The Nation Newspaper

Tag: boko haram

  • Troops intercept fleeing Boko Haram members

    Troops intercept fleeing Boko Haram members

    Fleeing members of the Boko Haram sect were on Tuesday intercepted at Pulka while attempting to escape the ongoing military onslaught in Sambisa forest.

    This is contained in a statement by Acting Director, Army Public Relations, Colonel Sani Usman, when he disclosed that troops arrested one of the insurgents during the encounter, while many others were killed.

    According to the Colonel, the troops also recovered a General Purpose Machine Gun (GPMG), 47 rifle magazines, 36 hand grenades, several rounds of 7.62mm (NATO) ammunitions and quite a number of Shilka gun empty shells.

    Similarly, the troops recovered 2 boxes of 7.62mm ammunitions, a Toyota Hilux, and some Improvised Explosive making Devices cords, during another encounter with the sect at Buni Yadi general area.

  • Boko Haram: December deadline stands, says Fed Govt

    Boko Haram: December deadline stands, says Fed Govt

    THERE is no going back on the December deadline to crush Boko Haram insurgents and end the sect’s activities in the Northeast, the Federal Government restated yesterday through Information & Culture Minister Lai Mohammed.

    The reassurance came even as Borno State Governor Kashim Shettima said the northeastern state has seen the worst of terrorists’ activities.

    Mohammed and Shettima spoke in Maiduguri, the epicenter of the insurgency, when the minister led a fact-finding team to Bama, one of the most affected local government areas.

    The minister said that by the end of the month, no part of the country will be under the control of the sect, pointing out about 86 villages and towns have been liberated in the last six months.

    Fielding a question on the feasibility of the December deadline, Mohammed said: “Yes, the military will, by the grace of God, be able to see the end of Boko Haram by the end of December.”

    Though, he said it will be impossible to rule out pockets of suicide bombing here and there, the minister however said more emphasis would be placed on de-radicalisation of the environment.

    He went on: “But, let us make it clear, what the military will do is to fully liberate all the territory held by Boko Haram, if we think that by 1st of January there will be no more bombings, we are mistaken.

    “There will be suicide bombing. Because even other countries where insurgency has been over for so many years, we still have some pockets of attacks.

    “But, we as a government will ensure that by the end of this year, no territory of ours will be in the hands of Boko Haram. This is what the government has promised us and this we are going to delivered and I think by the end of the day, this will be achieved.”

    He urged the people to support the military by providing necessary information, even as he assured the military that the government will offer the civilian component of the war and will let the world know what the military has achieved and ensure the country buys into the anti-terror war.

    His words: “I must say that the military has done much better in this war. What is missing in this war is the civilian component. Many Nigerians erroneously think that this war must be fought by the military alone. Some does not even see as a national issue, sectional or religious. Terrorism is terrorism everywhere in the world.

    “We will launch national security campaign to create awareness and allow Nigerians take possession of the war, the same way they took possession during the 1966 coup. Security is virtually everybody’s business.

    “This war is not yours alone, it is our war. You are fighting it on our behalf and we will make our own contribution to ensure that your contributions are not in vain. We are going to continue from here to start our own national security campaign to ensure that every Nigerian is security conscious, every Nigerian looks at this war and ensure that when this is done with the help of the state government and federal government, when full civilian life is restored here, you will be able to go back to your family and unit. “

    He commended the Borno State governor for his efforts at rebuilding the recaptured areas.

    “In Bama we saw first-hand the scale of destruction; the scale of damage that the Boko Haram terrorists have done,” Mohammed said, adding that the visit has empowered all on the entourage to see the real victims of war.

    Responding, Shettima said the state has seen the worst of terrorism.

    The governor said: “Honestly, our people have gone through the worst of time. Believe me, we have crossed the rubicon. The worst is over. And we are on a part to regeneration, reconstruction and certainly resettlement of our people.

    “We’ll do whatever it takes to work for our people. Believe you me, Borno will bounce back in the next six months to one year. You’ll see the changes in the lives of the people.”

    On restoring life to areas destroyed by the sect, especially Bama, the governor said the state was prepared to commence reconstruction of about 5000 houses.

