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Tag: boko haram

  • Boko Haram: Troops kill 1, repell Borno attack

    Boko Haram: Troops kill 1, repell Borno attack

    The Nigerian Army on Saturday said it had killed one Boko Haram member after repelling an attack by the insurgents at Bocos village in Bama Local Government Area, Borno State.

    Lt. Col. Kingsley Samuel, the Deputy Director, Army Public Relations, 7 Division, said this in a statement issued on Saturday in Maiduguri.

    Samuel explained that troops ambushed a group of the insurgents while trying to cross Banki Junction along Bama road on Friday.

    He said that the troops killed one insurgent and many others escaped with gun shots, adding that a number of items including foodstuff were recovered from them.

    Samuel disclosed that the troops also repelled another attack by the insurgents at a security outpost in Bama general area.

    He added that one police officer and a female displaced person were killed in the attack.

    “The Nigerian Army Mobile Strike Teams (MSTs) of Operation LAFIYA DOLE at about 6:00 pm on Friday, 29th September 2017 laid ambush on Boko Haram terrorists crossing Bocobs village along Banki Junction, Bama Road in Bama Local Government Area of Borno State.

    “The troops sprang on the unsuspecting terrorists and neutralized one of them while several others escaped with gun shots wounds.

    ”The troops recovered several items including three bicycles, five Jerry cans and two bags of maize.

    “On the same day at about 7: 00 p.m. troops of 202 Battalion of 21 Brigade successfully repelled insurgents attack on an outpost within Bama general area.

    “Unfortunately a police personnel was killed in action while a female Internally Displaced Person (IDP) was hit by a stray bullet,” Samuel said.

    According to him, the Commander of 21 Brigade on Saturday visited the scenes of the attack, attended the burial of the deceased IDP and commiserated with the IDP community.

  • Boko Haram: Nigeria, 3 others to get $54m U.S aid

    Boko Haram: Nigeria, 3 others to get $54m U.S aid

    The U.S. Government has announced 54 million dollars in addition to humanitarian assistance to Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad and the four countries affected by the Boko Haram violence.

    U.S. Under Secretary for Political Affairs, Mr Thomas Shannon jr, disclosed this at a symposium on Nigeria tagged ‘Nigeria: Challenges and Prospects for Advancing Durable Peace, organised by the U.S. Institute of Peace, Washington, D.C.

    Shannon said that the U.S. Government’s humanitarian assistance to the four countries totalled about 700 million dollars  since 2015

    He said: “On security issues, Nigeria is an important leader and partner in the Lake Chad Basin, collaborating with its neighbors to defeat the scourge of Boko Haram and ISIS-West Africa.

    “The United States supports this and other efforts to bring security and stability to citizens affected by violence.

    “At the United Nations last week, the U.S. government announced $54 million in additional humanitarian assistance for the Lake Chad region, bringing the total to almost $700 million over the past two years”.

    According to the U.S. envoy, while humanitarian support is an immediate necessity, it cannot be a long-term solution.

    “When Nigeria’s northern governors came to this institution in late 2016, the clear consensus was that addressing the war and poverty plaguing northeast Nigeria required robust initiatives for education, reconciliation and political inclusion.

    “I am pleased the working group here today is bringing together your collective years of experience as spiritual leaders, military commanders, journalists, election officials, human rights advocates and educators to develop strategies to address these enduring challenges.

    “The United States is proud to be your partner in these vital efforts,” he said.

    “Your work to defuse conflicts over a range of issues, from elections to land use, inspires us all,” Shannon commended.

    He recalled his bilateral meeting with Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Geoffrey Onyeama on the sidelines of the 72nd UN General Assembly last week, saying they had robust engagements about the Boko Haram crisis and other pressing issues.

    Shannon said: “My meeting with the Nigerian Foreign Minister last week was a great opportunity to learn more about what else the Nigerian government is trying to accomplish on the security front.

    “It is clear to me that Nigeria is well aware that the fight against terrorism will be won not only by the military’s conduct on the battlefield, but also by its conduct off the field.

    “Nigeria understands that human rights abuses and impunity tarnish its international reputation, undermine the trust of its citizens, impede counterterrorism efforts, and ultimately hinder our ability to fully partner with Nigeria.”

