GIUGNO 2011

giugno 6, 2011 -  NIGERIA
AGLI ARRESTI PER TRUFFA L’EX PRESIDENTE DEL PARLAMENTO

giugno 8, 2011 -  NIGERIA
MAIDUGURI, ATTACCHI ATTRIBUITI A MOVIMENTO ‘BOKO HARAM’

giugno 8, 2011 -  NIGERIA
MAIDUGURI (2): ESPLOSIONE IN CATTEDRALE, APPELLO AL DIALOGO

giugno 9, 2011 -  NIGERIA
MAIDUGURI: DOPO LE VIOLENZE, L’IPOTESI DI UNA TRATTATIVA

giugno 10, 2011 -  NIGERIA
MAIDUGURI: DOPO GLI ATTENTATI, ALCUNI ARRESTI

giugno 17, 2011 -  NIGERIA
SETTA ‘BOKO HARAM’ RIVENDICA ATTENTATO DI ABUJA

giugno 17, 2011 -  NIGERIA
BOKO HARAM E IL NORD, LE PAURE DI ABUJA

giugno 27, 2011 -  NIGERIA
ATTENTATO NEL NORD ATTRIBUITO BOKO HARAM, APPELLI AL DIALOGO

giugno 27, 2011 -  NIGERIA
BOKO HARAM: PERCHÉ SONO PIÙ FORTI

giugno 30, 2011 -  NIGERIA
PETROLIO, LAVORO, DELTA DEL NIGER: PRENDE FORMA IL GOVERNO

1 June 2011
Nigeria 'baby farm' girls rescued by Abia state police

1 June 2011
Nigeria attacks claimed by Islamist sect Boko Haram

6 June 2011
Nigerian speaker Dimeji Bankole arrested for 'fraud'

7 June 2011
Maiduguri: 'Boko Haram' attacks Nigeria police stations

9 June 2011
Nigeria gunmen kidnap volunteers in Delta oil region

10 June 2011
Maiduguri: Nigeria arrests for 'Boko Haram' attacks

17 June 2011
Nigeria's Boko Haram Islamists 'bombed Abuja police HQ'

17 June 2011
Who are Nigeria's Boko Haram Islamists?

15 June 2011
Nigeria's pastors 'as rich as oil barons'

21 June 2011
Nigerian bank and police station attacked in Katsina

27 June 2011
Nigeria Boko Haram Islamists 'bomb Maiduguri drinkers'

29 June 2011
Nigeria imposes curfew on Abuja nightclubs and pubs

29 June 2011
Africa viewpoint: Nigerian weddings, money and babies


giugno 6, 2011 -  NIGERIA
AGLI ARRESTI PER TRUFFA L’EX PRESIDENTE DEL PARLAMENTO
L’ex presidente del parlamento Dimeji Bankole, per anni uno dei politici più influenti della Nigeria, è stato arrestato ad Abuja con l’accusa di appropriazione indebita di fondi pubblici per l’equivalente di decine di milioni di euro.
Il provvedimento di custodia cautelare è stato eseguito ieri su disposizione della Commissione per i reati economici e finanziari (Efcc), un organismo che negli ultimi anni ha ordinato l’arresto di numerosi funzionari pubblici e manager d’impresa.
Secondo un portavoce della Commissione, Bankole è finito in manette perché c’era il rischio che tentasse di fuggire all’estero. L’ex presidente del parlamento, in carica dal 2007 fino alla conclusione dell’ultima legislatura venerdì scorso, è sospettato per altro di aver ottenuto un prestito bancario utilizzando un conto del parlamento.
Bankole aveva perso l’incarico parlamentare dopo essere stato sconfitto alle elezioni legislative di aprile, un voto giudicato dalla gran parte degli osservatori nigeriani e stranieri come il più libero e trasparente dal ritorno del potere ai civili nel 1999. (MISNA)

giugno 8, 2011 -  NIGERIA
MAIDUGURI, ATTACCHI ATTRIBUITI A MOVIMENTO ‘BOKO HARAM’
Sarebbero una decina le vittime di scontri avvenuti ieri a Maiduguri, capitale dello stato settentrionale di Borno, dove sono stati attaccati due commissariati di polizia e, secondo alcune fonti, la chiesa di San Patrizio, da presunti elementi armati della setta radicale islamista ‘Boko Haram’, già coinvolta in violenze in passato. Tra le vittime ci sarebbero miliziani, un soldato e forse alcuni civili.
Lunedì era stato ucciso a Maiduguri Ibrahim Birkuti, un leader religioso di un movimento musulmano rivale. La polizia aveva indicato ‘Boko Haram’ come possibile responsabile dell’omicidio.
Secondo fonti nigeriane, gli attacchi da parte di miliziani di ‘Boko Haram’ si sono intensificati dopo le elezioni locali del 26 aprile, che nello stato di Borno hanno confermato al potere l’‘All Nigeria peoples party’ (Anpp) con l’elezione di Kashim Shettima a governatore. Shettima aveva proposto un’amnistia ai membri di ‘Boko Haram’, che avrebbe respinto l’offerta.
Dopo intensi scontri nel 2009, le forze di sicurezza avevano condotto una massiccia operazione di repressione, segnata anche da abusi, contro il movimento ‘Boko Haram’. Nello scorso dicembre, decine di esponenti della setta erano stati arrestati per il loro presunto coinvolgimento in violenze a Jos, nello stato di Plateau. (MISNA)

