A Boko Haram kingpin, who was Number 95 on the list of wanted leaders of the terror sect, has died of injuries during a clash with soldiers in Borno State.
The suspected was initially arrested on Thursday by a combined team of troops from the 7 Multinational Joint Task Force Brigade Quick Response Group (QRG) stationed in Baga and those of 118 Task Force Battalion while leading a gang of gunmen to ferry fuel through border communities in the state.
The army said the suspect was badly injured in a gun battle that ensued and later died while being interrogated.
Army spokesman , Colonel Sani Usman, said : “Troops of the 7 Multinational Joint Task Force Brigade Quick Response Group (QRG) stationed in Baga and 118 Task Force Battalion mounted an ambush along Daban Masara axis used by Boko Haram terrorists to convey logistics.
“At the encounter, one of the suspected wanted Boko Haram terrorist leaders, who is serial number 95 on the first Nigerian Army wanted list of 100 Boko Haram terrorist leaders, was fatally wounded in the exchange of fire.
“He later gave up while receiving medical attention at the base, while other members of his team escaped with gunshot wounds. The troops recovered 7 cans of 30 litres containing 210 litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), motorcycles and foodstuff in addition to arms and ammunition
A Boko Haram kingpin who was Number 95 on the list of wanted leaders of the terror sect has died of injuries during a clash with soldiers in Borno State.
The suspected was initially arrested on Thursday by a combined team of troops from the 7 Multinational Joint Task Force Brigade Quick Response Group (QRG) stationed in Baga and those of 118 Task Force Battalion while leading a gang of gunmen to ferry fuel through border communities in the State.
The army said the suspect was badly injured in a gun battle that ensued and later died while being interrogated.
Army spokesman, Colonel Sani Usman, said: “troops of the 7 Multinational Joint Task Force Brigade Quick Response Group (QRG) stationed in Baga and 118 Task Force Battalion mounted an ambush along Daban Masara axis used by Boko Haram terrorists to convey logistics.
“At the encounter, one of the suspected wanted Boko Haram terrorists’ leaders who is serial number 95 on the first Nigerian Army wanted list of 100 Boko Haram terrorists leaders, was fatally wounded in the exchange of fire.
“He later gave up while receiving medical attention at the base, while other members of his team escaped with gunshot wounds. The troops recovered 7 Jerri cans of 30 litres containing 210 liters of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), motorcycles and food stuff in addition to arms and ammunition.”
South Africa’s testy relationship with Nigeria has come into sharp focus with President Jacob Zuma’s official two-day visit to the West African country which ends later on Wednesday.
Zuma’s visit comes in the wake of the debacle surrounding South African telecommunications giant MTN which faces a multi-billion-dollar fine imposed by the Nigerian Communications Regulator.
This is after MTN failed to meet a deadline to disconnect 5.1 million unregistered subscribers to enable the Nigerian authorities to improve security.
The initial fine was reduced by 25 per cent to 3.9 billion dollars in December.
President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday fuelled the inferno when he accused MTN of increasing the Boko Haram threat in north-east Nigeria by failing to disconnect unregistered users.
Buhari told a joint news conference that the concern of the federal government “was basically on the security, not the fine imposed on MTN”.
In an interesting twist, the Nigerian media is speculating that Pretoria has set its sights on Boko Haram, and will be helping Abuja in its efforts to combat the Islamist militant group.
According to the report, Nigeria and South Africa are to collaborate on war on terror.
This followed a press briefing delivered by Nigerian Defence Minister Dan Ali after a meeting with his South African counterpart Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nquakula on Tuesday.
However, political analyst Simon Allison suggests that any collaboration between Africa’s two power houses is fraught with political, diplomatic, legal and financial difficulties that would make it very difficult to implement.
Writing in the Johannesburg-based Daily Maverick, Allison said there is a very low chance South African special forces will be involved directly in fighting against Boko Haram.
“In other words, no matter what the Nigerian media might be saying, South Africa is not joining a war.
Even a deployment of South African special forces as trainers seems unlikely, given the personnel and resource constraints under which the South African National Defence Force is operating,”he added.
