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Tag: boko haram

  • Culpable buck passing

    Culpable buck passing

    •Jonathan’s Boko Haram blame game in Bauchi is a presidential disgrace.  But it was a counter to gubernatorial recklessness 
    President Goodluck Jonathan’s March 29 charge in Bauchi, that North East governors should take the blame for the Boko Haram insurrection, is culpable presidential buck passing.

    But being a riposte to Adamawa State Governor, Murtala Nyako’s allegation that the president was incapable of, or uninterested in tackling Boko Haram, in a paper he presented at a Washington DC, USA symposium, it was a reaction to gubernatorial recklessness.

    It is well and truly condemnable when the president and governors engage in mutual buck passing, over a serious security issue as Boko Haram, when they should closely cooperate to solve the problem.

    The setting of both blame games is no less condemnable. The president launched his unwise tirade at a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) zonal rally in Bauchi. Governor Nyako made his provocative presentation in the United States, at a symposium from March 17-19, organised by the US Institute for Peace, which invited all the 19 northern governors.

    It was soulless for President Jonathan to go to Bauchi; and attempt to tar North East governors on Boko Haram — and all of this on the hustings. Yet, the same president could not create time to visit the same North East to condole with the victims’ families, even when Boko Haram slaughtered innocent pupils of Federal Government College, Buni Yadi, in Yobe State. It is the height of presidential folly to deny traumatised locals the needed compassion, yet go back to the same area to brag you would sweep the polls.

    On the other hand, it was culpable lack of statesmanship that made Governor Nyako to frontally attack the president on a foreign soil, suggesting President Jonathan was comfortable with the Boko Haram tragedy. It was a classic example of how not to politicise a living nightmare, in a foreign capital.

    There simply must be a limit to playing politics with Boko Haram, and both the president and governor deserve severe knocks for their indiscretion.

    That said, what should concern every right-thinking Nigerian is how to face down and defeat Boko Haram, and not what political capital anyone could claim from a pestilence that has claimed lives of hundreds of innocent Nigerians. On Boko Haram, what Nigerians expect is close cooperation, not fierce competition, between the president and governors of that affected region. Even then, the president must always show leadership, befitting his office as the highest in the land.

    Still, the buck passing has revealed ugly underbellies, from which the two camps can learn and make amends.

    The president focused on the process leading to Boko Haram, and was spot on, on the allegation that neglect of primary and secondary education in the areas has created a ready and willing pool of Boko Haram recruits. Though there has been a counter-argument that Boko Haram harbours not a few educated cadres, frustrated and angry at the unjust Nigerian system, the neglect of basic education is no less valid.

    The governor, on the other hand, focused on the grotesque final product: the Boko Haram pestilence, to which the Jonathan Presidency seemed to have little clue, until quite recently, when the terror group’s capability appears reduced to soft targets; and its attacks restrained to local areas, as against an earlier period when it bombed, killed and maimed virtually the whole North at will.

    The presidential and gubernatorial camps should take some positives from their mutual macabre dances. The president cannot afford to pass any buck. He is commander-in-chief and has a monopoly of command of the Nigerian state’s security agencies. Passing the buck is a sign of weakness, not of strength — and it is crassly un-presidential.

    The North East governors, on the other hand, must swallow the bitter pill and scale up their commitment to basic education of their citizens. Even if the bulk of the present generation cannot be saved, the future generation of youths must not be beyond redemption.

     

  • Stop Linking Military to Boko Haram – Shettima

    Stop Linking Military to Boko Haram – Shettima

    Borno State Governor, Kashim Shettima has described the recent allegation that the Nigerian Armed Forces were supporting the outlawed Boko Haram sect as unfair.

    He described the comment made recently in an international media by a Nigerian soldier as most ‘unhealthy and unhelpful’ in counter insurgency operations.

    The Governor reacted to recent international media reports which quoted an unknown soldier that some ‘top military leaders’ were working in tandem with Boko Haram elements to prolong the lingering insurgency crisis in the north.

