The Nation Newspaper

Tag: boko haram

  • Groups march in Dakar for abducted girls

    Groups march in Dakar for abducted girls

    Members of some 20 civil society organisations in Senegal marched in Dakar yesterday to demand the release of the girls abducted on April 14 by the Islamic sect, Boko Haram, in northern Nigeria.

    The protesters, dressed in red, numbering over 100, shouted: “Release our sisters! Release our daughters!” hurled hostile slogans against Boko Haram, while many others carried banners on which were written “#Bring Back Our Girls.”

    A young Senegalese student, Seynabou Thiam, said she did not wish to be in the situation of the abducted girls “because it is very difficult to get separated from our parents.”

    She expressed the hope that the mobilisation would reap its fruits with the help of God.

    Another student, Mouhamadou Bocoum, said that he was shocked by the abductions. “War is not prosecuted by abducting children. I do not understand how we can convert Christians to Moslems by force, as announced by the leader of the sect, Abubakar Shekau,” Bocoum stressed.

    According to him, members of Boko Haram are criminals because abduction is a crime.

    “They say they do it in the name of religion but Islam has never recommended abduction of children and to convert them by force”, he added.

    Soukeyna Ndao, a member of the Association of Senegalese Jurists, regretted the weak mobilisation of African governments against the massive abduction of girl-students.

     

    “I would have liked to see all African states protesting against this situation, unfortunately, the voices are not heard”, she grieved.

    She pledged that the Senegalese civil society organisations would keep the pressure on to call government’s attention to the incident with a view to making efforts at bringing back the girls safe and sound.

     

  • Boko Haram threatens to invade schools in Makurdi

    Boko Haram threatens to invade schools in Makurdi

    •Police beef up security 

    THE Principal of Government College Makurdi, Mr. Godfrey Ugudu, yesterday said the school had received letter from Boko Haram sect threatening to attack the school.

    Ugudu, who announced this at a news conference in Makurdi, added that the school received two letters which had the same content on May 14.

    It is true that we saw two letters informing us of the intention of the sect to invade our school on Friday or Monday by Boko Haram.

    “The letters were dated May 14, 2014, stating that they were coming either of the two days to abduct our boys whom they would marry to the secondary school girls abducted in Chibok.

    “In the letter, we were asked to inform the Mount Saint Gabriel Secondary School opposite us to also get prepared as they promised to invade the place too.’’

    He added: We immediately alerted the police and the Commissioner for Education. A report has been made to the governor on the issue.

    “The two letters, which were written in pidgin English, were sighted inside one of the classrooms and the second one was slipped into the staff room.’’ he said.

    The principal commended the government and security operatives in the state for their prompt response to the issue.

    He said that everything had been done to ensure the safety of the school children, adding that he had informed the Principal of Mount Saint Gabriel.

    NAN reports that about 500 out of about 700 students of the college are living in the school while Mount Saint Gabriel is purely a boarding school.

    The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Dan Ezeala, confirmed the report and assured that police were on top of the situation.

    Meanwhile, armed policemen have been deployed to the school. The school has a students’ population of over 700.

    A similar letter was said to have been sent to the neighbouring Mount Saint Gabriel’s Secondary School.

    Asked whether he would shut down the school to prevent anything untoward, the principal declined, insisting that the existing security presence was enough to contain any external crisis.

     

     

  • Boko Haram: Every Nigerian’s headache- Primate Okoh

    Boko Haram: Every Nigerian’s headache- Primate Okoh

    Nigerians have been urged to do less of blaming the federal government over the issue of insecurity in the country but strive to join forces with the government in tackling the challenges, especially the Boko Haram insurgents.

    This advice was given by the Bishop of Abuja, Anglican Communion The Most Reverend Nicholas Okoh at the weekend, in one of the nine key points he highlighted on the state of the nation while delivering the Presidential Address (Bishop Charge) at the Ninth Synod held at the Basilica of Grace, Gudu, Abuja.

    Addressing delegates and other guests which included representatives of President Jonathan Goodluck, the Minister for Power Chinedu Nebo, Okoh lamented that a myriad of problems have taken away the peace of Nigeria with the activities of Boko Haram becoming the most incomprehensible.

    Others he mentioned are kidnappers, armed robbers, nomadic militia groups, militancy, ritual killers e.t.c.

    He stated that with the north has been reduced to a shadow of its old self due to the grounding of commercial activities and halting of education, social and religious programmes, Nigeria is left with only two options.

    “There are only two options open to all, including the sponsors or those who think that Bokom Haram activities indirectly promote their wishes and desires. One, Nigerians should rise up, cooperate and stop Boko Haram or two, Boko Haram will destroy the country, Christians, Muslims and unbelievers are at risk’’.

