The Nation Newspaper

Tag: boko haram

  • Boko Haram: Army intensifies safety measures

    Boko Haram: Army intensifies safety measures

    Subsequent to rumours making the rounds that members of Boko Haram sect are planning to bomb another venue in Abuja, the military has intensified their efforts; searching every vehicle no matter how highly placed the owner may be.

    Major entries into and exits from Abuja are now under serious security watch in a bid to prevent probable bomb blasts.

    Our correspondent who observed the development said government, according to sources, is not leaving anything to chance as it is determined to fish out perpetrators of crimes, especially members of the Boko Haram sect.

    A source said the stop-and-search exercise will continue until situations are normal.

    Those in charge of motor parks around the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have also put in place more security measures to forestall possible bomb blast.

    Meanwhile, the Federal Government has declared that it has the will, the resources and the strategies to win the war against Boko Haram and terrorism in the country.

    Minister of State for the FCT, Oloye Olajumoke-Akinjide told the women and youths who had staged a three-day protest against Boko Haram and terrorism at the Unity Fountain, Abuja to mark the 100 days of the abduction of over 200 girls from Government Secondary School, Chibok in Borno State on April 15.

    According to her, the Federal Government has procured new equipment and technology towards strengthening the capability and support for Nigerian military and security forces, adding that a recent delivery of such military equipment include highly sophisticated fighter helicopters with in-built night vision technology.

    She said the Federal Government has a clear edge in weapons and reconnaissance capabilities.

    According to her, major breakthroughs recorded by the Nigerian military in the war against Boko Haram and terrorism include the capturing of many senior-level Boko Haram commanders who were used as spies and treasury officials by the Nigerian military and security operatives.

    She listed other achievements to include the arrest of Sadiq Aminu Ogwuche, one of the masterminds of the April 14, 2014 bombing of the bus station in Nyanya, an Abuja suburb, where several people were killed and others injured.

    Ogwuche, who was also accused of leading recruitment efforts of Boko Haram, was recently extradited from Sudan where he ran to and is now in Nigerian custody preparatory to facing prosecution.

    She also recalled that Boko Haram Chief of Intelligence was picked up and is now helping security operatives in their investigation while one Mohammed Zakari, a Boko Haram leader known as the ‘Chief Butcher’ was captured when Nigerian military raided Balmo Forest, during which they expelled Boko Haram insurgents from the area.

    Mrs. Akinjide further revealed that a recent Boko Haram threat against the Abuja Transportation System was uncovered while the public was alerted and casualties were avoided. Equally, following a tip-off, the police uncovered and prevented a bomb attack near a school in Gombe.

    The minister said government recognises that soft power was crucial in the battle against Boko Haram, stressing that force alone will not defeat insurgency.

    “As a result, the Jonathan administration is implementing a comprehensive programme of assistance to support, protect and empower local communities with a special focus on the most vulnerable areas of the country.”

    She noted that some of the initiatives in this regard include the Safe Schools Initiative developed to safeguard school children in states under emergency rule, by strengthening the security of educational facilities, adding that government is working with state governors, community leaders, teachers and parents to identify and remedy the vulnerabilities that put Nigerian children at risk.

    On the role of diplomacy, she said the Federal Government has been able to garner support from international partners, including governments and groups, particularly the international bring back our girls campaign that has successfully motivated global attention to terror in the West African sub-region.

    Olajumoke added that President Jonathan has initiated a number of strategies, which have generated international solidarity such as a meeting of Presidents of Chad, Cameroun, Niger Republic and Benin Republic, which was held in Paris.

    Closely related to that, she said, was the principled step taken by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on terrorism and cross-border crime, at its 45th ordinary session, where the authority of ECOWAS Heads of State endorsed the efforts of Nigeria and committed itself to helping the country in its fight against terror.

     

     

  • Asari Dokubo’s groups warn Boko Haram

    The leader of the Niger Delta Peoples Volunteer Force (NDPVF) and the Niger Delta Peoples Salvation Front (NDPSF), Alhaji Mujahid Asari-Dokubo, has warned Boko Haram insurgents to desist from opposing President Goodluck Jonathan’s second term bid.

    He spoke yesterday at a news briefing in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital.

    The groups urged politicians in the North not to use Boko Haram and other acts of terrorism to distract and frustrate the Jonathan administration.

    They absolved Asari-Dokubo of complicity in the Kaduna bomb blast and told Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (rtd) to stop linking their leader to the incident.

