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Tag: boko haram

  • Anglican primate to FG: Don’t forget other Chibok Girls, Leah Sharibu

    The Primate of The Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, the Most Reverend Nicholas Okoh has reminded the Federal Government not to forget Leah Sharibu and the remaining Chibok girls who are still in Boko Haram captivity.

    He who noted the dwindling attention and less mention being paid to these captured girls stressed on the need for government to make more effort to get the girls released adding that inability to do this would mark a black spot in the history of the administration.

    The Primate said this while presenting his opening address to the Standing Committee of The Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion at St. Peter’s Cathedral Church in Minna.

    Read Also:Army tightens noose on Boko Haram terrorists, says Buratai

    The Primate lamented that the Boko Haram sect are becoming more daring and desperate as the group have implacably sworn to destroy Nigeria unless their interest and interest of their sponsored are destroyed urging government to take its stand against them and the rising scourge of Fulani herdsmen.

    “No sacrifice is too much to get these girls released. In the interest of democracy, freedom of religion and national cohesion, sufficient effort should be made to bring their ordeal and that of their parents and families to an end. ”

    Speaking on the 2019 elections, the Clergyman urged INEC to remain unbiased umpire know the receipt that will determine the nation’s destiny, “Whatever disenfranchise any Nigerian should not come from INEC and should be avoided at all.”

    He politicians to make reasonable promises that can be met w saying, “Nigerians are still yearning for dividends of democracy as promised Nigerians, therefore, new promises should be weighed against the background of available resources to ensure delivery.”

    Okay noted that the ‘Not too Young to Run Bill’ which was heralded with so much zeal is not going to solve Nigeria’s problems automatically as the brand of politics has over the years not been run by ideas and ideals, rather, it has been driven by personality and money.

    He called on the Church to preserve the nation from moral corruption and work against all forms of vices adding that if the injustice, corruption, oppression, marginalization, lies, selfishness, greed, dishonesty found in the society is allowed within the church and practiced and promoted by Christians, the church would be living below expectation.

    “The practice of receiving so much money from public funds for little or nothing and living flamboyant lifestyle at the expense of the poker masses cannot continue if we must develop as a nation. The citizens must be made to know that hard work pays and to imbibe the culture of happily living within their means.”

    Over 163 Bishops, 122 Clergy and 79 delegates from across Nigeria are attending the Standing Committee in Minna, Niger state.

  • NAF destroys Boko Haram vehicles

    The Nigerian Air Force says the Air Task Force (ATF) of Operation LAFIYA DOLE, has tracked and destroyed some Boko Haram Terrorists (BHT) vehicles as they were attempting to launch fresh attacks on ground troops locations at Gudumbali and Damasak in Borno.

    Air Commodore Ibikunle Daramola, NAF Director of Public Relations and Information, who disclosed this in a statement on Saturday in Abuja, said that the operation was carried out early morning of Saturday.

    He explained that the mission was initiated following intelligence reports indicating that a convoy of BHT vehicles had been sighted within the Damasak – Gudumbali Axis.

    ” Accordingly, a Nigerian Air Force (NAF) Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) platform was dispatched to search for and locate the convoy of vehicles.

    ” The ISR aircraft spotted vehicles at a location 24 Km SW of Gudumbali heading in a Northwards direction. Consequently, a helicopter gunship was scrambled to attack the convoy.

    “The helicopter arrived the location and was vectored to the position of the vehicles, which, at the time, were about midway between Nigerian Army (NA) locations at Metele and Arege.

    ” Following communications with ground troops, the BHT vehicles were positively identified, isolated and attacked by the helicopter gunship in successive strikes.

    Daramola said that in the process, 4 of the vehicles were immobilized and their occupants neutralised.

    ” The ISR aircraft continued to track the remaining 5 vehicles, which initially dispersed but later regrouped and continued their retreat to Tumbun Rego.

    ” They were subsequently attacked at their harbour location by the freshly rearmed helicopter gunship; with 3 direct hits recorded on the vehicles,” he said.

    He said that a follow-up attack on the newly discovered insurgents’ logistics base in Tumbun Rego was conducted by 2 Alpha Jet aircraft later in the morning of Saturday.

    ” The makeshift buildings and other facilities in the base were accordingly destroyed in the air strike.”