    On the ongoing National Conference, the Archbishop reminded the delegates of the heavy burden they carry and the high expectations which many Nigerians have for the CONFAB.

    Describing the conference as a great opportunity for Nigerians to speak frankly to one another about the past, present and the future, Bishop Okoh challenged the delegates to courageously discuss the knotty issues of recurrent religious riots and loss of lives and property.

    On politics, particularly the 2014 and 2015 elections, he appealed to politicians to save the Nigerian state from anarchy and disintegration, charging them to see politics as a project to ensure the survival of the Nigerian state without which there will be no platform for political activities.

    The primate lauded the federal government over the decision to pursue the construction of the second Niger Bridge with a firm resolve as well as the improvement of the quality of roads and the prohibition of homosexual/lesbianism lifestyle even in the face of pressure from foreign countries.

  • Suspected Boko Haram rebels attack Chinese plant in Cameroon

    Suspected Boko Haram rebels attack Chinese plant in Cameroon

    Suspected members of  Boko Haram  on Friday night attacked a Chinese plant in northern Cameroon near the town of Waza.

    One person was injured in the attack while 10 others are yet to be accounted for.

    Waza is 20 kilometres from the Nigerian border close to the Sambisa forest, the fortress of the Islamist sect.

    The governor of Far North Province, Augustine Fonka Awa who confirmed the attack, gave no details.

    Chinese state news agency Xinhua quoted Chinese officials as saying unidentified assailants  attacked the camp of a Chinese enterprise operating in Cameroon , injuring one person and leaving 10 unaccounted for.

    Boko Haram has staged several attacks in northern Cameroon. Last month, it attacked a police post, killing two people. The rebels kidnapped a French family in February 2013.

    West African leaders including Cameroun’s Paul Biya met yesterday  in Paris  to try to improve cooperation in their fight against Boko Haram.

  • Troops in fresh shoot out with Boko Haram in Borno

    Troops in fresh shoot out with Boko Haram in Borno

    •Insurgents killed, six soldiers injured

    For about two hours yesterday, soldiers  were locked in a fresh shoot-out with Boko Haram insurgents  on  the  Damaturu-Benishek-Maiduguri road.

    Benishek was the scene of a massacre by Boko Haram in 2013.

    Over 100 residents were killed in that attack.

    An unknown   number of insurgents were shot dead in yesterday’s encounter.

    Six soldiers were wounded.

    The Defence Headquarters has deployed more troops to the area to guarantee safe passage for travellers.

    The insurgents had, at about noon yesterday, attempted to take-over the  road.

    Security agencies were contacted and troops were immediately drafted to the area.

    What followed was a gun battle between the soldiers and the insurgent.

    A reliable military source said: “Our troops engaged the Boko Haram insurgents on Saturday in fierce counter-attacks. Some of the insurgents fell but only six soldiers were injured. The encounter lasted about two hours.

    “The insurgents had planned to block access to Yobe State from Maiduguri but we foiled this bid. We are suspecting that these insurgents were trying to relocate to Yobe State which has remained calm for a while.

    “You know the heat has been on the insurgents in Borno State where they have been restricted to Sambisa forest and some border towns with Cameroon. They are looking for safe ends to operate.”

    Responding to a question, the source added: “I cannot give you the specific number of the insurgents that were killed because we are still mopping up the area. Six soldiers were however wounded.”

    The claim could not be independently verified.

    More troops have however been  deployed in the axis to guarantee safe passage for travellers.

    The source said: “Besides air patrol, troops are also on the trail of the fleeing insurgents. Benishek-Damaturu route has been a major part where Boko Haram managed cells.

    “It was from the same axis that the insurgents invaded the Air Force base in Maiduguri. You can now see why we asked for the extension of the emergency rule.”

    The Yobe State Government last week  rejected the extension of Emergency Rule in the state by President Goodluck Jonathan.

    In a statement by the Special Adviser to the Governor on Press Affairs and Information, Abdullahi Bego, said  the state of emergency has not stopped the insurgents from carrying out attacks.

    He said: “For instance, over the six months of emergency rule and later over the second, we have seen some of the worst attacks by Boko Haram in Yobe State.

  • Ice Prince sheds Tears for Naija

    Ice Prince sheds Tears for Naija

    PAINED by the kidnap of over 200 females students by the Boko Haram members and the spate of insurgency that has ravaged the North Eastern part of the country, award-winning rapper and songwriter, Ice Prince Zamani, has released a new track titled Tears for Naija.

