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Tag: boko haram

  • Boko Haram: SERAP urges govt to assist expectant mothers, children

    The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has advised the Federal Government to  provide access to healthcare to children and women raped and impregnated by Boko Haram militants.

    It spoke against the disclosure by the military authorities that about 214 children and women rescued from Islamist Boko Haram militants in north-east are pregnant.

    In a statement by SERAP Executive Director Adetokunbo Mumuni, the organisation said: “Having survived the horrific crime of rape and sexual violence, these children and women should be spared further physical and mental torture by ensuring that they are urgently allowed access to all necessary medical treatment. Such medical treatment must be provided on a non-discriminatory basis.”

    It continued: “These children and women have suffered a wide range of significant physical, psychological and social consequences. Under international law, all victims of conflict, including rape victims, must receive the best care as soon as possible. The children and women are therefore entitled as of right to enjoy access to good quality medical care, including for sexual and reproductive health.

    “SERAP is seriously concerned that the pregnant children and women continue to face adverse treatment or lack proper treatment and care. If urgent action is not taken, the severity of the crime against them means many of these children and women can spend the rest of their lives with full blown emotional problems, such as post-traumatic stress disorder.’’

    The group said by ensuring their access to medical treatment and care, President Goodluck Jonathan would be sending a message that the rights of the children and women would be honoured by his government.

    SERAP contended that children and women raped during armed conflict are within the “wounded and sick” protected by Common Article 3 Geneva Conventions. Nigeria is obliged to provide all wounded and sick victims of armed conflict with humane treatment, and access to appropriate life-saving medical care and attention required by their conditions without discrimination,” the group said.

    “Any denial of access of these children and women to medical care and attention will be life threatening and continue to cause unbearable suffering to them, and therefore contravening Common Article 3, as well as violating principles of humanity and the dictates of public conscience.”

    “The Geneva Conventions imposes an absolute duty on governments to provide persons “wounded and sick” in armed conflict with complete and restorative medical care without discrimination,” the organisation stressed.

    The group urged the government to ensure that regular information is provided to the public on the exact number of pregnant children and women now being screened by the authorities; the level of medical care and attention they are receiving; the level of their access to the minimum essential food which is nutritionally adequate and safe; basic shelter, housing and sanitation, the level of their access to essential drugs, and the plan for their rehabilitation.”

    “SERAP is closely monitoring the situation of the children and women and will take appropriate legal actions nationally and internationally should the government continue to deny them their right to effective remedies, and fail to implement the above suggested recommendations,” the organisation added.

    ”The UN General Assembly Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women and the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action commit states including Nigeria to provide women who are subjected to violence with just and effective remedies for the harm that they have suffered. The right to a remedy for the children and women should include: access to justice; reparation for harm suffered; restitution; compensation; satisfaction; rehabilitation; and guarantees of non-repetition and prevention”, it stated

  • German Radio reporter sacked from Villa for asking ‘provocative questions’

    A German Radio reporter, Musa Ubale, was on Monday barred from covering State House activities after questioning the Chadian President, Idris Derby, on the whereabouts of Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau.

    He also asked the visiting Chad leader if he knows of any link between the troops of the Multi-national Task Force and mercenaries from South Africa.

    Ubale had asked the two questions when the Chadian President, in the presence of President Goodluck Jonathan, was fielding questions from journalists after their closed door meeting.

    The Federal Government was unhappy with the questions and ordered the immediate withdrawal of Ubale’s State House accreditation tag.

    He was escorted out of the Presidential Villa by security officials after picking his belongings from the press centre.

    With the withdrawal of the tag, Ubale can no longer have access to the Presidential Villa to do his job unless his accreditation card is restored.

  • Buhari, Chadian president to team up against Boko Haram

    Buhari, Chadian president to team up against Boko Haram

    Chadian President, Idriss Deby and President -elect, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari , have agreed on a joint action between Nigeria and Chad to ensure sustainable peace and security in the sub region.

    The Chadian President told journalists after a closed door meeting with Buhari at the Defence House in Abuja that putting an end to the Boko Haram insurgency was paramount to Nigeria and Chad as well as other members of the Lake Chad Commission.

    He said t Chad and Nigeria are facing the same challenges and how to meet the expectations of the people, pointing out that both countries who are members of the Lake Chad Basin Commission will work together with other members to bring about peace, stability and security in the sub region with the core issue of Boko Haram which is being handled by the two countries.

    He pledged to work with the Nigerian government to handle the menace of Boko Haram, saying that peace and security will prevail in the sub region eventually.

    The Chadian President, who spoke through an interpreter, said the visit was aimed at congratulating the Nigerian people and leaders for achieving one of the greatest elections ever seen in Africa.

