The Nation Newspaper

Tag: boko haram

  • Malien-like Boko Haram fighters invade governor’s hometown

    Malien-like Boko Haram fighters invade governor’s hometown

    Geidam, the hometown of Yobe State Governor Ibrahim Geidam, came under Boko Haram attack yesterday.

    Some residents of the town, which is the headquarters of Geidam local government area of the state, said most of the Boko Haram attackers looked like Touareg fighters from Mali.

    Mustapha Yunusa said he saw a large number of the fighters through the window from his house, located on the main access road into Geidam town when the insurgents invaded.

    “I was able to see most of the boys because my house is located very close to the main road entering Geidam. I saw them in large numbers. They came in a convoy of Hilux vans before they disembarked and divided themselves and started shouting all kinds of sounds in Arabic. Most of the boys look very much like the Malian Touaregs,” Yunusa said.

    Another resident said many residents ran out of Geidam as it became clear that the insurgents would attack the town.

    “We got news that the insurgents were advancing to Geidam from Borno State through Damasak to Geidam so many people fled to other villages,” a resident said.

    Our correspondent gathered that the insurgents were spotted in Yaro town saying their prayers before they moved to Geidam to launch their onslaught.

    The casualty from the attack could not be ascertained last night but a security source said the insurgents attacked the military formation in Geidam before moving into the town, shooting sporadically.

    There were reports of fighting between the insurgents and security agents still going on in  the town.

    An Air Force jet fighter was said to have been immediately deployed in Geidam to chase out the insurgents.

    A resident who spoke with on the telephone said he heard the sound of the jet.

    A local government official explained that the insurgents came in large numbers. Some enter military check point, behind polytechnic, and behind the local government Lodge.

  • Boko Haram releases video of sect killing civilians in a dormitory

    Boko Haram at the weekend released a video showing gunmen mowing down civilians lying face down in a dormitory, and a leader saying they are being killed because they are “infidels” or non-believers.

    There are so many bodies the gunmen have difficulty stepping to reach bodies still twitching with life. Most appear to be adult men.

    “We have made sure the floor of this hall is turned red with blood, and this is how it is going to be in all future attacks and arrests of infidels,” the group leader says in a message. “From now, killing, slaughtering, destructions and bombing will be our religious duty anywhere we invade.”

    The video was released on Saturday, two days after fleeing villagers reported that the extremists are rounding up elderly people and killing them in two schools in Gwoza, in northeast Nigeria.

    The setting of the latest video appears to be a school, a long dormitory furnished with bunk beds which the leader says is in Bama, a town 40 miles north of Gwoza. Students and schools are frequently targeted by Boko Haram, which means “Western education is sinful” in the Hausa language.

    Previously, the militants had told residents of villages and towns that they would kill only enemies and wanted people to live peacefully in the area they have dubbed an Islamic caliphate, a large swath along Nigeria’s northeastern border with Cameroon that they have controlled for more than three months.

    In the video, the leader notes that the prophet Mohammed advised prisoners should be held, not killed, but says “we felt this is not the right time for us to keep prisoners; that is why we will continue to see that the grounds are crimsoned with the flowing blood of prisoners”.

    He says some of those killed may call themselves Muslims, but are considered infidels by Boko Haram, a Sunni Jihadi group that imposes strict Shariah law.

    Thousands of people have been killed and about 1.6 million driven from their homes in the five-year insurgency that is spilling across borders into Cameroon, Chad and Niger.

    Last week, extremists killed 35 people and kidnapped at least 185, fleeing residents said Thursday of an attack near the town where nearly 300 schoolgirls were taken hostage in April.

    Last month, an official in Chibok said the extremists forced thousands of residents to flee the town.

    The attack on Gumburi happened one week ago, said a security official and a local government officer, who insisted on anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to the press. The news took days to emerge because the militants have destroyed communications towers in the area.

    Gumburi is 12 miles from Chibok, the northeastern town where extremists kidnapped 276 schoolgirls in April. Dozens of the students escaped but 219 remain missing.

