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Tag: boko haram

  • Chibok: Britain, China to deploy satellite imaging technology

    Chibok: Britain, China to deploy satellite imaging technology

    … And other advanced tracking tools

    The British and Chinese governments have agreed to deploy their satellite imaging capabilities and other advanced tracking technologies to assist Nigeria in rescuing the over 200 secondary school girls abducted in Chibok, Borno State.

    This was disclosed by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati , while briefing State House correspondent on Wednesday.

    According to him, the President spoke with the British Prime Minister, Mr. David Cameron, on the phone after meeting with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Wednesday.

    He said: “In furtherance of efforts by the Federal Government to locate and rescue the girls abducted from the Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State, President Goodluck Jonathan Wednesday requested and received a commitment from Britain to deploy its intelligence gathering resources in support of Nigeria’s security agencies currently engaged in the search and rescue operation.

    “President Jonathan, who spoke with the British Prime Minister, Mr. David Cameron on the phone after meeting with Premier Li Keqiang of China who is on an official visit to Nigeria, asked and received a promise of the deployment of British satellite imaging capabilities and other advanced tracking technologies in support of the ongoing effort.

    “The President thanked Mr. Cameron, the British Government and people for their concern over the fate of the abducted girls and their willingness to provide concrete assistance to save the girls from the terrorists who seized them from their school.”

  • Ekwueme, Clark, Gbonigi seek total war on Boko Haram

    Ekwueme, Clark, Gbonigi seek total war on Boko Haram

    The Southern Nigeria Peoples Assembly (SNPA) has called for full deployment of military arsenal to quash the insurgency in the North East.
    The group which is an assembly of leaders of thought from the three regional zones that made up the Southern Nigeria – the South-East, South-West and South-South said the unity of the country is very paramount and hence the security situation must be tackled headlong as it portends danger to the nation’s cooperate existence.
    The group which has three Co-Chair – former Vice president, Dr. Alex Ekwueme; Chief Edwin Clark and Bishop Bolanle Gbonigi met on Wednesday for over two hours to consider the country’s security situation with a view to finding lasting solutions to the crisis.
    According to Bishop Gbonigi, the group is becoming uncomfortable with the new dimension the security challenge is taking, especially with the abduction of the over 200 school girls in Chibok, Borno State.
    He urged President Goodluck Jonathan to do everything possible to remedy the situation including full deployment of military.
    He said: “We urge the President to take additional measures including the full deployment of our military arsenal to defeat the terrorists.
    “The corporate existence of the nation and collective will of the people to live peacefully together is been challenged and every patriotic Nigerian irrespective of their tribe, religion and political affiliation should rally round President Jonathan as he leads the fight to take back our country from agents of darkness and self seeking bigots.”
    He further warned, “We cannot fold our arms and watch our dear country slide into anarchy. The painful memories and scars of the unfortunate civil war are still very much with us.”
    Gbonigi also urged the security agencies in the country to do everything possible to apprehend and bring to justice the sponsors of the group.
    Ekwueme, who was represented by Dr. Dozie Ikedife, said the country cannot afford to play with naked fire, as this is what the present situation connotes.
    Clark  said the only way out right now, is the declaration of full state of emergency in the troubled states.

     

  • Chibok: France to send agents for rescue operation

    Chibok: France to send agents for rescue operation

    France on Wednesday offered to send security service agents to Nigeria to help recover more than 200 schoolgirls kidnapped by the Boko Haram sect, Foreign Minister, Laurent Fabius, said.
    With more than 4,000 troops operating between Mali to the west and Central African Republic to the east, Paris has a major interest in preventing Nigeria’s security situation from deteriorating, having previously voiced concerns Boko Haram could spread further north into the Sahel.
    “The President has instructed … to put the (intelligence) services at the disposal of Nigeria and neighbouring countries,” Reuters quoted Fabius as saying to lawmakers.
    “This morning he asked us to contact the Nigerian president to tell him that a specialised unit with all the means we have in the region was at the disposal of Nigeria to help find and recover these young girls.”
    Boko Haram kidnapped more than 200 schoolgirls last month and has threatened to sell them into slavery.
    “In the face of such ignominy France must react. This crime cannot be left unpunished,” Fabius said.

