The Nation Newspaper

Tag: boko haram

  • 27 die in Boko Haram bus stations suicide bombings

    27 die in Boko Haram bus stations suicide bombings

    Kano, Yobe hit

    Jonathan attacks sect

    APC: govt to blame

    The Boko Haram bloodletting continued yesterday with suicide bombings in the North’s commercial capital, Kano and Potiskum, Yobe State’s biggest town.

    No fewer than 27 people died at bus stations in the cities, giving an indication of a co-ordinated action.

    Although no group has claimed responsibility for the attacks, the manner of the blasts point in the direction of Boko Haram.

    President Goodluck Jonathan criticised Boko Haram for what he described as its focus on “soft targets”, saying the latest action is “an act of a sect facing extinction”.

    Twelve persons were killed in the Kano blast. Five others were injured as the explosion rocked the Kano Line Motor Park at Kofar Nassarawa. Fifteen died in Potiskum.

    At about 3.15pm, three suspected suicide bombers walked into the park, disguising as passengers.

    It was gathered that the suspected bombers believed to be aged between 17 and 18, carried bags and mixed freely with passengers travelling to various destinations.

    An eyewitness account said two of the suicide bombers stood by the side of an Urvan bus loading passengers and detonated explosives. Ten passengers were burnt to death.

    The third suspected suicide bomber reportedly escaped during the pandemonium that followed the blast.

    Three vehicles were burnt.

    Kano State Commissioner of Police Idris Ibrahim, speaking at the blast site, said: “As you can see, it involves three vehicles – a Sharon, a bus and a golf car. We estimated that about 12 people died. It seems that the two suicide bombers came in that Sharon car as passengers from outside the city.

    “As indicated, investigation is ongoing.”

    An eyewitness, Bello Ibrahim, said: At exactly3:05pm, I greeted some of the people, including the man writing passengers’ manifest. Shortly after, I heard a deafening sound. I saw   bodies being roasted.

    “I saw the two suspected suicide bombers. They were strange faces, young boys between 17 and 18. Among the dead were the man writing the manifest of passengers and a bread seller. There were up to 10 dead.

    Another suicide attack in Potiskum, Yobe state’s commercial city, killed 15 people. No fewer than 33 were injured, eyewitnesses said.

    Yesterday’s was the third successive attack in Potiskum within one week.

    Last year, members of a Muslim sect on procession were attacked. Many died.

    The bomb was reportedly detonated by a woman at the roadside Tashan Dan Borno Motor Park along Kano Road.

    Hospital sources said 15 people died while some of the injured were transferred to the Federal Medical Centre, Nguru for better attention.

    An eyewitness account said the bomber came into the bus station and went straight into the Kano-bound Toyota bus before blowing herself up, throwing the entire vicinity into confusion after the bang.

    Speaking on how the blast was carried out, an official of the National Road Transport Workers Union (NURTW) said the vehicle was getting set for take-off, when the car went into flames.

    “The loaders were getting ready to collect money from passengers because the motor was about to filled when we heard a loud sound and the car went up in flames,” he said.

    Another witness said the entire vicinity was thrown into confusion with the loud sound from the explosion.

    In a statement yesterday by his Special Adviser of Media, Dr. Reuben Abati, President Goodluck Jonathan condemned “the reversion by the terrorist group, Boko Haram to the callous bombing of soft targets in parts of Nigeria in the wake of the ongoing rapid recovery by gallant Nigerian troops and their multinational allies of areas formerly controlled by the sect.

    “President Jonathan commiserates with all families who have lost loved ones in the bombings which continued today with attacks on Kano and Potiskum.

    “The President shares the grief of all the bereaved families and is deeply saddened by the continued loss of many innocent lives at the hands of misguided and desperate fanatics who are now feeling the heat of the intense counter–insurgency operation by the Nigerian Armed Forces.

    “The President assures all Nigerians and the people of the North-Eastern states in particular that the days of mourning victims of incessant terrorist attacks in the country will soon be over as the tide has now definitely turned against Boko Haram.

    “President Jonathan further assures the people of Nigeria that the gallant, courageous and patriotic officers and men of the Nigerian Armed Forces, supported with new platforms, equipment and logistics provided by the Federal Government will carry the ongoing operations against the terrorists through to a successful conclusion in the shortest possible time.

    “He affirms that his administration will continue to take all necessary action to guarantee the success of ongoing military operations against the terrorist group and drastically reduce its ability to take and hold territory or recruit, groom and brainwash young persons to undertake suicide bombing attacks on soft targets.”

  • NEMA donates relief materials to victims

    NEMA donates relief materials to victims

    The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) yesterday donated relief materials to the victims and families of women and children, who were unconditionally freed by Boko Haram in Yobe State.

