Nigeria offers huge reward for information on Boko Haram leaders

Culled from Sunonline___Nigeria's military on Friday offered hundreds
of thousands ofdollars in rewards for informationleading to the
capture of leaders of Islamist extremist group, Boko Haram.
A statement listed 19 alleged senior members of the extremist group
blamed for hundreds of deaths in connection with its insurgency in
northern and central Nigeria.
The rewards ranged from N50 million ($317,000, 245,000 euros)for the
suspected leader of the group, Abubakar Shekau, to N10 million for
various Boko Haram "commanders".
"They are wanted in connection with terrorist activities
particularlyin the northeast zone of Nigeria that led to the killings,
bombings and assassination of some civilians, religious leaders,
traditional rulers, businessmen, politicians, civil servants and
security personnel amongst others," a military statement said.
"They are also wanted for arson and destruction of properties worth
millions of naira."
In June, the United States designated three Nigerian Islamist
extremists "global terrorists" but declined to label Boko Haram a
terrorist group, citing its domestic focus, among other issues.
The three named by the US State Department were Shekau as well as
Abubakar Adam Kambar and Khalid al-Barnawi, both said to have ties to
a regional Al-Qaeda group.
Friday's statement offering rewards listed both Shekau and al-Barnawi,
but not Kambar.
Lieutenant Colonel Sagir Musa, who issued the statement on behalf of a
military task force operating in the country's northeast, did not
respond to phone calls.
Violence linked to Boko Haram's insurgency is believed to have left
some 3,000 people dead since 2009, including killings by the security
forces.
The group has claimed to be seeking an Islamist state in Nigeria,
Africa's most populous nation and largest oil producer whose
population is roughly divided between Christians and Muslims.
However, its demands have repeatedly shifted and it is believed to
include various factions with differing aims, in addition to imitators
and criminal gangs that carry out violence while posing as members of
the group.