    According to a statement released by his spokesman Isa Gusau to newsmen in maiduguri,”Of all theories being alleged in connection with the Boko Haram, the most dangerous as far as I’m concerned is to raise such grievous suspicion around our security forces.

    “When citizens grow such suspicion and believe in it, I’m afraid, Boko Haram will light fireworks to celebrate a grand victory of setting up citizens against the security agencies.

    “Since last week, I have listened and read these media reports with the hope that the issue will not be getting out of hand but it appears the matter is growing and I find it very disturbing. I do not want to bother about the credibility or otherwise of the soldier in question. I’m sure the security forces take this allegation seriously and they are investigating it as they should.

    The Governor went on: “I am not holding brief for the armed forces but as Governor of Borno State,whose area is unfortunately the worst hit, who has been working closely  with security agencies, I would rather encourage confidence building between citizens and the armed forces so that intelligence sharing can rise continually and we don’t loose focus in the counter insurgency.

    “The day citizens grow the suspicion of regarding security agencies as collaborators of insurgents whereas the security has the constitutional mandate of protecting citizens, then we will be drifting towards chaos as a Nation, we cannot afford that unhealthy development. Unless it becomes unquestionably evident, we must work as individuals, groups and institutions to promote public trust in our armed forces so as to encourage cordiality between citizens and security agencies.

    “We must recognize that at the moment, the security agencies are all we’ve got, we should preserve their integrity by at least giving them the benefit of doubt. As the one working with them in Borno since 2011,I know the number of military men, police men and women as well as Para-military men and women, among them commanders in the military and senior police officers that sacrificed their lives in the fight against our unfortunate insurgency problems in Borno which also obtains in some parts of Nigeria.

    “Insurgents will do everything to cause confusion, to manipulate us so that we don’t trust each other as citizens and as establishments, let’s not fall into their trap, loose focus and become their mass victims. The military has in the past arrested, made public and court-marshaled soldiers found to be collaborating with insurgents.

    “Such patriotic efforts by the military establishments should be intensified by all security agencies. I must acknowledge and very well appreciate the important roles played by the media in the fight against insurgency. The media should kindly and very importantly, too, help in fighting any suspicion that can grow between citizens and armed forces.

    “The armed forces rely on information from citizens, the citizens rely on the armed forces for protection, this therefore means, that suspicion between them will help no one but insurgents who would take advantage of such a situation at the end to wreck more havoc on already traumatized citizens.

    Governor Shettima called on the people to continue to pray and work for peace using whatever platforms at their disposals so that they can happily live, freely worship, associate and move around all parts of Nigeria as we should in their fundamental rights.

  • Governors, Traditional Rulers can stop Boko Haram- Rep

    A member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Ibrahim Tukur El-Sudi (PDP Taraba), has charged Governors, Traditional rulers and Local Government Chairmen to put a stop to the Boko Haram insurgency in the affected areas in the country.

    Speaking during the House of Representatives Press Corps “Hot Seat” series Monday, El-Sudi said bad governance and a warped economy was responsible for Boko Haram, adding that conceited efforts from Governors, traditional rulers, Local Government chairman as well as the creation of State Police would bring an end to the violence and killings.

    His words: “The issue of security is everybody’s concern. It is very unfortunate that What is happening in this country is happening at a particular point in time when the international Bodies and organisations  have predicted that Nigeria will crumble and crash in 2015.

    “My take on this issue of Boko Haram is that it is devoid of any religious coloration, it has to do with economy and bad governance. People keep blaming the Federal Government, I have been to the states, what are the State Governments, and the local governments doing about it? Jonathan is one single individual and we shouldn’t be heaping blames on him because he doesn’t have a solution to everything.

    “And without the cooperation and support from the local people, no matter how strong or intelligent you are, or the whatever the  level of resources you have, you will never succeed.

    He said the solution to the Boko Haram insurgency will only be found at the local level.

