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Tag: boko haram

  • Boko Haram: NEMA donates relief materials

    Boko Haram: NEMA donates relief materials

    The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has presented food and other items to the military for “Operation Safe Corridor Programme’’, according to a statement issued in Abuja on Tuesday.

    The statement signed by Mr Sani Datti, the NEMA Media and Public Relations officer, said that the materials were meant to de-radicalize, rehabilitate and re-integrate 800 repentant Boko Haram insurgents.

    The statement quoted the NEMA Director-General, Mr Muhammad Sidi, as saying that the initiative was in line with international best practices allowed those engaged in the fighting to voluntarily surrender and embrace peace.

    He said that NEMA would play its role in the programme by providing regular support of food and non-food items for their upkeep, to enable them to undergo rehabilitation.

    “Items to be released for this purpose every three months include 410 bags of rice, 400 bags of beans, 200 bags of millet, 200 bags of sorghum and 750 cartons of spaghetti.

    “Others are 50 cartons of maggi cubes, 810 cartons tomato paste, 101kegs of vegetable oil, 101 kegs palm oil, 50 bags of salt, 100 bags of sugar, 420 cartons of milk and 420 cartons of milo.

    “The non-food items are 800 pieces of mattress, 500 blankets, 500 pieces of nylon mats, 1,000 plastic buckets,1,000 plastic spoons, 1,000 plastic cups, 1,000 plastics plates, 1,000 plastic pairs of slippers, 2,000 men’s wear, 63 cartons of bathing soap and 1,000 bath towels.’’

    Receiving the items in Gombe, the Coordinator of Operation Safe Corridor, Brig.-Gen. B.M. Shafa said the initiative was designed to de-radicalize, rehabilitate and re-integrate willing and repentant Boko Haram insurgents.

    “The initiative was designed to de-radicalize, rehabilitate and re-integrate willing and repentant Boko Haram insurgents who have come out to surrender to the military.

    “The initiative will quicken the peace process in the North-East.

    Shafa said that a good number of Boko haram insurgents had surrendered between September last year and February this year.

    The statement said that 11 agencies of the Federal Government were directly involved in the Operation Safe Corridor programme.

  • Troops dislodge terrorists, cattle rustlers in two states

    Troops of Operation LAFIYA DOLE accompanied by members of civilian Joint Task Force on Monday night thwarted attempts by Boko Haram terrorists to attack Yauri Community in Maiduguri, Borno State.

    The Army Spokesman, Col. Sani Usman, said the attack took place at about 8:00pm on Monday.

    In the encounter, the troops killed five insurgents and recovered two AK-47 rifles, one General Purpose Machine Gun (GPMG), one 60mm Mortar Tube, one Fabrique Nationale (FN) rifle, two Dane Guns, two AK-47 rifle magazines, two FN rifle magazines, 131 rounds of 7.62mm (NATO) ammunition, 31 rounds of 7.62mm (Special) ammunitions, a 60mm Bomb and N31, 275.00 from the terrorists.

    Usman added that the troops of 1 Division, Nigerian Army, carried out anti-cattle rustling operations in Zamfara same day and destroyed suspected armed bandits’ hideouts in some forests in the state.

    He said the troops carried out the raids at Batara and Ajah forests in Birnin Magaji and Gusau local government areas of Zamfara.

    The army spokesman said, “Although the armed bandits fled the camps, the troops destroyed the camps, recovered three motorcycles and two mobile telephone handsets. They further raided Rimawa forest in Gusau local government area where they arrested two wanted armed bandits – Aliyu Abubakar and Umar Ibrahim.  In Bini village forest, Maru local government area, the troops also arrested a notorious and wanted armed bandits’ collaborator – Umar Dan Bilbili.”

     

  • FG receives 800,000 applications for n-power jobs

    FG receives 800,000 applications for n-power jobs

    The Minister of Labour and Employment, Sen. Chris Ngige, said on Monday that the Federal Government had received 800,000 applications for the 500,000 jobs promised the youth.

    Speaking at the 5th Town Hall Meeting organised by the Federal Ministry of Information in Enugu on Monday, Ngige advised the people of the South East to explore the opportunity by registering on the web portal.

