The Nation Newspaper

Tag: boko haram

  • Boko Haram affiliate planning deadly attacks – FG

    Boko Haram affiliate planning deadly attacks – FG

    The Federal Government on Friday raised the alarm that a Boko Haram affiliate, Muslim Brotherhood, is planning massive attacks on banks, arms depots and prisons.

    It said the group through its cell in Kogi State was trying to acquire bomb-making chemicals and high-calibre weapons to perpetrate acts of terror.

    The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said the alert followed intelligence made available to the government.

    The statement said: “The cell is making frantic efforts to advance its IED-making capability through the acquisition of such chemicals as Sodium Azide (for producing improvised detonators), Potassium Chlorate (alternative to ammonium nitrate used for producing IEDs) and Aluminium Powder (a fuel source for amplifying explosions).

    ”One Usman, an IED apprentice, left the cell some time back to join Islamic State in Libya. The new desire to acquire IED precursor chemicals could suggest that Usman or other persons may have returned from Libya and have acquired IED-making skills intended to increase the activities of the group.

    “Intelligence also revealed that the group is making serious efforts to acquire sophisticated arms, including shoulder-fired rocket launchers.

    ”Further intelligence monitoring has revealed that members of the Muslim Brotherhood are planning to forcefully free their members who are in detention in Kogi, Abuja and Kaduna,. Including one Bilyaminu, an IED expert for the group, who is now at Kuje prison.

    Mohammed appealed to Nigerians to be vigilant and to report any suspicious persons or movements to the appropriate authorities.

    Boko Haram and some of its affiliates have established cells in some parts of Kogi State.

    On January 10, the Department of State Security Service ( DSS) arrested a kingpin of the sect in Okene town, Adavi local government area of Kogi State.

    Identified as Abdullahi Mohammed, he was said to be the leader of the Boko Haram sect in Okene and was responsible for the coordination of Boko Haram activities in Okene axis of Kogi State.

    On October 13, about 10 suspected Islamic fundamentalists were killed near Lokoja in Kogi State during a bloody encounter between an Islamic sect and men of the Nigerian Army.

     

  • CDD, UNDP trains 60 clerics, youth for de-radicalization in Yobe

    The Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) in conjunction with United Nation Development Program (UNDP) through the sponsorship of Japanese Government has commencement the residential training of Clerics, Youths and women community stakeholders in Yobe  as part of methods of neutralizing the Boko Haram ideologies propagated by the
    Boko Haram sect in the region.

    A similar programe was conducted in November last years with the training of 200 clerics for a similar objective across Yobe State.

    The program officer, Mr. Steve Amuda explained that the project is aimed at supporting security agencies and civil society organizations in developing and disseminating counter-radical narratives to radical fundamentalists groups in the country.

    According to the Program officer of Centre for Democracy & Development Ikponmwosa David Omoigiade said the participants would be trained on Counter Radical Training materials which were development from the DAWA Centre and some Professors from Ahmadu Bello University (ABU).

    Mr. Omoigiade explained that the objective of the program is to find a way of de-radicalizing the Boko Haram ideologies through the use of counter messages by the clerics at the grassroots, which according to him is very critical in the counter-terrorism fight.

    “The implication is how these people can go through these materials and compare them with their ideas and come out with some informed decision,” he said.

    He informed that, “The project is been conducted in Yobe Borno and Adamawa state, eighty clerics would be trained in Borno, sixty in Yobe and another sixty in Adamawa.

    “We discovered that many people could not imagine the impact of Boko Haram on their communities. Our aim therefore is to bridge that gap of knowledge that has caused this problem of Boko Haram. We discovered that these gaps exist both within the community, the security agents and the general public. We are also working on the security agents to see how there could be a synergy for a better solution to the problem.

    “The communities are extremely welcoming because of the quality of what we have brought to the table for them. As you known, it’s a grassroots project and we intend to go down to the least of the communities, so a start, we have picked a total of ten communities across the three states, four in Borno and three each from Yobe and Adamawa states. Our selection of the clerics cut across all sects, and we are very holistic about that. This is because Boko Haram does not
    select the people they attack so we believe that everybody is affected so everyone has to be involved,” Mr. Omoigiade said.

