The Nation Newspaper

Tag: boko haram

  • Architect accused of impersonating ICPC official

    The police on Monday arraigned a 40-year-old architect, Idris Unkange, at a Wuse Zone II Magistrates’ Court for allegedly impersonating an official of the Independent Corrupt Practice and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).

    Unkange, who lives at Bamishi, Kuje Area Council, FCT, is charged with criminal breach of trust, impersonation and cheating.

    The prosecution counsel, A.S. Oyeyemi, told the court that the complainant, Mr. Job Andrew, who lives at Mopo Barracks, Deidei Abuja, reported the matter at the Criminal Investigation Department, FCT Command, on March 1.

    Oyeyemi alleged that on December 12, 2017, the defendant called the complainant on the phone and said the ICPC would be auctioning some vehicles and that he had “reserved” a Toyota Hilux (Pick-Up Van) for him.

    See Also: Two men ‘impersonate’ army, police officers

    He said the defendant deceitfully collected N500, 000 and diverted the money to his use.

    The prosecutor said when the defendant was arrested, he confessed to the crime during police investigation.

    He said the offence contravened sections 312, 322 and 132 of Penal Code.

    After the charges were read to him, he pleaded not guilty.

    Magistrate Fatima Abubakar admitted the defendant to N600, 000 bail with one surety in the like sum.

    She ordered that the surety, who must live within the jurisdiction of the court, must be a civil servant not below GL06.

    Abubakar adjourned the case till September 25.

  • Boko Haram: We celebrated Sallah for the first time in 5 years – Shehu of Bama

     

    The Shehu of Bama Kingdom of Borno State, Kyari Ibn Umar El-Kanemi, has expressed delight after his people joined the rest of the world to mark the  first Eid-el-Kabir celebration in his domains.

     

    According to the monarch, this was the first time in almost five years the community partook in the religious feast celebrated across the globe by all Muslims.

     

    “Today we are celebrating Sallah in Bama which we were not privileged to celebrate for the past  five years,” an utterly elated Shehu stated on Monday.

     

    “ Indeed we have to be grateful to Allah SWT for sparing our lives and non among us here today that is thinking to live up to this moment to grace this Sallah celebration in Bama.”

    Read also: Police confirm abduction of 4 expatriates in Kwara

     

    Bama was the target of Boko Haram terrorists in the past, forcing natives and other inhabitants to flee their homes.

     

    Umar El-Kanemi, the traditional ruler wasn’t spared as his wife and daughter were reportedly abducted in 2014 and released two years after.

     

    The monarch, alongside his counterpart from Dikwa, Masa II Ibn Umar El Kanemi, even fled their communities to reside in Maiduguri.

     

    However, peace has since been restored to the area thanks to President Muhammadu Buhari and the Nigerian Army under the dogged leadership of Lieutenant General  Tukur Buratai.

     

    As part of the rehabilitation and reconstruction process, the monarchs returned in July in company of local government staff and primary school teachers accompanied by troops of Operation Lafiya Dole who regained the Kingdom back from Boko Haram terrorists .

     

    An eyewitness account revealed that there was free movement of people around the town, especially in public places without fear of any violence or attacks by Boko Haram throughout the Sallah season .

     

    There was also a mass prayer on Sunday for the first time in a long while, led by the monarch himself.

     

    All these feats have been attributed to the gallantry of the Nigerian military and a decisive leadership.

     

  • Boko Haram kills aid worker in ambush, six others missing

    A worker of the Action Against Hunger, an international  humanitarian organization, has been killed by suspected members of the terror sect, Boko Haram.

    Six others are missing, the NGO said in a statement on Friday.

    Killed was a driver of one of the vehicles in the organization’s convoy on its way from Maiduguri, the Borno State capital to Damasak.

    “One of the drivers was killed, while one Action Against Hunger staff member, two of the drivers and three health workers are missing,” AAH said.

    “We are deeply saddened by this tragic incident as these are colleagues dedicated to providing life-saving assistance to individuals and families affected by the ongoing humanitarian crisis in the north east of Nigeria. We are very concerned and want to ensure that they are safe and can be reunited with their families.