    Yobe State government last week assisted the victims with cash and relief materials worth over N20 million in Damaturu, at a ceremony, which marked their reunion with their families.

    The Zonal Coordinator of NEMA in the Northeast,  Mohammed Kanar, said their “intervention is to complement the efforts earlier made by the Yobe State government.”

  • FG condemns Boko Haram’s bombing of soft targets

    FG condemns Boko Haram’s bombing of soft targets

    President Goodluck Jonathan on Tuesday condemned the reversion by the terrorist group, Boko Haram to the bombing of soft targets in parts of Nigeria in the wake of the ongoing rapid recovery by Nigerian troops and their multinational allies of areas formerly controlled by the sect.

    In a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, President Goodluck Jonathan also commiserated with all families who have lost loved ones in the bombings which continued Tuesday with attacks on Kano and Potiskum.

    The statement reads: “The President shares the grief of all the bereaved families and is deeply saddened by the continued loss of many innocent lives at the hands of misguided and desperate fanatics who are now feeling the heat of the intense counter –insurgency operation by the Nigerian Armed Forces.

    “The President assures all Nigerians and the people of the North-Eastern states in particular that the days of mourning victims of incessant terrorist attacks in the country will soon be over as the tide has now definitely turned against Boko Haram.

    “President Jonathan further assures the people of Nigeria that the gallant, courageous and patriotic officers and men of the Nigerian Armed Forces, supported with new platforms, equipment and logistics provided by the Federal Government will carry the ongoing operations against the terrorists through to a successful conclusion in the shortest possible time.”

    The President also affirmed that his administration will continue to take all necessary action to guarantee the success of ongoing military operations against the terrorist group and drastically reduce its ability to take and hold territory or recruit, groom and brainwash young persons to undertake suicide bombing attacks on soft targets.

  • Troops arrest terrorists disguised as women

    Troops arrest terrorists disguised as women

    The Defence Headquarters yesterday said it has uncovered Boko Haram insurgents in Baga disguising as women.

    It said it has also discovered more bombs hidden in various locations in the area.

    Troops have stepped up air strikes on Gwoza, Bama and the Sambisa Forest.

    The Director of Defence Information, Maj-Gen. Chris Olukolade, stated this in a statement on the update on the ongoing cordon and search in Baga. There was no independent confirmation of the claims.

    The statement said: “The cordon and search in Baga has revealed some terrorists disguising as women.

    “The searches are also yielding more discoveries of arms, especially bombs, hidden in various locations, especially Baga town.

    “Apart from those captured in the course of fighting, many arrests of terrorists hiding in the town are being made and troops are still busy interrogating the suspects.”

    The DHQ said air strikes on Gwoza, Bama and Sambisa Forest has been stepped up.

    The statement added:  “Meanwhile, in furtherance of the mission to clear terrorists from all their enclaves by the military, the Nigerian Air Force has stepped up its air bombardment of identified targets in Gwoza, Bama and Sambisa forest, preparatory to other phases of the mission.

    “The air strikes have been highly successful as they achieved the aims, hitting vital targets with required precision.

    “Terrorists are now in disarray as they scamper to escape from the impact of air bombardment of their locations in the forest.

    “Having successfully liberated Baga where the terrorists have been marauding, the troops’ attention has now been focused on consolidation of the security of the area to pave the way for return of citizens.”

  • Boko Haram: Jonathan, two African leaders seek global support

    Boko Haram: Jonathan, two African leaders seek global support

    •ECOWAS, ECCAS to partner against insurgency

    President Goodluck Jonathan and two African leaders have called for more international support against terror in Nigeria and neighbouring countries.

    Jonathan, President Denis Sassou N’Guesso of the Republic of Congo and President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea spoke when the two leaders visited Nigeria.

    They met behind closed-doors for about three hours at the Presidential Wing of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.

    Their visit followed the decision by the Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) at their summit in Yaoundé, Cameroon, on February 16.

    The three presidents welcomed the proposal for a joint Summit of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and ECCAS to mobilise international support for the Multi National Joint Task Force (MNJTF).

    President Jonathan promised to contact the ECOWAS chairman on the proposal. The visiting presidents undertook to relay the outcome of the meeting to the other heads of states and government of the ECCAS.

    A statement at the end of the meeting reads: “The visiting presidents held very warm and useful discussions with their host on issues of common interest to the countries of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).”

    “The three presidents reviewed the current security challenges facing the West African and Central African Regions, especially terrorism and the menace of the insurgency by Boko Haram.

    “They unequivocally condemned the insurgency, its destructive activities such as the indiscriminate killing and the wanton destruction of property, the abduction of innocent women and children, especially young school girls, who had been turned to sex slaves.