    According to him, however, a military response alone will not lead to sustained peace in the Northeast.

    “A holistic response is required. One that sets the conditions for the safe return of refugees and displaced persons.

    He commended the Institute and the Senior Working Group for their dedication and determination to create a more peaceful and prosperous Nigeria.

  • Boko Haram lunches fresh attack on Bama

    Boko Haram lunches fresh attack on Bama

    …set military base ablaze, kill one mopol

     

     

    Barely one week after some Internally Displaced People from Bama staged a protest to return to their town but were prevented by security agents, Boko Haram insurgents Saturday lunched a fresh attack on ancient city.

    An impeccable security source told our correspondent that the insurgents came in the evening of Friday and lunched a dastardly attack on a Military/Nigeria Police Force joint guard location in the town.

    The source disclosed that a police sergeant was killed as the base was set ablaze by the daring insurgents. The source also added that the insurgents took away an AK47 rifle.

    Details of the casualty from the military source is yet to be ascertained.

    The Nation recalls that Bama is one of the town that was worse hit by the Boko Haram insurgents. It was also one of the towns in Borno State that was completely taken over by the insurgents by it was liberated in 2015.

  • Army kills 2 Boko Haram food suppliers

    Army kills 2 Boko Haram food suppliers

    The army said yesterday that its men have killed two suspected  Boko Haram food and logistics suppliers.

    The suspects were ambushed and killed at Malamti village in Guzamala Local Government Council of Borno State,according to the  Deputy Director, Army Publication Relations, 8 Division, Col. Timothy Antigha.

    Antigha said in a statement in Maiduguri that  food items, consumables and animals were recovered from the scene.

    He said troops of the 242 Battalion of 8 Task Force Division had intensified campaign to deny the remnants of Boko Haram terrorists in the Lake Chad Basin freedom of action and access to logistics within its area of responsibility.

    His words: “At about 3.00 a.m. on Thursday, troops responding to a distress call, intercepted terrorists mounted on 14 horses in Malamti village, Guzamala Local Government Area of Bornu State. “The troops killed two terrorists; recovered two AK-47 riffles, three magazines, 26 rounds of 7.26 mm ammunition and one hand grenade from the insurgents.

    “Other items include 18 mobile phones, three mini solar panels, soaps, detergents, bundles of assorted clothes and 8 horses. “Unfortunately, two soldiers sustained injuries during the engagement and are currently receiving medical attention.”

  • Cameroon: Dabiri-Erewa condemns deportation of Nigerians

    Cameroon: Dabiri-Erewa condemns deportation of Nigerians

    The Senior Special Assistant to the President on  Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, Mrs Abike Dabiri-Erewa, says alleged forced deportation of over 100,000 Nigerians by Cameroonian military is worrisome.

    In a statement by her Media Assistant, Abdul-Rahman Balogun, she decried the “inhuman treatment’’ meted to Nigerian asylum seekers, who were affected by Boko Haram insurgency in the North-East.

    Dabiri-Erewa noted that in spite of the friendly disposition between both countries, Cameroon allegedly forced Nigerians to leave.

    She said that Cameroon should heed the UN’s call on all countries to protect refugees fleeing the carnage in the North-East of Nigeria and not to return them there.

    “This unfriendly attitude of the Cameroonian soldiers to Nigerian asylum seekers is really worrisome,’’ Dabiri-Erewa stressed.

    She appealed to Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and other West African regional groups to prevail on Cameroon to be “their brothers’ keeper in a situation like this’.’

    She said that deportations, according to Human Rights Watch, defied UN refugee agency’s plea not to return anyone to North-East of Nigeria until the security and human rights situation had improved considerably.

    The presidential aide said that a 55-page Human Rights report entitled “They Forced Us onto Trucks like Animals: Cameroon’s Mass Forced Return and Abuse of Nigerian Refugees,” condemned the act.

    The report, according to her, states that since early 2015, Cameroonian soldiers had tortured, assaulted, and sexually exploited Nigerian asylum seekers in remote border areas.

    She said that the report added that the soldiers also denied the Nigerians access to the UN refugee agency, and summarily deported, often violently, tens of thousands to Nigeria.

    “It also documents violence, poor conditions and unlawful movement restrictions in Cameroon’s only official camp for Nigerian refugees as well as conditions recent returnees face in Nigeria,’’ she said.

