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Tag: boko haram

  • France to back fight against Boko Haram

    France to back fight against Boko Haram

    •130m euros for Nigerian projects

    French President François Hollande has  promised his administration’s  support for the Multinational Joint Task Force (MJTF) with equipment and intelligence gathering in the fight against terrorism in Nigeria and Africa.

    The MJTF is the almost 9,000-strong force constituted by Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon and Benin to fight the Boko Haram sect.

    The French President spoke at a joint news conference at the Elsee Palace, with visiting President Muhammadu Buhari who is on a three-day trip to Paris.

    The French President also said the fight against Boko Haram and Islamic State jihadists is the same battle.

    He warned that Boko Haram had expanded “after declaring its loyalty to IS”.

    He said the jihadists’ alliance, announced in March, had given Boko Haram “a source of material resources.”

    “We know Boko Haram is linked to Daesh and so receives help, support from this group,” Hollande said, using the Arabic acronym for the IS group.

    “To fight Boko Haram is to fight Daesh, and we can no longer single out terrorism according to regions. It is the same terrorism, inspired by the same ideology of death,” the French leader added.

    The French President said his government was concerned about the increasing spate of insecurity in Nigeria and West Africa and is ready to render support in tackling extremism.

    He said he discussed with President Buhari new strategies of partnership that would enable Nigeria and its neighboring countries – Cameroun, Chad, Niger and Benin Republic – through the joint action of the MJTF to fight the insurgency and restore the peace.

    As an intervention approach to assist in the fight, he recalled that France last year hosted a Regional Summit on Security in Paris which brought together the neighboring countries to chart the way forward.

    He said: “We provide all of the support to the countries in the region which are affected by this cult and in Nigeria; we want to provide support and solidarity.”

    Thanking President Buhari for his recent actions towards defeating terror, he said France had concluded arrangements to invest 130 million eoros in the development of infrastructure in Nigeria for rebuilding of roads, provision of electricity and water supply.

    Despite the fall in the price of crude oil in the international market which has affected Nigerian expected revenue, he noted that the country’s economy still remained strong.

    “The Nigerian economy remains strong so, France wants to be doing business in the country.” He said

    President Buhari thanked the French government for its interest in assisting Nigeria and expressed readiness of his administration to partner with France.

    With the commitment from France, he said Nigeria’s next shopping list regarding support will move to other members of the G7.

    “We have to depend on France and the other G7 countries for support to fight piracy.

    [ad id=”403656”]”Our next shopping list is going to G7 in terms of intelligence and training. Another problem is the problem in the Gulf of Guinea, from Senegal to Angola, that area is endowed with resources like petroleum and other minerals but surrounded by piracy and theft.

    “We are going to depend on France and the G7 countries to flush these criminals out of the region.

    “On Nigeria’s problems, more than 67 per cent of our youths and most of them under their youthful age are unemployed. We are finding best way in Agriculture and mining to address this before sophisticated infrastructure and security, are provided.

    “We want to make sure we feed ourselves and provide security before other things are also tackled,” he added

    Nigeria and France, last year, signed bilateral agreements which enables the French government to provide $1.170 Million soft loan through the French development agency AFD for the construction of high voltage power lines and substations that will connect Abuja with electrical distribution network.

    The President will today continue his visit and hold talks with the business community in France.

  • Boko Haram’s end imminent – DHQ

    Boko Haram’s end imminent – DHQ

    The Defence Headquarters has announced the imminent end of the Boko Haram insurgency, saying the reign of the sect would soon be a thing of the past.

    The Acting Director, Defence Information, Col. Rabe Abubakar, reportedly gave the assurance when a group of journalists visited him in his Abuja office on Monday.

    A statement issued by Lieutenant Commander Olabisi Way, restated a renewed commitment of the leadership of the Armed Forces and determination on the part of the troops in the counter insurgency operations.

    The DHQ eulogized what it described as the heart-warming success of the coordination between the Nigerian Air Force and the Nigerian Army in the ongoing campaign.

    “Troops have uprooted the Boko Haram insurgents from their strongholds, including their several camps in the Sambisa forest,” the statement added.

    Col. Abubakar, according to the statement, described carrying of firearms by any citizen against his country, under whatever guise, as unpatriotic act.

    He called on unrepentant members of Boko Haram to have a rethink, lay down their arms and abandon their strange and uncivilized ideology for betterment of mankind.