    Some of the participants express confidence that the program will bring a positive impact in the counter insurgency process.

  • Boko Haram is broke– UN envoy tells Security Council

    Boko Haram is broke– UN envoy tells Security Council

    The destructive Boko Haram insurgency group is currently plagued by financial difficulties, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Jeffrey Feltman, has said.

    Feltman stated this while briefing the Security Council on the UN Secretary-General’s Fourth Report on the threat the group poses to international peace and security efforts to “check and roll it back” on Tuesday

    The UN envoy also noted that Boko Haram was under intense military pressure, but warned against undermining its capacity to launch fatal attacks.

    “ISIL-affiliate Boko Haram is attempting to spread its influence and commit terrorist acts beyond Nigeria.

    “And Boko Haram remains a serious threat, with several thousand fighters at its disposal.

    “It is, however, plagued by financial difficulties and an internal power struggle, and has split in two factions,” Feltman said.

    While the previous reports on the subject had focused on South East Asia, Yemen and East Africa, Libya and Afghanistan, the fourth report focused on Europe, North Africa and West Africa.

    It noted that ISIL had conducted a range of attacks in Europe since declaring in 2014 its intent to target the region.

    Some of these attacks were directed and facilitated by ISIL personnel, while others were enabled by ISIL providing guidance or assistance or were inspired through its propaganda, it said.

    The report stated that while the military offensive in Libya had dislodged ISIL from its stronghold Sirte, the group’s threat to Libya and neighbouring countries persists.

    “Its fighters, estimated to range from several hundred to 3,000, have moved to other parts of the country.

    “ISIL has increased its presence in West Africa and the Maghreb, though the group does not control significant amounts of territory in the region.

    “The reported pledge of loyalty to ISIL by a splinter faction of Al-Mourabitoun led by Lehbib Ould Ali may elevate the level of the threat.”

    Following the increased military pressure, Feltman said ISIL is now on the defensive militarily in several regions, but was also adapting to military pressure by resorting to covert communications such as the ‘dark web’.

    “Although its income and the territory under its control are shrinking, ISIL still appears to have sufficient funds to continue fighting,” he warned.

    Feltman noted that ISIL relies mainly on income from extortion and hydrocarbon exploitation, even though resources from the latter are on the decline.

    According to him, UN Member States are concerned that ISIL will try to expand other sources of income, such as kidnapping for ransom, and increase its reliance on donations.

    “ISIL is adapting in several ways to military pressure, resorting to increasingly covert communication and recruitment methods, including by using the ‘dark web,’ encryption and messengers,” he warned.

    The report also noted some of the measures taken by Member States and the UN, stressing the need to develop sustained and coordinated responses to the grave threat posed by ISIL and associated groups and entities.

    Feltman said that there were 19 universal counter-terrorism conventions and protocols, as well as related regional instruments on international terrorism, and relevant UN General Assembly and Security Council resolutions.

    “But we need to do more, as Member States continue to face significant challenges to ensure effective international cooperation,” he said.

    He warned that foreign terrorist fighters leaving the conflict could pose a grave risk to their homeland or to the countries they are travelling to or transiting through, such as Iraq and Syria’s neighbours, as well as countries in the Maghreb.

    “Ultimately, it is the spread and consolidation of peace, security, development and human rights that will most effectively deprive terrorism of the oxygen it needs to survive,” he concluded. (NAN)
APT/AFA

  • ‘Boko Haram gave me N200 to detonate explosive’

    ‘Boko Haram gave me N200 to detonate explosive’

