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Tag: boko haram

  • AU okays regional task force to fight Boko Haram

    The African Union has endorsed a West African plan to set up a regional task force of 7,500 to fight the Boko Haram militants, a senior official said on Thursday, a vital step towards securing United Nations Security Council backing.

    Nigeria, Cameroon, Niger, Chad and Benin agreed earlier this month to call on the AU to seek UN Security Council support for their plan to take on insurgents who are fighting to create an Islamic state in northern Nigeria.

    Boko Haram has made incursions into neighbouring Cameroon and threatens the stability of a region that includes Niger and Chad. Benin lies on Nigeria’s western border, Reuters says.

    “We are thinking of a force of 7,500 women and men. The next step is to submit (approval) to the UN Security Council,” Reuters quoted Smail Chergui, the commissioner of the AU’s Peace and Security Council, as saying to reporters on the sidelines of an AU summit in Addis Ababa.

    Tackling Boko Haram was top of the agenda at the meeting of African leaders and officials.

    “Hopefully now with this concept, this force will be better organised and we can achieve the goal that we are looking for, that is to really stop the killing and these barbaric acts of Boko Haram,” Chergui said.

    A UN mandate could help draw international assistance for the African regional force.

    The African group plans to meet next week in Cameroon to draw up a “concept of operations” to cover strategy, rules of engagement, command and control, and related issues, Chergui said.

    Senior officials have told Reuters that each of the five nations would contribute a battalion and each contingent would be based within its national borders with operations coordinated from Chad’s capital N’Djamena.

     

  • Boko Haram in 130 villages, towns

    Boko Haram in 130 villages, towns

    Boko Haram is occupying more than 130 villages and towns in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states, Human Rights Watch said yesterday.

    The sect killed an estimated 3,750  last year, the global rights body said.

    It claimed that 1,200 civilians were killed last year in the crises between nomadic pastoralists and farming communities in some states in the North-Central.

    These disclosures were contained in the HRW World Report 2015, which was released to the media.

    The report said: “In April, Boko Haram’s abduction of nearly 300 schoolgirls in the town of Chibok focused unprecedented global attention on the group’s abduction of women and girls.

    “It continues to seize and control territory in Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa states, where it holds more than 130 villages and towns. In responding to the group, government security forces have been implicated in grave violations of human rights and international humanitarian law. An estimated 3,750 civilians were killed by Boko Haram attacks in 2014.

    “Boko Haram has indiscriminately killed civilians, abducted women and girls, forcefully conscripted young men and boys, and destroyed villages, towns, and schools, Human Rights Watch said.

    “The conflict has resulted in the deaths of thousands of civilians and the displacement of 981, 416 residents within Nigeria as well as more than 150,000 people who have become refugees in neighboring countries.”

    The HRW faulted the military for not investigating alleged killing of 600 detainees who fled during the attack on Giwa Military Barracks in Maiduguri.

    “During a Boko Haram attack in March on the Giwa Military Barracks and detention facility in Maiduguri, security forces allegedly killed more than 600 detainees who fled during the attack.”No member of the security forces has been brought to justice for these and previous violations of human rights, including the massive deaths and destruction of property from a military raid in Baga, Borno State in April 2013. Despite repeated pledges by the military, these incidents are yet to be investigated.

    “Government security forces have responded to the Boko Haram violence in a heavy-handed way, leading to serious human rights violations.

    “ Suspects are routinely abused, tortured, and held incommunicado in abusive detention conditions without charge or trial.

    “Local vigilante groups assisting Nigerian security forces were allegedly implicated in the recruitment and use of child soldiers, and ill-treatment, and unlawful killing of Boko Haram suspects.”

    The report said more than 1,200 people were killed in the clashes between nomadic pastoralists and farming communities in some states in the North-Central in 2014.

    The report added: “In the North Central states of Nigeria, communal violence, fuelled by competition for power and access to land between nomadic pastoralists and farming communities, killed more than 1,200 people in 2014.

    “Nigerian authorities made scant effort to investigate or prosecute those responsible for the violence.”

    The Nigeria researcher at Human Rights Watch, Mausi Segun, said: “With elections around the corner, citizens should ensure that Nigeria’s human rights challenges are at the centre of the political discourse.

    “Unmitigated violence is a threat to the nation’s stability and to the well-being of all Nigerians, not just those in the North.”

    “Nigerians should be putting pressure on their government in this election season to halt the endemic violence.

     ”Nigeria’s leaders should be as focused on the rights of all residents as they are on winning the battles of party politics.”

