Members of the al-Qaeda-affiliated Boko Haram allegedly assassinated a
Christian leader on Tuesday in Nigeria's northeast Borno State,
according to an Israeli police intelligence analyst who monitors
African Islamist groups.
According to a spokesman from the National President of Christian
Association of Nigeria (CAN), Rev Ayo Oritsajafor, Rev Faye Pama Musa
was shot dead at about 7:30 p.m. local time on Tuesday at his
residence in Maiduguri by Boko Haram jihadists.
"The Borno CAN secretary has been killed. We've got the report and the
national president received it with heavy heart. It is very sad," the
spokesperson added in a statement.
The Israeli police source said that there were reports that the
deceased Christian pastor had "attempted to run away but his
assailants caught him and they "shot him at close range."
The killing of the popular Christian pastor occurred shortly after
Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan declared a state of emergency in
the most troubled states in the northeast part of the country where
Boko Haram is believed strongest.
The states most at risk for Boko Haram attacks are Yobe, Adamawa, and
Borno, the source noted.
Also on Monday, the Boko Haram sect claimed responsibility for the
recent major assault on Baga and Bama, in Borno state, in which up to
200 people, including soldiers, policemen, prison warders and
civilians, were massacred.
Meanwhile, last week Nigerian police and security forces reported that
upwards of 60 people were fatally wounded when suspected al-Qaeda
affiliate Boko Haram Islamists attacked security formations in
Nigeria's terrorist-infested Borno region, according to Jorge Vega, an
international counterterrorism and security expert.
A Nigerian spokesman for the Joint Task Force (JTF) in Borno, Col.
Sagir Musa, reported that the gunmen attacked Bama, a commercial town
about 200 miles away from Maiduguri, which is the Boko
Haram-controlled region.
"Suspected Boko Haram terrorists in 18-seater buses and vehicles
mounted with anti aircraft machine guns, attempted an attack on 202
Battalion Barracks in Bama, about 10 insurgents were killed during
exchange of fire. We lost 2 soldiers during the attack," Col. Musa
said in a statement. "They came in army uniforms pretending to be
soldiers but were able to detect them," he added.
According to Jorge Vega, the Boko Haram terrorists also executed 14
Nigerian prison officials in cold-blood and they freed more than 100
Islamist prisoners, who will probably return to the battlefield.
The suspected terrorists also torched a police station and its
adjoining police barracks, as well as a local courthouse and Bama's
government complex where some of the buildings were totally destroyed.
During the attack, the terrorists perpetrated extensive arson on the
divisional police station and police barracks. More than 20 police
officers lost their lives, while three Children and a woman were
burned to death.
In April, a fierce battle in Baga, Nigeria between security forces and
Islamic terrorists left at least 200 Nigerians dead in that nation's
northeast coastal region, an Israeli terrorism analyst who monitors
jihad in Africa said.
The source said that the terrorists initiated the attack with
rocket-propelled grenades and soldiers retaliated with intense
machine-gun fire in Nigerian neighborhoods and many of the casualties
were civilians.
The fighting in Baga forced civilians to flee into the surrounding
community adjacent to Lake Chad.
After the violence subsided, government officials were able to view
the destruction firsthand, and their inspection revealed homes, small
business establishments, and automobiles and trucks were torched as a
result of the intense battle, according to local media.
The terrorists living in the northeast part of Nigeria, including
Baga, are said to be armed with military-grade weapons, according to
the Africa Daily.
The Islamic jihad in Nigeria started as a riot in 2009 by members of
an Islamist group known as Boko Haram. That first encounter turned
into a full-blown gun-fight between Boko Haram and its supporters and
the police and the military.
Since 2010, Islamists have perpetrated drive-by shootings and suicide
bombings that have killed 1,548 people. Boko Haram, which means
"Western education is sacrilege," has said it wants its imprisoned
Islamists released and for the current Nigerian government to
institute Sharia law throughout the nation.
Jim Kouri, CPP, is founder and CEO of Kouri Associates, a homeland
security, public safety and political consulting firm. He's formerly
Fifth Vice-President, now a Board Member of the National Association
of Chiefs of Police, an editor for ConservativeBase.com, a columnist
for Examiner.com, a contributor to KGAB radio news, and news director
for NewswithViews.com.
He's former chief at a New York City housing project in Washington
Heights nicknamed "Crack City" by reporters covering the drug war in
the 1980s. In addition, he served as director of public safety at St.
Peter's University and director of security for several major
organizations. He's also served on the National Drug Task Force and
trained police and security officers throughout the country.
In addition, he's a blogger for the Cheyenne, Wyoming Fox News Radio
affiliate KGAB (www.kgab.com) and editor of Conservative Base Magazine
(www.conservativebase.com). Kouri also serves as political advisor for
Emmy and Golden Globe winning actor Michael Moriarty.
He holds a bachelor of science in Criminal Justice from Southwest
University and SCI Technical School in New York City and completed
training at the NYC Police Academy, FBI Continuing Education Program,
and the Certified Protection Professional (CPP) of the American
Society for Industrial Security.
Kouri appears regularly as on-air commentator for over 100 TV and
radio news and talk shows including Fox News Channel, Oprah,
McLaughlin Report, CNN Headline News, MTV, etc.
