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Tag: boko haram

  • Boko Haram: NEMA receives 10,000 Cameroon returnees

    Boko Haram: NEMA receives 10,000 Cameroon returnees

    • To evacuate 3,000 Borno residents

    The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has received about 10,000 who fled to Cameroon from communities in Borno and Adamawa states.

    Speaking in Mubi while receiving the returnees, NEMA’s Director General, Alhaji Sani Sidi, said they were forced back after Cameroon closed the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps in Garoua.

    Sidi informed that they started arriving through the border post in Sahuda, Mubi South after being screened by the Nigerian Immigration Service and the Nigerian Army.

    The returnees, according to him, are part of the 13,800 from the Nigerian Immigration Service at the border post, out of which 650 have been transported to Borno State.

    The rest, he said, are still at Malkohi Internally Displaced Persons camp in Yola, Adamawa state.

    Also, about 3,000 Borno indigenes deported from Cameroon following Boko Haram attacks along the Gamboru axis are to be evacuated to Maiduguri.

    A statement by the zonal information officer of NEMA, Abdulkadir Ibrahim said Sidi and the Deputy Governor of Borno state, Alhaji Zanna Mustapha have already left for Mubi to facilitate the return.

    It reads: “The refugees are presently camped at the border of Nigeria and Cameroun. Over 2,000 IDPs have been transported to safer locations in Mubi while 600 of the refugees have been transported back to Borno.

    “3,000 refugees are still at the border undergoing registration formalities before relocation to Mubi for onward transportation back to Borno.”

  • Boko Haram: Victims Support Fund signs N60m MoU with three hospitals in Borno, Yobe

    The Nigerian Foundation for the Support of Victims of Terrorism,otherwise called Victims Support Fund (VSF), has signed a memorandum of understanding with three hospitals for the treatment and care of victims of terror in Borno and Yobe states.

    The MoU, which was signed at separate times within the week by the Executive Director of the Foundation, Prof. Sunday Abogonye Ochoche, in Maiduguri and Damaturu, also gave a cheque of N20 million each to the three hospitals.

    The beneficiary hospitals include the Borno State Specialist Hospital Maiduguri, the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital and the Gen. Sani Abatcha Specialist Hospital, Damaturu in Yobe State.

    Ochoche at separate signing ceremonies in Maiduguri and Damaturu, urged the management of the hospitals to use the funds judiciously for the care of victims of terror attacks in the states.

    He said the desire of the VSF is to make sure that all the hospitals are assisted to perform at their minimum best in taking care of victims of terror attacks.

    He said: “We at the Victims Support Funds are aware that we cannot meet all the challenges that your hospitals face in the treatment of victims of terror attacks. However, the presentation that we are making is to assist you in delivering better services to victims of terror attacks who are usually brought to your hospitals.

    “We are aware that over time, when these attacks occur, your facilities are over-stretched and therefore this kind of support is crucial for the provision of equipment, drugs and facilitates for improved service delivery to the victims.”

    He described the donations as just a small element of the good things that are in stock for the victims of Boko Haram attacks, adding that the foundation’s attention at the moment is geared towards the rehabilitation of women and the provision of good and sustainable education for the orphans of insurgency.

    He also announced that seven hospitals are benefitting from the programme with majority coming from the North East, comprising Borno, Yobe, Gombe and Adamawa in the first phase while the second phase will comprise Taraba, Bauchi and Plateau states.

    Dr. Abdulrahaman Tahir, the Chief Medical Director of UMTH; Dr. Salisu Kwaya Kura of the Borno Specialist Hospital and Dr. Garba Musa Fika all signed the MoU on behalf of their hospitals. They all promised to use the funds for the purpose it was meant for.

  • Terrorism: Foundation signs MoU with hospitals in Borno, Yobe

    The Nigerian Foundation for the Support of Victims of Terrorism, otherwise called Victims’ Support Funds (VSF) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with three hospitals for the treatment and care of terror victims in Borno and Yobe States.

