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  • Stephen Davis’ Boko Haram bombshell

    Stephen Davis’ Boko Haram bombshell

     ‘I have learned to hate all traitors, and there is no disease that I spit on more than treachery.’ —-Aeschylus (525 BC – 456 BC)

    This column has sturdily believed that the current inscrutable myth behind the Boko Haram rebellion would be unravelled one day, but when that would happen is what remains cloudy. Blissfully, a salient layer of deceit on its operations was torn last week when an Australian exploded by revealing scintillating clues about the likely characters behind the cankerworm. Stephen Davis, a 63-year-old political geography expert may not be known in Nigeria’s public domain, but he is definitely not new to the country’s power house having served as an adviser to ex-presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and late Shehu Yar’Adua. This Australian hostage negotiator was involved, on behalf of the current federal government, in efforts to secure the release of more than 200 Nigerian schoolgirls abducted in one day by Boko Haram militants in Chibok, Borno State. So, he could not be described as a neophyte in the political conflicts engulfing the nation.

    No wonder that his recent interviews on Arise Television, Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), THISDAY newspaper and subsequently Sahara Reporters, an online newspaper on the identity of some secret sponsors of the notorious sect is generating so much hullabaloo in the right quarters because two of the mentioned names are those of Nigerians that had held powerful positions in the past.

    Davis alleged in the reports that former Governor Alli-Modu Sherriff of Borno State and a former Chief of Army staff, General Azubuike Ihejirika (rtd) are alleged top backers of the Islamist rebel group that butchered and is still abducting and slaying vulnerable Nigerians and foreigners in the north-eastern part of Nigeria. In his words: “First thing to do is to arrest the former Governor Sheriff. Former Governor Sheriff has been funding this for years… There is a former Chief of Army Staff, who retired in January, rightly sacked by the president, who is another sponsor.’’ Davis was cocksure of what he said for he declared in the course of the interview that he had information on some of them “…from Boko Haram about three years ago; one of them four years ago,’’ and that “one sponsor particularly was providing money and also in one case provided six (Toyota) Hilux vehicles used for suicide bombing.” This is indeed a money-guzzling adventure in the midst of poverty-ravaged people of the entire north.

    Worse still, he also accused an unnamed senior official of the Central Bank of Nigeria as well as another man based in Cairo, Egypt as facilitator of illicit funds and purchaser of military uniforms and arms for Boko Haram. Despite his allusion to other powerful politicians as being members of the powerful ring, he surprisingly said that no Boko Haram commander has mentioned any of the leading chieftains of the opposition All Progressive Congress (APC) including Mohammadu Buhari and EL’Rufai’s as sponsors of the sect. Hitherto, wild accusations calling APC janjaweed promoters of the insurgent group by PDP henchmen particularly some APC defectors to the ruling party including security top shots went in the air. The PDP presidency has not woken up from the deep slumber that the Davis revelations threw it into and the earlier it did something effective and prompt in the interest of the stability of this nation, the better.

    The Davis’ allegations are so damning for he also said that Sheriff was ‘… satisfied that he will be picked up and he has now switched to the ruling party, PDP, in the hope this will give him protection.’ This compelled the former Borno governor to threaten in his reaction to the allegation that he would travel to Australia to sue his accuser. This column dares him to embark on this option in earnest for Nigerians are waiting with baited breath.

    Despite the theatrics in the responses of these alleged Boko Haram sponsors, one would expect the President Goodluck Jonathan administration to have got the strong message and for it to move against these and other elements swiftly. The Australian negotiator, despite his toil, at the peril of his life, is no doubt fed up with the tepid handling of the sect’s matter, for inexplicable political reasons, compelling him to speak out. His understanding of the problem is quite overwhelming but the angst and frustration in his voice are quite discerning over a problem that has avoidable held our president captive. He raised pertinent posers that are indeed minds agitating: Is it true that a man resident in Abuja, whose three nephews had been identified as being behind the Nyanya bus station bomb blast that killed 77 people, was one of the financiers of Boko Haram?

    Davis said that the sect, “…slip back and forth between two countries.’’ And that “they go in convoy to attack a town for about six miles in an arid land with about 60 vehicles with armed personnel without any interception by security forces; they stay for an hour or an hour-and-a-half and get out. That is enough time to hit them.” The question: Is this not a consequence of a high-level conspiracy somewhere along the security chain? Is it true that France, UK and the US, contrary to agreement reached in Paris to assist Nigeria, Cameroun and Niger work on this matter, especially on intelligence, has done very little to assist? Davis also exposed the president’s lack of grasp of the problem ab initio, when in October 2010 the first bomb exploded in Abuja and President Jonathan prejudiced investigation by publicly declaring that MEND, a notorious Niger-Delta militant group, was not responsible for the bombing. MEND had claimed responsibility and then the question: Was the president shielding MEND? Does he truly know who was responsible and had shielded Nigerians from sharing such vital information? Is the president afraid of stepping on toes of powerful elements in the Niger-Delta and the north generally? What then is the essence of his being the commander-in-chief if he remains a lilly-livered leader over all institutions in the country?