    “The Governor, the Chairman of  LG Chairman and the traditional rulers cannot claim that they do not know their terrain or topography and they cannot claim they do not know the people that perpetuate this dastardly act that has become a sore in everybody’s eyes and ears.

    “Therefore It is everybody’s responsibility to provide information, because n formation is power. If we have information and we are able to cooperate with the local Ulama in those Environment and support them they can diffuse the situation by preaching things that the so called insurgency will eventually stop.

    “So, Governors have a role to play, its not in the number of army that you bring that will solve this case.

    According to the lawmaker, there should be a way to restrict the movement of Fulani Herdsmen of Arab descend particularly those from Niger and Chad as it is alleged that they are part of the problem.

    He wondered where Nigerian herdsmen who have been hitherto peaceful would learn the skills to operate sophisticated weapons like AK47 and sub- machine guns.

    He said State police is the solution staring everyone in the face.

    “I am absolutely in support of State Police. I am one of the architects of State Police.  In fact, I have finished drafting a bill to that effect. I know its a very controversial issue but we have no alternative than to support the State Police. We have the vigilantes and other security apparatus that don’t carry arms.”

    El Sudi said he was confident that the State Police is another opportunity to solve the security challenges as the federal Police have failed to stop the widespread violence across the country.

    The lawmaker however described the ongoing National Conference as a waste of time. he said: “It is a superfluous and unnecessary exercise. It is ill timed and as far as am concerned, not welcomed.

    According to him, the conference is an attempt to usurp the powers of the National Assembly.

  • Boko Haram: Two women running from attack deliver in bush

    Two women running from the Boko Haram attack on Buni Gari town on Saturday were reported to have delivered in the bush, an eyewitness has said.

    An aged woman who identified herself as Falmata disclosed that they were running inside the bush when two pregnant women delivered.

    “It was terrible my son. The sounds of the gunshots were just too much to bear. As if it was in front of our house. We started running to the bush when we observed that the boys were burning houses. As we were running, other women joined us. Two of them even delivered inside the bush,” Falmata disclosed.

    Falmata and her sister Lubabatu who was holding a three weeks old baby were trying to move out of Buni Gari when our correspondent met them.

    Lubabatu under the scourging Sun with her baby informed that she has not drank water nor taken food since the attack occurred.

    Falmata noted that moving away from Buni Gari was also a problem because they have no means of moving out of the town.

  • Gunmen kill 20 worshippers in mosque

    Gunmen kill 20 worshippers in mosque

    •Abduct two Italian priests, Canadian nun in Cameroun

    Suspected insurgents of the Islamist sect, Boko Haram, brutally disrupted yesterday’s early morning prayers (Zuhr) at Buni Gari village in Yobe State, killing at least 20 worshippers.

    The worshippers were just gathering for the prayer, the first of the five daily by Muslims, when the gun wielding insurgents opened fire, eye witness Musa Ibrahim said.

    Buni Gari is about 100 kilometers south of Damaturu, the state capital.

    Mosques have frequently been targeted by militants who threaten Muslim clerics who preach against their extremist doctrine.

    More than 1,200 civilians have been killed this year amid more frequent and deadlier attacks by the sect.

    And overnight, gunmen suspected to be Boko Haram members swept across the border into northern Cameroun and abducted two Italian priests and a Canadian nun in Maroua.

    The London-based human rights organization, Amnesty International, in a report last week claimed that more than 1500 people were killed in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states since the beginning of this year.

    It cited the March 14 Boko Haram attack on Giwa Barracks, the largest military facility in Maiduguri, and said that the sect members ‘staged a successful break into the detention centre and released all of those being held.”

    It said that Boko Haram “gave those freed the option of joining them or going home. Most chose the home option. Boko Haram then withdrew. Shortly thereafter the security forces reoccupied the facility.

    “With the help of the Civilian Joint Task Force, a locally based vigilante group, the security forces then hunted down all of those who had escaped and murdered most of them.”

    Amnesty, quoting ‘eye witnesses’ estimated that over 600 people were killed.

