
As the image above makes clear, Boko Haram has achieved a major disruption of life in Maiduguri by causing a ban on motorbikes, which will barely be a momentary solution. They are determined to kill, and will find other ways of doing so, leaving the population with slaughter and severely limited mobility. In light of Nigerian governors’ apologies to Boko Haram, this indirect measure may be part of a larger policy of limited engagement of the group.
A demoralized, economically strangled, and terrified population is more susceptible to submitting to the jihadists’ demands, or pressuring their leaders to do so in order to resume a normal life; thus, an extended ban that is not part of much broader measures against the group runs the risk of playing directly into Boko Haram’s hands. “Nigeria’s Maiduguri bans motorbikes to stop Boko Haram,” from BBC News, July 8 (thanks to Kenneth):
Motorbikes have been banned from the northern Nigerian city of Maiduguri to prevent drive-by attacks by the radical Islamist sect, Boko Haram.
Officials said no-one would be able to ride motorbikes at any time in the city, Boko Haram’s stronghold.
The group’s trademark has been to use gunmen on motorbikes to assassinate security officers and politicians.
Boko Haram is fighting for Islamic rule and has rejected talks with the government.
At least 40 people have been killed in Maiduguri, the main city in Borno state, in the past two weeks in attacks blamed on the group.
Last month, the group said it had carried out an attack on the headquarters of the Nigerian police in the capital, Abuja, which killed at least six people.
Soldiers attacked
The Borno state government said it was now imposing a 24-hour ban on motorbikes in the city.
“The ban includes private as well as commercial motorcycles of all categories that operate within Maiduguri metropolis,” Usman Ciroma, spokesman for the Borno state governor, said in a statement.
Correspondents say motorbikes are one of the most common forms of transport in Maiduguri, as most people cannot afford cars.
The AFP news agency reports that the governor, Kashim Shettima, warned that the ban could be extended.
“If the security situation does not improve following this ban, the government will extend the ban to cover the whole state,” he was quoted as saying.
On Wednesday, Boko Haram fighters threw an explosive device at a military patrol in Maiduguri, wounding three officers.