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| East/Subsaharan Africa |
| Bloodthirsty holy man freed in Nigeria... |
| 2002-12-02 |
| A Muslim leader from the northern Nigerian city of Kaduna has been released on bail after being arrested in connection with religious riots in which more than 200 people were killed. Nafiu Baba Ahmed, secretary general of the Supreme Council for Sharia in Nigeria, was reportedly taken from his home on Friday night. Following his arrest, the chairman of the Sharia Council, Datti Ahmad, threatened to mobilise Muslims against the governor of Kaduna. "Arrest him for inciting to riot and we'll tear the city down around your ears!" More than 300 people were arrested in connection with the riots, which were sparked by the Miss World beauty contest, but there has been criticism that the ringleaders have been left alone. That way there can be more riots in another six months or a year. Bigwigs always seem to get off. It's only when somebody accidentally kills them that the riots subside. Mr Ahmad told AFP that the arrest was linked to Mr Nafiu's opposition to Kaduna Governor Ahmed Makarfi, an ally of President Olusegun Obasanjo. "The arrest is obviously politically motivated at the order of the governor, who has been busy accusing perceived political opponents of causing the violence," Mr Ahmad said. Not a Muslim, is he? "We have given the governor until Monday to either release Nafiu or charge him to court, otherwise we will know the actions to take, one of which is to mobilise Muslims in Kaduna not to vote for him," he said. ... he threatened, looking pious. |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |
| #4 Probably not a Biafra, that was more a tribal thing. Nigeria's been walking the edge for a decade or more, as are all the African countries along the Muslim / non-Muslim border. Sudan being another prime example. Look for trouble in Uganda and Kenya (duh!) and the two Congos (doh!) that is religion related. And you have to wonder about the West African nations like Liberia and Ivory Coast. |
| Posted by: Chuck 2002-12-03 10:38:34 |
| #3 Will this be another Biafra? |
| Posted by: Fred 2002-12-02 21:43:48 |
| #2 I keep smelling civil war or something close to it brewing in Nigeria; either the central government forces the scrapping of Sharia or we'll wind up getting a Saudified north and a Christian/secular/western south. Neither will be pretty. |
| Posted by: Mark Byron 2002-12-02 18:53:13 |
| #1 Gosh, I hope my good friends Mr. Sese-Seko, Mike Aba and OBI AZUKA are not harmed, what with all the violence and goings on in Nigeria. I so look forward to their emails each and every day. ( the "409" email scam is based primarily in lagos nigeria, check here for a very funny story of revenge against the gang ) http://www.haxial.com/fraud/mikeaba.html |
| Posted by: Anonymous 2002-12-02 16:08:17 |