    Explaining the plight of the state, the governor said in the last few months, Bama which used to be epic epicentre of the battle been reclaimed by troops and so, the worst is over as far as terrorism is concerned.

    Quoting from the song of late Afro beat king, Fela Anikulapo Kuti, Shettima said: “Borno has seen nothing short of hate, high scale of sorrow, tears and blood. We have witness unimaginable destruction. Of the 27 local government areas of Borno, there is no local government that has not had its own share of experience.”

    He reminded his guest that at a point, about 20 council areas were under the control of the sect, stressing that the focus of his administration now “is reconstruction, rehabilitation and resettlement of our people.”

    According to the governor, “a Borno man has no problem of being poor… once we invest in land and agriculture, poverty can be curbed in a big way. Go to the interior and you will see that Borno is one of the state in Nigeria that has a very big land mass for agricultural purposes.”

    He commended the minister, who happens to be the first information minister to visit the state in the last six years.

    Shettima also reminded those in government that, “we have no choice than to put on our thinking cap and do what is right for the people We are all products of public schools. Once we create jobs, invest in education and agriculture, we will be back on track.

     

  • Upping the ante in IPOB/MASSOB crisis

    After the death of nine people, five of whom were members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) demanding the release of Nnamdi Kanu, one of their leaders, the police have begun to talk tough. Most of the dead were killed by soldiers forcefully removing barricades mounted by the protesters on the Niger Bridge in Onitsha. The police in fact lost one of their own. Shooting unarmed protesters of course has its own legal implication, and the shooting itself may yet be investigated, though justice may be delayed. Yet, the language issuing from the mouths of security agents is not different from the one coming from the protesters, only that the protesters have spoken violence and so far used none. Has the country learnt any lesson from the Boko Haram insurgency? Perhaps not.

    A few weeks ago, this column suggested that rather than threaten fire and brimstone, the federal government should design brilliant and ingenious way of engaging the IPOB/MASSOB protesters. But apparently no one is thinking for the government. Everyone is relying on force and talking of the need to crush the protesters. The column had warned that in the modern era, few secessionists embrace direct or conventional war. The vogue is asymmetric war. If the IPOB/MASSOB campaigners were to embrace violence, they would not opt for conventional tactics; and with an unmanageable insurgency in the Northeast, the crisis could easily become messy and bloody. The wise option for the government, as it was suggested in this place, is to find accommodation with IPOB/MASSOB on a realistic and sustainable basis.

    No matter the amount of force applied, the problem will not go away. It can only get worse. Whether Southeast leaders support or deny IPOB/MASSOB is hardly the point. And whether sometime in the future an Igbo man becomes president hardly also matters. After all, Boko Haram did not regard the presidency of the late ex-president Umaru Yar’Adua, nor has it responded to that of the ascetic President Buhari. The government must therefore challenge itself to come up with a solution. As an analyst said recently, the crisis threatening to fester in the Southeast is partly due to the fact that there was no closure to the Nigerian civil war. The issues that led to the war, which issues have led to periodic eruptions all over the country, have not been addressed in any systematic or scientific fashion. There is no sense of national identity, and no lodestar around which the various ethnic and religious groups can coalesce. Nor is the country structured in such way as to eliminate or considerably attenuate political, cultural and religious frictions. Until these are done, the problem will both endure and worsen.

    By shooting unarmed protesters, the first fateful step may already have been taken in aggravating the IPOB/MASSOB crisis. If the Buhari presidency is smart as his supporters say, it will pause for some deep reflections. Campaigning on the pages of newspapers or in the media against the promoters of Biafra will achieve nothing. Even if two-thirds of the Southeast should repudiate the Biafra idea, it would profit nothing. All it takes for this kind of crisis to assume apocalyptic proportions is just for a few dedicated martyrs to offer their lives and time to prosecute the cause. And all it takes for the matter to explode out of hand is for the government to falsely believe that it has the security apparatus to check the crisis. It does not have the resources, and it is already stretched thin by Boko Haram.