giugno 8, 2011 -  NIGERIA
MAIDUGURI (2): ESPLOSIONE IN CATTEDRALE, APPELLO AL DIALOGO
“Si è verificata proprio all’ingresso della nostra cattedrale, San Patrizio, una delle esplosioni  avvenute ieri a Maiduguri. Alcuni passanti che si trovavano sulla strada adiacente sono stati colpiti, probabilmente qualcuno di loro è morto. Il cancello della cattedrale è stato distrutto, i vetri sono andati in frantumi e ci sono stati altri danni”: lo ha detto alla MISNA monsignor Oliver Dashe Doeme, vescovo di Maiduguri, capitale dello stato settentrionale di Borno.
“Non sappiamo con esattezza chi siano i responsabili di questi attacchi, ma diverse fonti indicano il movimento ‘Boko Haram’, che vuole far crescere la sua influenza e che sta reclutando sempre più persone tra le sue fila” ha aggiunto il presule, confermando un clima di tensione molto acceso nell’area da alcune settimane. Negli attacchi di ieri sono stati presi di mira anche i commissariati cittadini. Alla MISNA, il vescovo, attualmente fuori città, non è stato in grado di fornire un bilancio preciso delle vittime, ma alcune fonti parlano di 11 morti, tra cui miliziani, almeno un poliziotto e civili.
Il governatore dello stato di Borno, Kashim Shettima, si è detto disposto al dialogo con il movimento radicale islamico ‘Boko Haram’, già coinvolto in precedenti violenze: “Sappiamo che non tutti i membri del gruppo sono degli estremisti, alcuni vogliono deporre le armi e tornare a una vita normale. La via del dialogo è aperta” ha detto il governatore. “Alcuni elementi vogliono approfittare della situazione e creare il caos per fare in modo che il governo federale dichiari lo stato di emergenza. Ma questo non accadrà perché non ci facciamo intimidire facilmente” ha aggiunto Shettima, esponente di un partito forte soprattutto nel nord della Nigeria, l’’All Nigeria peoples party’ (Anpp). (MISNA)

giugno 9, 2011 -  NIGERIA
MAIDUGURI: DOPO LE VIOLENZE, L’IPOTESI DI UNA TRATTATIVA
Il governo nigeriano è favorevole a un negoziato con un gruppo accusato di diversi attentati nella città di Maiduguri e in altre zone del Nord: lo ha detto il presidente Goodluck Jonathan, ipotizzando un paragone con un programma di amnistia avviato nei confronti dei ribelli attivi nel Sud petrolifero.
“La scelta migliore – ha sostenuto il capo dello Stato – è negoziare e assicurarsi che episodi del genere non si ripetano; nel Delta del Niger siamo riusciti a farlo”.
Due giorni fa assalti contro alcuni commissariati di polizia e un’esplosione a pochi passi dalla cattedrale di Maiduguri hanno causato diverse vittime, 11 secondo alcune fonti. Delle violenze è stato accusato Boko Haram, un gruppo di matrice islamica che sostiene di battersi contro modelli culturali di tipo “occidentale”.
Secondo Jonathan, che ha parlato ieri sera a margine di una conferenza dell’Onu a New York, a Maiduguri e in altre regioni del nord non c’è uno scontro tra religioni. “Non si tratta – ha detto il presidente – di cristiani contro musulmani: gli ultimi attentati di Boko Haram hanno colpito soprattutto importanti gruppi islamici accusati di abbracciare modelli occidentali”.
Nella regione petrolifera del Delta del Niger offensive armate contro forze governative e sequestri di dipendenti di società energetiche straniere sono diminuiti in modo significativo dal 2009, dopo l’avvio di un programma di amnistia e reinserimento sociale. (MISNA)

giugno 10, 2011 -  NIGERIA
MAIDUGURI: DOPO GLI ATTENTATI, ALCUNI ARRESTI
La polizia ha arrestato 14 sospettati per gli attentati perpetrati martedì scorso a Maiduguri, capitale dello stato nordorientale di Borno, e nel quale sono morte 14 persone, secondo un nuovo bilancio. Diverse fonti riferiscono che tra le vittime c’è un pastore protestante, il reverendo David Usman e un assistente che lavorava presso la Chiesa di Cristo in Nigeria. Anche la cattedrale locale, San Patrizio, è stata danneggiata da un’esplosione al suo ingresso, mentre erano stati attaccati i commissariati locali.
Le autorità continuano ad attribuire le violenze alla setta islamica radicale ‘Boko haram’, alla quale apparterrebbero gli individui arrestati. Sia il governatore locale che il presidente della Nigeria, Goodluck Jonathan, si sono detti favorevoli al dialogo come risoluzione delle controversie con ‘Boko Haram’, già protagonista di violenze due anni fa e oggetto di una massiccia operazione di repressione da parte delle forze dell’ordine. (MISNA)

giugno 17, 2011 -  NIGERIA
SETTA ‘BOKO HARAM’ RIVENDICA ATTENTATO DI ABUJA
La setta estremista islamica ‘Boko Haram’ ha rivendicato in un comunicato l’attentato suicida avvenuto ieri contro il quartier generale della polizia ad Abuja, che ha provocato tre vittime e diverse decine di feriti.
Lo riferisce la stampa nigeriana secondo cui il primo attentato suicida nella storia del paese è in realtà solo l’ultimo di una lunga serie di attacchi avvenuti nella capitale federale dall’ottobre 2010.
Secondo le ricostruzioni degli investigatori, l’attentatore si è fatto esplodere all’interno del parcheggio della stazione di polizia, a meno di un chilometro dagli uffici e dalla residenza presidenziali.
Sempre nella giornata di ieri, poche ore dopo l’attentato di Abuja, una bomba è esplosa nei pressi di una chiesa nello stato settentrionale di Borno, circa 80 chilometri a sud di Maiduguri, capitale dello stato e teatro diversi attacchi che nel mese scorso hanno provocato 14 vittime e 17 feriti.
Il capo della polizia locale ha confermato che nell’attacco di ieri a Damboa sono rimasti uccisi tre bambini.
Dopo intensi scontri nel nord del paese, nel 2009 le forze di sicurezza nigeriane avevano condotto una massiccia operazione di repressione contro il movimento. Lo scorso dicembre, decine di esponenti della setta erano stati arrestati per il loro presunto coinvolgimento in violenze a Jos, nello stato di Plateau. (MISNA)

