Boko Haram: Vigilante group burns home of ANPP boss

A vigilante group claiming to help Nigeria’s military authorities battle insurgents in Borno State has set fire to the home of the chairman of the All Nigeria People’s Party in the state, alleging he maintains a link with the Boko Haram insurgents.

It is believed that the vigilante group enjoys the support of the army in its fight against Boko Haram, but Monday’s incident in the city of Maiduguri illustrated the risks in allowing it to operate.

They wanted him to surrender, but he had apparently escaped through the back of the house.

“The youth armed with clubs and sticks chanted ‘we will finish terrorists’ and set fire to the house when Othman did not show up,” one witness said.

“He and his family scaled the fence at the rear and escaped.”

Other residents reported similar accounts. The military did not respond to requests for comment.

Some local media reported that the mob later went to the home of former Borno governor Ali Modu Sheriff, but soldiers fired in the air to disperse them, reports said.

Sheriff and other ANPP officials have been repeatedly accused of using local gangs to help rig elections who later morphed into elements of Boko Haram. They deny the allegations.

Boko Haram has a number of different factions in addition to imitators and criminal gangs who commit violence under the guise of the group.

Violence linked to the insurgency has left some 3,600 people dead since 2009, including killings by the security forces.

Nigeria’s military launched a major offensive seeking to end the insurgency in May and later welcomed the involvement of the local vigilantes.

It however spoke of “the need for caution in order to ensure that the process is not used to settle scores or witch-hunt perceived enemies”.