    The Buhari presidency must act now while it still has the initiative. He has been accused of not really having an economic vision; at least he has not given indication he has any beyond his anti-corruption war and his idiosyncratic asceticism. And he has also been accused of not having a vision for a new social order, a vision that comes only from inside of him. It can’t be administered from outside, and cannot be taught. Worse, now, he is been accused of not having a political vision, just as ex-president Goodluck Jonathan did not have one until in desperation he concocted one half-heartedly in the closing months of his presidency. Whether it can be taught or developed from within him, President Buhari has only a little time to enunciate a political vision for Nigeria. It is that vision that will inform how he responds to the Biafra crisis and other crises waiting in the wings to erupt like a volcano.

  • SSS UNCOVERS BOKO HARAM CELLS IN ABUJA

    SSS UNCOVERS BOKO HARAM CELLS IN ABUJA

    The Department of State Services (DSS) yesterday raised a fresh alarm about covert plan by the terror sect, Boko Haram, to unleash mayhem on residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

    Boko Haram, according to the agency, has “continued to establish and operate sleeper cells whose (sole) mandates are to conduct surveillance and carry out subsequent attacks in the FCT.”

    The DSS cited “the arrests of the sect’s members who migrated from various conflict theatres in the North East to the FCT in order to enable them capitalise on the excitement of the yuletide season to launch attacks in the city.”

    According to the spokesman for the agency, Tony Opuiyo, “For instance, on October 29th the duo of Muhammed Hassan Idris (a Nigerien) and Baba Abdul Maina were arrested at Panteka area of Apo, Abuja. This was followed by the arrest of Sanni Mohammed (aka Kakase) and Ahmed Umaru (aka Mallam; Mallam Hamdi Garne; Ahmed Daubi) in Lafia, Nasarawa State. Sanni, who hails from Potiskum, Yobe State, fled the area following his involvement in coordinated suicide attacks in Yobe, Plateau, Kano and Kaduna states.

    “In a related development, on 19th November 2015, Mohammed Shiwar Abubakar and Musa Ta’ada were arrested at Shoprite Junction, Apo, Abuja. Abubakar hails from Borno State and operates as a taxi driver in Abuja. He is of an unknown address but claims that he sleeps in his Volkswagen Golf car at the Honda line, Apo mechanic village, Abuja. The Gwoza-born Ta’ada also operates under the cover of a suya seller at Apo Primary School along Kabusa Road, Abuja.

    “Still, on 23rd November, 2015, one Ahmed Hassan was arrested while carrying out surveillance on a high-profile hotel in the city. He hails from Katagum, Bauchi State. Suspect admitted using the cover of a beggar to sustain surveillance on his targets. Bulama Ali had previously been arrested in Karu, Nasarawa State, on 22nd November.

    “Similarly, on December 1, Hassan Abubakar and Mohammed Gwale Mohammed were arrested at Madalla, in Suleja LGA of Niger State following intelligence that they were planning to commence attacks in the FCT after a successful surveillance of the city. Before his arrest, Abubakar was working with other sect members in different parts of the country notably Borno, Yobe, Taraba and Adamawa States. Abubakar was arrested in the house of Mohammed Gwale who claims to be a Federal Civil Servant from Niger State. He (Gwale) has made useful statements which are helping with further investigation.

    “So far, preliminary investigations reveal that the suspects and others still at large may have adopted their respective trades as plausible covers to infiltrate the city and its environs in their bid to conduct successful surveillance and map out soft targets for the sect’s attacks. The DSS’ operations are, therefore, aimed at preempting any attacks by the terrorist elements against the backdrop of the upcoming festive period and beyond.

    “It is in this regard that the Service wishes to advise residents and all law abiding Nigerians to remain vigilant especially at this yuletide season and promptly report to security agencies any suspicious movements and persons in the FCT and even other parts of the country. The Service also assures the general public that it will continue to carry out its responsibility of ensuring peace and security in Abuja and beyond.”

    The authorities of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) had, a week ago, warned about possible Boko Haram attacks in the territory.

    In the memo the FCT authorities said, “Intelligence reaching this office revealed that insurgents are planning to attack the Federal Capital Territory. Their main targets are worship centres and markets with the use of young girls as members of groups to carry out their planned attacks.

    “It is in view of the foregoing, I am directed to inform you to communicate the content of this letter to all mosques, churches and markets across the FCT for extra-vigilance, particularly unknown persons dressing as aid workers loitering around the worship areas and markets.”

