A groups of young criminals burnt ten houses near Warri, and attempted to extort a local pastor. The clergyman shot and killed one, then fled to a police station. Antiriot police then hunted down the criminals and killed three more. The Nigerian Army's 7th Battalion had moved into the area to separate the battling groups and the military was committing ten aircraft to help with operations. Local activist groups have called on the central government to figure out a way to disarm these groups.
However, the Nigerian cops and troops don't always get along. On September 5, residents of one of the capital's upscale neighborhoods said soldiers arrived outside the elite Mobile Police force barracks and start shooting in the air, after a soldier had been arrested on suspicion of beating to death a local transport worker. Sporadic gunshots continued over the next hour. - Adam Geibel