    This column considers baffling how this security compromising scandals and heart rendering revelations can be happening in a country with a military service chiefs and a commander-in-chief. It is indefensible that with all the touted bogus military budgets of the country, the rag-tag Boko Haram, according to Davis, is running about six major camps in the northeast and neighbouring countries with 700 fighters reportedly inhabiting each camp? These entirely points at nothing but leadership loss of focus?

    More distasteful is the revelation that the various intelligence units in the land are, according to Davis, not cooperating with one another by refusing to share information that could aid quick annihilation of the sect. This is the dilemma of a nation so endowed and yet so bereft of potent leadership and institutional strength. This Davis bombshell has indeed shell-shocked Nigerians that are daily rattled by President Jonathan administration’s crass display of lack of capacity and capability to contain the Boko Haram insurrection against the nation’s collective sovereignty.  So sad!

  • The Boko Haram scandal

    The Boko Haram scandal

    Truth is like gold which, in its raw form, may look like any ordinary mineral. It however stands out of the pack particularly after it has been melted. Taking it through the fire of a goldsmith, therefore, does not diminish its value. It rather enhances it.

    Besides truth, two other major phenomena of life are generally taken for granted by virtually all human beings. One is privacy which is natural and of necessity. The other is secrecy which is artificial and devilish. Professional journalists often report the one with caution and the other with passionate disdain. Thus, while privacy enjoys the protection of the law, secrecy often   incurs the wrath of the law.

    That is why any attempt to pry into other people’s privacy is often described as an invasion of privacy. In a nutshell, every secret tends to be a can of worms that is ardently guarded against exposure by its custodians.

    The above assertion is now vividly applicable to the evil carnage called Boko Haram in Nigeria which has become a frightening spectre to all citizens. The current restive situation in the country which makes the continuity of the entity called Nigeria seemingly uncertain is a confirmation of an Arab prophetic maxim rendered into a poem many centuries ago. It went thus:

    “This is the time we had been warned against in the admonitions of Ubayyi Bn Ka’b and Abdullah Bn Mas’ud; a time in which truth would be rejected in its totality while falsehood and evil machinations would be audaciously held aloft; should this situation be allowed to thrive without check; there may no longer be any cry over the death of a beloved person or joy over the birth of a new baby”.

    Given a landmark revelation, last week, about Boko Haram and its alleged sponsors, the time in reference in the above quoted poem seems to have come to quarantine Nigeria in the enclave of the Lucifer. The revelation was made through a popular television station in London by one Dr Stephen Davis, a 63 year old experienced Australian international negotiator who was allegedly hired officially by Nigerian government to negotiate with Boko Haram on the release of about 276 school girls abducted by Boko Haram insurgents in Chibok, Bornu State. The innocent girls were abducted in their school premises on April 14, 2014, the following day that some heartless evil agents of the same insurgents bombed the crowded Nyanyan motor park in Abuja sending 77 innocent citizens to early graves in ‘hot blood’.

     

    Frightening revelations

    Davis, a former Cardinal of the Anglican Church, decided to blow the whistle this time around when he discovered that his contracted mission had become frustrated after meeting a brick wall. And that answers the most likely question that Nigerians may ask about the revelation: ‘why now?’

    Advancing his reason for coming up with the revelation now, the father of three children (all girls) said he could not imagine any of his children going through the agony to which the abducted Chibok girls were being subjected by the Boko Haram insurgents. He said that feeling was one of the reasons for accepting the negotiation contract in the first place. (Let us accept that fact for the purpose of argument). He regretted the length of time which the innocent Chibok girl have unnecessarily spent in the devil’s gulag and blamed it on the initial lackadaisical attitude of the government to the dangerous trend.

    In his narrative, Davis who had spent about four months in Nigeria pursuing the sensitively dangerous assignment disclosed that his frustration began when his rescue success was truncated 15 minutes before realisation last April. He gave a vivid narration of what transpired between him and the insurgents saying he would have succeeded in rescuing the first batch of 60 of those girls if the devilish insurgency body called Boko Haram had been united in one camp at that time as it is now. But, according to him, the body was divided into three different uncoordinated camps each struggling to assume the leadership of the sect based on the power generated through funding and supply of weapons.

    By his narration, Davis had completed his negotiation with one of the camps reaching a final agreement to release the 60 girls in the custody of that camp. But just 15 minutes before the release, another camp fortuitously stormed the place where the girls were kept and wielded them away. The thought, according to him, was that he (Davis) would commence a new negotiation process with the invading camp with a view to benefitting from any money involved. At that point, Davis gave up the hope of any success of his mission and left the country with a hint to the government that no such mission could succeed unless the sponsors of the Boko Haram insurgency were arrested and tried with a view to cutting off the source of funding the group. It was shortly after he left Nigeria that the different camps of Boko Haram united into a single camp under a single leadership. And that is what gave it the power to dare the Nigerian troops and acquire territories now designated Caliphate.

     

    Bokoharamgate

    In what may be termed ‘Bokoharamgate’ Davis alleged that the group’s funding largely passes through the Central Bank of Nigeria  (CBN) which technically makes it a legitimate transaction since it evades any suspicion. He asserted that some politicians and military men were solidly behind the rebellious insurgency called Boko Haram in the Northeast of Nigeria and even mentioned some names including those of a former Governor and a former Chief of Army Staff as forces behind it. (An interesting aspect of his disclosure is his exoneration of a former Presidential aspirant, General Muhammad Buhari and a former Minister of the federal Capital Territory, Nasir El-Rufai. The duo had been labeled the godfathers of Boko Haram by fellow politicians).

