Amnesty wants Jonathan to probe police killings – The Guardian

Amnesty International has called on Acting President Goodluck Jonathan to fulfil the commitments made in his acceptance speech by setting up an independent commission of inquiry into all suspected cases of unlawful killings by the Nigeria Police in recent years.

The call was prompted by the broadcast of a video footage on Al Jazeera last week that allegedly showed police shooting and killing unarmed people in Maiduguri, Borno State, in July last year.

A statement by Amnesty International’s Africa Director, Erwin van der Borght, decried the action of the police, stressing that all alleged killings and shootings should be investigated and perpetrators brought to book in the interest of justice.

Boko Haram:Reps probe extra-judicial killings – Daily Trust

A joint House of Representatives committee has been given two weeks to investigate and present a report on the alleged killing of unarmed civilians by policemen in the wake of the Boko Haram violence in Maiduguri, Borno State.

The probe is coming after the broadcast of footage by Al Jazeera television network on Tuesday, showing mobile policemen shooting dead several unarmed civilians including boys and crippled men.

The House of Representatives yesterday directed its committees on Police Affairs, Human Rights and Justice to investigate the killings as shown in the footage.

An estimated 1,000 people were killed as security forces fought the Boko Haram sect in Borno, Yobe, Kano and Bauchi states in July and August last year.

But the footage broadcast by Al Jazeera shows that many of the deaths occurred only after the fighting was over.

Riot policemen staged a follow-up operation in which house-to-house searches were conducted and individuals were apparently selected at random and taken to a police station.

Reps accuse minister of squandering N3.5b police fund – The Nation

The House of Representatives Committee on Police Affairs yesterday queried the Minister for Police Affairs, Mr. Ibrahim Lame, for allegedly not being able to account for N3.5 billion.

Speaking at an interactive session, the lawmakers wondered why the minister spent such an amount without recourse to the National Assembly.

The money was meant for strategic crime prevention in seven cities namely Lagos, Ibadan, Maiduguri, Port Harcourt, Abuja, Enugu and Kano.

The lawmakers discovered that most of the companies that were given various contracts by the minister have no fixed addresses.

Besides, the fund did not achieve 20 per cent of its intended purpose.

Some lawmakers, who felt Lame was withholding information on the issue, walked out of the session.

The Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Usman Nafada who was at the session, urged the minister to produce a breakdown of the amount spent in each of cities.

Indomie Celebrates Ramadan, Takes Indomie kitchen to Mosques

Dufil Prima Foods Plc, manufacturers of No. 1 noodles brand, Indomie instant noodles says it will be sharing the glorious occasion of Ramadan with the Muslim community across the nation.

According to the company’s Area Marketing Manager, Abdulrasaq Lawal, Indomie will be served during Iftar at various mosques in four northern cities of Kano, Maiduguri, Kaduna and Abuja as well as the ancient city of Ibadan. Read more

Yar’adua orders probe of sect leader’s death – Daily Trust

President Umaru Yar’adua has ordered an investigation into the alleged extra-judicial killing of the Boko Haram sect leader Mohammed Yusuf, who the police killed last Thursday few hours after his arrest by the military.

Yusuf was captured alive by soldiers in Maiduguri and handed over to the police who allegedly shot him dead in cold blood. He was killed after days of violence that erupted when the sect’s followers attacked a police station in Bauchi earlier last week. The violence spread to Borno, Yobe, Kano and Katsina states, leaving over 800 persons dead.

Fielding questions from newsmen during a joint news conference with the visiting Benin Republic President Yayi Boni at the State House in Abuja, Yar’adua said he has directed the National Security Adviser (NSA) retired Major-General Abdullahi Sarki Mukhtar to investigate, along with security agencies, the circumstances surrounding Yusuf’s death and submit a report to him before the week runs out.

Boko Haram: Death Toll Now 700, Says Security Commander – Thisday

A commander of the state adhoc security group, codenamed, ‘Operation Flush’ deployed to tackle members of the Boko Haram fundamentalist sect which last week inficted violence on Bauchi and Borno states, Colonel Ben Ahanotu yesterday said about 700 bodies have so far been recovered in Maiduguri alone after the clash between police and the radical Islamist sect subsided. The toll was previously thought to be around 300.

The disclosure of the casualty figure in the Borno State capital came as the top echelon of the nation’s security services met in Kano for most part of the weekend to formulate appropriate strategy for averting similar occurrence in the future.

Boko Haram Suspected Financier Executed – The Guardian

The military offensive against members of the extremist Boko Haram Islamic group claimed more casualties yesterday.

A suspected sponsor of the sect, Mohammed Yusuf-led sect, Alhaji Buji Foi, was given summary execution in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital by the police.

His execution took place at the state police command headquarters in Maiduguri.

Foi’s death came 24 hours after Yusuf was killed in action.

Calm returns, more troops in northern states – The Guardian

After four days of fierce gun battle between the Nigerian armed forces and members of an Islamic sect, Boko Haram, calm returned to Maiduguri, the Borno State capital yesterday.

The military said that they had successfully crushed the uprising by the extremist Islamic group, Boko Haram.

Consequently, the state government, which imposed a dusk to dawn curfew in Maiduguri and its environs in the wake of the crisis, reviewed it to 9 p.m. to 6.00 a.m.

Boko Haram leader killed – Daily Trust

From The battle between security forces and followers of the Boko Haram sect appeared to have come to an end with the killing yesterday of the leader of the group few hours after he was captured in Maiduguri.

The police claimed that Malam Mohammed Yusuf, whose followers battled troops and policemen for the past five days in as many states, was killed in a shootout with security men. But a BBC reporter in Maiduguri said Yusuf was arrested and paraded before journalists with no apparent sign of injury.

“He has been killed. You can come and see his body at the state police command headquarters,” spokesman for the Borno State Police Command Isa Azare told Reuters news agency.

Islamic Sect Leader, Yusuf, Killed, Followers Flee To Chad – Daily Independent

“Muhammed Yusuf has been killed. You can come and see his body at the Borno State police command headquarters,” Police Public Relations Officer, Isa Azare, announced in Maiduguri on Thursday, five days after the man and his underlings in the Islamic sect called Boko Haram unleashed terror across four Northern states seeking to wipe out Western education.

His bullet-riddled body was later shown on television.

Police Commissioner, Christopher Dega, had earlier disclosed that Yusuf was arrested after being found hiding in a goat pen at his parents-in-law’s house.

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