    The Defence spokesman was also said to have used the occasion to commend the troops for their ever-ready posture to tackle head-on all forms of criminality being perpetrated by the terrorists.

    He attributed the feat recorded so far to motivation and injection of right arsenal in the prosecution of the battle against insurgency.

     

     

  • Chibok girls ‘now Boko Haram fighters’

    Chibok girls ‘now Boko Haram fighters’

    The hope of recovering the abducted Chibok girls yesterday dimmed further with the declaration by a returnee from Boko Haram camp.

    Twenty-one-year old Tabitha Adamu, one of the women freed from the sect’s camp and handed over to the Borno State Government last week, said the girls had turned to Boko Haram fighters.

    Tabitha, who is expectant for one of the sect’s commanders who forcibly married her, said she mingled with the girls at various times in the sect’s camp.

    According to Tabitha, she was taken from Bayan Dutse in Gwoza Local Government Area, when the insurgents invaded her village.

    [ad id=”403656″]She said: “They killed my father and brother. They took me along with my mother but at some point we were separated. Since then, I’ve not set my eyes on my mother. When he (Abu Kabir, my Boko Haram husband), wanted to marry me, he gave the women who were  taking care of us N5,000 as my bride price.

    “Before the marriage, I was asked to convert to Islam. I did so because many who refused were killed and they gave me a name (Samira). I answered the name but I know my true name is my real name. When we were rescued I told the soldiers that my name is Tabitha.

    “They asked me if I am one of the wives of the Boko Haram and I told them my story. They felt for me and they treated me well.

    “Many people asked me since we were liberated, particularly about the pregnancy. I don’t know the right answer to give because I actually do not know what to do. It has happened. I don’t know what the authorities would do about it but I think it is too late to abort it. But my prayer is that I give birth safely.”

    Tabitha said she completed her secondary education and earned a certificate in computer appreciation in Maiduguri before moving to join her parents in Gwoza, at the peak of the Boko Haram insurgency.

    According to her, now that the government has promised to help her, she would be looking for a good future when she finally gains her freedom after the government might have trained her in a trade.

  • Army: we’ve tightened noose around Boko Haram

    Army: we’ve tightened noose around Boko Haram

    •‘More terrorists surrender’

    Following persistent pounding, many Boko Haram suspects have been surrendering to troops in the frontline, the military declared yesterday.

    The Air Force has been consistently bombing the terrorists’ positions while the ground troops are moving in.

    Acting Army Director of Public Relations, Col. Sani Usman, in a statement yesterday, said more terrorists had also indicated willingness to lay down their arms.

    He said the ground troops had also adopted routes blocking strategy in a bid to ‘constrict and snuff out” the Boko Haram terrorists from their hideouts.

    [ad id=”403656″]“Many of the terrorists that willingly surrendered painted images of mass panic and hysteria among their erstwhile colleagues.

    “They said their colleagues are feeling the noose tightening on their necks with the relentless efforts of troops and renewed vigour in the operations inspired by the personal leadership of the Chief of Army Staff.

    “Terrorists also seem to have an inkling of what happens to surrendered suspects as regards screening and de-radicalisation of innocent ones among them,’’ it said.

    The statement said the Nigerian Army, in conjunction with the Nigerian Air Force and other security agencies, would continue to employ effective strategies to bring the insurgency to a speedy end.

    It said the military would continue to receive surrendering suspects and assured innocent ones among them that “to surrender is the only option open to them”.

  • Boko Haram hit four police stations in Gombe

    Suspected Boko Haram insurgents have destroyed four of the five police divisions under the Bajoga Area Command of Gombe State in the last one year, the Area Commander, Abimbola Sokoya, an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), has said.

    Sokoya spoke at Bajoga in Gombe North Senatorial District during an inspection and assessment tour of the area command’s headquarters by the new Police Commissioner Austin Iwar.

    He said: “Our challenges are not hidden. The visits of insurgents to our communities were quite devastating. But thank God that we can shout. It is by His mercies that we were not consumed.

    “Out of our five divisions, we lost four stations to inferno orchestrated by the despicable acts of insurgents.

    “If we estimate the cost of the lost property, the loss of our gallant officers and men is incalculable.”

    The area command said none of the divisions had been rebuilt.

    He urged the state government, through the new police chief, to help “rebuild the stations as well as renovate the area command’s headquarters, which is almost collapsing”.