    Read Also: Boko Haram kills Colonel, Captain, five other soldiers

    “Action Against Hunger strives to ensure that millions of people in need of humanitarian assistance in north east Nigeria receive the essential services required for their survival, especially women and children.”

    The attack occurred  at about  midday on Thursday, about 20km from Damasak.

    The terrorists  are believed to have targeted three cars belonging to AAH.

     

  • Boko Haram kills Colonel, Captain, five other soldiers

    An Army Colonel, a Captain with his four escorts and a driver were killed yesterday by Boko Haram insurgents between Mainok and Jakana, along the Damaturu/Maiduguri Highway.

    Sources said the Colonel and his convoy ran into some fleeing insurgents, who were retreating after a heavy gunfire exchange with soldiers at Jakana.

    The attack lasted for hours.

    A military source, who spoke with our correspondent on condition of anonymity, denied insinuations that it was an ambush.

    Read Also: Borno emir returns home 5 years after displacement by Boko Haram

    He said: “The Colonel was just unlucky to run into the insurgents on his way from Maiduguri to Damaturu. He did not know an attack was ongoing on the highway.”

    The source confirmed that the Colonel was from 29 Task Force Brigade of Sector II of “Operation Lafiya Dole”.

    Another source said two civilians were killed in the Jakana attack following stray bullets. He said the insurgents did not attack the civilian population.

    Contacted, spokesman for the Nigeria Army Sector II, Lt. Njoka Irabor, said: “Information available to me is still sketchy. I honestly don’t have details now, but I will get back to you as soon as possible.”

  • Insurgency: Military chiefs’ discordant tunes

    The Daily Sun editorial of September 14 2011, P18 captioned “Azazi’s faulty declaration” reads in parts “The National Security Adviser, General Andrew Owoye Azazi, struck the wrong chord last week when he said that security agencies in the country were not prepared for the current wave of terrorism in the country. He sounded even more damnable when he declared that terrorism has come to stay in Nigeria.

    “These faulty declarations were made by Azazi while briefing State House correspondents at the end of an Emergency National Council of State meeting called by President Goodluck Jonathan to review the security situation in the country.

    “Following the recent bombing of the United Nations building in Abuja by the militant Islamic sect, Boko Haram, President Jonathan had scheduled the meeting to address the multifaceted security challenges bedeviling the country. At the meeting, the NSA, while briefing the council, noted that the security agencies in the country were caught unawares by the new level of terrorism introduced by Boko Haram sect. while explaining why the country is in such a quandary, Azazi declared that the security challenges are here to stay and will not go away overnight.

    “We appreciate the open and uninhibited declarations of the NSA. He was forthright when he underlined the fact that we have not improved on the facilities needed to fight and contain criminal activities.

    “However, he made our situation look helpless when he began to sound defeatist. It was clearly impolitic, for instance, for the NSA to have declared that terrorism has come to stay in Nigeria. That declared was an expression of hopelessness. An officer of General Azazi’s standing should not be seen to be making statements that will dampen the hopes and aspirations of the people.

    “The NSA was in order to have drawn attention to the limitations of the security agencies. But the proper follow-up to that should not have been capitulation. Rather, he should have assured the nation about the steps, both short-term and long-term, that would be taken to contain the activities of Boko Haram and other organizations, groups or individuals that have put the nation’s security on edge.

    “The security agencies cannot shy away from the fact that what is going on in the country poses a huge challenge on them. Since they have a job to do, the way to go about it is to face those challenges frontally.

    “In fact, we do not subscribe to Azazi’a view that terrorism has come to stay. Rather, it is a new phenomenon in Nigeria which the security agencies should strive to nip in the bud.”