    According to Davis, one of the biggest suppliers of arms and military uniforms to Boko Haram is a Nigerian who lives in Egypt and receives money sent by political sponsors from Nigeria. He emphasised that the legal transaction of the funds is carried out with the help of the CBN. He added that the said official is a relative of three suspects of April 14 Abuja bombings that took 77 lives of Nigerians. In his words: “Meanwhile, the CBN official who handles the funding is an uncle to three of those arrested in connection with the Nyanya bombings. The three boys lived with him. They were arrested by the SSS (Department of State Security) after the bombings but they do not seem to have been interrogated about their uncle in CBN. Or if they have given up information about their uncle then the SSS has not moved against him… Also, a senior official of CBN, who recently left the bank, was very close to Sodiq Aminu Ogwuche, the mastermind of the Nyanya bombings who also schooled in Sudan. Boko Haram commanders said Ogwuche’s wife used to visit the top official in his office, at the headquarters of the bank, in Abuja before the Nyanya bombings”.

     

    The powerful cartel

    Davis who holds a PhD in political geography believes that “the political sponsors of Boko Haram are very powerful because they supply the finances and the arms. Until they are cut off from the group, those girls will not be released. We are talking of about 200 Chibok schoolgirls, but there are over 300 other girls that have been kidnapped. There are many young men that they also kidnapped and turned against their families. They asked them to go and slaughter their family members and they are doing it. Nobody is talking about those ones. They are the new child soldiers.”

    The expert mentioned repeatedly that the first thing to do to enable the release of the abducted children was “to stop the bagman who supplies weapons and military uniforms. We know his name, location and associates. If the man is stopped, the slaughterers, the ritual arm of the group, would be demobilised. The girls can be released afterwards. This man controls those ritualists.”

    If the above narrative is considered startling, then one can imagine the revelation that he (Davis) had hinted Nigerian government of the involvement of a cabinet Minister, some years back, when a former President (not Yar’Adua) was in the saddle. He said he hinted that former President that a particular Minister from the South-South in his cabinet was involved in the funding of Boko Haram and advised him to investigate the man, get him arrested and tried in a court of law.

    But, according to Davis, the ex-President rejected the advice on the excuse that such a trial could bring down his government.

     

    Genesis of Boko Haram

    It would be recalled that Boko Haram (Western education is forbidden) is not the actual name of the group that is now rebelling against Nigeria in the name of Islam. Its real name is ‘Jam’atu Ahlis-Sunnah Lid-Da’wah wal Jihad’ meaning: ‘Sunnah Congregation for Preaching and Strife’. The Group became known as Boko Haram because of its condemnation of Western education which it claimed to be the main cause of corruption in Nigeria. The name Boko Haram was given to the group by members of the public who were amazed by its strange preaching.

    Founded as a splinter fundamentalist Sunni group in 2002, the first leader of the group was Muhammad Yusuf, a Yobe-born cleric who resided in Maiduguri, Bornu State, where the dreaded Islamic group was founded. For the first seven years of its existence, Boko Haram was peaceful and forthright in its clerical activities except that it did not enjoy the cooperation of some other Islamic organisations in the region due to its method of preaching which was deemed abhorrent to others. Its violence tendency began in July 2009 when it had an encounter with Nigeria Police. Due to frequent complaints about the preaching methodology of the group, the Nigerian security agents began to monitor it with an eye of suspicion. And on a particular occasion when the group was returning from a cemetery where it went to bury the remains of one of its members who just died, its members were accosted by the Police who accused the sect of staging a public procession without official permit. Some members of the sect were arrested including their leader (Muhammad Yusuf) who was later shot dead in Police custody. The spontaneous reaction of the other members of the group led to the killing of about 700 of them by the Police.

    Ever since, there has not been any respite in the relationship of Boko Haram and the Nigerian Police. With the death of Yusuf, Ibrahim Shekau, his deputy, assumed the leadership of the sect. And under his leadership, the group continuously improved on its operational capabilities killing and maiming innocent lives and destroying all factors of progress in north-eastern part of the country. It was for the purpose of stopping that spate of destruction that some well-meaning Nigerians including this columnist have severally called for negotiation and possible amnesty for the insurgents. But some elements who had vested interest in a hidden agenda felt otherwise and the President accepted their opinion. Today, we can all see the result.

    If the current regime had adopted the late President Yar’Adua’s method of amnesty, perhaps the situation would not have reached this stage and so many lives would not have been lost. If Davis’ revelation is shocking those who are familiar with Nigerian security system will discover more shocking news in the fact that the last time that Nigeria really upgraded her military arsenal was 1982 when President Sheu Aliyu Uthman Shagari was in power according to privileged information.

    And if this is true what has been happening to Nigeria’s annual defence huge budgets for the past 32 years?

