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Tag: boko haram

  • Chibok girls: Why Chad led deal with Boko Haram

    Chibok girls: Why Chad led deal with Boko Haram

    Fresh facts yesterday revealed that the high number of Chadian mercenaries in the Boko Haram sect made Chad to spearhead the ceasefire with the group.

    It was also learnt that five conditions were tabled at the negotiation session for peace to reign in the North-East.

    But findings confirmed that the military was kept out of the swap deal which was mainly a political initiative.

    In deference to political authority, the military hierarchy had to key into the negotiation accepted by the presidency.

    According to a reliable source, Chad became central to the ceasefire because many of its citizens were conscripted into Boko Haram sect.

    Intelligence reports confirmed that strategic commanders of Boko Haram were living and operating from Chad.

    The source said Chad had shown little commitment to the insurgency in Nigeria until the French President François Hollande, intervened and the follow-up visit to the Francophone nation by President Goodluck Jonathan.

    The source said: “The reality is that intelligence reports have shown that there are more Chadian mercenaries in Boko Haram. Also, Chad is rated as an ally of the sect because some of the strategic camps and commanders of Boko Haram are based in the Francophone nation.

    “These developments made France and the international community to mount pressure on Chad to assist Nigeria to address the insurgency in the North-East. This is why it was easier for Chad to spearhead negotiation with Boko Haram.”

    But there were indications yesterday that five conditions were tabled for the ceasefire which was announced on Friday.

    The conditions are: ceasefire by the two parties; the release of  the 219 Chibok girls; freedom for detained Boko Haram leaders and members; further talks on ending of siege on some towns and villages in the North-East; and mutual  respect of all the clauses in the negotiation terms.

    Another source added: “So far since Thursday, each of the parties had been trying to implement the ceasefire terms. This was why the Federal Government came out openly to admit the negotiation and asked the military to halt all operations in the North-East.

    “By Monday, there will be a clearer picture of the situation when the representatives of the Federal Government meet with Boko Haram facilitators in N’Djamena.”

    Findings however showed that the military was kept in the dark by the presidency because talks were “restricted to diplomatic and political levels.”

    A third source said: “The military received the ceasefire with cautious optimism. As a matter of fact, Nigerian and Cameroonian military chiefs were still perfecting operation strategies against Boko Haram at a session in Abuja when the alert on the ceasefire came.

    “In deference to political authority, the military had to fall in line. This was why all military formations were directed to stop actions against Boko Haram. The military has shown its utmost respect for democratic institutions.”

     

  • Waiting for Chibok girls

    Following the ceasefire agreement by the federal government and the representatives of the Boko Haram insurgents, there are indications that the over 200 abducted Chibok girls may be released soon.

    Their release, possibly in the new week,  is said to be part of the outcome of negotiations to end the insurgency in the North East part of the country which has left many dead and properties destroyed.

    This is not the first time that speculations will be rife about the release of the girls whose abduction has generated worldwide interest and concern.

    Recently, some of the girls were reportedly released and driven into the Army Barracks in Maiduguri, Borno State capital in a bus but it turned out that the report,  said to have earlier been confirmed by the Defence Headquarters was false.

    Not even the leader of the Bringbackourgirls campaign, former Education Minister, Dr Oby Ezekwesili could resist the speculation that she twitted  about it hoping that the girls will regain their freedom after months of incarceration in unimaginable circumstances.

    Hopefully the girls reported release this time around will not be yet another shattered hope,  but a possible end of the abduction saga which will for years  continue to haunt us as a nation considering the negative image the unfortunate incident has earned us.

    The girls according to the insurgents are said to be “well and alive” contrary to reports that they have been physically abused. If indeed the girls have not been viciously assaulted as reported, the emotional trauma they have been subjected to must be harrowing.

    For over six months, the young girls have been denied the comfort of their homes and care of their parents and have been held hostage for no justifiable reason.

