The Nation Newspaper

Tag: boko haram

  • Boko Haram trains in ISIS camps, says Jonathan

    Boko Haram trains in ISIS camps, says Jonathan

    President Goodluck Jonathan has said that Boko Haram fighters are trained in Islamic State (ISIS) camps.

    In an interview with Voice of America published on Wednesday, President Jonathan claimed that Boko Haram fighters are traveling to “ISIS camps” to receive terror training before relocating to attack Borno and other states.

    “Some Boko Haram fighters go to have their training in ISIS camps and come back,” Dr. Jonathan said in the video interview.

    He did not elaborate on where the Islamic State training camps were located, though in its piece about the interview, Voice of America said the president was referring to the Middle East

    The Islamic State has released numerous videos boasting of the amenities available at its terrorist training camps, including training camps designed for children. The camps are reportedly located mostly in Syria, though reports have indicated the Islamic State is actively operating both in the Afghanistan/Pakistan border region and in Libya.

    While the Nigerian government has confirmed that Boko Haram is working in tandem with the Islamic State, President Jonathan told Voice of America news, “We may not know the degree of linkages as to how much funds are coming in from them, the kind of volume of weapons coming in from them, the nationalities coming from them.” The training, he added, was visible to a military-trained eye on the battlefield.

    President Jonathan claimed that Boko Haram’s presence in Yobe and Adamawa states would be eliminated next week, while the military would strip them of all territorial possessions in Borno, the terrorist group’s home state, within three weeks. It is not clear what metrics President Jonathan used to make these estimates.

    Also yesterday, The Islamic State said it had accepted the allegiance offer by Boko Haram.

    Boko Haram first offered their allegiance to the Syria and Iraq based ISIS over the weekend in an audio message. “We announce our allegiance to the Caliph … and will hear and obey in times of difficulty and prosperity, in hardship and ease,” a Boko Haram member says in the message.

  • No evidence linking Boko Haram to ISIS, says Fed Govt

    No evidence linking Boko Haram to ISIS, says Fed Govt

    THE Federal Government said yesterday it does not have any evidence yet linking Boko Haram with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

    Coordinator of the National Information Centre, Mike Omeri, who spoke with reporters with other security chiefs, said it was an act of desperation by the Boko Haram sect to be identifying with the ISIS.

    “It can best be described as an act of sympathy and desperation by the sect to be identifying with ISIS; it is unacceptable.

    “We wish to state that there is no evidence that the IS operates in Nigeria and the latest attempt by Boko Haram to identify with the group is an act of desperation aimed at seeking attention and possible assistance from outside in the face of the crushing defeat they are suffering in the hands of the Nigerian Armed Forces and other regional collaborators.

    “The fact of the matter is that Nigeria and her neighbours are pushing the insurgents away from their strongholds, capturing many of them and destroying several of their facilities,” he said.

    Omeri added that the government would do everything within its powers to sustain the fight against Boko Haram while also striving to get back the remaining lost territories.

    His words: “We wish to assure Nigerians that this tempo will be sustained until every presence of Boko Haram insurgency is totally obliterated in Nigeria.

    “The only nation that will exist in Nigeria is a united Federal Republic of Nigeria, which demands the cooperation, commitment and patriotism of all its citizens,” he said.

    On the clampdown on Maiduguri and other targets, Omeri urged members of the public to remain very vigilant in public and business places as well as motor parks.

    He said: “In our previous alerts to the nation, we warned of the possibility that fleeing members of the insurgent group would resort to attacking communities and other soft targets on their way.

    “We continue to urge Nigerians to exercise extra-vigilance, especially at this period when our security forces continue to fish out members of the group who might have been embedded in the society, and whose activities have given rise to the recent bombing incidents within Maiduguri and other locations in the Northeast zone.

    “The Federal Government strongly reminds all Nigerians to exercise more scrutiny of persons and movements, especially within their areas of business and worship.

    “Motor-park and market managers must step up the level of security within their business premises, while religious authorities need to put in place more effective security cordon around places of worship to ensure the safety of the adherents,” he said.

    Omeri added that as the protocols guiding the various regional co-operations and alliances continue to materialise, Nigerian military forces, with the assistance of the nation’s neighbours, have continued to record more successes in the recovery and liberation of more locations in Yobe, Borno and Adamawa states.

    He said the territories, which have been retaken since Friday, include Marte, Mafa and Damasak (Borno State) as well as Buni Yadi, headquarters of Gujba Local Government Area and Buni Gari, Yobe State, bringing the number of towns recovered to 36.