giugno 17, 2011 -  NIGERIA
BOKO HARAM E IL NORD, LE PAURE DI ABUJA
Sono timore e incertezza i sentimenti più diffusi ad Abuja all’indomani dell’attentato dinamitardo contro il quartier generale della polizia nigeriana: lo dicono alla MISNA religiosi che vivono nella capitale, sottolineando la possibilità di un legame tra l’episodio e le tensioni sociali in alcune regioni del Nord.
“Molti pensano: ‘Se hanno colpito lì possono farlo dovunque’” racconta padre Patrick Alumuku, direttore delle comunicazioni sociali dell’arcidiocesi di Abuja. La capitale era già stata scossa da un attentato dinamitardo che aveva provocato diverse vittime il 1° ottobre scorso, nel giorno delle celebrazioni per il 50° anniversario dell’indipendenza. Anche allora era stato colpito il cuore del potere, il centro di Abuja dove erano arrivati decine di capi di Stato. Questa volta ad accrescere lo sgomento è il fatto che l’esplosione è stata causata da un attentatore suicida, un presunto militante del gruppo islamico Boko Haram, riuscito a penetrare al volante di un’autobomba in un parcheggio interno al quartier generale della polizia.
Il quotidiano “The Vanguard” scrive oggi che “storie del genere giungevano finora da paesi lontani come Iraq, Pakistan o Afghanistan”. Altri giornali ripropongono una notizia pubblicata pochi giorni fa, relativa all’arrivo dalla Somalia di un carico di armi e di militanti di Boko Haram reduci da un programma di addestramento.
Oggi sul luogo dell’esplosione si è recato Goodluck Jonathan, presidente originario del Sud petrolifero e cristiano la cui conferma elettorale ad aprile ha originato violenze e disordini in diversi Stati del Nord semi-arido e musulmano.
Proprio gli squilibri sociali e regionali, più che legami internazionali tutti da verificare, consentirebbero di spiegare l’attentato di Abuja. Secondo padre Alumuku, Boko Haram trae forza dalla frustrazione dei giovani disoccupati del Nord-est, una regione rimasta ai margini troppo a lungo. Uno dei problemi fondamentali è stato il crollo dell’industria tessile, l’attività produttiva più importante in un’area con un tasso di fertilità media di oltre sette figli per donna.
“Nell’ultimo anno – aggiunge il direttore delle comunicazioni sociali dell’arcidiocesi di Abuja – Jonathan ha investito sul negoziato con i gruppi armati del Delta del Niger, la sua regione d’origine, ma non ha presentato alcun piano specifico per il Nord”. La settimana scorsa, dopo alcuni attentati nella città nord-orientale di Maiduguri, il presidente si era detto pronto ad avviare una trattativa con Boko Haram. Le sue dichiarazioni andavano in direzione opposta rispetto a quella indicata dall’ispettore generale della polizia, Hafiz Ringim, favorevole a un approccio esclusivamente militare. Tutto questo prima dell’autobomba, un segnale tutto da interpretare. (MISNA)

giugno 27, 2011 -  NIGERIA
ATTENTATO NEL NORD ATTRIBUITO BOKO HARAM, APPELLI AL DIALOGO
Almeno 25 persone sono state uccise e altre decine ferite in un nuovo attentato perpetrato ieri contro un bar della periferia di Maiduguri (nord) che porterebbe la firma del gruppo estremista Boko Haram. Sulla base delle prime ricostruzioni, due uomini a bordo di una motocicletta hanno lanciato ordigni e aperto il fuoco a più riprese contro un locale molto frequentato alle porte della città. Secondo gli ufficiali delle forze di sicurezza, la tecnica dell’agguato è la stessa già utilizzata più volte negli ultimi mesi dai militanti di Boko Haram.
Nelle ultime settimane sono stati sferratiattacchi contro una caserma di polizia, due commissariati e una chiesa. Boko Haram ha anche rivendicato un attentato contro il quartiere generale della polizia ad Abuja, facendo temere un ampliamento del raggio di azione del gruppo di matrice islamica che fino a pochi giorni fa aveva operato per lo più nella sua roccaforte nord-orientale di Maiduguri, la capitale dello Stato di Borno, confinante con Ciad, Camerun e Niger.
All’indomani del fatto, riferisce il quotidiano ‘Vanguard’, un gruppo di difesa dei diritti umani, il ‘Civil rights congress of Nigeria’ (Crcn) ha chiesto al governo federale di Jos (Stato di Plateau) di formare un gruppo di contatto per intavolare un dialogo con Boko Haram. Secondo il Crcn, la guida del gruppo dovrebbe essere affidata a “un leader di esperienza, rispettato e politicamente neutrale” alla luce del fatto che negli Stati del Nord “non ci sono rapporti diretti tra gli eletti e il popolo colpito da povertà e un alto tasso di disoccupazione”. L’organizzazione sottolinea che, visto lo scontro armato che destabilizza già lo Stato del Delta del Niger, la strada “dell’esclusione” dei militanti Boko Haram “non è quella da seguire” in quanto “non tiene conto dei collegamenti con gruppi sovversivi stranieri, della proliferazione di armi nel nord-est, dell’immigrazione illegale” e di altre problematiche socio-economiche dell’area. Il Crcn suggerisce invece come chiave di risoluzione delle violenze “massicci aiuti e investimenti negli stati nord-orientali” e “la confluenza di tutte le sette e correnti in gruppi religiosi aperti”. (MISNA)

