BBC News is reporting that Nigerian police have arrested 14 suspected members of Boko Haram, Islamist militants tied to a recent shoot-out in Kano, in which seven people were killed. Some sources say that one of the suspects who was arrested is an actual leader in the Boko Haram group, but the group has denied this report.
The group, whose name means "Western education is forbidden," often targets security forces and state institutions. In August the group claimed responsibility for a bomb at the United Nations headquarters in Nigeria's capital, Abuja, which killed at least 23 people.
Three police officers and four militants were killed in the shoot-out, said Kano state police Chief Ibrahim Idris. The shoot-out occurred after one of the suspected leaders, Mohammed "Hamza" Aliyu, called in members of Boko Haram to attack the police after suspecting that his house was under surveillance because of recent attacks attributed to Boko Haram members in the area. The BBC is reporting that Aliyu is possibly a new recruit.
Aliyu is using old acts of violence that are only harming innocent people and doing very little to further the cause. You would think that options other than murder and mayhem could be used to address the issue of Western influence in Nigeria. Instead, members of the group continue to murder and spread fear among the people. What sense does that make?
Read more at BBC News.