http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2009/07/200973113346486172.html
Friday, July 31, 2009
18:42 Mecca time, 15:42 GMT
Call for probe into Nigeria killing
Nigerian police say Mohammed Yusuf, the leader of Boko Haram,
was killed in a gun battle on Thursday
A US-based human rights group has called for an investigation into the
killing of the leader of the Nigerian Islamist group blamed for a series of
deadly attacks in the country's north.
New York-based Human Rights Watch said on Friday reports that Mohammed
Yusuf, the leader of Boko Haram, was shot and killed while in police custody
were "extremely worrying".
"The extra-judicial killing of Mr Yusuf in police custody is a shocking
example of the brazen contempt by the Nigerian police for the rule of law,"
Eric Guttschuss, the organisation's Nigeria researcher, said.
Guttschuss urged Nigerian authorities to investigate the circumstances of
the killing a day earlier.
"Failure to hold members of the security forces to account for abuses has
emboldened them to commit serious crimes without fear of being brought to
justice," he told the AFP news agency.
But Emmanuel Ojukwu, a national police spokesman, dismissed accusations
that the police response to the Boko Haram attacks was heavy-handed.
"They were making bombs, they attacked many police stations, they killed
many people and they held many hostages," Ojukwu told Al Jazeera.
"No responsible government will allow that to happen in any part of the
world.
"They were out bombing police stations and bombing government
infrastructure. All the police and security forces did was to restore order and
normalcy."
Escape attempt
Nigerian officials announced earlier in the day that Yusuf had been shot
dead by police as he attempted to flee his compound in the northern city of
Maiduguri.
In depth
Profile: Boko Haram
Video: Deadly Nigeria fighting rages on
Video: Dozens killed in violence in northern Nigeria
Pictures: Deadly clashes hit Nigeria
"Mohammed Yusuf was killed by security forces in a shootout while trying
to escape," Moses Anegbode, a police assistant inspector-general for
northeastern Nigeria, told the local BRTV state television.
"I can confirm that he has been killed and the body is with us."
State television footage shown to officials and journalists showed
jubilant police celebrating around the body.
But a Reuters news agency reporter and other local journalists said they
had seen Yusuf at a military barracks in Maiduguri standing up and with no
visible injuries following his capture.
He was then transferred to the city police headquarters where he died.
A BBC correspondent said a video shown to officials and journalists
showed Yusuf confessing and saying he regretted his actions.
"The next moment on the video footage he was seen shot ... They showed
his body," the correspondent said.
'Unbelievable sight'
Al Jazeera's Yvonne Ndege, reporting from inside the compound in
Maiduguri, said police said Yusuf's death followed a fierce gun battle between
Nigerian security forces and Boko Haram members.
"It really is an unbelievable sight. It looks like a complete war zone,"
Ndege said.
"Everywhere you look you can see human body parts poking out of rubble,
out of branches, out of trees.
"It's been a terrible incident for people living in and around Maiduguri."
The gun battle followed days of deadly violence between Boko Haram
members and security forces in which hundreds of people were killed.
Hundreds killed
The Nigerian Red Cross said authorities had collected more than 200
bodies from the streets of Maiduguri alone.
But Ndege said authorities do not believe the violence is over.
"The governor of Borno state said that [authorities] are concerned about
the possibility that Boko Haram militants had fled Maiduguri," she said.
"They could possibly be regrouping in other parts of Borno state and the
other states that have been affected by the violence.
"Members of the public are being told to stay at home."
Boko Haram, which means "Western education is prohibited" in the local
Hausa dialect, has called for the enforcement of sharia, or Islamic law,
including among non-Muslims.
The clashes began on Sunday in nearby Bauchi state, with Boko Haram
fighters attacking police stations, before they spilled over into neighbouring
states.
But most of the casualties appear to have been in Maiduguri, the
northeastern city known as the birthplace and stronghold of the group.
Nigeria's 140 million people are nearly evenly divided between
Christians, who dominate the south, and the primarily northern-based Muslims.
Islamic law was implemented in 12 northern states after Nigeria returned
to civilian rule in 1999 following years of military rule.
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