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Tag: boko haram

  • NAF Strikes Boko Haram base

    As Nigeria and South Africa agree on UAVs acquisition

    The Nigerian Air Force on Thursday said it has destroyed Boko Haram Terrorists logistic base and structures in Kusuma, in Northern Borno just as the Federal Government and the South African Government stepped up efforts on the development and acquisition of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) and other military equipment to fight terrorism.

    According to a communique signed by the Federal Government and the South African Government at the end of the 4th Nigeria-South Africa Defence Committee Meeeting at the CBN International Training Institute,  Abuja, the Defence Industries of the two countries have been mandated to work together to produce military hardwares that would give more bite to the on-going counter-insurgency campaigns.

    The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Defence, Mrs Nuratu Batagarawa signed the document on behalf of Nigeria, while Dr Sam Gulube , the Secretary of Defence South Africa also signed on behalf his country.

    “On the development and acquisition  of UAVs and UAV Jammers for counter-terrorism  and counter-insurgency in Nigeria , the meeting agreed to expedite  action on the signing of the MOU  between DICON  and DENEL to facilitate procurement and development of UAV technology,”  the communique stated.

    It added that the meeting focussed on research and development, specialized military training, capacity building in space technology/cyber security and counter-terrorism and counter insurgency as a way of strengthening existing bilateral relationships between the two countries.

    However in a statement signed on Thursday by the spokesman of the Air Force, Air Commodore Ibikunle Daramola, the NAF said it conducted air interdiction against the terrorists’s facilities using 2 Alpha jet aircraft.

    Read Also: NAF jet destroys B’Haram tactical Hqts in Borno

    The statement reads: “The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) Air Interdiction Operation, OPERATION GREEN SWEEP, has continued to record tremendous successes in destroying Boko Haram Terrorists’ (BHTs) facilities in Borno State.

    “On Day 3 of the Operation, the  Air Task Force (ATF) of Operation LAFIYA DOLE, destroyed a BHT Logistics Base at Kusuma in Northern Borno. The air strikes were conducted on the heels of credible intelligence reports indicating that the BHTs had resumed using the previously abandoned settlement and established a Logistics Base to support their operations in the fringes of Lake Chad.

    “Extensive Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) missions later identified 2 compounds within the village that were the main logistics hubs in the town. Consequently, the ATF dispatched 2 Alpha Jet aircraft to attack the settlement, recording direct hits on the target buildings and facilities with huge balls of fires seen.

    “The NAF, working in concert with surface forces, will sustain the tempo of operations with a view to destroying all remnants of the terrorists in Borno State”.

  • Jonathan’s book: elementary book of tales, says Borno Governor

    Borno State Governor Kashim Shettima says President Goodluck Jonathan’s new book, My Transition hours’ lunched on Wednesday is an “elementary book of tales that fell short of courage” that will bring out facts to the public.

    According to Gov. Kashim Shettima, President Jonathan cleverly omitted to publish in Chapter four of his book  the report of the presidential  fact-finding committee he constituted in May 2014 which would have unveiled the incontrovertible facts about the April 2014 abduction of the Chibok Girls.

    Gov Shettima who was reacting particularly to Chapter Four of the book titled “The Chibok school girls affair” in the book, “My Transition hours”  explained that  the former President had asserted  that the schoolgirls abduction was a product of conspiracy by the then opposition All Progressives Congress, APC, in connivance with Borno State Government.

    The Chapter  also accused the Borno Government and then President Barack Obama’s administration in the United States of undermining efforts to rescue the Chibok girls in 2014.

    Governor Shettima through a statement released by his Special Adviser on Communications and Strategy, Malam Isa Gusau on Wednesday, added  that Jonathan never believed there was ever an abduction until rescue efforts were late, the “the former President’s elementary book of tales fell short of the courage required of him to publish findings by his own panel in chapter four of his book.

    “The whole of Tuesday night, I took the pains of reading His Excellency, former President Goodluck Jonathan’s book, My transition hours, from the first to the 177th page. I took particular interest in chapter four (the Chibok school girls affair) which has 42 paragraphs written on pages 27 to 36.

    Read Also: Why I annoited Zulum as my successor- Shettima

    “I was amused that despite ‎admitting in paragraph 15, that he had (in May 2014) constituted a Presidential Fact-Finding Committee under Brigadier General Ibrahim Sabo and many others “to investigate” the Chibok abduction, former President Jonathan refused to mention any part or whole of the findings by that panel which had submitted a highly investigative report submitted to him on Friday, June 20, 2014 after the panel held investigative meetings with the then Chiefs of Defense Staff, Army Staff, Air Staff, the DG, DSS and IGP, met all security heads in Borno, visited Chibok, met with parents of abducted schoolgirls, met surviving students, interrogated officials of the school and the supervising ministry of education, interrogated officials of WAEC and analyzed all correspondences.

