The Nation Newspaper

Tag: boko haram

  • Six-year-old Boko Haram victim: I want to walk again

    Six-year-old Boko Haram victim: I want to walk again

    •Foundation to the rescue

    For six-year old Boko Haram victim Ali Ahmadu, who is battling a spinal cord injury, it is not over – thanks to his courage and help from a foundation.

    He left yesterday for corrective surgery in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

    The surgery is being bankrolled by Dickens Sanomi Foundation, which was established by Mr. Igho Sanomi who owns the Taleveras Group. It will cost $48,000 (about N17.5million).

    Ali, who left the country aboard an Ethiopian Airline flight with his aunt, is expected back within three months.

    He said repeatedly in Hausa: “Ina so insake tafiya da kafana…Don Allah ataimakamu…Don Allah. Ina so in je makaranta”. (“I want to begin to walk with my legs again. For God’s sake, assist me. I want to go to school”).

    Ali’s aunt, Mrs. Hannatu Madu, told reporters: “We are looking forward to God to make this surgery successful. He is a promising boy.

    But he became a victim of Boko Haram’s invasion of Chibok. In the last three years, he has not been able to walk.”

    The Founder of GIPLC, Mr. Nuhu Fulani Kwajafa, explained that Ali was overrun by Boko Haram terrorists’ motorcycles when they ransacked Chibok community a few days after abducting the Chibok girls in April 2014.

    He said: “Ali has spinal cord injury.

    “Ali was being carried by his pregnant mother who was struggling to escape from the Boko Haram attackers but fell down as she was trying to run and Ali fell off her back and he was overrun by the terrorists.

    “With mother and child seriously injured, Ali was kept under a tree for about three days awithout any form of medication. He was bleeding from mouth and nose.

    “Ali has remained bed-ridden as a result of his spinal cord injury.”

    He explained how GIPLC and Dickens Sanomi Foundation collaborated on the corrective surgery.

    “We got to know about his condition and began to mobilise for his treatment when someone called from Chibok and narrated his pitiful condition to us.

    We brought him to Abuja and began to mobilise support for his corrective surgery in Dubai.

    “We are taking him to Dubai today and hopefully he will be restored to his normal condition. We are confident that after the surgery he will be back on his feet.”

    “We moved into action immediately to raise the $65,000 required for the surgery in Dubai.

    “Fortunately for us after meeting some Nigerians for assistance, including Senate President Bukola Saraki and some Nigerian lawmakers, we approached the Dickens Sanomi Foundation, which has graciously made available the balance of $48,000 needed for the surgery.”

    A member of the foundation’s board of trustees of Dickens Sanomi Foundation, Hayi Goodluck, said: “We decided to mobilise the funds required to give little Alli Ahmadu corrective surgery in Dubai so as to save his life and give him a future.

    “We are already so excited about the prospect of a new lease of life for Ali and we promise to stand by him before, during and after the surgery in Dubai.

    “The Dickens Sanomi Foundation will not only cater for him in Dubai but will also take up his education upon his return from surgery all in a deliberate bid to stabilise him and help him to live and actualise his dream as a man created by God.

    “We want to assure Ali, his family and Nigerians that the Dickens Sanomi Foundation will not abandon him in his moment of dire need. We stand by him to the end. Indeed, the Chairman of the Dickens Sanomi Foundation has set his heart on Ali. He has a soft spot for him.”

  • PCNI, VSF spend N6bn in NE interventions

    PCNI, VSF spend N6bn in NE interventions

    The Vice Chairman of the Presidential Committee on North East Initiative ( PCNI ), Alhaji Tijjani Tumsah, says over N6 billion has been spent by the PCNI and Victim Support Fund ( VSF ) in various interventions in the north east.

    Tumsah, who stated this during the flag off of reconstruction and rehabilitation of some public structures by the VSF on Sunday in Michika, said over N1 billion was spent in Adamawa alone.

    He said that the amount was spent on interventions in some public structures and support to about 20 hospitals in the region for the provision of free medical care to victims of Boko Haram insurgency.

