the sect, identified the alleged bomber as Mohammed Abul Barra, a married auto repair worker with a son from Maiduguri, where the group has carried out most of its attacks.

His name was picked in a draw because a number of others also wanted to carry out the mission, according to the spokesman, who identified himself as Abu Qaqa. Boko Haram’s supposed foreign links as well as the origin of its backing was controversial in Nigeria as is whether it was truly behind the UN attack.
Prof. Kyari Mohammed, who had been closely studying the sect, said some members might have received training from other extremist groups but he doubted more substantial cooperation had occurred. “I personally don’t believe there is any serious link,” he said.

The SSS claimed in the days after the UN attack that an Al-Qaeda-linked suspect, who recently returned from Somalia, named Mamman Nur, masterminded the blast. He was declared wanted. Nur was believed to be third-in-command of Boko Haram when it launched the 2009 uprising. In one of the videos, reference was also made to an attempted attack on police headquarters in Maiduguri on August 15 and an image was shown of the man said to be the bomber, who was killed by authorities before the explosives detonated.

Photos of the man killed by police taken by journalists bore a resemblance to the person in the video.
The second video showed the “martyr” for an attack at police headquarters in Abuja in June, when at least two people were killed. The videos referred to the group by a name roughly translated as “People Committed to the Prophet’s Teachings for Propagation and Jihad,” as a previous video had done.
The State Security Service (SSS), has offered N25 million reward for information that could lead to the arrest of Nur, the alleged mastermind.

A statement, signed by its spokesperson, Ms Marilyn Ogar, yesterday in Abuja, said the suspect remained on the wanted list. “A reward of N25 million is being offered for information that could lead directly to the apprehension or conviction of Mamman Nur. “If you have any information concerning this person, please contact the nearest police station, military formation or any other security agencies.’’


http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2011/sept/19/national-19-09-2011-001.html