[size=18pt]Boko Haram posters flood Borno[/size]
By Agency reporter
Saturday, 23 Oct 2010
 


Boko Haram, the Muslim sect carrying out killings in the northern parts of the country, has issued new threats, this time invoking al-Qaeda’s North African branch, the Associated Press reported on Friday.

Posters by the Boko Haram sect appeared at key intersections in the city of Maiduguri this week, bearing the name of Imam Abubakar Shekau, the group’s de facto leader. The two top corners of the posters bore a symbol of an opened Koran, flanked on each side by Kalashnikov assault rifles and a flag in the middle – mirroring the logo of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.

The message warned the public against assisting the police or going near soldiers guarding the town at night. The message also acknowledged a recent reward offered for information leading to the arrest of suspected sect members.

“Any Muslim that goes against the establishment of Sharia (law) will be attacked and killed,” the message read.

Boko Haram – which means ‘Western education is sacrilege’ in Hausa – has campaigned for the implementation of strict Sharia law. A dozen states across Nigeria’s north already have Sharia law in place, though the area remains under the control of secular state governments.

The poster said it was from Shekau on behalf of “The Group of the People of Sunnah, Call and Jihad.”

Police officers began removing the signs late on Wednesday.

“These publications and messages on Boko Haram activities are seditious and could jeopardise our investigations into the four-month serial attacks and killings in the state,” Borno State police commissioner Mohammed Abubakar said on Thursday.

Authorities did not immediately comment on the use of the logos on the posters. Though the al-Qaeda branch has distributed messages by Boko Haram before, it is unclear whether the two groups have any operational links. The two groups also come from two different ethnic groups in northern Nigeria.

Boko Haram sect members rioted and attacked police stations and private homes in July 2009, sparking a violent police and military crackdown. In total, 700 people died.

The sect largely went underground after the attack, though rumours began to spread two months ago that the group was rearming. Last September, Boko Haram members attacked a federal prison in Bauchi, freeing about 750 inmates – including imprisoned sect followers.


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