    Since 2011, Boko Haram has consistently maintained a steady rate of attacks striking a wide range of targets. Its trained agents have attacked politicians, religious leaders, security forces, traditional rulers and civilian targets. The tactic of suicide bombings adopted in the two major attacks in the federal capital territory on the police and UN Headquarters was new to Nigerian security and alien to the familiar mercenary culture in the West African sub-region. In Africa as a whole, it was only in Somalia that such tactic had been used by As- Shabbab and to a far lesser extent.

    And since early 2013, Boko Haram has increasingly operated in Northern Cameroon as an extension of its skirmishes along the borders of Chad and Niger. Such operations have been linked to a number of kidnappings, often reportedly in association with a splinter group called Ansaru, thereby drawing wider international attention to them.

     

    Questions

    With the above revelations coming from a federal government’s contracted expert why has the government not swung into action? And with the current situation in which Boko Haram seems to be waxing stronger, what next is in the plan of the Nigerian government for taming the monstrous shrewd? For how long are the kidnapped innocent girls expected to remain in the custody of the brutal insurgents called Boko Haram? And by the way, when will Mr President visit the region as an encouragement to Nigerian armed forces who are fencing off the Boko Haram further incursions into Nigerian? Should their efforts as well as the lives of thousands of the victims of that  obnoxious insurgency be in vain? There may be other questions for the government to answer on this highly embarrassing situation. Some of such questions may be raised in this column in the near future. God save Nigeria.

  • Boko Haram: Group wants Sheriff, Ihejirika investigated

    Boko Haram: Group wants Sheriff, Ihejirika investigated

    The Northern Emancipation Network, a non-governmental organization has advised President Goodluck Jonathan to order the arrest and probe of Senator Ali Modu Sheriff and Gen. Azubuike Ihejirika (rtd) in the light of the revelation by Australian negotiator, Austin Stephen, that they are involved in the Boko Haram insurgency.

    A statement signed by the group’s Coordinator, Abdul-Azeez Suleiman, said the action has become necessary in order for the President to reclaim his already battered image as a result of the insurgency.

    The group said acting on Dr Austin’s revelation would also reshape Nigeria’s image in the face of the international community.

    According to Suleiman, the attempts by Sheriff and Ihejirika to clear themselves in the media should not be equated to proof of their innocence.

    The group, however, frowned at attempts by the opposition to make political gains out of the situation, adding that it is the peak of insensitivity to issues that concern national security.

    The group said it was unacceptable for the opposition to lump Sheriff’s indictment on the Presidency and the Peoples Democratic Party.

    “In any case, Sheriff had, since 1999 been in the opposition until just recently when he shifted to the PDP,” Suleiman said.

    He also described attempts by Igbo commentators to exonerate Ihejirika as pedestrian, saying Nigerians should stop interpreting the insurgency in tribal or ethnic terms.

  • Boko Haram’s land grab worries U.S

    The United States on Thursday said it was concerned by increasing Boko Haram violence and territorial gains in Nigeria, warning that the deteriorating situation threatened the African giant’s future.

    “We are very troubled by the apparent capture of Bama and the prospects for an attack on and in Maiduguri, which would impose a tremendous toll on the civilian population,” U.S Assistant Secretary of State, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, said on a visit to Abuja.

    Boko Haram, which has been waging a violent insurgency that has claimed thousands of lives since 2009, has in recent weeks overrun and held swathes of territory in Nigeria’s far northeast.

    On Monday, the militants reportedly took over Bama, 70 kilometres (45 miles) from the Borno State capital, Maiduguri, although the military disputed the claims.

    Thomas-Greenfield, who leads Washington’s African Affairs team, told delegates at a bilateral meeting on regional security that the upsurge in violence “constitutes a serious threat” to Nigeria.

    Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau’s claim that the captured town of Gwoza, also in Borno, was now part of an Islamic caliphate “only adds to the perception that the security situation is steadily worsening.”

    “All of these developments are deeply disturbing and increasingly dangerous with each passing day,” AFP quoted the American official as saying at the meeting.

    Before the capture of Bama, the militants seized Gamboru Ngala, Buni Yadi in Yobe State and Madagali in Adamawa, with Nigerian troops seemingly unable to match their firepower.

    Hundreds of soldiers abandoned their posts, some crossing the border into Cameroon, although the military said they had not fled but were conducting “tactical manoeuvres” that crossed the frontier.

    Thomas-Greenfield said the stakes were high after experts warned that the government risked losing control of the northeast and the violence could spread across borders.

    “The reputation of Nigeria’s military is at stake. But more importantly, Nigeria’s and its children’s future is in jeopardy. Failure is not an option,” she added.

     

  • Troops battle Boko Haram to regain captured Bama

    Troops battle Boko Haram to regain captured Bama

    The final push to reclaim Bama from Boko Haram insurgents was set to begin last night.

    Troops were said to have gained access yesterday to “push in” against the insurgents.

    More fighter jets and sophisticated equipment were deployed in the town, Borno State’s second largest and 67 kilometres to Maiduguri, the state capital.

    The Brigade Commander of Mohammed Kur Barracks, the Police  Area Commander, the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) and Commandant of MOPOL 53 in Bama have relocated to Maiduguri to re-strategise.

    Telephone services have gone dead in Bama and its environs following massive destruction of GSM masts in the area and surrounding villages by the insurgents.

