Tag: boko haram

The North unleashed yesterday a blistering criticism of President Goodluck Jonathan, accusing him of “insensitivity.”

The  North’s apex socio-political organisation, the Arewa Consultative Forum, (ACF), is not pleased with Dr. Jonathan’s handling of the Boko Haram insurgency in the Northeast.

The ACF listed its grouses against the President and his administration in “an open letter to Mr. President on security situation in the North” . The letter is signed by the ACF Chairman, Alhaji Ibrahim Coomassie, a former Inspector General of Police, and Secretary JIP Ubah, a retired colonel.

The ACF described as worrisome, Jonathan’s “nonchalance attitude to the plight of northerners, whose area has suffered gruesome murders and arsons from the extremist sect since 2009.”

It expressed fears that in spite of the emergency in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states, towns and villages are being sacked, people maimed and killed  while Nigeria’s territories are being seized by a group of insurgents.

“There has been no decisive action to expose, contain and resolve the Boko Haram insurgency”, the ACF alleged, adding that “the attitude of Mr. President towards the plight of the missing (Chibok) girls is, to say the least, appalling and un presidential.”

The ACF gave a three-point way forward. They are:

•Jonathan should put a “halt to the brazen seizure of Nigerian territories and confront the insurgents decisively;”

•He should constitute a high powered team to investigate persistent allegations of complicity now echoed by Stephen Davis against Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, former Chief of Army Staff Gen. Azubuike Ihejirika and others ; and

•implement recommendations of three panels  – the Sheikh Lemu, Gaji Galtimari and Tanimu Turaki – set up on the insurgency.

The ACF said it was forced to write the open letter because Nigerian citizens in the affected areas were being slaughtered like animals with women and children raped, adding that Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, has been isolated as most of its link bridges have been destroyed.

According to the ACF, there is widespread feeling that the crisis is being used as a ploy to punish the north and neutralise its advantages and potentials by permanently destabilising the region.

The group flayed the the federal government’s tardiness or inaction “which has led to loss of confidence in government and widespread contempt for security personnel and institutions.

“Another reason for our growing concern is the failure of government to investigate and prosecute persons widely believed to be involved in the insurgency. The recent revelation by the Australian negotiator, Steven Davis, fingering Senator Ali Modu Sheriff and Gen. Azubuike Ihejirika is one of many examples.

“In spite of this and several other disclosures, Mr. President has become so insensitive.”

It added: “We are left with no option but to strongly believe that a covert war is being waged against the North.

“The spate of assassinations, murder,  arson, destruction of lives and property of innocent citizens in the North East in particular and the entire North in general has continued unabated and assuming an unprecedented gravity and ferocity, it is looking more like an agenda being executed sequentially and successfully too.

“Considering the enormity of the loss of lives and property and the mayhem being unleashed generally on Northerners, the Arewa Consultative Forum is compelled to draw the attention of Mr. President to the following highlights:

“Assassination and mass killing of innocent persons: The series of assassinations of prominent Northerners and mass killings of innocent people in the last six years are most disturbing and worrisome. These appear to have been carried out by hatchet men.

“The killing of General  Muhammad Shuwa for example was carried out in a very suspicious circumstance and the reaction from a known serving General pointed to the fact there was a root to the murder. Other victims include Sheikh Jaafar Adam, Sheikh Albani and other religious and traditional rulers. The mass killings in Baga, Konduga, Gamboru-Ngala, Bama, Government College Buni Yadi, Benesheik, Katsina, Kaduna, Zamfara, Plateau, Benue, Taraba, Nasarawa etc, went without counter action by our security agencies.

“We doubt it very much if investigation into these heinous crimes have been launched and  if carried out, the result have not been made public as no one has been charged to court, leaving the families of the dead and the entire North to carry the burden of the loss of lives of their fellow citizens.

“The attempts on the lives of the Shehu of Borno, the Shehu of Bama, Deputy Governor of Borno, the Emir of Fika, the late Emir of Kano, former head of state H. E. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, Sheikh Dahiru Bauchi, former Governor Murtala Nyako of Adamawa and Governor Gabriel Suswam of Benue all posed serious security challenges that ought to have been taken seriously and addressed by Government, instead we have continued to witness more killings, destruction of property, displacement of persons and indeed a state of helplessness.” It said.

“Mr. President is not unaware of the plight of many internally displaced persons living in various camps in the North east. Some have even sought refuge in the neighbouring countries of Chad and Cameroon. Equally disturbing is the absence of decisive action to verify, expose, contain and resolve the Boko Haram insurgency.  Thus leading to a debilitating wave of rumour that the Boko Haram is a franchise deployed to cripple the north.