    An 18-year-old would-be Boko Haram suicide bomber, Amina, who was intercepted by Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) officers yesterday in Maiduguri, said she was given N200 for the mission.
    She told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in the Borno State capital that she was abducted two years ago by the sect’s members in Madagali, Adamawa State, and taken to Sambisa forest.
    Said the girl: “They gave us N200 each which they said we should use to buy food for ourselves.
    “It took us three days to come to Maiduguri on a motorcycle. We were directed by the sect members to detonate our explosives anywhere we saw any form of gathering.
    “They said if we press the button, the bomb would explode and we will automatically go to heaven.
    “I was scared, so, I told them that I could not detonate any explosive. So, they said if Zainab detonated her own, it would serve the purpose.
    “On our way to Maiduguri, we encountered the military and they were shooting. I was very scared and the people that brought us ran away.
    “I am from Imam Shekau’s faction of Boko Haram, even though I have never seen Shekau. But I hear about him in Gobarawa.”
    She said that her father, mother and younger brother, Umar, were all killed when they tried to escape from the Boko Haram enclave where they were held hostage.
    “We came from Gobarawa along Damboa, Madagali and Algarno axis, in a community where a lot of us were held hostage and married off by the sect members.
    “I am married to a Boko Haram Commander known as ‘Amir’.
    The NSCDC Commandant in Borno, Abdullahi Ibrahim, said the command had handed over the suspect to the Garrison Commander, 7 Division of the Nigerian Army, Maiduguri, “ for proper investigation’’.
    The Theater Commander, Operation Lafiya Dole, Maiduguri, Maj.- Gen. Lucky Irabor, confirmed that the suspect was in the army’s custody of the Army, and that she would undergo investigation.
    “We are going to profile her as she would give us the lead to get to other insurgents,” Gen. Irabor said.
    The NAN reports that the NSCDC personnel had earlier intercepted two female suicide bombers, who tried to ram into motorists at the NNPC Mega Station along Damboa Road, Maiduguri.
    The Commandant of the corps, Ibrahim Abdullahi, told NAN that the incident occurred at about 6.45 a.m.
    “Our personnel at the NNPC station intercepted two female suicide bombers who were targeting motorists on the long queue at the NNPC mega petrol station at about 6.45 a.m.
    “One of the bombers got scared and threw away her bomb and was instantly arrested, while the other one began to run after people with her explosive but luckily, she was shot on the leg by our personnel after he chased her to a safe place,’’ Ibrahim said.

  • Boko Haram insurgents attack Yobe villages

    Boko Haram insurgents attack Yobe villages

    Armed men suspected to be Boko Haram terrorists yesterday invaded Sasawa settlement in Damaturu Local Government Area of Yobe State and burnt buildings.
    Sources said the terrorists came in three Hilux vans and eight motorcycles.
    It was learnt that troops of Operation Lafiya Dole were deployed in the community to repeal the attack. The number of casualties however remains unknown as security analysts worry about the attack due to Sasawa’s closeness to the state capital.
    There was also pandemonium in Lumamari settlement, Yunusari council, after suspected insurgents, about six, rode into the village on three motorbikes.
    Nobody was harmed.
    According to sources in Operation Lafiya Dole, the terrorists, who weilded AK 47 rifles, came into the community around 1.30 pm and left without hurting anyone.
    “The insurgents passed through the village without harming anyone while the villagers fled into the bush,” the source said.
    Lumamari village, which is about 25 kilometres from Kanama, headquarters of Yunusari council, is one of the high risk areas in Yobe state. It still experiences frequent attacks.

  • Civilian JTF threatens strike over arrest of members

    Members of the Civilian JTF operative in Maiduguri have threaten to down tools following what they call indiscriminate arrest of their members by Directorate of Military Intelligence (DMI), The Nation investigation revealed.

    A reliable security source who does not want to be mentioned informed that, DMI in the last couple of days has embarked on a discreet arrest of some leaders of the Civilian JTF for alleged complicity in Boko Haram.

    Information available revealed that, Borno state government is worried about the development and has immediately taken steps to nip the danger from the bud by convening a state security meeting where the issue was extensively discussed.

    However,  members of the Civilian JTF  have threaten to desert the streets of  Maiduguri if the military continues to arrest their members, at the same time demanding for the release of those in military custody.

    For the records, the Civilian JTF operatives have been one integral armed group that has fought doggedly against the Boko Haram insurgency in Borno state and the North-East. Their involvement in the fight brought immense breakthrough in the fight through information sharing, Surveillance, and physical participation in the fight.