    “What has become very clear is that the former President decided to sit on facts in his custody while he published, in an elementary standard, a book of fiction designed to pass gulty verdicts to anyone but himself, with respect to the open failures of his administration to rescue our daughters and in tackling the Boko Haram challenges ” Shettima was quoted by his spokesman.

    Governor Shettima  declared that “by refusing to publish any part of his own panel’s findings on the Chibok abduction, Jonathan’s book was nothing short of a presidential tale by midday”.

    According to the statement, it is on record that; , “on Tuesday, the 6th of May, 2014, President Jonathan had inaugurated multi-agency/stakeholder fact-finding panel under the chairmanship of Brig. General Ibrahim Sabo (rtd), a one-time Director of Military Intelligence and also appointed a secretary from the Niger Delta.

    “President Jonathan single handedly selected all members of that committee which included  his trustees amongst serving and retired security officers from the Army, DSS and Police; representatives of the UN and ECOWAS, representatives of the Chibok community, local and international civil rights organisations, representatives of the National Council on Women Societies, the Nigeria Union of Journalists amongst other persons he trusted.

    “For almost  two months, the probe panel undertook forensic assessment of all documents on the entire issues, held investigative meetings with parents of the schoolgirls during a visit to Chibok. The panel held separate one-on-one investigative meetings with myself, the then Chief of Defence Staff, Chief of Army Staff, Chiefs of Air and Naval Staff, met the then Director General of the DSS and the Inspector General of Police, all of whom were appointees of President Jonathan.

    “The panel interrogated officials of Borno Government including the Commissioner  of Education and the school principal. The panel also held investigative meetings with heads of all security agencies in Borno State including security formations in charge of Chibok. At the end, the panel submitted it’s report directly to President Jonathan on Friday, the 20th of June, 2014 in Abuja. President Jonathan has refused to make public the findings submitted to him.

    “I was expecting the findings in his book but he has deliberately swept that report under the carpet. However, I remember that on June 24, 2014, the ThisDay Newspaper claimed to have obtained a copy of the panel’s report and published as its lead, that painstaking findings by the Presidential panel had indicted the military under Jonathan’s watch and completely absolved the Federal,   Borno State Government of any blame regarding the Chibok abduction. The newspaper went further to say that panel actually commended efforts of the Borno State Government in its commitment to the fight against Boko Haram as testified by heads of security establishments” the statement said.

    Governor Shettima  also observed that President Jonathan’s book has further made him believe that the  former president  still lives with poor understanding of issues under his presidency especially  his  claim on page 31 that Boko Haram wanted a Muslim President rather than him as Christian was laughable since the insurgents actually began their deadliest attacks in Borno under the regime of late President Umaru Musa Yar’adua, a Muslim  from northern Nigeria.

    “We know for a fact that as vicious cycle of evil, Boko Haram fighters do not care about the religion of their targeted victims. ‎They attack Mosques and churches. They are lunatics who regard anyone who doesn’t share their ideology as an infidel. So, I wonder how the former President didn’t take time to understand the biggest challenge under his presidency” Shettima said.

    Governor Shettima challenged  former President Jonathan to come up with another book that would contain more graphic truth of his presidency  not excluding the Chibok Girls rather than “the fiction he made public on Tuesday”.

  • Internal, external factors responsible for security challenges – Buhari

    …Receives security report from NIPSS

     

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday declared that the security challenges facing the country were caused by internal and external factors.

    He made the remark while receiving security report from the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS) at the Council Chamber of the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    According to him, the security challenges his administration met in 2015 was threatening the lives and property of the country.

    Towards finding a sustainable solution to the problem, he said that it necessitated the commissioning of NIPSS to have a holistic view of the country’s security problems.

    He said, “In November 2017 I tasked the management of National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies with the responsibility of strengthening the nation’s internal security framework through community policing by proposing borders, policy, offence and strategy. And I think this is what the report is all about.

    “The decision of government was borne out of sincere desire to find sustainable solutions to the many security challenges inherited by this administration. These challenges not only threaten the security of lives and property of our people but also the sovereignty, territorial integrity of our country.

    “We are confronted by Boko Haram insurgency in the North East, worrisome conflict with respect to farmers and herdsmen which has resulted in wanton destruction of lives and property across the country. Furthermore there is the crisis of separatist agitation in the South East, and militancy in the South-South.