    A source, who spoke in confidence with our correspondent, said: “From the reports available to us, the troops have recorded what strategically we call a ‘push in’ to reclaim the town.

    “This means that the military has gained access on land and confronting the insurgents. Very soon, the game will change.

    “The priority now is to regain the control of the army formation in Bama because these insurgents invaded the barracks and targeted the armoury.

    “They also attacked the police units and sacked these places leaving officers and men to beat a ‘tactical retreat’ to regroup for counter-attacks.

    Another source said: “We have been engaging the insurgents in air and land encounters since Tuesday. The troops have succeeded in killing many insurgents who are still resilient but they will soon fall.

    “The Brigade Commander, Police Area Commander, DPO and Commandant of MOPOL 53 in Bama have moved to Maiduguri to coordinate the counter-attacks, which are yielding results.

    “Until we have fully regained Bama, the military has decided not to talk. It will want to present all evidence of the heroic feats of the troops to Nigerians.

    More fighter jets and sophisticated equipment were yesterday deployed in Bama.

    The aerial bombardments has been intense in the last 24 hours with more fighter jets, it was learnt.

    Troops are said to have got “new and sophisticated” weapons for the battle.

    “They only need commitment to use the weapons appropriately,” a source said.

    The telephone service in Bama has been completely cut off because the insurgents destroyed most GSM masts in all the villages and points leading to Bama.

    Another source added: “The whole situation in Bama is confusing because there is no more telephone service. The insurgents destroyed all GSM masts as part of the ongoing blockade of the area.

    “Those in Maiduguri were able to communicate with few military officers, troops and security agents at the “battle front” through the Cameroonian MTN network which miraculously has assisted.

    “So, we have to divert our call through Cameroon through a special link. So, you can imagine the terrible condition the people and residents of Bama are facing.”

  • Boko Haram takes over Borno, Yobe towns

    Boko Haram takes over Borno, Yobe towns

    Boko Haram fighters have seized two more towns in the Northeast,  as the battle to reclaim Bama, Borno State’s second largest town, raged yesterday.

    Another Borno town Banki, on the border with Camroon, has been taken by the sect, whose men also “strolled” into neighbouring Yobe State town of Bara, capital of Gulani Local Government Area.

    The capture of Bara makes it the second local government capital to be taken by the sect in Yobe, following last month’s capture of Gujba.

    Gwoza, another Borno town, had earlier been taken by the sect, whose fighters sacked the Police Academy near the hilly town, where sect leader Abubakar Shekau declared as “Islamic Caliphate”.

    Residents who fled Bara, the Gulani Council headquarters, said the insurgents took over the council secretariat and the local Government Lodge.

    “The boys entered the town yesterday in the afternoon with Hilux vans and motorcycles, preaching in different places.

    “They went to the Government Lodge and the Local Government Secretariat complex which they are now occupying. People were afraid but they kept on announcing that they only came to do the work of Allah(God) but not to kill anybody.

    “They were preaching that people should leave their government work and join them in working for Allah,” Ibrahim, who fled Bara last night, said.

    Member representing Gulani in the House of Assembly, Hon. Abdullahi Kukuwa, confirmed the takeover of his local government by the insurgents.

    “As I speak with you now, my local government has been taken over by these boys. They are doing what they want. It is very unfortunate that government is not taking drastic action over this matter,” Kukuwa said.

    Residents said the sect members were preaching across towns and villages in the two local government areas without hindrance from security operatives who have long vacated the areas.

    Reports indicate that the insurgents freely gathered locals of  Goneri, Ambiya, Buni-Yadi, Gujba and Buni-Gari under Gujba Council Area as well as Kukuwa Gari, Bularafa, Bumsa and Bara of Gulani Local Government Area, preaching their ideology and soliciting for followers.

    “The boys (Boko Haram insurgents)  often move from town to town and gather the people for open preaching asking for the support of the people in joining the group, which is aimed at instituting Shariah legal system in the region,” a resident added.

    He said though the insurgents allow people to ask questions, people were always careful not to ask “provoking questions” in order not to attract death sentence.

    “They give time for questions but nobody asks why they are killing or kidnapping people because everyone is afraid to die as such a question may provoke them,” he said.

    On the attack on Gulani, Abubakar(not real name) explained: “When they realised that people were panicky, they went to the Ward Head’s house and registered their arrival, telling him that their coming was just to preach and not to harm anyone. The insurgents called the early morning prayers, led the prayers and preached for over an hour before going back to the Government Lodge where they camp.”

    Speaking on their mode of dressing, the residents said the sect members are usually dressed in half military uniforms, armed with guns on their shoulders, driving freely in Hilux vans and motorcycles.

    Gulani and Gujba have been cut off from state capital Damaturu following the  blowing off of the Katarko Bridge  by the insurgents last month.

    The BBC yesterday reported the capture of Banki, which borders Cameroon, after government troops left, quoting residents.

    The military was yet to comment on the latest towns to reportedly fall to the insurgents in recent weeks.

    Fears have been raised that their main target is Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.

    Residents from Banki said government troops abandoned their posts as the militants advanced on the small border town on Tuesday.

    Most of the people remaining in the town were women and children, as many of the men had fled, one man who was hiding in the bush told the BBC Hausa service.

    The militants have not harmed anyone in the town, residents said.