giugno 27, 2011 -  NIGERIA
BOKO HARAM: PERCHÉ SONO PIÙ FORTI
Boko Haram è “un movimento guerrigliero” radicato sul territorio e destinato a rafforzarsi perché Abuja appare incapace di liberarsi da gruppi di interesse che ostacolano uno sviluppo nazionale: a parlare con la MISNA è Shehu Sani, presidente di Civil Rights Congress (Crc), un’ong che lavora nel Nord lontano dal potere.
Non sarebbe casuale, dunque, l’intensificarsi degli attentati dopo l’elezione del presidente Goodluck Jonathan in aprile. “Nelle regioni settentrionali della federazione – sottolinea Sani – è diffuso il sospetto che il capo dello Stato favorirà i suoi sostenitori concentrati nel Sud e tra i pozzi petroliferi del Delta del Niger”.
Costituito attorno a una piattaforma di matrice religiosa, Boko Haram chiede l’applicazione della “sharia” nel Nord a maggioranza musulmana. Secondo Sani, però, all’emergere del gruppo hanno contribuito fattori economici, sociali e politici. “Le leggi sulla suddivisione dei proventi del greggio – sostiene il presidente di Civil Rights Congress – garantiscono il 13% agli Stati produttori ma dimenticano le regioni settentrionali, più popolose e ugualmente bisognose di investimenti”.
L’intensificarsi degli attentati di Boko Haram si legherebbe anche alle concessioni del governo federale ai ribelli del Sud petrolifero, beneficiato a partire dal 2009 da programmi di reinserimento sociale e piani di investimento pluriennali. “Boko Haram – dice il presidente del Civil Rights Congress – cavalca ora le richieste di un riequilibrio: il governo non può tirarsi indietro”.
All’ipotesi di un negoziato ha accennato di recente lo stesso Jonathan, convinto delle ragioni economiche e sociali dietro gli ultimi attentati. Ma nel medio e nel lungo periodo, avverte Sani, servirà molto di più. “Per contrastare disoccupazione e povertà – sostiene il presidente di Civil Rights Congress – bisogna contrastare corruzione e clientele che sottraggono risorse allo sviluppo”.
In parlamento domani dovrebbe arrivare la lista dei 40 esponenti del nuovo governo di Jonathan, eletto ad aprile nonostante in 12 Stati settentrionali la maggioranza dei voti sia andata a un candidato di opposizione. Oggi il quotidiano “The Vanguard” racconta di uno “scontro” già in atto tra senatori originari del Nord e del Sud: in palio ci sarebbe il controllo di incarichi e portafogli.  (MISNA)

giugno 30, 2011 -  NIGERIA
PETROLIO, LAVORO, DELTA DEL NIGER: PRENDE FORMA IL GOVERNO
Il parlamento ha approvato la nomina di alcuni importanti ministri confermati dal presidente Goodluck Jonathan dopo la sua vittoria elettorale di aprile, in particolare i titolari di Petrolio, Lavoro e Delta del Niger: lo scrivono oggi i quotidiani nigeriani, passando in rassegna i temi e i problemi politici discussi in aula.
Diezani Alison-Madueke, ministro del Petrolio, ha detto che il disegno di legge di riforma del settore all’esame del parlamento dovrà essere rivisto “in parte” e dunque difficilmente potrà essere approvato nelle prossime settimane come alcuni prevedevano. Secondo la Alison-Madueke, a ogni modo, grazie alla costruzione di nuove raffinerie “in tre anni la Nigeria dovrebbe diventare un esportatore netto di prodotti petroliferi”.
Centrale nell’intervento del ministro del Lavoro Emeka Wogu l’accordo su un nuovo minimo salariale di 18.000 naira, circa 81 euro. L’intesa, ha sottolineato il dirigente, è stata frutto di “difficili consultazioni” tra sindacati e istituzioni pubbliche a livello locale, statale e federale.
Godsay Orubebe, ministro del Delta del Niger, ha sostenuto che in questa regione petrolifera del Sud il governo ha potuto “riportare la pace” e garantire una ripresa della produzione di greggio grazie a un programma di amnistia rivolto ai gruppi ribelli. Per avviare un processo di sviluppo a medio e lungo termine, ha però evidenziato il ministro, serve ora lo stanziamento dei fondi pubblici promessi.
Finora i deputati hanno approvato la nomina di sette ministri. Altre 27 designazioni saranno prese in esame in parlamento nei prossimi giorni. (MISNA)

1 June 2011
Nigeria 'baby farm' girls rescued by Abia state police
Nigerian police have raided a hospital in the south-eastern city of Aba, rescuing 32 pregnant girls allegedly held by a human-trafficking ring.
Aged between 15 and 17 years, the girls were locked up and used to produce babies, said Abia state's police chief.
These were then allegedly sold for ritual witchcraft purposes or adoption.
But the hospital's owner denied running a "baby farm", saying it was a foundation to help teenagers with unwanted pregnancies.
The UN organisation for the welfare of children, Unicef, estimates that at least 10 children are sold daily across Nigeria, where human-trafficking is ranked the third most common crime after economic fraud and drug-trafficking.
But the BBC's Fidelis Mbah in the southern city of Port Harcourt says it is very rare for traffickers to be caught and prosecuted.
Male babies prized
Abia state Police Commissioner Bala Hassan said four babies, already sold in an alleged human-trafficking deal but not yet collected, were also recovered in the raid on The Cross Foundation hospital.
The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (Naptip), the organisation charged with fighting human-trafficking in Nigeria, says their investigations show that babies are sold for up to $6,400 (£3,900) each, depending on the sex of the baby.
Male babies are more prized, our correspondent says.
In some parts of the country, babies killed as part of witchcraft rituals are believed to make the charms more powerful, he says.
Human traffickers also put the children up for illegal adoption.
Poor, unmarried women face tough choices if they get pregnant in Nigeria, often facing exclusion from society, correspondents say.
Natip says desperate teenagers with unplanned pregnancies are sometimes lured to clinics and then forced to turn over their babies.
Some of the girls rescued in Aba told the police that after their new-born babies were sold, they were given $170 by the hospital owner.
The police said the proprietor of The Cross Foundation, Dr Hyacinth Orikara, is likely to face charges of child abuse and human trafficking.
Our correspondent says the buying or selling of babies is illegal in Nigeria and can carry a 14-year jail term.
The police carried out similar raids on such clinics in neighbouring Enugu state in 2008.
Three years ago, a Nigerian woman was jailed in the UK for trying to smuggle a baby into the country in order to get on the list for a council flat.
BBC

