The leader of Nigeria's extremist Islamic sect likened to Taliban, was killed after capture by the military following a massive offensive on the sect's strongholds in northern areas of the country.
Muhammad Yusuf, chief of Boko Haram, the fundamentalist group waging a violent struggle for the imposition of Islamic laws across the country "died in police custody," the police commander of Borno state announced on state radio.
The sect has been blamed for days of violence which raged in the country's Taliban-infested north, leaving over 300 people dead and displacing nearly 10,000 others.
For the past 72 hours, the Nigerian military launched a manhunt to nab the sect's chief Yusuf, who escaped a Sunday raid on his compound and campus. The military is locked in a fierce struggle to crush the violent movement.
The state broadcasting station Borno Radio Television (BRTV) said the leader of the fundamentalist group was captured among livestock in an unfinished building.
National television Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) quoted the deputy inspector general of the police zone Moses Anegbode as confirming that he was killed in a shoot-out.
Soldiers were seen firing series of gunshot into the air in celebration of Yusuf's capture in various northern cities.
The purported arrest and death came on the heels of gunfire battle in Maiduguri where helicopters were used by the police and army in a door to door search for the followers of the radical preacher.
It is not obvious if the extremist leader's death will put an end to the fighting between his group and soldiers.
Followers of the slain extremist fleeing military onslaught in Maiduguri set a police station on fire yesterday.
The governor of the northern Borno State in a broadcast appealed to the people to remain calm and vigilant and report
any suspicious character to the nearest security agency.
He said the "government is aware that some members of the discredited group are being harboured by some unpatriotic
members of the public" and warned that "any one found harbouring any member of that group will be dealt with".
Security forces, who raided the Maiduguri headquarters of Yusuf on Sunday, claimed to have killed 200 followers of the sect along with its deputy leader Abubakar Shekau.
Following the raid, the sect attacked major northern cities carrying machetes, hand-made grenades and knives.
Troops shelled the compound of the sect's mosque on Wednesday night to flush out the militants holed up inside, triggering a raging battle that left scores dead.
Yusuf, 39, had escaped with nearly 300 of his supporters from his compound following the raid.
Boko Haram, which means "western education is sin" is waging a violent struggle to enforce Islamic law across the multi-religious country and its members have burnt churches, attacked police stations and a prison and clashed with security forces in the States of Bauchi, Borno, Kano and Yobe.