    Cameroon’s army also said that Boko Haram militants crossed into Cameroonian territory on Monday night.

    The militants were pushed back after a three-hour battle, it said in a statement.

    About 40 militants were killed and an army corporal was seriously wounded in the fighting, it added.

    Boko Haram’s five-year insurgency has intensified in recent months despite the deployment of thousands of extra troops to the worst-affected areas.

    The military has denied that Nigeria’s territorial integrity is threatened.

    The United Nations (UN) refugee agency said thousands of refugees are fleeing northeastern Nigeria into Cameroon to escape Boko Haram fighters pursuing a new strategy to hold territory they are calling an Islamic caliphate.

    Spokeswoman Helene Caux said Cameroonians also are abandoning their homes since the Islamic extremists last week began attacking villages inside Cameroon. They slit the throats of three people in a Cameroonian Catholic church. It appears to be a new tactic for Boko Haram, which previously had only kidnapped Cameroon citizens for ransom.

    Caux said yesterday that more than 10,000 Nigerians have fled into Cameroon and Niger since last week.

    The most recent influx came in from Bama.

  • ‘Track Boko Haram funds, sponsors’

    ‘Track Boko Haram funds, sponsors’

    Delegates at an International Security meeting in Abuja yesterday canvassed tracking of  both local and external sources of funding for Boko Haram as a way to curbing the activities of the group.

    The delegates pushed for the  cutting of logistics, arms and ammunition  to the terrorist group.

    In Abuja yesterday  were foreign ministers and officials of Nigeria, Cameroun, France, the United States (US), Canada, China, United Nations (UN), European Union (EU), Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS Commission) and Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) who met to assess the level of implementation of decisions and commitments made in the security summit in Paris and the follow-up meetings in London and Washington DC.

    The delegates called on regional governments and multilateral development institutions to intensify socio-economic cooperation aimed at poverty-eradication, economic uplift and inclusive development.

    Minister of Foreign Affairs Amb. Aminu Wali, who read the communiqué, said the meeting provided another opportunity to undertake a comprehensive and critical review of the implementation of outcomes of the initiatives.

    “The meeting underscored the need to effectively address the sources of funding for and the supply of weapons to Boko Haram.

    “It called for greater cooperation of the international community to assist in tracking theses sources with a view to putting an end to these practices and all forms of illegal transfer of arms and ammunition. It called for demonstrable and strict enforcement of relevant United Nations and other international sanctions against terrorist groups, especially Boko Haram.

    “The meeting also urged support for the implementation of multiple-dimensional measure adopted by Nigerian government to combat terrorism and called on regional governments and multilateral development institutions to intensify socio-economic cooperation, aimed at poverty eradication, economic uplift and inclusive development.

  • Boko Haram: I’m ready to face panel, says Sheriff

    Boko Haram: I’m ready to face panel, says Sheriff

    Former Governor of Borno State Senator Modu Ali Sheriff, said yesterday that he is ready to face any panel looking into allegations linking him with Boko Haram, to clear his name.

    He also said he would sue the Australian negotiator, Dr. Stephen Davis, who accused him of being one of the sponsors of Boko Haram.

    Sheriff said he had never associated with any terrorist group, including Boko Haram.

    He spoke at a news briefing in Abuja against the backdrop of the call for his trial by the International Crimes Commission (ICC).

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) on Tuesday demanded the trial of Sheriff; a former Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Azubuike Ihejirika and other sponsors of Boko Haram.

    The ex-governor, who downed two cups of water before addressing reporters, said his invitation by the Department of State Security (DSS) last year had nothing to do with Boko Haram.

    He said: “I am prepared to face any panel. I stand to be corrected

    “I have not associated myself with any terrorist group all over the world. I did not even meet the leader of the sect, the late Mohammed Yusuf, until he was arrested by the military under the command of Gen. Sales Maina. I have never met Yusuf, I did not know him and I could not have sponsored somebody I never met.

    “If Gen. Jerry Useni has said he needs to avail the evidence to Nigerians, let him give his evidence. I am prepared to face any panel in the world. If people are deliberately writing for their personal reasons, they are at liberty, there is freedom of speech. So they can write.

    “Therefore I will not join issues with anybody. I stand to be corrected, Yusuf was never brought to my office. He was captured by the military, And I was asked to come because I was somebody who was in a position to speak because I was the governor then.”

    Sheriff vowed to take legal action against the Australian negotiator,  who accused him of being behind Boko Haram.

    “I have already asked my lawyers to sue the faceless Australian. We have written to track him everywhere. I will sue the Australian if he ever existed. The right thing is to sue the Australian.

    “I will sue the Australian since it was his report he (Odigie-Oyegun) quoted from. I will sue him wherever he may be. Listen to his press interview. First, he said he was hired by the Federal Government. Secondly he said my government was corrupt and I should be prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and thirdly he said APC is not Boko Haram.

    “I am curious because when you say you were hired by the Federal Government, as he claimed, the first place to give your report is to the Federal Government or the press in Nigeria. But just for him to go to a third rated media “Arise” and make frivolous claims.”

