The Nation Newspaper

Tag: boko haram

  • Children remember abducted girls

    Children in the Ifelodun Local Council Development Area (LCDA), Lagos, in their thousands, joined others across the world yesterday to call on the Federal Government and the international community to expedite effort at bringing back the Chibok school girls abducted by Boko Haram insurgents in Borno State over a month ago.

    Instead of the celebrations that usually accompany the yearly Children’s Day, the children staged a solidarity walk from the Gaskiya College to the council’s secretariat at Amukoko to convey their demand to President Goodluck Jonathan through the council’s chief, Hon. Shuaib Fatai Ajidagba

    The children displayed placards bearing inscriptions such as: “Bring back our girls safe and alive”; “Bring back our sisters”; “Bring back our future mothers,” and “Bring back our future leaders.”

    The council’s Supervisor for Education, Hon Fatai Hamzat, who addressed them, said: “Today is supposed to be children’s day celebrations but because of the mode of the nation, it has been cancelled. We feel for the children who were abducted.”

    He promised that the children’s demands would be passed to the appropriate authorities as he prayed for the safe return of the girls.

  • Spare our lives, girls urge Jonathan in new video

    Spare our lives, girls urge Jonathan in new video

    Obasanjo hosts Boko Haram contacts in Abeokuta

    President Goodluck Jonathan was sent a new video of the schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram in which they beg him to spare their lives through a prisoner swap, sources close to the militia told British newspaper The Telegraph.

    The Nation could not confirm last night the receipt of the video.

    The video was said to have been handed to the President’s office by an intermediary, a journalist, Ahmed Salkida,  who started a dialogue with the group two weeks ago. He is one of the few people trusted by the sect. He obtained the video as a way of proving that he had authentic lines of communication to Boko Haram’s leaders, the report said.

    However, the source claimed that a subsequent deal to release the girls – planned for a week ago on Monday – was scrapped after Western governments placed pressure on Mr Jonathan not to negotiate for any prisoner swap.

    The deal would allegedly have seen around 50 of the girls released in exchange for an equivalent number of Boko Haram fighters currently in Nigerian jails. The Nigerian government has denied that any deal was on the table, and has so far neither confirmed nor denied the existence of the video.

    Claims of the video’s existence surfaced as the Chief of Defence Staff claimed that the military knew where the girls were located. Speaking on Monday, Air Marshal Alex Badeh, described it as “good news for the parents” but said that the military would not risk “going there with force”.

    However, he declined to give specific details, raising speculation about the accuracy of his claims.

    The Nigerian journalist who is said to have obtained the latest video was named by the source as Ahmed Salkida, who is from the north-east state of Borno, which is Boko Haram’s main stronghold.

    His contacts with the group have been so close that on past occasions he was arrested on suspicion of being a sympathiser, and two years ago he moved with his family to Dubai.

    However, around four weeks ago, the Federal Government agreed for him to come back to Nigeria to see if he could assist in negotiating for the girls’ freedom. He and a trusted cleric then risked their lives by heading up into the remote bushland areas where the group operate, meeting a senior assistant of Boko Haram’s leader, Abubakar Shekau.

    “The government said to the intermediary to prove himself to show whether he was capable of brokering a deal or not, and insisted that he should obtain proof of life of the hostages,” the source said. “So during his talks with the insurgents, he obtained a DVD which had clips of girls being interviewed by members of the group, in which they asked President Jonathan to do a prisoner swap to get them freed.

    “That DVD was shown to the government, and a deal was arranged so that the girls would have been released a week ago on Monday, but at last minute the government backed out.”

    The precise reasons for the government’s alleged change of mind were not known, said the source. But he pointed out that the weekend before the proposed release date, Mr Jonathan was at the summit to discuss the Boko Haram crisis in Paris, also attended by British and American officials as well as the governments of Niger, Cameroon and Mali

    The Nigerian government got a lot of offers of co-operation by neighbouring countries at the summit, and I think that emboldened them against negotiations,” the source said. “They also seem to be afraid that if they do a prisoner swap, they will lose the support of the West.”

    As a result, the source said, the negotiations had now “crashed”, with Mr Salkida returning to Dubai. The DVD remains in the possession of the Nigerian government and has not been released publicly.

  • Protesters ‘occupy Lagos road’ for Chibok girls’ release

    Protesters ‘occupy Lagos road’ for Chibok girls’ release

    Lagos road’ for Chibok girls’ release

    There was a heavy traffic gridlock yesterday on the Lagos-Ikorodu Road when protesters, under the aegis of Nigerians United Against Terrorism, protested the continued detention of the Chibok schoolgirls by the Boko Haram sect.