    The Akwa Ibom Zonal Leader of the NDPVF and NDPSF, Mr. Jones Ufot, said freedom fighters in the Niger Delta would support and defend the political and economic interest of the area, which, according to him, had been threatened by the North.

    He enjoined northerners to reciprocate the support the Niger Delta gave their presidential candidates by backing President Jonathan for a second term.

    His words: “We assure our brother, Mr. President, of our readiness to defend our own. We are speaking the minds of our brothers and sisters in Akwa Ibom and our compatriot in the Niger Delta, who voted for him and are eager to do so again.”

  • Anxiety over fate of Boko Haram ‘butcher’

    Anxiety over fate of Boko Haram ‘butcher’

    Whereabouts of key suspect unknown

    Military source: we don’t have him

    There was anxiety yesterday over the whereabouts of the suspected Boko Haram “chief butcher” Mohammed Zakari in police custody.

    The suspect was arrested on July 15 after a counter-insurgency operation in Balmo forest in Bauchi State, which was rated as the major armoury of the sect.

    The suspect had been undergoing interrogation in a police facility.

    A source claimed that the suspect was in Bauchi; another said he had been transferred to a secret location in Jos.

    It was gathered that the tension over the  suspect’s whereabouts was heightened by the fact that he had not been grilled by the military and other security agencies.

    A top security source, who spoke in confidence with our correspondent, confirmed that there was disquiet over the fate of the suspect because the police did not state the extent of their investigation into his activities.

    “No one can also explain who is keeping the suspect in the last two weeks. There are different claims on whether he is in Bauchi, Jos or Abuja,” the source said, adding: “It could also not be confirmed whether he is still alive or dead during encounters. The situation is creating fears in the states under emergency rule.

    “Those from these states have been raising concerns on Zakari’s actual status.”

    It was also learnt that there were issues about the lack of coordination between the police and  the military and security agencies.

    A military source, who spoke last night, said: “Well, the police arrested the suspect they should be in the best position to account for his whereabouts.

    “So far, we have not been involved in the quizzing of the suspect.”

    Attempts to get official confirmation from the police last night did not yield results.

    A text message to the Force Public Relations Officer, ACP Frank Mba, was not replied as at 8pm.

  • Ex-Edo deputy governor urges Jonathan on Boko Haram

    Ex-Edo deputy governor urges Jonathan on Boko Haram

    Former Edo State Deputy Governor Rev. Peter Obadan has urged President Goodluck Jonathan to change his tactics in fighting Boko Haram.

    He spoke to reporters yesterday in Benin.

    Obadan said a greater percentage of the fund used to prosecute the fight against Boko Haram should be given to the governors in the Northeast.

    He said this became necessary because the governors, who were familiar with their terrain, knew how to use the money to end killings.

    Obadan said: “Many people have died and the terrorists have not given up. What worries me is the billions of naira said to have been spent, which is not accountable.

    “If the North’s governors were given the money, would they not have stopped terrorism?

    “The question I ask myself is, the demands of the terrorists, are they more than the billions of naira? If the money is truly spent, we will enjoy peace.

    “My take is that if the governors are given the money, they will stop terrorism. A stitch in time saves nine.”

    The ex-governor enjoined the President to take security reports on the Northeast states seriously.

    He said relying on reports from the security agencies, especially the Department of State Service (DSS), instead of those of politicians, would end insurgency.

  • Grandiloquence in high places

    Grandiloquence in high places

    SPEAKING more like a soothsayer than a president, Dr Jonathan last week said the 2015 polls would shock the world for its freeness, fairness and peacefulness. How can he tell? The way he spoke mysteriously of shock, however, gave the impression he had something up his grandiloquent sleeve, much more than the mere aspiration and hard work required in bringing about a desired and perhaps unmerited political or electoral outcome. Then the Chief of Army Staff, Gen Kenneth Minimah, also spoke glowingly and floridly of his position as wartime army chief. It would have been more appropriate had he spoken of glowing successes recorded by his army against Boko Haram insurgents, particularly in Sambisa forest or in the rescue of the 219 abducted Chibok schoolgirls.

  • Boko Haram: Time is running out

    I don’t envy President Goodluck Jonathan and his officials when they have to respond to the continuous attacks by the Boko Haram insurgents and other terrorist groups in the country.  Their reactions have become so predictable that there seems to be a template for such statements that what is required is for the name of the state where the latest incident is recorded to be inserted and some paragraphs moved around.

