Boko Haram releases video of Abuja UN suicide bomber

The violent Islamic sect, Boko Haram, on Sunday released videos of the suicide bomber that carried out the August 26 attack on the United Nations’ building in Abuja. Agence France-Presse reports that the two video clips show the suicide bomber pleading with the members of his family to “understand” why the UN building must be bombed. A spokesperson of the sect who reportedly called the news agency after it had obtained the tapes said the man in the video was 27-year-old Mohammed Abul Barra. Boko Haram had named Barra as the man who drove a bomb-laden Honda Accord car into the UN office. Barra, said to be a panel beater said the bombing was carried out “to send a message to US President, (Barak) Obama and other infidels.” Other portions of the videos referred to the UN headquarters as a “forum of all the global evil,” and offered praise for Osama Bin Laden, the al- Qaeda leader killed by US special forces in Pakistan. The AFP reports that though it could not confirm the authenticity of the videos, they have all the markings of previous videos released by the sect. The sect had claimed responsibility for the UN building attack in which 23 people died and about 116 others were injured. The powerful blast brought down parts of the structure, where about 400 UN personnel worked, and blew out the windows of nearby buildings. The AFP report says, “He (the bomber) is seen holding an AK-47 automatic rifle, with two other people leaning against the wall. The softly-spoken man wears a striped shirt, a turban and what looks to be a suicide vest.” The videos, analysts believe, suggest an increased sophistication in the activities of the sect said to be founded in the late 1990s in Maiduguri, Borno State, with the objective of fighting for the establishment of Islamic Sharia law in the country. Boko Haram activities have jerked up since June 6 when it successfully attacked the Nigeria police headquarters in Abuja. A lone bomber had in a manner resembling the attack on the UN building drove an explosives-laden car into the car park of the Louis Edet police headquarters and detonated the explosives, killing himself and one policeman. Thirty vehicles were completely burnt by the fire that resulted from the bombing. About 70 others were substantially destroyed. Members of the sect had also launched attacks on military facilities, police barracks and drinking joints, mainly in the northern part of the country and the Federal Capital Territory. The sect also allegedly sent e-mails to some universities in the country threatening attack recently. Boko Haram roughly translates to “Western education is sin.” There are fears in official circles that the sect now operates in alliance with foreign and international terrorist organisations. Meanwhile, the Borno State government said that the four suspects arraigned in a customary court in Abuja last Friday for alleged complicity in the UN building blast were “junior” members of the sect. Prosecutors told a Magistrate Court in Abuja last week that the four men, Salisu Mohammed, Yunisa Mukaila, Danzumi Haruna and Abdulsalami Adamu, were responsible for the attack on the UN building. The court had ordered that the suspects be held in custody till November 3 for court appearances but. Zanna Usman, the spokesman for the Borno State governor, said, “Those being tried are not big guys but field operatives. The leaders are the ones who plan operations for the members to execute.”