    The protesters called for the immediate release of the over 200 schoolgirls abducted over a month ago in Chibok, Borno State.

    The protest took off from the Ikeja Military Cantonment at Maryland and headed to the Gani Fawehinmi Park at Ojota.

    The protesters wore red T-shirts with the message: “Boko Haram: Release Our Girls Now”.

    They included notable Hollywood actors and actresses, directors, producers, clerics, women and youths.

    Some Nollywood actresses, under the aegis of Nollywood Actresses for Change, were among the protesters who defied the early hour traffic for the rally.

    Among the protesters were Mrs Gloria Young, Mrs Rachael Oniga, Ms Florence Oname and Mrs Toyin Adewale.

    They displayed placards with various inscriptions, such as “#Boko Haram Release Our Girls Now” and “Nigerians, say no to Terrorism”.

    The protesters urged the Chibok girls’ abductors to release them unconditionally.

    Rachael Oniga, who addressed reporters during the rally, discredited the globally acclaimed #BringBackOurGirls campaign, led by the former Minister of Education, Dr Oby Ezekwezili and other rights activists.

    The frontline actress said the right slogan should be “#Boko Haram, Release Our Girls Now.”

    Oniga, who was supported by other Noollywood actresses, added: “Nigerians need to support the government in the search for the girls.”

    The actress did not say whether or not the government should swap the abducted girls for the insurgents’ members in its custody.

    She said the protesters “believed that with the support of Nigerians for the government the girls may soon be released”.

    The protesters also had a 20-minute prayer session for the release of the Chibok girls.

    They said the only option left for Nigerians was to seek divine intervention for the government’s search to succeed.

    Mrs Young explained that “the prayers were meant to seek God’s intervention and ensure the girls’ release”.

    The Secretary of the Nigeria United Against Terrorism, Ms Titilola Kazeem, said she would not “want to imagine the frame of mind of the parents”.

    She added: “It is a terrible and very painful thing. But you see, we are powerless and defenceless. So, we have to call for government’s support in the fight against terrorism; plead with the Chibok girls’ abductors to release them and pray to God for divine intervention.”

     

  • Securing the Nigerian child

    SIR: The Nigerian child, if lucky to be alive, has travelled the narrow path of neglect in many ways. He has been through physical, psychological, emotional and social neglects. One in five children in the country dies before the age of five due to minor preventable ailments that have long been eradicated in other climes; others have been orphaned due to AIDS related disease or inter-tribal wars or as a result of activities of insurgencies. It is estimated that over two million girls are subjected to genital mutilation every year, a practice still rampant in some parts of Nigeria and all religious groups. Intervention into the practice is considered as a violation of privacy, yet many girls face several health risks through this, including severe bleeding and contraction of HIV infection through the use of unhygienic methods in carrying out the procedure. Statistical data shows that adolescent girls have HIV rate up to five percent higher than their boys’ counterpart.

    Only recently, it was disclosed that over 10 million Nigerian children are out of school and sadly over nine million of these came from the northern part of the country, the stronghold of the radical insurgents – Boko Haram. Since 2012, Boko Haram- the radical terrorist group- has targeted schools in northern Nigeria. Dozens of schools have been attacked or burnt down. In the last three months alone, the United Nations has reported that at least 15,000 children in the northern part of the country have stopped attending classes.

    In a single attack in February this year in Yobe State, 45 children were killed. As if this was not enough, on  April 14, over 200 girls were abducted from their dormitory in Government Girls’ Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State because they chose to go to school.

    In Nigeria, most children contribute to the economic well-being of their families through hawking and sundry work to generate additional income. Around 15 million Nigerian children under the age of 14 work in extreme hazardous conditions.

    Today, of all girls fears, that of being raped is the darkest .The rape epidemic in our society reflects the extent in which girls’ rights are being violated. Curiously, age is no longer barrier to who can be a victim. It has gone so bad that minors, as young as 4 years old, are now being raped.  Boys are not left out as they are now being recruited by militants and insurgents.

    It is imperative that government at all levels ensure the safety of all children in the country. Also, we need to ensure that our children are healthy, educated and have their rights respected with supports from all stakeholders. The Chibok girls experience is a case study in ensuring a safe environment for our children to learn and it has further revealed the need for us as a nation to prioritize issues of girl- child education. This is the right time for us to ensure that no one is left behind as the country moves towards achieving the Education for All (EFA) goal. The country needs a clear set of public actions that embrace issues of gender, religious, political and mental diversity to address not only economic shocks, but also social vulnerability.