    Deby said, “Nigeria and Chad are two countries with one people. We have many things in common, a long tradition and a long history together. The visit here is to meet with the President- elect and to enhance the bilateral relations aimed at meeting the common challenges.”

    Buhari on his part, said, “We know how Chad, Niger and Cameroon have been helping Nigeria to secure our border and you how this helps in commerce and industry.

    “Due to the insurgency attacks, some of the bridges were blown up while infrastructures were destroyed. These were some of things that we discussed and God’s willing we will sit down and make sure we have a comprehensive review of the security situation in the northeast and how it affects the country.”

  • Chadian President denies knowledge of Shekau’s whereabouts

    Chadian President denies knowledge of Shekau’s whereabouts

    The President of Chad, Idriss Deby, on Monday denied knowledge of the whereabouts of Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau.

    He spoke with journalists after a closed door meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan at the Presidential Villa, Abuja

    Deby, who came to congratulate Jonathan for the statesmanship he demonstrated after the 2015 general election, ‎said he would not have told journalists the whereabouts of Shekau if he know about it

    He said: “It is regrettable that the Nigerian army and the Chadian Army are working separately on the field, they are not undertaking joint operation. If they were operating joint operation probably they would have achieved more results.”

    “I cannot tell you today that I know where Shekau is hiding ‎and even if I knew I won’t tell you.”

    On the purpose of his visit, the Chadian leader said: “I came to consult with my brother President Goodluck Jonathan. As you all know Nigeria and Chad are two countries that have a lot of similarities in fighting insurgents.”

    “Chad has had its own problems in the 70s and 80s and Nigeria assisted Chad during those difficulties times.”

    “On the 2015 general election, ‎I came principally to congratulate Mr. President for the statesmanship he demonstrated during the elections. We all know that elections in Africa are always contested, but Mr. President demonstrated a lot of statesmanship, that he is a real democrat by conceding and congratulating the President-elect.”

    “You all know ‎that when Nigeria sneezes the neighbouring countries catch cold. If Mr. President had not taken that laudable initiative you all know what would have happened now. Nigeria is still living in peace, you all are living in peace and that would not have happened but for that laudable initiative he took.”

    “So I came to congratulate him for leaving a legacy not only for Nigeria but for Africa as a whole.”

    Continuing, he said: “As you all know we both work together to fight ‎Boko Haram. I thought it was important that before Mr. President leaves office, I will come for us to have overview of what we did together, what we achieved together in the fight against Boko Haram.”

    “It is true Boko Haram has not been completely eradicated ‎but they have been tremendously weakened. I did not want to wait and come during the inauguration of the new government, I thought I should come to consult with Mr. President, to congratulate him and to have this exchange and have overview of what we have been able to achieve in the fight against Boko Haram.”

     

  • Boko Haram suicide bomber blown up in Yobe school attack

    Boko Haram suicide bomber blown up in Yobe school attack

    A suicide bomber  on an attack mission  to  the  College of Administrative and Business Studies, Potiskum,Yobe State yesterday blew up himself after  policemen ,assisted by the staff and students of the institution, frustrated  his  effort to unleash terror .

    His two accomplices were arrested.

    The terrorists,believed to be members of Boko Haram had stormed the  school gate  at about  8.15 am where they met a long queue of people being screened by the security personnel before being allowed into the school compound.

    The security measure was introduced following a wave of  terror attacks in the state.

    The terrorists, who were armed with an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) and an AK 47 soon began firing on the crowd.

    “We had just started a class when we heard gunshots coming from the direction of the gates and we instantly realised we were under attack which made us to rush out of the class,” student Tijjani Musa said.

    Another student, Mustapha Umar, said  the gunman managed to pass through the gates amid the chaos that broke out after he began shooting.

    “He kept firing sporadic shots, but was chased by a group of students who were frantically trying to subdue him.

    “When he ran out of ammunition he detonated the explosives under his robe, killing himself but no one from the crowd,” Umar told AFP.

    The suicide bomber’s  accomplices then took to their heels,but were later apprehended by the police.

    The police,  detailing  the sequence  of  the  attack on their Twitter handle, said: “At 8:15 a.m., three suspected suicide bombers entered College of Arts and Business Studies, Potiskum.

    “Due to security arrangement on ground, one of the attackers blew himself up. He died on the spot, injuring six other persons. All six injured have been rushed to hospital and are receiving treatment. Two other suicide bombers took to their heels.

    “The two suicide bomber suspects on the run have now been arrested at different locations after a coordinated pursuit by the police.One AK 47 rifle, ammunition recovered from suspects. The only dead person at the moment from the Potiskum incident is the suicide bomber.”

    The police said that the Commissioner of Police in Yobe State  was in Potiskum coordinating security activities and response to the attack.

    The injured were rushed to the   Potiskum General Hospital  close to the school for treatment.