    I imagine that if the presidency has its way, it would prefer not to keep issuing the embarrassing statements which contain promises it has found hard to fulfill. If the promises so far made by the federal government of being on top of the security problems in the country are anything to go by, terrorist attacks should at least have subsided by now.

    Unfortunately instead of being checkmated, the terrorists from all indications are gaining more grounds by killing so many people that it is hard to compute how many innocent Nigerians have died in suicide bomb blasts.

    Despite the joint security cover provided by the military and the police, the terrorists have become so sophisticated that they have recently unleashed female suicide bombers on some states. No one is sure when the next suicide bomber will strike.

    Last week, some graduates checking their National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) postings in Kano were killed when a female suicide bomber ran into their midst and diffused the bomb on her. That is how bad the security situation in the country has degenerated that it is difficult to believe that the federal government knows what next to do.

    Like the president noted in one of his anti-Boko Haram pronouncements last week, years ago, it is difficult to imagine that any Nigerian will agree to be a suicide bomber like we used to read about. However, this is the sordid situation we have found ourselves and there is an urgent need to do everything possible to stop the terrorists from further endangering the fragile peace and stability in the country.

    The president said the country would have been in turmoil if former Head of State, General Muhamad Buhari, had been killed in the recent attack in Kaduna. He was right as it would have been difficult to stop the spontaneous reaction by Buhari’s supporters who despite all denials still believe that the attack was sponsored.

    At the launching of the Victims Support Fund in Abuja last week, President Jonathan made a firm promise that he will lead the battle to defeat Boko Haram.  He has no choice but to fulfill this promise in accordance with the oath of office he swore to.

    More than ever before, Nigerians are worried about their safety in various parts of the country and the needed confidence has to be restored as quickly as possible.

    It used to be that graduates were usually excited about being posted to any part of the country, but that is no longer the case. To be posted to some states now is almost equated to a death sentence.

    Nigerians are tired of reading condolence messages from Aso Rock.  They want permanent solutions to the security challenges in the country and federal government cannot afford to fail in this matter if it wants to be taken seriously.

  • Between the President’s Superman cape and Sherlock Holmes’ hat…

    While Mr. President was undecided on whether or not to don that cape, another enemy has gone and camped round about his territory, and that is the dreaded Ebola virus

    Honestly, a man should not have too many enemies. The tendency is that he would either have to spread his resources thin to cover his exposed flanks or he would overreact in fear by lashing out recklessly. Believe me, I know about reckless. I see it every day on the road when I see a young ‘un behind the wheel. They are the ones whose speedometers never read ‘I just want to get home to my family’ speeds. For your reckless youth, however, the meter is constantly reading between ‘It is great to be young, stupid and mad!!! and ‘Hell, hell, heeeeell, here I come!!! When you see such people along your route, you just better pull by and let them get on. It is best not to go down with them.

    Reckless, however, is another name for this country right now. I know this point has been flogged again and again by so many writers but it obviously cannot be overstressed. What we have coming from the north is nothing short of recklessness meeting recklessness. Successive government officers have tended over the decades to focus more ardently on the things most beneficial to them such as how much they can stash away from funds meant to ensure that people do not become excluded through excessive poverty or political marginalisation. The result is what we have all been witnessing in the form of the reckless killing and bombing of fellow citizens by boko haram terrorists, and the destruction of future generations of human resources. Unfortunately, the target group of this anger has been fellow innocent people who are victims of the same poverty and exclusion, and are possible future human work forces. Vicious circle, I’ll say, from which relief seemed a mirage until the president gleefully announced during the week that he would lead the country to win that war.

    Now, don’t ask me how the president intends to lead the country ‘cause I honestly don’t know. I say, suppose he dons a military uniform, untrained and peace-loving as he is? Would he hold the bayonet and grenade? Suppose he dons a mufti and goes in as just another undercover agent, gathering information about the lay of the land, the enemy’s armoury, army number, etc.? Suppose, eh, just suppose he dons Superman’s cape and literally flies in and routs the enemy before you can say boko haram? Now, that would be a story worth telling my grandchildren.

