Kanyi Okeke
Yusifiyya Movement, also known as Boko Haram, yesterday, said it attacked the United Nations (UN) building in Abuja because United States (US) and the UN are supporting the Federal Government to persecute Muslims in Nigeria.
One Abu Kakah, who claimed to be speaking on behalf of the group, made the statement. He spoke to journalists on phone in Maiduguri, Borno State capital, just as the US embassy said Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) had arrived Nigeria following the suicide attack.
Kakah said the sect considered the US, the UN and the Nigerian government as common enemies and would continue to attack them because they are infringing on the rights of the Muslims.
He accused the Federal Government of insincerity in dialoguing with Boko Haram, saying the only condition they would accept to talk with government was unconditional release of all their members whom, he said, are in prisons all over the country.
When asked why they carried out attacks in the month of Ramadan, the spokesman said those condemning the sect are ignorant of Islam. He pointed out that Ramadan did not forbid them to fight “a just cause.”
The group also claimed responsibility for last week’s failed suicide attack on Borno police command headquarters and the attack on banks in Gombi, Adamawa State which left more than 16 people dead.
According to him, details of Boko Haram suicide bombings would be made known at a later date.
Kakah warned that attack on Kano was imminent if the state government and the city’s emirate council did not stop what it described as the persecution of their members.
According to him, Boko Haram was yet to be contacted by Borno State and Federal Government or their representatives for dialogue.
The spokesman described the Sultan as the Seriki of Sokoto and not the leader of the Muslims in the country, accusing him of supporting the Federal Government policies against Islam.
Meanwhile, a US embassy spokesman said yesterday that FBI agents have arrived Nigeria following the Friday attack at the UN headquarters in Abuja.
“The FBI is on the ground at the request of the Nigerian government,” said Deborah MacLean. She told AFP that she was unsure of the number of the FBI agents now in Nigeria and could not provide further details.