    In the meantime, the Police has made available contact numbers to report any suspicious persons or movement. These are: 09063872207, 09053872208 and 09053872209.

    The U.S. Embassy in Nigeria had also on  Friday said it had  information that groups “associated with terrorism” might be planning attacks against hotels in the country that are frequented by Westerners.

    In a brief message for U.S. citizens, the embassy said it had no further information regarding the timing or method of any planned attacks.

    “The U.S. Mission advises all U.S. citizens to be vigilant when at hotels and around areas frequented by expatriates and foreign travellers … locations where large crowds may gather; and government facilities,” the statement said.

     

  • Upping the ante in IPOB/MASSOB crisis

    Upping the ante in IPOB/MASSOB crisis

    After the death of nine people, five of whom were members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) demanding the release of Nnamdi Kanu, one of their leaders, the police have begun to talk tough. Most of the dead were killed by soldiers forcefully removing barricades mounted by the protesters on the Niger Bridge in Onitsha. The police in fact lost one of their own. Shooting unarmed protesters of course has its own legal implication, and the shooting itself may yet be investigated, though justice may be delayed. Yet, the language issuing from the mouths of security agents is not different from the one coming from the protesters, only that the protesters have spoken violence and so far used none. Has the country learnt any lesson from the Boko Haram insurgency? Perhaps not.

    A few weeks ago, this column suggested that rather than threaten fire and brimstone, the federal government should design brilliant and ingenious way of engaging the IPOB/MASSOB protesters. But apparently no one is thinking for the government. Everyone is relying on force and talking of the need to crush the protesters. The column had warned that in the modern era, few secessionists embrace direct or conventional war. The vogue is asymmetric war. If the IPOB/MASSOB campaigners were to embrace violence, they would not opt for conventional tactics; and with an unmanageable insurgency in the Northeast, the crisis could easily become messy and bloody. The wise option for the government, as it was suggested in this place, is to find accommodation with IPOB/MASSOB on a realistic and sustainable basis.

    No matter the amount of force applied, the problem will not go away. It can only get worse. Whether Southeast leaders support or deny IPOB/MASSOB is hardly the point. And whether sometime in the future an Igbo man becomes president hardly also matters. After all, Boko Haram did not regard the presidency of the late ex-president Umaru Yar’Adua, nor has it responded to that of the ascetic President Buhari. The government must therefore challenge itself to come up with a solution. As an analyst said recently, the crisis threatening to fester in the Southeast is partly due to the fact that there was no closure to the Nigerian civil war. The issues that led to the war, which issues have led to periodic eruptions all over the country, have not been addressed in any systematic or scientific fashion. There is no sense of national identity, and no lodestar around which the various ethnic and religious groups can coalesce. Nor is the country structured in such way as to eliminate or considerably attenuate political, cultural and religious frictions. Until these are done, the problem will both endure and worsen.

    By shooting unarmed protesters, the first fateful step may already have been taken in aggravating the IPOB/MASSOB crisis. If the Buhari presidency is smart as his supporters say, it will pause for some deep reflections. Campaigning on the pages of newspapers or in the media against the promoters of Biafra will achieve nothing. Even if two-thirds of the Southeast should repudiate the Biafra idea, it would profit nothing. All it takes for this kind of crisis to assume apocalyptic proportions is just for a few dedicated martyrs to offer their lives and time to prosecute the cause. And all it takes for the matter to explode out of hand is for the government to falsely believe that it has the security apparatus to check the crisis. It does not have the resources, and it is already stretched thin by Boko Haram.

    The Buhari presidency must act now while it still has the initiative. He has been accused of not really having an economic vision; at least he has not given indication he has any beyond his anti-corruption war and his idiosyncratic asceticism. And he has also been accused of not having a vision for a new social order, a vision that comes only from inside of him. It can’t be administered from outside, and cannot be taught. Worse, now, he is been accused of not having a political vision, just as ex-president Goodluck Jonathan did not have one until in desperation he concocted one half-heartedly in the closing months of his presidency. Whether it can be taught or developed from within him, President Buhari has only a little time to enunciate a political vision for Nigeria. It is that vision that will inform how he responds to the Biafra crisis and other crises waiting in the wings to erupt like a volcano.

