Boko Haram Attack Kills At Least 90 in Northeast Nigeria

Following a recent campaign of bombing raids by the Nigerian Military, members of the Boko Haram militia group attacked the village of Izghe in Northeast Nigeria near the border with Cameroon this past Saturday. Boko Haram is a militia group that seeks to carve out a state that is ruled by Islamic law in the Northeast, which has the highest population of Muslims in the country. Though this group claims to have Islamic goals, their extremism has not put them past targeting Muslims with the same frequency as Christians in their murderous campaigns. A brief overview of the Boko Haram and this most recent attack appears in an article from Al Jazeera, in which the author describes the difficulties that the Nigerian military has faced when dealing with this group. Nigeria's president Goodluck Jonathan has done his best to qwell the Boko Haram by dispatching troops to wherever they appear to be most active, which has historically been the Northeast region of Nigeria. This has proven difficult to manage as the region in which they are fighting is made up of dense forest and the militants have time and again simply retreated into these forests when they feel threatened and are not then pursued as ferociously. A regional complexity is added to this when it is mentioned that Mohammed Dole, a Nigerian military spokesperson claims that a recent attack which occurred in a fishing village is actually under the jurisdiction of a "multinational task force" composed of troops from Nigeria, Niger, and Chad. It is clear that from this mention of a multinational task force that Nigeria is beginning to feel overwhelmed by the Boko Haram, turning them into a more regional concern. Given the elusiveness and violent nature of the Boko Haram it seems like a step in the right direction to have other nations get on board before the violence becomes too much for one nation to handle like that of the Central African Republic.

Guinea Placed Under Arms Embargo

Members of ECOWAS, Economic Community of West African States, have decided to place a weapons embargo on Guinea's military government. This decision was made during a special summit in Nigeria on Saturday. The chairman of ECOWAS, Umaru Yar'adua, has been asked to gain support from the African Union, European Union and the United Nations in order to condemn the attacks that Camara's troops carried out on an opposition rally. The attack killed 157 civillians and 1200 more were injured. Amnesty International also claims that women were raped and sexually abused by Camara's troops and the African Union has asked for him to resign. The case is currently being looked at by the International Court of Justice.

By. Aminat Odunewu

Nigerian Rebel Disarms Under Amnesty

Many Nigerians gathered in the Dela State area yesterday to witness the last rebel give up his arms in return for amnesty and education. Government Tompolo, who is the head of the main rebel fraction in the western Delta arrived in Warri after pledging support for Yar Adua. Tompolo was one of the main leaders of the Federated Niger Delta Ijaw Communites(FNDIC), who were responsible for the oil shut down in the Delta in 2003. He is the last rebel to give up his arms since the amnesty, which expired on Sunday, was offered in June. Ateke Tom, the head of the Ijaw Niger Vigilante Group, and 5,000 of his fighers all gave up their weapons during a ceremony on the beach. He was sure to warn that if resources were not put into the Delta, fighting would continue.
By: Aminat T. Odunewu

Nigerians upset over "District 9" Depictions

After going to see the movie District 9 many Nigerian officials and natives left the theater upset. The movie, which was directed by South African director Niel Bloomkamp, is set in South Africa and is about an alien space ship that breaks down in Johannesburg which cause the aliens to be stranded in a huge battle between humans. In the movie, Nigerians are excited about the aliens arival and begin to exploit them. The movie depicts Nigerians as criminals, cannibals and prostitutes who sleep with extra-terrestrials. In the movie, Nigerians are seen attempting to eat the alien's flesh in order to cure illnesses and gain superhuman powers. One of the characters in the movie is called Obesandjo, a play on former Nigerian president Obasanjo. The movie is currently not being played in Nigeria.
By: Aminat T. Odunewu

Nigerians Angered over China Deaths

The Nigerian government has been asked to investigate illegal inhabitance of Chinese in Nigeria. They are also asked to reject a request by the Chinese to cremate the bodies of thirty Nigerian prisoners in China. There are currently aobut 700 Nigerians in the Chinese prison system on mostly immigration, drug and fraud charges. Trade between China and Nigeria has been growing especially since the Chinese president secured four oil drilling licenses in exchange for $4 billion in oil and infrastructure projects.

Aminat T. Odunewu