  • Why Buhari must be re-elected – Borno APC aspirant

    The re-election of President Muhammadu Buhari in the 2019 Presidential election would ensure the permanent return of peace to Borno State and the North East region, a governorship aspirant under the platform of All Progressives Congress (APC) from Borno has said.

    Mamman Idris, after the submission of his Nomination and Expression of Interest forms at the National Secretariat of the party in Abuja, said the re-election of President Buhari would bring the needed peace necessary for the economic revival of the region.

    Idris said: “We have to build on the success of Mr. President on  the degradation of Boko Haram due to the leadership drive of President Buhari. It is our  believe that if Mr. President is re-elected for the second term, Boko Haram will be completely eliminated and the peace that Borno used to enjoy will be restored.

    “Invariably, the booming economy that Borno used to enjoy will be also restored. So it is our prayers and wish that Mr. President is re-elected so that he can compete the good job he started in Borno and the Northeast region”.

    Idris, who expressed gratitude to Northern Borno elders for supporting the aspiration of the Southern Borno for the governorship seat noted that the gesture has dispelled insinuation of marginalization and the quest of the State for decentralization of political power.

    Idris, from Southern Borno enjoyed the support of Northern Borno, who purchased the Nomination and Expression of Interest form for him.

    Read Also: Buhari pushes for ECOWAS single currency

    He said: “I am overwhelmed and humbled by this gesture whereby my Northern Borno elder were the ones that procure the Nomination form me, from Southern Borno.

    “In reality, Southern Borno has not produced a governor whereas both North and Central Borno have produced governors three times. So, this show of solidarity is significant in the history of our State because it has never happened before.

    “This show of solidarity has placed on us a responsibility to have an all-inclusive government. We cannot afford to do otherwise because so much faith has been imposed on us by the majority that has shown us this huge level of support”.

    The aspirant said with a 180-page road-map for his governorship tenure, return and sustenance of peace, as well as revival of Borno economy through agriculture and industries would be his priority, “We have to ensure that the people return to the land for agriculture.

    “The people have suffered from years of insurgency that displaced them, so we have to implement the road-map to the letter so that the people can return to the land, get back their dignity, reintegrate them, sustain peace and reconstruct Borno.

    “People come from far an near, even outside the country to come and trade in Borno, but insurgency disrupted everything, so we have to deliberately plan and execute policies that will bring back Borno,” Idris added.

  • Insurgency: Octogenarians group commends Buhari

    The ongoing war against insurgency took an emotional twist on Friday after a group of octogenarians took to the streets of Lagos to commend President Muhammadu Buhari for decimating the Boko Haram insurgency.
    The groups during a rally which kick-started from freedom park in Lagos and ended at Alausa Govt House witnessed thousands of the elderly Nigerians paying glowing tributes to the Nigerian Army and it’s leadership.
    Addressing the rally, National President,
    Southwest Veterans And Concerned Patriotic Elders’s (SouthWest-V &PE), Elder Johnson Adebayo said President Buhari has liberated several communities held by the insurgency in same manner of the Biblical Moses liberated the Israelites from their Egyptian captors.
    He said, “We have seen a repeat of Moses’s leadership of the Israelites in their most difficult times, reflected in the present leadership of our cherished country Nigeria, by President Muhammadu Buhari. He has played the role of the Chief armour bearer of the defeat of  the enemies of Nigeria, as directed by God.
    “The idea of this elaborate, a thousand-man rally march from us, Nigerians of septuagenarian and octogenarian ages is to drum support for President Buhari’s rewarding leadership. It is also our token of open appreciation of the Nigerian Military for their courageous demystification of the formerly deified Boko Haram insurgents.”