    He said that the jobs were mainly for teaching and skills acquisition as promised by the APC government.

    He said that the administration had a good agenda for the unemployed youths irrespective of the current challenges facing it.

    The minister said that 100,000 out of the 500,000 to be employed would be trained as agricultural extension workers and deployed to rural areas to assist the farmers with improved method of farming through the partnership of the ministry of agriculture.

    “I want our graduates to register so that they will not say that they are marginalised when people that registered are selected,” he said.

    He urged the governors and local government chairmen in the South East to assist their youths to print the forms as many expressed difficulty in accessing the portal.

    Ngige regretted that youths neglected skills acquisition to chase white collar jobs that were not in existence, adding that most skilled jobs were being done by Ghanaians and people from other neighboring countries.

    “If our youths had acquired skills, they would be self employed and reliant and shun Boko Haram, IPOB and Avengers,” the minister said.

    He described Igbo youths as enterprising and hardworking and could survive without depending on the government but had neglected their values.

    The minister explained that the current economic hardship the country faced was because the past government neglected agriculture and failed to save for the rainy day.

     

    He admonished the Igbo to come out of the “persecution syndrome,’’ saying that the APC-led government was not marginalising any section of the country.

  • Presidency: London Telegraph backing Boko Haram terrorism

    Presidency: London Telegraph backing Boko Haram terrorism

    …..Says Boko Haram, not government to blame for IDP camps

    The Presidency on Monday accused the London Telegraph of strengthening Boko Haram terrorism in Nigeria.

    A statement by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, faulted the 30th August and 12 April publication of the newspaper on the Boko Haram insurgency and the Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps.

    According to him, the reports were false.

    The statement reads: “The London Telegraph’s article ‘Children Face Death by Starvation in Northern Nigeria’ (30th July) repeats a claim from an earlier piece ‘Nigeria Using UK Aid to Persecute President’s Political Foes’ (12th April) – that Nigeria is diverting UK aid monies away from defeating the Islamist terror group Boko Haram towards those the newspaper identifies as political opponents of the Administration. This is as incorrect as it is unhelpful.

    “These claims in both articles are attributed to an unnamed ‘source’ in the United States, and ‘Western officials’. Yet when the first article was published it drew the condemnation of the US Embassy in Abuja as having drawn conclusions directly opposite to the position of the US government.”

    Against the claims by the report, the statement pointed out that the UK government did not give development aid to the Nigerian administration for use in military operations against Boko Haram.

    It noted that where British military support such as intelligence is provided, it is precisely and only given for operations directly against Boko Haram.

    The Nigerian Government, the statement said, is in no position to divert aid monies used for emergency relief for refugees or IDP camps to any other purpose as they are dispensed directly by DFID, USAID, the United Nations, the International Red Cross, Doctors without Borders and many other organizations.

    It said: “The humanitarian situation in these camps is real. The Administration remains deeply concerned about the medical, health and nutrition challenges and we are doing everything with the limited resources we have at our disposal to improve the situation.

    “However, the blame for the plight of refugees lies with Boko Haram. They are its cause, not the Nigerian Government.

    “In the light of ongoing efforts, we regret the recent attack on the UN humanitarian convoy in the Northeastern region and are encouraged by the world body’s determination to continue rendering assistance to the displaced victims.

    “That the attack was repelled by Nigerian troops escorting the convoy shows precisely how the Government and humanitarian agencies are working together.” It added

    The Presidency also said that the claims accusing the Buhari Administration of targeting Christians and the opposition were without foundation.

    Since assuming office, the statement said that President Buhari has treated all Nigerians without bias for ethnicity or religion as the composition of his cabinet and the policies and programmes of his Administration have demonstrated.

    It said: “To suggest his government as deepening Muslim-Christian division is not only untrue, but plays into the hands of Boko Haram who wish to divide Nigerians along religious lines. Fighting this group is key priority of President Buhari’s Administration.

    “Indeed the international community has widely acknowledged his determination to defeat terrorism in Nigeria and the entire Lake Chad Basin.