“Another reason for our growing concern is the failure of government to investigate and prosecute persons widely believed to be involved in the insurgency. The recent revelation by the Australian negotiator Mr. Steven Davis fingering Alhaji Ali Modu Sheriff and Gen. Ihejirika is one of many examples. In spite of this and several other disclosures, Mr. President has become so insensitive that in utter disregard has chosen to travel with Senator Ali Modu Sherrif to Chad recently on a state visit as reported in the media to discuss the insurgency in Nigeria with President Idris Derby.”

It said, despite involving better equipped Boko Haram militants against ill-equipped and less-motivated Nigerian armed forces and the Police, the rest of the country and in particular the Federal Government of Nigeria, choose to carry on daily business as if all is well with the nation.

“Rather than tackle this menace of insurgents and save lives of innocent citizens of the North east, the President and his government have chosen to shift the blame on opposition politicians, Northern leaders and governments of Northern States. Indeed there is no greater  fallacy  than to insinuate that any northern leader  would  orchestrate  a crisis of  such  catastrophic proportion against his people just in order to destabilise the Federal government of Nigeria. This posture is totally unacceptable as no authority in the country is higher than that of the President.

“The President has declared a National Emergency on Ebola Virus which has just claimed a few lives with a whooping N1.9bn, yet a greater catastrophe of killings, maiming, abduction, rape and displacement of many Nigerians taking place daily in virtually all states of the North, is not worrisome for him to declare a National emergency. Instead, it was reported that the Federal Government is seeking $1tr foreign loan to equip the Armed Forces to enable them face Boko Haram.

“ Is it a case of neglect or grand design to destroy the North? The ACF and indeed the entire people of the North are compelled to believe that refusal to tackle the insurgents decisively is a grand design to reduce the population of parts of the North and to cripple the region economically and otherwise.

The Defence Headquarters yesterday said it has not activated its Reserve List to reinforce troops fighting Boko Haram insurgency in the Northeast.

But it was gathered from a top source that if there is need to call for reserve force, it will only affect those who have retired from the Armed Forces in the last three years.

According to the Director of Defence Information, Maj-Gen. Chris Olukolade,  the “Reserve List/ Force is still dormant, we are yet to activate it.”

Another military officer, however said: “If there is need for the military to call on its Reserve Force, it will only affect those who have retired in the last three years. It is not a blanket reactivation of all military retirees.

“To activate the Reserve List has to be a serious business; it is not what any branch of the Armed Forces can do alone. The military will do such reactivation officially and formally.

“As a matter of fact, such a decision will involve the National Security Council and even the Council of State. This insurgency has not reached such a level.

“I think Nigerians should have faith in the capability of the nation’s Armed Forces to curtail the insurgency. What we see is that we tend to run down the military as if it is incapacitated.”

Responding to a question, the source added: “Troops are in many states and this is why it appears that the Armed Forces are depleted.”

The National Security Adviser, Mr. Sambo Dasuki, on February 24 said armed forces had been deployed in 32 out of the 36 states to check security challenges.

But Northern Organisation  Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), has lauded what it called the Federal Government’s plan to reinstate 10,000 retired soldiers to boost the strength of the army in the fight against insurgency.

It however warned that ex-Niger-Delta militants should not by any means be considered in the reinstatement process.

The ACF in a statement in Kaduna yesterday by its National Publicity Secretary, Muhammad Ibrahim, said concerned authority must scrutinised the retired soldiers thoroughly and reinstate only qualified persons.

The statement said: “It has been brought to the knowledge of Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) that the Federal Government has authorized the reinstatement of 10,000 retired soldiers back into the Nigeria Army. This in the wisdom of Government is to boost the strength of the military to confront the insurgency that has engulfed the country.

“ACF welcomes this development, however, it wishes to caution the authorities responsible for the reinstatement to scrutinize the retired soldiers thoroughly and ensure that only persons qualified in accordance with military regulations are recalled.

“Furthermore, the issue of Federal character must be reflected in the selection process to ensure fair representation of all sections of the country. ACF therefore urges the authorities to display transparency and honesty in the reinstatement exercise.

“ACF particularly advises that those who have never been in the military and therefore, cannot be re-instated or recalled should be precluded from the exercise, as on no account should ex-militants, who after receiving formal training as part of Amnesty granted by late President Umaru Musa Yar’adua’s benevolence, be considered to benefit from the exercise. They are not qualified for either reinstatement or recall from the reserve list.”