     

    • Bilkis Bakare,

    Ministry of Information and Strategy,

    Alausa, Ikeja

     

  • Senate urges Boko Haram to free Chibok girls

    Senate urges Boko Haram to free Chibok girls

    •Chukwumerije flays Defence Chief over comment

    The Senate pleaded yesterday with the Boko Haram sect to release the over 200 schoolgirls it abducted from Chibok, Borno State, about 40 days ago.

    Also yesterday, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Education, Uche Chukwumerije, faulted a statement credited to the Chief of Defence Staff, Air Marshal Alex Badeh, that the military had located the camps where the abducted Chibok girls were being held.

    But the Air Force chief reportedly said the location was a military secret.

    Senate Leader Victor Ndoma-Egba, who spoke at plenary in Abuja, urged the abductors to release the girls in the spirit of the Children’s Day celebration.

    The senator drew the attention of his colleagues to the challenges confronting the Nigerian child.

    He said children would only become true resources and wealth, if they were well educated.

    Ndoma-Egba said: “Let me, on behalf of the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, congratulate the children of Nigeria and the children of the world on this day, which is their day.

    “Children all over the world represent the wealth and resource of every nation. They can be a resource only if they are educated. Without education, the children, rather than being a resource will become a burden on the society.

    “It is for this reason I want to draw the attention of the Senate and the nation to the challenges being faced by our children in the Northeast.

    “May I use this opportunity to appeal to Boko Haram to make this day whole for us as a nation, to make this day whole for us as humanity, by releasing our children in their captivity?”

    Addressing reporters later, Chukwumerije condemned the assertion by the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Air Mashal Alex Badeh, that the military had located the camps where the abducted girls were being held.

    The senator said it was puzzling for the Defence chief to disclose what the military considered a secret.

    He said: “I am very much elated by the news that the location of our girls is now known to the army. But, like the rest of the nation, especially observers, I am puzzled by one phrase, according to the military spokesman, that their location is a military secret.

    “…What puzzles me is simply this: why do you make public what you consider a military secret? As you are announcing the location or your discovery of the location of these girls, the news is being known to those holding them captive. You think they are going to stay there and wait for you until you come to locate the girls and take them away?

    “This puzzles me because we know that in all American military operations, you don’t hear a word about that until after their mission has been accomplished.

    “The next you will hear is that their mission has been accomplished. When the leader of Al Qaeda was dealt with, we know how it was done. Nobody even had a wind of what was going on until it was completed.

    “So, let us hope and pray that the news of the location of the girls is true, that the enemy is not sufficiently warned to move before our men would strike.

    “But to us, it is a wonder of wonders that what the military considers a secret is what it announced as a secret and wants us not to divulge the secret.”

    Also, the Senate considered yesterday a Bill seeking to establish the Nigeria Financial Intelligence Centre (NFIC) 2014.

    The NFIC, if established, will operate independently of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). It is presently a unit under the EFCC.

    Most senators hailed the Bill. They said the centre is a requirement for a country fighting seriously to eliminate corruption.

    But some lawmakers kicked against the Bill. The said it would amount to duplicating EFCC’s duties.

    The lawmakers insisted that the Bill can only succeed, if the EFCC Act is repealed to transfer some of the financial intelligence functions to the new centre.

    The Bill was later stood down for further legislative work.

  • Protesters were paid, says organiser

    Protesters were paid, says organiser

    One of the organisers of the groups protesting for the release of over 200 schoolgirls abducted from the Government Girls’ Secondary School in Chibok, Borno State, has confirmed that they were paid for the rally.

    The protesters, organised by a non-governmental organisation (NGO), Citizens Initiative for Security Awareness, marched yesterday on the Villa and the Defence Headquarters in Abuja.

    The organisers said everyone wearing the red T-shirt with the “Release Our Girls” campaign tag was paid.

    Jude Chabaya, one of the organisers, addressed reporters yesterday in Abuja.

    The activist said the protest was informed by the need of the ordinary Nigerian to ensure that Boko Haram release the innocent girls to their families.

    He said the group, unlike the “BringBackOurGirls” protesters, was seeking the girls’ release from Boko Haram captivity and not the government.

    Chabaya linked the nation’s insecurity to politics.

    The activist said all the bombings, killings and kidnapping were forerunners to the 2015 election.

    He said: “I see a former minister coming here every day to do protest. You see, anybody you see here is paid. Anybody wearing the T-shirt is paid to wear the T-shirt. So, nobody can come and tell me that he loves Nigeria more than me and you…

    “Who is deceiving who? This is a country where we all know what is happening. But the biggest problem is that Nigerians are hiding away from the truth. We don’t have a problem in the religious circle; it is a political problem. All I’m saying is that Nigerians should know that we do not have a problem. It is all politics. So, Nigerians should gather and say no to killings, bombings and kidnapping for power.”