    The Police Public Relations officer Yobe State Command, Mr. Toyin Gbadegesin, who confirmed the incident said the bomber killed himself in the process while injuring several others.

    He also said the situation had been brought under control.

    The PPRO called on the public not to take for granted the gains of the ongoing peace efforts intensified by the security forces and urged them to remain vigilant in the fight against insurgency and to report people with suspicious character for prompt action.

    Last November, at least 58 people were killed and another 117 injured when a suicide bomber attacked a student assembly ground inside the Government Comprehensive Secondary School.

    One of  Boko Haram’s  most gruesome student massacres also occurred in Yobe in September of 2013 when dozens of students were killed in their sleep at the Federal Government College in the town of Buni Yadi.

    The terror group has been recording a series of reverses lately  following  unrelenting onslaught from the military with assistance from  Chadian,Camerounian and Nigerien troops.

  • Five killed as Boko Haram attacks Niger Republic village

    No fewer than five people were killed when militants from  Boko Haram Islamist group attacked a village in southwestern Niger, two Niger military officers said yesterday.

    The attack occurred overnight Tuesday to Wednesday in the village of Koukodou near the Nigerian border in Niger’s Dosso region.

    “The terrorists killed five villagers and burned houses and two vehicles,” said an army officer deployed in the region, who asked not to be named as he was not authorised to speak to the press.

    A second officer said the raiders looted homes and shops before withdrawing back across the border into Nigeria.

    Boko Haram, which is seeking to establish an Islamist emirate in northeast Nigeria, has killed thousands of people during a six-year insurgency, but attacks in Niger are relatively rare.

    The governor of Niger’s Diffa region ordered the evacuation of thousands of people living on islands on Lake Chad last week following a deadly attack there by Boko Haram militants late last month.

    A coalition including Nigeria and neighbours Chad, Niger and Cameroon has recorded a string of significant military victories against the Islamist group in recent months.

    Nigeria’s military has rescued hundreds of women and children who had been kidnapped by Boko Haram and were being detained in Sambisa Forest, where the army is attempting defeat the Islamist group in one of its final strongholds.

  • We have lived up to expectations in counter insurgency – NAF chief

    We have lived up to expectations in counter insurgency – NAF chief

    The Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Adesola Amosu, has said the Nigerian Air Force has lived up to the expectations in the counter insurgency campaign.

    Speaking on Thursday at a briefing to mark the 51st anniversary of the Nigerian Air Force, Amosu said recent new acquisitions assisted in the ongoing rescue operations in the terror ravaged Northeastern Nigeria.

    He said,”We have been able to receive the twin air 350, which is essentially for tactical transportation to support the ongoing counter terrorism operations.

    “We got the MI24 which we duly upgraded to MI35, for the operations in the Northeast, just as we got the UAV, and our UAV’s are weaponized. We conduct strike activities with the UAVs now.

    “We also have the diamond aircraft for training and surveillance. We are able to secure the Haris Radio, of course communication is very important for any operation and we have secured the Harris 7850 radio.”

    The NAF Chief, however, said more is required to put the service in good stead in order to tackle the situation effectively, stressing that more funds are required to ensure combat readiness.

    He stated that a good number of the aircraft needed for surveillance and attack have been put in shape, adding that more efforts were require to reactivate grounded ones for optimal performance by officers and men.

    “The reactivation effort as a strategy will ensure that a minimum of three C130s are available at any given time, the rest of them we carry out conservation to ensure that when its time and the funds are available we can quickly wake them up.

    “The super puma before now they were not flying, two of them are flying now. The Dornier 228 and we had to send the engines out, so that we can have minimum of three deniers at any given time,” he added.

     

     

  • Soldiers drove us out of Niger Republic – Deportees

    … NEMA registers 6,000 deportees

    Deported Nigerians from the Republic of Niger said they were actually chased out of the country by Nigerien soldiers, but the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said they were evacuated by the government of that country.

    NEMA also disclosed that at least over 6,000 Nigerians fled from the Republic of Niger to Nigeria.

    The Director of Search and Rescue operation in NEMA, Air Commodore Charles Otegbade, spoke to our correspondent at Geidam, Yobe State, the border town where the fleeing citizens are coming into Nigeria.

    He said, “We are here in Geidam for an operation and the operation essentially started from a report that we received from the Government of Niger that some of our citizens that are living in some of the Islands in the Nigerien portion of the Lake Chad and Nigerians that were displaced by the insurgents to that areas should be evacuated.

    “The need arose because the Nigerien government wanted to conduct military operations in those areas. They offered to relocate the Nigerians citizens to some of the IDPs camps within Niger  but the people refused and chose to come back home so the Nigerien government decided to move them to Nigeria and the best they can do is to take them to the border. So they chose the border crossing at Geidam and they have been bringing them.