1 June 2011
Nigeria attacks claimed by Islamist sect Boko Haram
Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram has told the BBC it carried out the series of bombings after President Goodluck Jonathan's inauguration on Sunday.
The worst incident was at an army barracks in the northern city of Bauchi in which at least 14 people died.
A sect spokesman said it was also responsible for killing the brother of the Shehu of Borno, one of Nigeria's most important Islamic leaders.
The sect has been behind numerous recent assassinations in Borno state.
It is opposed to Western education and accuses Nigeria's government of being corrupted by Western ideas.
Clashes in Borno's state capital, Maiduguri, between the Boko Haram and the police in July 2009 left hundreds of people dead, mainly members of the sect.
For the past eight months, sect members have been fighting a guerrilla war in Borno, killing policemen and people they believe were helping the security services in the fight against them.
'Very loyal'
Sect spokesman Abu Zayd told the BBC's Hausa Service that serving members of the Nigerian army had been used to carry out the bombings in the Bauchi barracks on Sunday.
Some soldiers wanted to join the sect and had been used as a way of testing their loyalty to Boko Haram, he said.
But Nigerian army spokesman Brig-Gen Raphael Isa rejected the allegation.
"It is not correct. Let him publish the names of those pledging loyalty to Boko Haram," he told the BBC News website.
"This is not a banana republic. We are one army united and very very loyal," he said.
Mr Zayd said the sect was also behind the killing of Abba Anas Ibn Umar Garbai, who was killed by gunmen outside his home in Maiduguri on Monday evening.
''We are the ones responsible for the killing of the junior brother of the Shehu of Borno," he said.
The Shehu of Borno is one of Nigeria's most prominent religious figures - second only to the Sultan of Sokoto, the spiritual leader of Nigeria's Muslims.
"As we always say, these traditional institutions are being used to track and hunt us, that is why we attack them," Mr Zayd said.
"We are doing what we are doing to fight injustice, if they stop there satanic ways of doing things and the injustices, we would stop what we are doing.''
Officials say 16 people died in the explosions in Bauchi, Zuba, Zaria, hometown of Vice-President Namadi Sambo, and Maiduguri.
The first attack came only hours after President Jonathan was sworn in for his first full four-year term of office in the capital, Abuja.
Mr Jonathan was promoted from vice-president after northerner Umaru Yar'Adua died in office in 2010.
April's election was largely considered free and fair, but hundreds of people were killed in three days of rioting and reprisal killings in northern towns following the announcement of the result.
Mr Jonathan, a southerner, secured nearly 60% of the vote in the election. His main challenger, northern Muslim and former military ruler Muhammadu Buhari, came a distant second with almost 32%.
Nigeria is divided by rivalry between the predominantly Muslim north and the mainly Christian south, which also have cultural, ethnic and linguistic differences.
Analysts say that Mr Jonathan will have to tackle this north-south rivalry and also the simmering tension in the oil-producing Niger Delta.
BBC

6 June 2011
Nigerian speaker Dimeji Bankole arrested for 'fraud'
One of Nigeria's most powerful politicians has been arrested by anti-corruption police.
Outgoing House of Representatives speaker Dimeji Bankole was held over allegations he misappropriated tens of millions of dollars of government funds - charges he has denied.
He was held after a four-hour stand-off at his home in the capital, Abuja.
President Goodluck Jonathan was sworn into office a week ago promising to tackle Nigeria's endemic corruption.
Analysts say this case will be seen as a test of his commitment to fulfilling that pledge, as Mr Bankole is seen as a close ally of the president.
The BBC's Jonah Fisher says Mr Bankole's arrest comes as no great surprise after weeks of speculation in local newspapers that he would be detained.
A spokesman for Nigeria's anti-corruption body, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), said it had received information that Mr Bankole was planning to flee the country.
Along with all other lawmakers, Mr Bankole's term of office expired on Friday - a new parliament is being sworn in on Monday.
He lost his seat in April's elections.
An EFCC statement said Mr Bankole was wanted for questioning over a series of allegations.
It is alleged that Mr Bankole secured a 10bn naira ($65m; £40m) loan, which was then shared out among senior figures in parliament.
Mr Bankole has acknowledged that the loan exists but says he did not gain personally.
Mr Bankole's spokesman, Idowu Bakare, has denied that Mr Bankole was planning to leave the country or had resisted arrest, reports the AP news agency.
Thanks to oil money and a complete lack of restraint, being a politician in Nigeria is lucrative work, our correspondent says.
Many take home pay packets in excess of $1m (£600,000) a year.
BBC

7 June 2011
Maiduguri: 'Boko Haram' attacks Nigeria police stations
At least five people have been killed after police stations were attacked in the northern Nigerian city of Maiduguri, hospital sources say.
The BBC's Bilkisu Babangida in the city says there were at least three explosions, while gunfire rang out in what is believed to be the latest attack by the Boko Haram Islamist sect.
Its members have killed dozens of police officers and politicians in the city in the past year.
It wants to overthrow Nigeria's state.
It believes that Western education is wrong.
In 2009, hundreds of its supporters were killed in Maiduguri after they attacked police stations.
The latest raids come a day after the sect was accused of killing a cleric from a different Muslim tradition who had criticised it.
Ibrahim Birkuti was shot dead outside his home in the town of Biu, some 200km (120 miles) south of Maiduguri.
Like previous victims of Boko Haram, he was killed by a gunman riding a motorbike.
Last week, Boko Haram told the BBC it had carried out a series of bombings after President Goodluck Jonathan's inauguration.
A sect spokesman said it was also responsible for killing the brother of the Shehu of Borno, one of Nigeria's most important Islamic leaders.
The police have made hundreds of arrests and even banned motorbikes at night but have not been able to stop the violence.
BBC

9 June 2011
Nigeria gunmen kidnap volunteers in Delta oil region
Gunmen in Nigeria have abducted five members of the national youth corps in the oil-rich Niger Delta region.
The five - four of them female - were captured outside the main regional city, Port Harcourt.
No-one has claimed responsibility for the kidnappings.
The number of abductions in the Niger Delta had decreased sharply in recent months following an amnesty deal between the government and militants fighting for more oil money.
The abduction of the five, who were volunteering as teachers in poor rural schools, has sparked concern that kidnappings could resume, says the BBC's Fidelis Mbah in Port Harcourt.
Many people fear that they will have to step up security again, and night-life in the city will end, he adds.
The Niger Delta has been unstable for years since militant groups launched a rebellion to demand that the government spends more of its oil revenue to develop the poverty-stricken region.
The militants have carried out a spate of attacks on oil installations and abducted foreigners and locals residents to force the government to agree to their demand
BBC