Zuma, who is accompanied by 30 business leaders and seven Cabinet Ministers, said South Africa and Nigeria have signed over 30 bilateral agreements and memoranda of understanding in areas including trade, industry, security and immigration.
Zuma used his platform to note that from the mid-1970s‚ Nigeria hosted some of the exiled freedom fighters from South Africa‚ with numbers increasing after the Soweto Student Uprising in 1976.
He said the 40th anniversary of that uprising is being commemorated in South Africa as Nigeria marks 40 years since, “the passing of one of the illustrious sons of Nigeria and Africa‚ General Murtala Mohammed”.
“His tenure only lasted 200 days but it had a profound impact‚ particularly on the struggle against apartheid and colonialism in Southern Africa‚” said Zuma.
To rid the country of terrorists, the Nigeria Navy (NN) has begun plans to establish a Forward Operation Base (FOB) in Lake Chad.
Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) Vice Admiral Ibok Ette-Ibas disclosed this yesterday during a training seminar by the Naval Training Command (NAVTRAC) themed “the future of professional training in the Nigerian Navy’ in Lagos.
Vice Admiral Ette-Ibas noted that conventional security challenges have forced the Navy to move towards adopting new strategies even as he directed a review of the force’ training curriculum to address the challenges.
According to Ette-Ibas, the establishment of an FOB in Lake Chad, the creation of choke-points by placing house boats around the creeks, as well as the enhancement of surveillance capacities, were among the new strategies adopted.
His words: “For over five years we have relied majorly on the Regional Maritime Awareness Capability (RMAC) that gives us an eye over the horizon.
“We have begun the process of emplacing a more robust surveillance system, FALCON EYE, which when completed, will provide surveillance on the entire 200 nautical miles of our Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
“This will, therefore, boost our ability to contain the notorious maritime challenges that we presently have out there. The navy in particular has been obliged in the context of the prevailing national emergency to transit a complicated range of a full spectrum of warfare. From her traditional maritime environment in which she engages in ensuring order in the EEZ and territorial waters, washing ashore to be occupied by complex riverine and brown water operations, to a completely new challenge of engaging in fighting in build-up area and desert warfare, as obtained in the northeast theatre.
“The evolving scenario has necessitated significant changes in our operational procedures, particularly in addressing the spate of crude oil theft, illegal bunkering and attacks on shipping.”
He hinted of plans to establish a maritime university for training of its personnel and other stakeholders within and outside the country.
Flag Officer Commanding (FOC) NAVTRAC, Rear Admiral Adeniyi Osinowo noted that the command conducts over 120 courses in its 11 colleges and schools, adding that the training was a function of operational realities, technological changes and fleet renewal.
“As we have witnessed in the past two decades, the operational doctrine of the NN has been challenged by emerging threats in our maritime environment, with attendant need for new technologies and fleet recapitalisation. As a result, it became apparent that we devote significant effort towards reflecting on extant doctrine as well as the future direction of training in the NN,” he said.
At the seminar were Commandant, National Defence College (NDA) Rear Admiral Ilesanmi Alade; FOC, Western Naval Command (WNC) Rear Admiral Raphael Osondu; Director of Operations, Naval Headquarters, Rear Admiral Uduak Essien; Admiral Superintendent, Naval Doctrine and Assessment Centre, Rear Admiral Jacob Ajani; Director of Naval Information, Commodore Chris Ezekobe and Commodore, among others.
Retired naval officers including Rear Admirals Ndubuisi Kanu, O.O. Joseph and Francis Akpan, were also present.
As part of efforts to rid the country of terrorists, the Nigerian Navy (NN) has commenced plans for the establishment of a Forward Operation Base (FOB) in Lake Chad.
This disclosure was made on Tuesday in Lagos, during a training seminar organised by the Naval Training Command (NAVTRAC) themed ‘the future of professional training in the Nigerian Navy’.
In his opening remark, the Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) Vice Admiral Ibok Ette-Ibas noted that conventional security challenges have forced the navy to move towards adopting new strategies.
Using the navy’s participation in the northeast operation against terrorist sect, Boko Haram, as well as the force’ battle against militants and vandals in the creeks as examples, Ibas said he directed a review of the navy’s training curriculum to address the challenges.
