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Tag: boko haram

  • Boko Haram: Security agencies launch manhunt for alleged sponsor

    Boko Haram: Security agencies launch manhunt for alleged sponsor

    As part of the ongoing crackdown on Boko Haram camps in Borno and Yobe states, security agencies have launched manhunt for a businessman who is alleged to be financing the activities of the sect.

    Also, the Defence Headquarters yesterday said the air raid on Boko Haram camps in the forests between Damaturu and Maiduguri has continued.

    It was, however, learnt that the military was trying to prevent civilian casualties in the ongoing bombardment of camps where the insurgents are hiding.

    Besides the alleged funding of Boko Haram by Al-Qaeda or Al-Shabab, security agencies and the military are suspecting the local funding of the insurgency.

    It was gathered that a businessman has been fingered as a financier of the sect.

    A top source, who spoke in confidence, said: “The security agencies are looking into local sources of funding of Boko Haram. We have got intelligence reports of how some individuals had been funding the insurgency in the North East.

    “One of those under surveillance is a northern businessman. We have information on him and we have launched manhunt for him.

    “We have evidence that the said businessman might have visited the camps of Boko Haram at some point.

    “There is a huge network of financing insurgency in the country which we are trying to probe. It goes beyond conventional banking system.”

    Responding to a question, the source added: “We have a strong suspicion that the businessman might have acted in concert with some people.”

    It was also learnt that the recent slaughtering of Muslims has made the motive of Boko Haram more suspicious to security agencies.

    Another security source added: “We are suspecting that the overall plan of Boko Haram might be against the survival of Nigeria as a nation.

    “Initially, we thought they were pursuing religious agenda. But with more focus on Muslims, it is apparent that the Boko Haram insurgency is after the decimation of Nigeria.

    “This is why the President and Commander-in-Chief, President Goodluck Jonathan, has directed troops to protect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of this country. We have got to a stage where all Nigerians(irrespective of religions)  have to unite against these insurgents.”

    Meanwhile, the ongoing military air raid on Boko Haram camps in the forests between Maiduguri and Damaturu continued yesterday.

    A military source, who spoke in confidence, said: “The Defence Headquarters has directed the troops to sustain the air and land raids on all the sighted camps of the insurgents.

    “We know that they are establishing new camps between Maiduguri and Damaturu. We will not relent in our campaign until we have been able to arrest the perpetrators of the killing of 62 students in Gujba.”

    When contacted, the spokesman for the Defence Headquarters, Brig. Gen Chris Olukolade, said: “We are sustaining the air raid where necessary and wherever the Boko Haram camps are sighted.”

    Asked if there had been any arrest, Olukolade said: “Well, the troops on ground have confirmed the arrest of 15 suspects who are already being screened at the local level there.”

  • Boko Haram

    Boko Haram

    With President Goodluck Jonathan’s declaration of a state of emergency in the North East states of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa on May 14, the popular expectation was obviously that peace and normalcy would swiftly return to these hot beds of the Boko Haram insurgency.

    This was because of the massive deployment of troops and military hardware, including air fire power, to the area; and the intense publicity of the early military successes against the terrorists. These high expectations will no doubt have been severely dampened by the recent dastardly activities of the Boko Haram anarchists in the areas under emergency rule, especially Yobe State.

    On the night of September 29, Boko Haram attacked the hostels of the School of Agriculture, Gujba, Yobe State, resulting in the horrific murder of no less than 41 students in their sleep. Dozens of suspected Boko Haram gunmen, armed with sophisticated rifles and improvised explosives, reportedly took part in this atrocity.

    Not satisfied with the precious lives they had snuffed out, they set ablaze several of the college buildings, after leaving the dormitories. For these zealots purportedly pushing to establish an Islamic theocracy in the Northern part of the country, it did not matter that a good number of their victims were fellow Muslims.

    Before the gory incident in Gujba, seven secondary school students and two teachers were shot dead by gunmen in Damaturu, the Yobe State capital while, in July, Boko Haram militants threw explosives and sprayed gunfire into school dormitories killing 41 students in the town of Mamudo in the same state.

