NIGERIA: EXTREMIST ATTACKS CONTINUE INTO NIGHT

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ABUJA 001379 SIPDIS DEPT FOR AF/W, INR/AA E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/01/2019 TAGS: PGOV SOCI SENV EAGR PREL NI SUBJECT: NIGERIA: EXTREMIST ATTACKS CONTINUE INTO NIGHT REF: ABUJA 1377 Classified By: Political Counselor Walter N.S. Pflaumer for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) Summary: According to Embassy contacts, other reporting channels, and local news reporting, additional extremist attacks were carried out on police stations and government buildings throughout the night of July 27-28 in Maiduguri, Borno state, following three days of similar attacks in three other northern Nigerian towns. The attacks are believed to be a continuation of the violence reported ref A, and in response to a mid-June incident in which Nigerian police injured 17 of the extremist group's members. Unconfirmed reports indicate approximately 100-150 people were killed, including some police and military personnel. On July 28, the GON called up its military to respond to and prevent further attacks. End Summary. ¶2. (C) Armed members of the group "Boko Haram" -- comprised of young Muslim extremists and other followers of Mohammed Yusuf, leader of the so-called "Nigerian Taliban" -- continued their attacks on police in Maiduguri, Borno state, well into the night of July 27. According to several press reports, the extremists carried out a coordinated late-night assault on the state's police headquarters, police training facilities, Maiduguri prison, and two other police stations. The group also kidnapped a reporter from one of Nigeria's leading newspapers, "The Daily Trust," who was later released. Maiduguri businessman Chief Ezeoke Azubuike confirmed to Emboffs that two police stations were set ablaze and that the extremist freed several prisoners from Maiduguri's central prison. State-owned Nigeria Television Authority (NTA) showed video clips of the razed police stations, as well as the corpses of alleged extremists reportedly killed by police. ¶3. (C) The attacks led to the suspension of most governmental, commercial and social activity in Maiduguri. Mobile and other communication services were also cut off, and a state-wide curfew was implemented between 1900 and 0700 hours. Schools and all government-run operations in 18 ministries and parastatals were also closed. Security agents reportedly continue to round up the remnants of the extremist fighters in their enclaves. Sheikh Abu Arabi, a Maiduguri-based Islamic scholar, told Emboffs that residents and school children have remained indoors and there is palpable fear among residents. (He explained that "nobody can tell you with accuracy what is going on or the scale of the fighting because people are too weary of leaving their homes.") Nigeria Television Authority (NTA) video showed largely deserted streets, occupied only by soldiers and armed police. ¶4. (C) Maiduguri police displayed 52 corpses of alleged extremists to reporters, and claimed that more than 150 others were killed during the fighting. Borno Governor Ali Modu issued a statement ordering an indefinite state-wide "dusk-to-dawn" curfew. Police also reported the arrest of more than 100 extremists who were on their way from Maiduguri to Kano, one of whom told a reporter that he "had no regret for being a member of (Boko Haram); it is Jihad, and Western education is a bad practice." Col. Ben Ahanotu, commander of police "Operation Flush II" (FYI: members of this police operation were involved in the original June 11 clash with Mohammed Yusuf's followers. End FYI),told reporters that "the next military action against these armed religious sects is to destroy their operational points and areas that pose serious threats to lives and property." Three days after the first attacks in Bauchi, Presidential Spokesman Olusegun Adeniyi issued a statement announcing that President Yar'Adua had directed all national security units to contain and repel the extremists. ¶5. (C) Activities are gradually returning to normal today (July 28) in the surrounding states of Yobe, Bauchi, and Kano, which were also affected the previous day by the extremist attacks, as police and military take control of the streets. According to today's VOA Hausa Service morning broadcast, Bauchi Minister of Police Affairs Yakubu Lame has ABUJA 00001379 002 OF 002 ordered that no Muslim should be allowed to preach openly without a police permit. Yobe Governor's Aide Tura Kolomi told Emboffs that although no attack occurred in Damaturu, the state capital, police quelled an attack on a police station in Potiskum, the state's major commercial hub. In Kano, Governor's Aide Kabiru Magami confirmed to Emboffs that Boko Haram attacked a police station in the small town of Wudil, but were quickly defeated and arrested. There were no reports of additional attacks in Taraba, Adamawa, or Kaduna states, but press reported 33, 17, and 21 arrests in each state, respectively. ¶6. (U) Religious and human rights groups condemned the attacks. A spokesman for the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF, which lobbies for the interests of Muslim Northerners) told local press that the extremist attacks are not in accordance with true Islam. In an expression of unity, a spokesman for the Christian Association of Nigerian assured residents that the attacks were not directed at Christians, and then blamed the security agencies for not preventing what were obvious premeditated attacks. Meanwhile, Human Rights Writers Association Coordinator Emmaneul Onwubiko blamed the attacks on the "total lack of political will on the part of the Federal and state governments and the failure of its intelligence units." VOA Hausa Service said that a member of Boko Haram claimed that they "were not attacking Christians or innocent residents, but rather the Nigerian authorities and its symbols." Chief Superintendent of Police and head of NAPTIP's Kano Division Bello Ahmed informed Emboffs that Kano state security is in possession of a strategy paper written by Yusuf, which describes Nigeria as "a failed state that cannot provide jobs and basic necessitites of life to its citizens" and that Boko Haram "aims to kill all government officials, including security operatives, to set up a system of government that ensures justice and equitable distribution of resources." ¶7. (C) Comment: It is unclear whether Yusuf's followers, particularly members of Boko Haram, will regroup and stage future attacks, but thus far their attacks are focused on defined targets, which at present do not include western or U.S. interests. However, the target of Yusuf's recruitment campaign -- the growing disaffected and marginalized youth of northern Nigeria -- will remain susceptible to his anti-western and anti-establishment rhetoric. End Comment. ¶8. (U) This cable was coordinated with Consulate Lagos. SANDERS