The leader of an Islamic sect blamed for days of deadly violence in Nigeria was killed in police custody, police officials say last Thursday. The news came just hours after security forces said they had captured Mohammed Yusuf in the city of Maiduguri.
Yusuf leads 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.
Mohammed Yusuf leader of an Islamic sect, Boko Haram and troop making an arrest of the emebers of Boko Haram in Maiduguri
"He has been killed. You can come and see his body at the state police command headquarters," Isa Azare, spokesman for the Maiduguri police command, told Reuters news agency. His bullet-riddled body was shown on state television, AFP news agency said.
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.
BBC News Website Africa Editor Joseph Winter says Nigeria's security forces have a terrible reputation for brutality and human rights groups accuse them of frequent extra-judicial killings.
Troops shelled on Tuesday the home of 'Nigerian Taliban' leader on the third day of fierce clashes that have left more than 250 people dead, witnesses said.
Last Tuesday, sporadic mortar fire and gunshots were heard as soldiers shelled the home of Mohammed Yusuf in Maiduguri, sending plumes of smoke rising over the capital of northern Borno state.
President Umaru Yar'Adua, speaking in the capital Abuja, said the situation in northern Nigeria was 'under control' and indicated that a final assault was underway.
'We have the situation under control now and I believe that by the end of the day, everything would have been taken care of,' Yar'Adua told reporters as he boarded a flight at Abuja airport for Brazil.
Will Yusuf's death end Boko Haram?
Boko Haram launched co-ordinated attacks across Northern Nigeria, with a vow to overthrow the government and impose strict Islamic law. But who are they?
Since the group emerged in 2004, they have become known as "Taliban", although they appear to have no links to the Taliban in Afghanistan. Some analysts believe they took inspiration from the radical Afghans, others say the name is more a term used by people in Maiduguri, the area where they were founded.
The group's other name, Boko Haram, means "Western education is a sin" and is another title used by local people to refer to the group.
However, it is also said that the group has no specific name for itself, just many names attributed to it by local people. If their name is uncertain, however, their mission appears clear enough - to overthrow the Nigerian state, impose an extreme interpretation of Islamic law and abolish what they term as "Western-style education".
Yusuf's Ideology
In an interview with the BBC, the group's leader, Mohammed Yusuf, said such education "spoils the belief in one God".
"There are prominent Islamic preachers who have seen and understood that the present Western-style education is mixed with issues that run contrary to our beliefs in Islam," he said.
"Like rain. We believe it is a creation of God rather than an evaporation caused by the sun that condenses and becomes rain. Like saying the world is a sphere. If it runs contrary to the teachings of Allah, we reject it. We also reject the theory of Darwinism."
Women, children released from the sect's enclave
Yusuf himself was something of an enigma. He was believed to be in his mid-thirties, and analysts say he was extremely wealthy and highly educated.
"He is well educated and very proficient in English. He lives lavishly - people say he drives a Mercedes Benz. " says Nigerian academic Hussain Zakaria.
Future of Boko Haram and govt connection
Despite the secrecy surrounding the group, many in Nigeria say the attacks were far from surprising.
Mannir Dan Ali, a journalist in Abuja, says there was a minor incident in early June which appeared to spark a series of statements from the group threatening reprisals.
Another journalist says ,"Now it is becoming a monster, the government has realised it has made a mistake The whole situation seems to be a failure of intelligence, a failure of the security forces to act before matters reached the point that they have now reached," he says. "We could literally see it coming over the past few weeks."
There has been widespread criticism of the security forces for their perceived laxness in monitoring the group.
Recruitment
Boko Haram's members are largely drawn from disaffected youth -university students and jobless graduates among them.
Aminu Abubakar, a journalist covering the area for the AFP news agency, says it is widely believed that the authorities have been reluctant to deal with the militants because some of them come from rich families with connections to the government.
Upsurge in violence
More than 100 people were killed as a wave of unrest spread from the city of Bauchi on Sunday through Borno, Yobe and Kano states the following day. And no-one seems to know just how big a threat the so-called Taliban pose, how big their membership is, or what their next move could be.
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It is a pity, these people should know that this country is not thier sole property, it belongs to all of us.