  • Troops begin final push against Boko Haram in Sambisa forest

    Troops begin final push against Boko Haram in Sambisa forest

    The army announced yesterday that its men “have advanced deep” into the Sambisa forest in Borno State in the bid to deliver the final blow on Boko Haram.

    They are  “clearing most of the camps therein, rescuing persons held captive, arresting some terrorists and destroying most of their weapons and equipment,” Acting Director Army Public Relations, Colonel Sani Kukasheka Usman, said in a statement.

    He added: “advancing troops of the Nigerian Army, supported by the Nigerian Air Force were able to clear and destroy Boko Haram terrorists’ camps at Shuari, Adembe, Yerimari Kura, Yerimari Gana, Gonin Kurmi, Kore, Mainya Kore, and Lopere.

    “Additionally, the Multi-barrel Rocket Launcher Regiment has destroyed the terrorists’ camps at Dure, Dure Kore, Jokwa, as well as several other camps.

    “The troops recovered foodstuffs, motorcycles, flags, Improvised Explosive Making Devices (IED) materials and military uniforms. Among other discoveries were the terrorists’ tunnels, weapons and equipment.

    “The soldiers also recovered 2,000 cows rustled from various persons over time and rescued women and children held captives by the Boko Haram. While the animals have been moved to Kanwuri, the rescued persons have been evacuated and are being given all the necessary support and assistance.

    “During the encounter with the terrorists at Yerimari Gana a number of Boko Haram terrorists were killed and some suspected terrorists were arrested who are being interrogated. However, a soldier sustained gunshot wound and fracture on the leg.

    “Similarly, while advancing to destroy Nefari terrorists camp, troops discovered and cleared 3 IEDs laid along the route. The camp was successfully cleared and troops have continued their advance while a blocking force has been deployed to prevent infiltration and possible escape by the terrorists.

    “Unfortunately during another encounter with the terrorists along the axis of advance, three soldiers made the supreme sacrifice, while an officer and two soldiers were wounded in action.

     

    “It is instructive to note that the troops’ morale is very high and being conscious of their set objective, they are unrelenting in their determination to defeat the Boko Haram terrorists.”

    Troops have also reportedly destroyed Boko Haram terrorists’ camps Bulagaije and Disa, Gwoza Local Government Area, Borno State and recovered motorcycles, Dane guns and ammunitions.

    The claims could not be independently confirmed.

     

  • We’re ready to fight Boko Haram, vow 100 local hunters

    A team of local hunters from Kaduna State has said that it is ready to assist the military in Maiduguri to bring to an end the war against terror which has ravaged parts of the Northern region, particularly the Northeast.

    Addressing newsmen in Kaduna, the head of the local hunters, Alhaji Shehu Musa Al-Jan disclosed that about 100 local hunters had declared their interest to go to Maiduguri and fight the dreaded Boko Haram.

    The hunters, he said, were aware of the December deadline given to the military authorities by President Muhammad Buhari. “We are ready to go and fight the insurgents to a standstill,” he said.

    Al-Jan remarked that the fight against the Boko Haram was a call to duty and that “the military alone cannot end the psychological war. We want to go there and assist them. We are not joking”.

    “We have contacted our members across the Northern region and we know who and who are ready. We just want an invitation from the government, and we will land in Maiduguri without delay.

    “We are ashamed of ourselves that in spite of the fact we have brave and courageous men in the region we cannot fold our hands and continue to see the senseless killing of our brothers, sisters, sons, daughters and wives by these bloodthirsty and heartless men (Boko Haram).

    He was optimistic that the December deadline to end the insurgency is possible  because “with serious commitment among the various security agencies and the combined efforts of our members we shall defeat the insurgents”.

    Al-jan who also said his group was involved in the recent recovery of stolen cows and ammunition at the Kumuku Forest in Birnin Gwari lauded the commitment of the state government under Mallam Nasiru el-rufai and noted that the feat couldn’t have been achieved without his support. “The state governor, Mallam Nasiru el-rufai, has provided all the logistics support necessary to assist the security and our group in bringing the situation to where we are now.’

    However, he remarked that there is a need for both the state and federal government to intensify security at the Sanga / Lafia/Abuja highway as criminal activities on the highway was on the increase.