    Asked about his interrogation by the DSS, the ex-governor said: “I want to tell you that my visit to the DSS has nothing to do with Boko Haram. The DSS office is the security office for Nigerians. You are free to go there whether you are invited or not. I went there on my own volition. I want to tell you that I was there on my own.

    “First and foremost I don’t have an ECOMOG. Every politician is supposed to have a youth wing, you can call them whatever name you want. Even all the states, and so where does it become the political wing of Ali Modu Sheriff? Does Ali Sheriff own all the political parties in Nigeria?”

    On APC leadership accusation, he said: “You know, I am very disappointed in Chief  John Odigie-Oyegun. This was a man who was in my house begging me not to leave APC. Now he goes to the press to say that I was never wanted by the party. You can see what kind of leaders we have in this country.”

    Sheriff said he was one of the greatest victims of Boko Haram, having lost his brother and relations.

    He added: “It is instructive to point out that I had been one of the greatest victims of the atrocities of the Boko Haram sect. As the executive governor of the state at that time, I did not abdicate my responsibilities of protecting the lives and property of the people and did not give them any breathing space to operate outside the law of the land.

    “Because of this, they were driven by a desire for vengeance against me, my family and my political associates. From the number of casualties among my relations and political associates, it is evident that I suffered personal losses from the crisis.

    “Among those killed in cold blood were my younger brother, the late Alhaji Goni Mustapha Sheriff, the defunct All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) state chairman and my brother in-law, the late Alhaji Awana Ngala, the governorship candidate of our party in the 2011 general elections, the late Modu Fannami Gubio, my friends- Alhaji Mustapha Fulawama, Bukar Goni Kol and a host of other close political associates. May their gentle souls rest in peace.

    “Available records show that the Boko Haram sect predates my governance. As for the events of June 2009, I must state that there was a collaboration between the federal and the state governments in trying to contain the situation.”

    Sheriff revisited the encounters between the military and Boko Haram, which led to the insurgency in the Northeast.

    He said: “For record purposes, on June 11, 2009 there was a report of shooting of 17 members of the sect by members of the “Operation Flush” (a combined security outfit against crime). They were reported to have attempted to forcefully seize the weapon of a soldier at a check point in the Maiduguri metropolis, while on a procession to bury some of their members, who died in an accident.

    “The injured were taken to the University of Maiduguri Teaching  Hospital and the authorities of the hospital requested  protection because of the influx of unwanted visitors, which did not go down well with members of the sect.

    “The following day, the late Mohammed Yusuf held an open sermon, which he tagged: “An open letter”. In that sermon, he called the names of the former President, the late Umaru Musa Yar’ Adua (May his gentle soul rest in perfect peace), the former Chief of Defence Staff, Air Marshal Paul Dike, the former Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. A. Dambazzau, the former Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Onovo, the former Director-General of the State Security Services (SSS), Mr. Afakriya Gadzama and my humble self and threatened to deal with us and those, who refused to share their doctrine. He called the leaders unprintable names and vowed to revenge what happened to their members. The recordings of the sermon were widely circulated in the state and parts of the country.

    “There were also reports that the group was stockpiling arms and ammunition, which was discussed at the Security Council and appropriate decisions were taken on the issue. The former Presidents and Commanders-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo and the late President Yar’Adua were briefed on the activities of the Boko Haram sect at various times and the threat posed by the group to national security.

    “On July 23, 2009 there was a report of arrest of nine members of the sect with bomb making devices and chemicals in Biu. There was also a report of bomb explosion in the house of one of the members of the sect, who later died from the explosion. Unbelievably, on the same July 23, 2009, the group planned and attacked the home of a Deputy Commandant of the Mobile Police (Mopol) in the GRA, killed his guards and burnt his house.

    “The group also went to the Police Headquarters in Maiduguri and indiscriminately and gruesomely killed police officers and personnel and members of their families.”

    “There is no doubt that the almost one week period (Sunday 26th July – Friday 31st July, 2009) during which the Boko Haram sect unleashed terror on Maiduguri and its environs would forever remain the traumatic and darkest part of the history’ of the state. In the five days during which the Boko Haram war climaxed, no fewer than a thousand innocent people, including policemen were brutally killed. An even higher number of their relatives were brutally killed by the sect when they attacked the Police College in Maiduguri, Bauchi, Yobe and Taraba states. Five police stations in Maiduguri were set ablaze and several vehicles used by the force were burnt; arms and ammunition were carted away; and so on. Details of the casualties are available with the relevant authorities.

    “Within one week, the atrocities of the sect escalated beyond proportion. The state government immediately drew the attention of the then President when the situation was getting out of hand and beyond the capacity of the police. Following that, the President and Commander- in-Chief of the Armed Forces, the late Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, accordingly gave the military directives for action to be taken against the sect. On his way to Brazil on an official engagement, the late President Yar’Adua addressed the Press, promising that the “ Talibans “ as he called them “would be fished out, and dealt with decisively and promptly.

    “It was at this point that the General Officer Commanding Armoured Division of the Nigerian Army, Jos, Maj.- Gen. Saleh Maina, now retired, led the operation and successfully dislodged the sect after about five days of fierce battle, which rocked the state.”

  • Boko Haram takes over another town in Yobe

    As the battle for Bama in Borno State with Boko Haram and Nigeria troops continues, Gulani Local Government council in Yobe state has been captured by  Boko Haram insurgents.