    During the signing of the agreement in Maiduguri and Damaturu earlier in the week, the Executive Director of the Foundation, Prof. Sunday Abogonye Ochoche, gave a cheque of N20 million each to the three hospitals.

    The benefiting hospitals are – the Borno State Specialist Hospital, Maiduguri; the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital and the Gen. Sani Abacha Specialist Hospital, Damaturu,  Yobe State.

    Prof. Ochoche urged the management of the hospitals to use the funds for the care of terror victims in the states.

    “We at the Victims Support Funds are aware that we cannot meet all the challenges that your hospitals face in the treatment of victims of terror attacks. However, the presentation that we are making is to assist you deliver better services to victims of terror attacks that are usually brought to your hospitals.

    “We are aware that over time when these attacks occur, your facilities are over-stretched and therefore this kind of support is crucial for the provision of equipment, drugs and facilitates for improved service delivery to the victims.”

     

  • Boko Haram no longer a fighting force – former Air Chief

    Boko Haram no longer a fighting force – former Air Chief

    Immediate past Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Adesola Amosu‎ Thursday said the military has decimated terrorist group Boko Haram to the point that the sect can no longer fight.

    He made the disclosure in Lagos at a reception for a meritorious service organised in his honour by people and monarch of Badagry monarch.

    Amosu who expressed hope that insurgency by Boko Haram sect will soon be in the past, maintained that the military has successfully pushed the group to a point where they can no longer fight.

    “We thank God today that the end of boko haram is very close. We have done sufficiently and we are winning the war. It is just left for the people that took over from us to complete the job,” he said.

    While noting that most of the terrorists were teenagers not more than 15 years of age, ‎Amosu advised that young people should not be neglected to avoid their becoming ready recruits for such groups.

    “We should not neglect our youths and get them into the hands of terrorists. We are going to concentrate on making sure that our (Badagry) youths become educated and stakeholders in the Nigerian equation.

    ”We must set up a programme where we can give our youths the opportunity to be able to serve at the state and federal level,” he said, commanding the monarch, Oba Aholu Menu-Toyi 1‎ for the grand reception and chieftaincy title conferred on him.

    For serving Air Force personnel, Amosu urged them to remain hard-working and committed in their service to the nation.

    ”This should be the guiding principle from now on. We have started to see the result of hardwork,” he said.

  • Troops kill eight, arrest Boko Haram’s fuel supplier

    Troops kill eight, arrest Boko Haram’s fuel supplier

    Troops gained upper hand on Thursday in their counter-insurgency campaign in Borno and Yobe States when they killed eight Boko Haram insurgents and arrested the sect’s fuel and food items coordinator.

    Also, the troops recovered 15 cows, 174 goats and a donkey from rustlers.

    But two vigilantes were wounded by Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) fragments.

    These disclosures were contained in a statement issued by the Acting Director Army Public Relations, Col. Sani Kukasheka Usman.

    The statement said: “The Nigerian troops yesterday made startling discovery while combing and clearing terrorists in and around Dikwa, Borno State.

    “During the painstaking operation, the troops discovered pile of street lamps poles cut into pieces by Boko Haram terrorists which they use in making Improvised Explosives Devices.

    “In another development, during a cordon and search operation in Jakana village, the troops of 7 Division Garrison recovered 15 cows, 174 goats and a donkey from rustlers. The animals have since been handed over to their identified legitimate owners. The rustlers were apprehended and are currently undergoing investigation.

    “Similarly, troops have at Jehu near Jakana, arrested Mai Mustapha a fuel supplier to Boko Haram terrorists and Madu who coordinates buying of food items from neighbouring villages for the terrorists.

    “Additionally, early this morning Nigerian troops blocked elements that attacked Dumbuluwa village in Fika Local Government Area of Yobe State and had encounter with the terrorists.

    “The gallant soldiers killed eight terrorists. Unfortunately, two vigilantes were wounded by Improvised Explosive Devices fragments.”

     

  • Boko Haram: Nigeria fighting for Africa – Envoys

    African ambassadors on Thursday expressed support for President Muhammadu Buhari on Nigeria’s war against the Boko Haram sect.