    Similarly, the Blue Print cartoon of February 4, 2013, P16 carried the caption “Nigeria Military can’t contain insurgency – Agwai” Martin Luther Agwai was the Chief of Army Staff this time. In the cartoon were four Nigerians in their respective traditional dress. They are Hausa, Igbo, Yoruba and the other from South South. In response to Agawai’s assertion, the Hausa-man asked, “So what do we do?” the man from South South replied “EGBESU boys can contain it.” The Yoruba chap urged “Let us use the OPC boys” while the Igbo pointed out “BAKASSI boys are better.”

    The story captioned “Only God can Police our border” whose source is attributed to the nation’s security chieftains in Daily Trust of May 29, 2019, P3 and written by one Ismail Mudashir is more sour to taste.

    According to the story “Security chiefs yesterday after meeting with President Muhammed Buhari said only God can Police the country’s border. At the end of a security meeting with Buhari at the State House, Abuja, the country’s security chiefs blamed the porous border for the rising insecurity”.

    The chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok Ekwe Ibas who spoke to the State House correspondents on behalf of his colleagues expressed concern over the in flow of arms into the country

    The position of the security chiefs to the effect that only God can police the nation border provoked comments and reactions. Are the security chiefs already overwhelmed or capitulated with the prevailing border security challenges? Do other nations like Nigeria leave their border security to be policed by God and not man? Are the security chiefs aware of the implications of their position on Nigerians especially our brothers living in the border communities? If the security chiefs could collectively admit that only God can police the borders of the nation then the question is what is the role of the military and other security agencies of the nation in protecting, securing the nation, protect its citizens and defend the territorial and sovereignty of Nigeria?

    Before the shout of Jack Robinson came another bomb shell, from the current Chief of Army Staff, General Tukur Buratai while speaking at a military function in Abuja recently. According to General Buratai, “It is unfortunate, but the truth is that almost every setback the Nigerian Army has had in our operations in recent times can be traced to insufficient willingness to perform assigned tasks or simply insufficient commitment to a common national and military course by those at the frontlines,” This outburst is a doubling down on his earlier alleged secret memo leaked to the media last August that military commanders and soldier in the Boko Haram war were cowardly.

    No doubt General Buratai might be speaking from the strength of available evidence at his disposal which certainly is and will never be known to us, but to say this for the consumption of the public is unfair to his very self as the head of the army and even to the army institution as a whole. By his public comments on the goings (more so the negative) in the military fold, General Buratai has consciously and unconsciously subjected the army to public ridicule or dissection. Besides, he has damponed the confidence of the members of public especially Nigerians on the war affected zone in the military capacity to deal decisively with the insurgency. Presumably, General Buratai might have been prompted or provoked by the re-insurgence of terror war especially with more attacks on military formations but his response to this is of no interest to members of the public but essential to the military to help in the  in-house clearing of the cobwebs.

    “In the words of a colleague, “Now, more than ever before, the jihadists are attacking more military facilities than markets, motor parks, schools and worship centres. At least two lieutenant colonels and more than 50 other soldiers have been killed in Boko Haram attacks in the last one month, with many more missing in action.

    “Most of these fallen heroes are buried, unsung. The least expected of a commanding officer in the circumstances is to show leadership, not engaging in a blame game. Buratai’s absurd extrapolation is self-serving and can only further demotivate the long-suffering troops, with catastrophic consequences.”

    However, there was cheering news of late same from security chiefs after four hours of meeting held with President Muhammadu Buhari. Speaking to State House correspondents in the State House, Abuja after the meeting the Chief of Air Staff Air Marshall Abubakar Sadique who spoke on behalf of his colleagues told the journalists that the meeting with Head the state centered on security. He described the meeting a success.

    According to the Abubakar Sadique, “The meeting is all about the security of Nigerians and Nigeria,” adding that they would continue to put in their best to ensure the country is properly secured.

    “The message coming out of the meeting is that the Armed Forces of Nigeria and other security agencies will continue to work much harder to ensure that every Nigerian is secure and the territorial integrity of Nigeria is not undermined by anybody,” he said.

    On whether a new strategy is being considered, the Air Chief said there was no need for that.

    “I think the strategy has already been changed and from what we are seeing, the current strategy is working.

