Deadly blast hits Nigeria capital

World Today

The Boko Haram insurgency is now heading into its sixth year. The group’s stated aim is to create a hard-line Islamic state and it’s killed thousands for that cause. But many ordinary Muslims denounce the movement some branding it Satanic. CCTV’s Jane Kiyo has more from Nigeria’s capital, Abuja.

Islamist group seeking to create a hard-line Islamic state
As the Muslim world prepares to head into its holiest of months, Ramadan. This year, in this city, what should be a special time has been overshadowed. Two days ago, a couple of blocks from here, more than 20 people were killed in a rush-hour bombing. Boko Haram has not claimed responsibility. It’s thought to be the latest in a series of attacks Boko Haram claims to have made in the name of Islam. The people in this mosque are scared and angry.

It’s not about Islam and non-Islam. Islam does give room for anyone to kill whoever is doing this is doing it at their own interest, Musa Olaufe says. Musa Olaufe is Imam at Yoruba Mosque. He says Boko Haram is simply a terrorist group pushing an evil agenda, one that has caused pain to Nigeria’s Christians and Muslims alike. Musa Olaufe says, If it is churches they are attacking it can be Christians, Muslims, but they attack everyone its only God that is saving all of us.

Authorities have long suspected Boko haram is trying to stoke religious tensions- to provoke full scale sectarian conflict. If that is the plan, for the people at this mosque, at least so far it’s not working. It depends on how individuals try to find meaning to what is happening I think this is personal issue. We are still brothers and sisters even in the south; the north there’s no point killing ourselves. For people here the insurgency is purely political, not religious. And they, like their Christian compatriots, are desperate for security forces to stop the killer.

Deadly blast hits Nigeria Capital

The Boko Haram insurgency is now heading into its sixth year. The group's stated aim is to create a hardline Islamic state and it's killed thousands for that cause. But many ordinary Muslims denounce the movement some branding it Satanic. CCTV's Jane Kiyo has more from Nigeria's capital, Abuja