    Sokoya added: “Manpower depletion is a big challenge. Many of our men have found their way out of the area command. We are pleading that our strength should be strengthened.”

    Iwar, who called for a minute’s silence in honour of fallen officers and men, commiserated with the area command.

    The police chief urged the officers and men to remain strong since the war against insurgency would soon become history.

    He urged them to establish a robust relationship with their communities as part of efforts to drive the police/public partnership.

    To the Divisional Police Officers (DPOs), Sokoya said: “You should spend 80 per cent of your time outside your offices and 20 per cent in the office. In like manner, deploy 80 per cent of the workforce to the field and retain only 20 per cent in the offices.”

  • Seven killed in Cameroon’s bomb attacks

    At least seven people were killed in two bomb attacks on Sunday in the northern Cameroon town of Kolofata, according to government officials.

    Three people were killed in the first explosion, which struck near a well in the town, while four others were killed by a second bomb near a church, according to the local deputy prefect.

    “According to the information I have, seven people were killed in two attacks in Kolofata,” Cameroon’s Communication Minister, Issa Tchiroma Bakary, told Reuters.

    Kolofata lies close to the border with northeast Nigeria and has repeatedly been the target of attacks by Boko Haram.

    Cameroon is a major contributor to a regional force expected to start operations against the insurgents later this year.

  • Air Force rotates counter insurgency troops

    The Nigerian Air Force has rotated members of its ground forces fighting alongside troops of the Nigerian Army in the ongoing counter insurgency campaign.

    The troops, who have spent more than six months in the Northeast, were being replaced by others assembled from the various Air Force units.

    A statement issued on Friday by the Air Force Director of Public Relations and Information, Air Commodore Dele Alonge, said latest troop rotation was in line with operational practice.

    “It’s aimed at reinvigorating the minds of the personnel and their commitment to the ongoing fight against the Boko Haram terrorists, by replacing the weary hands with fresh ones. The rotation also has the corollary effect of morale boosting for the troops,” Alonge said.

    The statement added that subsisted troops had already been airlifted with the NAF C-130H aircraft from the theatre of operation to their various units.

    “During the short but colourful ceremony, the Commander of 79 Composite Group Maiduguri, Air Commodore Chris Egwoba, on behalf of the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, commended the efforts of the gallant airmen and wished them success in their future endeavours,” the statement added.

     

  • Troops kill 10 bandits, recover 7119 animals

    Troops kill 10 bandits, recover 7119 animals

    Troops under the 1 Division of the Nigeria Army have killed no fewer than 10 bandits and suspected terrorists in various joint operations tagged “Operation Restore Peace II” in the Northwest zone of the country.

    During the military operations about 64 suspected terrorists and bandits have also been arrested and handed over to the Police for further investigations and prosecution while 7119 cattles, sheep and goats were also recovered from rustlers and bandits who have been terrorising people from the zone.

    The zone comprises of Jigawa, Katsina, Zamfara, Sokoto, Kebbi, Kaduna, and Kano, while the operations extended to Niger and Kogi states in the north-central.

    [ad id=”403656″]According to a statement issued by the Deputy Director, Army Public Relations of the 1 Division Headquaters in Kaduna, Colonel Usman Abdul, the operations were carried out by combined team of Nigeria Army, Nigeria Air Force, Police, DSS and Customs personnel among others.

    Colonel Abdul said: “in Kaduna state and its immediate environs, the expanded security outfit involved in the operation have made recovery of 2081 animals like cattles, sheep and goats. 27 suspects were arrested and lots of weapons of different calibers were recovered from the bandits.

    “In the axis of Sokoto, Zamfara, and Kebbi states over 3027 animals which included cattles, goats and shhep were recovered. 33 suspected bandits were arrested with 11 weapons seized in the course of the operation. All the suspects were handed over to Zamfara DSS and the Police Command while the animals were handed over to Zamfara state government officials.

    “In the area covering Kano, Katsina and Jigawa states , the joint operation recovered a total of 2011 animals, 4 suspects arrested and 10 bandits were killed during encounters and 8 assorted weapons recovered.

    “Arrested suspects were handed over to Katsina police command, while animals recovered were handed over to Katsina state government officials.”

    Colonel Abdul noted in the statement that since the commencement of the operations, confidence has been restored to the locals who have since resumed their normal farming and commercial activities.