    They are definitely not returning the same way they were taken away, but we will be too glad to have them back after the long wait that has forced their parents to declare them dead in accordance with the tradition of the Chibok community.

    It is sad that the Boko Haram terrorists resorted to abducting the innocent girls to advance whatever cause they claim to be fighting for and refused to release them despite the global outrage that greeted their action.

    Their action stands condemned and they will someday pay dearly for the crime and the agony they have subjected Nigerians to with the girls’ abduction.

    There are claims that the possible release of the girls at this time is a political ploy by the federal government to enhance the electoral chances of President Goodluck Jonathan for re- election. Whatever it is, what is important is that the girls regain their freedom and we are able to put the ugly incident behind us.

    The federal government has no choice but to ensure the release of the girls to redeem whatever is left of its image  and should be commended if it is able to pull this negotiation through and not allow similar incidents to reoccur.

    Not many approve of negotiation with terrorists but in the circumstance the federal government has found itself, any compromise to ensure the release of the girls will be worth considering.

    We can only hope that the government will not allow itself to be outwitted by the terrorists who are known not to usually honour ceasefire agreements like the one reportedly reached with them. The government need to be sure that that the terrorists are sincere about this truce after all the avoidable havoc they have wrecked and will not soon strike when we least expect.

    We can afford to give the terrorists  the benefit of doubt knowing that they have recorded some casualties in the battle against the military but we must be on the alert. They cannot be completely trusted.

    The ceasefire for the battered Boko Haram group may well be a case of he who fights and run away, living to fight another day.

  • FG hopes to secure Chibok girls’ release by Tuesday

    FG hopes to secure Chibok girls’ release by Tuesday

    The Nigeria government hopes to secure the release of over 200 schoolgirls abducted by Boko Haram militants latest by Tuesday, a senior source at the Presidency told Reuters on Saturday.

    He, however, declined to comment on where the transfer would take place.

    “I can confirm that the Federal Government is working hard to meet its own part of the agreement so that the release of the abductees can by effected either on Monday or latest Tuesday next week,” the source told Reuters on telephone.

  • The thorny road to a deal

    The thorny road to a deal

    How sincere is the ceasefire agreement reportedly reached yesterday in far away Saudi Arabia between the Federal Government and members of Boko Haram, the dreaded Islamic sect?

    Nigerians are obviously in quandary following the sect’s serial denial of such agreement in the past.

    In 2011, a Presidential Committee on Security Challenges in the North-East Zone, set up after bomb attacks by the Islamic sect, submitted its final report, asking President Goodluck Jonathan to consider granting amnesty to members of the sect wishing to surrender their arms to the Federal Government.

    The panel, headed by Ambassador Usman Gaji Galtimari, recommended that the Federal Government should consider the option of dialogue and negotiation which should be contingent upon the renunciation of all forms of violence and surrender of arms, to be followed by rehabilitation.

    In November 2012, the sect said it was willing to cease all hostilities and attacks if the Federal Government should arrest a former Borno State governor and meet its other demands.

    They demanded  compensation to all the families of their members that were not killed in the battle field from 2009, including their leader, Mohammed Yusuf; the release of all their members that were not captured in battle by the government as well as reconstructing their place of worship (Markas Ibn Taimiyyah) in Maiduguri.

    On January 7, 2013, the insurgents. for the second time within a space of time restated its commitment to ceasefire in order to pave the way for dialogue.

    One Sheikh Abu Mohammad Abdulazeez Ibn Idris, who claimed to be a top member of the major faction of the group led by Sheikh Abubakar Shekau, spoke on behalf of the group.

    He said: “We, on our own, in the top hierarchy of our movement under the leadership of Imam Abubakar Shekau, as well as some of our notable followers, agreed that our brethren in Islam, both women and children, are suffering unnecessarily.

    “Hence, we resolved that we should bring this crisis to an end. We therefore call on all those that identify themselves with us and our course to from today lay down their arms.”

