Tag: boko haram

•From left: U.S. Defence Attaché to Nigeria Col. Patrick Doyle, Chief of Training and Operations, Defence Headquarters Major-Gen. Barry Ndiomu during the hand-over ceremony of the vehicles in Lagos…yesterday.  

The United States yesterday said it handed over 24 Mine- Resistant Armour-Protected Vehicles (MRAP) to the Army to boost the war against Boko Haram.

The vehicles, donated in line with its  Excess  Defence Articles Programme, were said to be among those retrieved from Iraq  and Afghanistan.

The Excess Defence Articles Programme is designed to transfer excess military equipment from the U.S. to foreign governments or international organisations to help with modernisation of partner nations’ military capabilities.

The vehicles became part of the US Army’s excess following the downsizing of the United States military, as well as the country’s withdrawal from Iraq and Afghanistan, said US Embassy’s Defence Attaché, Colonel Patrick Doyle, who represented Ambassador James Entwistle.

However, about 50 per cent of the vehicles are faulty, with no spare parts to repair them for quick deployment in the war zone.

The Nation gathered on Tuesday that it would cost the military millions in dollars to fix and equip the MRAP to standard use, especially because the spare parts could only be bought from the original manufacturers in the U.S.

Manufactured in 2008, the minimum carriage capacity of each vehicle is five persons and can conveniently carry anti-air misiles, as well as M-15 calibre machine guns. It can withstand attacks from Improvised Explosives Devices (IEDs), dynamites and bombs.

The vehicles also have the capacity to inflate tyres, thereby eliminating unforseen stress caused by flat tyres.

Defence Minister Gen. Dan Ali said the vehicles would help protect troops against IEDs and help in the movement of men with little or no casualties.

Ali, who was represented by the Chief of Operations, Defence Headquarters, Major -Gen. Barry Ndiomu,  noted that the donation was timely given the challenges in the Northeast.

He, however, stated that some of the vehicles were not serviceable, urging the United States to do more by providing the army with spare parts.

“We appreciate what the US has done but like Oliver Twist, we will appreciate if more is done. The vehicles came without spare parts. Not all of them are serviceable. The U.S. should provide the spares to enable us repair those that need to be serviced.

In his remark during the event at the Ikeja Cantonment, Doyle said eight more of the vehicles would be shipped to Nigeria.

“These vehicles provide increased protection from improvised explosive devices, roadside bombs and small arms fire, while offering more manouverability and better fuel economy than other types of armoured personnel carriers.

“The U.S. government donated the Armoured vehicles through the Excess Defence Articles Programme. The Nigerian military arranged for transportation from the port to Lagos. Nigeria is in the process of receiving an additional eight MRAPs through this programme, valued at approximately  $7.4 million.

“Today’s  equipment donation represents part of the continuing U.S.  commitment to Nigeria and its neighbours to counter Boko Haram’s  senseless acts of terror and promote regional security.

“The United States provides advisors, intelligence, training, logistical support  and equipment to our African partners as they work to defeat Boko Haram.

“We also support those affected by Boko Haram’s  violence through ongoing humanitarian aid and victim support services. The United States will continue working with our partners in the region to identify new opportunities to restore order in the Lake Chad Basin region,” he said.

While fielding questions from reporters, he said the vehicles were provided in the condition they were when Nigeria inspected them.

He said: “The programme provided equipment to partner nations in the conditions that they are when the nations saw them. So, the Nigerian Army inspected the vehicles a few months back and selected the best they could find.

“Originally, we agreed to allow them to have 32 vehicles. Twent-five are in front of you today. Many of these vehicles will need some work.

“Probably about half of them are in good working condition but will need minor work. Others will need some body, electrical works.

“The reason we have excess defence article programmes is because we are downsizing forces in our military. We have left Iraq  with our forces and have downsized forces out of Afghanistan.

“So, these vehicles were gladly provided when Nigerian Army asked.