    Omeri added that field reports indicated that Nigerian soldiers were determined to clear Boko Haram from the entire zone in a short while.

    He praised the efforts of Nigeria’s allies from Chad, Niger and Cameroun for putting in place measures to cut-off the supply lines of the terrorists.

    The coordinator hoped that the unfolding regional cooperation would hasten the total defeat and extermination of Boko Haram from the sub-region.

  • ‘Boko Haram ‘s a monster that must be tamed’

    ‘Boko Haram ‘s a monster that must be tamed’

    Comrade Babatunde MacAlabi was the Convener, Professionals for Change. In this interview with SINA FADARE, he says Nigerians must close ranks to tackle the Boko Haram insurgency. 

    BOKO Haram activities have become a national shame. Where did we go wrong on the issue?

    The genesis of insecurity in the North goes back in time. The root can be traced to failure of leadership in that region, absence of good governance and the general level of poverty and deprivation in the North.

    It is a good thing that honest northern leaders have acknowledged their failure to develop their region. As a result, massive pauperisation is the order of the day. Governor Babangida Aliyu was honest to accept that northern leaders have failed to develop their society.

    That is why they have thousands of unemployed youths that have been used and dumped by politicians. These hoodlums are empowered by politician and after election they have nothing to fall back on; hence they eventually become a nuisance in the society.That is the genesis of the Boko Haram.

    Basically, the so-called Boko Haram insurgents are  Muslims who have turned coat and do not propagate  any Islamic cause, but  are mere terrorists who have turned against the Nigerian state. Against this backdrop, Nigeria is at war and the Boko Haram tendency has attained international dimension and support.

    Unfortunately the country failed to nip the crisis in the bud and it degenerated to what we are witnessing today. It is like a wound that was allowed to fester and it is now being infected by tetanus and is about to kill Nigeria. The international community has realised that if concerted efforts are not put together to arrest the situation, it may snowball into a monster that can no longer be tamed.

    Therefore, the joint task force by West African countries provided the leeway to go.  Cameroun and Chad are now part of the crusade and hopefully the combined efforts of all these nations can give us a respite. There are two battles that we are fighting; there is the physical battle that would attempt to take out Boko Haram on the battle field. There is the greater battle that is harder to win, the battle of the mind and the soul of the people. That one has spread to the towns and villages where kids are being used as suicide bombers. That war will be difficult to win, but not difficult to overcome.

    Are we making progress in checkmating the insurgency?

    The military have initially confessed that they did not have the hardware to tackle the terrorists, but gladly they have what it takes in terms of weaponry and the battle is being taken to their domain. The whole world is battling terrorism, because they can strike in Syria, Libya or New York. That is why the whole world has to stand up as one to face the challenge. In order to succeed, education and enlightenment is key. An aggressive enlightenment campaign should be embarked upon,  led by Islamic leaders who have a duty to design a programme and strategy to deconstruct the minds of millions of their followers who had been fed with the wrong information and knowledge about Islam. Islam is a religion of peace that does not in any way encourage violence.

    But, some people are reading religious meaning to it. Do  you share this viewpoint?

    No, I do not believe it. If they were real Muslims, they will not kill in the name of Islam; no matter the provocation. They are just terrorists who have an agenda beyond comprehension. Boko Haram is against anything that is development, civilization and progress. It would drag us back to the dark ages. As far as l am concern, Boko Haram does not represent any political party or any religion, but a group of people who are ignorant of what development and progress is all about and are only propagating evil for their own selfish ends.

    Where do we go from here?

    Nigerian political leaders have to come together and make concerted efforts to condemn and attack the evil and atrocious Boko Haram tendency. They have to speak in one voice and send a signal to the terrorists that Nigeria has no place for any form of extremism. My group, ‘Professionals for Change’ is championing a project titled ‘Nigerian Against all Terrorism’. The battle is not only for soldiers on the battlefield, but all of us should unite and strongly go against the sect.

    Every Nigerian has a responsibility and a duty to stand up through continuous condemnation of Boko Haram. Political and religious leaders in the North are faced with the challenge of re-orientating the youths toward a new thinking and a new way of life and the evil effect of extremist propaganda they have been exposed to.

    There should be a deliberate programme of re-education and re-orientation of youths, which should start from when they are very young at the primary school level. There should also be a compulsory Universal Primary Education for all the youths wherever they are. The education should be targeted towards how they can serve Nigeria not how to destroy it.