After a secret negotiation, Boko Haram has agreed to release some of the abducted 219 Chibok girls, The Nation learnt yesterday.

The sect has listed 18 of its key members, who it said should be freed from detention in exchange for the girls.

But there was a snag last night because while the government wanted freedom for all the 219 Government Secondary School, Chibok girls, the sect said it would free only 30. The girls have been in captivity for 149 days.

Boko Haram sent the list of its commanders and the 30 girls to be swapped to a minister, who is also a lawyer, an elderstatesman and a key facilitator of peace with the sect, Comrade Shehu Sani, who is also the President of the Civil Rights Congress of Nigeria, according to sources.

The list, it was learnt, was sent after secret talks between a government delegation and a Boko Haram commander, who is being detained in Kuje Prison in Abuja. But there was no confirmation of this last night.

According the sources, the delegation, whose membership was kept under wrap, discussed with the commander, who is simply described as Umar.

One of the sources said: “Some top officials met with Umar about two weeks ago in Kuje Prison to discuss issues connected to the fate of the Chibok girls.

“We heard some inmates sharing this information that the sect might swap the girls with Umar and others. But all the details are still secret because Umar keeps to himself a lot.”

But another source said: “The delegation had a fruitful negotiation with Umar, who is one of the highly-rated commanders of Boko Haram. The group assured Umar of a swap and he has been looking forward to it.

“The sect has given a list of 18 of its members to be swapped with the abducted Chibok girls.”

It was, however, gathered that the fresh negotiation has suffered a little setback because Boko Haram has agreed to set free only 30 of the remaining 219 girls in its custody.

The government has offered to release the 18 key Boko Haram leaders/ members only on the condition that all the Chibok girls will be freed.

Some security agents are said to have given “cautious advice” to the government when there was “no full assurance that all the girls will be released”.

“So, technically, the release of 30 girls was unacceptable to the government based on the advice of some security agents,” another source said, adding:

“You can see why Nigerians should stop blaming Boko Haram from continuously keeping these girls in captivity. What is of concern now is to get even these 30 girls out to prove to the whole world that they are alive.”

Sani simply said last night: “No comment.”

Earlier in May, Sani explained why he and some Boko Haram contacts had audience with ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo in Abeokuta.

He said the session was meant to open a new channel for dialogue with the sect to rescue the girls.

He said: “The meeting in Abeokuta was aimed at repackaging and salvaging the dialogue option.”

It was not immediately clear if the latest talks had any connection with the repackaging or not.

The Chairman of the Presidential Fact-Finding Committee on the abduction of Chibok girls, Brig-Gen. Ibrahim Sabo, had on July 22 said the incident was real, contrary to misinterpretation in some quarters.

He also said 276 pupils were abducted, but 219 were unaccounted for, as at the time of submitting the report.

He said 57 of the abducted pupils had been reunited with their families after escaping from the sect.

Gen. Sabo, who made the disclosures in an address at the presentation of the committee’s report to the President, said 119 pupils escaped from the school premises before the insurgents took away their classmates.”

Nigeria’s losses to insurgents in Gwoza and some other towns in Borno and Yobe states are both human and materials. Soldiers have died; policemen are missing; and properties worth billions have gone with the wind, writes Asst. Editor
OLUKOREDE YISHAU

Their families cannot smile. If they manage to, it cannot last. Call them the victims of Gwoza and chances are that no one will argue with you. They are about 20. Initially, they were 35, but 15 have been found. These police officers were at the Nigeria Police Mobile Force (PMF), Gwoza Training camp, in Borno State.

Two days ago, Acting Inspector General of Police, Suleiman Abba, said the officers are still missing.

He spoke after meeting with Vice-President Namadi Sambo, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Abba said: “Well, I must tell you that the turnout of those missing is still impressive because we have been able to trace some of the officers who have reported either back to their bases or their families. When you go through what they went through, the likelihood of you knowing what to do is not very tenable.

“There is a possibility that the decision of what to do may not be easily comprehensible. So, some went back to their homes but our concerns is that once they are in safety we are satisfied and the process of bringing them back to their units has already commenced.

“I must tell you it is just less than 20 but we are still concerned with every one of them and unless we are able to account for each and everyone of them. We will not relent in the efforts of tracing them.”