    Just last week, The Theatre Commander Operation Lafiya Dole, Major General Lucky Irabor at a live Press briefing in Maiduguri announced that certain people are undergoing investigation in the hands of the military over involvement in Boko Haram activities in the state.

    Though the identity of some of the suspects is still not clear, it was alleged on the social media that some of the suspects are close friends of Gov. Kashim Shetima. But the governor in a state wide broadcast last Friday told security agents to go after anybody involved in Boko Haram activities even if that person is any of his three biological children.

    Shettima in the broadcast called on Borno people to unite against terror, while praising the gallantry of the military and the civilian JTF.

    A source disclosed that the action of the Civilian JTF if not averted will be a major setback in the fight against Boko Haram insurgency in the state. He added that government is working seriously to resolve the issue.

    A military source which does want to be quoted informed that the military cannot just keep anybody in their custody without any reason.

    “For every suspect that we keep is a responsibility to the military, I will tell you that we don’t just arrest people for the sake of arrest. But for anybody in our custody he or she must have one  or two questions to answer and as soon as possible we release you if you answered the question satisfactorily and where otherwise such a person will have to face justice,” the source said.

     

     

  • Boko Haram attacks Yobe Villages

    A group of armed men suspected to be Boko Haram terrorists invaded Sasawa settlement in Damaturu local government area of Yobe State and set ablaze many buildings on Sunday.

    Sources said the fully armed terrorists came in three Hilux vans and eight motorcycles.

    The Nation learnt that troops of Operation Lafiya Dole were promptly deployed to the community to repeal the attack.

    However, the casualty figure remains sketchy as security analysts worry about the attack due to the closeness of the area to the state capital.

    Sasawa settlement which is only 48km from the state capital is known for frequent Boko Haram activities.

    Also on Sunday, presence of about six heavily armed Boko Haram militants riding on motorbikes caused pandemonium in Lumamari settlement in Yunusari local government area of Yobe.

    Our correspondent gathered that the terrorists who were carrying AK47 rifles came into the community at 1:30 p.m. and left without hurting anyone.

    “The Insurgents passed through the village without harming anyone while most of the villagers fled into the bush,” a source said.

    Lumamari village which is about 25kilometres from Kanama is the headquarters of Yunusari local government area of Yobe.

    It is one of the high risk areas in the state and is still experiencing frequent insurgent attacks.

     

     

  • Fulani herdsmen worse than Boko Haram, says PFN

    Fulani herdsmen worse than Boko Haram, says PFN

    Fulani herdsmen have caused the nation more havoc than the Boko Haram terrorists, Lagos chapter of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) has declared.
    The body said Fulani herdsmen have killed more Nigerians and created worse security tensions than the terrorists.
    It called on President Muhammadu Buhari to arrest the nefarious activities of the herdsmen across the nation.
    Lagos PFN chairman, Bishop Sola Ore, stated these at a media conference by the body in Lagos last week.
    Ore, in a strong-worded speech, said: “There are obvious signs a group worse than Boko Haram is here with us in the name of Fulani herdsmen.
    “We are left with no alternative than to conclude that there is something in the offing that is not clear to many Nigerians.”
    Ore lamented that no herdsman has been arrested, let alone prosecuted for the atrocious killings in Southern Kaduna.
    “Who has been prosecuted for the killings? Who has been sent to jail? Is this government saying it does not know the masterminds of the dastardly acts?”
    The PFN helmsman also bemoaned the fate of Christians in the current administration, declaring that no one can Islamise the nation as insinuated in many quarters.
    “Nigerian Christians have suffered too much. We have been killed. We have been brutalised. We have been denied our basic rights.
    “Many of our churches in the north have had to close down due to insurgency but even before the security challenges, many northern states denied our right to land ownership when it comes to church building.
    “We believe Nigeria is a multi-religious state and people should be allowed to worship God the way they want. The continuous repression of a particular faith will not augur well for us as a nation,” Ore stated.
    He supported self-defence, saying it would be foolish for Christians to allow herdsmen kill them in any part of the nation.
    “If a thief comes to my house and wants to kill me, I would kill him before he gets to me.
    “There is a time to carry swords. I will kill you before you kill me and that does not stop me from being a Christian. In fact after that, I will be more Christian.”
    On the suspended governance code of the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) of Nigeria, Ore said the PFN is not against probity and accountability.
    He, however, alleged some sections of the code were satanic, insisting they were targeted at independent Pentecostal churches, which he claimed were more visible in the nation.
    “We are against tenure for church leaders. Government does not have any right to put its nose into the running of affairs of churches.
    “While we are ready to abide by the codes and laws that are legitimate, we will like to state that the Pentecostal body in Lagos state will resist any attempt to frustrate the church,” the general overseer of Love Aglow Ministries, Festac, stressed.
    Ore explained that the Lagos PFN was already registering genuine members with a view to flushing out bad eggs.
    He disowned Pentecostal preachers that sell “objects to members, collecting money for miracles, exploiting members and taking advantage of their spiritual ignorance to dupe,” insisting “they are not part of us.”

