Nigerian authorities say their top suspect in a deadly Christmas
Day bombing at a Catholic church in the capital, Abuja, has escaped
police custody after being arrested at the Borno state governor's
mansion in the capital.
A police statement Tuesday said the suspect, Kabiru Sokoto, was being
escorted to another police station outside of Abuja when “suspected
gang members” attacked and freed him. The police commissioner who
ordered the transfer has been suspended, and police say they are
investigating the incident.
They have promised a criminal investigation if warranted.
Tuesday in the Nigerian newspaper The Nation, the Borno
State Commissioner for Information, Inuwa Bwala, said the incident could
be evidence that sympathizers of radical group Boko Haram have
infiltrated government security agencies.
President Goodluck Jonathan voiced similar concerns earlier this month.
The Christmas Day bombing was one of a series of coordinated attacks
that day that killed at least 39 people. Boko Haram has claimed
responsibility for that attack and several others.
Nigeria has seen escalating violence between Christians and Muslims.
President Jonathan recently declared a state of emergency in 15 areas
as part of his response to the unrest. The president also has deployed
extra troops to the north, but attacks have continued.
Authorities blame Boko Haram for hundreds of deaths in bombings and shootings over the past 18 months.
The group is said to want wider implementation of Sharia, or Islamic
law, across Nigeria. It recently warned Christians in Muslim-majority
northern Nigeria to leave the area.
U.N. Human Rights chief Navi Pillay last week called on Nigerian
political and religious leaders to conduct joint efforts to halt
sectarian violence in the country. Pillay said it is especially
important for Muslim and Christian leaders to “condemn all violence,”
including retaliatory attacks.
