Tag: boko haram
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The Boko Haram conundrum
SIR: I congratulate General Muhammadu Buhari (GMB) on his emergence as Nigeria’s President-elect. Nigerians should congratulate themselves, seriously. In 2011, they voted to truncate rotational presidency.
Who will fault Rev Fr. Ejike Mbaka that Nigerians voted for good luck but got ill luck? Mbaka is a Catholic priest; I am an ex-Catholic priest since September 2000. I saw that too many Nigerians lost their sense of judgment when they could not see the unfairness in the fact that by 2011, southern Nigeria had produced the President for 10 years, while the north had served for only two years, and that if we wanted unity and peace, it was not fair to support Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan (GEJ). GEJ congratulated GMB to avoid national and international disgrace.
In 2011, GEJ begged Nigerians for additional four years, but later reneged. Rotational presidency is in tandem with Nigeria’s Federal Character Commission Charter. GMB should not fight Boko Haram. The former President Olusegun Obasanjo, raised the Joint Task Force against the Niger Delta militants, but it was the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua’s amnesty that brought peace.
GEJ’s ulterior motive negated seeking peace with Boko Haram. It allowed the group to grow wings. GMB should extend olive branch to Boko Haram, for Nigeria’s peace and progress. I hope GMB is listening. He shouldn’t go to France or elsewhere now, but stay at home and strategise on how to move Nigeria forward.
- Pius Oyeniran Abioje, PhD, University of Ilorin.
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Boko Haram has made 800,000 children refugees, says UNICEF
UNICEF said on Monday that no fewer than 800,000 children have fled their homes in north-eastern Nigeria because of the activities Boko Haram insurgents.
UNICEF’s regional director for West and Central Africa, Manuel Fontaine, told newsmen in Berlin that the number of child refugees has over doubled in 2014.
Fontaine said the children fled to Chad, Niger and Cameroon and within Nigeria.
“Scores of girls and boys have gone missing in Nigeria – abducted, recruited by armed groups, attacked, used as weapons or forced to flee violence,’’ the UN children’s agency said.
The agency’s report was released a year after the Boko Haram’s kidnapping of 276 girls from their school in the north-eastern city of Chibok, inciting worldwide condemnation.
According to Fontaine, over 200 of the girls remain missing, adding that the abductions were only one of numerous tragedies being replicated on an epic scale across Nigeria and the region.
Boko Haram, which seeks to impose the strictest application of Islamist law, has killed about 14,000 people in northern Nigeria since 2009.
According to UNICEF, the group uses children as fighters, cooks, porters and scouts, rapes girls and women, forces them into marriage and sexually enslaves them.
“The children fleeing the violence are often traumatised, lose contact with their families and are cut off from education and health care.
Boko Haram also targets schoolchildren and teachers, damaging or destroying over 300 schools and killing no fewer than 196 teachers and 314 schoolchildren through the end of 2014,’
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Boko Haram has made 800,000 children refugees, says UNICEF
UNICEF said on Monday that no fewer than 800,000 children have fled their homes in north-eastern Nigeria because of the activities Boko Haram insurgents.
UNICEF’s regional director for West and Central Africa, Manuel Fontaine, told newsmen in Berlin that the number of child refugees has over doubled in 2014.
Fontaine said the children fled to Chad, Niger and Cameroon and within Nigeria.
“Scores of girls and boys have gone missing in Nigeria – abducted, recruited by armed groups, attacked, used as weapons or forced to flee violence,’’ the UN children’s agency said.
The agency’s report was released a year after the Boko Haram’s kidnapping of 276 girls from their school in the north-eastern city of Chibok, inciting worldwide condemnation.
According to Fontaine, over 200 of the girls remain missing, adding that the abductions were only one of numerous tragedies being replicated on an epic scale across Nigeria and the region.
Boko Haram, which seeks to impose the strictest application of Islamist law, has killed about 14,000 people in northern Nigeria since 2009.
According to UNICEF, the group uses children as fighters, cooks, porters and scouts, rapes girls and women, forces them into marriage and sexually enslaves them.
“The children fleeing the violence are often traumatised, lose contact with their families and are cut off from education and health care.
Boko Haram also targets schoolchildren and teachers, damaging or destroying over 300 schools and killing no fewer than 196 teachers and 314 schoolchildren through the end of 2014,’’ UNICEF said.