    What is your take on the notion that it has a political undertone?

    I refuse to see a political colouration.  l see  a group that is determined to establish some ideology that does not exist in any book and in trying to do so, they are  committing all forms of monumental destruction against the Nigerian state. The destruction and violence is being committed by a group of bandits and suicide bombers trying to create mayhem.  There is nothing political in their satanic action. Rather, they are a group of people who have  been brainwashed not to see reality.

  • Boko Haram: U.S. tighten Embassy security in Nigeria

    Boko Haram: U.S. tighten Embassy security in Nigeria

    Officials of the United States (U.S.) of America are currently in the country to review its Embassy security following the recent bombings in Maiduguri and the pledge by Boko Haram to join forces with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

    Congressman Stephen Lynch disclosed this in Abuja when he led a delegation of US counterterrorism personnel on separate visits to the Senate Leader, Victor Ndoma-Egba and Chairman Senate Committee on Ecology and Environment, Senator Bukola Saraki.

    Lynch said the visit was in continuation delegation’s nearly three year investigation of Embassy and diplomatic security at high-risk overseas U.S. State Department facilities in the wake of the terrorist attacks on the U.S. Consulate and Classified Annex in Benghazi, Libya in September of 2012.

    He stated that the group was enroute to Nigeria before the latest bombing occurred, adding that the visit was originally to focus on Embassy security and the plight of over 275 school girls who were kidnapped by Boko Haram almost one year ago.

    “This is a critical time for Nigeria and this region,” Lynch said. “Nigeria’s national elections are scheduled in just over two weeks, while Boko Haram controls an area in the north about the size of New Jersey. The bombings and other Boko Haram activities are sure to further destabilize some areas in the run up to the elections. It’s is precarious situation.”

    He added that the U.S. has committed $40 million in over three years for equipment and training assistance to Nigeria, Chad and other African nations in their efforts to combat Boko Haram.

    Lynch said the U.S. Special Forces are also training African counterterrorism troops.

    “The situation can change quickly and we have to continue to find ways to collaborate with our African partners as they battle against regional terrorists organizations,” he said.

    The U.S. Congressman told newsmen in an interview that he was in Nigeria to seek advice on how the United States could be more helpful in working together on a number of issues and for some great opportunity for us to work together in facing the threat of Boko Haram.

    He insisted that there was need for coordination to bring a sense of urgency in the fight against insurgency in view of the one year anniversary of the abduction over 275 Chibok girls.

    He added: “Right now we are using US and French Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR),  to show from an aerial view the activities of Boko Haram and that information is given to the Nigerian armed forces, so that use that information to know the strength, the deployment and the strategy of Boko Haram.

    “I think that part of the recent victories of last few weeks, have been the result of that coordination between our technical support and the excellent military skill of the Nigerian forces.”

    Chairman Senate Committee on Ecology and Environment, Senator Bukola Saraki said the visit underscores the interest that world and particularly the United States have in Nigeria.

    Saraki who is a chieftain of the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) appreciated the U.S. for their support in the area of security and electoral process in Nigeria.

    He said: “I think the key thing is that we must see that the world is looking at us and that we have a key role to play.

    “We must ensure that we have live to that standard. For us it is just to emphasize that they are interested in Nigeria and we appreciate that and I think that is the point of their visit here.”

  • Suspected Boko Haram member escapes arrest

    Suspected Boko Haram member escapes arrest

    A suspected Boko Haram member, who feigned madness, narrowly escaped arrest at Buni Yadi town in Gujba Local Government Area of Yobe on Tuesday.

    The Commander, 27 Task Force Brigade, Damaturu, Colonel Usman Yusuf, gave the order to arrest the supposedly madman when he was sighted in one of the dilapidated buildings in the deserted town.

    As troops advanced to carry out the order, the suspect, who wore a white garment with an unkempt hair and chanting some incantations, disappeared.

    The incident occurred when the commander led a group of newsmen who were on a guided tour of towns recently liberated from Boko Haram insurgents, visited Buni Yadi to see things for themselves.

    Yusuf, however, assured that the troops would fish out the suspect soon.

    The suspect was believed to be on a surveillance mission for the insurgents but pretended to be insane.

    According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Gujba and Gulani Local Government areas in Yobe were captured by the insurgents in July 2014 and remained under their control for nine months.

    There are 17 local governments in the state.

    But Gujba, including its headquarters, Buni Yadi, were liberated in the last three weeks, while operation to free Gulani was ongoing, according to Yusuf.