    “We intend to spend a lot more in returning people back to their homes and to help them as much as we can with building materials and some livelihood support to start their businesses.

    “We also intend to reclaim more schools and ensure that pupils go back to school with necessary kits to ensure their comfort.”

    He added that victims, particularly women also benefitted from this empowerment programmes.

    Tumsah said similar intervention were also launched in Bama and Dikwa in Borno and Buni-Yadi in Yobe.

    Tumsah called on benefitting communities to continue to support the Federal Government’s effort at rehabilitation and reconstruction of the north east affected by the Boko Haram insurgency.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the reconstruction and rehabilitation of 13 structures in Michika local government which included the total reconstruction of the destroyed local council secretariat complex will cost N390 million.

    Seven local government areas of Madagali, Michika, Maiha, Mubi North, Mubi South, Hong and Gombi are the worst affected by the Boko Haram insurgency in Adamawa.

  • Boko Haram militants kill seven in Borno IDPs camp

    •Two suicide bombers blown up in Maiduguri

    No fewer than seven displaced victims of the Boko Haram insurgency in the Northeast were killed in a terror attack on an Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camp in Gamboru Ngala, Borno State, on Friday.

    Two suspected suicide bombers were blown up in a separate attack bid outside another camp also on Friday evening in Maiduguri, the state capital.

    Report from Gamboru Ngala near Nigeria’s border with Cameroon said terrorists of Boko Haram driving in two pickup trucks fired a rocket-propelled grenade at the camp, home to about 80,000 IDPs.

    The seven victims died on the spot.

    In the other incident, two female suicide bombers were killed after detonating the Improvised Explosive Device (IED) strapped to their bodies on the outskirts of Maiduguri.

    The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Isuku Victor, who confirmed the incident said eight people sustained injuries.

    Victor said that the incident occurred at about 17:38 p.m. when the female suicide bombers detonated IEDs against a taxi on Maiduguri-Mafa Highway.

    “Two female suicide bombers detonated IEDs against a taxi on Maiduguri-Mafa road, close to the National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) checkpoint in the outskirt of Maiduguri. “Only the suicide bombers died in the blast, while eight others including a staff of the NDLEA sustained injuries and are responding to treatment.

    “The taxi with registration number XA 479 DRZ was conveying bags of charcoal and two female passengers, including a tricycle machine was also affected in the explosion,” he said. Victor added that the police EOD had sanitised the scene while normalcy had been restored to the area. Mr Abdullahi Danbatta, the Head of Rescue Team, State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), said that the victims were receiving treatment at the Specialist Hospital, Maiduguri.

     

  • Updated: Boko Haram sympathizers unpatriotic – Army

    Updated: Boko Haram sympathizers unpatriotic – Army

    …Troops rescue six abducted herdsmen

    The Nigerian Army has condemned attempts by alleged sympathizers of the Boko Haram sect to undermine ongoing military operations against the insurgents in Northeast through malacious publications in the media.

    This came just as troops of Defence Company, 27 Brigade Nigerian Army, rescued six villagers abducted by terrorists in Kamuya village, Yobe State on Saturday.

    The Nigerian Army Spokesman, Brig. Gen. Sani Usman, who confirmed the rescue operation in a statement, also drew attention to some syndicated reports in the media that were aimed at tarnishing the image of the army and dampen the morale of troops operating in the Northeast.

    He said: “Today Friday, 8th September 2017, at about 7:30 a.m. troops of Defence Company, 27 Brigade Nigerian Army, on Operation Lafiya Dole deployed at Kamuya, Yobe State, received report from some herdsmen that some suspected Boko Haram terrorists have abducted six persons from their village.

    “The troops in conjunction with local vigilante familiar with the area trailed the terrorists up to Mangari village which is about 20 kilometres away from Kamuya, where they exchanged fire with them, neutralizing two of the terrorists and rescued the abducted persons.

    The troops also recovered two AK-47 rifles. The rescued persons have been reunited with their family.”