According to Ibas, the establishment of an FOB in Lake Chad, creation of choke-points by placing house boats around the creeks, as well as the enhancement of surveillance capacities were among the new strategies adopted.
He said: “For over five years we have relied majorly on the Regional Maritime Awareness Capability (RMAC) that gives us an eye over the horizon.
“We have commenced the process of emplacing a more robust surveillance system, FALCON EYE, which when completed, will provide surveillance on the entire 200 nautical miles of our Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
“This will therefore boost our ability to contain the notorious maritime challenges that we presently have out there.
“The navy in particular has been obliged in the context of the prevailing national emergency to transit a complicated range of a full spectrum of warfare. From her traditional maritime environment in which she engages in ensuring order in the EEZ and territorial waters, washing ashore to be occupied by complex riverine and brown water operations, to a completely new challenge of engaging in fighting in build-up area and desert warfare, as obtained in the northeast theatre.
“On account of the foregoing, the navy has in the last couple of years found herself increasingly assuming operational responsibilities in the continental theatre. Even more profoundly is the asymmetric characteristics of the engagement.
“Suddenly, the navy has had to find herself fighting an adversary who uses unconventional weapons and tactics, employing terrorism to exploit the vulnerabilities of own forces.
“All of these have impacted a compelling need to admit new weapons and technologies, tactics, doctrinal shift and logistics management.
“The evolving scenario has necessitated significant changes in our operational procedures, particularly in addressing the spate of crude oil theft, illegal bunkering and attacks on shipping.”
He also hinted on plans by the navy to establish a maritime university for the training of its personnel and other maritime stakeholders within and outside the country.
Earlier, the Flag Officer Commanding (FOC) NAVTRAC, Rear Admiral Adeniyi Osinowo who noted that the command conducts over 120 courses in its 11 colleges and schools, added that the naval training was a function of operational realities, technological changes and fleet renewal.
“As we have witnessed in the past two decades, the operational doctrine of the NN has been challenged by emerging threats in our maritime environment.
“With attendant need for new technologies and fleet recapitalisation. As a result, it became apparent that we need to devote significant efforts towards reflecting on extant doctrine as well as the future direction of training in the NN,” he said.
Osinowo disclosed that the command has in the last six months embarked on a comprehensive review of the existing curricula in all NN training institutions.
“The review involved identifications of additions, retentions and deletions as well as recognition of new fleet and technologies. Apart from generating inputs from the operational command’s, an effort was made to align the courses conducted with global maritime training standards while new and more impactful teaching methods are being integrated into our practices,” he said.
At the seminar were Commandant, National Defence Academy (NDA), Rear Admiral Ilesanmi Alade; FOC, Western Naval Command (WNC), Rear Admiral Raphael Osondu; Director of Operations, Naval Headquarters, Rear Admiral Uduak Essien; Admiral Superintendent, Naval Doctrine and Assessment Centre, Rear Admiral Jacob Ajani; Director of Naval Information, Commodore Chris Ezekobe and Commodore, among others.
Retired naval officers including Rear Admirals Ndubuisi Kanu, O.O. Joseph and Francis Akpan were also at the event.
President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday said that the slow registration of Nigerians on the MTN lines by the service providers contributed to the killing of at least 10, 000 innocent Nigerians by the insurgents, Boko Haram.
He made the remark during a joint press conference after holding closed door meeting with South African President, Jacob Zuma at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
According to him, the concern of the Federal Government was purely security and not the fine imposed on MTN.
Answering questions on Tuesday, Buhari said: “This is the first time I will be personally as a president making a public comment about it. The concern of the federal government is basically on the security and not the fine imposed on MTN.
“You know how the unregistered GSM are being used by terrorists. And between 2009 and today, at least 10,000 Nigerians were killed by Boko Haram.
“That was why NCC asked MTN, Glo and the rest of them to register GSM. Unfortunately, MTN was very, very slow and contributed to the casualties,” he added.
Three men with suspected link to the terror sect, Boko Haram, are now being interrogated by the Department of State Services (DSS) for allegedly manufacturing arms for the insurgents and for seeking a foreign embassy’s help to fight terrorist activities in Nigeria.
Also in the custody of the agency are three other men suspected to be members of Ansaru, another terror sect.