    Besides, it said that “many of the inmates were emaciated and without shoes. Many also had scars indicating abuse. All of the inmates were unarmed.”

    The Amnesty report also profiled rampant human rights violations by Boko Haram.

    The Defence Headquarters, responding to the Amnesty allegations at the weekend, said it was launching an investigation into the claims.

    The DHQ said the investigation was to establish the veracity of the claim and for the authorities to take necessary action to address any human rights breach by troops.

    The Defence spokesman, Major General Chris Olukolade said that while the Amnesty International report did not reflect the true position of things in the military operation, the authorities found the allegation too confounding to ignore.

    He said:”This report is a new dimension to the well-known fact that the security operation in that part of the country was necessitated by the need to address the gross abuse of human rights being perpetrated against Nigerians by the terrorists.

    “It is noteworthy that despite the peculiar asymmetric nature of the security challenge, measures have been put in place to ensure compliance with tenets of human rights and rules of engagement by troops involved in the conduct of the mission.

    “Apart from inculcating the necessity for observance of human rights in troops, regular programmes have been conducted to review the human rights situation related to the conduct of the operations.”

    The military said it was in adherence to respect for human rights that most of those apprehended in the counter-terrorist operations are being kept in custody.

    He said the detention facilities have been visited by Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) including International Committee of the Red Cross and others to verify the conditions of detainees, adding: “this is even in the face of destruction of relevant amenities by the terrorists who have burnt down prisons, courts and government facilities in that part of the country in the course of their ceaseless attacks.

    “The claim contained in the Amnesty International’s report attributing gross abuses of human right of Nigerians to both the terrorists and the security forces is quite confounding.”

    Italy’s foreign ministry said yesterday that two Italian priests and a Canadian nun were kidnapped overnight by gunmen suspected to be Boko Haram members in northern Cameroun.

    The attack occurred in Maroua, close to the border with Nigeria, according to Italy’s Ansa news agency.

    The Islamist sect, Boko Haram, freely operates across Nigeria’s Northeast and Cameroun’s Northwest.

    The Italian foreign ministry said that two priests from Italy’s northern Vicenza region had been seized, but gave no other details.

    Armed gunmen pulled up to the buildings where the priests and the nun were staying around 2am and ransacked them before taking the hostages, added the Ansa news agency.

    The attack comes three months after the release of French priest Georges Vandenbeusch, who was kidnapped in the same region in mid-November 2013 and then held in Nigeria by Boko Haram.

    One of the two priests taken on Friday night had been in Cameroun for more than six years while the second had arrived around a year ago, Ansa reported.

    Authorities in Vincenza, where the priests were from, were not immediately available for comment.

     

     

  • Boko Haram: Presidency may suspend state of emergency in Adamawa, Borno, Yobe

    Boko Haram: Presidency may suspend state of emergency in Adamawa, Borno, Yobe

    The days of the almost two year old state of emergency in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe States appear to be running to an end, if signs from the Presidency are anything to go by.

    The Presidency is understood to be disposed to reviewing the state of emergency in the three states following persistent pressure from elders especially in Borno.

    Officials, according to well placed sources, are currently weighing the options open to government particularly the security implications of such a decision.

    Sources said government might reconsider its position if elected representatives from the three states are in support of suspension of the state of emergency.

    Consultations are ongoing with the elected representatives and may be extended to the Houses of Assembly in the three states.

    However, the Presidency is said to be worried that politics, more than the interest of the people of the three states, is the main factor driving the agitation for an end to the state of emergency.

    The state of emergency was imposed in the three states in May 2013 and renewed thereafter at six month intervals.

    The current extension ends on April 19.

    Only last Monday, the Borno-Yobe Peoples Forum, led by a former Chief of Air Staff, Air Vice Marshal Al-Amin Daggash (rtd.) spoke of its opposition to further renewal of the state of emergency.

    It was gathered that the position of the forum did not go down well with the Presidency with officials expressing displeasure at alleged political meanings being read into the imposition of the state of emergency.