  • 35 Boko Haram terrorists killed in military ambush

    35 Boko Haram terrorists killed in military ambush

    *Three soldiers die, three wounded in two Borno encounters

    About 35 insurgents of Boko Haram have been killed in a military ambush close to Damboa, Borno State.

    The soldiers also recovered a Hilux vehicle, rocket propelled grenades and rifles from the terrorists as their fellow insurgents attacked Damagum in Yobe State.

    Military sources could not give any figure but a resident said he counted 35 bodies of terrorists

    The Nation gathered yesterday that  the Boko Haram members had attempted to attack engineers who were working  to restore power supply to some parts of Borno State.

    But unknown to the insurgents there was a heavy military security arrangement in place to protect the engineers.

    Sources said that the troops opted for pre-emptive strikes which provoked a fierce battle with the insurgents.

    “A very large number of terrorists met their final waterloo after falling into an ambush laid for them by Nigerians troops between Maiduguri and Damboa on Friday,” a top military source said.

    “The clash followed the troops’ move to stop the terrorists who were in the process of attacking the electricity engineers who were working to restore power to parts of Borno State.

    “A large number of the terrorists died in the process while their improvised explosive devise (IED) laden Hilux truck vehicle was destroyed.

    “Other weapons recovered by troops include rocket propelled grenades and rifles. Unfortunately, however, two soldiers died in the encounter.

    Responding to a question, the source added: “The ongoing mopping operation will determine the number of the terrorists who died in the encounter.”

    Haruna Ibrahim, a member of a vigilante militia, which fights alongside the military, said by phone yesterday that the Boko Haram attacks on Damboa began before Friday prayers and most of them died from the gun battle.

    “We went to the scene this morning (yesterday) mopping up with soldiers and dead bodies were spread everywhere, I counted 35 of them,” he said.

    Another military source said there was also an encounter between military engineers and Boko Haram  in Husara leading to the death of a soldier and the wounding of three others.

    The military source said: “The military engineers, who had been clearing terrorists IEDs and effecting repairs on bridges, repelled an attack while working on a bridge around Husara.

    “Several terrorists also died in the encounter.  A total four General Purpose Machine Guns, three rifles and two Rocket Propelled Grenade Launchers were captured from the terrorists during the encounter.

    “One soldier however died while three others were wounded in the encounter.

    “During the encounter, the troops also captured a Hilux vehicle earlier stolen by the terrorists from the Borno State Ministry of Education, which they have repainted and mounted with an anti-aircraft gun.

    “In Adamawa State, troops yesterday continued with the conduct of land patrol of towns of Mubi, Uba, Garkida, Muva and others towns and villages  through coordinated air and land operations in furtherance of counterterrorism campaign.

    When contacted, the Director of Defence Information, Major-General Chris Olukolade confirmed the incidents but insisted that the “exact casualty figures were still being ascertained.”

    A Damagum resident, Musa Muhammad Damagun, speaking yesterday on the assault on the town by the sect said: “We locked ourselves in the house after we heard several explosions went off and gun firing. We did not notice any killings but they broke shops and chemists, looted medicine and food items.”

    Troops had on Wednesday repelled a Boko Haram attack near Gumsuri where 185 people were kidnapped last week, killing several insurgents.

    Roughly 150 militants stormed the town of Bulabulin on Wednesday, but the military had reportedly received advanced warning of the raid.

    Bulabulin lies in the Damboa local government area of Borno state and is near the village of Gumsuri where 185 people, mostly women and children, were kidnapped last Sunday.

    “Our men climbed high electricity poles for surveillance and sighted (the insurgents) from afar,” said a senior officer who participated in the operation but requested anonymity.

    Two security sources estimated that a large number of insurgents were killed by the military but there was no official toll.

    Resident Samuel James confirmed that the military overpowered the militants.

    “We would have been dead by now but the army really gave the terrorists a good fight,” he told AFP.

    Olukolade said reports of the mass kidnapping in Gumsuri needed to be verified but confirmed that Boko Haram had attacked the town, killing a number of civilians.