    In Borno State, at least 142 people were slaughtered in the town of Benishek and, in separate attacks this week, 27 people were killed in two towns near the north-east border with Cameroun.

    Now, do these incidents suggest that the state of emergency has failed to achieve its objectives? We do not by any means think so. It would certainly be most unrealistic to expect the insurgency to instantaneously end following the declaration of emergency rule.

    For one, the menace has festered for over four years; and the terrain in which the terrorists are being confronted is vast and difficult. Again, we believe that the military are, wisely, being careful in the use of maximum force to limit collateral damage to civilians.

    Even then, appreciable progress has been made. The capacity of the insurgents to operate beyond the North-East zone has been certainly crippled. Before the imposition of emergency rule, they regularly destroyed lives and property in such states as Kano, Kaduna, Niger, Adamawa and even the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

    And even in the North East zone, the areas under the control of the terrorists have been drastically reduced. For instance, the era when they exercised complete dominance over 15 local government areas in Borno State belongs to the past. Their desperate attacks on schools and other ‘soft’ civilian targets may, therefore, most likely be due to the substantial ground Boko Haram has lost to the Nigerian military.

    What the recent savage actions of the extremists indicate is that the battle against terrorism will be no easy task. That is why the military must remain focused and be professional in their conduct. They must strictly stick to their operational orders, and refuse to be provoked.

    All these are absolutely essential because they must continue to cultivate the support of local communities. To constantly strengthen their intelligence-gathering capacity, they simply must befriend and win the confidence of the local community.

    Military hardware is important to win the war against these murderous fanatics. But perhaps more imperative for ultimate victory is sound intelligence. Such is needed to avert disasters as Gujba’s. The North East states must also work closely with the security agencies to provide adequate security for educational institutions across the zone.

    But inasmuch as Boko Haram, fleeing under intense pressure, would resort to dastardly hit-and-run tactics against soft targets as in Gujba, it is indefensible that the attacked school had absolutely no security when the terrorists struck. It is even less excusable that, even in a state of emergency, large swarths of territory would appear so vulnerable that these anarchists could do whatever they like with their ill-fated soft targets and innocent Nigerian citizens. So, the authorities must do more to secure the areas concerned.

    It is commendable that the government has vowed not to succumb to Boko Haram’s terror and close down schools. That is brave. But it would only make sense if the schools are well secured. The Gujba massacre of innocent students and teachers should be the last of such tragedies.

  • Boko Haram’s unending killing ways

    Boko Haram’s unending killing ways

    Suspected members of the rebel sect Boko Haram stormed an agricultural college in Yobe, northeastern Nigeria, on Sunday, killing at least 40 in the latest of a string of attacks that have rocked northern Nigeria.

    The surge in violence comes amid a four-month state of emergency covering three states in northeastern Nigeria, and after a spate of summer slaughters, including what appeared to be the gunning down of school children and of Muslims considered too religiously moderate, even as they prayed in their mosque.

    Boko Haram has increasingly set its sights on civilian targets, prompting many Nigerians to question claims by the government and the military that they are winning the war against violent extremism.

    Though exact numbers are hard to verify, Boko Haram and its affiliates are thought to have killed thousands since it first launched an Islamist insurgency in 2009.

    Initially established a decade ago as a religious movement opposed to Western culture, Boko Haram has since morphed into a militant group determined to establish an Islamic state in northern Nigeria.

    The group rose to international prominence in 2010 and 2011 when it carried out a series of deadly attacks against the Nigerian government and detonated a car bomb after crashing into a United Nations building in Abuja, the capital.

    The gunmen in Sunday’s attack are reported to have killed dozens of students as they slept and rounded up others for execution. Several more students were injured trying to flee.

    The attacks also come as Nigeria – Africa’s most populous nation, top oil producer, and second largest economy – prepares to celebrate its 53rd year of independence amid concerns that Boko Haram is planning more attacks to coincide with the national holiday on Tuesday.