    The calibre of stakeholders at the briefing was said to have worried the Presidency.

    The session was attended by heavyweights such as a former Minister of Finance, Alhaji Adamu Ciroma, a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Ambassador Babagana Kingibe, and a former Minister of Defence, Shettima Mustapha, among others.

    It was, however, gathered that government is more concerned about security implications of ending the emergency as it might give more latitude to Boko Haram insurgents to operate.

    Said one government source: “The Presidency is weighing its options on whether to end or sustain the state of emergency in the three states. Already, military authorities and security agencies and their leaders are making input to advise the government.

    “The aftermath of the end of the emergency rule is a security challenge the presidency is more preoccupied with than political sentiments by Borno-Yobe People’s Forum.

    “The government does not want Boko Haram to take advantage of the lifting of the state of emergency to re-establish their destroyed bases.”

    The source said that whatever any one might say, the state of emergency has curtailed the activities of Boko Haram and enabled troops make inroads into insurgents’ camps especially in Borno State.

    The source added: “stopping the emergency rule gives room for free movement of goods and persons; access to telephone facilities and more cross-border movements. Yet, the war against the insurgency is at its peak.”

    “So, if President Goodluck Jonathan will end the emergency rule, he would want the backing of elected leaders from these areas so that no one will turn round to accuse him of bias.

    “The government may not extend the emergency in these states. But the presidency may wrap up consultations with the military, security agencies/ council, and elected leaders from the three states next week to make its position known.”

    The source dismissed suggestions that the presidency is trying to use the state of emergency to win the three states for the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in next year’s elections.

    Taking a swipe at those agitating for the suspension of the state of emergency, the source said: “Under the emergency rule, most of these highly-placed people used to request for heavy security escort to go to their towns and villages in some of these states. They know the reality but it is politically convenient.

    “A lot of blackmail is being deployed; the President will also be more circumspect.”

    Another source in government said: “I do not think we will extend the emergency rule in the three states.”

    Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution provides for the imposition of a state of emergency in the country or any part of it.

    The section says: “Subject to the provisions of this Constitution, the President may by instrument published in the Official Gazette of the Government of the Federation issue a Proclamation of a state of emergency in the Federation or any part thereof.

    (2) The President shall immediately after the publication, transmit copies of the Official Gazette of the Government of the Federation containing the proclamation including the details of the emergency to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, each of whom shall forthwith convene or arrange for a meeting of the House of which he is President or Speaker, as the case may be, to consider the situation and decide whether or not to pass a resolution approving the Proclamation.

    (3) The President shall have power to issue a Proclamation of a state of emergency only when:

    (a) the Federation is at war;

    (b) the Federation is in imminent danger of invasion or involvement in a state of war;

    (c) there is actual breakdown of public order and public safety in the Federation or any part thereof to such extent as to require extraordinary measures to restore peace and security;

    (d) there is a clear and present danger of an actual breakdown of public order and public safety in the Federation or any part thereof requiring extraordinary measures to avert such danger;

    (e) there is an occurrence or imminent danger, or the occurrence of any disaster or natural calamity, affecting the community or a section of the community in the Federation;

    (f) there is any other public danger which clearly constitutes a threat to the existence of the Federation; or

    (g) the President receives a request to do so in accordance with the provisions of subsection (4) of this section.

    (4) The Governor of a state may, with the sanction of a resolution supported by two-thirds majority of the House of Assembly, request the President to issue a Proclamation of a state of emergency in the state when there is in existence within the state any of the situations specified in subsection (3) (c), (d) and (e) of this section and such situation does not extend beyond the boundaries of the state.

    (5) The President shall not issue a Proclamation of a state of emergency in any case to which the provisions of subsection (4) of this section apply unless the governor of the state fails within a reasonable time to make a request to the President to issue such Proclamation.