    Few weeks after, Abubakar Shekau denied  any such agreement between the group and the Federal Government.

    He publicly denied the claim and was quoted to have said: “We are stating it categorically that we are not in any dialogue or ceasefire agreement with anyone. And we have never asked anybody in the name Abdulazeez to represent me, Abubakar Shekau, the leader of this movement.

     “I want the world to know that we have no dialogue with government. I have on several occasions attempted to pass this message across via the Internet and Youtube and we later realised that some agents of government kept removing our messages from the net and preventing  its online publication so that our messages will not be heard.

    “They know that if the world hears our position on this fake dialogue, their efforts of deceit would be exposed.”

    The group continued to unleash terror on innocent citizens thereafter.

    In April 2013, the Federal Government set up a committee to consider the feasibility or otherwise of granting pardon to the sect and to collate clamours arising from different interest groups who wanted the apex government to administer clemency on members of the religious sect. The committee was also charged with the task of  recommending  modalities for the granting of the pardon, should such step become the logical one to take under the prevailing circumstance.

    The president  followed this up  in May  with  a promise to release a number of Boko Haram members, including all women  in prison custody.

    Few months after, July to be specific, Nigerians happily looked forward to the end of the insurgency when the Federal Government said it had signed a ceasefire agreement with the militant group. Minister of Special Duties and Chairman of the Peace and Dialogue Committee in the North,  Alhaji Tanimu Turaki, announced the ceasefire agreement on the Hausa service of Radio France International.

    Then, Turaki  assured that the ceasefire was  not something that was done for a specific period of time. He asserted that it was something that would be forever. He confidently said it was ure there would be any basis for anybody to renege on the agreement.

    Unfortunately, the people’s hopes were dashed once again as the sect leader, Abubakar Shekau, in a video message denied Kabiru Turaki’s claim. ”Let me assure you that we will not enter into any truce with these infidels. We will not enter into any truce with the Nigerian government,” Shekau reportedly said.

    The spate of insurgency took a worrisome dimension thereafter. In May this year, Minister of Youth Development, Boni Haruna, told the country that President Goodluck Jonathan had granted conditional amnesty to the terrorists group with a view to putting permanent halt to insurgency in the North-East.

    He added that series of integration programmes had been lined up for the members of the sect who would surrender their arms and embrace peace Shortly after he made the statement, the Presidency swiftly debunked the statement. Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, said Jonathan did not mention the word amnesty in his Democracy Day broadcast that Boni Haruna relied on to make the statement.

  • Ghana backs Nigeria against Boko Haram

    *ECOWAS leaders to meet on Ebola 1st week of November

    President of Ghana, John Mahama, has offered his country’s support to Nigeria’s fight against the Islamic sect, Boko Haram.

    Addressing State House correspondents after closed-door meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan at the Presidential Villa, Abuja on Friday,  he said that key bilateral issues concerning the two countries were discussed.

    He urged Nigerians to fully support Jonathan’s administration in its effort to stamp out the terrorists.

    Stressing that Nigeria is a strategic country in West Africa and its destabilisation would adversely affect the entire region, the Ghanaian Preseident, who is the current chairman of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) said that anyone who means well for West African region must join hands with Nigeria to ensure the menace of insurgency and terrorism is contained.

    He said: “We also discuss the issues of security and we are optimistically hopeful that Nigeria will continue to be able to deal with the issue of Boko Haram. We believe that the people should stand in solidarity with the a government, you must be one in dealing with this threat to your national survival.”

    “And for us in West Africa, we believe that the destabilization of Nigeria is destabilization of the whole of the West African subregion. It is not only because of the size of Nigeria, but it is the largest  economy in the whole of the subregion and indeed the whole of Africa. We will continue to express solidarity with Nigeria in your fight against this insurgency.”

    He also commended Jonathan and Nigerians for successfully checking the spread of the Ebola Virus Disease in the country and for assisting less successful West African countries in tackling the deadly disease.