  • Jonathan accepts U.S. offer to join girls rescue battle

    Jonathan accepts U.S. offer to join girls rescue battle

    Scores ‘feared dead in attack’

    Soyinka seeks rapid action

    The world is joining  forces with Nigeria to rescue the school girls abducted by Boko Haram gunmen.

    President Goodluck Jonathan accepted yesterday America’s offer to send in men and equipment to join the battle to rescue the girls who were snatched away from their hostels in Chibok, Borno State on April 15.

    Besides, the United Nation (UN) warned that no harm must befall the girls.

    Britain said it would help.

    Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity Dr. Reuben Abati said Jonathan accepted the offer during a telephone conversation with United States Secretary of State Mr. John Kerry.

    Abati issued a statement, which reads: “President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan Tuesday welcomed and accepted a definite offer of help from the United States of America in the ongoing effort to locate and rescue the girls abducted from the Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok three weeks ago.”

    “The offer from President Barack Obama, which was conveyed to President Jonathan by the United States Secretary of State, Mr. John Kerry, in a telephone conversation which began at 15.30 hours today, includes the deployment of U.S. security personnel and assets to work with their Nigerian counterparts in the search and rescue operation.”

    “Mr. Kerry assured President Jonathan that the United States is wholly committed to giving Nigeria all required support and assistance to save the abducted girls and bring the reign of terror unleashed on parts of the country by Boko Haram to an end.”

    “Thanking Mr. Kerry for the call and offer of further assistance, President Jonathan told him that Nigeria’s security agencies who were already working at full capacity to find and rescue the abducted girls would appreciate the deployment of American counter-insurgency know-how and expertise in support of their efforts.”

    President Jonathan, after speaking with Kerry met with the Chief of Defence Staff, Service Chiefs and heads of national security agencies in continuation of the national efforts to find and rescue the girls.

    At the meeting, Abati said, the President received updates on the ongoing search-and-rescue effort and approved recommended actions.

    Britain also offered to help.

    British Foreign Minister William Hague said: “We are offering practical help.”

    Hague spoke with reporters as he arrived for a Council of Europe meeting in Vienna to discuss ways to defuse the situation in Ukraine, where the government is trying to quell an insurrection by pro-Russian activists.

    “What has happened here… the actions of Boko Haram to use girls as the spoils of war, the spoils of terrorism, is disgusting. It is immoral,” he said.

    He said he did not want to discuss the details of what help Britain was offering.

    The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, said she has written President Jonathan to take steps to rescue the 276 (police figure) pupils.

    She said failure to protect the girls is a violation of human rights.

    She also warned Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau against selling the girls because it would amount to crimes against humanity.

    The UN High Commissioner made her position known in a statement in Geneva through her spokesperson, Rupert Colville.

    The statement was made available to our correspondent from Geneva against the backdrop of the global search for the abducted girls.

    The statement said: “We are deeply concerned about the outrageous claims made in a video believed to be by the leader of Boko Haram in Nigeria yesterday, in which he brazenly says he will sell the abducted schoolgirls “in the market” and “marry them off”, referring to them as “slaves”.

    “We condemn the violent abduction of these girls, reportedly at gunpoint from their school in Chibok in Borno State in North-Eastern Nigeria.

    “We warn the perpetrators that there is an absolute prohibition against slavery and sexual slavery in international law. These can, under certain circumstances, constitute crimes against humanity. The girls must be immediately returned, unharmed, to their families.”

    Along with seven others, she said she had sent a letter to Jonathan on the need to rescue the girls.

    The statement added: “The High Commissioner has contacted the President of Nigeria and urged the government to ensure that it spares no effort to ensure the safe return of the girls to their homes and communities.

    “In a letter signed by Navi Pillay, along with the Executive Director of UN Women, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict and the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Children and Armed Conflict, the four African UN women leaders reminded the Nigerian Government of its legal responsibility to ensure that girls and boys have the fundamental rights to education and to be protected from violence, persecution and intimidation.