    The sob song, which was produced by Sammy Gyang, was released on Thursday.

    “More blessings! The end is near for Boko Haram,” the artiste tweeted a few minutes after its release.

    Packed with a heavy dose of rhetoric, the artiste has a lot of questions for the Boko Haram insurgents: “Why would anyone kidnap his (Ice Prince) sister when they would not be comfortable with him doing the same to them? Why would one choose to throw a bomb at the spot, where he parks his jeep? Does it feel right of one to kill a man? Or would there be light (electric power) if one chooses to bomb ‘Nepa’?”

    With this particular track, Ice Prince leaves his comfort zone, rap, and delves into a genre that most people find difficult adapting to: reggae. He relives the good old days when Nigerians lived together in harmony, crooning about how different things are these days. He even offers to apologise for the things he did, if that would help return the country back to normal.

  • Boko Haram is West Africa’s Al-Qaeda, says Jonathan

    Boko Haram is West Africa’s Al-Qaeda, says Jonathan

    President Goodluck Jonathan said yesterday that Boko Haram has become West Africa’s Al-Qaeda.

    He told a news conference in Paris following a meeting of West African leaders that “Boko Haram is no longer a local terrorist group, it is operating clearly as an Al-Qaeda operation, it is an Al-Qaeda of West Africa.”

    President Jonathan said the sect has killed over 12,000 people since it launched its terror attacks in the North.

    “We have developed intelligence, which indicates clearly that global terrorist networks are deeply involved in the recent activities of Boko Haram, which has now turned into an integral part of the Al Qaeda network as the West African Branch. More tellingly, the group runs an international network of training and incubation centres in such places as Gao and Kidal areas of Mali, the Diffa, Maradi and Maina Soro areas of Niger Republic, Maroua and Garoua areas of Republic of Cameroun, the Zango and Ridina quarters in Ndjamena, Chad, the Ranky-Kotsy area of Sudan, and also some cells in the Central African Republic,” he said.

    “The group is hostile to democracy; it uses every means to indoctrinate its members; its ultimate objective is to destabilize the country, and take over Nigeria in order to turn it into a base of operation in West Africa and the entire continent”.

    He said  the “reprehensible abduction of innocent school girls in Chibok, Borno State is another manifestation” of  Boko Haram’s  criminality.

    Government, according to him, is “already making thorough intelligence efforts to identify their sponsors and their sources of funding and arms supply,” and declared: “We will not succumb to terrorists and their dangerous tactics. Terrorists will not be allowed to define who we are or instill fear in our people and cause destruction and mayhem.

    “The abduction of young innocent school girls in Chibok represents a watershed, and a turning point, in the global terrorist war against human civilization. The escalation by the terrorists should not go unanswered by us. The world is entering a new stage and we must stand firm to protect our civilization.”

    Cameroon President Paul Biya said yesterday’s summit prompted partnering countries “to take stronger measures to eradicate” Boko Haram

    “We’re here to declare war on Boko Haram,” Biya  added.

    French President Francois Hollande branded Boko Haram a  bigger terror threat than first portrayed — beyond Nigeria and even Africa.

    “Boko Haram is an organization that is linked to terrorism in Africa and whose will is to destabilize the north of Nigeria, certainly, and all the neighboring countries of Nigeria and beyond that region,” Hollande said.

     

  • There are economically-induced Boko Haram members, says Shettima

    There are economically-induced Boko Haram members, says Shettima

    Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno State yesterday said there are economically-induced Boko Haram members.

    He also said military campaign alone cannot curtail the Boko Haram insurgency ravaging the nation.

    He suggested a combination of military, socio-political, and economic solutions and that no solution can be effective without the others.

    Shettima made the submissions at Ogbeh Farms in Kuje District of Abuja during a farewell session for 50 indigenes of the state going for training in India.

    The farms is owned by former National Chairman of PDP, Chief Audu Ogbeh. Ogbeh is an honorary adviser on Agriculture to Governor Shettima.

    The Special Adviser to the Governor on Communication, Alhaji Isa Gusau, quoted the governor as saying:  “The Borno Government has since discovered that in addition to misguided beliefs, Boko Haram insurgents have over the years been recruiting foot soldiers who they pay salaries as a result of joblessness, hopelessness and extreme poverty. This condition can be addressed with massive investment in agriculture.

    “Besides those driven by spiritual motives, there is also the economically induced Boko Haram. This can be seen where some youths were paid as low as N5, 000 to burn schools and spy on our security men.

    “So that goes to show that Boko Haram is not only propelled by evil spiritual motive but also by economic motives”.