    According to him, a meeting of ECOWAS heads of state will be convened by the first week of November to discuss concerted efforts at checking further spread of Ebola which has already killed over 4,000 persons in the region in the past four months.

     

  • Federal Government, Boko Haram declare ceasefire

    Federal Government, Boko Haram declare ceasefire

    The Federal Government said on Friday that it has reached agreement with the dreaded Boko Haram sect to ceasefire on the attacks in the North Eastern part of the country.

    The Coordinator of the National Information Centre, Mike Omeri who spoke alongside the spokesperson of the Defence Information unit, General Chris Olukolade on Friday at the security briefing in Abuja said President Goodluck Jonathan’s  Principal Private Secretary,Hassan Tukur  met with the Boko Haram representative, Danladi Ahmadu and the President of Chad, Idris Deby in Saudi Arabia and  have reached a ceasefire agreement.

    He said the Chief of Defence Staff has reportedly ordered the service chiefs to comply with cease fire agreement.

    “We can confirm to you that there have been contacts between the Government and representatives of Boko Haram.

    “The discussions are essentially in relation to the general insecurity in the North East and also the need to rescue all captives of the terrorists, including the students of the Government Girls Secondary school, Chibok.

    “From the discussions, they indicated their desire for and willingness to discuss and resolve all associated issues.

    “They also assured that the school girls and all other people in their captivity are all alive and well.

    “Already, the terrorists have announced a ceasefire in furtherance of their desire for peace, in this regard, the government of Nigeria has in a similar vein declared a ceasefire.

    “This is to assure Nigerians that the greater goal of this process is to ensure the return of normalcy in the land, especially in parts of the country troubled by the activities of terrorists.

    “President Jonathan’s commitment to peace and security in Nigeria and indeed all parts of the world has been the driving force of all engagements and measures taken since the war on terror began in the country,” Omeri stated.

  • Boko Haram has killed over 10,000 – NSA

    Boko Haram has killed over 10,000 – NSA

    The National Security Adviser (NSA), Mr. Sambo Dasuki on Tuesday said the Boko Haram sect has killed over 10,000 people and kidnapped hundreds including more than 200 Chibok girls.

    He also said military action might not be the only solution to Boko Haram insurgency.

    But as part of the long term plan against insurgency, the NSA said the Federal Government is planning to tinker with national school curriculum.

    Dasuki made these disclosures in a paper he presented at a session with the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the United Nations in New York.

    His presentation was on “Still on Carrot and Stick Approach to Countering Terrorism” as part of the non-military aspect of Nigeria’s Countering Violent Extremism (CVE)

    He said: “The current threat we face is mainly from a radicalized and fundamentalist Islamic group, the Jama’atul ahlul Sunnah Lidda’awati Wal Jihad, popularly known as the Boko Haram sect which emerged in Borno State, North Eastern Nigeria, in 2000.

    “The group was founded by the late Mohammed Ali who moved to Kanamma, a small settlement in Yobe State, close to the border with Niger Republic in 2003 at a base dubbed ‘Afghanistan’.

    “The movement then known as the ‘The Nigerian Taliban’ targeted the police and other security agencies sourcing for weapons, creating fear and a sense of insecurity in the locals. This group was initially contained by the security forces but later metamorphosed into the Boko Haram Sect under the leadership of a very charismatic young man known as Mohammed Yusuf.

    “Today, Boko Haram, is seeking to impose an extreme violent Salafist Sharia legal system in the North while holding strong abhorrence for Western ideas. Under the leadership of Abubakar Shekau, the profile of the sect continued to assume martyrdom status.

    “In the past few years the group has targeted both Muslims and Christians, killing more than 10,000 civilians including women and children. The group has kidnapped hundreds of people, including the more than 200 young girls taken from their school in Chibok as they sat for their final year exams.”

    The NSA said military option cannot be the only solution to Boko Haram crisis.