    “As the High Commissioner said during her visit to Nigeria earlier this year, the actions of Boko Haram have grown increasingly monstrous. The group has targeted some people simply because of their religion or professional occupation – and in this case, simply because the girls were enrolled in school.

    “We urge the authorities to take all necessary measures, consistent with human rights, to protect their people from these violations and crimes.

    “It is particularly important that the local state authorities and the federal government cooperate fully.

    “Failure to undertake effective measures that are within the authorities’ means to protect people is a violation of human rights. However, States assisting Nigeria in its counter-terrorism operations should also ensure that they stay within the remits of international law.”

  • Eight girls abducted

    Eight girls abducted

    Suspected Boko Haram gunmen kidnapped eight girls from a village near one of their strongholds in the North overnight, police and residents said yesterday.

    The abduction of the girls, aged 12 to 15, follows the kidnapping of more than 200 other schoolgirls by the Islamist militant group last month in Chibok, Borno State.

    Lazarus Musa, a resident of the village of Warabe, told Reuters that armed men had opened fire during the raid.

    “They were many, and all of them carried guns. They came in two vehicles painted in army colour. They started shooting in our village,” Musa said by telephone from the village in the hilly Gwoza area, Boko Haram’s main base.

    A police source, who could not be named, said the girls were taken away on trucks, along with looted livestock and food.

    Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau threatened in a video released to the media on Monday to sell the girls abducted from a secondary school on April 14 “on the market”.

    “Many people tried to run behind the mountain but when they heard gun shots, they came back,” Musa said. “The Boko Haram men were entering houses, ordering people out of their houses.”

  • Boko Haram has become a global problem, says Soyinka

    Boko Haram has become a global problem, says Soyinka

    Unless the international community joins forces with the Nigerian government, the 276 girls kidnapped at the Government Secondary School in Chibok, Borno State would be sold as sex slaves, Prof Wole Soyinka said yesterday.

    The Nobel Laureate, who spoke to CNN’s Christine Amanpour, described the abduction of the school girls as a horrifying event, which needed rapid action from the global community.

    He said the experience would traumatise the victims for the rest of their lives, stressing that services of psychological experts would be needed to help the girls recover from the pain should they be rescued alive.

    He said: “The world must confront this reality. It is painful and horrifying that these girls are going to be sold as sex slaves. I used that expression deliberately; let us not beat around the bush. We are dealing with the monstrosity and an affliction, which requires that we must go in quickly and act rapidly, because these girls are going to be traumatised in a way in which it is going to …haimt them for the rest of their lives.”

    Soyinka described as gleeful charade, the latest video released by the Boko Haram sect, which filmed its leader, Imam Abubakar Shekau, with four other armed militants, sending a message to the government.

    “The obscenity we just watched from the leader of Boko Haram is something to be anticipated, but it doesn’t come as a surprise. That is the nature of what this people have made themselves into,” the Nobel Laureate said.

    Soyinka, who noted that the Boko Haram activity should not be seen as Nigeria’s problem, said the sect was consolidating internal insurrection that had been brewing slowly in the country for a long time.

    He dismissed the notion that the extrajudicial killing of Mohammed Yusuf, the sect’s leader, aggravated the crisis in the Northeast, saying the late Yusuf was a serial killer and butcher, who should have been brought to justice were he to be alive. He condemned the move by government leaders to make the late sect leader a saint, even as he denounced his extra-judicial killing.

    He said: “When Yusuf was killed, a former Head of State went on a mission of appeasement to Boko Haram family, asking the people to forgive and forget. But this was a killer. But the law says those who kill must not go unpunished.”

    Condemning the acts of terror against innocent Nigerians, Soyinka said: “These criminals take pride in bestiality. The issue is that of fundamentalist fascism in which you feel that…it is an act of domination in which you prove what power you have in the environment, the little pond, where you operate. It is a bad mentality.”

    Soyinka said the protesters demonstrating against the school girls’ abduction have created action whose end nobody could tell. He said the abduction has ended all pretence by the government, which he said has shown indifference to the enormity of the crisis rocking the Northeast.

