The Nation Newspaper

Tag: boko haram

  • Okonkwo, Otabil, others seek release of abducted girls

    A group of eminent church leaders in Africa, The Council of African Apostles, has called for the immediate release of more than 230 abducted female students of Government Secondary, Chibok in Borno State.

    It described the abduction as a deplorable act of terrorism affecting innocent lives with nothing whatever to do with the conflicts or grievances of Boko Haram, the radical Islamic sect.

    In a joint statement signed by the President of the Council of Africa Apostles Bishop Tudor Bismark of Zimbabwe, Bishop Mike Okonkwo of Nigeria and Dr. Mensa Otabil of Ghana, the Council said: “the abduction and other related callous acts of terror that have been undertaken by Boko Haram in the recent past should be condemned in the strongest possible terms.

    “The reports that they are being sold off into marriage for US$12.00 and that others have died of snake bites only serve to make the call for their urgent return, they should not have been touched by this conflict in the first place.”

    The Council called on “the Federal Government of Nigeria to exercise real leadership over this matter and use every disposable means it has to ensure that these girls are reunited with their families within the shortest possible time.

    “Beyond the safe return of the girls, we are also calling for the government to engage Boko Haram and find a peaceful solution to immediately end this violence that has claimed many innocent lives who otherwise have no stake whatever issues that are currently under contestation.”

    It added:  “We are also calling for leaders from different faith groups to have a dialogue and especially for leadership from the Muslim faith to strongly disassociate themselves from these cowardly acts of terror being carried out in the name of their religion.”

    The ministers stated that the recent attacks have placed a dark cloud over the peaceful co-existence of Christians and Muslims, deeply wounding the conscience of those who uphold human life and also leading to a deterioration of public trust and tolerance of different opinions.

  • Insurgency: Borno pledges support for FG

    The Borno Government said on Saturday that it was ready to provide all the necessary support to the Federal Government toward ending the Boko Haram insurgency.

    Governor Kashim Shettima made the pledge in Maiduguri while addressing members of the Presidential Fact Finding Committee on the abducted students of the Government Girls’ Secondary School (GGSS), Chibok, Borno.

    Shettima also said the state government would collaborate with the Federal Government to ensure the safe return of the abducted girls.

    He expressed optimism that the committee’s report would provide a leeway toward ending insurgency in the country.

    “Going by the calibre of people in the committee, I believe that the committee will come up with lasting solutions to insurgency in the country.

    “I am glad that you have already interacted with a wide range of stakeholders in your quest to present a credible report.

    “ As for us as political leaders, I want to assure you that we will not politicise the abduction saga.

    “Rather we will like to direct our energy toward restoring peace and rescuing the abducted girls,” the News Agency of Nigeria quoted the governor as saying at the forum.

    Shettima, who described the abduction as a national calamity, also said:

    “We will remain focused and committed to giving the Federal Government all necessary support to bring the insurgency to an end so that our people can live in peace and harmony.

    “We are going to partner with the federal government toward bringing back peace in our country.’’

    Earlier, the Chairman of the committee, Brig.-Gen. Ibrahim Sabo (rtd), said the meeting was part of the committee’s numerous interactions with stakeholders toward identifying the facts of the matter.

    “We have met with a wide range of stakeholders since our arrival in Maiduguri.

    “We had useful interaction with Borno elders, the Chibok community, the GGSS principal, the vice principals, the security guards and other stakeholders,”   Sabo said.