“The repairs of the vehicles are up to the Nigerian government to do that. They can repair them on their own, but of course,  the spare parts are particular to these vehicles and can be got only from the manufacturers.

“We have been discussing on this and we are working out conditions on how that can be done. The easiest way to do that is to open a government to government case, where we can work with them to ensure they get the correct parts and in a timely manner from the correct manufacturers.

“We have not done the estimate of what it will cost the Nigerian government to fix the vehicles,” he said.

The ever-present threat of violence by Boko Haram hangs heavy over the  country, despite official claims that the battle against the Islamist group has been “technically” won.

After setting a December 31 deadline to rid his country of Boko Haram, President Muhammadu Buhari told the BBC: “I think technically we have won the war because people are going back into their neighbourhoods.”

In his New Year message to the nation, Buhari commended the military for “significantly curtailing the insurgency” but acknowledged there was “still a lot of work to be done in the area of security”.

“This government will not consider the matter concluded until the terrorists have been completely routed and normality restored to all parts of the country that have been adversely affected by the Boko Haram insurgency,” he said.

But despite the official assurances, violence and fear continue to stalk several major cities in Nigeria’s troubled northeast.

Late last month, more than 50 people were killed in a 48-hour wave of attacks in the mainly Muslim region that were blamed on the jihadists.

Boko Haram has resorted to suicide bombers – many of them young children — to wage its war for an independent Islamic state in the country.

The extremist group has also spread its bombing campaign to neighbouring Cameroon, Chad and Niger.

“Boko Haram is still a big threat despite the government’s claim that the group has been weakened,” said Ibrahim Kulo, 47, a resident of the violence-wracked northeastern city of Maiduguri.

“One cannot venture 10 kilometres (six miles) outside the city without the fear of Boko Haram ambush. We live in real danger of Boko Haram,” he told AFP.

Sanusi Ahmad, 33, voiced similar fears.

“Boko Haram remains a threat. I don’t believe it when the government says they have defeated Boko Haram,” said the resident of the northern city of Kano.

“I agree that the military has made substantial progress in the fight against the group,” he told AFP.

“But the fact that Boko Haram can still carry out attacks like the ones last week. This is an indication that they are still a serious threat. Although there has been a lull in attacks in Kano, the threat still remains.”

“We don’t know when and where the next attack will occur.”

The latest attacks “underscore the difficulty of dealing comprehensively with such a group,” Nigerian political analyst Chris Ngwodo told AFP.

“The president said some days ago that Boko Haram had been technically defeated. What they meant to say was that the group’s ability to stage attacks has been seriously degraded,” Ngwodo added.

But despite the deadline passing, Ngwodo said Buhari still enjoys the backing of most Nigerians in the fight against Boko Haram.

“A lot of people felt that the previous administration (of president Goodluck Jonathan) was simply at sea. Indeed, they were incompetent when it came to dealing with security threats,” Ngwodo said.

But he said Buhari should seek to change his strategy to end the insurgency, which has claimed more than 17,000 lives since it began in 2009.

In a possible sign of this tactical change, Buhari said on Wednesday his government was “prepared to negotiate” with the Boko Haram leadership “without precondition” over the release of 219 kidnapped schoolgirls from Chibok once “credible” leaders were identified for talks.

Minister of Information and Culture Alhaji Lai Mohammed insisted yesterday that the military had largely met the deadline given to it by President Muhammadu Buhari to defeat Boko Haram, despite attacks by the terrorists.

Mohammed, who spoke at a meeting with editors in Lagos, explained: “In a few days, the deadline issued by President Muhammadu Buhari to the military to defeat Boko Haram will expire. Without equivocating, I will repeat what I said that has sparked a firestorm: Our gallant military has largely met the deadline! I make this assertion with all sense of responsibility and they are backed by facts.”

He reiterated his earlier statement that the military has massively degraded the capacity of the terrorists to carry out the kind of spectacular attacks they used to execute in the past, like the attacks on the police headquarters and the United Nations (UN) Complex.

