Nigeria Police Kill Islamist Sect Leader in Custody

Nigerian police officials said Mohammed Yusuf was shot while trying to escape from custody. Photo by bbc.co.uk

The leader of an Islamic sect blamed for days of deadly violence in Nigeria has been killed in police custody, police officials have said.

Officials said Mohammed Yusuf was shot while trying to escape. They had announced his capture hours earlier, the BBC reported.

Yusuf led Boko Haram, which wants to overthrow the government and impose a strict version of Islamic law.

Hundreds of people have died in five days of clashes between his followers and security forces. Yusuf was held and later shot in the north-eastern city of Maiduguri.

A spokesman for the state governor was also quoted as saying that Yusuf had been trying to escape.

Troops had stormed Boko Haram's stronghold on Wednesday night, killing many of the militants and forcing others to flee.

Yusuf was arrested earlier on Thursday, after reportedly being found hiding in a goat pen at his parents-in-law's house.

It is thought more than 300 people have died in the violence - some estimates say 600, although there has been no official confirmation.

The Red Cross said about 3 500 people had fled the fighting and were being housed in their camp.

Police say Yusuf was a 39-year-old preacher from Yobe state, who had four wives and 12 children. They described him as a motivational character.

His sect, Boko Haram, is against Western education. It believes Nigeria's government is being corrupted by Western ideas and wants to see Islamic law imposed across Nigeria.

The country's 150 million people are split almost equally between Muslims in the north and Christians in the south.

 

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