The victims are not just policemen. Soldiers too have fallen. No one, except the military authorities, seems aware of the exact figure. The civilian casualties of Boko Haram’s take-over of towns in Borno and Yobe states are also counting their losses. Their lives have not remained the same since the insurgents stormed their towns or hamlets in columns of pickup trucks and motorbikes. They fired at adults in sight. Churches and homes were torched and women were said to have been forced to convert to Islam.

A Reuters report quoted a Gwoza schoolgirl, Indiyanatu Musa, 16, who witnessed the August 5 attack on the town as saying: “They said ‘Shekau sent us. You are condemned to death be you Christian or Muslim. Within a short time, the whole park was filled with bodies just lying everywhere. I was screaming and so were my schoolmates and the rest of the women around.”

Another eyewitness spoken to by the news agency, Aisha Abubakar, said: “They told us that they would not harm us, but that they are only killing our men because our men form vigilantes to fight them.”

Musa revealed further atrocities caused by the insurgents: “Each morning, they go around the houses knocking and calling on us to go for morning prayers and a sermon in the mosque.”

The Gwoza incident saw the high and the mighty fleeing to the hills for safety.

“I saw three soldiers in the hills, there was one who called his superior for reinforcement, they told him that they should just look for a way to escape. I also saw the Emir of Gwoza, he was in the hills too,” 26-year old Bukar Bulama, a Gwoza market trader, told Reuters.

The Emir’s palace is now seen as the domain of the Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau. He says the area is known a Caliphate Republic.

 “We went to the Emir’s palace and saw a man sitting in the Emir’s seat dressed in our Emir’s royal clothes with a turban. He said he was Shekau.”

Reuters quoted the women as saying that Shekau promised them that they would not be hurt. He told them that with their men dead, insurgents would marry them, “we will all live in peace”.

“He also said: ‘We have installed an Islamic Caliphate in Gwoza so every one of you must comply or be killed,” Bulama said.

Residents of Gamborou-Ngala also have sad tales to tell. Alice Adejuwon fled over the frontier. She told Reuters her story. She said many others fled with her.

In Adamawa State, the music is not sweet for many who have been displaced from territories conquered by Boko Haram. It emerged that as at last night no fewer than 1,300 persons now have been internally displaced. Among the refugees are 162 students of the Federal Polytechnic and the Adamawa State University, Mubi. 360 are women and 175 are children. There are nine expectant mothers; two of whom have given birth.

The Commandant of Adamawa Internally Displaced Persons Camp, Mr Abdulmumini Jauro, in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria at the Bajabure refugee camp in Girei Local Government Area, said: “We have so far registered over 1,300 Internally Displaced Persons who escaped from insurgent attacks in Madagali, Michika and Mubi North and South Local Government Areas of the state.”

Chibok, the Borno town made popular by the kidnap of 200 of its girls by Boko Haram, is still a lost territory, even though Boko Haram has not hoisted its flag there like it did in some other towns, including Gwoza.

In an interview published in this newspaper yesterday, the spokesperson of Chibok people in Abuja, Dr. Manasseh Allen, he revealed stories of how people are still disappearing from the town. He said people still run to sleep in the bush at night and feel abandoned.

His words: “Most of my people used to sleep in the bush for fear of Boko Haram. Few weeks ago, some teenagers spent the night outside and when coming back in the morning, they were abducted in Tukurumbula village and till date, we don’t know their whereabouts. A pastor went to sleep outside his home for fear and on his way back in the morning; he was ambushed and taken away. We have not seen him till today and he is my in-law.

“Things happen, people go out to sleep in the bush and return to their houses in the morning but recently things are not so bad because after taking over Gwoza, most of the insurgents have relocated to Gwoza and we are having relative peace in Chibok and the Chibok main village, most of the Boko Haram members have moved over to their headquarters in Gwoza.”

He urged Nigerians to help pressure the government to bring back the girls and make Chibok truly safe.

“I feel like there is a level of complexity because if this were to have happened in another country, I’m sure that the seat of government would be made too hot until the girls return but we Nigerians forgive easily and are not really our brothers’ keepers as we are supposed to be. I’m sorry for saying that but that is the fact.

“But Nigerians need to wake up and join the advocacy because today it is Chibok, who knows where it will be tomorrow? Because Boko Haram is a terrorists group, Nigerians need to all come together and let us fight it together.”

The United States is worried about the turn of event. The Under Secretary for Africa, Mrs Linda Thomas-Greenfield, said care must be taken to deal with the situation.

A September 2 report by the Nigeria Security Network paints a pathetic picture of the situation.