    The Governor said  ” Boko Haram can best be curtailed through a combination of Military socio-political and economic solutions, maintaining that none can be effective without the others,” and pledged that  the State will continue to support the military and volunteers as a coercive unit, focus must also be accorded to social re-orientation to de-radicalize citizens as well as provide jobs for majority of them.

    He said the candidates would undergo a three-week train-the-trainers course on irrigation equipment installation, effective utilization and maintenance after which they will train farmers across the state.

    He said in addition to Indian irrigation equipment, an American company from Nebraska State is installing 50 units of centre pivot and sprinkler irrigation equipment along Maiduguri -Konduga farm areas as a pilot program.

    Four hundred  units of such equipment from U.S, India and China are expected for installation across private farms in the state in order to “revolutionize agriculture and create millions of jobs so that Boko Haram wouldn’t find easy recruits as they have been enjoying.”

    In his remarks, Ogbeh called on the trainees to heed to the lessons they will learn in India.

    He praised governor for his steadfastness in developing knowledge based Agriculture in Borno State.

    He said the opportunity provided by the governor was one that had become really revolutionary.

     

  • Boko Haram obliges Dame Patience on abducted girls’ photos

    Boko Haram obliges Dame Patience on abducted girls’ photos

    SINCE 2009, the Boko Haram sect always wrong-footed the government every time the two clashed. It is hoped that with the coming of the foreign armada, the years of pussyfooting and confusion will finally come to an end. Recall that when the sect’s former leader Mohammed Yusuf was extra-judicially murdered, he ended up looking like a victim, and the federal government a barbarous aggressor. Jump over many years of unremitting confusion and incompetence, and come smack into April 15, 2014. On that day over 200 girls were forcibly taken away by Boko Haram, and all President Jonathan could do was offer useless pleas to parents to cooperate with the government, in addition of course to his customary handwringing. No one was sure what kind of cooperation he had in mind, nor, as he put it, had anyone claimed responsibility. Promptly, Boko Haram issued a video message claiming responsibility for the abductions and mocking Nigeria’s impotence.

    Though the president never claimed the schoolgirls were not missing, he never acted as if they were. His wife was, however, less bashful. In company with cheerleaders like Onyeka Onwenu, the songstress who has become adept at subordinating virtuoso to farce, and Kema Chikwe, PDP’s ingratiating woman leader, Dame Patience requested for photos of the abducted girls if proof of their disappearance was to be credible. Promptly, again, Boko Haram obliged them by releasing a video of the girls in captivity. Now, what next would Dame and her hangers-on ask for? The schoolgirls’ DNA, perhaps; or maybe, too, proof of state of origin?

  • Massive deployment of troops to Sambisa Forest begins

    Massive deployment of troops to Sambisa Forest begins

    •2.17b people join #BringBackOurGirls  campaign

    The Defence Headquarters has massed more troops close to Sambisa Forest in Borno State in the build up to the planned rescue of the over 200 school girls abducted in the state last month by Boko Haram.

    Though the military was silent on the actual figure, President Goodluck Jonathan said in Paris that about 20,000 had been sent to the North-East.

    The troops have succeeded in creating a blockade to restrict the sect members to the forest.

    It was gathered that troops were awaiting the outcome of the ongoing intelligence collaboration between Nigeria and the United States and other Allied Forces before their next line of action.

    A top military source said: “So far, we have carried out massive deployment of troops to the fringes of Sambisa Forest in readiness for the rescue operation.

    “The troops have laid siege to all routes leading to the forest. It is a kind of blockade restricting the sect to the forest.

    “Based on intelligence brief available to us from the military and foreign collaborators, we will soon rescue the girls.

    The source added: “A lot of air surveillance is ongoing in Sambisa Forest area to locate where the girls are camped.

    “The real mission is to rescue the girls alive. This is why we have not been able to engage in bombing of all parts of the forest.”

    About 2.17 billion people across the globe are said to have joined the #BringBackOurGirls  campaign, according Cyberschuulnews.com.

    The world’s population as at May 17 was put at about 7,230,723,512.

    Cyberschuulnews.com said: “One week after the whole wide world united in venting pent-up anger against Nigeria and its government, Google search picked up 2,170,000,000 hits for the #BringBackOurGirls, a social media campaign designed to build worldwide pressure to find school girls who were abducted in Nigeria.

    “And that came 3 weeks after it looked like the abduction of 276 girls (the highest of the various figures: 234, 239, 274, 276, ‘over 200’) which authorities in Nigeria mindlessly used as the number of school girls abducted by Boko Haram remained unresolved.

    “The sect had taunted the government with bombing, kidnapping, and threats over the internet with amazing helplessness as response of government and its might. ”