The Ansaru members were said to be working on plans for terrorist training in Sudan when they were picked up.
Musa Garba Abubakar alias Muhadis Musa Bin Haddad, according to the DSS had approached an unnamed foreign mission for strategic help but turned out to be a gun fabricator.
He was arrested in Jos on Wednesday.
Found in his possession, according to DSS spokesman, Tony Opuiyo, were two pistols, 80 rounds of live ammunition and several sensitive documents.
Opuiyo said: “in a bid to employ propaganda to manipulate the international community against the efforts of the Federal Government, in the on-going war against terror in the North-West region, Musa had approached a foreign mission in Nigeria for logistics and financial support to fight the Boko Haram.
“However, unknown to the mission, he is actually an unauthorized gun-maker/runner with intent for mischief and communal strife in the North Central region.”
Musa and two of his associates Umar Khalil Muhammed and Mohammed Yakubu Tahir aka Mallam Yaro allegedly sell guns to criminals in the North-Central geopolitical zone.
The DSS said:”Muhammed was arrested at Layin Oscar in Jos South LGA, while Tahir was picked up at Mista Ali area, along Jos-Zaria road in Bassa LGA; the duo are accomplices and active marketers of Abubakar and his products to criminal elements in the North-Central region of the country.
“In strengthening its counter-terrorism strategy, the Service also arrested one Armaya’u Yakubu aka Ali Tekwando, Yakubu Sule and Usman Ibrahim on March 3, 2016, at Hayin Danmani area in Kaduna metropolis.
“The trio were members of an extremist cell under the coordination of Yakubu, with affiliation to the proscribed extremist group, ANSARU and have been perfecting plans to travel to Sudan, for terrorist training with other radical elements of the group.”
Boko Haram fighters from the Northeast are moving in droves to the Libyan town of Sirte to team up with the Islamic State (ISIS) in its war in North Africa.
No fewer than 1000 Boko Haram fighters have swelled the ISIS force in Libya which the United Nations (UN) and the Pentagon said has grown from 3000 to 6500 in just three months.
The terror group has carried out audacious suicide attacks in Libya’s cities of Tripoli, Benghazi, Zliten and Misrata, killing scores, and clashed with government aligned militias at crucial oil installations, the International Business Times reported yesterday.
“The value of the jihadis from Sub-Saharan Africa to the Islamic State operation in Sirte is such that it hires exclusive people smugglers to swiftly transport the militants directly to the terror group’s defacto Libyan capital,” the paper said.
The Boko Haram fighters often move up from Niger Republic to Qatrun and then onto Sebha, where they stay for a couple of days in smugglers’ compounds.
“Libya has become a magnet for individuals not only inside of Libya, but from the African continent as well as from outside,” John O. Brennan, the director of the CIA told a Senate panel last month.
Fighters from Chad and Niger are also flocking to the Libyan coastal city.
Isis reportedly offers $1,000 straight up to fighters from neighbouring countries to join their ranks.
IBTimes quoted Ahmed Umar Bolori, a former Boko Haram fighter living in Maiduguri as saying the same economic factors that led fighters to join the terror sect were also pushing them to Libya.
He said:”you will fight if they give you money. This is a terrible disease which has worsened with the economic conditions. There are no opportunities and that makes [young people] more likely to join radical groups.”
Bolori said Borno State’s geographical position with borders on neighbouring Niger, Cameroon and Chad had not only facilitated the expansion of Boko Haram but also made it easier for its fighters to reach Libya.
“There is a lot of businesses that operate between Libya and Nigeria. They will follow the routes that bring goods to or from Libya to Nigeria,” he explained, adding migrants wishing to travel to Libya would pay truck drivers exporting goods like cement to stow aboard.
More than a year ago, some 50 young people undertook the arduous journey from the town of Chibok in the north-eastern state of Borno to seek sanctuary in the capital city Lagos.
Local parents, appalled by the April 2014 kidnapping of nearly 300 female students by the jihadist group Boko Haram, had sent their own children to stay with friends or relatives until peace returned.
Conditions were tough on the three-day bus journey with little food and water. Now, although the young people are safe from the insurgency ravaging the north-east of their country, their lives in the vast city of Lagos are far from easy.