    “They underscored the imperative of a multi-prolonged approach to fighting the terrorist group and in particular, commended the initiative of the member-states of the Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC) for the MNJTF to combat the Boko Haram insurgents.

    “They welcomed the active support of the international community, especially the African Union (AU), the United Nations (UN) and other partners for the efforts of the LCBC and Benin Republic to enable the earliest deployment of the MNJTF.

    “While underscoring the fact that the MNJTF is wholly owned and driven by the member states of the LCBC, they urged the international community to render the necessary material and financial support and assistance to its on-going efforts.”

    Speaking with reporters at the end of the meeting in French, N’Guesso said the meeting deliberated on the Ebola Virus Disease and insurgency in the region.

    He said that from Abuja, they would go to Accra, Ghana to meet with President John Mahama, who chairs ECOWAS.

    “We will study the situation together and put in place security architecture to see how we can coordinate all our actions to put out and eradicate the Boko Haram, which has been spreading in a very grave manner. We look forward to peace, security and development in Africa,” he said.

     

  • Gombe denies Boko Haram water poisoning

    Gombe denies Boko Haram water poisoning

    Gombe Water Corporation has denied a rumour that the Boko Haram insurgents have poisoned the water supplied to Gombe from the water treatment plant at Dadin-Kowa, during their February 14 attack.

    The General Manager of Gombe Water Corporation, Isa Mohammed, an engineer, said the rumour was untrue.

    He said: “The rumour that the insurgents poisoned the water is not true. It is a lie.”

  • Ex-Anambra governor Mbadinuju dumps PDP

    Ex-Anambra governor Mbadinuju dumps PDP

    Former Anambra State Governor Dr. Chinwoke Mbadinuju has said the Boko Haram insurgency is part of God’s judgment Nigeria.

    He said the insurgency would not abate until the country embraced justice.

    Mbadinuju, who spoke at a news conference to announce his defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC), said Sodom and Gomorrah might be a child’s play if Nigeria did not tread softly, adding that it was clear from what was happening in the country that “injustice begets corruption, no matter how it is painted”.

    The ex-governor, who said he is a founding member of the PDP in Anambra State, noted that the injustice perpetrated by the PDP denied him a second term in 2003 although he won the governorship ticket on the three occasions the primary election was held.

    He said it became necessary for him to join the APC because it was the right thing to do, adding that “while the APC has proven itself as a promising party of present and future, we can all see glaringly that everything good about the PDP has since vanished. The tearing of the PDP membership card last week by no less a person than former President Olusegun Obasanjo is a symbolic attestation to this truth”.

    The former governor, who went down memory lane on how unfair the PDP had been to him, said despite working for the success of President Goodluck Jonathan in 2011, he was never carried along, adding that about 10 memos he sent to the President were never acknowledged.

  • Boko Haram: Jonathan, Congolese, E/Guinea leaders seek support for Nigeria

    Boko Haram: Jonathan, Congolese, E/Guinea leaders seek support for Nigeria

    President Goodluck Jonathan and two African leaders on Monday called for more international support against terrorism in the region.
    They made the call when President Denis Sassou N’Guesso of the Republic of Congo and President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea paid a one-day working visit to Nigeria.

    The leaders met behind closed-doors for about three hours at the Presidential Wing of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.

    Their visit followed the decision taken by the Heads of State and government of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) during their summit in Yaoundé, Cameroon, on February 16.

    The three Presidents also welcomed the proposal to have a joint Summit of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and ECCAS to further mobilise international support for the Multi National Joint Task Force (MNJTF).

    While President Jonathan promised to contact the ECOWAS Chairman on the proposal, the visiting Presidents undertook to relay the outcome of the meeting to the other Heads of States and Government of the ECCAS.

    A release at the end of the meeting reads: “The visiting Presidents held very warm and useful discussions with their host on issues of common interest to the countries of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

    “The three Presidents reviewed the current security challenges facing the West African and Central African Regions, especially terrorism and the menace by Boko Haram.

    “They unequivocally condemned the insurgency, its destructive activities such as indiscriminate killing of peoples and the wanton destruction of properties, the abduction of innocent women and children, especially young school girls, who had been turned to sex slaves.

    “They underscored the imperative of a multi-prolonged approach to fighting the terrorist group and in particular, commended the initiative of the member states of the Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC) for a Multi National Joint Task Force (MNJTF) to combat the Boko Haram insurgents.

    “They welcomed the active support of the international community especially the African Union, the United Nations and other partners for the efforts of the LCBC and the Benin Republic to enable the earliest deployment of the MNJTF.

    “While underscoring the fact that the MNJTF is wholly owned and driven by the member states of the LCBC, they urged the international community to render necessary material and financial support and assistance to its on-going efforts.”