    “Our job here is to receive the Nigerians that are returning and to facilitate their movement to their various homes. When we got the initial information from the government, they gave us an estimate of about 2,000 people. But so far, since the operation started yesterday, we have received a little over 3,000 and the operation is still ongoing. This morning too we got information from the same Nigerien government that another 6,000 are on their way and we will be receiving that this afternoon.

    “We are making do with a primary school and a mini stadium. That is where we are keeping them. We do not intend to create permanent camps in Geidam here because the desire of these people is to go back to their homes. We are just using those two points to sort them out according to their states of origins. We have contacted their states of origin through the State Emergency Management Agencies. After sorting them out, we will arrange for their transportation to their various states.”

     

  • Niger evacuates 4,000 Nigerian refugees from Lake Chad Island

    Niger has evacuated thousands of Nigerian refugees sheltering from Boko Haram fighters on Lake Chad’s Karamga Island, a military official told Reuters on Tuesday, as the armies of four West African nations battle to quash the insurgents.

    A regional governor in southern Niger said last week that the refugees should leave after Boko Haram fighters killed scores of the country’s soldiers and civilians during a dawn ambush on the island on April 25.

    The executive secretary of the State Emergency Management Agency in Yobe state, Idi Jidawa, said that 4,000 displaced Nigerians were in the process of being sent home.

    Lake Chad’s Islands, which lie in dense swampland, have been used by Boko Haram to mount surprise attacks on the bordering countries – Chad, Cameroon, Niger and Nigeria.

    The group, which is fighting to create a caliphate in West Africa, has killed thousands and uprooted 1.5 million people from north eastern Nigeria, many of whom have found relative security in neighbouring countries including Chad and Cameroon.

    The Nigerian refugees were already on their way back home and would arrive at the frontier town of Geidam in Yobe State on Wednesday, said Jidawa.

    A Nigerian security official, who declined to be named, confirmed the news.

    “Though NEMA (National Emergency Managament Agency) is in charge, we are assisting them in the exercise of profiling and documentation,” Jidawa said.

    With the help of regional armies, Nigerian troops have cornered Boko Haram fighters into Sambisa Forest, where it has rescued nearly 700 women and children that the group had held captive.

  • Eleventh-hour liberators

    From the look of things, only God knows how many women, girls and children are still caged by Boko Haram terrorists.  The number of such vulnerable captives recently rescued by Nigerian troops from Sambisa Forest in Borno State suggested that those kidnapped by the Islamist group may have been extremely underestimated.

    On April 28, news spread that the military had rescued 293 captives, comprising 200 girls and 93 women. The following day, another 60 women and 100 children were reported saved. Then on April 30 yet another rescue operation yielded a new set of women and children.  The Director, Defence Information, Maj-Gen Chris Olukolade, said of the third batch: “Another set of 234 women and children were rescued through the Kawuri and Konduga end of Sambisa Forest on Thursday. They have been evacuated to join others at the place of ongoing screening.”

    What about the over 200 Chibok schoolgirls seized more than one year ago by the terrorists? This question remains unanswered, despite the large number of girls recued in the three operations. More disturbing, Olukolade’s words offered no guarantee that the missing schoolgirls would be found or rescued. He said: “The assault on the forest is continuing from various fronts and efforts are concentrated on rescuing hostages and destroying all terrorists’ camps and facilities in the forest.”

    The Chief of Army Staff, Lt- Gen. Kenneth Minimah, painted a picture that perhaps offered less hope. At the opening ceremony of the reconstructed 81 Division Officers’ Mess at Marina, Lagos, he said: “We will continue to push in major operations in the fight against insurgency…It is our wish that we find them (the Chibok girls)…I am sure that as we edge further into the forest, we will begin to capture more camps.”

    Minimah’s expressed confidence sounded shaky when he added, “We pray that we rescue more people. Every Nigerian looks forward to this.” If the army chief is relying on prayers to achieve success in this matter, it is a signal that divine intervention may prove to be more crucial than military operations.

    It is worth reflecting on the timing of the activities that resulted in the three-stage liberation of these 687 children, girls and women. With the May 29 transition date fast approaching and the outgoing Goodluck Jonathan presidency haunted by the #BringBackOurGirls campaign, it is understandable that the administration may be desperate to finish strong by ensuring that the kidnapped Chibok schoolgirls are located and liberated. The question is: Why did the Presidency and the military leave the intensification of rescue operations till now?

    The dramatic show of state capacity looks like the result of an eleventh-hour decision to act decisively. If the administration and the military authorities expect that the last-minute moves to free Boko Haram captives would bring public applause, then they need a rethink. The problem with the eleventh-hour liberators is that their push may just be too late, apart from being suggestive of inexcusable and condemnable lethargy.