    Locals and officials said the hostages were carted away on trucks towards the Sambisa Forest, a notorious Islamist stronghold.

  • Chadian mercenaries’ justice system

    Chadian mercenaries’ justice system

    AN eyewitness in the Boko Haram war in Borno State recounted to this newspaper how Chadian mercenaries run some border towns in the state and dispense justice. Hear Ali Modu Kawu, the eyewitness: “The Chadian rebels from Mangal now preside over meetings in most of the villages. They  sit in courts and hear disputes and pass judgement for the locals who are in dispute with one another. Just before they attacked Gajigana last week, the Manga tribesmen of Chad normally came around to judge the people. As a matter of fact, some days before the attack on Gajigana, there was a problem between one of our friends and a Fulani man who took his herd of cattle into the farm of our friend. Because of our inability to resolve the dispute  which had taken a dangerous dimension — we had to report the matter to Boko Haram men, who came to resolve the matter. They found the Fulani man guilty and ruled that he must pay a fine equivalent of five bags of beans within 24 hours or  face death penalty; and the Fulani man quickly complied.”

    For more than five decades, Nigeria has been unable to design a justice system that would yield to our needs and meet the high expectations of the people. It is as if we fail to understand the meaning of justice. Is it any surprise then that Boko Haram men, nay mercenaries, are doing a much better and quicker job of dispensing justice in Nigerian villages? We may think justice in Boko Haram-held villages is arbitrary and crude, but does our own delayed, politicised, and compromised justice system pass muster?

  • Varsity workers urge political will to end Boko Haram

    THE Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) has said that President Goodluck Jonathan must demonstrate the political will and courage to expose and flush out all persons within and outside his government who have been fingered by intelligence reports to be sponsors of Boko Haram.

    The union also asked the federal government to immediately close the country’s borders with Chad, Niger Republic and Cameroon, as a way of checking the current security situation in the North East and put an end to the activities of members of the Boko Haram insurgency.

    In a communique at the end of its National Executive Council meeting, the university workers want the government to immediately put in place a team to renegotiate the 2009 agreement between the government and the union which is long over due for renegotiation or face a nationwide industrial action.

    The communique signed by its president, Comrade Samson Ugwoke and the Public Relations Officer, Comrade NAD Aboribo, and made available to The Nation in Abuja, the union said the battle to keep Nigeria one is a task that must be done and achieved.

    While commending the Nigerian military for its efforts so far, the union called on the federal government to take a more pragmatic step in dealing with Boko Haram and insurgency in the country before it consumes the entire populace.

    It stressed that the union took a critical look at the current security situation in the country and noted that the situation is getting alarming by the day, adding that the unabated bombing and killing of innocent Nigerians under the guise of religion is satanic and cannot be rationalised.

    It alleged that some powerful people within and outside the country might have been using Boko Haram as a tool to achieve the controversial prophecy of doom that Nigeria will disintegrate by the year 2015.

    SSANU further observed that evidence has shown that the majority of the sect members and suicide bombers of Boko Haram are not Nigerians, adding that their operations and code of conduct are alien to Nigerian culture.

    On the 2015 general election, the union observed that the year 2015 may turn out to be a critical year and a water-shed in the history of the country, and commended the relatively peaceful conduct of the primaries by the political parties in the country and called on the politicians to continue to play the game according to the rule.

    The union advised the political class to refrain from overheating the polity through seditious campaigns and statements and called on INEC to ensure free, fair and transparent elections in 2015 by being an unbiased umpire, and ensure that the mandate of people is respected.

    The union also warned the government to avoid an impending nationwide strike in the universities and immediately put in place a team to renegotiate the 2009 agreement, pointing out that its insistence that the agreement be renegotiated has been rebuffed by the government.

  • Boko Haram lining up elderly and shooting them

    Elderly people are now targets of summary execution by Boko Haram insurgents in Borno State.

    The Associated Press reported yesterday that the terrorists are turning their guns on such elderly  people, killing more than 50 in the last one  week in a new approach  that has instilled more fear in areas the militants call an Islamic caliphate.