    The group maintained that the war against the sect is not only for Nigeria but for all Africans.

    Saharawi Republic Ambassador to Nigeria, who is the Dean of Diplomatic Corp and Dean of African Diplomatic Corp, Oubi Bachir, led his team to meet with President u Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    Speaking with State House correspondents after the meeting, he said: “Secondly, we came to transmit the message of solidarity, the message of sympathy, the message of support on behalf of all African countries to the President and through his Excellency to the people of Federal Republic of Nigeria that Africans are standing on the side of Nigeria in its war against terrorism.

    “And that the battle which is now fought in Nigeria against terrorism is the one which is fought on behalf of all Africans.

    “So, we are of the view that Nigeria is steadily winning the war and that peace, stability and prosperity will ultimately prevail.

    “Nigeria will have the possibility to win the real battle which remains all the time leading Africa and African people to develop stable and democratized continent.”

    He said the group also mandated his team to deliver to President Buhari message of congratulation on his election as President of Nigeria.

    According to him, Buhari’s election was not only a turning point for Nigeria but for the sub-region and Africa as a whole.

  • Boko Haram: We acquired sophisticated weapons – Dasuki

    Boko Haram: We acquired sophisticated weapons – Dasuki

    Following allegations of lack of equipment to fight Boko Haram, the immediate past National Security Adviser Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd) on Thursday said the government of ex-President Goodluck Jonathan bought sophisticated equipment in the last one year to fight insurgents in the Northeast.

    He said the weapons assisted the military to recover many local governments that were occupied by insurgents.

    He also said the acquisition of the equipment checkmated Boko Haram leader, Imam Abubakar Shekau from disrupting the March general election.

    He made the clarifications in an interview with PRNigeria, which is an undercover and alternative channel of communication by the military, against the backdrop of alleged neglect of the military by ex-President Jonathan.

    A former Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh, had at his Pulling-Out Parade complained about lack of equipment to fight Boko Haram during his tenure.

    The immediate past Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Kenneth Minimah, on Wednesday expressed regrets that the nation toyed with the health and vitality of the military through inadequate funding.

    He appealed to the government to create the right environment for recruitment, training, equipping and kitting of military personnel in the country.

    Dasuki listed some of the military equipment as Alpha jets, APCs, MRAP vehicles, advanced artillery pieces, assorted arms and ammunitions, highly sophisticated surveillance drones, T72 and carried out modification of F7 supersonic jet fighters.

    Dasuki said:  “The armored tanks have comprehensive Nuclear, Biological, Chemical (NBC) protection/sensor system, just as we deployed Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles that we bought and could withstand Improvised Explosive Device (IED) attacks and ambushes. The vehicles had protected our troops from threats.

    “We are glad that we also provided assorted Armoured Personnel Carriers to transport troops to the battlefield. They are armed for self-defence and to provide protection from attacks from shrapnel and small arms fire.

    “All these were acquired in the last one year after years of frustration by Western powers who denied us of the equipment and sabotage our efforts to acquire same from other sources which are reasons for some delay in delivery.”

    In spite of criticisms, he insisted that the equipment assisted in “curtailing Boko Haram.”

     

  • Cameroon repatriating 12,000 Nigerians

    About 12,000 Nigerians are being repatriated over the next three to four days after seeking refuge in Cameroon over attacks by Boko Haram sect, the National Emergency Management Agency, said on Wednesday.

    NEMA spokesman, Manzo Ezekiel, said the returnees would be accommodated mainly in the town of Mubi in Adamawa State, close to the border.

    “We already cleared about 1,150 people but border officers projected that 12,000 people would be arriving,” Reuters quoted Ezekiel as saying on the issue.

    Cameroonian authorities expelled about 2,800 Nigerians over the weekend following a series of suicide bomb attacks in July.

    The six-year-old insurgency waged by Boko Haram to establish an Islamist state in the northeast of Nigeria has displaced around 1.5 million people internally and forced thousands to flee into neighbouring Cameroon, Niger and Chad.

    A multi-national joint taskforce combining 8,700 troops from Nigeria and its neighbours is being set up in Chad’s capital N’Djamena to combat the militants.