    Since declaring a state of emergency May 14, Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has sought to crush Boko Haram through the enlistment of civilian vigilante groups and the deployment of 8,000 soldiers supported by fighter jets and helicopter gunships to carry out what one observer told the Monitor amounted to a “scorched-earth campaign” in parts of the north where the group mostly bases itself.

    Due to a virtual media blackout in these conflict areas, little information can be confirmed, and many believe that figures released by the army vastly overstate the amount of Boko Haram casualties, while underestimating civilian casualties and losses sustained by Nigerian armed forces.

    Though the May military offensive initially succeeded in driving Boko Haram from major towns and some of its bases outside urban areas, the movement has since unleashed a revenge campaign against civilians – Muslim and Christian alike – accused of aiding security forces.

    The relative strength of Boko Haram is unclear. Even though some analysts say it appears to be growing more lethal by the day, precious little is known about its leadership, organisational structure, funding streams, and membership.

    At any given time, a mosaic of splinter groups may be carrying out attacks under the banner of Boko Haram.

    Even “Boko Haram” – a phrase borrowed from the Hausa language native to northern Nigeria – is an unofficial moniker that the group’s core members do not use, preferring its official Arabic name of “Jamâ’a Ahl al-sunnah li-da’wa wa al-jihâd.”

    There is some evidence in recent weeks that after a string of military setbacks, more Nigerians are skeptical of a government strategy that is seen as overly aggressive.

    “Many of them (Boko Haram fighters) must be destroyed,” said Mohammed Shehu, a student in Abuja who is from Borno State, the heartland of the Boko Haram insurgency, “But the underlying problems are also social, political and economic,” he says. “You cannot use the army for these things.”

    While Nigerians debate how best to deal with Boko Haram, the Nigerian government’s counter-terrorism allies abroad are eager to see the group defeated as soon as possible. President Obama has commented on how Boko Haram’s focus on killing civilians of all ages is especially ugly.

    Since June, the US government has been offering $23 million worth of rewards for information and on key leaders of terrorist organisations in West Africa as part of the US State Department’s “Rewards for Justice” programme.

    Boko Haram’s leader, Abubakar Shekau, heads the list which reads like a who’s-who of prominent jihadists responsible for a string of deadly attacks and high-profile kidnapping throughout North and West Africa.

    •Culled from Christian Science Monitor

  • BOKO HARAM: LMC moves Elkanemi/Dolphins game

    BOKO HARAM: LMC moves Elkanemi/Dolphins game

    The League Management Company, LMC have moved the game between Elkanemi and Dolphins by 24 hours.

    General Manager of Dolphins, Dumbo Awanen said on Tuesday, that after deliberations and talking on phone, they have agreed to travel to Maiduguri by road tomorrow.

    “We spoke and the Gombe State Police Commissioner, who agreed to give us an escort to Maiduguri. We leave on Wednesday morning,” Awanen said.

    Answering why the club settled on the police and not the army to escort them into the town, Awanen simply said, “We are satisfied with the security arrangements.”

    The General Manager also said the players and officials in the traveling party are also at ease and have accepted the decision of the management and the LMC.

    “The players will train on Tuesday evening, we have told them we are here on a mission. It is our job and we have no choice but to do it.”

  • Boko Haram fear grips Dolphins

    Boko Haram fear grips Dolphins

    Dolphins coach Stanley Eguma has said his players fear they may be attacked by terrorists on their way for a league tie in Maiduguri.

    Dolphins face hosts El Kanemi on Wednesday in continuation of the Nigeria league.

    Eguma said that after reading of the incident that occurred on the Maiduguri road on Sunday, both the players and coaches are now too scared to travel.

    “We heard of the incident regarding a commuter bus attacked by Boko Haram and everyone in the bus was beheaded and slaughtered. It was in the news.

    “It’s a big risk to travel. The team is afraid and we really do not know what to do in this situation.

    “We tried to reach the League Management Company (LMC) chairman, but he is out of the country and we have tried to reach Shehu Dikko, who is part of the company but nothing forthcoming from all that.