    Honestly, as I read that piece of news about the president’s declaration, I immediately felt pride swelling in my heart. Luckily, I was able to quell the tide of swelling before it got to dangerous proportions. I felt that the president was telling the country for the first time that, hey, you people, you do have a president you know, and look, it’s me! Then I thought, just as I’m sure he also thought, what the heck had he been doing all this while? Why wait for thousands of people to lose their lives before making that kind of heartening pronouncement? Why wait till nearly all was lost through bombings, shootings, sackings of villages before donning this Superman’s cape? The president needs to explain that first.

    I’m sure, dear reader, you would want to say let him even win the battle first and leave explanations till later. The trouble is that, you know, there are some among us who like to ask intelligent questions in the heat of the moment. Once, a grandmother had told her grandchild that whenever she was afraid, a good song would drive the fear away. Imagine the consternation of the grandmother when the child wanted to sing in the middle of an attack on the house by armed robbers!

    Well, while Mr. President was undecided on whether or not to don that cape, another enemy has gone and camped round about his territory, and that is the dreaded Ebola virus. This enemy, we understand, takes no prisoners and leaves no quarters. It is so dreaded every country in the world wants to lock their doors against it. It is therefore understandable that everyone in the country is literally up in arms against it.

    First, everyone seems to have agreed that venison, which has been appropriated as ‘the Nigerian delicacy’ and renamed ‘bush-meat’, is no longer as innocent as it looks. It is now a suspect in the efforts to track down the killer disease. Imagine that: some people are going to starve. Beer is no longer going to flow down the red lane as effortlessly as it used to do when accompanied by dried game. Now, beer has to travel down all by its lonesome self. Not funny.

    There are more suspects. There is the handshake, the universal signal of brotherhood and friendship. We understand that the virus can be transmitted via handshakes. To give someone a handshake is now indeed an enemy action as it is a clear sign of a desire to spread the virus to one’s enemy. Henceforth, at least until further notice, it has been advised that handshakes be forbidden to forestall unintentional adoption of the virus from a host. Now, everyone has to go around greeting with the teeth literally gritted while shaking hands mentally, and everyone literally has to keep his/her hands by his side. A no-handshake policy, indeed, is going to make the world a harder place to live in; as if things were not bad enough.

    Worse, people are now even scared to visit their sick friends and relatives, and I think that is the unkindest cut of all. Just try and think what that is going to do to families. Wives will no longer trust their husbands’ fevers; husbands will not trust their wives’ fevers. For one thing, where did she or he get it from and why should they have to maybe die for the carelessness of the other? That is when we realize the truth: no one wants to die. Then the questions begin: if you were not prepared to die with me, says the offended one, why swear ‘for better, for worse? Then another truth dawns: all that proclamation was just part of the rhetoric of marriage – to persuade.

    Worse, sick relatives are going to take endless umbrages for other relatives who fail to visit them on their beds of languishing. The culmination of it all is that everyone is going to go around suspecting each other’s sickness now. We can however take courage in the fact that there are other ways we can still rely on each other. There is the… and then the… Oh you! I bet you were already imagining something unsavory when all I am talking about is the phone. Yes, the phone will now become the all-important focus for family gatherings.

    This is why I started this essay by saying that a man should not have too many enemies to fight. The president has his own personal battles which no one can help him with, what with 2015 and all. However, there is no doubt that he needs to don more than one uniform to fight ours. Just as soon as he is through leading the country against the terror war in Superman’s cape, he needs to put on his Sherlock Holmes coat, hat and smoking pipe and track down this dreaded disease.

  • How to stop Boko Haram by Oritsejafor

    THE president of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, has called on all Muslims, including religious, traditional and political leaders in the north to counter the destructive ideology of the radical Islamic sect, Boko Haram.

    He said only Muslims can come up with a better ideology that will demobilise the one promoted by Boko Haram, which has led to loss of lives and property.

    Oritsejafor gave the charge at the 11th anniversary\prize-giving day and the 6th valedictory service of Stephen Centre International Group of Schools in Ogun State.

    He said that Boko Haram is propelled by a religious ideology and must be countered with a superior ideology through massive awareness by Muslims across the country.

    The CAN’s helmsman noted that Islam is a good religion but lamented that Boko Haram insurgents are painting it in bad light, urging Muslims to redress the development.

    He dismissed the notion that the terror war unleashed by the insurgents was borne out of poverty.

    Boko Haram’s late leader, Mohammed Yusuf, and Farouk Abdulmutalab who attempted blowing up a KLM flight heading to the United States of America in 2009, according to him, were not poor.