    Speaking with journalists at the end of the meeting, President N’Guesso said the meeting deliberated on the Ebola Virus Disease and insurgency in the region.

    He said: “As we know Africa is confronting two challenges. Significantly, Ebola is affecting basically countries in West Africa. These countries are: Liberia, Guinea and Serra Leone. Also, the operations of the terrorists generally affecting countries in the Sub-Saharan Africa and in northern Africa, particularly Boko Haram which has been affecting Nigeria, Chad and Cameroun.”

    “Like you know at the last meeting of the Africa Union, the Heads of State took some very important decisions principally to check the Boko Haram attacks in Nigeria, Niger, Cameroun and Chad. Following the meeting of the African Union, the Economic Community of Central African Countries had a meeting recently in Yaoundé to address particularly the Boko Haram challenge in Africa and to see the possibility of ameliorating the grave situation.”

  • Boko Haram: France to seek UN support for Africa force

    France will support a bid by the African Union to win the backing of the United Nations Security Council for its five-nation force fighting the Boko Haram sect, French Foreign Minister, Laurent Fabius, said on Sunday.

    Fabius spoke on a tour of Chad, Cameroon and Niger, countries that have launched operations against the militants who have killed thousands in a six-year war for an Islamic state in northern Nigeria.

    “France’s support for the integrated African reaction force is total. France will support a request of the African Union and other concerned countries for a resolution to be voted by the Security Council,” Reuters quoted Fabius as saying in the Niger capital, Niamey.

    The AU authorized the force combining Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon, Niger and Benin last month at a summit in Ethiopia. A Security Council resolution could give it a UN mandate, senior African officials said.

    The force was set up in part because of a perception that Nigeria was failing to defeat the militants, who have launched a string of cross border attacks in the Lake Chad area in recent weeks, as well as killing hundreds in Nigeria.

    “It is indispensable that Nigeria engages fully in the struggle against Boko Haram. Clearly, the last few actions of the Nigerian government are encouraging,” Fabius told a news conference.

    Nigerian forces backed by air strikes seized the northeastern border town of Baga from Boko Haram on Saturday, the military said.

    Baga is at Nigeria’s border with Chad, Niger and Cameroon and was the headquarters of a multinational force comprising troops from all four countries. Its recapture was an important victory, one of several in the past two weeks.

  • The six-week Boko Haram war

    The six-week Boko Haram war

    President Goodluck Jonathan promised a six-week war against the Boko Haram sect to finish them off. Notwithstanding widespread doubts about the feasibility of ending the war at such a short duration, when it had lasted for all of five years and more, he seems set to accomplish his goal. He based the short duration of the final battles on the multinational force of about 8,000 troops from Cameroon, Niger, Chad and Nigeria, and the delivery of the war equipment he had been expecting. This expected final push made him support INEC’s postponement of the February 14 elections, he said. Going by his now famous reputation for dissembling and stretching his own side of the story, few believed him. But if Boko Haram is neutralised within the space of time he asked for, he will come across as altruistic in his request for election postponement, no matter what the truth is and whatever anyone might think.

    There is, however, no question that had the momentum of the campaigns favoured Dr Jonathan, the elections would have held in February, and he would have swept to victory. In all likelihood, Dr Jonathan secured the postponement in order to catch his breath and to restrategise to enable him win reelection. But as this column pointed out last week, and as a few international newspapers also suggested, whether he wins the war in the Northeast or not, the minds of north-easterners are pretty much made up whom to vote for. They showed it during the campaigns of Dr Jonathan and Gen Buhari. It is unlikely that anything, including the drastic restoration of peace in the region, will swing votes for the president. Too many things had gone wrong in the region for which they hold him largely responsible.

    They do not hold him responsible for the outbreak of the insurgency, but they are appalled by his handling of the revolt, which festered until it sucked in Nigeria’s lowly neighbours to the point where Cameroonian and Chadian armies were either succouring our troops and refugees or even liberating many of our towns, or as in the case of Niger Republic, even insulting our troops for cowardice. In addition, north-easterners have remained unimpressed by his lack of empathy, his contempt for the region’s elite, his wild accusations against the people of the region for conniving at the insurgency, and the scandal of mishandling the Chibok abductions, which is unlikely to be mitigated by the return of the kidnapped girls.

    Dr Jonathan has been in office for nearly six years, and Nigeria has rearmed and fought major ECOMOG wars since 1990, but he has consistently blamed the poor equipment of Nigerian troops on his predecessors, particularly Gen Buhari. The fact is that he misread the revolt, misjudged his capacity, and misdirected the war efforts until too much damage was done, and even now has not proved that he understands the political, cultural and economic dynamics of the revolt. It is for these that he will be held responsible, and for which there will be no electoral rewards for him, in this election or in a future account of the history of this unfortunately sanguinary period.