    “We are scared to travel and may not go if we do not find the place or route safe for that kind of journey,” MTNFootball.com quoted the Dolphins coach as saying on Tuesday.

    Dolphins’ general manager, Dumbo Awanen, said the team may be forced to stay away from the game.

    Dolphins had been in Gombe for a week and stayed back for the Maiduguri game but with the recent spate of killings around Maiduguri, Awanen said the players are not willing to put their lives on the line.

    “Do we take the risk and go on that road? What is three points compared to the lives of thirty of us?” he asked rhetorically.

    “We are ready for the game but will not play it except certain conditions are met.”

    Awanen, who also played for the club in the 90s, said he had been in constant touch with members of the LMC who run the league but has got no positive feedback from them.

    “If we do not hear anything positive from them by Tuesday afternoon we will return to Port Harcourt and forfeit the three points and three goals since it is not worth the lives we have in our team,” he added.

     

  • APC to Boko Haram: let there be peace

    APC to Boko Haram: let there be peace

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) has called on members of the Islamic fundamentalist- Boko Haram to cease all attacks and embrace dialogue in the interest of national peace and security. The plea followed what is undoubtedly a resurgence of deadly attacks believed to be perpetrated by the sect.

    In a statement in Warri, Delta State by its Interim National Publicity, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party condemned the latest of such attacks that left many students of the College of Agriculture in Yobe dead and injured on Sunday. It described the killings dastardly, senseless and indefensible.

    The party called on traditional, religious, political and opinion leaders in the affected areas to intervene urgently to end the cycle of violence being perpetrated by the sect.

    ‘’It is clear that this Boko Haram menace cannot be resolved by the government alone, hence all stakeholders must urgently intervene to complement government’s efforts to end the insurgency and get those behind it to embrace dialogue.

    ‘’There can be no justification for Boko Haram sect to continue to kill and maim innocent citizens, especially because the victims are not just fellow Nigerians like them, but most are actually their kith and kin,’’ APC said.

    The party described the continued violence by the sect as inexcusable, especially at a time that the government has offered an Olive Branch by setting up a committee for dialogue.

    ‘’We in the APC have been unrelenting in our advocacy for dialogue as a way of ending the insurgency. Fortunately, the government has also embraced dialogue, after initially resisting it as an option.

    ‘’Boko Haram should remember that they are not fighting an external war, and that their grievances, whatever they are, can never be resolved by continued killing, maiming and plundering. They must therefore put an immediate end to their cycle of violence and opt for dialogue. The longer this violence continues, the more difficult it becomes to resolve. Enough is enough!’’ it said.

     

  • Yobe attack: One more victim dies

    One out of the five students that survived the attack on college of Agriculture, Gujba, died on Monday morning at the General Sani Abacha Specialist Hospital.
    The death of the student has now put the death toll to 41 after 40 dead bodies were brought to the mortuary on Sunday.
    The college Provost, Molima Mato, who confirmed this to our correspondent, also said 38 bodies have been evacuated from the mortuary for burial, leaving only three.

  • Canada condemns Yobe terror attack

    Canada has strongly condemned Sunday’s attack at the College of Agriculture, Gujba, Yobe, where more than 40 students were killed.

    This is contained in a statement issued by Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister, John Baird, on Monday.

    The European Union also joined in condemning the dastardly act, while the United States Embassy in Abuja condoled with the families of those who lost their lives in the violent attack.
    Baird said: “We condemned the perpetrators of this abhorrent act targeted innocent students while they were sleeping.
    “On behalf of all Canadians, I extend my deepest sympathies to those injured in the attack and to the families and friends of those who lost their lives.”
    The Canadian foreign minister expressed the hope that the perpetrators of  “this despicable act’’ would be brought to justice and pledged Canada’s support to help Nigeria fight terrorism.
    Meanwhile, a statement from the spokesperson of Catherine Ashton, the EU top diplomat, reiterated EU’s firm rejection “of such unjustifiable violence.’’
    The EU noted that the perpetrators of the attack clearly targeted children and students and contended that those responsible be brought to justice and held responsible for their acts.
    The statement also pledged EU’s support to Nigeria in the fight against terrorism, under the principles of the rule of law, respect and protection of human rights.
    A tweeter message from the U.S Embassy in Abuja said: “ our hearts are with the families of those who lost their lives in Gujba, Yobe.
    “We stand united with all Nigerian in this time of tragedy,’’ the News Agency of Nigeria quoted the embassy as saying in the message.

