The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Borno State

  • Chibok girls: Negotiation with Boko Haram yielding result – Minister

    Chibok girls: Negotiation with Boko Haram yielding result – Minister

    Following the release of 21 girls abducted by Boko Haram sect at Government Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State in April 2014, Minister, Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, Hajia Aisha Jummai Alhassan has hinged their release on the ongoing negation with the sect by the Federal government.

    The Minister, who sated this Thursday in Kaduna while fielding questions from newsmen at the grand finale of a week-long 16th Regular National Council of Women Affairs and Social Development held at Hassan Katsina House, Kawo, Kaduna State, expressed optimism that the negotiation would further secure the release of the remaining girls from their abductors’ den.

    She said, “I was so excited to hear that 21 of our girls have been freed and that was why I have to break the programme. We thank God for their release. I equally thank the Federal government for spoken and providing enabling environment for negotiation with Boko Haram to secure their release. We have started seeing the result of the negotiation coming and with God; we will see the remaining girls”.

    On the women affairs programme, she said the National Center for Women Development (NCWD), has again outlined modules to train additional 10,000 female IDPs between now and December 2017.

    She hopes and expected that the states will give maximum support for the numerous programmes and projects being enumerated at the federal level, by replacing same in the states to ensure sustainability.

    “President Muhammadu Buhari is committed to addressing the special needs of vulnerable groups in Nigeria, especially women, children, children, elderly persons living with disability and internally displaced persons”, the Minister explained.

    In her own address, Kaduna State Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, Hajia Rabi Abdulsalam said, the current administration of Governor Nasir El-Rufai places high priority in the welfare of children, women and youths respectively hence the greater involvement of women to drive such course as key stakeholders.

    According to the Commissioner, the theme of the year’s meeting, “Inclusive Empowerment; a Key to Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals Milestone”, was timely considering the present economic situation of the country on one hand, and how women have proven to be worthy partners in progress, noted if well harnessed, would change the economy of the country for better.

    “This ministry has made conscious and deliberate efforts to better the lives of women in Kaduna; we have worked closely with our development partners in the last one year and have been able to achieve so much”.

    She said the ministry hosted a Gender and Business Dialogue (GAB) platform on 29th October 2015, all about discovering the great women entrepreneurial both in the city and those in the rural areas, quickly added that the summit has since been result oriented owing to the number of women who now manage their own businesses within and outside the state.

    “When the state government established the Kaduna State Traffic and Environmental Law Enforcement Agency (KASTELEA), it was sensitive enough to give 22% of those that were employed to women. Consider also that in the women and youths in agriculture empowerment, our women are given a matching 50% of those absorbed into the programme supported by the World Bank”, she noted.

    The meeting brought together all the Commissioners of Women Affairs from all the 36 States of the federation and whatever decision arrived at the end of the meeting would be put together for the implementation by federal government while states government domesticate same in their respective states.

     

  • Troops battle terrorists in Borno

    Troops battle terrorists in Borno

    Troops of Operation Lafiya Dole and Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) have captured Mallam Fatori in northern most part of Borno after a fierce battle closely covered by air operations.

    According to a statement signed by Col. Sani Usman, the acting Director, Army Public Relations and issued on Wednesday, the town was captured under “Operation Gama Aiki” of the Operation Lafiya Dole.

    Usman said that the troops killed several of the Boko Haram terrorists in the resulting encounter, who subsequently withdrew “to a vantage position”.

    ‪”However, the terrorists reinforced around the border with Niger Republic.

    ‪”This was while the troops were consolidating on this success.

    ‪”The Operation is continuing,” the army spokesman said.

  • Military hands over 566 orphans, widows to Borno state

    Military hands over 566 orphans, widows to Borno state

    Another set of 566  Boko Haram orphans and widows have again been released to Borno State by the military in Maiduguri, making it the fourth time the army have carried out such exercise.

    Governor Kashim Shettima who received them on Friday explained that Borno State under his leadership will continue to cater for the children and families of the insurgents in order to break the Boko Haram cycle of violence as a way of securing the future of the state.

    A breakdown of the number shows  355 breastfeeding children babies, 149 breastfeeding mothers and 62 under-aged evacuated  by the Nigerian Army from camps operated by Boko Haram insurgents in different parts of Borno State.