    Dabiri-Erewa said that Cameroon’s forced returns breached UN principles, which prohibited the forceful return of refugees and asylum seekers to persecution and, under regional standards in Africa, to situations of generalised violence such as in Nigeria’s North-East.

  • Army kills 2 Boko Haram food suppliers in Borno

    Army kills 2 Boko Haram food suppliers in Borno

    The army said Friday that its men have killed two suspected Boko Haram food and logistics suppliers.

    The suspects were ambushed and killed at Malamti village in Guzamala Local Government Council of Borno State, according to the  Deputy Director, Army Publication Relations, 8 Division,Col. Timothy Antigha.

    Antigha said in a statement in Maiduguri that food items, consumables and animals were recovered from the scene

    He said troops of the 242 Battalion of 8 Task Force Division had intensified campaign to deny the remnants of Boko Haram terrorists in the Lake Chad Basin freedom of action and access to logistics within its area of responsibility.

    His words:“At about 3.00 a.m. on Thursday, troops responding to a distress call, intercepted terrorists mounted on 14 horses in Malamti village, Guzamala Local Government Area of Bornu State. “The troops killed two terrorists; recovered two AK-47 riffles, three magazines, 26 rounds of 7.26 mm ammunition and one hand grenade from the insurgents.

    “Other items include 18 mobile phones, three mini solar panels, soaps, detergents, bundles of assorted clothes and 8 horses. “Unfortunately, two soldiers who sustained injuries during the engagement are currently receiving medical attention.”

  • Boko Haram: Three million kids out of school in Northeast – UNICEF

    Boko Haram: Three million kids out of school in Northeast – UNICEF

    The Boko Haram insurgency in the Northeast has forced the closure of more than 57 percent of schools in Borno State, leaving about three million children without an education as the school year begins, the United Nations Children’s Fund said on Friday.

    “Children in northeast Nigeria are living through so much horror,” said Justin Forsyth, UNICEF’s Deputy Executive Director, at the end of a three-day visit to Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.

    “In addition to devastating malnutrition, violence and an outbreak of cholera, the attacks on schools is in danger of creating a lost generation of children, threatening their and the country’s future.

    “Even though the first task is to save children’s lives from pneumonia, diarrhea and malnutrition, we also want to make sure children keep learning and get back to school.”

    Some 10.5 million children are out of school throughout Nigeria, he said, but the insurgency has affected Borno State most acutely.

    Nearly 2,300 teachers have been killed in the Northeast since 2009 by Boko Haram.

    “Even in the midst of conflict we need to make sure that children keep learning. It helps them overcome trauma,” he said, adding that many children there have been kidnapped and experienced violence.

    Two young boys told him about being kidnapped, watching people be killed and being forced to work for Boko Haram under threat of beatings and abuse.

    “These boys are deeply traumatized. They are being supported to overcome that situation, and when asked what they most wanted, they both said to me they wanted to go to school,” he said.

    The eight-year insurgency has claimed more than 20,000 lives  in the Lake Chad region, and displaced more than 2.3 million. Casualties have doubled in the past five months in Borno and Adamawa States because of increased suicide bombings, many carried out by young girls, Amnesty International has said.

    “The use of children as human bombs — close to 100 so far this year — has sown a climate of mistrust among communities in the Northeast,” the UN agency said.

    UNICEF has been able to enroll nearly 750,000 children in school this year in northern Nigeria, it said, establishing more than 350 temporary learning spaces.

     

     

  • 3m children need emergency education support in N/East – UNICEF

    3m children need emergency education support in N/East – UNICEF

    The United Nations Children’s Fund ( UNICEF ) said over 57 per cent of schools in Borno remained closed, in spite the new school year, due to the Boko Haram insurgency in North-East Nigeria.

    A statement signed by UNICEF, Abuja, Chief of Communications, Ms Doune Porter, on Friday said as a result, an estimated three million children were in need of emergency education support.

    “Since 2009, across the North-East, over 2,295 teachers have been killed and 19,000 displaced.

    “Almost 1,400 schools have been destroyed with the majority unable to open because of extensive damage or because they are in areas that remain unsafe, “ Porter.

    Porter quoted the Deputy Executive Director, UNICEF, Mr Justin Forsyth, who said, “Children in North-East Nigeria are living through so much horror.