    Read also: Buhari names new DG DSS

    Elder Adebayo  also expressed joy in the various reforms introduced by the President, stressing that the sanitizing reforms launched by President Buhari have reduced corruption in the public service to its barest minimum.
    He said, “it has  erased the bottlenecks strewn on the path of elderly citizens of this great nation in accessing their retirement entitlements.
    “Our President is leading Nigeria on a progressive path in many ways. Some of us are proud beneficiaries of his welfare schemes like the Conditional Cash Transfers to the elderly and less privileged Nigerians under his Social Investment Programme.
    “The school feeding programme for our children in primary schools across the federation is another unquantifiable assistance to the elderly, which has lifted the burden of searching our pockets and bags every morning to find feeding money for our school children.”
    According to him, “we cannot overlook President Buhari’s resuscitation of collapsed infrastructure in the country. The railway is back;  our refineries are back; textile and automobile industries  are brimming with life now.  Youths are being empowered through N-Power jobs and dilapidated roads,  we never dreamt of seeing their rehabilitation in our lifetime have come to reality.  We travel on it, but our old and tired bones do not get cracking with ache.”
    He also commended the Service Chiefs for their splendid day to day leadership of the military, resulting in the spectacular job of defeating Boko Haram terrorists in Nigeria.

  • NAF neutralises Boko Haram vehicle, fighters in Borno

    The Nigerian Air Force says the the Air Task Force (ATF) of Operation LAFIYA DOLE has destroyed a Boko Haram vehicle and neutralised scores of the insurgents at Tumbun Rego on the fringes of Lake Chad in Borno.

    Air Commodore Ibikunle Daramola, NAF Director of Public Relations and Information, who disclosed this in a statement on Thursday in Abuja, said that the operation was carried out on Wednesday.

    “As Operation THUNDER STRIKE 2 entered the tenth day, Sept. 12, the Air Task Force (ATF) of Operation LAFIYA DOLE has recorded significant successes against Boko Haram Terrorists (BHT) in air raids conducted at Tumbun Rego on the fringes of Lake Chad in Borno State.

    ” The attacks were conducted in successive waves, involving Nigerian Air Force (NAF) F-7Ni and Alpha Jet combat aircraft.

    ” As well as Mi-35M Helicopter Gunships supported by Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) platforms.resulting in the destruction of a BHT vehicle and neutralization of scores of insurgents.

    ” Characteristic of the insurgents’ tactics, the BHT fighters were initially well camouflaged under foliage and inside abandoned buildings within the settlement.

    ” However, timely intelligence enabled the ISR platforms to track and locate one of the BHT vehicles as it was entering the settlement,” he said.

    Daramola said that the vehicle was engaged and destroyed by the attack aircraft.

    ” Subsequent waves of attack targeted the scores of insurgents that emerged from their hiding places after the attack on the vehicle. These were engaged in turns by the attack aircraft and neutralised,” he said.

    In another development, Daramola said the ATF conducted several ISR and Close Air Support missions throughout the night of 12 and early morning of Sept.13, in support of troops of the 145 Nigerian Army Battalion, ensuring that the BHTs’ attack at Damasak was thwarted.

    He said the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, was in Maiduguri Sept.13 to again assess progress of the operation as well as boost the morale of the frontline troops.

    The NAF spokesman said Abubakar seized the opportunity to commend the Command and personnel of the ATF for their efforts.

    He said the CAS also urged them to sustain the momentum of operations with a view to locating and destroying all remnants of the insurgents within the fringes of Lake Chad and other areas in Northern Borno.(NAN)

  • SSANU to Military: Go back to the drawing board to defeat Boko Haram

    Non-teaching staff of Nigerian Universities under the auspices of Senior Staff Association of Nigerian University (SSANU) has asked security agencies in the country to go back to the drawing board and faction out modalities of defeating Boko Haram.

    Speaking at the National Executive Council meeting of the Association, National President of the Union, Comrade Samson Ugokwe also warned the Federal Government not to push Nigerian workers to the wall on the issue of the new National minimum wage, saying the consequences of doing that will be perilous.

    Ugokwe told security agencies in the country to stop in-fighting among themselves and go back to the drawing board to fight the Boko Haram insurgents that have recently unleashed onslaught on the military and civilians in Borno State.

    He said that current reports did not show that Boko Haram has been decimated as claimed by government.

    “the military should go back to the drawing board, they should work together as the in-fighting among the security agencies cannot help in the fight against insurgency. Budget for the Defence should be well utilized and should not be used to drive big cars by security agents.”

    “SSANU condemned the use of security agencies by the executive arm of government against the legislative arm, describing such action as “a threat to our democracy.”

    Read Also: War against Boko Haram is winnable, says Ndume

    Ugwoke regretted the Federal Government’s unwillingness to come up with new minimum wage despite its promise, saying “We warm the Federal Government not to push labour to the wall. When it comes to the welfare of workers, they start being economical, but when it comes to election, they easily dish out money to buy votes.”