    On the activities of Boko Haram synpathizers, Gen. Usman said: “The Nigerian Army wishes to note with great concern the recent spate of negative, unguarded comments and derogative publications both on mainstream and on online media, denigrating the Armed Forces of Nigeria particularly, the Nigerian Army and the Nigerian Air Force by some unidentified, unscrupulous and unpatriotic individuals and groups.

    “This worrisome trend is observed mostly whenever we record successes in our military operations against Boko Haram terrorists and other laudable military endeavours such as when the United States Government decided to sell Tucano aircrafts to Nigeria.

    “It is really surprising that these agents of destruction are not happy with the welcomed development of the sale of weapons and our collective success.

    “The list of their systematic, unrelenting and futile attempts to rubbish either the leadership or ridicule the Services through baseless allegations is quite lengthy.

    “First there was a letter written by some self-appointed leaders of Islamic Movement of Nigeria on 17th August 2017 to United States government exhorting it to rescind its decision to sell Tucano aircraft, weapons and military hardware to Nigeria citing baseless reasons.

    “This was followed by another round of cacophony of lies and unfounded allegations through media interviews by some individuals and bloggers and on Facebook and other social media platforms and followed by concorted statistics by a well-known Non-Governmental Organization alleging that there was resurgence of Boko Haram terrorists activities even when the facts on the ground speaks otherwise.”

     

  • Boko Haram militants kill seven in Borno IDPs camp

    Boko Haram militants kill seven in Borno IDPs camp

    At least seven people were killed on Friday when Boko Haram fighters attacked an Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camp in Ngala Borno State.

    Ngala, which has its headquarters in Gamboru Ngala is located near Nigeria’s border with Cameroon.

    Two people were also killed by a blast outside another camp in Maiduguri, the state capital.

    A civilian militia member in Ngala, Umar Kachalla, said insurgents in two pick-up trucks fired a rocket-propelled grenade at the camp, which houses some 80,000 people.

    “The insurgents fired an RPG into the camp from behind the fire fence, killing seven people,” he said.

  • Army rescues six abducted herdsmen

    Army rescues six abducted herdsmen

    The Nigerian Army said on Saturday that six herdsmen abducted by Boko Haram insurgents at Kamuya community of Yobe State have been rescued.

    A statement issued by Brig. Gen. Sani Kukasheka said the rescued herdsmen were reunited with their families.

    Kukasheka said the troops had killed two insurgents and recovered ammunition after a gun duel with the terrorists.

    “On Friday, September 8, 2017, at about 7.30 a.m. troops of Defence Company, 27 Brigade Nigerian Army, on Operation Lafiya Dole deployed at Kamuya, Yobe State, received report from some herdsmen that suspected Boko Haram terrorists abducted six persons from their village.

    “The troops in conjunction with local vigilante familiar with the area trailed the terrorists up to Mangari village about 20 kilometres away from Kamuya.

    “The troops exchanged fire with the insurgents, neutralized two of them and rescued the abducted persons. The troops also recovered two AK-47 rifles. The rescued persons have been reunited with their family,” Kukasheka said.

    NAN

  • Boko Haram kills eight farmers in Borno

    Suspected Boko Haram terrorists have killed eight famers during  raids on communities on the outskirts of Maiduguri,the Borno State capital.

    Attacked were Mallan, Kesa Kura and Manjita,according to fleeing residents.

     Two persons were killed at Mallan when the terrorists struck on Thursday night.

    That was about 24 hours after attacking the same village during which three people were shot dead.

    On the same Wednesday night,   the gunmen killed three residents of nearby Kesa Kura.

    Eye witnesses said the gunmen came in pickup trucks and on motorcycles.

    They set homes on fire and seized food and livestock.

    No one was killed at Manjita because residents managed to flee after being tipped off about the looming danger.

    Residents said the attacks appeared to be a reprisal  against young men joining the civilian militia, which helps the military with security.

    On Monday, four people were killed in a drive-by shooting on a group of farmers working on their fields in Ngawo Fato Bulabulin village outside Maiduguri.

  • Court remands Boko Haram computer analysts, spiritual head in prison

    Court remands Boko Haram computer analysts, spiritual head in prison

    Three suspected Boko Haram members on Friday appeared before a Koton-Karfe Chief Magistrate Court in Kogi State for allegedly belonging to the terror sect.