  • Save the North from Boko Haram, Gov pleads

    Chairman Northern States Governors Forum (NSGF), Dr. Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu has called on former northern leaders to help resolve the Boko Haram insurgency that has crippled the region in the last five years and other security challenges rocking the region.
    He said the continuious increase of insurgency in the region has necessitated the need for the coming together of former leaders from the region to help bring sanity and profer solutions to the continuous terrorist activities in the region.
    Apparently disturbed by the killing of innocent people by the radical islamic sect, Boko Haram, Aliyu, who is also the governor of Niger State called on former Head of State and international Peacemaker, General Abdulsalami Abubakar to invite the former leaders of the region to join hands with the northern governors to return the region back to its former glory.
    Aliyu who spoke at the 1st Convocation ceremony of Niger State owned Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University, Lapai said, ” we are inviting you because of your experiences and knowledge of this country. We need you to give us the political will to help us fight this battle.”
    “We also need you to help the federal government and make sure that we fight Boko Haram and defeat it within the next three months.we believe that with your wisdom, we are capable of doing that.”
    The NSGF chairman lamented the bad image and name being given to the counntry due to the activities of the outlawed group and other security challenges and appealed to Abubakar to call the former leaders immediately.
    “Please Sir, do it to save Nigeria and do it very soon. We are aware of this security challenges have given us a bad name and image to the extent that Nigerians are being killed abroad and nothing is done about it just because they feel we kill our own by ourself.”
    The former Head of State, General Abdulsalmi Abubakar who was at the ceremony did not respond but he nodded in acknowledgemnet of the request of the governor.

    Aliyu then urged the 1732 graduands to continue to maintain the standard imbibed from the institution stressing that as pioneer graduates of the institution they would be the yardstick for measuring the academic and moral quality of the university.
    According to the governor, who is the visitor of the university, “you must realize that whatever you do out there will affect the image of you Alma Mata and by implication, the image of Niger state or even lower your chances of employability in the labor market.
    In his address, the Vice Chancellor of the University, Professor Ibrahim Kolo, a total of 1, 732 students graduated for the maiden convocation with eight of them bagging First class, 324 had Second Class Upper while 902 Students made second Class Lower, 476 had third Class and 22 came out with pass grade.
    According to him, the First Class degree was recorded in Mathematics, Geography, Business Administration, Accountancy, Public Administration, Economics and Biology adding that the only lady among the First Class graduands have been offered a sponsorship for her Doctorate degree.

  • Sect kills 30 in reprisal attacks on vigilance groups

    Sect kills 30 in reprisal attacks on vigilance groups

    Boko Haram is now targeting vigilance group members in Borno State  killing about 30 in separate attacks on  at least two  villages in Borno State on Thursday.

    Attacked were Morofo in Marte local government area where 25 were killed and Kinmi in Biu Local government area which lost five residents.

    The deceased were described as members of the local vigilance groups.

    The Boko Haram attacks appeared to be reprisals on vigilance  groups following the recent killing of scores of Boko Haram members by vigilance groups in two communities in the state.

    Most villages have formed vigilance groups to  protect their communities from militant attacks.

      Residents from  Morofo and Kinmi said the invaders came in a convoy and gathered the men of the community together.

    They accused them of being members of vigilante groups and killed them all, one villager from Moforo  who escaped across the border to Cameroon told the BBC Hausa service.

    They then burnt down all the shops in the market, leaving the villagers destitute, he said.

    A resident of Kimbi village  said the villagers contacted the security forces to alert them to their attack, but were told it was not an area under military control so they could not be helped.

  • Boko Haram: Lawmaker raises fear of widespread violence

    Boko Haram: Lawmaker raises fear of widespread violence

    The lawmaker representing Akuku-Toru/Asari-Toru Federal constituency in the House of Representatives, Hon. Dawari George, has expressed concern over the likely spread of violence across the country, following increase in Boko Haram’s attacks on the country.

    He said the inability of the Federal Government to bring the menace to an end was beginning to create tension and anxiety among Nigerians.

    The lawmaker stated this yesterday in Port Harcourt, Rivers State capital during the launch of a book entitled Avenger of Blood, written by Pastor Franklin Finecountry

    Speaking after the book launch, George said that if the Federal Government does not resolve the Boko Haram debacle as quickly as possible, it could turn into a sectarian violence which will affect the overall development of the country.

    He noted that when people are hungry and have no reasonable means of earning a living, they would seek for alternative means of surviving, like engaging in armed robbery, kidnapping and other related criminal activities, to make ends meet.

    He said: “Government has focused more attention now on issue of security at the expense of development. When energetic youths who are supposed to drive development through positive engagement are busy carrying arms and wreaking havoc in the land, then there is serious problem.