    (6) A Proclamation issued by the President under this section shall cease to have effect:

    (a) if it is revoked by the President by instrument published in the Official Gazette of the government of the federation;

    (b) if it affects the Federation or any part thereof and within two days when the National Assembly is in session, or within 10 days when the National Assembly is not in session, after its publication, there is no resolution supported by two-thirds majority of all the members of each House of the National Assembly approving the Proclamation;

    (c) after a period of six months has elapsed since it has been in force:

    Provided that the National Assembly may, before the expiration of the period of six months aforesaid, extend the period for the Proclamation of the state of emergency to remain in force from time to time for a further period of six months by resolution passed in like manner; or

    (d) at any time after the approval referred to in paragraph (b) or the extension referred to in paragraph (c) of this subsection, when each House of the National Assembly revokes the Proclamation by a simple majority of all the members of each House.

  • Nigeria becomes a huge vista of strife

    Nigeria becomes a huge vista of strife

    IF the bizarre image of skirmishes and wars his country has become is sufficient enough to disturb his sleep, President Goodluck Jonathan is not letting us in on that big and well-guarded secret. Two Saturdays ago, the president expressionlessly announced to a visiting delegation from the North Central geopolitical zone that the military was already deploying in the zone to curb the activities of insurgents whom some have described as Fulani herdsmen. The description of the insurgents is morphing quickly and radically, from herdsmen to foreign invaders, but at least now, to the relief of the 300-man delegation from the North Central, the insurgents, whether herdsmen or foreign invaders, will meet their match.

    With the deployments in Nasarawa, which started on a bad note, and Benue States, and in the already militarised but still insecure Plateau State, the entire Nigerian middle belt is all but at war. The Northeast, it is common knowledge, is in flames as a result of the Boko Haram insurgency mismanaged right from the beginning. The chances of stanching the flow of blood in the Northeast before the 2015 polls are fairly remote, but it has not stopped victims and attackers, as well as the Jonathan administration, from pelting the public with strange military doctrines and esoteric reasons for the insurgency. But more on these a little later.

    The Northwest is barely struggling to keep the peace, though Kano, Kaduna, Katsina and Zamfara have repeatedly felt the edge of the sword from either Boko Haram franchises or the phantom herdsmen of indeterminate origins. The Northwest has not yet exploded into a conflagration, but a war of moderate but significant intensity is afoot there. Also, in spite of the best efforts of the security agencies, a wide swath of the South-South and Southeast have become numbing theatres of kidnapping, oil thievery, armed robbery and militia unrest.

    In short, with the mild exception of the Southwest, which President Jonathan is indiscreetly and tactlessly provoking into unrest with his new political appointees and divisive use of ethnicity and religion, the entire country has become a huge tapestry of mindless and surreal skirmishes, mundane criminality and insurgency. This colourful and sanguinary fabric fraying and tearing at the edges and on all sides should alarm the most optimistic patriot. But given the president’s cavalier disposition, it is either he is made of sterner stuff than we imagine or the rest of us are treasonably pessimistic about the portents looming over this obviously distressed country.

    In any case, the president has met the instability and dangerous lurch to apocalypse with the quaintest and most bizarre deductions ever. Responding to allegations by Northeast governors who travelled to the United States to give vent to their frustrations and accuse him of incompetence, President Jonathan surmised in undignified language that the Northeast governors’ poor education policy in fact gave birth to Boko Haram. If they had educated their school-age children, the president argued implausibly at a rally in Bauchi State, Boko Haram would have been starved of recruits. Analysts have of course challenged the president, accusing him of miscomprehending social forces and the central and peripheral dynamics of the revolt, but he is unlikely to be swayed.

    Enjoying the blame game, the North Central zone governors led by Governor Gabriel Suswan of Benue State euphorically suggested that the growing insurgency in their zone was a plot by unnamed political enemies to destabilise an area that was and will remain an electoral asset to President Jonathan. Not to be outdone, Borno and Yobe elders last week also called on the president not to extend the emergency declaration in the zone. After all, they suggested gravely, the government and the military could not claim to be unaware of the factors and forces undermining the war against terrorism.