    He explained that pumping millions of dollars to the north in an attempt to fight poverty will not stop the rising terror war since it is ideological.

    He said that prayer remains the only way out of the insurgency, stating, “The unwarranted attacks, the destructions of properties, have created distress for every Nigerian.

    “The solution to the insurgency we are facing in the country is for all Nigerians to continue to pray for Nigeria.”

    The Executive Director of Stephen Centre International Group of Schools, Mr. Isaac Newton-Wusu, stated that the home is for displaced victims of the insurgency in the north.

    No fewer than 424 children orphaned by Boko Haram and 84 others from riots in the north are in the home, he stated.

    “We do not give children away for adoption. We just try to give them hope in everything,” he stated.

  • Cleric seeks unity against terror

    The General Overseer of Shiloh Word Chapel (aka Faith Nations), Prophet Ikechukwu Samuel, has urged Nigerians to unite against the Boko Haram terror ravaging the nation.

    Samuel, who spoke with reporters in Abuja ahead of the forthcoming third anniversary of the church, appealed to members of the Boko Haram sect to have a change of heart and stop bloodshed to avoid the wrath of God.

    He said: “If members of Boko Haram want to release the Chibok girls, it is a change of heart that will make them do so.

    “Let Nigerians pray because this country is a nation with faith. Every citizen of Nigeria has faith; let us use our own faith, irrespective of our religious beliefs to ask our God to change their hearts.”

    He added: “Boko Haram insurgents are still in the dark because they will still do more and we will keep exchanging. Yet, it will not solve the problem.

    “Let our leaders and every citizen show love. Releasing people in places of evil will in turn increase the problem. It is not the solution; we should kneel down and pray for a change of heart.”

    The church, he assured, has been raising a generation that will change the nation.

  • Boko Haram suicide mission: Military traces explosives’ source to Chinese factory in Cameroon

    Boko Haram suicide mission: Military traces explosives’ source to Chinese factory in Cameroon

    …May launch full-scale war against Boko Haram before December

    The military has traced some of the explosives being used by Boko Haram female suicide bombers to a Chinese factory which was seized some weeks ago by the sect.

    Also, preliminary findings revealed that some of the teenage bombers were not aware that they were on suicide mission.

    It was learnt that most of the girls were lured on errands without knowing the import of their mission.

    But there were feelers last night that the Federal Government may direct the military to wage a full-scale battle against the sect in Sambisa Forest before the December deadline given by the National Council of State.

    According to a military source, who spoke in confidence, the military and other security agencies have started probing the increase in suicide bombings by Boko Haram and sources of the Improvised Explosive Devices which were mostly remote controlled.

    The source claimed that one of the clues stumbled upon by the military traced the explosives to a Chinese plant which was attacked by Boko Haram in May.

    The sect had attacked a quarry plant of a Chinese road construction firm in Northern Cameroon near Waza town, which is about 20 kilometres to Sambisa Forest.

    Apart from abducting 10 Chinese workers, many blasting materials were carted away by the insurgents.

    The military source said: “”The military and security agencies have started probing how the insurgents came about the massive IEDs being deployed to attack various institutions and locations.

    “We have done analysis of some samples of the fragments of the IEDs used to attack some of these places.

    The initial part of the investigation showed that some of the explosives forcibly evacuated from the Chinese plant in May were being used for the ongoing suicide mission.

    “The second leg of the ongoing probe borders on the need to find out whether some of the IEDs also came from some of the allies of the sect in other countries like the Taliban, Al-Qaeda in the Maghreb and others.

    “But certainly investigation is in progress in order to nip the spate of suicide bombings in the bud.”

    Responding to a question, the source said: “Findings also confirmed that some of the female suicide bombers were innocently conscripted to run errands they were not aware of.

    “Once the girls were sent on errands, the sect members used to stay somewhere to use remote control to detonate the IEDs.

    “This development does not rule out the possibility of the training of some of the female bombers for the missions.

    “We are studying all bends to the new tricks of bombing before it assumes a large scale dimension.

    On the December deadline given by the National Council of State to end the insurgency in the North, the source added: “We are working to address the security challenges before the timeline.

    “The deadline presupposes that we will wage a full-scale battle against the insurgents without minding the collateral damage.

    “Once the presidency gives the directive, the military will have no option than to launch an outright war against the insurgents in Sambisa Forest or wherever is their base.

    “I think we have reached a stage to either address the insurgency or allow the situation to degenerate.”