    The Nation gathered that a substantial percentage of the number is believed to be families of the insurgents saved after the military took over the camps during operations.

    While handing over was done by the General Officer Commanding the 7th Division of the Nigerian Army in Maiduguri, Brigadier General Victor Ezugwu at a rehabilitation and reintegration center ‎newly opened by the Borno State Government in Maiduguri to give medical care, education and cater for the welfare of the families.

    Shettima during his address said;  “‎What is of importance we should all know, is that an average male member of the Boko Haram has one great wish and that wish is for his son or daughter to inherit his doctrine of violence. The insurgents seriously take to child bearing as a strategy of not only multiplying their numbers but also producing children they hope, will continue from where their fathers stop in violent killings as their own form of worship.

    “The goal of Boko Haram fathers is that even if they are killed by our armed forces, they want to bequeath to us, a future of violence in Borno State, a future of violence in the northeast and a violent future for our country. Our ultimate aim in taking custody of families of insurgents is to cut the cycle of violence so as to secure the future of Borno State. Our aim is to give education to the children of the insurgents so that these children will grow to despise the values and doctrines their parents lived and preached.

    “The children will not be trained with any element of hate for their parents, they won’t even be told about the ways of their parents so that they don’t grow with deflated self-esteem. These children will be raised like every other child, they will be raised to love and not to hate like their parents wished for them. They will be trained to save lives and contribute to building and growing communities not to take lives and destroy communities like their parents would wish. This is why we are determined to take care of these children.

    “I am speaking in English knowing that they don’t hear what I am saying because we don’t want them to have low self-esteem. We will train them to have big dreams and to pursue their dreams of becoming productive citizens. Some of these children will be future leaders, many will be doctors, Engineers, lawyers and some may even grow to join the military if they choose to. They will insha Allah, contribute to nation building and part of the future of Borno State. We must love and care for each other. We have witnessed so much hatred and violence. Our hearts have been too consumed by agony. We must use the remaining space in our hearts to love and to share love and brotherhood,” Shettima said

    The Governor also explained that majority of the family members have been found to be innocent of the violence of the Boko Haram insurgents contrary to the wish of some members of the public who want the sins of insurgents meted on their families.

    “There are some part of our citizens that may be raising eye brows whenever we are seen taking custody, loving and caring for families of members of the Boko Haram insurgents whether their widows or their children. I have seen some people criticise us on the social media but I think whoever criticizes what we are doing should be forgiven for making expression out of ignorance on the basis of what we are doing.

    In our societies, a lot of women neither know what their husbands do nor do they have control over their husbands. Our security forces do thorough investigation in ensuring that anyone freed is proven innocent of violent activities. As for the children, there are innocent little souls who have got absolutely nothing to do with the sins of their fathers. They didn’t determine their parents, they were brought to life without any prior knowledge of the violence their parents perpetuate,” Shettima said

     

     

  • Troops repel Boko Haram, kill two senior commanders

    Troops repel Boko Haram, kill two senior commanders

    Troops on Operation LAFIYA DOLE stationed at Darul Jamel, on the fringes of Sambisa forest, northern parts of Borno State, on Tuesday repelled an attempted attack on their location by Boko Haram terrorists.

    The terrorists   made the attempt at the troops location at about 10.00pm, but were unfortunate as the troops killed several of them including two senior commanders that led the attack.

    According to Army Acting Director of Public Relations, Sani Usman, the troops recovered  1 Light Machine Gun (LMG) with Registration number 56M-1101229, 1 AK-47 Rifle Magazine,  Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG) Bomb and 1 top cover of  an AK-47 Rifle. “Other items recovered include 395 Rounds of 7.62mm (NATO) ammunition and 15 rounds of 5.5mm  by .45 ammunition”.

    He said prior to the attack, the troops  of the same unit on routine patrol earlier, had cleared an ambush staged by elements of the suspected remnants of the terrorists desperate for food  near Banki Junction.

    “It is equally believed that the attack and ambush might not be unconnected to the fact that the terrorists were desperately targeting over 890 rescued herdsmen with their 5000 livestock being held captives by terrorists along Nigerian borders with Cameroon” he concluded.

  • FG declares nutritional emergency in Borno

    FG declares nutritional emergency in Borno

    The Federal Government has declared nutritional emergency in Borno state to save lives.