    He said: “People coming out on the street now don’t realise the enormity the action would catch up on them. Where it would end, I do not know but one thing is certain; the president and his government cannot pretend what has befallen Nigeria. All the pretence, indifference and denial have ended; I am convinced about that. The situation is now beyond the capacity of the government…”

     

    That is why I said it involves an international action.”

     

     

     

  • Scores feared dead in attack

    Scores feared dead in attack

    There seems to be no let-up in Boko Haram’s bloody campaign.

    Scores died on Monday night in an attack on Gamboru Ngala town in Borno State, it was learnt yesterday.

    The insurgents reportedly attacked a local market, fired shots into the crowd before entering the town to burn homes and vehicles.

    Gamboru is a town at the Nigeria-Cameroon border. It is the headquarters of Ngala Local Government, which is about 200km from Maiduguri, the capital of the beleaguered state.

    The figure of those killed could not be independently confirmed. Borno Senator Ahmed Zannah said up to 300 were killed in the “12-hour” attack on defenceless villagers.

    The insurgents reportedly had Armored Personnel Carriers (APC) and Rocket Propelled Launchers (RPGs), among other weapons.

    “The attackers stormed the communities in the night when residents were still sleeping, setting ablaze houses and shooting those who tried to escape,” a source said.

    The troops stationed in the village reportedly moved towards the Lake Chad area when they got information that some gunmen were sighted with abducted schoolgirls moving to the area, thereby giving the sect members the opportunity to strike unchallenged.

    Defence Spokesman Brig.-Gen. Chris Olukolade said last night that the military received the alarm raised by Zannah.

    “Aside the initial alarm raised by that source, which is typical of him, we have not been able to make an independent confirmation of an attack.

    “We have deployed troops and have not been able to get any confirmation,” Gen. Olukolade said.

     

  • ‘Obama getting regular briefing on girls’

    ‘Obama getting regular briefing on girls’

    The White House said yesterday the United States is doing what it can to help find and free nearly 300 Nigerian girls kidnapped by Islamic extremists.

    White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters on Monday the U.S. assistance includes counterterrorism support and logistics to Nigerian investigators. Carney is calling the April 15 mass abduction from a school “an outrage and a tragedy”.

    The leader of Islamist extremist organisation, Boko Haram, says he’s keeping the girls as slaves and threating to sell them. Carney called Boko Haram a group of terrorists with “heinous and malicious intent”.

    Carney says President Barack Obama is receiving regular updates from national security advisers who are closely monitoring the situation.

     

  • Northern elders ‘oppose force to free girls’

    Northern elders ‘oppose force to free girls’

    Some Northern elders and two other groups may be reaching out to Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau to secure the release of the 276 abducted girls, it was learnt yesterday.

    The other two groups are Islamic clerics in the North and some of the detained insurgents.

    The three groups are likely to suggest two options to secure the girls freedom.

    The options are either payment of ransom or the release of some detained members of Boko Haram as a form of swap.

    Besides the deployment of troops, the government has not made up its mind on the two options favoured by many Northern leaders.

    Northern leaders, including Borno elders who met with President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday in Abuja, are opposed to the use of force to rescue the girls.

    It was learnt that the force alternative may provoke Boko Haram to kill the abducted girls.

    A highly-placed source said: “The Presidency and Northern elders or leaders are trying to seek solutions to the abduction of the girls. This was why the President met with Borno elders yesterday.

    “The President is giving listening ears to all groups in view of the determination of the government to save the girls from being killed; and the local and international pressure to rescue the girls.

    “The disposition of Northern elders has so far indicated that they are opposed to the use of force.”

    The source explained that the three groups were being courted by the government to liaise with the Boko Haram leadership to set the girls free.

    The source, who pleaded not to be named because of the “sensitivity” of the matter, said the affected groups are Northern elders/leaders; some insurgents in detention; and influential Islamic clerics in the North.

    The source added: “The statement by Boko Haram leader Shekau was a coded message that he will not kill these girls. So, he has left a window or possibility for negotiation or bargain.