The report said: “Unless swift action is taken, Nigeria could be facing a rapid takeover of a large area of its territory reminiscent of ISIS’s lightning advances in Iraq.

“They are beginning to operate like a conventional army … They are reported to be using armoured vehicles, including tanks, and heavy weapons.”

But, the president and his supporters say he is doing a lot to fight insurgency. One of his supporters, Dugdale Kpobari Badom, who co-ordinates the Southsouth for the Transformation for Good Leadership and Development Initiative (TRANSGOLD), said yesterday:  “Jonathan is a blessing to Nigeria…As for the release of the Chibok girls and to end insurgency in the North, President Jonathan is doing his best and we are assuring Nigerians that the Chibok girls will be release. So, nobody should play politics with the abducted girls.”

For former Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) President Olisah Agbakoba feels drastic measures need to be taken. Agbakoba said with the insurgents seizing more territories in the Northeast, the army chiefs have to go.

He said: “If I was the Commander-in-Chief, the Chief of Defence Staff should be dismissed.”

He spoke at a news conference in his Lagos office.

Agbakoba said insurgency would not end until Boko Haram’s leadership is neutralised.

He said: “The only way to solve the Boko Haram challenge is by a resolute decapitation of the leadership. The new tactic is to completely degrade them. When they (Boko Haram) leadership is degraded, you will see that the whole thing will be over, otherwise the infestation will grow.

“The military high command should be removed immediately. Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh has failed in his commission and should be removed. The military has not done enough.”

For now, the tears of the families of the missing police officers continue; relatives of soldiers who have fallen are inconsolable; and for the people who have either lost loved ones to Boko Haram or battle with life in the conquered territories, life is not beautiful.

Fleeing residents of Michika have spoken of how Boko Haram insurgents killed more than 120 people since they took hold of the town about one week ago.

The insurgents are said to be going round the town, selecting choice properties which they take over. Occupants of such properties who resist them are killed, residents said.

A resident Mr. Emmanuel Yame Kwache, who is in hiding said he saw more than 120 bodies in various parts of the town. He said the first person to be killed was Chief Fidelis Fashe, Hole Village head, who also holds the title of Sarkin Arewa.

The others are: Yeri Madugu, a Michika businessman, Mr.  Alapurna, a retired police officer and Yakubu Madi, a brother to a multibillionaire China-based businessman, Ishaya Madi, whose large house hosts hundreds of ostriches when the insurgents tried to seize the property, the late Yakubu Madi resisted them and they shot him. He died instantly.

Also killed were Mr. Pius Teri Wabba, retired headmaster, Ayuba Ziraghi, former member of the House of Assembly representing Michika from 1979 to 1987, Mr. Peter Lelle, an uncle to General J.S. Kwaby, John Zira, a retired sergeant, Dauda Tumbarakoli and Reverend I. Fari.

There was also a retired soldier, Zira, Ahmadu Lowe, Alh. Naibi Bazza, the Deputy Chief Imam of Michika, who was killed along with his wife in front of the Michika central Mosque and Dauda Wamba, a successful businessman.

“When they arrived in Michika town, they were going from place to place, searching for decent houses to occupy and they saw so many houses which they promptly took over but people resisted them and many were killed,” Kwache said.

On the number of persons killed, he said: “About 120 persons have so far been killed, but the number may be more. As we went into hiding, reports were reaching us that even those who had earlier run to the surrounding mountains were crying of hunger and invasion of snakes.

He called on the Federal Government to urgently come to the aid of the people as women and children are sleeping in the bushes and mountain tops with no food to eat.

Many Mubi residents are said to have fled the town. They include the Emir, Alhaji Abubakar Isa Ahmadu.

The Secretary to the Adamawa State Government, Prof Liman H.Tukur, said: “I’m aware of where His Eminence the Emir of Mubi is. I know his location and he will soon be going back to Mubi to preside over the affairs of his Emirate.”

Tukur said the government had just held a security meeting with the military and soldiers had been deployed in all towns and villages seized by Boko Haram.

Fleeing residents said yesterday that Boko Haram fighters had seized the 320-kilometre arc running alongside northeast Nigeria’s border with Cameroon.

A long-silent spokesman of Boko Haram called reporters to say fighters had seized the village of Mararaban Mubi, just outside Mubi town in Adamawa state.

Mubi, which itself hosted displaced persons who fled fighting in the past year, is now deserted. Spokesman Abu Zinnira also denied military claims that soldiers had retaken Borno town Bama, 75 kilometres from Maiduguri, the Borno state capital.