    “Government is convinced that these security challenges are rooted in both internal and external factors. Most importantly, government is also convinced that finding sustainable solutions to these challenges will require the support and collaboration of security agencies and communities,” he said.

    The report of NIPSS, he said, was timely as it came at the time his government was changing security strategies of the country.

    The President said that he would study the report and its recommendations.

    He assured NIPSS that the Ministry of Budget and National planning will work towards providing necessary funding for the institute.

  • ‘Buhari’s achievements should earn him a second term’

    …President has fulfilled campaign promises

    Former Chief of Staff to the Imo State Governor, Uche Nwosu, on Monday said that the sterling performance of President Muhammadu Buhari in office has justified his second term ambition.

    Speaking at the background of the flag-off of President Buhari’s second term campaign,  Nwosu, noted that the Preaident has delivered on his campaign promises of fighting corruption, insecurity and diversifying the economy.
    He said that the President from all considerations, deserve a second term to consolidate on the achievements he has recorded during his first term, adding that the country will be better off under another four year of President Buhari’s administration.
    Nwosu enjoined Nigerians to jettison tribal and religious sentiments and support the President for another term, adding that Nigeria has reclaimed its respect among the comity of nations since the last three years that Buhari came on board.
    According to him, “President Muhammadu Buhari has done well in office to earn the support of Nigerians. Take for instance the achievement recorded in the agricultural sector, it is on record today that Nigeria is now a major exporter of rice. This has earned the country trillions of naira. Another area the President has written his name in gold, is the fight against corruption, which had almost destroyed our nation.
    “The case of corruption has gotten to the extent that if you travel abroad and show your passport as a Nigerian, they will treat you as a corrupt person from a corrupt nation but this is no more the case today. Nigerians are now treated with respect across the globe. And on the issue of insecurity,  the President has also restored normalcy in the troubled parts of the country. Before now, Boko Haram was having a field day, it was a story of one bombing today and another tomorrow but this is no more so”.
    The former Chief of Staff also pointed out that President Buhari’s uncommon integrity and honesty stand him out from the crowd contesting for the office of the President.

    Read Also: Buhari, governors meet over minimum wage

    In his words, “Nigerians should support Buhari for who he is, a man of uncommon integrity and honesty. He is a man that does whatever he says and does not believe in saying a thing and doing another. Nigerians should compare him with other persons without any form of bias and they will discover that he is poles ahead of them all in those qualities that define a true leader and democrat”.
    He however appealed to Nigerians to exercise patience with the Buhari’s administration, adding that he is laying the foundation for a strong and virile economy in the overall interest of Nigerians, “a journey of a thousand miles starts with a step, Rome was not built in a day. Those great economies you see today were not built overnight but through good policies and the right investments like what is happening in the agricultural sector will surely make our nation great, it is just a matter of time”.
    Nwosu who is the acclaimed winner of the October 6 governorship primary of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for Imo state, assured that the post primary crisis rocking the APC will not affect the chances of the Preaident in the election.
    He said, “we are United in our support for President Buhari’s reelection. We don’t have anything against the President, he is a man of integrity and is doing everything possible to resolve the crisis emanating from the party’s primary elections, which was mismanaged by the National Chairman,  Adams Oshiomole who was indiscriminately taking people’s mandate and given those who never won elections, like in my case, where he substituted my name, which we will not allow. But all of these does not affect our love and support for President Muhammadu Buhari. We are poised to working for him to return and there is no going back on that”.
    He also pointed out that the President has done well in the Southeast to merit the support of the Igbo, citing the second Niger Bridge, the Onitsha-Enugu road, the Owerri-ABA road, the Owerri-Port Harcourt road, among other projects executed by Buhari’s administration in the zone.

  • We will end Boko Haram activities, Says Buhari

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday assured that his administration is committed to bringing an end to Boko Haram activities in the northeast and further make all parts of the country safe for Nigerians to live peacefully with one another.

    President Buhari noted that the vision of his administration was anchored on building a stable and prosperous Nigeria that would be the pride of future generations, but added, that the vision cannot be achieved without peace, stability and security.

    The President made the remarks while declaring open the maiden edition of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) International Air Power Seminar holding at NAF Conference Centre, Kado, Abuja.

    The Seminar with the theme “Air Power in Irregular war: A Framework for Understanding and Responding” was being attending by Air Force Chiefs from the United Kingdom, France, Turkey, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Kenya, and South Africa among other countries.