    He said the army and other security agencies and the men of operation Yaki in Kaduna have through various operations been able to reduce and subdue activities of bandits and insurgents.

  • Boko Haram: Army clears four foreigners, 124 others

    Boko Haram: Army clears four foreigners, 124 others

    The Army yesterday handed over four foreigners and 124 Nigerians detained for Boko Haram membership to Borno State Governor Kashim Shettima.

    The Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Yusuf Buratai, performed the ceremony at the Maimalari Contentment in Maiduguri, the state capital.

    Buratai said the 128 comprised 109 men, seven women, 11 minors and one child.

    The Army Chief said they were found innocent after thorough investigations by intelligence officers of the Army, the police, the Department of State Security (DSS) and representatives of the Borno State Government.

    Three Chadians and one Cameroonian were among the detainees.

    The suspects were arrested at various points during military activities on suspicion of having dealings with Boko Haram insurgents.

    Kashim hailed the Army and other security agents for respecting human rights and screening the detainees to prove their innocence.

    The governor praised the Army Chief for his determination to stop insurgents in the Northeast and reposition the Army.

    He urged the former detainees to avoid getting involved in any illegal act, especially the fact that some of them might have contacted insurgents in detention.

    Shettima said they should pray for peace to return to the state and the country.

    The governor said a special team was expected in Maiduguri, from the Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA), to train the former suspects on vocational skills.

    He added that they would be empowered with start-up tools to make them self-employed and fitting for reintegration into their communities.

    Buratai said the Army, through its operation, alongside other security agents and human rights commission, found the suspects innocent.

    The Army Chief said it was the reason they werehanded over to the government.

    He said the Army was determined to defeat insurgents, restore peace and create an enabling environment for administrative stability.

    Buratai said the Army would maintain professionalism and respect the rights of individuals, adding that the military was glad about the cooperation from the residents.

    The governor, assisted by the Army Chief, presented clothes and cash to the former detainees.

  • Lagos: Police allay fear of Boko Haram infiltration

    Lagos: Police allay fear of Boko Haram infiltration

    As against fears of infiltration of armed groups especially members of the dreaded Boko Haram sect in Lagos the state government has assured that the security agencies have put strategies in place to prevent such infiltration.

    This assurance was given by the Lagos state Police Commissioner, Mr. Fatai Owoseni while briefing correspondents at the end of the state monthly security meeting on Tuesday at Alausa.

    Governor Akinwunmi Ambode presided over the meeting.

    Owoseni enumerated strategies being put in place to prevent armed groups from infiltrating the state.

    He said; “It is important that we do not allow any form of armed groups to come into the state before reacting. This is why we have put in place proactive measures such as constant raids on dark spots and criminal hide outs as well as random checks at entry points into the state.”

    He however urged all law abiding citizens to continue to go about their legitimate business without fear of molestation.

    The CP also assured that the law enforcement agencies in the state will intensify its enforcement against street trading as well as ensure the Road Traffic Law is enforced to the letter.

    Owoseni, said the meeting discussed various issues bothering on street trading, robbery in the traffic, influx of elements suspected to be members of Boko Haram and some other issues, with a way of finding lasting solution to them.

    According to him, “The meeting looked holistically at what transpired in the state in the past one month with a view to finding lasting solution. For instance, we discussed about issues on street trading, robbery in traffic, influx of elements being taken as Boko Haram noticed in the metropolis in the past few days,” Owoseni said.

    The CP also assured that the section of the Traffic Law as it relates to restriction of movement of trailers and articulated vehicles between the hours of 6am to 9pm will be enforced in a manner that will not impede commercial activities in the state.

    He however said that Section 2(1) of the law exempts trucks conveying petroleum products and passenger vehicles.

    “We shall ensure we enforce the law, most especially with the truck drivers complying with the extant laws and also ensure that extant laws on street trading is enforced, with regards to that we shall look at human element in enforcing the law,” he said.

    He said aside from enforcements, the council has also decided to embark upon sensitization and public enlightenment as a strategy to dissuade members of the public from patronizing street traders.

    “We shall do a lot of enlightenment with regards to that. With enforcement, we combine it with enlightenment and synergise with stakeholders to make sure that the laws that have been enacted are obeyed and we enforce them strictly.

    “We’ve also stepped up efforts on where okada are prohibited and we keep up the effort on that. In the course of enforcement we won’t add to the gridlock. We appeal to members of the public to beware of fake security operatives coming to them,” he said.