  • Boko Haram may strike with cows, goats – FG

    The Federal Government on Thursday warned that Boko Haram may carry out their deadly attacks using goats, cows, donkeys and camels.

    The government also said there was an intelligent report that the terrorists want to use male suicide bombers that disguised as cobblers (shoe makers) to carry out attacks.

    The Coordinator of the National Information Centre, Mr. Mike Omeri , made these disclosures while speaking with journalists on the security situation in the country.

    Omeri said, “We gathered that Boko Haram insurgents are planning to use goats, cows, donkeys and camels laden with explosives to attack chosen targets.

    “Available intelligence reports had also revealed a plan by Boko Haram to use young male suicide bombers that disguised as cobblers (shoemakers) to hide explosives in their tool boxes and detonate them in soft target areas such as markets, restaurants, ATM locations, political rallies, worship centres and other public places.

    “In view of this, the general public including all persons operating within and around the aforementioned places had been advised to be vigilant and mindful of suspicious activities in their environment.”

  • ‘Boko  Haram used 5,000 cows as shield’

    ‘Boko  Haram used 5,000 cows as shield’

    Fleeing soldiers in Maiduguri yesterday said Boko Haram fighters used over 5,000 cows as shield during the battle for Monguno. .

     A fleeing soldier speaking anonymously explained that the cows were the ones seized from Fulani herdsmen in the villages around the northern part of Borno State by the insurgents.

     ”Everyday, we were hearing stories that Boko Haram men were seizing cows from Fulani people. Nobody ever thought that their plan was to use the cows as shield to evade soldiers until that day.

    “They hid themselves behind the cows and were advancing towards us. All the fire we were releasing was just on the cows,” the soldier said.

  • Monguno: ‘Boko Haram used 5,000 cows as shield’

    Fleeing soldiers in Maiduguri on Wednesday disclosed that the Boko Haram insurgents used over 5,000 cows as shield when the group clashed with federal troops in Monguno on Sunday.

    A fleeing soldier, who does not want his name mention, said the cows were seized from Fulani herdsmen in villages around the northern parts of Borno State by the insurgents.

    “Every day, we were heard stories that Boko Haram insurgents were seizing cows from Fulani people. Nobody ever thought that their plan was to use the cows as shield to evade soldiers until that day when the release over 5,000 cows as shield.

    “They hide themselves behind the cows and were advancing towards us. All our gun shots were hitting the cows,” the soldier said.

    Hundreds of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) are still stranded in Maiduguri along Baga road.

    NEMA officials said on Tuesday they have registered about 5,000 IDPs from Monguno town after last Sunday attack on the town by Boko Haram.

     

  • Jonathan lacks capacity to handle Boko Haram – APC

    Jonathan lacks capacity to handle Boko Haram – APC

    The APC Presidential Campaign Organization (APCPCO) has said that President Goodluck Jonathan lacks the competence, capacity and training to deal with the Boko Haram menace ravaging the Northeast part of the country.

    In a statement signed by its Director of Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, the organization said President Jonathan should not be taken seriously when he claimed that he will deal with the terrorists if he is re-elected.

    He said the claim by President Jonathan during his campaign visit to Maiduguri, Borno State, the hotbed of the insurgency, that he would deal with the terrorists’ attacks looks more like a joke or mere talk designed for the occasion of the campaign event.

    While reminding Nigerians that President Jonathan has been at the helm of affairs in Nigeria for more than five years, Shehu said that during Jonathan’s regime, Boko Haram has transformed from a group of armed delinquents to an active fighting group or movement with the government unable able to contain it.

    According to him, in the light of ongoing events in the region, “it is childish for the same person to say that he would deal with a group that became a monster under his watch.”

    He advised the President to stop the careless talk about dealing with Boko Haram because he has clearly shown little or no leadership in the area of national security.

    He said, “If President Jonathan and his party want to be true to Nigerians, it is for them to acknowledge that the capacity to deal with Boko Haram, and the wider national security issues it has thrown up over the years is within the scope of his opponent, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, because the latter has travelled similar road in the past with distinction when the nation’s security and well-being had been endangered as it had been in the last four years since Boko Haram became a national security and regional security menace while Jonathan fiddled.”

     

  • Military deploys drones to battle Boko Haram

    Military deploys drones to battle Boko Haram

    •Sect hoists flag in Monguno

    Come drones and other sophisticated equipment have been deployed in the Northeast to curtail Boko Haram’s insurgency, The Nation learnt yesterday.

    It was also learnt that the military intensified air strikes on Boko Haram bases in Monguno to reclaim the town, which fell to the sect’s fighters last weekend.