    “This at the end will usher in food scarcity which in turn will translate into widespread hunger and poverty in the country. The alternative to Boko Haram violence is for government to attach premium on agriculture and quality education to drive away idleness among the vacant youths”

  • Boko Haram, politics and a dishonest world

    JUDGING from headline news about daily Boko Haram killings in Nigerian newspapers this week alone, one would wander why foreign nations like the US and Britain have not asked their citizens to flee Nigeria or avoid it like a plague altogether, instead according that dubious honour with alacrity to Thailand where a coup took place during the week. Yet both Nigeria and Thailand are vibrant democracies where elections are the identifying hall marks although the difference as shown this week is that while the Thai army has suspended the constitution, it has not included the part that concerns the key part of Thailand’s stability, which is the Thai monarchy. On the other hand, in Nigeria according to reports, the army chief of finance at a military training course for army accountants lamented that the army cannot defeat Boko Haram because it was underfunded and bureaucracy was hampering the release of even the meagre funds to an embattled army expected to end the Boko Haram horror swiftly, by first finding and bringing home safely our 200 Chibok girls. Obviously the difference is clear in the workings of the democracies of Thailand and Nigeria and that is food for thought today. We will however top the menu to be served with an icing on the cake in terms of the US involvement in Nigeria and its recent criticism that only the US is helping Nigeria on Boko Haram while the globally vocal France and Britain are yet to show up in Nigeria to contain Boko Haram as announced with fanfare since the unfortunate abduction of the Chibok girls last month. In all these situations we are going to show how good faith and honesty were lacking in the governance of the nations mentioned as well as their accomplices, not only in the practice of democracy but also in the conduct of diplomacy. We end up with some comments on Egypt’s presidential elections this week end, where populist democracy is being buried as the army chief returns in a key election, in a new democracy that puts priority on the security and stability of Egypt, rather than the sort that saw out former Egyptian dictator Housni Mubarak in Egypt in 2011. Which also was the kind that the army stamped out so, nastily albeit bloodlessly in Thailand this week. Starting with Nigeria, it must be said that in spite of the Boko Haram horror and the showing of CNN reporters in the hamlets of Chibok patrolling with vigilante groups at night, the president is yet to visit Chibok even though whole world has taken the plight of the Chibok girls to heart. The reason is quite clear. One does not need presidential spokesmen to clarify that this president is seeking re election and even though containing Boko Haram is in focus, it is not in contention with that democratic pursuit .So the politics of re election must go on willy nilly and in spite of Boko Haram and the Chibok girls. This surely explains why the president was reported to have told demonstrators in Abuja that they should direct their protests on the Chibok girls at terrorists and not his government as done in other places experiencing terrorism. In addition the president cannot be expected to lose key states where elections are expected soon to a rampaging opposition that is far ahead and proactive in proffering solutions to Nigeria’s numerous socio economic and political problems while being burdened with the issue of Boko Haram when, anyway, the government has renewed the State of Emergency which the governors of the three states of the North East never wanted. More importantly the Americans have brought in drones and anti terror experts stationed in neighbouring Chad and would soon take care of Boko Haram while the business, or is it politics, of governance and re election go on as usual and undisturbed. Which makes plain common sense although the huge security and stability implications are there for all to see. Thailand’s democracy however was a different kettle of fish before the army intervention this week. Too many demonstrations by pro and anti government forces represented by the red and yellow shirts and election by proxy by the Shinawatra family of the former Prime Minster wanted for corruption in Thailand, paralysed business and the Thai economy such that ordinary Thais are relieved