    Many of those who were too old to flee Gwoza local government area are said to have been  rounded up and taken to two schools where the militants opened fire on them.

    The villages are about 130 kilometres southeast of Maiduguri, the state capital.

    “What they are doing now is to assemble the aged people – both men and women … and then they just open fire on some of them,” said Muhammed Gava, a spokesman for civil defense groups in the area. More than 50 people had been killed at Government Day Secondary School in Gwoza, he said.

    A villager who had fled said more elderly people are being gathered and shot at Uvaghe Central Primary School. The villager spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of endangering his trapped parents.

    Government officials did not immediately comment on the reports.

    The Defence Headquarters said on Friday that soldiers are patrolling “in search of terrorists” and “to verify abductions” around the village of Gumburi, where witnesses said extremists kidnapped at least 185 people a week ago.

    On the same Friday   Boko Haram insurgents bombed government buildings, a police station and military barracks in Damagum and Mamudo both in Yobe State.

    The extremists, however, suffered a setback when they attacked soldiers guarding a power station in Borno State, according to an engineer who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals. He said soldiers were warned in advance that the extremists were advancing and engaged the militants in fierce fighting that killed at least 70.

    Meanwhile, the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt. General Kenneth Minimah has said that terrorism is not peculiar to Nigeria.

    The COAS stated this at the graduation of 151 officers of junior Course 78 at the Armed Forces Command and Staff College (AFCSC), Jaji, Kaduna State.

    Addressing the graduating students, General Minimah noted that much was expected from them in the effort to eliminate all forms of terrorism in the country.

    He tasked them to be prepared for any responsibilities that may be assigned to them especially now that the country is being confronted with the Boko Haram security challenges in the Northeast and other criminal activities across the country.

    He further charged them to be of good behaviour and work collectively with their colleagues in the field towards winning the war against terror.

  • Boko Haram: DHQ probes fresh abduction of 135 in Borno

    Boko Haram: DHQ probes fresh abduction of 135 in Borno

    The Defence Headquarters yesterday said it has launched a probe into the alleged fresh abduction of 135 in Borno by Boko Haram insurgents.

    Also, troops have been deployed in Gumsuri in pursuit of the terrorists and  to secure the area.

    The insurgents had killed about 33 people in Gumsuri and allegedly abducted 135.

    But the DHQ only admitted that  some people were killed when the insurgents invaded the area.

    It said it was yet to verify reports of alleged kidnap of scores of villagers in Borno State.

    A statement on the DHQ blog said: “Troops are patrolling the general area of Gumsuri in search of terrorists who were said to have attacked the community last weekend.

    “ Although it has been confirmed that some people were killed by the terrorists during the attack, the reported abductions as claimed by unidentified sources being quoted in some foreign media is yet to be verified from any credible sources in the community.

    “Some of the villagers who fled during the attack have started returning to the village. Normal life has also returned to the area.

    “ The surveillance and patrol of the area by air and land forces has been stepped up to secure the general area.

    “Troops have been ordered to sustain an aggressive patrol over the area and the surrounding communities in order to ensure that terrorists do not have any freedom of action in the area while the counter-terrorism campaign continues.”

    As at press time, military sources said that troops were trying to secure all reclaimed territories in Adamawa State.

    Another source added: “Troops have been mandated to protect all reclaimed communities like Garkida, Vimtim, Kumare-Uba, Mararaba,and  Mubi.

    “The mandate given to troops is that the insurgents must never be allowed back into the hitherto occupied territories.”

    Meanwhile, the united States of America has condemned in strongest terms the attack on the village.

    It also reassured Nigeria of its support at taming the terrorist group.

    The attack, which took place on December 14, according to Nigerian military sources, saw at least 16 people dead, including the Chief Imam of the village.

    The statement issued by the US embassy in Abuja stated in part: “We are aware of reports from persons who fled the scene of the attack that suspected Boko Haram gunmen kidnapped more than 100 women and children and killed 35 people during a Sunday raid on the remote village in northeast Nigeria, but we are not in a position to confirm the details.