    “This is why these three groups are pushing for either monetary bargain with Boko Haram or release of some detained insurgents in exchange for some of the abducted girls, but a major challenge is that ransom to insurgents is a crime in our anti-terrorism law.

    “If the options are acceptable to the government, these groups might meet with a team from the insurgents at a neutral ground to negotiate.

    “Everyone is saying that the insurgents will agree to hold talks with the three groups on the fate of the abducted girls.”

    The source added: “The three groups are reaching out but there is still not a response from the insurgents.”

    There were indications that the Boko Haram leader might make the sect’s position known in a new video.

    The source, who is central to the peace option, said: “We expect that Shekau may make Boko Haram’s position clear.”

    Jonathan met with a delegation of Northeast Forum for Unity and Development, led by former Finance Minister Adamu Ciroma at the Presidential Villa.

    There was no official statement on the meeting which lasted for about an hour.

    Members of the delegation also did not speak to reporters on the issues discussed.

    Among the delegates yesterday were former Minister of Education, Prof. Jibril Aminu, former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babagana Kingibe, Senator Abdul Ningi, Minister of Women Affairs, Zainab Maina, Minister of State for Power, Mohammed Wakil and Hon. Mohammed Kumalia.

     

  • Kidnapped girls highlight Nigeria’s many security challenges

    Kidnapped girls highlight Nigeria’s many security challenges

    Boko Haram has claimed responsibility for the abduction of more than 200 schoolgirls, a day after President Goodluck Jonathan ordered a three day shutdown of the capital Abuja during the World Economic Conference.

    Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau on Monday (05.05.2014) claimed the Islamist militant group was behind the abduction of more than 200 schoolgirls from northeastern Nigeria. “I am the one that abducted them,” the most wanted man in Nigeria said as part of a recorded message released to numerous media organisations. Shekau also warned that more attacks “will follow soon.”

    “I will sell them in the marketplace,” Shekau said in a video recording. The teenage girls were abducted on April 14 from a boarding school in the rural town of Chibok, near Borno state in northern Nigeria. According to an intermediary, two of the girls have died of snakebite and about 20 of them are ill. He was also quoted by AFP as saying that Christians among the girls have been forced to convert to Islam.

    Mustapha Gana, a father of one of the girls and a retired military officer told DW, parents and a local vigilante group had attempted a search for the girls. “It was not possible for us to get them because the insurgents are well armed,” Gana said adding that they were willing to accompany the military into the bush. “We the parents are ready to go along with them even if we would be killed.”

    Girls’ protest leader arrested

    Nigerian police on Monday detained Naomi Mutu, the woman behind the mass demonstrations dubbed “Bring Back Our Girls.” Human rights activists told dpa news agency Naomi had been arrested in Chibok. The arrest was reportedly ordered by First Lady Patience Jonathan, though as the president’s wife she does not have a constitutional right to give such orders. Her office later denied there were any arrests.

    President Jonathan’s government is increasingly facing criticisms for failing to free the girls. Protests in major Nigerian cities have been held to show frustration with the country’s security services. Nigeria’s police recently admitted more than 300 girls were abducted. Of that number, 276 remain in captivity and 53 were able to escape from their abductors.

    Abuja shut down

    In the face of the security threat, President Jonathan has ordered a complete lock down of the capital Abuja. However, he argued the measure was meant to decongest the city as it plays host to the World Economic Forum which begins on Wednesday (07.05.2014).

    “We plead with Nigerians living in Abuja to understand with government because we believe that instead of keeping you for five six hours and you will not get to your destination better stay back at home,” Jonathan said. However, Tam Breme, a resident of Abuja told DW correspondent Ben Shemang, Jonathan’s move was a result of increasing security challenges. “If Abuja is being shut down for 3 days, I think the government is trying to consider reasonable period of time to look into the issue of protest.” Despite the rising number of attacks in Abuja, the President told the nation in a televised “media chat” he believes the country is winning the war against Boko Haram Islamists. More than 1,500 people have been killed as a result of the insurgency this year alone.

     Culled from  Deutche welle