by the intervention of the army. Of course the Thai politicians have themselves to blame, as from Thailand’s political history they knew that the army could always come in. They could even have been invited by the monarchy which like that of Britain is very much revered in Thailand. So, in brief, on Thailand let the politicians rue their excesses in terms uncontrolled, frequent and paralysing demonstrations for now and hope to strike a deal with the military soon, so as not to prolong military rule. As said earlier, it was reported widely this week that US Secretary of State John Kerry took a rare swipe at France and Britain over their promised help to help Nigeria fight Boko Haram and find the abducted Chibok girls. John Kerry spoke at an anniversary dinner in the US and noted that France criticised the US for not attacking Syria over the use chemical weapons by the Bashar Assad regime after Kerry had elaborately shown the civilised world that the American government had ample evidence to punish Assad. Obviously Kerry was trying to tell the French who know more about the Sahel where Boko Haram is operating to be more forthcoming in helping Nigeria to fight Boko Haram as promised instead of developing cold feet at the last minute. At least the US Secretary of State wants France to use the same zeal it used to put pressure on the US to attack Syria on chemical weapons earlier, on its promise to help Nigeria fight Boko Haram in its backyard in Africa . Which really in recent times, given the decisive French military interventions in Mali and Central African Republic, is what ECOWAS sub region or the treacherous Sahel and its creeping desert where Boko Haram and militant Islamists operate with impunity, have become for France in Africa. Definitely as a concerned Nigerian I do not think the US Secretary of State is asking too much of France this time around and would appreciate a quick and positive French rethink on the matter to save Nigeria from terrorism. Lastly the presidential election in Egypt provides another dubious face of democracy very much tied to security and political stability. The presidential elections have two candidates but one of them is there just to make up the numbers. The Egyptian army is mid -wifing the delivery of its erstwhile boss former Field Marshal Fatah El Sisi as the next elected president of Egypt. Not surprisingly, move is viewed with relief and satisfaction by most Egyptians after the tumult and violence of two street revolutions that overthrew former dictator Housni Mubarak who was deposed in 2011 and replaced by elected president Mohammed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood which has now been branded and outlawed in Egypt as a terrorist organisation and its members sentenced to death en masse in recent times. Today, the fate of both Mubarak and Morsi are extremely different while that of Egypt is being put firmly in the hands of Sisi by the ongoing presidential elections. Morsi is awaiting trial for treason and in prison and the penalty for that is the death penalty. Mubarak on the other hand is in military custody and was this week fined pittance and jailed three years for corruption and massive embezzlement while in power for almost three decades. It is clear that under Sisi, Egypt will slide back to a highly controlled democracy that puts human rights at arms length while guarding and protecting jealously its stability and security against its own version of Boko Haram which is the Islamic Brotherhood which it has driven underground again by banning. So Egypt has defined its own democracy on its own terms which was what then Field Marshal Sisi told a Pentagon official when he asked the Americans to see Egypt through Egyptian eyes. Now those eyes will be converted or metamorphose to another round of Pharaonic democracy when the rituals of democracy confer the presidency of Egypt on Sisi in this presidential election in the mould of past elections that created a long line of military dictators. Its pedigree goes back to the late Gamal Abdel Nasser, Anwar Sadat, and Housni Mubarak with the Muslim Brotherhood condemned to political perdition and its formerly elected president Mohammed Morsi awaiting the call of the executioner. Really under these circumstances it is very difficult to say long live Egyptian or Pharaonic democracy. Yet, this is the destiny of Egypt in the ensuing Sisi presidency after this election. Sadly to me this is vintage democratic fraud and farce at its best and one can only wonder what will happen next in Egypt, in the name of democracy.

