Nigerian men attend Friday prayers at the National Mosque in Abuja

KANO, Nigeria, July 12 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - Thousands of Nigerian Muslims protested in the streets of the northern city of Kano Friday, July 11, at the arrival of U.S. President George W. Bush who landed at Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport outside the capital Abuja to begin the last leg of his five-nation tour of Africa.

Following Friday's weekly Islamic prayers, worshippers thronged the streets of Kanochanting slogans bearing placards reading "Death to America" and "Death to Israel," Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.

Large numbers of armed police were deployed to watch over the marchers, but there were no reports of violence or arrests, while more than 2,000 police have been deployed in Abuja, which is 400 kilometers (240 miles) south of Kano, to protect the USparty, and there was no sign in the capital of any imminent protest.

They are also cynical about the motives of Bush's visit, particularly his promise to spend $15 billion fighting the AIDS virus.

"We can't be deceived by our enemy, Americais here to fight us and in Allah lies our strength," declared preacher Muhammad Bukari in a sermon at Kano's main mosque.

"Bush is the number one enemy of Islam and his visit has nothing to do with AIDS. His main mission is to launch his campaign against Islam under the guise of a war against terrorism.

Eye On Oil

Bukari further said that Bush's visit is primarily aimed at "stealing" the country's oil.

"We all know that Americais the world's largest consumer of oil. Having failed to restore stability in Iraq, in their unjustified invasion to exploit Iraqi oil, they now turn to us to steal our oil," he alleged.

Nigeriais the world's fifth largest exporter of crude oil, a three quarters of its daily output of around two million barrels is destined for the United States.

The preacher also brandished a popular conspiracy theory about the spread of the AIDS virus.

"How can Americaassist us to combat AIDS while it created the virus it uses to oppress the world?" he asked.

Earlier police in Kanohad arrested 26 opposition activists at a much smaller demonstration against Bush's visit.

Around half of Nigeria's 126 million people are Muslims and many of them are opposed to the White House'sMiddle East policies and were angered by the recent U.S.invasions of Iraqand Afghanistan.

The U.S. President has spent the past five days on his first tour ofAfrica , visiting Senegal, South Africa, Botswanaand Uganda.

He is due to leave Nigeriaagain on later on Saturday, July 12, return to Washingtonafter talks with Obasanjo and a visit to an AIDS clinic.

Security was extremely tight as Bush arrived in Abuja, with hundreds of heavily armed police surrounding his base, the luxury Nicon Hilton hotel, and lining his route.