    He added: “It is my belief that any response to terrorism must be long term, holistic and robust enough to address its root causes.

    “A military approach can only be part of a solution, more importantly states must begin by understanding the causes of youth anomie, disillusionment, need for adventure and search for meaning that is at the heart of a lot of radicalization narratives, while also addressing more structural and societal defects that make it difficult for some youth to access jobs, education or social security.

    “While there is no defined pathway to terrorism, poverty, lack of opportunities for self actualization for youth, political and social marginalization, poor understanding of religion and the pull of a charismatic leader all play a role.”

    Dasuki spoke on the soft approach to insurgency by the nation in the last two years.

  • Four Chibok girls escape

    Four Chibok girls escape

    •Community ‘not aware’

    Four of the more than 200 schoolgirls kidnapped by the militant Islamist sect Boko Haram have escaped, raising hopes for the young ones still held captive, according to a report.

    The Nation could not independently confirm the report from the military last night. The story was published by New York Post online.

    The Chibok community also said it was not aware of the escape by the girls.

    The free girls, all between ages 16 and 18, escaped with the help of a teenage boy prisoner, who managed to get them out of the camp, according to Stephen Davis, a British-Australian negotiator who had tried to bargain with the extremist Islamic group for the schoolgirls’ freedom.

    The girls, guided by the setting sun, walked west for three weeks, finally arriving in a Nigerian village, starving and traumatised.

    “They were amazing — to first escape and then walk for weeks,” Davis told The Times of London. “They are the only ones that have escaped from a Boko Haram camp.”

    Davis said the girls had been told that if they fled Boko Haram, their families would be killed.

    Director of Publicity Kibaku Area Development Association Dr. Manasseh Allen, of the Chibok Community in Abuja, said last night, after making calls, that he could not confirm the escape of the girls.

    Six months have passed since more than 200 girls were snatched from their boarding-school dormitory in Borno State by Boko Haram operatives.

    Their abduction sparked global outrage and a huge campaign calling for their rescue, partly propelled by the hashtag #BringBackOurGirls.

    United States First Lady Michelle Obama issued a tweet holding a sign emblazoned with the hashtag.

    Davis said several attempts to negotiate their release have fallen through.

    Advocates have expressed frustration that the world has moved on.

    “Even before Ebola and ISIS’s intensified activities, most of the world that stood with #BringBackOurGirls had moved on,” Ibrahim Abdullahi, the lawyer who started the #BringBackOurGirls campaign, said.

    “But we here in Nigeria and a few others outside haven’t moved on. We have been persistent. We have been tweeting about it every day. We’re doing a daily one-hour sit out in Abuja and weekly in Lagos.”

  • Boko Haram: Multinational troops for Borno

    Nigeria’s northern neigbours – Cameroon, Chad and Niger Republic – are to reinforce their support for the battle against Boko Haram.

    The four countries will from November 1 deploy troops to form a multi-national Joint Task Force to tackle the deadly sect. The base of the force, which will be headed by a chief of staff, will be in Baga, Borno State.

    They will be operating under the Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC) member – countries, to be joined by  Benin Republic, Nigeria’s western neighbour.

    The force is expected to take off on November 20.

    The decision was reached yesterday at the LCBC security meeting in Abuja, which also adopted the draft resolution to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) and the African Union (AU) on terrorism.

    UN resolution 1556 (2004) considers terrorism as the greatest threat to international peace and security and agreed on the need for an appropriate legal framework for military operations against Boko Haram insurgents.

    The multi-national task force will take off after the Heads of state and government of the LCBC member states and Benin Republic must have ratified the resolution.

    Foreign Affairs Minister  Amb. Aminu Wali told reporters at the end of the meeting, which was attended by foreign and Defence ministers of LCBC member-countries and Benin Republic, that the adopted draft resolution would be sent to the heads of state and government of the LCBC member states and Benin Republic.