  • Sultan condemns ‘forceful conversion’ of abducted girls

    The Sultan of Sokoto, Saad Abubakar has said Islamic virtue is against forceful conversion as being claimed by Boko Haram who reportedly converted over 200 abducted schoolgirls to Islam.

    The Sultan described the sect misconduct as against the teachings of the Prophet who promoted peaceful co existence during his life time.

    The Sultan spoke in Ibadan on Friday during the commissioning of a mosque by the Islamic community in Bodija.

    Abubakar, who condemned the abduction of the girls and their forceful conversion to Islam, described the action as “ungodly and unIslamic.”

    The Governor of Oyo state, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, in his remark, said the construction of the mosque has brought more Islamic presence to the community and its environs.

  • Jonathan, African leaders to discuss militants’ threat

    Jonathan, African leaders to discuss militants’ threat

    President Goodluck Jonathan, facing a mounting Islamist insurgency at home, will discuss ways of tackling militancy across the continent with African heads of state while in South Africa, his spokesman said.

    The meeting follows warnings from Nigeria and its neighbours that Boko Haram – which has killed thousands of Nigerians during its five-year-old insurgency, and last month kidnapped more than 200 schoolgirls – now threatens the security of the region.

    Leaders from every corner of the continent would meet before South African President Jacob Zuma’s inauguration on Saturday to “focus on collective action to effectively roll back the scourge of terrorism in Africa,” Reuben Abati said.

    As well as Boko Haram, regional and world powers are increasingly worried about the growing reach of groups such as al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and Somalia’s al Shabaab, which has attacked Uganda and Kenya and this week threatened to unleash teenage suicide bombers in Nairobi, Reuters reports.

    Security experts said cross-border intelligence sharing between countries threatened by militant groups is woefully weak.

    Jonathan and the military have been criticised in Nigeria for the slowness of their reaction to the mass abduction, which took place in the remote northeastern village of Chibok, near the borders of Cameroon and Chad.

    Nigeria accepted help from the United States, Britain, France and China last week and around 80 U.S. troops were arriving in Chad to start a mission to try to free the schoolgirls.

  • UN blacklists Boko Haram

    UN blacklists Boko Haram

    The United Nations Security Council committee on al Qaeda sanctions blacklisted the Boko Haram sect on Thursday after the insurgents kidnapped hundreds of schoolgirls, diplomats said.

    Nigeria, which until recently had been reluctant to seek international help to combat Boko Haram, requested earlier this week the group be sanctioned.

    As a result, it is now subject to an international asset freeze, travel ban and arms embargo, Reuters reports.

    “What will the practical impact of that be? Hard to say but it’s an essential step we had to take,” said Australian U.N. Ambassador Gary Quinlan, al Qaeda sanctions committee chair, adding that the aim was to “dry up support” for the group.

    “We will work to try and make sure that anybody supplying any material assistance to Boko Haram – whether funding or arms – will in fact be stopped, will be deterred by the fact they too will be eligible for listing on the sanctions list,” he said.

    Boko Haram kidnapped more than 250 girls from a secondary school in Chibok , Borno State, on April 14 and has threatened to sell them into slavery. Eight other girls were taken from another village earlier this month.

    Boko Haram, which in the Hausa language means broadly “Western education is sinful,” is loosely modeled on the Taliban movement in Afghanistan.

    “Today, the Security Council took an important step in support of the government of Nigeria’s efforts to defeat Boko Haram and hold its murderous leadership accountable for atrocities,” United States’ Ambassador to the UN, Samantha Power said in a statement.

    “By adding Boko Haram to the UN’s 1267 (al Qaeda) sanctions list, the Security Council has helped to close off important avenues of funding, travel and weapons to Boko Haram, and shown global unity against their savage actions,” she said.

  • Boko Haram kills 29 in Borno

    Boko Haram kills 29 in Borno

    Suspected Boko Haram gunmen have shot dead 29 farm workers as they tilled their fields in a village in Borno State, a police source said yesterday.

    The source at state police headquarters said no fewer than 10 more people had been injured in Wednesday’s attack on Chukku Nguddoa, in which most of the village, including its grain store, were razed, Reuters reported.

    Militants killed 17 people in Alagarno village on Tuesday and burnt many houses.

     The attack according to a resident, Bakura Mustapha, occurred barely 10 days after the withdrawal of military troops from the village.

    Sources said the armed men, driving  15 vehicles, stormed the village at about 11am on Wednesday and opened fire on armless residents killing 29 people. A mosque, houses and shops were burnt completely.

    Another source said, after killing about 29 people, many residents of the village who sustained gunshot wounds are now receiving treatment at an undisclosed hospital in Cameroon.

    He said buildings in the village were completely burnt down.

    “As I am talking to you now, we have counted 29 dead bodies. Houses and shops were burnt down, the village is deserted with no any presence of security operatives.

    “Some of our people fled to Gamboru Ngala council area, while others fled into neighbouring Cameroon said another source on telephone.

    Police spokesman Gideon Jubrin could not be reached for confirmation. But a top security source who is not authorised to speak confirmed the attack.