The Christmas Day bombings could be a worrying sign of things to come.

The warning signs are familiar. An armed group begins by imposing the strictures of Islamic sharia on a Muslim population, using first moral persuasion and then actual violence. Having secured its hold over a region where central government has little control, it broadens its aims and resolves to take on enemies of Islam wherever they may be found. What had been a local security problem explodes into an international threat.

So it was with the Taliban in the borderlands of Afghanistan and Pakistan -- and so it may be with the radical Islamists of Nigeria. For the second Christmas Day in a row, a group known as Boko Haram has carried out bomb attacks on Christian churches, claiming dozens of lives in a country where religious strife poses a genuine threat to the survival of the state.

...Read the full article

Update: State of Emergency

1st January 2012. See article from telegraph.co.uk

President Goodluck Jonathan has declared a state of emergency in parts of northern Nigeria plagued by a violent muslim insurgency.

Jonathan added that he would shut any borders with other nations in the northern areas covered by the decree.

Boko Haram, has issued a chilling warning to all Christians in northern Nigeria, giving them three days to leave or face further extensive attacks.

The violence in Nigeria by Boko Haram has led to a nasty ultimatum by the group, which has warned that it is ready to confront soldiers sent to engage them under a state of emergency declared by Nigerian President, Goodluck Jonathan.

We will confront them squarely to protect our brothers, said Abul Qaqa, spokesperson of Boko Haram, according to CNN.

He also called for Muslims living in southern Nigeria to come back to the north, citing evidence that they could be attacked.

Update: Further Murders

10th January 2012. See article from bbc.co.uk

Gunmen have attacked a church in north-east Nigeria killing at least six people, the church's pastor says. Johnson Jauro said the killings took place when gunmen burst into his Deeper Life Church in Gombe, capital of Gombe state. He said his wife was among those killed. Ten other people were injured.

 Jauro told Reuters news agency:

The attackers started shooting sporadically. They shot through the window of the church, and many people were killed including my wife. Many members who attended the church service were also injured.

No group said it carried out the attack, but the Islamic extremist group Boko Haram recently carried out a string of bombings on Christmas Day, including against a church in the capital Abuja which killed dozens of people.

Co-ordinated attacks by islamic extremists in the northern Nigerian city of Kano on Friday killed about 150 people, witnesses and reports say.

Hospitals are struggling to deal with the numbers of killed and injured.

A series of explosions ripped apart police buildings, passport offices and immigration centres around the city, which is now under a 24-hour curfew.

Boko Haram militants said they carried out the attacks, which would be their bloodiest assault to date.

The group has said it wants to overthrow the national government and install an Islamic state.

President Goodluck Jonathan promised that the perpetrators would face the full wrath of the law. As a responsible government, we will not fold our hands and watch enemies of democracy, for that is what these mindless killers are, perpetrate unprecedented evil in our land.

At least 38 people have died in a car bombing in the northern Nigerian city of Kaduna, officials said. Many others were injured in the attack, which took place when officials stopped the vehicle as it approached a church.

Just hours afterwards, a bomb exploded in the central city of Jos, injuring several people.

No-one has admitted carrying out the bombings, but suspicion has fallen on Boko Haram, an extremist muslim group which had warned of attacks over Easter.