    “What we are going to do is to ensure that all hands are on deck and every Nigerian equally has a role to play by passing relevant intelligence to us.

    “So far the strategy that we have on ground is really working and that is the one we will continue to pursue,” he added.

    It is an undisputed fact that the Nigerian military has given good account of itself in the war against Boko Haram and other challenges. Some members of the armed forces and other security agencies have paid the supreme price and still doing so. The war is progressively being won. There are however challenges both in human and materials. These must been thoroughly looked into and necessary remedies applied. The issue should be what is right and not who is right. Needless to say the clock is ticking fast and time running out. The military might be running against time in the continued prolongation of the war. There is need for full and total agreement of purpose and direction among all stakeholders in the prosecution of this war.

    Nigerians look forward and soonest for the complete liquidation of Boko Haram that is manifesting in different colours and formations.

    • Victor Izekor, a journalist and public affairs analyst, writes at victorizekor@gmail.com

  • Boko Haram: Army denies neighbouring countries aid terrorists

    THE General Officer Commanding (GOC) 7 Division of the Army, Brig.-Gen Bulama Biu, has refuted claims that countries that share borders with the north-eastern states aid Boko Haram and Islamic State West African Province (ISWAP).

    Biu spoke during a side interview at the Nigerian Army Day Celebration (NADCEL) at the Ikeja Cantonment, Lagos.

    The GOC, who was among outstanding officers and soldiers honoured by the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt.-Gen. Yusuf Buratai, at the star-studded event, said the Defence Forces of Cameroon and Chadian military had been collaborating with Nigerian troops to defeat the insurgents.

    He said: “That allegation is not true. We work together. Yes, there is need for improvement, but that doesn’t mean they are supporting terrorists. In fact, we had a joint operation two days ago (Thursday) around the Cameroon border.”

    Read also: We’ve Nigerians interest at heart, says Army

    “We encountered the terrorists and jointly with Cameroonian Defence Forces, we cleared them. Remember that we also have Multinational Joint Taskforce (MNJTF) with troops of all these countries ad members.”

    Biu said there is need for all hands to be on deck to end terrorism in the country.

    The GOC acknowledged that the people were beginning to have faith in the military and security agencies.

    “All that is going on in 7 Division is to ensure that the Operation Lafiya Dole continues to work towards a very speedy resolution of the war against terrorism that we have been undertaking. This we do with focus and strategies. For example, you must have heard of Operation Halaka Dodo.

    “Our focus is to stop the remaining marauding Boko Haram elements from attacking soft targets. The group has been substantially degraded, but a few of the terrorists go about to make themselves relevant by targeting vulnerable places.”

  • Trouble with Ruga

    Truly, failure is an orphan. Like the famed abiku, the authors of the Ruga Settlement initiative ought to be ruing the day their pet initiative – conceived in the wake of the simmering herdsmen/farmers clashes – was made public. Talk of things going terribly awry; between the office of the vice president, which, in the ensuing outrage that followed, swiftly washed its hands off the initiative; the Federal Ministry of Agriculture which although initially claimed its authorship and which has since settled on playing the fall-guy, and, President Muhammadu Buhari which promptly scuppered the charade before things got out of hand. Now, Nigerians must wonder how an initiative so utterly misguided, looking as it were, like a lifting from the Miyetti Allah playbook, could find its way into the arena of public policy in a country of multiple ethnicities.

    So much for the semantics of whether the word ‘Ruga’ means Rural Grazing Area (RUGA) or is actually a Hausa concept for cow settlement; there is a sense in which Nigerians would ordinarily wonder whether an initiative, to be funded solely by the federal government, and which seeks to carve out settlements exclusively for an occupational group would stand the test of equity, considering that the federal government neither owns an inch of land nor a trustee of same under the laws of the country. For even if we permit the federal government’s expansive definition of the ruga concept to embrace all shades of animal husbandry; the question that naturally follows is whether the scheme would embrace colocation with pig farmers since the ambience so described in the Ruga plan would equally do their own business a world of good!