    A similar-sized repatriation occurred in May from the Lake Chad islands in Niger when Nigerien authorities told residents, many of them Nigerians, to evacuate before military operations.

    About 25,000 people were forced to leave, sometimes brutally. Some died en route due to inadequate evacuation assistance.

  • Elite used Boko Haram for selfish interests, says Minimah

    Elite used Boko Haram for selfish interests, says Minimah

    Immediate past Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Lt. Gen. Kenneth Minimah had a parting shot for the elite yesterday. He accused them of using the dreaded Boko Haram sect to advance political, religious and sectional interests.

    The former military chief also regretted that the authorities toyed with the health and vitality of the military through inadequate funding.

    Lt. Gen. Minimah made the scathing remarks in his valedictory address at the Pulling-Out held in commemoration of his retirement from service.

    Accoung to him, the counter-insurgency campaign would have recorded more successes if the elite had supported government’s efforts.

    He said: “The insurgency snowballed into a graver dimension because these people exploited the security challenge to further sectional, religious and political interests.”

    The former COAS appealed to the citizenry to support the Federal Government and the security agencies in the ongoing fight against insurgency.

    The ex-Army chief urged Nigerians to take practical steps against the terrorists and other criminal elements in order to ensure lasting peace and security in the country.

    He went on: “In the last decade, we have seen the extent to which people who harbour evil against their fellow co-patriots can go to inflict pain and death on innocent people.

    “This is the time for us to rise in unison not only to condemn but to take actions against the activities of the Boko Haram terrorists and other criminal elements in order to foster peace and security in our society.

    “Perhaps, if we had all stood against the terrorists at the outset through condemnation of their activities and active collaboration with the military to confront them, rather than use it as a tool to advance section, tribal, religious and political interests, we would not have been where we find ourselves today.

    “We must therefore all unite and support our government and security forces to tackle the current security challenges.”

    Lt. Gen Minimah regretted that the country toyed with the health and vitality of the military through inadequate funding, calling for proper funding of the military.

    He appealed to the government to create the right environment for recruitment, training, equipping and kitting of military personnel in the country.

    According to him, a nation can only be as strong as its military, stressing that the strength of the Armed Forces is in the fighting spirit of officers and men.

    He stated that adequate welfare for troops could motivate them into making the required sacrifice in defence of their country.

    The former COAS said he took over the Army at a time the security situation in the Northeast was making the citizenry to lose faith in the military.

    Claiming to have left the Army better than he met it, Lt. Gen Minimah regretted what he described as decay occasioned by long period of neglect.

  • Four suspected Boko Haram terrorists arrested in Borno village

    Four suspected Boko Haram terrorists arrested in Borno village

    Four suspected Boko Haram militants were yesterday arrested by members of the Civilian JTF in Malari, a village in Konduga Local Government Area of Borno State.

    Their arrest, which came three days after some insurgents raided communities in the troubled northeastern state, coincided with the visit of Governor Kashim Shettima.

    The governor was on solidarity and sympathy visit to Malari after an attack by insurgents claimed nine lives and displaced many.

    The people were killed when the militants stormed the villages including: Shettimari, Kammiri, Kakurami, Kalari Auwlari, Burari and Malari , all in Konduga council area.

    Governor Shettima was shocked when some youths, alighted from a Volkswagen Golf car wiith four young men, whose hands were tied.

    A civilian JTF leader, Nuhu Kumshise said one of the arrested sect member, had been notorious, terrorising and wreaking havoc on the villagers around Konduga.

    “We arrested them today after his father handed over them to us. Then they led us into the bush where the two remaining guys hid themselves,” Kumshise said.

    One the suspects allegedly confessed to his membership of the deadly group and he further named his leader.

    Another member of the Civilian JTF, Bakura  Yusuf said: “Long before now we have been told that one of those arrested is the leader who used to lead attacks on us.”

    The governor appealed to the hundreds of displaced persons at the Malari Primary School that they would soon be moved in buses to Konduga and that food items as well as other materials will immediately be provided by the state government.