Nigeria 'called off deal' for girls

A deal for the release of some of the abducted schoolgirls in Nigeria was close to being secured when the Nigerian government called it off, the BBC has learned. Some of the girls were set to be freed in exchange for imprisoned Islamist militants, reports the BBC's Will Ross. Boko Haram group snatched more than 200 girls from a school on 14 April. Nigeria's government is under pressure to do more to tackle the group and bring about the girls' release. Thousands of people have died since Boko Haram began a violent campaign against the Nigerian government in 2009 and in the subsequent security crackdown. 'All options open' The BBC has learned that officials have held talks with the group to secure the release of the schoolgirls. An intermediary met Boko Haram leaders earlier this month and visited the location in north-east Nigeria where the girls were being held, says the BBC's Will Ross in the capital, Abuja. A deal was almost reached to set some of the girls free in exchange for the release of 100 Boko Haram members being held in detention, our correspondent says. But the government cancelled the planned agreement shortly before the swap was due to take place. The reasons for the withdrawal are unclear. It came just after Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan attended a meeting in Paris hosted by President Francois Hollande of France where leaders said they had agreed a "global and regional action plan" against Boko Haram. Who are Boko Haram? • Founded in 2002 • Initially focused on opposing Western education - Boko Haram means "Western education is forbidden" in the Hausa language • Launched military operations in 2009 to create Islamic state • Thousands killed, mostly in north-eastern Nigeria - also attacked police and UN headquarters in capital, Abuja • Some three million people affected • Declared terrorist group by US in 2013 The girls, who were mainly Christian, were taken from their school in Chibok, in north-eastern Borno state and are thought to be held in a remote forested area of the state, close to the border with Chad and Cameroon. Nigeria previously in return for their release. However, the information ministry had earlier said all options were on the table, after the group earlier this month and suggested a swap. The video showed 136 girls, and was interspersed with militants explaining that they had "converted" to Islam. The UK, the US, China and France are among the countries to have sent teams of experts and equipment to help to locate them. 'Morally bankrupt' Meanwhile, Nigeria is reeling from continuing violence - on Sunday, 24 villagers died in a raid by suspected Boko Haram militants. On Saturday there was another bomb in the central city of Jos where earlier in the week 118 people had died a twin car bomb attack blamed on the group. A special day of Muslim prayers was held on Sunday in Abuja where the Sultan of Sokoto - the spiritual leader of Nigeria's Muslims - said the country faced a crisis worse than the civil war in the 1960s as they were fighting an enemy without boundaries. "What is happening in the country is a very serious case of terrorism; terrorism has no place in Islam… we must fish out those bad elements amongst us," Muhammed Sa'ad Abubakar told worshippers. But the sultan said Nigerians cannot hope for their prayers to be answered if they continue to be "corrupt and so morally bankrupt". "Corruption breeds injustice, injustice has no place in Islam. Injustice is a big barrier to good governance and if you don't have good governance in any society, you don't have the people," he said.
Naijaswap © 2014

Deadly attacks on Nigeria villages

Nigeria village attack 'kills 17' May 21, 2014 13:00 Gabriel Gatehouse in Jos: "Is the Nigerian military capable of coping with this threat?" The Islamist group Boko Haram has been accused of killing at least 17 people in an attack on a village in north-east Nigeria, close to where hundreds of schoolgirls were seized. It comes a day after 118 people died in a double bombing in the central city of Jos, also blamed on Boko Haram. In the latest attack, Boko Haram fighters reportedly spent hours killing and looting in the village of Alagarno. Alagarno is near Chibok, from where the schoolgirls were abducted last month. The abductions of more than 200 girls caused international outrage and prompted foreign powers to send military advisers to assist Nigeria's army. People in north-east Nigeria are extremely vulnerable to attacks because many areas are no-go zones for the military and the insurgents operate freely, correspondents say. Analysis by Will Ross, BBC News, Abuja The big question is where is Nigeria heading? The ferocity, frequency and geographical spread of the attacks is alarming. The military continues to fail to protect civilians in the north-east despite endless promises from the government that additional help is being sent there. Boko Haram has in the past said it wanted to create an Islamic state. The current bombing campaign is indiscriminate, killing Christians and Muslims. Following most of the devastating attacks in the remote north-east this year, the government has been silent. These days the president and government officials take less time to condemn, but there is no real sign that the military has the capacity to turn the tide against this brutal campaign of violence. That is terrifying. 'Fully committed' Witnesses in Alagarno said the suspected Boko Haram fighters had arrived close to midnight, forcing many residents to flee into the bush. The militants left the village some four hours later with stolen food and vehicles. One survivor told the BBC that every single building in the village had been torched. Meanwhile, the search for bodies is continuing in Jos following Tuesday's twin bombings that reduced buildings to rubble. Witnesses in Jos described scenes of horror and confusion in the aftermath of the attack Twisted wreckage from the blasts in Jos was still strewn across the road on Wednesday Relatives of victims gathered at a mortuary in Jos to identify their loved ones The attacks targeted a crowded market and a hospital, and the second blast went off 30 minutes after the first - killing rescue workers who had rushed to the scene. "People were using wheelbarrows to move bodies and limbs," eyewitness Janzen Weyi told the BBC. Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan condemned the bombings, and said those who carried out the attacks were "cruel and evil". His office said he was "fully committed to winning the war against terror". The president announced increased measures to tackle the militants, including a multinational force around Lake Chad which comprises a battalion each from Chad, Niger, Cameroon and Nigeria. The US also issued a statement condemning the Jos attack, as well as a suicide bombing in the northern city of Kano on 18 May. It said it was working closely with Nigerian authorities to find a solution to the "regional security threat" posed by Boko Haram. President Jonathan's government has been accused of not doing enough to tackle the Islamist extremists - criticism that has grown since the abduction of the schoolgirls. Earlier this month, the Nigerian senate unanimously approved a six-month extension of a state of emergency in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states. Boko Haram is fighting to overthrow the government and create an Islamic state. More than 1,000 people have been killed in attacks linked to the group this year alone. Nigeria under attack • 20 May: Twin bomb attacks killed at least 118 people in the central city of Jos • 18 May: Suicide blast on a busy street in northern city of Kano kills four, including a 12-year-old girl • 5 May: Boko Haram militants slaughter more than 300 residents in the town of Gamboru Ngala • 2 May: Car bomb claims at least 19 lives in the Nigerian capital, Abuja • 14 April: Twin bomb attack claimed by Boko Haram kills more than 70 at an Abuja bus station; the same day, the group abducts more than 200 schoolgirls from the remote northern town of Chibok • 17 March: At least 20 people die in a suicide car bomb at a bus stop in Kano Are you in the area? You can contact us by emailing us  naijadon10@gmail.com  using  'Nigeria' in the subject heading. 

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