    Let’s look more closely at the federal government’s definition of the age-old problem of herdsmen/farmers clashes which, in recent years, have grown, not just in frequency but also in intensity with sophisticated arms freely deployed. In this, a lot has certainly been said of how climate change which berthed in desertification has compounded the problem of the herders, particularly with Lake Chad – the main artery of the Northeast economy – almost now nearly dried up. In the same vein, a lot more has been said of how the problem could be addressed scientifically without necessarily rupturing the fragile fabric holding the Nigerian federation together. Among such was the offer by Rivers’ Governor Nyesom Wike last week. Although meant to be a joke, he was reported as offering to supply water from Bonny to wherever it was needed in the North to boost the development of pastures whenever they finally makes up its mind! Though meant as a joke, it certainly offers a different perspective – far useful than the one-track approach being pursued by the federal government.

    By far, the Achilles heel of the policy is the character of today’s herdsmen. I am not here talking here of our old time Fulani herdsmen brothers and sisters with whom we once lived together in peace and harmony. I am talking here of the AK-14 wielding pastoralist which though Fulani by association, could be from Mali or wherever. Whereas nothing has been said about the farmers being the aggressors, the exact opposite is known to be true of the new itinerant herdsmen. From Plateau to Benue, Taraba to Oyo, from Kogi to Enugu, the stories are virtually the same: entire villages being sacked as they marched on, families throwing into mourning in mindless orgies of killings and mayhem sometimes over disputes that could range from nothing to serious.  While there have been instances of the farmers matching terror with terror in cyclic reprisals, over all, it has been, mostly, one sided with the visitors having the upper hand.

    Yet, the federal government, in its wisdom, thinks that these unknown  ‘visitors’ deserve much more than accommodation; that they need to be appeased so the country can have peace. Never mind the farmers, the hapless victims of their terror; not only are they are expected to give up their ancestral lands to the bargain, theirs is an added burden to find the milk of kindness for belligerent visitors soon to be settled in their neighbourhoods to be supplied with modern appurtenances that the federal government deems fit to put in! Those reading sinister motives to the policy are simply reminded that the Sahelian drought is not only as real as the African sun; and that the herders, being endangered species, deserved shelter from the merciless drought stealthily coming upon them.

    Not a word about the fears or concerns of the farmers. Suffice to say that they would have their protein needs in meat and fura de nunu met in the new framework in addition to assurances that no stray cattle goes beyond the ruga gates to their farmsteads!

    Nigeria!

    For a federal government that had long perfected the art of robbing Peter to pay Paul, I do understand that such one-sided propositions are a familiar territory. I also understand the ease with which politics can get in the way of well-meaning initiatives. It explains why a federal government that would not touch the open grazing law in operation in Samuel Ortom’s Benue State with a long pole would seek a federal fiat to expropriate lands for its own version of solution to the same problem. And here, we are talking about farmers whose own cries of oppression have gone unheard being required to give up their ancestral lands in the sweet poison packaged variously as livestock transformation programme or Ruga.

    That anyone can seriously imagine that a policy conceived in bad faith can deliver the peace in an environment where, the one party is known to insist on the primacy of their interests, as opposed to those of their compatriots surely beats me.

    Good thing that the federal government has now suspended the Ruga Settlement policy. Let it remain so!

  • Boko Haram, ISWAP recruited 8000 kids since 2009, says UNODC

    No fewer than 8000 children have been recruited by Boko Haram and Islamic State in West Africa (ISWAP) since 2009 in the North.

    The groups were using them as combatants and non-combatants, raping and forcing girls to marry as well as committing other grave violations.

    According to a statement by United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes, (UNODC), it was likely that the figure was underestimated, owing to the difficulties associated with collecting reliable data.

    In 2014, the abduction of 276 girls from their school in Chibok attracted international attention, unmasking the brutality and disregard these groups hold against children.

    A 2017 report by UNICEF found that the use of children to carry out suicide attacks had become a defining feature of the conflict.