10 June 2011
Maiduguri: Nigeria arrests for 'Boko Haram' attacks
Fourteen people have been arrested in Nigeria after this week's attacks on a church and police stations in the northern city of Maiduguri, police say.
At least 14 people were killed in three explosions, including three people outside St Patrick's Catholic Church.
In a separate incident on Tuesday, a Christian preacher was shot dead by gunmen on motorcycles, police say.
The attacks have been blamed on the Boko Haram Islamist sect, which is fighting to overthrow Nigeria's state.
Police say they recovered four AK-47 assault rifles and a motorcycle when they made the arrests.
Boko Haram gunmen on bikes have killed dozens of police officers and politicians in the past year.
Preacher David Usman and one of his secretaries at the Church of Christ in Nigeria were the latest victims of such shootings, police say.
On Monday Ibrahim Birkuti, a cleric from a different Muslim tradition who had criticised Boko Haram, was shot dead outside his home in the town of Biu, some 200km (120 miles) south of Maiduguri.
'Prisoners well treated'
Some Boko Haram members have claimed that those arrested are being killed by members of the prison service and say this is why they have been targeting prison warders.
But the head of the prison service in Borno State, of which Maiduguri is the capital, told the BBC this was not true.
"We did not kill anybody," Malam Usman Abdulkareem Maina Kaina said.
He said some of those arrested had been freed on bail, while others had been transferred elsewhere in Nigeria.
He promised that any warder who mistreated an inmate would be disciplined.
Boko Haram believes that Western education is wrong.
In 2009, hundreds of its supporters, including its leader Mohammed Yusuf, were killed in Maiduguri after they attacked police stations.
Last week, Boko Haram told the BBC it had carried out a series of bombings after President Goodluck Jonathan's inauguration.
A sect spokesman said it was also responsible for killing the brother of the Shehu of Borno, one of Nigeria's most important Islamic leaders.
The police have made hundreds of arrests and even banned motorcycles at night but have not been able to stop the violence.
BBC

17 June 2011
Nigeria's Boko Haram Islamists 'bombed Abuja police HQ'
The Islamist group, Boko Haram, says it carried out Thursday's bombing of Nigeria's police headquarters which left at least two people dead.
The attack comes days after Nigeria's police chief visited the north-eastern town of Maiduguri, where Boko Haram is based and vowed to defeat the group.
The police say one of those who died was a suicide bomber - if confirmed it would be Nigeria's first such attack.
Boko Haram wants to overthrow the state and implement Islamic law.
In 2009, hundreds of Boko Haram supporters, including the group's leader Mohammed Yusuf, were killed after they attacked police stations in Maiduguri and other northern towns.
The group has since reformed and in the past year has killed dozens of police officers, politicians and anyone who criticises it, including Christian preachers and clerics from other Muslim groups.
It has also said it planted several bombs which went off in Abuja and other states after President Goodluck Jonathan's inauguration last month.
"We are responsible for the bomb attack on the police headquarters in Abuja which was to prove a point to all those who doubt our capability," said a statement from the group.
While the police say two people died - the bomber and a police traffic warden - a Red Cross worker told the BBC that six bodies had been recovered.
The blast in the car park of the police base also destroyed many vehicles and a large plume of smoke could be seen rising from the scene.
Police chief targeted?
The BBC's Jonah Fisher in Lagos says that, for the Nigerian authorities, the attack is an embarrassing strike at the very heart of their security establishment.
Nigeria's top police officer Hafeez Ringim went to Maiduguri earlier this week, taking reinforcements and promising that the Boko Haram problem would be solved within months.
Our correspondent says the group's response was delivered directly to police head office in Abuja.
Less than two minutes after Inspector General Ringim arrived for work on Thursday morning, a car that had been following closely behind his vehicle exploded in the car park.
Our correspondent says it is still unclear whether the driver of the car intended to die in the blast.
Residents say the explosion was heard across the city.
"My windows were shaking and I heard the loud noise. I saw smoke coming up," Reuters news agency quotes one witness as telling a local television station.
A bus commuter who saw the blast told the BBC's Focus on Africa programme: "All of a sudden there was this loud explosion. Everybody was scared and people began to run around."
He said police and Red Cross officials had rushed to the scene, and had moved people away from the area.
The police said 33 cars had been damaged beyond repair and 40 more had been partially damaged by the explosion.
The Boko Haram sect accuses Nigeria's government of being corrupted by Western ideas and wants to overthrow the state and impose Islamic law on the country.
It has killed dozens of people, mostly shot by gunmen riding motorbikes, in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state.
BBC