    The problem all along, as the discernible will have gleaned, is not that Nigeria is assailed by terror or by destabilising plots of unknown origin; the real problem is the unstatesmanlike and uncritical approach to the challenges facing the country, an approach certain to become aggravated as the North Central unquestioningly surrenders to President Jonathan’s re-election shenanigans.

  • Boko Haram: DHQ to investigate Amnesty’s allegation of human rights abuses

    Boko Haram: DHQ to investigate Amnesty’s allegation of human rights abuses

    The Defence Headquarters has opted to investigate allegations of human rights abuses leveled against Nigerian troops in the ongoing counter terrorism campaign in the Northeastern part of the country.

    The Amnesty International had in a recent report, stated that over 1500 persons were killed in conflicts in the three northeastern states currently under emergency rule in the first quarter of 2014 alone.

    The DHQ said the allegation would be investigated, with a view to establishing the veracity of the claim and taking necessary action to address any case of human right breach on the part of its troops.

    In the said report, Amnesty International had blamed the Nigerian troops and the Boko Haram insurgents for the killings. But the military has insisted that the report did not reflect the actual situation on ground.

    In a statement Friday by the Defence spokesman, Major General Chris Olukolade, the Nigerian military authorities described the allegation as too confounding to ignore.

    “This report is a new dimension to the well-known fact that the security operation in that part of the country was necessitated by the need to address the gross abuse of human rights being perpetrated against Nigerians by the terrorists.

    “It is noteworthy that despite the peculiar asymmetric nature of the security challenge, measures have been put in place to ensure compliance with tenets of human right and rules of engagement by troops involved in the conduct of the mission.

    “Apart from inculcating the necessity for observance of human rights in troops, regular programmes have been conducted to review the human rights situation related to the conduct of the operations,” the statement said.

    The military said it was in adherence to respect for human rights that most of those apprehended in the counter-terrorist operations are being kept in custody.

    The statement continued: “These detention facilities have been visited by Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) including International Committee of the Red Cross and others to verify the conditions of detainees.

    “This is even in the face of destruction of relevant amenities by the terrorists who have burnt down prisons, courts and government facilities in that part of the country in the course of their ceaseless attacks.

    “The claim contained in the Amnesty International’s report attributing gross abuses of human right of Nigerians to both the terrorists and the security forces is quite confounding.

    “Notwithstanding the fact that the report is not consistent with the actual situation on ground, the security authorities will ensure that the allegation as it affects the government forces is duly investigated.”

    The military authorities however assured that while carrying out the mandate of ridding the country of any vestige of terrorism, necessary efforts would be made to respect the fundamental rights of all citizens.

     

  • Boko Haram: Global responsibility to identify sponsors, says Jonathan

    Boko Haram: Global responsibility to identify sponsors, says Jonathan

    President Goodluck Jonathan Wednesday maintained that it is the collective responsibility of all nations of the world to identify sponsors and supporters of terror groups like Boko Haram in Nigeria.

    He made the remark while speaking on peace and security at the opening of the ongoing Fourth European Union (EU) – Africa Summit in Brussels, the Belgian capital.

    According to him, the terrorists should be held responsible for their actions aiming to destabilise the African continent.

    He said that a terror attack on one nation is an attack on everybody.

    Jonathan thanked the EU and other development partners for their assistance towards addressing the menace of terror in the continent.

    He said, “The weapons of choice of these terror groups are the Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW). Of recent, they have acquired the rapid propelled grenades and even surface-to-air missiles.  Where do they get these sophisticated weapons?”

    “The total value of what these terrorists possess as individuals, in terms of what they wear, where they live cannot buy an assault rifle. We all have the collective responsibility to un-earth their sponsors and supporters who are determined to destabilise Africa. We should hold them responsible and accountable for their actions.”

    Stressing that the issue of peace and security called for a holistic and integrated approach, he said that peace and development are two sides of the same coin.