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‘War against Boko Haram not over’
THE Chief of Standard and Evaluation, Nigeria Air Force, Air Vice Marshal (AVM) Salihu Bala-Riba, has warned that the war against Boko Haram is not over.
Air Vice Marshal Bala-Riba, who is the past Air Officer Commanding (AOC) Training Command, Kaduna, cautioned that the insurgents would want to prove that the incoming administration of Muhammadu Buhari “cannot do any better than the outgoing government in the fight against insurgency”.
He spoke in Kaduna yesterday when he was handing over to AVM Alkali Mamu as the new Air Officer Commanding (AOC), Training Command.
Expressing delight at the President-elect’s statement that “Boko Haram will soon see the collective will of Nigerians”, he reminded officers and men of the Armed Forces that they were the arrow-head of that collective will and could not afford to relax.
Reflecting on his stay at the training command, the Air Force chief said: “I was hard on my subordinates to achieve maximum security and excellence in our responsibilities. I had to be hard because, I would rather die fighting than to be caught up and killed like a sleeping fowl.
“You don’t expect me to allow insurgents take over any barracks under Training Command. If that happens, some civilians will faint in their homes, because they look up to the military to defend them”, he said.
AVM Mamu said the outgoing AOC has taught excellent pilots to support the operation of the Air Force as well as support the insurgency operation in the North.
He said: “AVM Bala-Riba came in as AOC at a difficult time when the nation is facing internal security and I am proud to note that, throughout his tenure, there was no incident at the Training Command.”
He assured that he was going to have a collective leadership and asked that the officers lead their men with a view to take the Air Force to the next level.
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Boko Haram war not yet over -Air Force General
The Chief of Standard and Evaluation, Nigerian Air Force and immediate past Air Officer Commanding (AOC) Training Command of the Nigerian Air Force, Kaduna, AVM Salihu Bala-Riba has said that the war against Boko Haram insurgency is not over yet.
He said, this is because the insurgents will want to prove that, the incoming regime of General Muhammadu Buhari cannot do any better than the outgoing government in the fight against insurgency.
AVM Bala-Riba stated this in Kaduna Thursday when he was handing over to the AVM Alkali Mamu as the new Air Officer Commanding (AOC), Training Command, Nigerian Air Force, Kaduna.
While expressing delight over the President-Elect’s statement that, “Boko Haram will soon see the collective will of all Nigerians”, he reminded officers and men of the armed forces that they are the arrow-head of that collective will, therefore they cannot afford to relax.
According to him, “I was hard on my subordinates to achieve maximum security and excellence in our responsibilities. I had to be very hard because, I would rather die fighting than to be caught up and killed like a sleeping fowl.
“You don’t expect me to allow insurgents take over any barrack under Training Command. If that happens, some civilians will faint in their homes, because they look up to the military to defend them,” he said.
In his remarks, the incoming AOC, AVM Alkali Mohammed Mamu said the outgoing AOC has taught excellent pilots to support the operation of the Nigerian Air Force and to a large extent, has supported the insurgency operation in the North.
According to him, “AVM Bala-Riba, came in as AOC at a very difficult time when the nation is facing internal security and I am proud to note that, throughout his tenure, there was no any incident at the Training Command,” he said.
He however assured that, he is going to have a collective leadership and asked that the officers lead their men with a view to sending the air force to the next level.
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Military sack insurgents from Alagarno forest
The Nigerian Military on Tuesday morning sacked Boko Haram terrorists from the Alagamo forest in Borno.
This is contained in a statement issued in Abuja by the Acting Director of Army Public Relations, Col. Sani Usman.
“This morning, troops of the Nigerian Army along with support from the Nigerian Air Force, cleared the last camp of Boko Haram terrorists in Alagarno forest located between Kaga and Daboa local government areas of Borno, which link Yobe and Gombe States.
According to NAN, the key terrorists’ camp within the forest includes; Falluja and Timbuktu camps have all been cleared.
The statement said so far, a lot of recoveries including armoured fighting vehicles and computers were made.
It added that troops were now mopping up the general area and that more details of the operations would be disclosed later.
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Boko Haram kills 24 in Borno village
Militants, who disguised as preachers, killed about 24 people and injured several others in an attack near a mosque in Borno State village, Kwajaffa, a military source and witness said yesterday.