 The minister noted that in six months of the Buhari administration, the Boko Haram that was in control of a territory larger than a geopolitical zone in Nigeria “has been reduced to a fleeing, bomb throwing, cowardly and disorganised army”.

He added: ‘’Among the areas where Boko Haram has been kicked out is Bama, which was the self-declared headquarters of its Caliphate. From there, it collected taxes, dispensed jungle justice, deposed and installed emirs and hoisted its flag. Today, the town is firmly in the hands of our troops.”

He said all Boko Haram could do now was to attack soft targets as markets, motor parks, mosques and entertainment centres, killing innocent men, women and children.

Mohammed said: “Not unexpectedly, the dying and desperate insurgents have carried out some attacks on soft targets in the Northeast during this festive season. This is cowardly, dastardly and condemnable. We commiserate with the state governments and the families of those who died or were injured in the attacks which, as I said earlier, are like the death pangs of a dying horse.

“These attacks are part of the propaganda that has been launched by Boko Haram and their fellow terrorists, ISIS, to seek to remain relevant in the face of massive routing by our gallant troops, and to also discredit our committed and patriotic troops. But the attacks do not shake our resolve a bit in our determined quest to rid our nation of terrorists and ensure the security of our citizens

“The fact that Boko Haram has continued to carry out attacks on soft targets is not an indication that they still have capacity. As I have said many times, the attacks will not end with the expiration of the deadline, since insurgencies are not conventional warfare in which the guns could be silenced with an armistice. But I also said that the attacks will taper off with time, with better awareness among the citizenry and enhanced intelligence gathering by the security agencies.”

The minister challenged critics of his assertion that the military had largely met the deadline to visit the epicentre of the war against terrorists in Borno State and then report to Nigerians what they saw.

“The armchair critics, who dispute these facts from the comfort of their living rooms, are free to visit the theatre of war to see things for themselves. Perhaps then, they will be more circumspecting in issuing reckless statements that give nothing but succour to Boko Haram. I have gone to the theatre of war to see things for myself. I did not just stop in Maiduguri, I went to Konduga, Kaure and Bama, which, as I said, was once the headquarters of the Boko Haram Caliphate,” Mohammed said.

He repeated his appeal to the media to stop glamourising Boko Haram with its reporting of the terrorist attacks and hailed the newspapers that took it upon themselves to push Boko Haram off their front pages.

“I want to appeal to other newspapers to follow suit and cut off the oxygen supply to the comatose Boko Haram by denying the terrorists the publicity they so much seek. This is purely an appeal, as we have no intention whatsoever to censor any media organisation,’’ the minister said.

Mohammed hailed the Civilian JTF members that have played a major role in assisting the military to rout the terrorists, noting that what was now missing in the war was the civilian component.

“In this regard, we have kick-started a campaign to raise awareness among Nigerians on the war, so that the citizens will not only support the war, but they will also own it. It is the war for Nigerians, not a war for the military alone.

“As the military enters the mop-up phase of this war, what is left now is the onerous task of resettlement, rehabilitation and reconstruction, especially in the Northeast, which is worse-hit by the war. We appeal for support from Nigerians in this regard, because the government alone cannot handle this task,’’ he said.

The failure of  the Dr. Goodluck Jonathan administration to pay adequate premium on Group Life Insurance Policy (GLIP) for the soldiers as and when due has left families of deceased soldiers, especially those defending the country against the Boko Haram insurgency in the North, with no compensation, writes Omobola Tolu-Kusimo

Rahina Ali and Thabita John are married to soldiers serving in the Nigerian Army. That is not all the duo have in common. Last year, Ali and John were two of the wives of soldiers who took to the streets of Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, to protest the posting of their husbands to the Northeast to battle Boko Haram insurgents.

“Our husbands are always given inferior weapons while the Boko Haram terrorists have superior weapons,” Mrs Ali complained during the protest, which was the first of its kind.