    Because of the importance Nigeria attaches to the issue of terror, he said that it informed the decision to organize a summit on “Human Security, Peace and Development: An Agenda for the 21st Century” during Nigeria’s recent Centenary Celebrations.

    The summit, he said, resolved, in part, that all countries must continue to strengthen existing mechanisms for national and international conflict management, and create new avenues for co-operation within and between peoples and nations.

    According to him, African Union since year 2000, have demonstrated sustained desire for the development of collective security arrangement among its member states and its Regional Economic Communities.

    To this end, he said that the countries have established a security management system and the codification of standards within Africa’s Peace and Security Architecture, which he said, included the Peace and Security Council, a continental early warning system, the Panel of the Wise and the African Standby Force (ASF).

    The union, he said, has also subscribed to modalities and action plans to confront the new challenges and threat of piracy in some maritime boundaries and curb the menace of oil theft.

    Beside these initiatives, he said that there were organs within the AU with mandates to strengthen the peace and security architecture.

    Jonathan described the coming into force of the African Charter on Democracy, Election and Government as a legally binding instrument as a further re-affirmation of collective resolve at outlawing unconstitutional change of government in Africa.

    He said: “Notwithstanding these initiatives, new and emerging threats that necessitate concerted and holistic focus have emerged. These include political conflicts that threaten hard-won peace and democracies, and worse still, the phenomenon of piracy and terrorism.”

    “In the face of these new threats and challenges, the Peace and Security Architecture needs to be strengthened and the African Standby Force needs to be fully operationalised.”

    “We need to give stronger impetus to capacity building and logistical support to boost Africa’s capability and preparedness to take pre-emptive steps to contain conflict situations, quell violence and deal with the scourges of terrorism.”

    Continuing, he said: “There is need for renewed efforts to address the challenges at hand, in the context of our partnership. The modest successes recorded in tackling the peace and security challenges confronting us notwithstanding, the fact remains that we may continue to fall short of the target of ridding Africa of conflicts if the nexus that exists between peace and development is not fully explored and developed.”

    “Our approaches must therefore be integrated while simultaneously addressing the socio-political factors that push countries to conflict, with their attendant humanitarian and socio-economic consequences.”

    The summit brought together the Heads of State and Government of the EU and the African continent together with the EU and AU institutions.

    The EU was represented at the summit which has “Investing in people, prosperity and peace” as its theme by President of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy and President of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso.

  • OPC vows to uncover ‘hidden dungeon’

    OPC vows to uncover ‘hidden dungeon’

    There may be a spiritual approach to uncovering the whereabouts of the commercial motorcyclist, whose distress call led to the discovery of the Soka “forest of horror” in Ibadan, Oyo State.

    It is believed that the commercial motorcyclist and eight others are still in captivity.

    The Yoruba militia group, Oodua Peoples’ Congress (OPC), said yesterday that the place where the victims are being held could not be visible to the ordinary eyes.

    It vowed to use “every means available” to discover the “hidden dungeon where more victims are being held on the premises”.

    An OPC chieftain in Ibadan Rotimi Olumo told reporters that the group is working hard to uncover the purported cellar where the missing motorcyclist was phoning from.

    Olumo said: “There are strong indications that some people might still be trapped there because the missing motorcyclist who phoned his wife and friends said he heard the voices of his friends who were looking for him from the place where he was kept underground.

    “He claimed that there were eight others with him in a place there that has not been discovered. His family members and those of the other victims are in anguish.

    “The fact about it is that such places cannot be seen by ordinary eyes and that is why we cannot fold our arms. We are taking serious steps and making deep consultations in the other realm to uncover the hidden place and the people behind the horrible act.”

    Olumo, who is the OPC Chairman in Ibadan and lives in the neighbourhood of the Soka den, said the OPC at the national level has signified interest to wade into the matter.

    He said: “If Boko Haram is not disturbing us in the region, why should we allow ritualists to make Ibadan, a peaceful city, a danger zone.”