  • Pupils weep for Chibok girls in Enugu

    Pupils weep for Chibok girls in Enugu

    •Chime denounces insurgency

    Pupils wept yesterday in Enugu for the abducted Chibok, Borno State, schoolgirls.

    It was during this year’s Children’s Day celebrations.

    Scores of primary and secondary school children had gathered at the Michael Okpara Square in Enugu for the celebration.

    But their emotions snapped when they began the prayers with their hands pointed towards the imaginary direction of Sambisa Forest, where the over 200 pupils of the Government Girls’ Secondary School in Chibok were being held by the Boko Haram insurgents for over a month now.

    They prayed God to send his angels for the girls’ rescue.

    The Enugu pupils called for the immediate release of the girls and the cessation of harassment of school children and their teachers in the North.

    Led in the prayers by the State Chairman of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), Rev. Godwin Madu and the Secretary of the Christian Association Nigeria (CAN), Rev. Emeka Ejim, the children said there was no room for celebration of this year’s event since their abducted colleagues were still in the captivity of terrorists.

    They urged the Federal Government to ensure the quick release of the innocent girls and prevent a recurrence.

    Amidst tears, Miss Precious Ede, who prayed on behalf of the children, said: “We did not come here to celebrate; rather, we came to express our anguish at the continued plight of our mates in the hands of the Boko Haram people. We came to seek God’s intervention so that they can be freed, because just like us, they committed no crime by going to school. We are confident that God will answer us because even as we are praying, we know that His angels are already at work in Sambisa Forest or wherever our mates are being held.”

    Presenting the address of President Goodluck Jonathan on the occasion, Governor Sullivan Chime denounced the abduction of school children and the rampant bombing and burning of schools, which have led to the closure of some schools and colleges in the Northeast.

     

    The governor sympathised with the parents of the abducted Chibok schoolgirls and other Nigerian children and their families over the death of innocent children of the Federal Government College in Buni-Yadi, Yobe State.

    The governor, who was represented by the Commissioner for Education, Prof Christopher Okoro, said the government would always protect children from violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation.

    Chime said: “We cannot stand by and see schools shut down, children denied education and parents living in morbid fear of safety of their children. This is an obligation we owe our children in conformity with the rights guaranteed them in our 1999 Constitution, the Child Rights Act 2003 and other international treaties and conventions, to which Nigeria is signatory.”

  • Boko Haram kills 24 soldiers, policemen in Yobe attack

    Boko Haram kills 24 soldiers, policemen in Yobe attack

    It was yet another sad day for the Nigerian security forces fighting the insurgency in Yobe as scores of them were killed in a dawn attack in Buni Yadi, headquarter of Gujba Local Government.

    Buni Yadi is the village where sect members killed 59 pupils while sleeping in their dormitory last year.

    Residents said the hoodlums came into the town with one Armoured Personal Carrier vehicle (APC) and six Hilux vans, shooting in the air through the town as they headed for security formations where they lunched their dastardly attacks.

    The Joint Task Force (JTF) and the police in Yobe State have been reluctant to release the casualty figure but Police Commissioner Marcus K. Danladi confirmed the incident.

    “I am just coming back from Buni Yadi and I need to sit down to gather my facts together before giving it out,” CP Danladi said.

    Police spokesman Nansak Chegwam also said information at hand was sketchy, saying investigation had started.

    A security source said 17 soldiers and 14 policemen including a woman were killed in the attack.

    Another source said those killed were 10 soldiers and 15 policemen.

    A Divisional Police Office (DPO), Divisional Crime Officer (DCO) were among those killed, it was gathered.

    The attackers stormed the town around 6:03 pm and unleashed terror on the security.

    A senior officer of Gujba Local Government who pleaded anonymity said the police barrack, the Divisional Police Station, and the military base in the area were burnt down.

    Other places razed by the insurgents include; the palace of the district head of Buni-Yadi Alhaji Abba Hassan Muktar, a personal houses and the palace of the Emir of Buni-Yadi Alhaji Muktar Ali Gangaran were also vandalised by the insurgents.

    Witnesses said the insurgents were armed with various weapons and petrol bombs.

    A resident who escaped the attack said the attackers drove in pick-up trucks, armoured tanks and motorcycles.

    Abubakar (not real name) said the attack was clearly targeted at security operatives unlike past attacks that civilian also fell victims.