    The acquisition of the drones is part of the  new massive military campaign to be launched soon against Boko Haram.

    A source, who spoke in confidence, said most of the equipment were sourced from the Far East, including Russia and Ukraine, following lack of cooperation by some Western countries.

    The source said the arrival of the hardware has boosted the morale of troops.

    The source said: “The military has deployed some drones and sophisticated hardware in the North-East in line with its timeline to end Boko Haram insurgency.

    “These drones will complement ongoing air and land strikes against some bases of the sect.

    “The simultaneous attacks on Monguno, Konduga and Maiduguri  by Boko Haram insurgents were pre-emptive steps against the military by the sect.

    “With effective equipment, the insurgents were aware that the game is up and in annoyance, they decided to attack military installations and troops.”

    The military has intensified air strikes on the insurgents’ locations in Monguno.

    Another source said: “Troops will soon reclaim Monguno because the insurgents in the town have been trapped. They cannot move away from the town since troops have laid siege to all entry and exit points.

    “You see, the insurgents also struck in Monguno, Konduga and Maiduguri to divert attention of the military from the relocation of some of their commanders from one of their strategic camps to another.”

    Fleeing residents yesterday disclosed that the insurgents are in full control of the town.

    Abdullahi Jibril, who fled to Maiduguri through Gajiganna told our correspondent that there was no military presence in Monguno.

    Jibril said residents of Gajiganna, a town on the Baga/ Monguno road, were also on the run for fear of an impending attack by the insurgents.

    “As I am talking to you now, there is no single soldier in Monguno. Anybody that is saying that there are soldiers fighting in Monguno is lying. The Boko Haram have put their flag in the hospital, police station and the military barracks. They are preaching in the place right now.

    “I was lucky to escape after I moved my father and my mother to Gajiganna. They killed the Imam Bachila of  Bakasi area.  They also caught the chief Imam of Monguno town, Liman Modu who is the most respected in the town,” Abdullahi Jibril informed.

    Hundreds of soldiers from Monguno are stranded and loitering on the streets of Maiduguri after the Sunday attack on the military formation in the area.

    The soldiers were denied access to Maimalari Barracks and some of them were rather camped at AIT on Damboa Road.

    Our correspondent who was on Baga Road saw many stranded soldiers among other hundred displaced civilians from Monguno, Baga and Gajiganna sitting under tree, with nowhere to go.

    Some of the soldiers had their guns on their shoulders, their shuttle bags on their back.

    Some of the soldiers who spoke on condition of anonymity expressed anger with the Federal Government for, according to him, not doing enough for them in the fight against Boko Haram.

    “I can’t imagine that a Federal Government will abandon her soldiers to die in a fight that cannot take one hour to finish with serious commitment. We fight in the bush with Boko Haram and no one sends us any jet but when one man is coming for campaign, you see many Alpha Jets with helicopter gunships patrolling, flying in the air. Is this fair?” a soldier said.

    Some of the soldiers were angry that they were denied access to the Maimalari Barracks in Maiduguri.

    One said: “Can you imagine that as soldiers, we came into Maiduguri and the army authorities turned us down from entering the barracks. Where is the esprit de corps that we preach among us?”

  • Boko Haram hoists flags in Monguno

    The battle by the military to reclaim Monguno from the hands of the Boko Haram insurgents may be an exercise in futility as fleeing residents on Tuesday disclosed that the insurgents are presently in full control of the town.

    Abdullahi Jibril, who fled to Maiduguri through Gajiganna, told our correspondent on Tuesday that there is no military presence in Monguno town.

    He also said residents of Gajiganna a town along the Baga/ Monguno road are also on the run for fear of an impending attack by insurgents.

    “As I am talking to you now, there is no single soldier in Monguno. Anybody that is saying that there are soldiers fighting in Monguno is lying. The Boko Haram members have put their flags in the hospital, police station and the military Barrack. They are preaching in the place right now.

    “I was lucky to escape after I moved my father and my mother to Gajiganna. They killed the Imam Bachila of Bakasi area. They also caught the chief Imam of Monguno town, Liman Modu, who is the most respected man in the town,” Jibril said.

    Hundreds of soldiers from Monguno are stranded and loitering the streets of Maiduguri after the Sunday attack on the military formation in the area.

    Reports said the soldiers were denied access to Maimalari Barracks and some of them were camped at AIT along Damboa road.

    Our correspondent who was at Baga road saw many stranded soldiers and other displaced civilians from Monguno, Baga and Gajiganna sitting under a tree with nowhere to go.