    Those arraigned were – Abdullahi Audu, Bashiru Yahaya and their spiritual head, Ahmed Momoh.

    The pleaded not guilty to the charge.

    Prosecuting counsel, Mohammed Abaji, told the court that the defendants were arrested in June by security men.

    Others are at large, he said.

    Abaji said investigation and analysis of their telephone numbers revealed that they were not only members of the sect but had also carried out repairs of the terrorists’ computers.

    The prosecutor also said the defendants had carried out repairs of other electronic components owned by the insurgents and used them for their nefarious activities.

    According to him, the third defendant, Momoh is the spiritual head of the gang mandated to prepare ‘’charms/Ruqya’’ for members of the group and their families, before and during operations.

    Abaji prayed the court to take cognizance of the grave nature of the allegations by dismissing the oral application brought by the defendants.

    He said their actions were contrary to section 97(1) of the Penal Code Law and Belonging to Terrorists’ Group.

    The prosecutor also said the defendants had allegedly violated Section 4 and Section 5 of Terrorism (Prevention) (Amendment) Act, 2013.

    Chief Magistrate Levi Animoku, in his ruling, ordered the three accused to be remanded at the Federal Prisons, Koton-Karfe, saying the allegations against them were grave.

    Animoku said the activities of members of the terrorists’ group had terminated many lives in the country, adding that the defendants’ crimes were heinous and carried high penalties.

    NAN

     

  • UN explains causes of violent extremism among youth

    UN explains causes of violent extremism among youth

    Deprivation, marginalisation and perceived state violence or abuse of power are pushing young Africans into the clutches of violent extremism, a study by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) has said.

    The report is based on a two-year, in-depth study, including interviews with some 495 voluntary recruits who joined Africa’s most prominent extremist groups, including Boko Haram and Al-Shabaab.

    According to UNDP estimates, some 33,300 people in Africa have lost their lives to violent extremist attacks between 2011 and early 2016.

    Violence perpetrated by the Boko Haram terrorist group alone has resulted in the deaths of at least 17,000 people and displaced millions in the Lake Chad region, the report said.

    Abdoulaye Dieye, UNDP Africa Director, said at the launch of the report: ‘Journey to Extremism in Africa: Drivers, Incentives and the Tipping Point for Recruitment’, in New York

    Dieye, while presenting the report said: “This study sounds the alarm that as a region, Africa’s vulnerability to violent extremism is deepening.

    “Borderlands and peripheral areas remain isolated and under-served. Institutional capacity in critical areas is struggling to keep pace with demand.

    “More than half the population lives below the poverty line, including many chronically underemployed youth.”

    The study explored the factors that shape the dynamics of the recruitment process, prompting some individuals to gravitate toward extremism, where the vast majority of others do not, and also finds that many who joined faced marginalisation and neglect over the course of their lives, starting in childhood.

    “With few economic prospects or outlets for meaningful civic participation that can bring about change, and little trust in the state to either provide services or respect human rights, the study suggests that such an individual could – upon witnessing or experiencing perceived abuse of power by the state – be tipped over the edge into extremism.

    “In one of the study’s most striking findings, 71 per cent of recruits interviewed said that it was some form of government action that was the ‘tipping point’ that triggered their final decision to join an extremist group.”

    The report said actions cited most often by extremists were killing or arrest of a family member or friend.

    Majority of recruits come from borderlands or peripheral areas that have suffered longstanding marginalization and report having had less parental involvement growing up, the report said.

    Most recruits expressed frustration at their economic conditions – with employment the most acute need at the time of joining – as well as a deep sense of grievance towards government, the study found.

    It said 83 per cent believed that government looks after only the interests of a few, and over three-fourths said they have no trust in politicians or in the state security apparatus.

    “Recruitment in Africa occurs mostly at the local, person-to-person level, rather than online, as is the case in other regions – a factor that may alter the forms and patterns of recruitment as connectivity improves.

    “Some 80 per cent of recruits interviewed joined within a year of introduction to the violent extremist group – and nearly half of these joined within just one month.