    “We were shocked and terrified in the evening when a gang of armed Boko Haram burst into this town, chanting that they were here for the soldiers and policemen; and not the civilians. Don’t panic, we will not touch you. All of you are safe today (Monday). As they attacked the military posts, they proceeded to the police station, the magistrate court and our council secretariat complex; and put fire on them.

    “Some of the people however fled their houses and shops for safety, despite assurance of attackers not to kill anyone of them. Residents living near the police station and military posts however; fled to nearby bushes and farmlands,” Abubakar said.

    It was gathered that security operatives moved to Buni Yadi to ascertain the impact of the attack. A top emergency security meeting was summoned by the state government in Damaturu, the state capital.

    Deputy Governor Abubakar Aliyu met with the Police Commissioner, the JTF Commander and the Secretary to the State Government (SSG) where he was briefed on the incident.

    Military and hospital ambulances were also sighted along Maiduguri road in Damaturu with heavy military escorts.

  • I cant deliver letter to Boko Haram leader- First lady

    Some children have written a letter to Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau demanding the release of over 200 secondary school girls abducted in Chibok, Borno State.

    The First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan received the letter from the children while hosting them for this year’s children’s day celebration at the Banquet Hall of the State House, Abuja.

    She told the children that she does not know where to find Shekau but will hand over the letter to National Security Adviser or the Chief of Defence Staff.

    But she thanked the children for the second letter addressed to President Goodluck Jonathan.

    She said: “Let me thank the children that gave me letter to give Boko Haram. Well, I have received your letter, but I’m not the one to give it to Boko Haram because I don’t know Boko Haram and I have never seen Boko Haram. But I will give it to NSA or Chief of Defence Staff who will submit your letter accordingly.”

    On the second letter, she said: “To my children parliament, thank you for your letter. Thank you for your deliberation. I have received what you gave to me. I will make sure I pass it to the president because it is addressed to him and the other one is addressed to Boko Haram. That is why the two are different.”

    Warning Nigerians to desist from abusing the President, she urged them to commit themselves to developmental issues.

    On the need to learn good morals for positive human development, the First Lady told the children that respect for constituted authority was necessary if the country is to witness meaningful development.

    She said: “It is bad to abuse our country and the president because God has made him the head. The almighty God commands us to pray for our leaders. We therefore need to pray for the development of our country and the president.”

    Quoting from the holy scriptures, she said, “Remember that a child that abuses his father and mother is disobeying God’s commandment because the bible says in Exodus 20:12 that you should honour your father and mother so that you may live long in the land that the Lord your God has given you”.

    “The holy Bible is not referring to only biological parents. Any one that is older than you even for a day must be respected. Let us therefore join hands and rebuild our country Nigeria”.

    On the current insecurity in the country, she also called on Nigerians, especially those carrying out protest on the abduction of over 200 school girls in Chibok, Borno State, to focus on the terrorists rather than government for the release of the students.

    Continuing, she said: “This event provides a platform for mutual understanding and reflection of the situation of our children who have been kidnapped”.

    “It is the right of every child to go to school. It is only through education that you can be able to achieve your dreams and contribute meaningfully to your community and the nation. We desire peace in our community, in our nation. I want you all to be ambassadors of peace in your schools and practice good manners.

    “We have no other country than Nigeria. We therefore need to be patriotic and committed to our dear country. We should strengthen our covenant with our country as outlined in the National Pledge.

    “Let us therefore be united in fighting terrorism. We should encourage our soldiers who are in the frontline to rescue our beloved daughters,” she stated

  • War against Boko Haram unanticipated – Mark

    Senate President, David Mark, on Tuesday described the ongoing war against the Boko Haram insurgents as both “daunting and unanticipated.”

    Mark, who spoke when a delegation from the Royal College of Defence Studies, United Kingdom, on a study tour of Nigeria visited him in Abuja, insisted that democracy has been firmly rooted in Nigeria in spite of the challenges confronting the country since 1999.

    He said that democracy which all Nigerians appreciate as the best form of government has stabilized in the country.

    Mark in a statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Paul Mumeh, lamented the security challenges in the country.

    He said: “We have fought civil war and came back together as one united nation but this new war is daunting and unanticipated. With the collective will of all Nigerians, we shall overcome.

    “I have experienced both military and civilian democracy, I can say without mincing words that democracy is the preferred option and truly the best form of government. We have our challenges, but there is no alternative to democracy.

    “All Nigerians and friends of Nigeria must work hard to protect, defend and make democracy thrive in our land.”

    He insisted that the legislature is the custodian of democracy and therefore should be given its pride of place in the scheme of things.