17 June 2011
Who are Nigeria's Boko Haram Islamists?
Nigeria's militant Islamist group Boko Haram, which said it bombed the police headquarters in the capital Abuja on Thursday, is fighting to overthrow the government and create an Islamic state.
Its followers are said to be influenced by the Koranic phrase which says: "Anyone who is not governed by what Allah has revealed is among the transgressors".
Boko Haram promotes a version of Islam which makes it "haram", or forbidden, for Muslims to take part in any political or social activity associated with western society.
This includes voting in elections, wearing shirts and trousers or receiving a secular education.
Boko Haram regards the Nigerian state as being run by non-believers, even when the country had a Muslim president.
The group's official name is Jama'atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda'awati wal-Jihad, which in Arabic means "People Committed to the Propagation of the Prophet's Teachings and Jihad."
But residents in the north-eastern city of Maiduguri, where the group had its headquarters, dubbed it Boko Haram.
Loosely translated from the local Hausa language, this means Western education is forbidden.
Boko originally means fake but came to signify Western education, while haram means forbidden.
Since the Sokoto caliphate, which ruled parts of what is now northern Nigeria, Niger and southern Cameroon, fell under British control in 1903, there has been resistance among the area's Muslims to Western education.
Many Muslim families still refuse to send their children to government-run "Western schools", a problem compounded by the ruling elite which does not see education as a priority.
Audacious
Against this background, the charismatic Muslim cleric, Mohammed Yusuf, formed Boko Haram in Maiduguri in 2002. He sat up a religious complex, which included a mosque and an Islamic school.
Many poor Muslim families from across Nigeria, as well as neighbouring countries, enrolled their children at the school.
But Boko Haram was not only interested in education. Its political goal was to create an Islamic state, and the school became a recruiting ground for jihadis to fight the state.
In 2009, Boko Haram carried out a spate of attacks on police stations and other government buildings in Maiduguri.
It led to shoot-outs on Maiduguri's streets. Hundreds of Boko Haram supporters were killed and thousands of residents fled the city.
Nigeria's security forces eventually seized the group's headquarters, capturing its fighters and killing Mr Yusuf.
His body was shown on state television, and the security forces declared Boko Haram finished.
But its fighters have regrouped under a new, unidentified leader and last year it attacked a prison in Maiduguri, freeing hundreds of the group's supporters.
Its trademark has been the use of gunmen on motorbikes, killing police, politicians and anyone who criticises it, including clerics from other Muslim traditions and a Christian preacher.
In recent months, it has staged several more audacious attacks in different parts of northern Nigeria.
These reportedly include a bombing in December in the city of Jos, a New Year's eve attack on military barracks in Abuja, and several explosions around the time of President Goodluck Jonathan's inauguration last month.
Now, it has attacked the police headquarters, signalling that it is far from finished.
The threat it poses is unlikely to disappear: Poverty-stricken northern Nigeria has a history of spawning groups similar to Boko Haram.
Analysts believe the threat will disappear only if the Nigerian government manages to reduce the region's chronic poverty, and builds an education system which gains the support of local Muslims.
BBC

15 June 2011
Nigeria's pastors 'as rich as oil barons'
Nigeria's pastors run multi-million dollar businesses which rival that of oil tycoons, a Nigerian blogger who has researched the issue has told the BBC.
Mfonobong Nsehe, who blogs for Forbes business magazine, says pastors own businesses from hotels to fast-food chains.
"Preaching is big business. It's almost as profitable as the oil business," he said.
The joint wealth of five pastors was at least $200m (£121m), he said.
Evangelical churches have grown in Nigeria in recent years, with tens of thousands of people flocking to their services.
Mr Nsehe said the richest pastor, Bishop David Oyedepo of the Living Faith World Outreach Ministry, was worth about $150m.
Bishop Oyedepo owned a publishing company, university, an elite private school, four jets and homes in London and the United States, according to Mr Nsehe.
'Private jets'
The Nigerian blogger said Bishop Oyedepo was followed on the rich list by Pastor Chris Oyakhilome of the Believers' Loveworld Ministries. He was worth between $30 and $50m.
"Oyakhilome's diversified interests include newspapers, magazines, a local television station, a record label, satellite TV, hotels and extensive real estate," Mr Nsehe said.
He said three of the other richest pastors were:
Temitope Joshua Matthew of the Synagogue Church Of All Nations (worth between $10m and $15m);
Matthew Ashimolowo of Kingsway International Christian Centre (worth between $6 million and $10 million) and
Chris Okotie of the Household of God Church (worth between $3 million and $10 million).
Mr Nsehe said representatives of all the clergymen, except Pastor Ashimolowo, confirmed ownership of the assets he had listed on his blog.
"These pastors are flamboyant. You see them with private jets and expensive cars. This extravagance sends out the wrong message to their followers," he told the BBC's Network Africa programme.
He said the pastors acquired their wealth from various sources, including their congregations.
"We have Nigerians who are desperate, looking for solutions to their problems. They go to church for salvation, redemption and healing and pastors sometimes take advantage of them," Mr Nsehe said.
BBC

21 June 2011
Nigerian bank and police station attacked in Katsina
Men armed with guns and explosives have attacked a bank and police station northern Nigeria, killing seven people.
It is not known who carried out the the simultaneous attacks in the town of Kankara in Katsina state.
The attacks come as police chiefs from across Nigeria's 36 states are meeting in Abuja to discuss the threat posed by radical Islamist sect Boko Haram.
The group has carried out a wave of attacks targeting police, mainly in the north-eastern state of Borno.
Last Thursday, Boko Haram said it was behind the bombing of the national police headquarters in the capital, Abuja.
Correspondents say if Boko Haram is confirmed to be behind Monday's attack, it would be a further sign that the organisation's network is spreading to other parts of the country.
"The attackers were 10 in all, divided themselves in two groups and attacked the bank and the police station at the same time with guns and bombs," Kankara resident Salmanu Jabir told the AFP news agency.
A spokesman for Boko Haram said police chief Hafiz Abubakar Ringim had been the target of Thursday's bombing at the police headquarters, in which eight people died.
The group says it is fighting for Islamic rule, and campaigns against all political and social activity associated with the West.
Boko Haram's leader Mohammed Yusuf and several hundred of his supporters were killed by security forces in Maiduguri in 2009 after the group attacked police stations.
After a lull, their attacks have intensified in the last nine months.
The sect's trademark has been the use of gunmen on motorbikes, killing police, politicians and anyone who criticises it, including clerics from other Muslim traditions and a Christian preacher.
BBC