     

  • Troops launch battle to retake Monguno

    Troops launch battle to retake Monguno

    Following continued ground battle  and air strikes, troops killed 53 more Boko Haram insurgents on Monday in Konduga and Maiduguri parts of Borno State.

    The figure came from the battle between troops and the insurgents from Sunday night till the early hours of Monday.

    A security source, who spoke in confidence at 9pm, said: “Continuing coordinated ground and air mop up activities by military personnel in the aftermath of diversionary terrorists attacks on Maiduguri and Konduga have led to the destruction of dozens of more terrorists.

    “At least 53 more insurgents  lost their lives as troops in pursuit of the insurgents  engaged those that fled and their additional reinforcements in the outskirts of Konduga and Maiduguri in a battle Sunday night/early Monday morning.

    “Health and emergency workers are having hectic challenges in evacuating terribly mangled corpses of the terrorists for mass burial.”

    A tweet by the Defence Headquarters confirmed the fresh mileage gained by troops.

    The DHQ tweeted: “More casualties inflicted on terrorists as troops battled fleeing ones and reinforcement at outskirts of Maiduguri, Konduga.

    “Substantial amounts of heavy weapons have been captured, as more terrorists died in the fight which lasted till early Monday

    “Our forces also recorded some casualty. Meanwhile, ground troops are in charge and Airforce patrol still ongoing.”

    A military source however gave insights into why Boko Haram embarked on ore-emotive attacks on Monguno, Konduga and Maiduguri.

    He also hinted of a likely sabotage of troops by some locals in the affected parts.

    The source said: “The suicidal attempt on Maiduguri and Konduga might have been staged to divert troops’ attention from their goal of commencing the “once and for all” battle against the terrorists by members of the Multinational Joint Task Force from Cameroon, Niger, Nigeria and Chad planned for early this week.

    “There are fears that saboteurs among local sympathisers in one of the affected communities might have betrayed the troops, especially concerning the plans to annihilate terrorists to pave way for the success and peaceful conducts of forthcoming elections in every part of the country.”

    Coordinated ground and air mop up activities by military personnel in the aftermath of diversionary terrorists attacks on Maiduguri and Konduga in Borno led to the destruction of dozens of more terrorists.

    This information is contained in a statement issued by Defence Headquarters on Monday in Abuja.

    The statement disclosed that substantial number of heavy weapons had been captured, in addition to the number of terrorists that died in the night fighting until Monday morning.

    It added Nigerian forces also recorded some casualty “but troops and Air Force patrol are still ongoing.’’

  • Osinbajo: Buhari ’ll accord security top priority

    Osinbajo: Buhari ’ll accord security top priority

     •‘Jonathan playing politics with Boko Haram’

    Insurgency in the Northeast took a dangerous dimension because the President Goodluck Jonathan administration failed to prioritise security of lives and property, the vice presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Prof. Yemi Osibanjo, said yesterday.

    He promised that the issue of insecurity would be of top priority to APC presidential standard-bearer, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, if elected.

    Osinbajo said the Jonathan administration failed to equip the military even when it was obvious that the security situation was getting worse.

    He also said soldiers, who were court-martialed for alleged mutiny, complained that they were not given weapons, but were asked to go to war against insurgents.

    The APC vice presidential candidate, who spoke at a Town Hall meeting with young professionals under the auspices of Act Now Professionals in Abuja, said as commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces, the president ought to have shown an example by leading from the front and not the back.

    He accused Jonathan of reneging on his oath of office and his promise to protect Nigerians, stressing that even though the government claimed to have spent about N4 trillion on defence, evidence on ground suggested the contrary.

    He said: “From what we are seeing on ground and with the complain by soldiers that they are not given weapons to fight the insurgents, it is either that money was not spent at all or somebody is telling lies.”

    Osinbajo assured that an APC government will equip the military and give them a true sense of belonging.

    He said: “When you have a situation like this, you do not point to the opposition and say it was the opposition that is sponsoring it, until General Buhari almost lost his life when Boko Haram attacked him.

    “We must start by understanding that there is a war going on in that part of the country and what the government need to do is to get the nation behind it, not pointing accusing fingers at wrong places.

    “Secondly, we need to look at the whole question of funding and equipping the military. The military at the moment is not equipped.

    “I worked with Femi Falana on the mutiny of some soldiers and what is the complaint of those soldiers who are charged for mutiny? Their complaint is that they are not given equipments and they want them to go to battle.

    “So, how do you say that? How does anybody think that you can fight insurgents without ammunitions?

    “The first priority is security and to question what has gone wrong in the military. Then funding the military adequately and ensuring that the commander-in-chief leads from the front.”