  • Boko Haram cannot frustrate Nigeria, says Jonathan

    President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday declared that the activities of the Islamic sect, Boko Haram or any other group cannot frustrate Nigeria.

    Speaking at the 53rd Independence Anniversary Interdenominational Church Service in Abuja, he condemned the killing of 21 Agriculture students in Yobe State yesterday.

    According to him, the challenges and obstacles Nigeria is going through are transient and the country will soon get over them.

    He said that Nigeria has got to the turning point where it will join other developed nations as it is perfecting the starting point of conducting free and fair elections.

    Stressing that the country is almost there, he said that there are some forces in the country working against the nation.

    He said that all those trying to cause problem for the nation will not succeed, saying that his administration will leave the country better than it met it.

    He said: “No Boko Haram or any group can frustrate this country. We may suffer pains just like our Lord Jesus said at the critical moment that though the spirit is willing but the body is weak.
    Sometimes our body is very weak, we feel the pains of those who are our direct relations of those who have been killed carelessly. These are things I believe is the creation of the devil to slow down our  progress as a nation.”

    “Today you will agree with me that if you were in my shoes you will lack words to say. We had this programme in mind, we went to bed last night so that by this time today we will all gather here to thank God for what he has done for this country. But then only few minutes after 12 last night about 21 students were murdered in Yobe state by a group that describes themselves as Boko Haram.”

    “If you were wearing my shoes, what courage will you have to stand here before Nigerians, what message would you send to Nigerians, the parents of these young people, our future leaders, students in the school of agriculture.”

    “Do you say that the killing of these students is political? Which of the political parties do the students belong to? People who killed them don’t even know them. Do you say it is ethnic? Which ethnic group do the students belong to? Do you say it is religion or belief? These students are they Christians or Muslims?” He queried

    “This is the situation that plays almost on a daily basis.
    It is quiet depressing. But having listened to the message of the CAN President you will agree with me that all of us have hope and by God’s grace we will get to where we want to go as a nation.” He added

    “The journey of a nation is like the journey of an individual, we must have obstacles. Sometimes they say it is even darker when it is getting to the dawn of the day. The challenges we are seeing now are very transient and we will get to the end of it.

    Stressing that Nigeria is at the dawn of greatness, he said: “Nigeria is at the turning point where I believe we must move and join the global society. If you look at the journeys of nations, first and foremost before you liberate people you must make sure that they have a civilised way of electing their leaders and we have almost reached there.”

    “We must make sure we conduct free and fair elections, but forces of evil don’t want it that way. They want a situation where they will continue to impose themselves or whoever they like on the people. Look at the successes in the telecom industry and we now say the power sector that immediately we liberalise it will now be like the telecom industry.”

  • Breaking News: Gunmen kill 40 students in Yobe

    No fewer than 40 students of Gujba College of Agriculture in Yobe State were on Sunday morning killed by gunmen suspected to be members of the Boko Haram sect.

    The corpses of the students have been deposited at the General Sanni Abacha Specialist Hospital and more are still been expected at press time.

    The Nation learnt that the students were shot in their hostels and classrooms while fleeing from the attackers.

    Gujba is about 60 kilometres  South East of Damaturi the state capital

    The State Commissioner of Police Sanusi Rufai confirmed the attack but said the details of the attack are still sketchy.

    “Yes, I just got a report of the attack on the school but I cannot give you details at the moment because my men are yet to give me a full brief of the incident,” CP Sanusi informed.