Mrs. John proclaimed: “No weapons for our husbands, no trip to Gwoza or any volatile place. We are tired of burying our loved ones.”

The protesting wives were about 300. The irate mothers were joined by their children who were over 500. They gathered at the gates of a military base in the Northeast, where they made bonfires.

 According to the protesters, in the hands of Boko Haram insurgents were semi-automatic weapons, rocket-propelled grenades and modern Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs). Nigerian troops relied on out-of-fashion – mostly unserviceable –  tools.

Burials, burials, burials

The protesters have obviously witnessed many burials of soldiers who died fighting Boko Haram. The sad part of this is that after they fell to the superior weapons of the insurgents, their dependants discover that the premiums for the payment of the Nigerian Armed Forces Group Life Insurance Policy (GLIP) have been badly handled from 2011. This means officers who died when the premiums were not settled as at when due had no insurance cover.

The Nation learnt that during the immediate past administration of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, insurance of the armed forces were handled lackadaisically.

There is also the allegation of diversion of over N3.4 billion premium by some top military others in connivance with some insurers. The money was said to have been released shortly before the end of the administration but did not get into the account of the insurer.

What is Life Cover?

Group life insurance is stipulated in the Pension Reform Act. Section 9 (3) of the Pension Reform Act 2004 as amended in 2014 stipulates that every employer (in the public and private sector) to which the Act applies, must maintain a Life Insurance Policy in favour of the employee for a minimum sum amounting to three times the annual total emolument of the employee.

The policy provides cover to the insured against death and the insurance cover is mandatory for all employees, as long as they are in employment. This means that the policy provides for the payment of the sum assured in the event of the death of a member of the scheme from any cause, natural and accidental.

The group life cover is also compulsory under the Insurance Act 2004. Unfortunately, former President Jonathan paid little attention to proper compensation for soldiers, especially those fighting insurgencies in the Northeast.

Messy premiums

Between 2011 and 2015, premiums were paid haphazardly. Insurance of the armed forces was messy between 2012 and 2013.

With the effective enforcement of no premium, no cover policy by the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) in 2013, cover is provided by insurers and claims are paid on the condition that premiums due are fully paid in advance.

Section 50 of Insurance Act, 2003 states: “The receipt of an insurance premium shall be a condition precedent to a valid contract of insurance and there shall be no cover in respect of an insurance risk unless the premium is paid in advance.”

It adds that any insurer, who grants cover without having received premium in advance or premium receipt notification from the relevant insurance brokers, is liable to a penalty of N500,000 in respect of each cover granted, and in addition, this may be a ground for the suspension of the licence of the insurer.

Based on this, beneficiaries of soldiers who died in months or years where premiums were not paid cannot get compensation from insurers. The National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) and some insurers confirmed the problem with the premium for soldiers, especially in 2012.

Investigations by The Nation revealed that Standard Life Insurance was the lead insurer for the soldiers in 2013 and was also involved in the 2012 and 2014.

Standard Life spokesman, Nelson Egboboh affirmed that 2012 was the most problematic for the underwriters, noting that only 40 per cent of the premium due was paid by the government. Sixty per cent of the premium, he said, remains unpaid till date.

He said there were issues between the underwriters and the armed forces and it took the intervention of the Nigeria Insurance Association (NIA), an umbrella body of the underwriters, to resolve some of the problems.

On whether or not, they connived with some top military men to divert the premium, Egbogbon said this never happened as the underwriters were also not happy with the way they were being treated.

Further investigation revealed that Capital Express Insurance Limited was the sole insurer of the armed forces for the 2015 Group Life. Managing Director, Mrs Bola Odukale confirmed receipt of N2.39 billion meant for the armed forces 2015 Group Life. She said the company is not involved and is not aware of any diversion.

According to her, the transaction for the 2015 cover was transparent. The company, she said, was appointed by the Ministry of Defence to provide Group Life for soldiers towards the end of 2013.

She said they demanded payment from the ministry in 2014 but were only paid four months later, specifically on March 24, 2015.

