[1][2][3] A government inquiry later found that, while long-standing tensions existed between Boko Haram and the Nigerian Security forces, the immediate cause of the violence stemmed from a confrontation between a group of sect members and joint Task Forces located at custom bridge Gamboru ward in the city of Maiduguri.

The officers, part of a special operation to suppress violence and rampant crime in Borno State, demanded that the young men comply with a law requiring motorcycle passengers to wear helmets.

[1] According to initial media reports, the violence began on 26 July when Boko Haram launched an attack on a police station in Bauchi State.

But President Umaru Yar’Adua disputed this version of events, claiming that government security forces had struck first.

[4] Nigerian troops surrounded the home of Ustaz Mohammed Yusuf, the founder and spiritual leader of Boko Haram since 2002, in Maiduguri on 28 July after his followers had barricaded themselves inside.

[7][5] Prior to the clashes, many local Muslim leaders and at least one military official had warned the Nigerian authorities about the Boko Haram sect.

[11] On 28 July, Army soldiers reportedly launched an offensive on the compound of sect leader Mohammed Yusuf and a nearby mosque used by his followers in the Borno state capital of Maiduguri.

Security forces fought their way into a mosque occupied by militants, raking the interior with machine gun fire.

After the government declared Maidguri to be secured, Nigerian forces began setting up mortar positions to shell the remaining enemy compound.

[5][17] Police officials initially claimed that either Yusuf was shot while trying to escape or died of wounds sustained during a gun battle with the military.

[5][17] On 2 August, a group of women and children abducted by Boko Haram were found locked in a house in Maiduguri.