    President Buhari said while there has been steady improvements in the security situation in the northeast, it is also important for the nation’s armed forces, particularly the Air Force to draw from the experiences of other armed force to defeat terrorism and insurgency in the country.

    Said he: “It is important to stress that there has been steady improvement in the security situation in the North East where the Boko Haram activities have been confined in recent times. We have denied them the ability to hold territory and the freedom of movement to operate at will and they now resort to skeletal attacks on soft targets.

    “Our thougths and prayers are always with the victims and families of the Boko Haram atrocities. We remain committed to ensuring that the crisis comes to an end, while making the North East and indeed all parts of Nigeria safe for all to live and prosper.

    Read Also: Troops kill two Boko Haram commanders

    ” Let me, as Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces once again assure the military that I will continue to ensure appropriate funding for our armed forces in order to enhance capacity building and deepen professionalism.”

    President Buhari described the theme of the Seminar as timely, noting that since the outbreak of the Boko Haram crisis in the northeast, the nation’s armed forces have been engaged in various operations that have challenged services’ doctrines, tactics, training, order of battle and force protection architecture.

    He said “Even though we require substantial military input in combating an insurgency, its root cause is inherently political in nature”.

    President Buhari told the gathering among whom were the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Abayomi Olonisakin, the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok Ete Ibas and Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris as well as the Minister of Defence, Mansur Dan Ali that “Successful counter-insurgency operations would therefore require unity of efforts across multiple Ministries, Departments and Agencies covering political, economic, law enforcement, intelligence and of course the military, in what is popularly called whole of the nation approach.

    “In this regard, we have mobilized relevant agencies and international organisations to support the counter-insurgency effort in order to ensure success”.

    The President commended the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar for initiating the seminar, saying the nation’s air force had over the years contributed immensely to ensure peace and security of the country.

    The President further said: “Our vision is to build a stable and prosperous Nigeria that would be the pride of future generations. It is however pertinent to note that this cannot be accomplished without peace, stability and security.

    ” Peace and stability can only be achieved if we are committed to emplacing reforms that will entrench true democracy in our polity. In the same vein reforms would be required to enable us build a virile economy that can support our aspirations

    “This administration is therefore committed to diversifying our economy. We have been partnering with other stronger economies to attract the much need Foreign Direct Investment. We are also looking at alternate means of generating electricity to power our industries and meet domestic demand.

    “I assure you all that a lot has been achieved in this regard and we are putting in more effort in order to achieve more. This is to ensure that we build an economically prosperous, politically stable, socially just and truly democratic Nigeria, where security of lives and property is guaranteed. “

  • Tashaku: I have been vindicated –Ortom

    Governor Samuel Ortom has said that he has been vindicated by the release of Alhaji Aliyu Tarshaku by security agents.

    Tashaku, a  Boko Haram suspect, was appointed head of Civilian Joint Task Force, and when anti- Open grazing Law was enacted, he became the head of Livestock Guards .

    His reign came to an end when he was arrested by a combined team of soldiers, DSS and Police  and arms and catchment of ammunitions recovered from him

    The governor who stated this during an interaction session with the media yesterday in Makurdi pointed out that up till the time of the media interactive; he had not received any briefing on circumstances that led to the release of the former head of Livestock Guards.

    He said it was a big lie to say he was using the Tashaku to kill the people he swore on oath to protects

    The governor directed the immediate renaming of the LGEA Primary School, Ogene -Amejo in Edumoga, Okpokwu Local Government Area of the state after the 13-year old Miss Ochanya Ogbanje was reportedly raped to death by her uncle and his son.

    He said the action was to immortalize the late Miss Ochanya considering the circumstances that led to her death.

    He further directed the State Universal Basic Education Board, SUBEB, to carry out massive renovation work on the primary school to accord it a befitting standard.

    Governor Ortom expressed the hope that when the Universal Basic Education Commission, UBEC, eventually releases its counterpart contribution to march the state government counterpart funding of N3.3 billion already deducted at source from the last tranche of Paris Club refund to the state, it would help to further improve infrastructure at the primary education level.

    He urged Benue people to keep faith with the PDP presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, whom he described as a man with the private sector background rich enough to take the nation to greater heights.

  • Troops kill two Boko Haram commanders

    The Army yesterday said its troops had killed two Boko Haram commanders and reclaimed some communities in the current clearance operations in Borno State.

    In its twitter handles, the Army also said the commanders, identified as Abu Rajal and Tuja Sa’inna Banki, were killed in the operation.