The bank account sighted by The Nation showed a deposit of the said amount with Access Bank.

After the payment, Capital Express disbursed premium of N184 million to the lead broker, which paid other brokers.

Mrs Odukale explained that the insurance renewal period or year for armed forces should start from December 2013 of every year.

“They ought to have paid us since December 23, 2014. To run for one year from December 23, 2014 to December 22, 2015 and so you can safely call it 2015 Group Life. The 2014, there is just for one week.

“Meanwhile, they had a cover up to December 22, 2014 and that cover was led by Standard Life. We are a part of it because we shared five percent and so many of us shared part of it too. It was this same amount that was paid last year and we at Capital Express shared out of it. We have also paid several claims since then.

“The 2015 premium was paid to us as the lead insurer in March during the former President Jonathan’s administration. The money released by this present administration of President Buhari… is meant for the MDAs and parastatals.”

She admitted premiums were not fully paid in 2012.

“The only year that had problem was 2012 when premium on many of the schemes were not paid by Government. We were not part of the insurers as at then. The people who protested could have been from 2012. I am sure it is the same problem because armed forces were part of HOS as at that time,” she said.

Mrs. Odukale, who noted that the firm was part of the co-insurers of the soldiers 2013/2014 Group Life, said premium was also paid and all the insurers, including Capital Express, got their premiums from the lead insurer.

She added that she was aware of the release of over N3b premium debt from the Office of the Accountant General for Group Life of MDAs and parastatals.

In Mrs. Odukale’s views,  it would be difficult for any premium to be diverted from the insurance industry as the regulatory body, the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM),  has over the years been monitoring operations of insurance operators closely.

Mrs. Odukale said: “The Armed Forces are not part of the contributory pension scheme and so it is not part of the Head of Service scheme for the parastatals and ministries. So, the one that was paid (recently) is for the parastatals and ministries. Armed Forces normally arrange their insurance separately.

“There is need for clarification on what year the dead soldiers whose families are said to be protesting belong to. There was a release of 2014 payment from the office of the Accountant-General for the core civil servants from MDAs into the industry.  Maybe this is what they are mixing up. I don’t know, I am just thinking.

“All life insurance companies including us, got it based on our percentage of participation. I don’t know maybe that is what they are referring to as armed forces. The one for Armed forces is different. It is done separately from the Ministry of Defence.

 “In fact, it is difficult to divert money in the insurance industry in a scheme that is large, especially on armed forces, police, among others. NAICOM is very attentive on monies paid into the industry and money taken out. The commission is very strong now. They track every transaction.”

NIA knocks govt

The Director-General, Nigerian Insurers Association, Sunday Thomas, who denied any diversion of premium, disclosed that the former administration did not pay claims regularly and had resorted to self-insuring its workers.

He said the government was aware of the ‘no premium, no cover’ regulation and the underwriters have agreed to treat claims based on the percentage of premium paid by the government.

He noted that the Armed Forces probably had a full cover for 2013 and 2014 but somewhere along the line, the whole thing broke down again. “Once premium is not paid as at when due, it leaves a gap and when a gap exists, people who die between those gaps will not be covered under the policy from when premium was paid.”

He advised the government to reduce the three times annual salary benchmark for GLIP if it felt that it was too much for it to bear.

“The government seems to be adjusting to the regulation, because the cover now commences from the date of premium payment. If the premium has not been paid, if anybody should die after the date the last contract expired, the government will take responsibility for it. The government has automatically self-insured itself

“If the government feels that the three times annual salary is too much for them to bear, let them reduce it but I know they will have issues with the labour if they reduce it.

“They should look at what premium they can pay so that people will know that they are fully covered because this is a situation where you say people are insured but the cover is not there because premium was not paid. This is not helping anybody. They should learn from the errors of the past, self-insurance will never help any administration,” he added.

Defence confirms shoddy insurance arrangement

Defence spokesman Col. Rabe Abubakar admitted that there was a problem with the GLIP of the military in 2013.