    “There is nothing to gain by attempting to mould public opinion against these facts. Therefore we invite The Telegraph to visit Nigeria: to witness first hand not only the challenges we face, but the Administration’s determination to confront them,” It stated.

  • Troops recover cache of arms, ammunitions in Borno

    The Nigerian Army on Sunday said it had recovered cache of arms and ammunitions in Gamboru, Borno State.

    The Acting Director, Army Public Relations Officer, Col. Sani Usman, disclosed this in a statement in Abuja.

    The statement said the troops conducted raids at Gamboru town early on Sunday morning following a tip off.

    “The troops recovered three AK-56 rifles and two AK-L rifles with registration numbers; AK-L-AGB 1172, AK-L PU2879, AK-56-2556688, AK-56-22622832 and AK-56-22622315, respectively,” the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) quoted the army spokesman as saying in the statement.

    “They also recovered 235 rounds of 7.62mm (Special) ammunition and seven AK-56 rifle magazines.

    “The Nigerian Army wishes to commend those good citizens that alerted the military for the timely and useful information that led to this recovery.

    “This is the type of cooperation and support we always require from citizens of this country to enable us clear the remnants of Boko Haram terrorists.

    “We wish to reiterate the need for all to be more vigilant, security conscious and report any suspicious movements or persons to the nearest security agency.”

    The statement added that troops on Operation LAFIYA DOLE on Saturday night carried out successful ambush against Boko Haram terrorists at a crossing point off Damboa road.

    “The ambush party decisively dealt with the terrorists riding on bicycles at a crossing point off Damboa-Kubwa Road towards Multe village axis.

    “The team killed one terrorist, while others escaped with gunshot wounds.

    “The troops recovered one AK-47 rifle with registration number 565907530 and14 rounds of 7.62mm (Special) ammunition, a wooden Dane Gun shaped to the resemblance of an AK-47rifle, one fabricated double-barrelled pistol and four bicycles,’’ the statement said.

  • Boko Haram: Niger extends emergency rule in Diffa region

    Niger has extended a state of emergency in the southeastern region of Diffa for three months after a series of attacks by Boko Haram, the government said late on Friday.

    Reuters reports that attacks by Boko Haram since late May have emptied the towns of Bosso and Yebi near the Nigerian border in the Lake Chad region.

    Some 69,000 have fled, according to a report on Friday by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

    “Despite the various extensions of the state of emergency in the region of Diffa and bloody setbacks inflicted on it, the Boko Haram sect still continues to have a destructive capacity as evidenced by the recent attacks in Bosso,” Reuters quoted the government as saying in a statement.

    Boko Haram took the town of Bosso near the Nigerian border in early June, in an attack that killed 30 soldiers from Niger.

    It was the deadliest assault in Niger by Boko Haram since April 2015.

    Since then, Chad has sent troops to help Niger wage a counterattack.

    The state of emergency, which the government hopes will allow it to beef up its presence in the region with troops and added security measures, will now run to October 25.

    It is the latest in a series of such declarations in the Diffa region since February last year.

  • Boko Haram ambushes, shoots UN aid workers in Borno

    The United Nations has suspended aid to Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the Northeast after an ambush of a humanitarian convoy by Boko Haram terrorists in Borno State left some officials and soldiers wounded.

    The army and the UN Children’s Fund confirmed that two soldiers and three civilians, including UNICEF officials and a contractor – were wounded in Thursday’s attack at Meleri village, a few kilometres from Kawuri.

    The convoy, escorted by soldiers, was traveling from the newly liberated town of Bama, where Doctors Without Borders has warned children die starvation daily with 15 percent suffering severe acute malnutrition and likely to die without food and medical aid.

    The attacks on the UN officials and soldiers came four days after personnel of Doctors Without Borders narrowly escaped being killed by landmines some few kilometres from where Thursday’s ambush attack was carried out.

    Humanitarian workers said there is a “catastrophic humanitarian crisis” in the areas where aid is being suspended.

    The UN said the attack   was not only on humanitarian workers but also on the people who mostly needed assistance and aid that the workers were bringing.

