The Jama’atu Ahlis Sunnah Lidda’awati Wal
Jihad, also known as Boko Haram, yesterday claimed responsibility for the
massive attacks on telecommunication facilities in Borno, Yobe, Kano and
Bauchi.
The group said the attacks on communication
facilities will continue unabated because such companies are assisting the
federal government and security agencies in tracking and arresting members of
the group in many parts of the country.
The group said with the connivance of such
companies, many of its members have been incarcerated in various prisons.
A statement written in Hausa and signed by
Abul-Qaqa equally threatened attacks on the facilities of the Voice of America
(VOA) as well as its correspondents and staff.
The group said the attacks on communication
facilities will continue unabated because such companies are assisting the
federal government and security agencies in tracking and arresting members of
the group in many parts of the country.
The group said with the connivance of such
companies, many of its members have been incarcerated in various prisons.
A statement written in Hausa and signed by
Abul-Qaqa equally threatened attacks on the facilities of the Voice of America
(VOA) as well as its correspondents and staff
Our correspondent reports that more than 20
telecommunication masts of MTN, Airtel, Etilsalat and Glo have been set ablaze
in Maiduguri and Bama in Borno State as well as Damaturu and Potiskum in Yobe
State on Tuesday.
The development hampered communication and
affected business transactions in the affected place while many employees of
the telecommunication companies have fled.
“Our ultimate goal is the establishment of an
Islamic State in Nigeria and we would not hesitate in taking punitive measures
against anybody who sabotage or assist others that are sabotaging our efforts,”
Qaqa said.
“This is why we are fighting the Nigerian
government and its collaborators, including telecommunication companies. We would
continue attacking them (telecoms) until the time they stopped releasing
information about our activities.
“We have also established that through its
various programmes, the VOA has launched a campaign of calumny against Islam.
We have resolved to fight back by tracking and killing its employees. Any
employee of the VOA that wants to remain alive must quit.