    He described Buni Yadi town as one of the strongholds of the insurgents in the state.

    The terrorists blew up the only bridge linking the local government area with the state capital, Damaturu, and other towns shortly after they occupied the area.

    Before retreating from Buni Yadi, they also burnt down most of the houses, schools, the Local Government secretariat, motor parks, court, the Emir’s palace and market.

    Apart from troops on guard, the supposedly madman, a dog and a cat were the only living beings sighted in the deserted town.

    The commander listed other towns recaptured by troops in the state to include: Fkayel, Gulani, tetteba, Bunsa, Bularafa, Kukuwa Geri and Buni Geri.

  • Troops repel Boko Haram in Adamawa

    Troops repel Boko Haram in Adamawa

    An attack on Gombi, the headquarters of Gombi Local Government Area of Adamawa State, by Boko Haram fighters has been repelled.

    A combined team of vigilante hunters, troops and policemen Monday night stopped the militants, killed many of them, seized their vehicles and ammunition.

    The Army said Boko Haram terrorists fleeing the onslaught by troops met their waterloo in attempt to enter the Gombi town.

    In a statement yesterday in Abuja by Col. Sani Usman , the Acting Director of Army Public Relations, the military said the insurgents were engaged by 23 Brigade troops in a gun battle that led to the killing of a number of them.

    He said the operation also led to the destruction and recovery of vehicles, motorcycles, weapons and ammunition.

    He listed the weapons destroyed and recovered to include four Hilux vehicles, three anti-aircraft guns and one 50 inch Browning machine gun.

    “Others include: 5,000 rounds of 12.7 millimeter ammunition; two boxes of .50-inch ammunition; 1,000 rounds of Light Machine Gun ammunition; one Rocket Propelled Grenade 7 tube as well as one General Purpose Machine Gun.

    “Unfortunately, one soldier was wounded in the encounter and he is responding to treatment,” Col. Usman said.

    He added that troops were mopping up the area to prevent further incursions by the terrorists.

    Adamawa Police spokesman Othoman Abubakar said the insurgents tried to penetrate Gombi through Biu-Garkida road but the joint operation repelled the offensive.

    Gombi is 120 kilometers from from Yola, the Adamawa State capital.

    It was recently recaptured from the sect members.

    “The men came in from Goloso, Garkida villages through Biu road about 6:30 p.m. in a motorcade and vehicles. They engaged soldiers in a gun battle,” a resident, Bello Abubakar, said.

    “There was pandemonium in the town as people scampered for their lives for fear of uncertainty,’’ he said.  Another fleeing resident, Mr Bitrus Danladi, said many residents ran into bush, ‘’ as I am talking to you we are here on the mountain, taking refuge,” Danladi said.

     

  • Boko Haram: Army commences trial of Generals, others

    Boko Haram: Army commences trial of Generals, others

    After three postponements, the Nigerian Army Monday commenced the court Martial of two generals and 20 other officers who allegedly deserted their duties in the ongoing war against extremist sect, Boko Haram.

    The court martial, which was held at the Officers Mess, 9th Brigade Headquarters, Ikeja Cantonment, was done amid tight security.

    Reporters who arrived the venue upon getting information about the trial were not allowed anywhere close to the area as personnel of the Operation MESA were stationed from the entrance.

    The trial commenced Monday morning and as at the time of filing this report (4:30pm), proceedings were still ongoing.

    The officers include two Brigadier-Generals, J.O. Komolafe and Ramsome-Kuti; 14 Colonels- A. Laguda, V. Ebhaleme, V.O. Ita, I.B. Maina, I.A Aboi, I.M Kabir, M.H. Abubakar, A. A. Egbejule, N.N. Orok, C.A. Magaji, A.O. Agwu, A.J.S. Gulani, O.O. Obolo and A.M. Adetuyi; one Major-M.M. Idris; five Captains-M. Adamu, O. A. Adenaike, M. Gidado, M.M. Clark and S. Raymond; as well as a Second Lieutenant, S.O. Olowa.

    They are the third batch of Army personnel who have been fingered for alleged treasonable offences (mutiny), with the other two batches condemned to death by firing squad by an Abuja Court Martial.

    It was learnt that Femi Falana (SAN), Tayo Oyetibo (SAN) and another senior lawyer were among the defence team for the officers.

    Falana who left in the morning after realising his client Brigadier-Generals Ramsome-Kuti and Komolafe were not brought before the panel Monday, confirmed that the court Martial has commenced.