    It was reported that about 80 children die daily as a result of malnutrition.

    Minister of Health Prof. Isaac Adewole announced the declaration Monday morning at the inaugural Board meeting of the Governing Board of the ECOWAS Regional Centre for Disease Control in Abuja.

    He also directed the country’s coordinator, Centre for Disease Control, Prof. Abdulsalam Nasidi to dispatch a team to Borno state to help tackle the situation.

  • Polio: Gombe to immunise .64 million children

    Polio: Gombe to immunise .64 million children

    643,294 within age 0 – 5 have been earmarked for immunization under the present Polio Outbreak Response Immunization (PORI) in the state, Gombe State Primary Health Care Development Agency (GSPHCDA) has said.

    Maam Salish Mohammed Malami, the Higher Education Officer of the state Ministry of Health said the target figure was under the second phase of the exercise following outbreak at Biu, a neighbouring town in Borno state.

    He said the situation made Go.be state a considering the closeness and influx of internally displaced persons (IDPs) from those states hence decision Gombe office of World Health Organisation (WHO) and GSPHCDA decided to conduct three consecutive rounds of vaccination in areas prone to outbreaks.

    He said the exercise as a result was taking place in the six local government areas bordering Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states.

    Malami said the exercise recorded over 75 per cent across the six local governments within the first two days with each of them recording 98 per cent successs.

    He explained that the first round of the vaccination exercise was conducted from May 9 to 12, 2016 with not leas than 647,000 children immunized.

  • Parents weep as Govt delegation meets them in Chibok

    Parents weep as Govt delegation meets them in Chibok

    Parents of some of the abducted 219 Chibok school girls wept yesterday at the school premises when they received a joint federal government and Borno State delegation that visited to mark the second anniversary of the abduction.

    They read a poem to remember the girls and urged the government to release the report of the fact-finding panel set up by former President Goodluck Jonathan.

    In his statement, President Muhamad Buhari told the parents: “I share your pains.”

    The delegation to Chibok took off from Maiduguri and travelled three and a half hours through Damboa, under a heavy security cover, to Chibok by road.

    They passed through many communities that are devastated by the Boko Haram insurgents.

    The team made up of ministers, state government officials, federal and state lawmakers, and others, was led by Borno State, Governor Kashim Shettima.

  • PDP suspends Borno state chairman

    PDP suspends Borno state chairman

    The national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has suspended the chairman of the Borno state chapter, Alhaji Baba Basharu for conducts which the party said were inimical to the progress of the party.

    The suspension order, which was conveyed through a statement on Wednesday by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, said Basharu also flouting provisions of article 58 (1), (b), (c), (f) and (h) of the party’s constitution.

    The statement said, “After preliminary hearing on reports of various activities inimical to the progress of the party, especially flouting the provisions of article 58 (1), (b), (c), (f) and (h) of the PDP constitution, the National Working Committee (NWC) has suspended the Borno State chairman of our great party, Alhaji Baba Basharu.

    “The above is in line with the relevant provisions of the PDP constitution on disciplinary procedures.

    “Accordingly, Alhaji Baba Basharu has been referred to the National Disciplinary Committee for appropriate action in line with the provisions of the constitution of the PDP.”

    Meanwhile, a former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Senator Bala Mohammed has attributed the PDP’s crushing defeat in the 2015 general elections to impunity, arrogance and lawlessness.

    Mohammed, who is one of the contenders for the position of the party’s national chairman, stated this on Wednesday when he led a delegation of his supporters to the PDP national secretariat.

    Pledging his loyalty to the National Chairman, Alhaji Ali Modu Sheriff, the former minister commended the chairman for his doggedness, saying Sheriff did not have the negative traits that caused the party’s defeat.

    He declared his willingness to mend fences with two former governors of his native Bauchi state, Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu and Isa Yuguda to end disagreements with the duo arising from conflict of interests.

    He said; “There is no way to write the history of Bauchi state without the mention of Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu and Isa Yuguda. I respect them as my seniors and if I will constitute a stumbling block to the unity of the state we are advocating, I would rather stand aside for peace to reign.

    “Instead of washing our dirty linens in public, I have agreed to bow to any of my ambitions in order to ensure that there is unity of purpose for PDP to prosper in the state”.

