Boko Haram Kills NTA Cameraman

Suspected members the radical Islamist sect (Boko Haram) shot dead a Nigeria television Authority cameraman in Maiduguri on Saturday, union and military sources said, in what could be the first assassination of a journalist by the sect.

Boko Haram, whose name means "Western education is forbidden," has been blamed by authorities for near daily shootings and deadly bombings around Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state.

The sect's attacks usually target the police, military, prominent religious figures and drinking spots but in recent weeks journalists have been threatened by the group, which says it wants sharia law more widely applied across Nigeria.

The Deceased, Alhaji Zakariya Isa, a journalist working for the government-owned Nigerian Television Authority, was killed by gunmen who attacked him at his home in Maiduguri.

"Zakariya was shot dead at his house in Bulunkutu Gomari by suspected Boko Haram this evening. We shall go to claim his body tomorrow for burial," said Abba Kakami, the Borno state chairman of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ).

"The NUJ will certainly take all the necessary steps to protect its members from further attacks."

A member of the joint military task force operating in Borno state confirmed the incident, but asked not to be named.

It was not clear if Isa had been specifically targeted by Boko Haram.