  • We’ll be ruthless with Boko Haram, vows Cameroun’s Biya

    We’ll be ruthless with Boko Haram, vows Cameroun’s Biya

    PRESIDENT Paul Biya of Cameroon has vowed to be ruthless with Boko Haram insurgents and put an end to their existence.
    Biya said the ruthlessness “will end only with the ultimate defeat” of the terror sect which he label a barbaric organisation.
    He spoke at the army headquarters in the capital Yaounde last Friday, during a ceremony organised in tribute to four officers who died in a 22 January helicopter crash in the town of Tchofo located in Cameron’s extreme north.
    “Our profound sadness today must not lead us to dejection or renunciation; on the contrary, it must reinforce our determination to continue the struggle against an unscrupulous enemy,” he said.
    The Cameroonian leader said the event organised to mourn the soldiers enveloped the entire nation and also qualified as a tribute to all those who died for the safety and stability of the country.
    He described the crash as a “heartbreaking and irreparable loss,” which occurred during a defense mission.
    He said the blood of the brave soldiers, who had fallen in the field of honor while answering the call to duty, should mean something to all their compatriots.
    “It challenges us and invites us all, from East to West and from North to South, to reawaken our civic and patriotic verve to unite more around these three colors that we have chosen in solidarity and sovereignty, to merge in this unitary star engraved in the center of our national flag, which is a strong symbol of faith and unity. Let’s be one, let’s stay together,” President Biya said.
    The four soldiers were posthumously promoted.
    Brigadier General Jacob Kodji was made division general, Colonel Alphonse Nkameni promoted to Brigadier General, while lieutenants Aurelien Tchinda and Basile Souloukna were promoted to the rank of captain.

  • Boko Haram: Spare no one including my children, Shettima charges military

    Boko Haram: Spare no one including my children, Shettima charges military

    Worried by the renewed suicide attacks across the State by suspected Boko Haram terrorists, Borno State Governor, Kashim Shettima has called on the military and other security agencies to go after anyone factually discovered to be supporting Boko Haram including any of his
    children.

    Kashim Shettima who spoke in a state wide broadcast on Friday morning emphatically disclosed that those who associate with Boko Haram are enemies of humanity and the state in particular, while calling on the good people of the state to support security agencies to ensuring that the insurgents are defeated head-on, while stressing that majority of Borno people are good people working against the insurgents.

    “I know that majority of you, the good people of Borno State; have remained sincerely committed to fighting this insurgency. I have met parents who exposed their insurgent biological children and handed them over to security forces to face justice. I know that insurgents
    and their allies, often hide their identity so well that good citizens may innocently associate with them.

    “But the bold patriotism of parents who turn in their children has always strengthened our resolve. This is why I strongly say to security agencies, that anyone factually suspected of despicable links with the Boko Haram and other criminals should face justice even if that person happens to be one of my three biological children. Support for insurgents is a crime against humanity. I have met parents who encouraged their children to join the Civilian JTF and risk their lives to fight insurgents.