27 June 2011
Nigeria Boko Haram Islamists 'bomb Maiduguri drinkers'
A bomb attack in the north-eastern Nigerian town of Maiduguri has killed at least 25 people and wounded dozens, security sources say.
They say they believe the attack, which occurred in a beer garden, was carried out by the Islamist sect Boko Haram.
The group wants to establish an Islamic government in Nigeria.
It has carried out a number of bombings in north-eastern Nigeria, as well as an attack on police headquarters in the capital Abuja earlier this month.
Gunmen on two motorcycles attacked a packed beer garden late on Sunday, officials said.
"The attackers believed to be Boko Haram members threw bombs and fired indiscriminate gun shots on a packed tavern at Dala Kabompi neighbourhood, killing at least 25 people and seriously injuring around 30 others," an unnamed police officer told the AFP news agency.
Eyewitness Emmanuel Okon told AFP: "I just heard a loud bang followed by sporadic shootings and plumes of black smoke filled the area with people screaming and running in all directions."
The police have not officially said how many people died in the attack but correspondents say that if 25 people have been killed, it would be the most deadly attack yet carried out by Boko Haram.
The BBC's Bilkisu Babangida in Maiduguri says there is a mood of fear in the city, with many people staying indoors as they are afraid of being caught up in an attack.
Gunmen believed to be from Boko Haram also staged two attacks in the town of Gamboru-Ngala, in Borno state near the border with Chad, on Sunday:
At least one person was killed after shots were fired at the funeral of a local politician, who had been killed by suspected Boko Haram fighters on Saturday, witnesses told the BBC
An Islamic scholar was also shot dead
The group has killed dozens of people, mainly security officers and politicians, in Borno state over the past year.
Earlier this month, the group said it was behind the bombing of the national police headquarters in the capital, Abuja.
It has also said it carried out attacks on the inauguration of President Goodluck Jonathan in May.
The group's trademark has been the use of gunmen on motorbikes.
A Christian preacher, a Catholic church, Muslim clerics who have criticised Boko Haram, and last week, a nurse playing cards, have also been targeted.
Its leader Mohammed Yusuf and several hundred of his supporters were killed by security forces in Maiduguri in 2009 after the group attacked police stations.
BBC

29 June 2011
Nigeria imposes curfew on Abuja nightclubs and pubs
A curfew has been imposed on Nigeria's capital, Abuja, following recent attacks by Islamist militants, meaning nightclubs, beer parlours and cinemas must close early.
They must shut by 2200 local time (2100 GMT) and public parks that admit children should close by 1800.
Two weeks ago, eight people were killed when the Islamist sect Boko Haram attacked the police HQ in Abuja.
On Sunday, its fighters bombed a beer garden in Maiduguri, killing 25.
This is the group's most deadly attack to date - later on Sunday, it killed another 10 people with a car bombing in the city.
The group, which usually targets the north-eastern state of Borno, around Maiduguri, says it is fighting for Islamic rule, and campaigns against all political and social activity associated with the West.
Abuja city's administration said it has also banned parking of vehicles on two roads where most government offices are located.
"These measures are necessitated by the need to ensure adequate security of lives and property in the federal capital territory [in light of] the prevailing security concerns," the city's spokesman said in a statement.
The BBC's Naziru Mikailu in Abuja says beer gardens are busy after work at the weekends and the curfew is likely to prove unpopular.
After a lull, Boko Haram's attacks have intensified in the last nine months.
In May, it staged attacks at the inauguration of President Goodluck Jonathan.
The group's trademark has been the use of gunmen on motorbikes.
Dozens of people have been killed - mostly security officers and politicians but also a Christian preacher and Muslim clerics who have criticised Boko Haram.
The sect's leader Mohammed Yusuf and several hundred of his supporters were killed by security forces in Maiduguri in 2009 after the group attacked police stations.
BBC

29 June 2011
Africa viewpoint: Nigerian weddings, money and babies
In our series of viewpoints from African journalists, Nigerian writer Sola Odunfa argues that many men see marriage as a financial burden.
Reports from various parts of southern Nigeria suggest that marriage is losing its lustre among young men.
The men are staying single for much longer than their fathers did, while young spinsters are growing anxious as their golden age seems to fly past.
The picture is not much rosier among young married couples.
They break up the traditional home with such nonchalance that one wonders whether the institution of marriage meant anything to them when they were wining and dining their wedding guests.
The situation in the north is different - the Islamic influence and the very conservative outlook above the River Niger dictate that the institution of marriage is protected from Western permissiveness.
Here in the south, there are three types of wedding - Islamic, Christian and traditional.
Beyond the glittering ceremonies, marriages dovetail into one life shaped by economic and social influences.
It is the life after the wedding reception that is scaring many men away from nuptial commitment.
A man from the south-east in his 20s dare not think of marriage during his first 10 years of employment, even if he boasts a university degree, unless he has rich parents to foot the bill.
His headache is compounded if his fiancee is also a university graduate - the more educated a woman is, the higher the price placed on her by her family.
'Husbands murdered'
However, if the university graduate gets a job in an oil or telecoms company then, after a decade of working, he may have enough money to afford the luxury of a wife and, of course, what many men see as total authority and control over her for life.
In the south-west, the situation is different.
The bride price is not the cause of headaches, but values and morality are.
To the young man here, his parents' stories of wives being totally loyal and respectful are from a different planet.
He will find that his wife is imbibed with the Western values of equality in the home and the freedom to choose her way of life.
He may fret and grumble as much as he chooses - if he is really serious about ending his marriage, the divorce court is next door.
Considering the huge economic implications, wise men ignore their wives' pranks and cast out their own nets.
It is generally acknowledged that those women who seek freedom via divorce courts are the God-fearing ones.
Others consult spiritualists and have their husbands done in the traditional way - through murder.
Thereafter, they stage elaborate funerals and when the mourning period is over, they live on happily in wealth.
Many young men still walk down the aisle, even if their numbers are dwindling.
'Ungodly and unAnglican'
And in Nigeria's commercial capital, Lagos, churches are abandoning traditions to allow men to marry their pregnant lovers.
This is in recognition of the fact that many families demand that their son's girlfriend be pregnant before marriage.
These days, churches generally do not cast out such couples. Instead, they ask the bride not to wear a white dress and veil.
Churches which remain dogmatic tell the couple to wed at the registry and come back for blessing. Children are a gift of God, they say.
The Anglican Bishop of Amichi in the south-eastern state of Anambra, Reverend Ephraim Ikeakor, would not stomach such permissiveness.
He told the Synod of his diocese last week that conducting the marriage of pregnant brides was "unChristian and ungodly and unAnglican" and, therefore, banned in his diocese.
Far be it from me to question the bishop's charge but I am happy Reverend Ikeakor is not the primate of the Anglican Church of Nigeria.
BBC