More than two million people have been internally displaced in Nigeria. The majority have found refuge among host communities, while some live in camps with support from the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA). They must depend on aid from NGOs, religious bodies and the charity of individuals.
A lack of government oversight means that fundraising is vulnerable to corruption, and some IDP leaders complained bitterly of NGOs that collected money but failed to implement any projects.
In particular, there is little help available for children separated from their parents, leaving them vulnerable to exploitation and abuse. The plight of the children from Chibok reflects the wider experience of many thousands of young IDPs in Nigeria who face an uncertain future after fleeing violence in the north-east of the country.
Most of the children from Chibok headed for the Lagos neighbourhood of Eleko, where some of them now spend their days wandering the unpaved roads, sharing cramped accommodation at night and coping with an irregular supply of water and power. Many others have been forced to abandon their family friends and relatives to seek work within the city.
Daniel Musa, 15, said that for many months after arriving in Lagos he had been forced to sleep on a bench each night, as his guardian shared a room with eight other people.
Only recently had an arrangement been made for him to pass the night in another building, returning to his relative’s place in the morning to wash and dress.
“I have been here for more than a year with no school or permanent job,” he said. “I just sit around doing nothing most of the time. Sometimes I work digging sand for some construction sites where I get N50 to N100 [for food], ” he said.
Daniel Musa
Daniel said he had done his best to blot out the full horror that the insurgency has caused him and his family, but described the attack that sealed his parents’ resolve to take him and his siblings out of danger.
“One day, Boko Haram attacked us around one in the morning. We packed hurriedly and hid ourselves in the bush. All our food and drink was finished. I escaped to another village wearing just a vest and shorts. From there I got a pair of slippers, a shirt and trousers which I wore to travel down to Lagos,” he recalled.
Daniel was forced to stop studying in year six as local schools had closed in the face of constant Boko Haram attacks. Asked about his future aspirations, Daniel said he would like to continue his studies.
“I would like to work in computers,” he said. “The only help I need is for someone to send me back to school.”
Lacking education, some of the Chibok youngsters in Lagos work washing dishes for food sellers, barely making enough to survive.
About 25 per cent of Nigerian children are in employment, according to the International Labour Oganisation, and the figure amongst IDPs is much higher.
Many young women have been forced to make marriages of economic convenience. Others have found work as maids in the city, while the boys loiter around the streets, waiting for the opportunity to get work as an okada, or motorcycle taxi driver. Even then, unregistered, they risk having their bikes seized by police.
The lucky few who manage to continue studying attend a ramshackle school run by some neigbourhood women whose only qualification is a high school diploma.
The neigbourhood’s government-run community school refused to admit the displaced children, citing over-subscription and their inability to waive fees as the reasons.
Ruth Haruna, 12 and Godia Peters, were both sent to live with relatives in Lagos after girls were abducted in Chibok in April 2014.
The girls attend lessons at the school for IDPs and say they are happy. But they would dearly like to return home to their parents in Chibok, and are clearly traumatised by their experiences.
“I came here because of Boko Haram; they were killing people, burning houses and took some of our sisters away. We miss our properties; my daddy’s car was taken away,” said Ruth, who says she would like to become a doctor.
Ruth and Godia Peters
Ibrahim Musa, another 18 year-old from Chibok, was also sent away to avoid being either killed or recruited into the ranks of the Boko Haram fighters.
“Our parents sent us here because we are still young and once Boko Haram see us, they would kidnap us and train us to start killing people. They kidnap girls too; one of my neighbour’s daughters was abducted at school.”
Ibrahim
Mello Kolo is the chairman of the Hausa community, the ethnic group centred in northern Nigeria, in the Eleko neighbourhood. He said the young people from Chibok faced great hardship, and most of the group had been forced to leave their guardians and seek opportunities inside the city.
“More than 30 of these children have gone inside Lagos to look for work. They need help desperately and time is against them. We have been left here on our own with no help from government or any other organization. It is only the Chibok youth association who come here to check on us once in a while. ”
This is the concluding part of a two-part series of report supported with funds from the Institute for War and Peace Reporting, Abuja through the ACCESS Nigeria project.