He said efforts were in top gear to ensure that the 2013 premium was paid to the brokers so that appropriate compensation could be paid to beneficiaries of the deceased.

He appealed to beneficiaries of deceased soldiers who fall within the year premiums were not paid to be patient with them as they would receive compensation soon.

“We have Group Life Insurance Policy for our soldiers and it covers those who die in active service. The policy was given to brokers accredited by the Defence ministry.

“All premiums have been paid, except 2013 premium but we are making efforts to ensure that we pay the premium to the brokers so that they can pay begin to pay claims to the affected beneficiaries.

“The leadership of the military is very concerned because the welfare of the military is compulsory. We are trying to solve the problem within the shortest possible time,” he said.

Fighting insurgents with bare hands?

Emerging facts have shown that funds meant for equipment for the military were spent on the 2015 general elections by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) government. As at the time of this report, the full details have not come out. But, so far, it has shown that billions of dollars just allegedly wasted and misappropriated. The unpaid premiums are also believed to have been diverted.

While the alleged mismanagement was going on, the country’s armed forces suffered in silence. According to “Gobalsecurity.org”, a leading site dedicated to defence, military weapons systems news and information on armed forces worldwide, the Nigerian military, is “significantly less capable than its size and equipment inventory would indicate.” Reason:  “A large percentage of the Army is capable of little more than basic defensive operations, and most of Nigeria’s ships and aircraft are inoperable” – because of “lack of investment in training, failure to maintain equipment and dwindling cooperation with Western forces has damaged Nigeria’s armed forces”.

It added: “As a large, complex organisation, the Nigerian military contains a number of contradictions, incongruities and internal disjunctions. At the same time, chronic under-resourcing has led to low operational readiness, lack of training, and relatively poor conditions of service.

“These problems, along with endemic corruption, have made the Nigerian military somewhat of a hollow giant resting on its reputation – more capable than any other force in the sub-region, but considerably less capable than it should be with tens of thousands of troops and a large stock of major weapons systems and other equipment. A high percentage of the heart of the force – the 60,000-soldier strong Army’s 25 infantry battalions – are capable of little more than basic defensive operations.”

The 2015 report of the Global Firepower (GFP), ranked Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, 41st of 126 countries. At the African level, where Nigeria is ranked 4th, Egypt, a country of 80 million people, is rated number one. The second and third slots are occupied by Algeria and South Africa.

The GFP record shows that the Army is estimated to have 363 tanks (light tanks and tank destroyers either wheeled or tracked), 1,420 Armoured Fighting Vehicles (AFVs), 25 Self-Propelled Guns (SPGs), 339 Towed Artillery, and 30 Multiple-Launch Rocket Systems (MLRSs).

The GFP’s index showed that the Air Force, which is expected to take on Boko Haram, had only 10 fixed-wing attack aircraft for counter-insurgency operations. The Navy, according to the GFP, has no aircraft carrier, no destroyers, no corvettes, and no submarines. To face Boko Haram, GFP says the Navy has only two frigates, three marine warfare and 12 coastal defence craft.

With a workforce of 5.5 million merchant marine strength of 89, three major port terminals, 193,200 road coverage 3505 railway coverage, 54 serviceable airports, landmass of 923, 768km, coastline 853km, waterways 8,600 kilometre and shared border, 4,047 kilometre, security professionals say the military cannot but be overwhelmed in the fight against terrorism.

All these inadequacies, say experts, explain the high casualty figures on the part of the soldiers fighting Boko Haram. Unfortunately, the succor that should come from insurance cover was compromised with default in paying premiums for some years.

 The waiting game continues

Going by the Insurance Act, even if the premiums are paid now, the beneficiaries of the deceased soldiers can still not receive compensation. The law stipulates that once there is a default, there is no cover. They are the victims of a government, which failed to do the right thing at the right time. Now, they are alone, in the cold after losing their loved ones to the superior weapons of the insurgents.