    “I have even met parents who remained contended and proud even after their sons died fighting under the Civilian JTF. I have seen elderly men and young girls organize themselves to join the fight as vigilantes and the Civilian JTF, “Shettima said.

    Shettima who is particularly disturbed over suicide bombings in the last couple of days across the state noted that, the recent resort to cowardly suicide attacks on soft civilian targets as signs of defeats and weakness that the insurgents are exhibiting to prove to their fellow terrorists across the world that they are still not defeated.

    “‎In recent days and weeks, we have come under renewed attacks which horribly remind us, that our security challenges are still longing. It is regrettable that this upsurge in cowardly suicide attacks came not long after the patriotic military forces of this country recaptured
    Sambisa Forest which used to be the operational zone of the Boko Haram terrorists. It was from Sambisa that these mass murderers used to train, prepare and launch bold attacks on our communities.

    “Our gallant military and other security agencies have now denied them the use of their former high command. However, we must remind ourselves that the recapture of Sambisa Forest and the flushing out of the terrorists from most of their former enclaves does not mean that
    our struggle is over.

    “Instead, the terrorists have resorted in their usual cowardly fashion, to stepping up attacks on soft targets.  Cowardly and vile attacks such as these on schools, places of worship, markets and other soft targets are signs of the terrorists’ weakness and of their desperation to tell their terror co-travelers around the world, that they are not yet finished. In this criminal endeavour, they resort to the use of teenagers and children as young as seven years. More recently, they even strap babies on the back of their recruits in order to slip through our security dragnets.

    “They also use hard drugs on these innocent children who do not know what they are doing when they kill their own parents, relations, and fellow countrymen and women.  Many precious lives have been lost, hundreds of citizens including school girls were abducted; many more
    people have suffered serious injuries as a result of these senseless acts of bloodthirsty enemies of peace, he said.

    He called on the people of the state to take the security of the state in their hands by stepping up surveillance in their neighborhood and continue to remain vigilant by reporting any suspicious person to security agencies.

    ‎”Even though we are all saddened by episodes of attacks, as your Governor, I assure you that I serve with a constant reminder that the number one basis of Government is the protection of innocent lives and property.

    “I know the weight of my duties and the oath I took before you and God. With your mandate, I have the privilege of first hand security reports and I can share with you, that for every vile attack that the terrorists were able to carry out on innocent lives, many more were stopped by our gallant security agencies, our Civilian JTF, vigilantes and hunters.

    “As we know, the intention of terrorists is to demoralise us, make us to live in fear and prevent us from going about our normal lives and worshipping our God in ways that differ from their ungodly violence. We will not allow them succeed in their wish to make us live
    in the permanent slavery of fear.

    “In fact, they have failed in their mission because together, we have said no to them. And in saying NO, we must not let them cause us any more harm,” Shettima assured.

    On his part as a government, the Governor said:  “The Government of Borno State will continue to provide the necessary support to our gallant military and security agencies and volunteers in their patriotic effort to restore peace and security in our ancestral land.

    “We will continue to take preventive measures by working with community leaders across ethnic and religious divides in all our 27 local government areas to increase community policing. We all have roles to play.

    “I know the sacrifices many citizens have made and it is because of your devotion that I am urging all the people of Borno State to rise up as one and increase our community vigilance, especially around soft targets.

    “We must remobilize ourselves and step up vigilance and community policing around all our population and community centres like mosques, churches, markets, schools, hospitals, shopping complexes, football fields, social gatherings and motor parks. We must watch out for
    strange and suspicious faces, not for the purpose of taking the law into our hands but for reporting these suspicious persons to the nearest security agents for prompt action. I urge you, the good people of Borno State, not to despair but to rise as one and stand up to this
    murderous gasp of a dying insurgency,” the Governor said.

    He expressed gratitude to  international and local humanitarian agencies and development partners for supporting the people of the State while also consoling with  families whose members were either killed, abducted or injured and those who lost property expressing
    determination that Borno will bounce back stronger.