    The takeover of Gulani local government brings to  two the total number of LGAs under the control of the insurgents in the state with Gujba earlier captured one month ago.

    Residents who fled Bara, the council headquarters informed that the insurgents have taken over the council secretariat and the local government lodge at Bara.

    “The boys entered the town yesterday in the afternoon with hilux cars and motor cycles preaching to different places.

    “They went to the government lodged and the local government secretariat complex where they are now occupying. People were afraid but they kept on announcing that they only came to do the work of Allah(GOD) but not to kill anybody.

    “They were preaching that people should leave their government work and join them in working for Allah alone”, Ibrahim who fled Bara last night narrated.

    Member representing Gulani in the State House of Assembly Hon. Abdullahi Kukuwa also confirmed the takeover of his local government by the insurgents.

    “As I speak with you now, the whole of my local government has been taken over by these boys. They are doing what they want. It is very unfortunate that government is not taken drastic action over this matter”, Hon. Kukuwa said.

    Residents have also informed that the sect members are currently on wide preaching mission across towns and villages in the two local government areas without hindrance from security operatives who have long vacated the areas.

    Reports indicate that the insurgents freely gathered locals of  Goneri, Ambiya, Buni-Yadi, Gujba and Buni-Gari under Gujba Council Area as well as; Kukuwa Gari, Bularafa, Bumsa and Bara town of Gulani Local government Area preaching their ideologies and soliciting for more followers.

    “The boys (Boko Haram insurgents)  often move from town to town and gather the people for open preaching asking for the support of the people in joining the group which is aimed at instituting shariah legal system in the region” a resident informed.

    He mentioned that though the insurgents do allow people to ask questions, people are always careful not to asking provoking questions in order not to bring a death sentence on your head.

    “They give time for questions but nobody ask why they are killing or kidnapping people because everyone is afraid to die as such a question may provoke them”, he said.

    On the attack on Gulani, Abubakar(not real name) explained: “When they realized that people were panicking, they went to the Ward head’s house and registered their arrival, telling him that their coming was just to preach and not to harm anyone. The insurgents called the early morning prayers, led the prayers and preached for over an hour before they going back to the government lodge were they camped”

    Speaking on their mode of dressing, the residents said the sect members are usually dressed in half military uniforms arm with their AK47 brandished on their shoulders driving freely in Hilux Jeeps apparently snatched from security operatives and motor cycles.

    Gulani and Gujba have been since cut-off from Damaturu following the  blowing off of the Katarko Bridge  by the insurgents barely one month ago.

     

  • Bama: Shettima ‘cuts short’ trips to Sudan, UK

    Bama: Shettima ‘cuts short’ trips to Sudan, UK

    Following attacks on Bama by Boko Haram, the Governor of Borno State, Kashim Shettima, on Wednesday cut short his trips to Sudan and the United Kingdom.

    The governor said he decided to return home to provide leadership at the trying moment for the people of the state.

    He also said security sources hinted on Wednesday that the military had reclaimed Bama.

    The governor made the disclosures in a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Communication, Mallam Isa Gusau.

    The statement said: “Following Monday’s renewed attacks by Boko Haram insurgents in some parts of Borno State, Governor, Kashim Shettima has abruptly returned ‎to Nigeria on Wednesday, cutting short his official trip to Sudan and the United Kingdom where he has scheduled assessment meetings with school authorities and over 70 students recently sponsored by the state government for medicine and Petroleum Geo-Sciences.

    “Shettima returned and held crucial meetings in Abuja in connection with happenings in Bama and rest of the state. He had also approved the formation and release of funds to a committee set up to coordinate distribution of relief materials and management of victims.

    “The governor was scheduled to leave for Maiduguri on Wednesday despite heightened fears about planned attacks on the ancient city of Maiduguri by the Boko Haram insurgents‎ who had never hidden their desperation to hit the capital in retaliation for their forceful eviction by soldiers and citizen-volunteers in 2013.

    “The military has imposed a curfew in Maiduguri in response to the planned attack. Shettima returned mainly to provide needed leadership, be with his people, build public confidence, coordinate relief for victims, step up co-funding and psychological support for military.

    “The governor who had left Nigeria on Sunday night and was scheduled to meet officials at a University in Sudan where 50 female citizens of the state are currently undergoing State sponsored Degree program to become medical doctors under the State Female Medical Education/Intervention Programme designed to train abroad, 300 female doctors in five years.

    “Shettima was also to be in United Kingdom to meet 20 students undergoing Petroleum Geo-Sciences in addition to signing agreements for other human capacity development programs and a follow up meeting with a water systems company required for domestic use and irrigation agriculture in Borno aimed at boosting jobs creation as a strategy to discourage economic based recruitment by Boko Haram insurgents.”

    Meanwhile, the governor said troops have reclaimed Bama.

    The statement added: “The Boko Haram insurgents had attacked several areas with the most recent being an attempted seizure of Bama town, one of the most populated areas in the State, located about 70 kilometers away from Maiduguri, the state capital.

    “Thousands of residents have thronged Maiduguri from Bama following the attacks. There ‎was initial report that the insurgents had captured the army base and was in control of Bama, headquarters of the commercial council.”