    A statement by UNODC National Project Officer, Outreach and Communications Sylvester Tunde Atere reads: “Recruitment and exploitation have a long-lasting impact on children’s lives. Today, rehabilitating and reintegrating these children poses significant challenges, not only in view of their number, but also due to the intense and lasting traumatic effects.”

    Read Also: Troops repel fresh Boko Haram attack in Borno

    “In June, UNODC organised a consultative workshop to address the situation of children recruited and exploited by terrorist groups under the EU-Nigeria-UNODC-CTED Partnership Project.

    “UNODC gathered all relevant stakeholders in Abuja, including representatives from the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), Federal Ministry of Justice, Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development   as well as a representative of the State Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states.

    “Others are Federal High Court, National Human Rights Commission, Legal Aid Council of Nigeria, the Presidential Committee on the Northeast Initiative, prosecutors, social workers,  and civil society organisations, as well as UNICEF, OHCHR, IOM. The Chief Judges of Borno and Yobe State High Courts were also in attendance.”

  • Air Force neutralises Boko Haram fighters in Lake Chad

    Scores of Boko Haram fighters have been neutralized by airstrikes in Bakassi, on the fringes of Lake Chad, Borno State, the Air Force said on Sunday.

    According to a statement signed by Air Force spokesman Air Commodore Ibikunle Daramola, the terrorists were neutralised and their structures destroyed during air interdictions.

    Air Commodore Daramola said: “The Air Task Force (ATF) of Operation Lafiya Dole has destroyed additional terrorists’ structures and killed some Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP) fighters at Bakassi on the fringes of Lake Chad in Borno State in an airstrike conducted on July 6, 2019.

    Read Also: Air Force neutralises 20 bandits in Zamfara

    “The attack was executed as a follow-up to air raids conducted at the same location on June  28, 2019, after intelligence reports indicated that the ISWAP elements, having suffered heavy casualties during the attack, had relocated surviving fighters and logistics supplies to another part of the settlement, as confirmed by Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) missions.

    “The ATF, therefore, dispatched two Alpha Jets to attack the location, with accurate hits on the identified structures, which were seen engulfed in flames.

    “Several terrorists were also neutralised as a result of the strike. The attached short video clip, now declassified, shows parts of the attack.

    “The Nigerian Air Force (NAF), operating in concert with surface forces, will sustain the effort to completely degrade the terrorists in the Northeast.”

  • Air Force jets netralise insurgents in Borno

    Boko Haram fighters in Gobara and Bakassi areas of Borno State have been neutralised by Air Force jets, the Nigerian Air Force announced on Saturday.

    Its spokesman, Air Commodore Ibikunle Daramola, explained that the terrorists were attacked after intelligence reports established their presence in the areas.

    Daramola said: “In continuation of Operation GREEN SWEEP 2, the Air Task Force (ATF) of Operation LAFIYA DOLE has destroyed terrorists’ hideouts and killed some fighters at Gobara and Bakassi, Borno State, in separate air raids conducted yesterday, 28 June 2019.

    “The settlements are two of the targets selected for attack in the intensive air interdiction operations launched by the ATF on Wednesday, 26 June 2019.

    Read Also: Air Force, troops kill scores of insurgents in Borno, Yobe

    The attack on Gobara, a settlement in the Sambisa Forest area, was carried out by two Alpha jets after Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) missions had identified a segment of the settlement being used by Boko Haram Terrorists (BHT) fighters to store their logistics and other equipment.

    The jets scored accurate hits in the target area, leading to the destruction of some of the structures and equipment as well as the killing of several terrorists.

    “In a similar vein, another active camp belonging to Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP) elements, located at Bakassi on the fringes of Lake Chad in Northern Borno, was successfully attacked and several terrorists killed in air strikes carried out later in the day.

    Overhead the target area, the NAF ISR platform observed significant presence of ISWAP fighters who were attempting to flee the location, upon hearing the sound of the aircraft.

    The attack platforms were vectored to the area of concentration of the terrorists, unleashing their munitions on the target and causing significant damage to the camp and neutralising many terrorists.”