    “In terms of exiting a violent extremist group, most interviewees who surrendered or sought amnesty did so after losing confidence in the ideology, leadership or actions of their group,” the study found.

    Against this backdrop, the study urged governments to reassess militarised responses to extremism in the light of respect for the rule of law and human rights commitments, while also highlighting the importance of focusing on development in addressing security challenges.

    “Delivering services, strengthening institutions, creating pathways to economic empowerment – these are development issues,” Dieye added.

    Another key recommendation called for local-level interventions, such as supporting community-led initiatives building social cohesion, as well as amplifying the voices of local religious leaders who advocate tolerance.

    However, the study cautioned that these initiatives must be spearheaded by trusted local actors.

    Dieye said that findings of the study were based on responses to questions including on family circumstances, childhood and education, religious ideologies, economic factors, state and citizenship.

  • Boko Haram: NAF Operations gulps 1.03m Aviation Fuel

    Boko Haram: NAF Operations gulps 1.03m Aviation Fuel

    The Nigerian Air Force yesterday its air operations against Boko Haram in the North East has gulped over 1.03 million litres of aviation fuel from its reserve.

    It added that said its aircraft operations in the Operation Lafiya Dole component have peaked at about  1077 hours so far.

    According to the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, the nation’s air power can now be projected effectively beyond the country.

    Air Marshal Abubakar disclosed this in Abuja during the opening of strategic meeting with Air Force Branch Chiefs, Air Officers Commanding and Field Commanders at the Air Force Headquarters.

    He warned elements of the Boko Haram insurgent groups to have a rethink on their activities in the Northeast, stressing that air operations within the coming weeks against them would be too hot for them to endure.

    The Air Force Chief also said he had deployed a team of medical personnel from the service to Makurdi, to attend to victims of last week’s flood in Benue State.

    Air Marshal Abubakar who said the meeting was aimed at seeking possible ways of moving the service forward in line with contemporary expectations, disclosed that his administration had graduated 16 trained pilots at the Flying School Kaduna.

    He noted that the feat was made possible after 33 years due to some critical challenges within the institution.

    He said: “We have done a lot in the last few months in terms of the structure of the Nigerian Air Force,in terms of training,in terms of capacity building and in terms of maintenance.

    “Reports from units indicate that we are really making substantial progress as regards responsibilities assigned to us by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

    “The uniqueness about this set of cadets is that this nation s the first time in 32 years that the Nigerian Air Force is graduating cadets from 401 Flying Training School Kaduna, “he said.

    Speaking further, Abubakar said:” In the past years,we used to graduate officers,officers graduate from Primary Flying Training in Kaduna.

    But by the special grace of God and with the commitment of the Air Officer Training Commanding, the Commander and our late colleague commander, Group Captain Adanu Ochai, who was the Commanding officer of the flying wing,we have been able reverse the train.

    “With the graduation of these cadets now,we are looking forward to the day when we will have cadets as instructor pilots.It has happened in the past and it’s going to happen again.”

    He added:”Also since we came,we have brought into the service over 1900 recruits, who are supposed to join us in the service to support us to tackle the challenges facing our nation.

    “In addition to this, about 106 Direct Short Service cadets have graduated and they have been posted already to different units of the service.

    “It is also gratifying to note that we have projected air power beyond Nigeria.The C130 has contacted a number of flights to deliver relief materials to Sierra Leone

    “I believe so much has been achieved but we need to evaluate all that we set out to achieve. We are not yet done,we must redouble our efforts especially in the North East.

    “I know we have commenced operations in the North East which is aimed at further degrading the Boko Haram. We are going to massively dominate the entire area and make it extremely difficult for anybody that is there that is a criminal who wants to come out to kill innocent Nigerians.”

    On what the service has done in its humanitarian programme, Abubakar said:

    “In our humanitarian programme,we have 241 IDPs patients have been attended to free of charge.

    “I have been briefed by our Chief of Medical Services today that our medical team has been deployed to Makurdi to provide medical services to the indigenes of Benue State that have been affected by recent flood.”