    He also advised the executive arm of government to respect the rule of law and abide by court judgements, adding that the rule of law is the bedrock of democracy which should be respected.

    On the 2019 general elections, he said the way politicians were going about the political process was frightening and urged politicians to play according to the rules in order not to bring back the military.

    The SSANU President who is also Chairman of Joint Action Committee, JAC, of the three non teaching staff unions of the universities disclosed that the Federal Government has released N8 billion Earned Allowances to the unions and that the leadership of the unions would soon meet to come up with sharing formular.

  • War against Boko Haram is winnable, says Ndume

    …Praises Army for relocating base to Gudumbali

     

    A former Senate Leader, Sen. Ali Ndume on Thursday said the war against Boko Haram is winnable at the rate at which the military is going.

    He also praised the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.Gen. Tukur Buratai for relocating the operational headquarters of the Nigerian Army to Gudumbali in Guzamala Local Government Area of Borno State.

    He advised the military to sustain its campaign to take the battle to the insurgents on Mandara Mountains where Boko Haram members are hiding.

    Ndume, who spoke with newsmen in Abuja, pleaded with the people of Borno State not to panic.

    He said: “So far, I believe the war against Boko Haram is winnable by Nigerian military. The troops have adopted the strategy of taking the battle to the insurgents and with this development; the war will soon be over.

    “If the military can sustain the offensive, they can win the war within a short time.
    He said there were indications that the “ insurgents are trapped in Mandara Mountains from where they sneaked out in the afternoon and night to look for maize and other foodstuffs from innocent villagers.

    “The troops should continue to do their best to fish them out on Mandara Mountains.”
    Ndume commended the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.Gen. Tukur Buratai for relocating the operational headquarters of the Nigerian Army to Gudumbali

    He added: “The prompt response to the attack on Gudumbali and the repelling of the insurgents by the military have shown that we are capable of overcoming the Boko Haram insurgency
    “It is heartwarming that the Nigerian Army has also relocated its operational headquarters to Gudumbali in response to the escalation of attacks by the insurgents.
    “We are hoping that other security agencies will emulate and cooperate with the Nigerian Army in order to bring this issue of insurgency to an end.”

    He pleaded with the people of Borno State to assist the military with intelligence and other information to win the war against insurgency.

    “My advice to our people is not to panic and cooperate with the Nigerian Army in order to get the necessary information to curtail Boko Haram insurgents.”

  • Troops Kill Scores of Boko Haram Members in Damasak, Restore Order

    The Nigerian Army on Thursday said scores of Boko Haram insurgents who attack troops of 145 Battalion in Damasak, Borno state, were killed by gallant troops after a fierce battle.

    The Army Director of Public Relations, Brig. Gen Texas Chukwu, in a stament issued in Abuja said

    “The troops engaged and subdued the terrorists following a superior fire power of troops in Damasak”.

    According to him “The troops aggressive posture, tactics and marksmanship resulted in neutralizing many Boko Haram Terrorists”.

    Brig. Gen Chukwu debunked social media reports that Boko Haram captured Damasak 24 hours after the visit of the Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen. Tukur Buratai to the area.

    The Army spokesperson said: “The Nigerian Army wishes to state categorically that the claim is not only untrue but capable of misleading members of the general public and the world at large.

    “In the said story, the report stated inter alia that, Damasak is the location of 134 Battalion. The Nigerian Army wishes to state that, there was no such battalion in Damasak.

    Read Also: Boko Haram repelled in attack on Borno town

    “The Nigerian Army earlier released a statement that, troops of 145 Battalion in DAMASAK, Borno State are engaging Boko Haram Terrorists who came to attack their location at about 6pm on 12 September 2018.The statement also stated that “fierce battle on going right now and the troops are dealing with the terrorists.

    “The troops engaged and subdued the terrorists following a superior fire power of troops in DAMASAK. The troops aggressive posture, tactics and marksmanship resulted in neutralizing many Boko Haram Terrorists.

    “Consequently, the Nigerian Army wishes to state that the fight against Boko Haram Terrorists in the North Eastern parts of the country is yielding positive result.

