ABUJA, Nigeria, Oct. 17 (UPI) -- The slaying of a lawmaker in the Nigerian state of Borno bears the hallmarks of the radical Boko Haram group, a police official said Monday.
Nigerian lawmaker Modu Bintube was shot Sunday while in front of his house. Simeon Midenda, Borno state police commissioner, was quoted by Nigeria's Channels Television news agency as saying the "pattern of the killing is similar to that of how Boko Haram members are targeting their victims."
Boko Haram claimed responsibility for an attack that left dozens of people dead and many more injured at the U.N. offices in Abuja in August.
The group was allegedly linked to al-Qaida but the International Crisis Group said the alleged ties suggest Boko Haram is trying to portray itself as a powerful terrorist entity in the region.
Nigerian oil workers called for a general strike last week in part because of the violence attributed to Boko Haram.
The Nigerian Tribune reported that a local cleric called on Nigeria President Goodluck Jonathan to move closer to God, saying Boko Haram was a plague sent by God as punishment for the sinful behavior of Nigerian leaders.