  • Terrorism: U.S. mulls security master plan in Nigeria

    Terrorism: U.S. mulls security master plan in Nigeria

    The U.S. says it has concluded plans to begin the implementation of the Security Governance Initiative (SGI), a comprehensive security master plan aimed at defeating terrorism and security threats in Nigeria.

    The U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr James Entwistle, disclosed this on Wednesday in Abuja when he paid a courtesy visit to the Minister of Interior, retired Lt. Gen. Abudulrahman Dambazau.

    The SGI is an initiative of the U.S. Government that offers enhanced approach to security sector assistance beginning with six African countries, including Nigeria.

    The envoy said that a crack team from the SGI would be arriving Nigeria in January 2016 as part of efforts to assist Nigeria in dealing with all forms of security threat to the country.

    “We are ready to partner with you on security. As you know the Security Governance Initiative (SGI) is meant to enhance the security sector, so we will be having a team here in Nigeria by January,’’ he said.

    He explained that the SGI would be implemented in collaboration with the Nigerian Government so as to ensure a holistic and efficient outcome.

    Entwistle also said that the U.S. had concluded plans for the training of the Nigerian Police and other security agencies so as to professionally deal with the threat of terrorism and all other forms of crime.

    “As the situation in the North-East improves, we need to look at issues of the Police going back to the North-East and explore ways we can help with their training, ‘’ he said.

    He, however, stressed that all forms of assistance and support will be at the request of the Nigerian Government as demonstrated by President Muhammadu Buhari when he visited the U.S. recently.

    In his response, Dambazau expressed gratitude to the U.S. envoy for the visit and assured of the readiness of the Federal government to continue to partner with the U.S.

    He said the SGI was a welcome initiative that must involve all stakeholders in the security sector for it to succeed.

    “We want to assure you that on our own part we will fulfill our own part of the partnership (SGI) and we are confident that you will also fulfill your own part of the initiative,’’ he said.

    He described the Ministry of Interior as very crucial to internal security in Nigeria and emphasised the need for all hands to be on deck to ensure peace and stability in the country

     

  • Troops after fleeing terrorists in North East – Army

    Troops after fleeing terrorists in North East – Army

    The Nigerian Army has said that its troops are pursuing escaping terrorists and also moving to further block any incursion by the terrorists in the North East.

    This is contained in a statement issued by the Acting Army Spokesman, Col. Sani Usman, on Wednesday in Maiduguri.

    Usman said locations recently attacked by terrorists had also been reinforced and the troops were poised to contain any eventuality.

    He said the coming weeks would be critical in the operation geared toward destroying all known locations of the terrorists.

    “As we enter the month of December, it is important to state that we have also entered a very critical part of the fight against terrorism in our country.

    “The Nigerian Army wishes to reiterate its total commitment and determination to the war against the Boko Haram terrorists.

    “Consequently, we solicit for the continued support, cooperation and understanding of all Nigerians in this regard,” the statement quoted Usman as saying.

    He said troops in the recent operation in Gulak recovered a Toyota Hilux, several arms and items from the insurgents.

    “Some of the arms include one PKM gun, one General Purpose Machine Gun, three AK-47 rifles, one Rocket Propelled Grenade tube and one Rocket Propelled Grenade bomb.

    “Other recoveries include one charger, seven boxes of 7.62mm link, one GP 340 Hand Held Radio, four boxes of 7.62mm X 54mm ammunition, three Anti Riot Hand Held Grenade, as well as 30 Cleaning Kits, two Packets of Artillery Primers and 97 pieces of Zela fuse.”

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that suspected insurgents recently attacked Gulak in Adamawa and Gajigana in Borno.

  • Cameroon troops free 900 Boko Haram hostages

    … Kill 100 insurgents

    Cameroon’s army, with backing from a regional anti-Boko Haram task force, have killed at least 100 Boko Haram militants and freed 900 people it had held hostage, the army and defence ministry said on Wednesday.

    “In the course of this operation, at least 100 members of Boko Haram were killed. 900 hostages detained by Boko Haram were freed,” Reuters quoted the Cameroonian army spokesman, Col. Didier Badjeck, as saying on the matter.

    The defence ministry also cited the same figures in a brief statement on state television.