    He said the meeting “requested the Republic of Niger to introduce the draft resolution to the peace and security council of the AU. Republic of Chad and Nigeria should introduce the resolution to the UNSC.

    Wali said the meeting urged member-states’ Permanent Representatives in New York and their ambassadors in Addis Ababa to hold consultations with a view to ensuring the adoption of the resolution by UNSC and AU.

    Wali spoke of the need to tackle Boko Haram, saying the meeting “must define the nature and scope of this struggle, which we must win or else, it will define us”.

    Lake Chad Basin Commission Executive Secretary Sanusi Abdullahi said  the multinational Joint Task Force is to “give us a tool for the fight against all forms of terrorism in the Lake Chad Basin and in the member-countries or at least in the member countries that have signed this declaration at the extraordinary summit.”

    Abdullahi, who responded to questions on location of the military base, said Nigeria’s minister of defence was expected to explain to his colleagues in the member-countries how secure the place is.

    Niger and Chad have deployed their batallions at locations within their countries.

    Nigerian troops are in Baga. Cameroon is preparing to deploy its contingent of a battalion within its border in the Lake Chad Basin, until the legal arrangements are finalised for the operation of the force.

    President Goodluck Jonathan expressed confidence that intensification of joint patrols, military operations and intelligence sharing by Nigeria and neighbouring countries as agreed by their leaders in Niamey last week, would curtail the insurgency and other cross-border crimes.

    He spoke while welcoming the Ministers of Defence and Foreign Affairs of Chad, Niger, Cameroon and Benin Republic, who were in Abuja to work with their Nigerian counterparts on a legal framework for the cross-border military operations.

    Jonathan said: “I believe that if we cooperate more and monitor our borders closely, the movement of criminals and terrorists as well as small arms and ammunition across our shared borders will also be drastically reduced.”

    With their collective experience and professionalism, he said, the visiting ministers and their Nigerian counterpart should come up with an effective action plan for the successful implementation of the decisions reached by the leaders of Nigeria, Chad, Niger, Cameroon and Benin Republic at their meeting in Niamey on October 7.

    A statement by presidential spokesman Reuben Abati said: “At that meeting, the leaders announced plans to step up the fight against Boko Haram. A communiqué issued after the meeting said that a command centre for a multinational force headed by a chief of staff will be in place by November 20.”

    “The leaders also agreed to finalise the deployment of troops promised by member-states to form the multinational force within their national borders by November 1.”

    The visiting ministers at the audience with President Jonathan are: Niger’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Mohammed Bazoun, Cameroon’s Minister of External Relations Mr. Pierre Moukoko Mbonjo, Chad’s Minister of Defence Mr. Benaindo Tatola, Chad’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Muossa Faki Mahamat, Niger’s Minister of Defence Mr. K. Mahamadou, Benin’s Minister of Defence Mr. Robert Yarou, Benin’s Minister of Foreign Affairs. Mr. Nassirou Bako Arifari and Cameroon’s Minister of Defence Mr. Edgar Alain Debe Ngo’o.

  • ‘Boko Haram doesn’t represent Islam’

    ‘Boko Haram doesn’t represent Islam’

    The President of the Ansaru-Deen Society of Nigeria, Alhaji Lateef Femi Okunnu, has described the  Boko Haram insurgency as evil. He said it does not represent Islam.

    Okunnu spoke at a news conference organised by the Muslims in Lagos State under the aegis of the Muslim Community of Lagos State, at the Lagos Central Mosque.

    He said the claims of the group for fomenting trouble in the North had no basis in Islam.

    “Boko Haram claims it has justification for being violent and embarking on terrorism. Despite their claim of being jihadists, it is clear that they are not propagating  Islam. We wish to affirm that terrorism is alien to Islam. The religion represents peaceful co-existence and tolerance of other faith. Embarking on violence in the name of Islam is a sinful act. They are violating the fundamental principle of Islam, which is a religion of peace,” Okunnu said.