    “We abhor such violence, which continues to take a terrible toll on the people of Nigeria, and we extend our condolences to the victims and their families.

    “Boko Haram has shown no regard for human life. This year alone, it has murdered thousands of innocent people in vicious attacks on schools, churches and mosques, and its attacks have resulted in displacement of hundreds of thousands of Nigerians.

    “We remain committed to helping the government of Nigeria address the threat posed by violent extremist organisations and its efforts to find and free the girls abducted in Chibok and all others who have been abducted.”

  • Boko Haram attacks Yobe town

    Eighteen days after the heavy attack on Damatutru, the Yobe State Capital, Boko Haram insurgents have launched another attack on the state.   This time,  it was at Damagum, the headquarters of Fune Local Government, they struck.

    Damagum is one of the major towns along the Kano/Maiduguri  Highway, south of Damaturu.

    Details of the attack are still sketchy but residents, who spoke from their houses with our correspondent on phone, disclosed that the insurgents came into the town in their hundreds shooting sporadically, an action that caused panic and fear,  forcing the residents to return abruptly to their houses.

    One Isa Adamu disclosed that the police station in the area and the military formation in the town were the first points of attack.

    The police station was allegedly burnt down. Unconfirmed sources disclosed that the local government secretariat might have also been set ablaze.

    Isa Adamu also informed that there was timely reinforcement from the military.

    “The timely intervention of the military with prompt re-enforcement has made the fight to subside. As I talk to you now, there are fewer gunshots around the town. We gather that the boys have been chased out of the town,” Isa informed.

  • Boko Haram shifting base to Bama – Hunters

    Some local hunters and Vigilante officials have confirmed that Boko Haram members are shifting their operational base from Gwoza area to Bama, less than 70km away from Maiduguri, Borno State capital.

    They said local hunters saw several insurgents relocating their war hardware to Bama town, with some on motorcycle and Hilux trucks.

    The news of the relocation has fueled speculations that the insurgents want to lunch onslaughts on Maiduguri in a bid to capture the city.

    Muhammed Abbas Gava, a spokesman of the Vigilante Group of Nigeria, said some fleeing Bama residents reported that the presence of the insurgents in Bama is swelling by the day.

    Gava said the insurgents were led by an ex- grains merchant in Baga market called Bakura, who is now the Amir of Gwoza and Bama axis.

    “Some of the residents of Bama that fled into Maiduguri said they saw and recognised Bakura, who used to be a corn merchant at the popular Baga Park market before he disappeared some years back to join the Boko Haram,” he said.

  • Boko Haram abducts 185 in attack on village near Chibok

    Boko Haram abducts 185 in attack on village near Chibok

    Militants have killed 35 people and kidnapped no fewer than 185, fleeing residents said yesterday of an attack in Borno State town Gumsuri, 20 kilometres to Chibok, where nearly 300 schoolgirls were taken hostage in April.

    Teenager Aji Ibrahim said he was lucky to escape into the bushes.

    “No doubt, they were Boko Haram members because they were chanting `Allahu akbar’ (God is great) while shooting at people and torching houses,” he told The Associated Press.

    The attack on Gumsuri happened on Sunday night, said a security official and a local government officer, who insisted on anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to the media. The news took days to emerge because the militants have destroyed communications towers in the area.

    Although nobody has claimed responsibility for the attack, Boko Haram is believed to be behind it.

    The people kidnapped by the militants include women and children. The hostages were carted away on trucks towards Sambisa Forest, a notorious rebel stronghold, two local officials and a vigilante leader said.

    Both officials, who requested anonymity, said the local government established the number of those abducted through contacting families, ward heads and emirs.

    A vigilante leader based in the Borno State capital, Maiduguri, Usman Kakani, told AFP that fighters who were in Gumsari during the attack provided a figure of 191 abducted, including women, girls and boys.

    Gumsuri is roughly 70 kilometres (43 miles) south of Maiduguri and falls on the road that leads to Chibok.

