Mohammed Yusuf, 39 leader of the Boko Haram the Nigerian version of Taliban has died in police custody; human right campaigners have called the killing unlawful. Boko Haram has been blamed for the unrest in north eastern Nigeria which has resulted in hundreds of people dead. The group like Taliban is against western education and wants to convert Nigeria into an Islamic state and also wants to implement a strict version of Islamic Sharia Law.

Mohammed Yusuf was killed in a shootout by the security forces when he tried to escape. This was confirmed to the Nigerian Television by Moses Anegbode, regional Asst. Inspector-General of Police.

This mass unrest in North Eastern Nigeria started on Sunday in Bauchi and then spread to the other towns. There have been several gun battles since Sunday between the Islamic militants and Government lead security forces. Hundreds of militants have tried to attack government and police buildings and have more then 300 people dead, but some estimate that the death toll could have even exceeded 600. Nigeria has a population of 150 million which is equally split with Muslims dominating the North and Christians dominating the South.