    In response, the chairman observed that political crisis in Bauchi state has constantly become a major problem to the PDP.

    According to him, unless other aggrieved political bigwigs in the state agreed to sheathe their swords, there would never be any headway in the party’s reconciliation efforts.

    The chairman said, “I have agreed to take part in the reconciliation process of party members either in Bauchi or the FCT so that I will have the locus standi from the North-East as the chairman of the party.”

  • Chibok girls will be found soon- Shettima

    Chibok girls will be found soon- Shettima

    The governor of Borno State, Kashim Shettima disclosed Tuesday that the 276 Chibok girls who were abducted on April 14th 2014 will soon be united with their families.

    Shettima disclosed this during a visit to the National Emergency Management Agency NEMA in Abuja, stating that  based on the information at his disposal the Chibok girls are still alive.

    He said, “I am an optimist, and based on the information at our disposal the Chibok girls are still alive and will be united with their families soon, we are hopeful that the girls will be recovered.

    He said, “Though security falls within the area of responsibility of the federal government, the government is doing all it can not only to rescue the girls but to care for the well-being of the generality of the people. We have started rebuilding most of the communities; we are determined to rebuild all.

    “The military has been doing so much in the past week, which led to the influx of IDPs to our camps, presently because of the successes by the military we have over 75000 IDPs in Zifar, 28,000 in Bama, 38000 in Banki town, 27000 in Polka, right now there is an inflow of 2,300 people to Gusa today which necessitated the visit to NEMA to solicit for the usual assistance.

    “As a state government we are doing our best, but NEMA has been our partner in taking care of the IDPs for the past one to two years. Within the Maiduguri metropolis alone, apart from the IDPs in the camps we have 1.7million people within the host communities. Even in the best of times our people were the poorest of the poor, and Boko Haram has further compounded the problem.

    “Our visit is to solicit NEMA support towards the current government; we need the support of NEMA in whatever way they can assist. Though we have reached out to so many organizations, but this is where the real support lies. Borno is free now, though there are hiccups here and there, but not like before again. I am not saying they are completely liberated. Peace is gradually returning to the state. By the end of the year the people will return to their homes.

    The Director General of NEMA, Muhammed Sani Sidi assured the governor of NEMA assistance at all times and promise to immediately move to assist in the influx of IDPs in the state.

  • Borno unfolds post insurgency plans for Civilian JTF

    The Borno Government said on Monday that it had produced a blue print for full engagement of an estimated 20, 000 local vigilantes, called the Civilian JTF, after the Boko Haram insurgency.

    Alhaji Kakashehu Lawan, the Commissioner of Justice stated this while speaking with newsmen in Maiduguri.

    Lawan was reacting to fears expressed by residents of the state that the unemployed vigilantes may become another security threat during post insurgency era.

    “His Excellency, Gov. Kashim Shettima has developed a blue print for the post Boko Haram insurgency era in the state.

    “One of the agenda on the blue print is youth integration, which encapsulates all youths in the state including members of the civilian JTF,” he said.

    Lawan said that the blue print made provision for the creation of a youth empowerment agency to cater for the members of the civilian JTF.

    “Already, a law has been passed by the Borno House of Assembly known as Youth Vigilante Empowerment Agency Law 2015, to cater for job creation particularly targeting members of the group.

    “The agency is expected to engage members of the group by providing different kinds of jobs for them,” he said.

    Lawan added that the state government had also made contact with the Nigerian Army authorities to enlist those qualified into the service.

    “What we have done as a government is to liaise with the Nigerian Army high command to have a large chunk of them recruited into the army,” he said.

    Lawan said that government also planned to recruit some of them as fire fighters in the state.

    “We are also working on plans to recruit between 500 and 1, 000 of them as fire fighters in the state department of fire service.

    “We also have plans to engage about 500 of them as Vehicle Inspection Officers (VIO),” he said.

    Lawan said that those who possessed higher educational qualification will be absorbed into the state civil service.

    “Those who are graduates and National Certificate In Education (NCE) Certificate holders will be absorbed into the State Civil Service,” he said.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the Civilian JTF which emerged in 2013 had helped greatly in developing effective community policing and enhancing the fight against Boko Haram in the state.