    UNICEF spokeswoman, Doune Porter said on Friday that aid will continue to Maiduguri, the state capital, which is hosting up to a million refugees.

    Army spokesman, Col. Sani Kukasheka Usman, while confirming Thursday’s incident via a statement emailed to journalists said: “Troops returning from Bama on humanitarian escort duty, were ambushed enroute Maiduguri by suspected remnants of Boko Haram terrorists hiding in Meleri village, a few kilometres from Kawuri.

    “The gallant troops however, successfully cleared the ambush and exploited up to Afunori. Unfortunately, two soldiers and three civilians were wounded in the ambush, among whom were staff of United Nations agencies and other international humanitarian organizations.

    “The wounded have been evacuated to the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital, Maiduguri, and they are in stable condition.

    “The Nigerian Army wishes to sympathize with our wounded colleagues, the United Nations and other non-governmental organizations whose personnel were also injured in this sad incident.

     

     

     

    “We wish to reiterate our determination and commitment to ensuring safety and security in the North East and safeguarding the lives of all persons.”

    The Chief of Army Staff, Lt-General Tukur Buratai, visited the wounded in the hospital.

    He interacted with the wounded soldiers and civilians and wished them speedy recovery.

  • Multinational troops recapture Nigerian town from Boko Haram

    A multinational task force battling Boko Haram said on Thursday it had recaptured the only town in Borno State that was still held by the terror group.

    Boko Haram, which was formed in Borno, has waged an insurgency since 2009 to carve out a state based on sharia (Islamic law) in the northeast Nigeria, Reuters says.

    More than 15,000 people have been killed and some 2.4 million displaced.

    Damasak, captured by Boko Haram in October 2014, was part of an area around the size of Belgium that the jihadist group controlled in northeast Nigeria by the end of 2009.

    Its attacks have spread to neighbouring Niger, Chad and Cameroon, which prompted those nations to combine troops to form the Multi-National Joint Task Force (MNJTF).

    MNJTF spokesman, Col. Mohammad Dole, said troops cleared militants from Dutse, a village in Niger, before moving to the Nigerian border town Damasak around 10:00am (0900 GMT).

    “In continuation with clearance operation of towns and villages, troops of Sector 4 in Diffa (Niger) have successfully cleared Dutse village, captured and occupied Damasak town,” he said.

    “The forces are coordinating to stabilise the immediate environs,” he added.

     

  • Buratai to soldiers: Remain focused until insurgency is crushed

    The Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, on Wednesday charged every Combat Unit in the Nigerian Army to remain focused “until insurgency in the Northeast is crushed.”

    Buratai gave the charge during the closing ceremony of a three-day “Combat Support Arms Training Week 2016,” held at Maimalari Barracks, Maiduguri, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.

    The COAS noted that the insurgency in the Northeast had thrown up several challenges, but expressed satisfaction that the efforts were yielding positive results.

    “We should not rest on oars until the counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency operations are brought to a conclusive end and peace restored to the region and entire country,” he said.

     

  • Army rescues Emir’s wife, daughter from Boko Haram den

    The Nigerian Army on Monday rescued the wife and daughter of Shehu of Bama from the Boko Haram enclave in Borno.

    The Emir’s wife and two of her children were abducted by Boko Haram fighters two years ago.

    While the queen and her daughter have regained their freedom, the second child, the son was killed by the insurgents few months after the abduction.

    Details of the rescue operations were still sketchy at the time of filing this report, but the queen and her daughter have been taken to the Emir’s residence in Maiduguri, by the General Officer Commanding,  7 Division of Nigeria Army, Brig. Gen. Victor Ezugwu.

    They were reportedly rescued during a clearance operation by soldiers.

    An eyewitness told our correspondent that the palace was packed with emotions and mixed feeling when the Emir’s wife was brought into the palace.

    The Emir, IBN Kyari El kanemi, according to the eyewitness, wept uncontrollably when he sighted his wife.

    “We are happy to see our queen and her daughter back. But we learnt that Boko Haram fighters killed her son who was kidnapped along with his mum,” a family source told our correspondent.