We Were Behind Plateau Killings, Not Fulani Herdsmen, Says Boko Haram

SAN FRANCISCO, July 10, (THEWILL) – Nigeria’s leading terror group, the Boko Haram Islamist sect, has claimed responsibility for the weekend killing of more than 100 people in Plateau State, in an announcement that clearly defies widespread belief that the attack was orchestrated by Fulani herdsmen.

In an email statement to journalists, the group expressed “delight” with the killings, promising more attacks on Christians, government officials and security operatives.

“This movement, the Jama’atu Ahlissunnah Lidda’awati Wal-Jihad, gratitude to almighty Allah, wants to inform the world of its delight over the success of the attacks we launched on Barkin Ladi and Riyom in Plateau state on Christians and security operatives, including members of the National Assembly,” the statement read. “As we announced earlier, Christians in this country should either accept Islam, which is the only true religion, or they will not know peace again.”

The statement, signed by the group’s spokesperson, Abul Qaqa, described Christians as people who were not to be trusted because they received help from government to first attack Muslims.

“As announced earlier, we will continue to hunt for government officials wherever they are; they will have no peace again,” Qaqa said. “Moreover, we will continue to attack the residences of government officials and security operatives the same way they keep attacking us and demolishing the houses occupied by our members despite being aware that we only rent such buildings. We will continue to replicate what we did at Rijiyar Zaki (Janbulo) in Kano.”

He also warned “the general public, especially the people of Kano who are drawing themselves into this fight by supporting the security forces [that] they should take lessons from what happened to the people of Kurna quarters.”

Continuing, the statement read, “Henceforth, we will beam our searchlight on any settlement in which our people are attacked with a view to fishing out anybody that might have played a role in the attack. Whoever we got to know has a hand in such assaults should have himself to blame. We have no other objective than that of establishing an Islamic empire as it was during the time of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), irrespective of what may befall us.”

It also described as a “fresh lie,” the “story being peddled that the new National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki, has secured a means of engaging us in dialogue.”