    “In addition to devastating malnutrition, violence and an outbreak of cholera, the attacks on schools is in danger of creating a lost generation of children.’’

    She, however, stated that UNICEF was working with partners to rehabilitate schools as well as training teachers, to build a stronger education system for the future.
    According to Porter, some children living in camps for the displaced in Borno are actually benefiting from education for the first time in their lives.

    “In the Muna Garage camp on the outskirts of Maiduguri, for example, an estimated 90 per cent of students are enrolled in school for the first time.

    “In the three most-affected states of North-East Nigeria, UNICEF and partners have enrolled nearly 750,000 children in school this year.

    “Also, we are establishing over 350 temporary learning spaces, and distributing almost 94,000 packs of learning materials that will help children to get education, “ she said.

    “The use of children as human bombs, close to 100 so far in 2017, has sown a climate of mistrust among communities in the North-East.

    “Also, cholera outbreak has affected more than 3,900 people, including over 2450 children. “

    According to her, UNICEF’s life-saving emergency programmes in the region, however, remains underfunded.

    The Chief of Communications noted that with only three months left in the year, UNICEF had a 40 per cent finding gap in its needs for 2017.

  • Police capture Boko Haram commander in Ondo

    Police capture Boko Haram commander in Ondo

    The military authorities announced yesterday that a highly placed target in the Boko Haram war had been captured by the police in Ondo State.

    Director of Army Public Relations Brig-Gen. Sani Usman broke the news in a statement in Maiduguri.

    According to the spokesman, Idris Ibrahim Babawo, the top Boko Haram commander, is No. 156 on the Boko Haram wanted list.

    Babawo, 42, who also goes by the name, Idoko or Nagada, was captured while trying to evade arrest.

    Usman said Babawo had been handed over to the military.

    “The Ondo State Command of the Nigeria Police, on September 24, about 2 pm., arrested a wanted Boko Haram terrorist, Idris Ibrahim Babawo, believed to be No. 156 on the wanted Boko Haram terrorists list.

    “He was handed over to the 32 Brigade, 2 Division, Nigerian Army, about 2 pm., on September 25, by the Ondo State Police Command.”

    Usman said that preliminary investigation showed that the suspected terrorist hailed from Chinade village in Katagum Local Government Area of Bauchi State.

    He said Babawo escaped from the Northeast because of ‘’sustained military onslaught on the jihadists’’.

    General Usman said troops of 1 Division on Operation Sharan Daji raided camps of suspected bandits and cattle rustlers at Kahiru forest, Bakura Local Government Area of Zamfara State, killing one of them, and recovering cows, sheep and goats from them.

    He said: “On approaching the camp, the suspected bandits opened fire on the troops and attempted to escape. The troops returned fire, killing one of the bandits and recovered 50 cows, 82 goats and 25 sheep abandoned by the bandits”.

  • Police arrest, hand over Boko Haram commander to Army

    Police arrest, hand over Boko Haram commander to Army

    The Police have arrested a wanted Boko Haram terrorist in Ondo State, Idris Ibrahim Babawo and handed him over to the Army, Brig.-Gen. Sani Usman, army spokesman has confirmed.

    Usman said in a statement on Tuesday that the terrorist, who goes by the name “Idoko’’ and “Nagada’’ was believed to be “on serial number 156 on the wanted Boko Haram terrorist list.

    “He was handed over to the 32 Brigade, 2 Division, Nigerian Army at about 2 p.m. on Monday by the Ondo state Command of the Nigeria Police.”

    The army spokesman said preliminary investigation showed that the suspect, aged 42, hails from Chinade village in Katagum Local Government Area of Bauchi State.

    “He escaped from the North East due to military onslaught on the terrorists with a view to evade arrest and prosecution, but nemesis caught up with him,’’ Usman said.

    In another development, the 1 Division, Nigerian Army, Kaduna, on Monday, successfully raided a bandit camp at Kahiru forest in Bakura Local Government Area of Zamfara and recovered 157 animals.

    Usman listed the recovered animals as 50 cows, 82 goats and 25 sheep which were abandoned by the bandits.

    He explained that the bandits opened fire on the troops when they approached the camp, making the troops to return fire, thereby killing one of the bandits.

    NAN