Nine months of anti-terror measures have not brought more safety – 51 Muslims killed in Islamist terrorist attacks

Nine months after a state of emergency was imposed on three states in northern Nigeria, the army and police forces have still not succeeded in ensuring safety for the civilian population. "More than 1,500 people have fallen victim to terrorist attacks by the Islamist terrorist group Boko Haram since a state of emergency was imposed on Borno, Adamawa and Yobe on May 14, 2013," reported Ulrich Delius, Africa consultant of the Society for Threatened Peoples (STP), in Göttingen on Thursday. "The Islamist terrorists are trying to spread chaos and terror so as to disturb state order. More and more often, the extremists also attack Muslims, because the Christian institutions are now better protected. More than a third of the victims are Muslims. 258 Christians and Muslims died in attacks by Boko Haram since the beginning of 2014.

Most recently, Boko Haram fighters had killed 51 Muslims and abducted 20 girls from a boarding school in the village of Konduga near the town Maiduguri, Borno state, on Wednesday. About 400 heavily armed Islamist fighters had intruded the village and opened fire indiscriminately. A mosque and more than 1,000 homes were destroyed or burned by the attackers.

"It is true that the Boko Haram fighters are now further away than ever from their goal of creating an Islamic state," said Delius. "But the Nigerian security forces don't seem to be able to stop the terror sect – despite the brute force." The Nigerian air force had recently bombed a suspected terrorist camp. Muslims are often arbitrarily accused of supporting Boko Haram, simply because of their religious belief or their ethnic background. For example, 294 traders from northern Nigeria were arrested in the southeast of the country in January 2014, because they were suspected of supporting Boko Haram. They were released again, but also forced to leave southern Nigeria. Something similar happened to 84 apprentices from northern Nigeria who had to return to their hometowns because they were accused as terrorist.

"The Nigerian security forces will not be able to fight Boko Haram with military means alone," warned Delius. "As long as the government is unable to take credible measures against the increasing impoverishment of large parts of the country, especially in northern Nigeria, Boko Haram will always be able to recruit new fighters."