    “The Nigerian Army therefore advised members of the public particularly residents of the affected areas to go about their legitimate businesses and disregard the said report, as the Nigerian Army will continue to protect lives and property of citizens at all times.

    “The Nigerian Army also calls on the media to always exercise caution, verify facts as well as balance their reports before rushing to the press to avoid misinforming the public on sensitive issues.”

  • Army pledges to defend Nigeria – Buratai

    Damasak, the location of 145 Batallion of the Nigerian Army remained calm on Thursday after troops inflicted heavy casualty on the Boko Haram terrorists.

    The insurgents attack the location on Wednesday at about 6p. m. but withdrew about 11p. m. following superior fire power of the troops.

    In the last 24 hours, the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai has been in the North-East monitoring ongoing operations.

    He visited Damask on Tuesday and proceeded to Gudumbali, where the terrorists attacked troops locations on Friday.

    Buratai vowed that the military will continue to defend the country and protect its people against attacks, whether external or internal.

    He said such incident would not deter the military as it was common in counter insurgency and counter terrorism operations.

    Already, the army chief said the Operation Lafiya Dole, coordinating the counter insurgency operations in the North-East was being reorganised and reinvigorated to address identified challenges.

    He said this was part of strategies being adopted to prevent recurrence of such attack

    The insurgents, which attacked military locations in around the town, were believed to belong to the faction led by Al Barnawi, which had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State in West Africa or ISWA.

    However, a Correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), who was on the motorcade of the army chief observed that contrary to media publication, the terrorists did not touch any structure in the town, except one troops’ location.

    According to some residents of Gudumbali, who turned out in large numbers to welcome the army chief, the terrorists stormed the town at about 4p. m. on Friday and began to extort money from market women and loot food items.

    NAN also gathered that the troops immediately engaged the attackers, but beat a tactical withdrawal before regrouping to repell them.

    Mrs Zainab Wakil, a resident, explained that they came at a time when the community market which holds on every Friday was still in session.

    “They – terrorists did not attack us, but extort money from us and ordered us to stop trading. We left our wares and ran into the bush.

    “We were in the bush until Saturday morning. We came out after we noticed that soldiers, who withdrew had came out to chase away the insurgents,” she said.

    Wakil maintained that the Boko Haram terrorists did not attack or kill any of the villagers before they fled at about 1a. m. on Saturday.

    Mr Kachala Aliyu, another resident of Gudumbali, also told newsmen that the insurgents did not kill anybody in the town.

    Aliyu said that after extorting money and looted food stuff from the traders and disrupted trading in the market, they went straight to the troops’ location.

    Read Also: Army, Police caution IPOB over sit-at-home order

    Unlike the faction led by Abubakar Shekau, the Al Barnawi faction of the Boko Haram group targets the military and its locations in its attacks, not civilians.

    In the heat of the insurgency in 2014, the terrorists attacked troops in Gudumbali, where the army suffered heavy casualties, and razed the community. It was recaptured in 2015.

    The army had set up a cenotaph in the community, which was inaugurated by the Chief of Army staff in July, to immortalise officers and soldiers, who paid the supreme price in the fight to liberate Gudumbali.

    Residents of the town, who were displaced since 2014 began to return to the farming community in June after the army launched: “Operation Last Hold” in May.

    The exercise was designed to facilitate the return of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Borno North and Lake Chad Basin, to their ancestral homes.

    Gudumbali is located at about over 250km of Northern Borno, but just 25km to Niger Republic.

  • Breaking: Army, Boko Haram in heavy gun battle in Damasak

    Damasak Local Government Area of Borno state is currently under crossfire between Nigerian soldiers and Boko Haram fighters.
    The battle is raging at the time of filing the report.
    A competent Militatry source, told NAN that the military and the terrorists were currently engaging in a heavy gun battle.
    He said that the insurgents stormed the town to attack a military formation in the evening but they met stiff resistance from troops.
    Reacting, Brig.-Gen. Texas Chukwu, who comfirmed the attack to NAN through text message, said the troops were dealing with the terrorists.
    Chukwu said that ” Troops of 145 Bn in Damasak, Borno State are engaging Boko Haram Terrorists who came to attack their location at about 6 p.m. this evening.
    “Fierce battle is on going right now. The troops are dealing with the terrorists.
    Details later…