    Those who fled the village said it was too dangerous to head directly to Maiduguri. Instead, they travelled several hundred kilometres in the opposite direction to connect with the main road that leads to the state capital.

    Mukhtar Buba, a Gumsuri resident who fled to Maiduguri, also confirmed that women and children were taken. “After killing our youths, the insurgents have taken away our wives and daughters,” he said.

    Other witnesses recounted the gory incident: A local government official who pleaded anonymity said: “Our youth that engaged the insurgents, in serious fight have been seriously injured because the attackers stormed the village in convoy of vehicles with petrol bombs and dangerous weapons.

    “For the past one year, the insurgents have made several attempts to attack Gumsuri but were resisted by the gallant youths of the village who always had the upper hand during confrontation. It is sad that on Sunday, the village was subdued.”

    Another official added:  “They  divided themselves into two groups. While  the first group was fighting with the vigilantes, the second group launched simultaneous attacks from behind them . They killed 32 people, including the chief Imam and leader of the youth.”

    Abdullahi Kolomi who could not explain how he escaped to Maiduguri said that more than half of the town was set ablaze.

    “I am not sure what will be left behind in Gumsuri because more than half of the village was in flames when some of us decided to run. We just took that step thinking that we would die but only God knows how and why we came out alive.

    The terrorists ruthlessly  attacked us and killed at will. They had guns and bombs; they came with petrol in jerrycans which they used in setting houses ablaze. Many shops and foodstuff have been destroyed.

    “I managed to escape and trekked throughout the night. I took refuge in Biu for three days before proceeding to Maiduguri, but I lost everything.”

    Another eyewitness, Adamu Muktari,  who has escaped to Gombe State said the insurgents came to the village in hundreds and ordered the villagers to assemble in an open place where they separated the women from men, the young girls and boys, before they opened fire on those that refused to join them on their mission.

    The  insurgents gathered the insurget ordered the people to assemble in a particular place outside the village.

    “On noticing that  the insurgents planned to kill the youths and abduct young ladies or girls, others started to run away. Some were killed, some injured and some escaped.

    “We saw hell.  We never expect they will turn against us in the village because they used to come and pass through the village and have never asked anybody to run away or hurt anybody until today we just saw them and they asked us to come out from our houses and assemble outside,” Muktari narrated.

    Boko Haram has increasingly used kidnappings to boost its supply of child fighters, porters and young women who have reportedly been used as sex slaves.

    The mass abductions in Chibok brought unprecedented attention to Boko Haram’s five-year extremist uprising, and President Goodluck Jonathan vowed to end the conflict.

    But violence has escalated since April and the Gumsuri attack will no doubt cast further doubt on Nigeria’s ability to contain the crisis.

    Also yesterday, Cameroon’s army said it had killed 116 Boko Haram fighters who attacked one of its bases.  AFP quoted Defence ministry spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Didier Badjeck.

    Militants ambushed a column of army vehicles, using an improvised explosive device and then hundreds attacked in the region of Amchide, 65 km (40 miles) north of Maroua, at around 10.30 a.m. local time (0930 GMT).

    “The response of our forces was swift and appropriate. The attack was repulsed and the attackers neutralised,” Badjeck said yesterday, adding that 116 militants died. One soldier was killed and at least two vehicles lost.

    A senior official in Cameroon’s Far North region confirmed Wednesday’s attack and the toll and said it was followed by another attack overnight for which casualties are unknown.

    The army determines death tolls either visually, or by counting the number of vehicles it destroys and estimating how many militants each vehicle carried, said the official, who declined to be identified.

    Residents told the BBC the armed militants attacked the border town of Amchide on Wednesday, arriving in two vehicles with many others on foot.

    They raided the market area, setting fire to shops and more than 50 houses.

    Cameroon army said vehicles from its elite battalion had been caught in an ambush on Wednesday.

    “At the same time… the Amchide military base was attacked by hundreds of fighters from the sect, but the response from our defence forces was instant and appropriate,” AFP quotes it as saying.

    One Cameroonian soldier was killed and an officer is missing, it reports.