    “Recall that troops of 25 Task Force Brigade, Chibok and 28 Task Force Brigade, Damboa, embarked on Joint Clearance Operations from Gumsuri to Gambori in Borno State on November 9; they successfully cleared and liberated some villages.

    “Reports just reaching the Army headquarters confirmed that two high profile Boko Haram terrorists’ commanders, named Abu Rajal and Tuja Sa’inna Banki, were killed during the clearance operations,” it twitted.

    “The Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, hailed the gallant troops and urged them to carry out further incursions and clearance operations to ensure that the remnants of the insurgents were completely wiped out,” the Army said.

    Also yesterday, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said Boko Haram insurgents on a robbery mission on Saturday night at Bale Shuwa village in Jere Local Government Area of Borno State stole cows, sheep and goats.

    A statement in Maiduguri, the state capital, by NEMA’s Northeast Zonal Coordinator Bashir Garga said: “Suspected Boko Haram insurgents attacked Bale-Shuwa village in Jere Local Government Area at 7.30 p.m on Saturday.

    “One disabled person was allegedly killed and 65 houses were burnt, while 200 cows, 300 sheep and goats were carted away.”

    Garga said those wounded in the attack were treated, adding that humanitarian needs assessment was being conducted to ensure mobilisation of immediate relief assistance to the victims.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that normalcy has been restored in the area as people who earlier fled the communities returned to their homes after the military repelled the insurgents’ attack.

  • Air Force kills scores of Boko Haram insurgents

    The Nigerian Air Force said yesterday that scores of Boko Haram terrorists have been neutralised in the northern axis of Borno State.

    The spokesman of the Air Force, Air Commodore Ibikunle Daramola, said air interdictions were conducted against the terrorists as they moved from the fringes of Lake Chad to another area.

    Daramola said in a statement that the air strikes were carried out against the terrorists after intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance platform had established their presence in the area.

    “The Air Task Force (ATF) of Operation LAFIYA DOLE has neutralised several Boko Haram Terrorists (BHTs) in air strikes conducted yesterday, 9 November 2018, at Talala in Borno State.

    “The operation was carried out following credible intelligence reports indicating that the BHTs appeared to have relocated some of their fighters from the fringes of Lake Chad in Northern Borno to establish new camps along the Talala-Ajigin-Buk axis of the state.

    “Accordingly, following series of Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance missions which confirmed the presence of significant number of BHT fighters residing in makeshift shelters, camouflaged under thick vegetation on the outskirts of Talala, the ATF dispatched 2 Nigerian Air Force (NAF) Alpha Jet aircraft to attack the camp in multiple waves, leading to destruction of some of the structures and killing of several BHTs.

    “The NAF, working in concert with surface forces, will sustain the tempo of operations in order to destroy all remnants of the terrorists in Borno State,” the Air Force said.

  • ‘Why Buhari cannot stay away from peace forum in Paris’

    The Presidency on Friday night gave reasons why it is important for President Muhammadu Buhari to attend the Peace Forum in France.

    Speaking with journalists on arrival in Paris, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and publicity, Femi Adesina, said that Nigeria cannot afford to stay away from the forum as it has its own share of negative impact of insurgency.

    According to him, it is better for President Buhari to join other world leaders to find a common front and solutions to the incidences of bloodshed, insurgencies, and rebellions ravaging the world.

    He said “Well the world has seen too much of war, it has seen too much of bloodshed, too much of insurgency, has seen rebellions, has seen too much lost of lives in many millions.

    “In Nigeria, we know the Boko Haram insurgency, we have ISIS, we have Taliban, and these things are all over the world.

    “So, if world leaders will gather to celebrate peace, I think it’s a refreshing thing. And coincidentally, it’s coming at a time the world is cerebrating 100 years after the end of the first world war. So it’s very significant for the world to celebrate peace instead of war.” he said

    On what Nigeria intends to take away from this forum, he said “Nigeria is part of the global community and Nigeria needs peace just like other countries of the world.

    Read Also: Buhari leads Nigeria delegation to Paris Peace Forum

    “So, it is not unlikely that here they are going to talk about the theaters of wars, insurgencies, and unrest all over the world. They will form a common front and common solution.

    “So it is very important for Nigeria to be here, Nigeria needs peace.” the spokesman added

    With the President scheduled to meet the Nigerian community in France on Monday, he said that the issue of the up coming general elections in Nigeria may dominate the discussions.

    “Well at a time Nigeria is about to go to the polls, I’m sure he is going to assure them that it will be free, it will be fair, and it will be peaceful.” he stated