Security inteligence should be beefed up in all part of the world, to avoid further occurence. I pray God strengthens our arm forces. - AMen-
Am I a stranger in Nigeria? Are things so bad, even in the North that an ABU graduate for example, will degenerate to the level of these rebels? When I was at home, only the poor followed people like Tarfa(the Tax Rebel) and Maitaisine, the one eyed king to cause problems. I have forgotten the details of the report but the int report included inter alia that the Maitasines were the scums of the earth that were recruited from the Chad or Niger Republic. Tarfa's followers were mostly illiterate farmers and Agbero's(schmucks) from Idiayunre and the sorrounding villages of Ibadan. The then Commissioner of Police, Mr.Brisibe sent his men to quell the riot. The casualty figure was high on both sides. Some officer claiimed later that they refused even the livestock to escape unhurt. Now, talking of this 30 yr old man who hates western education but is himself western educated, uses a Benz, visits the clubs and smokes some stuff and utilizes western style weapons has recruited unemployed College Graduates to fight what he believes is the "Good Fight". It was nearly impossible to find an unemplyed Northern graduate. wgen I was in Nigeria. I must have become a stranger in Nigeria indeed. Hunger, can cause lots of problems. For example, I know that some of the people who are having problems in their families are those that either refuse to work or have become less well-off due to several reasons. Perhaps, such problems may not arise if the labor market improves at home.
One cannot but sympathise with the victims on all sides, inclduding the Nigerian government in this upheaval.
A northern muslim is a northern muslim. It does not matter whether an Emir, Dean of Faculty of Engineering, CEO of an Insurance company or Pilot of Cargo Airlines. They all have same mission and roped by same goal, and that is, to Islamize Nigeria at all cost. To throw the Koran to the Atlantic Ocean. How are these groups being financed? With what and whose money? How did they get the courage to attack Police stations and government buildings? Please, Nigerians, open your eyes. The human right groups should not also interfere in this matter. Nigerian is not waiting for the tower buildings to be brought down first before rooting them out. For the human right activists and the rest, Nigerian armed forces are not trained to count their deaths without huge prices to pay. You kill one of them, they kill 100s of yours. Simple rule, and discuss later.
A northern muslim is a northern muslim. It does not matter whether an Emir, Dean of Faculty of Engineering, CEO of an Insurance company or Pilot of Cargo Airlines. They all have same mission and united by same goal, and that is, to Islamize Nigeria at all cost. To throw the Koran to the Atlantic Ocean. How are these groups being financed? With what and whose money? How did they get the courage to attack Police stations and government buildings? Please, Nigerians, open your eyes. The human right groups should not also interfere in this matter. Nigerian is not waiting for the tower buildings to be brought down first before rooting them out. For the human right activists and the rest, Nigerian armed forces are not trained to count their deaths without huge prices to pay. You kill one of them, they kill 100s of yours. Simple rule, and discuss later.
Am not a Nigerian but i have read extensively the Boko Haram saga and the extensive damage and loss of lives that followed .I have also followed the news on BBC.This is a very sad story and i i extend my condolence to all those who lost their loved ones in this voilent saga. My point of concern here is that why did the security forces hurry up to kill Mohammed Yusuf?Why did the head of state immediately leave the country for Brazil when he knew fully well that as commander in chief of the army he was supposed to stay behind and direct the success end of this matter? This story is like a maffia tale.I believe there is more to be discovered behind the killing of Mohammed Yusuf than the tiny excuse the police and state media released.I beleive Mohammed Yusuf had serious connections in high places within the Nigerian government and to cover themselves they just had to be content that he should be extrajudicially killed.If not ,how did he acquire the arms and ammunition which his supporters used to ambush the police stations?Where did he get the funds and equipment to do all this mobilasation? Nigerians must be more vigillant and should open their eyes to see more than what is read in the news.This kind of killing is likened to the shooting of Lee Harvey Oswald who shot President Kennedy and was in turn shot by a commisssioner who deceived the Amewrican public that he shot Oswald because he shot the president.What i would suggest here is that there should be a thorough investigation and that the police officer who shot Yusuf should be arrested for questioning.There is a hidden link somewhere and if this is not thoroughly investigated and the perpetrators brought to justice ,i believe the current situation will resurface in a more deadly manner.