    He said that the military authority had assured him that they would inform him when his client’s case would come up.

    Asked to comment on the charges against the officers, Falana declined on the grounds that his client’s trial has not commenced.

    He said: “The military authority has told the world that they have just taken delivery of military equipment, I feel there is no need to put them on trial that is why we congratulated them in the successes so far recorded.

    “This confirmed that as at the time they were arrested there was no weapon to fight, but now that they have weapons, they should release the boys to go and join others to fight.”

    This is the first time senior army officer would be put on trial for such offences as mutiny in the northeastern war against terrorists.

    Army had in December condemned 54 soldiers after finding them guilty on conspiracy to commit mutiny and mutiny for disobeying direct order from superior officers to go to the battle front.

    The soldiers however said they only asked for support equipment before embarking on the operation.

    Their conviction is currently on appeal by their counsel Femi Falana.

  • Boko Haram: Lessons of regional co-operation

    SIR: The regional military co-operation against Boko Haram is a right step in the right direction; it promises to be the last straw that will break the back of the insurgents. With the deadly routing of the insurgents from hitherto occupied territories and villages in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states, it is earnestly hoped that the scourge of this rag-tag group that elected to turn civilisation upside will soon be over.

    The joint military operations have brought to fore the import of regional collaboration in not only managing the savagery and barbarism of Boko Haram but other regional crises. The success recorded in the military campaign and the on-going momentum should be sustained and not allowed to suffer any setback lest the group re-strategise. Officers and men of the Multi-National Joint Task Force (MNJTF) who have placed their lives on the line need our support to regain the lost pride of our region. Boko Haram insurgents are not spirits but human beings living within our communities. It is therefore our duty to report suspected individuals in and around our vicinities to law enforcement agencies.

    That the sect was able to survive and acquire its notoriety was because the environment tended to sustain and accommodate the group’s ideology to the detriment of regional interest. In the words of Franklin Roosevelt, “let us never forget that government is ourselves and not an alien power over us. The ultimate rulers of our democracy are not the president and the senators and the congressmen and government officials, but the voters of this country.”

    However, why these joint measures were not taken in the last six years is disturbing. Could it be blamed on the differences arising from the colonial history on which basis the region has been unfortunately divided? In fact, it calls to question why African nations have thrown away the African renaissance and eventually forgot our well acclaimed culture of good neighbourliness.

    The formation of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in 1975 stemmed from need to promote “…better relations among member nations…by ensuring a stable and secure political environment in which (their) peoples can live in freedom…under the law and in true and lasting peace, free from any threat to or attempt against their security…” With the community threatening to fizzle out of reckoning into apocalyptic doomsday, it remains to be seen how these lofty goals can be accomplished.

    The scourge of Boko Haram has reminded individual countries in the sub-region of the urgent need to once again be each other’s keeper. They should continually rally support and identify with predicaments of neighbouring countries in all circumstances of distress and disaster.

     

    • Sunday Onyemaechi Eze,

  • Boko Haram joins ISIS

    BOko Haram has pledged allegiance to Islamic State (IS), according to an audio statement posted on its Twitter account.

    Although the message could not be immediately  verified, it was believed to  have been issued by its leader.

    It is the latest in a series of groups to swear allegiance to IS.

     

  • Troops recover two more councils from Boko Haram, says Army

    The Army Headquarters yesterday said two more territories have been recovered from Boko Haram insurgents.

    The army authority also disclosed that large quantity of high calibre of arms and ammunition, including anti-aircraft guns, were recovered from the insurgents.

    But these could not be verified yesterday.

    A statement by the Acting Director of Army Public Relations, Col. Sani Usman, said: “In continuation of avowed recovery of territories held by Boko Haram insurgents, the Nigerian military has recaptured Mafa and Marte Local Governments Areas of Borno State on Wednesday and Friday respectively.

    “During these operations, the gallant and courageous troops recovered a large quantity of high calibre of arms and ammunition including anti-aircraft guns from the insurgents.

    “It is significant to note that our troops did not suffer any casualty during these operations.

    “Presently, troops are conducting cordon and search and mopping up operations in the recovered territories while effort is on-going to recover more grounds from the fleeing terrorists.”

    The statement added: ”With the capture of Mafa, Marte LGAs, and the Chadian troops holding forte in Dikwa, the international route from Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad and Central African Republic is now fully secured.

    “With this positive development, the security of the area has significantly improved.

    “It is hoped that international trade and socio-economic activities would be restored along this corridor.”