The attackers arrived in cars late on Sunday and gathered people to a mosque in the remote village, pretending to preach Islam. They then opened fire on them, a witness – Simeon Buba – said.
The suspected Boko Haram gunmen opened fire on villagers and torched a number of buildings.
A resident, Ahmad Ali, told Agence French Presse (AFP) that roughly two dozen assailants, who were “obviously Boko Haram fighters”, stormed the village of Kwajaffa at dusk yesterday and ordered residents out of their homes.
Locals thought the Islamist insurgents “were going to preach and leave”, but in fact they “opened fire on the crowd”, Ali said.
He said the death toll could likely passed two dozen, but no other witnesses could be reached immediately to confirm the figures.
“They then went on setting fire to homes, burning half of the village before they left,” he added.
Kwajaffa lies in the southern part of Borno State.
Details of attacks often take time to emerge, given the poor communications.
Babagana Mustapha said a relative, who fled the attack at Kwajaffa, arrived at his home in southern Borno’s commercial hub of Biu, 35 kilometres from Kwajaffa, at 11:30 pm yesterday.
The relative reported similar details concerning the attack, including a number of casualties, Mustapha told AFP.
Nigeria’s military – backed by forces from Chad, Niger and Cameroon – has claimed huge victories over Boko Haram in the Northeast over the last two months, retaking a series of towns and villages previously under rebel control.
But experts have warned that hit-and-run attacks by the group could increase amid the added military pressure.
The Islamist militants killed seven people going to a market in southern Chad on Friday, and then set improvised landmines on the road close to the Nigerian border.
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Israel pledges to support Nigeria fight Boko Haram, corruption
Israel has promised to assist Nigeria in fighting corruption and terrorism and also help to develop the agriculture sector.
This is contained in a statement issued by Mallam Garba Shehu, Director, Media and Publicity, APC Presidential Campaign Organisation, on Monday in Abuja.
The statement said the pledge was contained in a congratulatory letter signed by the Israeli President, Reuven Rivlin, to the President-elect, retired Maj.-Gen. Muhammadu Buhari.
“The two countries face similar dangers and challenges in the daily struggle against those who wanted to terrorise their citizens.
“The latest news regarding the Boko Haram-ISIS alliance underscores the need for like-minded countries to unite in the fight against such radical terrorist organisations.
“I assure you that in this important campaign, Israel stands shoulder-to-shoulder with Nigeria,’’ the statement quoted the Israeli leader as saying.
It expressed the hope that under Buhari’s leadership, the ties between both countries would become stronger.
”I wish you every success in the challenging task ahead and trust that under your presidency, the relationship, friendship and cooperation between Nigeria and Israel will continue to expand and strengthen,’’ it said.
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Borno: Scores killed in Boko Haram attack
Suspected Boko Haram gunmen opened fire on villagers and torched a number of buildings in a new attack in northeast Nigeria, witnesses said Monday.
Resident Ahmad Ali told AFP that roughly two dozen assailants stormed the village of Kwajaffa on Sunday evening and ordered residents out of their homes.
Residents thought the Islamist insurgents “were going to preach and leave”, but in fact they “opened fire on the crowd,” Ali said.
Ali said the death toll likely passed two dozen but no other eye witnesses could be reached immediately to confirm the figures.
“They then went on setting fire to homes, burning half of the village before they left,” he added.
Kwajaffa lies in the southern part of Borno state, one the regions hit hardest during Boko Haram’s deadly six-year uprising.
Details of attacks often take time to emerge, given the poor communications infrastructure in the embattled region.
Babagana Mustapha said a relative who fled the attack in Kwajaffa arrived at his home in southern Borno’s commercial hub of Biu, 35 kilometres (22 miles) from Kwajaffa, at 11:30 pm on Sunday.
This relative reported similar details concerning the attack, including a number of casualties, Mustapha told AFP.
Nigeria’s military – backed by forces from Chad, Niger and Cameroon – has claimed huge victories over Boko Haram in the northeast over the last two months, retaking a series of towns and villages previously under rebel control.
But experts have warned that hit-and-run attacks by the group could increase amid the added military pressure.
The Islamist militants killed seven people going to a market in southern Chad on Friday, and then set improvised landmines on the road close to the Nigerian border.
