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Tag: borno

  • Rice farmers decry insecurity in Borno

    The Maisandari Rice Farmers Association in Borno said the Boko Haram insurgency has forced its members to abandon farming this year.

    The Chairman of the association, Malam Garba Ibrahim, stated this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Maisandari, Jere Local Government Area of the state.

    He said: “We are an association of big term rice farmers comprising about 200 members.

    “Each of us used to produce between 50 and 200 bags of rice per year.”

    He said the production had witnessed some decline due to the insurgency in the state.

    “We have witnessed steady decline in production in the last two years due to the insurgency.

    “Last year, most of our members were not able to produce for fear of attacks in the farm by suspected insurgents.”

    Ibrahim said the situation became worse this year as most of the farmers had abandoned the dry season farming due to insecurity.

    “This year, no farmer has been able to cultivate during the dry season due to the insecurity.

    “Although the state government has provided imported rice mills to our members in anticipation of massive production, insecurity had made it impossible for us to cultivate.”

    He appealed to the Federal Government to intensify its efforts in tackling the insurgency so that the farmers could go back to the farm.

    Meanwhile, the Jigawa chapter of the Rice Dealers Association of Nigeria, said it had concluded arrangements to establish six pilot rice trading centres in the state.

    The Chairman of the association, Alhaji Idris Ya’u, said in Hadejia, Jigawa, that the centres would be established in collaboration with the Federal Government.

    He said the government would spend about N12 million on each of the centres, while farmers’ association in each of the participating areas would contribute N600,000 to the project.

    “The Federal Government has also introduced a new 100-kg bag to ensure accuracy in the measurement of paddy rice,” he said.

    Ya’u explained that the gesture was to accelerate paddy rice production, enhance farmer enterprising skills and encourage competition.

    The chairman said that the trading centres would be sited at Auyo, Birninkudu, Hadejia, Kazaure, Kirikasamma and Ringim, all in Jigawa, and be equipped with processing and packaging equipment to add value to the produce.

    He added that officials of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture had already inspected the sites for the proposed trading centres.

    It would be recalled that the Federal Government, during the last dry season, distributed fertiliser, seeds and chemicals to 154,000 registered rice farmers under the Growth Enhancement Support (GES) programme.

     

    The government had also distributed mini harvesters, tractors, water pumps, tube wells, thrashers and Knapp sack sprayers to farmers in the state.

  • Jonathan condemns killing of Emir of Gwoza

    Jonathan condemns killing of Emir of Gwoza

    President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday condoled the government and people of Borno State and Northern Traditional Rulers on the murder of the Emir of Gwoza, Alhaji Idrissa Shehu Timta.

    He also condemned the murder of the Emir.

    The President, in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media,Dr.Reuben Abati , said  that  “ the brazen attack and the wanton slaying of the respected traditional ruler reinforces the vital need”  for all patriotic Nigerians, “ irrespective of where they come from, their religions or political loyalties, to come together and work with urgency and complete unity of purpose to quickly end the murderous attacks by terrorists and insurgents that continue to threaten the security, cohesion and well-being of the nation.”

    He  pledged that  the Armed Forces and security agencies will continue to “receive all the empowerment and support they require from the Federal Government to speedily give maximum effect to his orders that they take all necessary action to stop the insurgency in the country. “

    The President prayed that Almighty Allah will receive the soul of the slain Emir and grant his family and subjects the equanimity to bear his loss.

     

  • Chibok abduction: Documents fault WAEC, Police claims

    Chibok abduction: Documents fault WAEC, Police claims

    The government of Borno State took preemptive steps to avert any security breach in Chibok abduction: Documents fault WAEC, Police claims
    and all centres for the Senior School Certificate Examinations, according to documents from the authorities.

    The state alerted the police on the need to protect examination centres in Maiduguri, Biu, Askira, Lassa, Chibok and Auno.

    Also, contrary to the claim of the Head, National Office of WAEC in Nigeria, Mr. Charles Eguridu, there was no time the agency specifically requested for a special security cover for Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok where the 276 girls were abducted on April 15.

    Eguridu  told reporters that WAEC had specifically warned that Chibok wasn’t safe for the May/June 2014 West African Senior School Certificate Examinations (WASSCE) but that Governor Kashim Shettima overruled the warning.

    But Shettima was away for a meeting of Northern governors with the United States Government when WAEC alleged that it raised the alarm on Chibok.

    Details of event before the abduction girls are in some documents obtained by our correspondent. They show that some agencies may have been lying.

    According to sources, while WAEC called for adequate security measures for examination centres, it did not single out Government Girls Secondary School in Chibok for any extra-security arrangement.

    WAEC’s letter to the state government did not give any warning that GGSS Chibok was unsafe.

    A copy of March 19 letter, signed by the Zonal Coordinator of WAEC, F.M Gaiya (on behalf of the national headquarters of WAEC) gave an insight into what the examinations body said about security challenges in Borno State.

    The letter, titled “Urgent intervention towards the conduct of the May/June 2014 WASSCE in Borno State”, and directed to Deputy Governor Zannah Umar Mustapha, said:  “ Your Excellency (Deputy Governor), following my visit to your office with the Honourable Commissioner for Education in the presence of the Director, ERC on ways of conducting a hitch free 2014 WASSCE in the state, I wish to passionately make the following request for the duration of the examination (copy of time table attached).

    “Provision of three (3) pick up vehicles to convey security (sensitive exam) materials on three routes from Maiduguri-Biu (daily); Maiduguri-Auno (daily) and Maiduguri to Askira-Lassa-Chibok (twice weekly).

    “Armed escorts for each route. Adequate security for the examination centres in Maiduguri, Biu, Askira, Lassa and Chibok.

    “In addition, I am pleading for the provision of two houses for the Deputy Registrar/Zonal coordinator and his assistant who have been hobbling from hotel to hotel as a result of the prevailing security situation in the state. Thanking you for your anticipated approval.”

    Based on the letter, the state government alerted Commissioner of Police Lawal Tanko on WAEC’s security needs.

    The state, in a March 20 letter, signed by the Chief Admin Officer, Special Services (Security) at the Government House in Maiduguri, M.M Gana, requested for security  for all examination centres, including Chibok, throughout the duration of the May/June 2014 WASSCE examinations.

    The letter was contrary to the Police Commissioner’s claim at the Presidential Villa on May 2, that the police in Borno State was only required to provide security at the Government Secondary School, Chibok during the day time whereas the abduction took place at night.

    The disclosure made the First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, at the meeting, to exonerate the police of any blame.

    She said the police carried out the job demanded of them by the state government.

    Gana’s letter to the Police Commissioner was also titled “Urgent intervention towards the conduct of the May/June 2014 WASSCE in Borno State.”

    The letter said: “Report reaching this office from the office of the zonal coordinator of WASSCE with reference NO: MD/ZO/OA/10/203 dated 19th March, 2014 on the above subject matter requesting the intervention of the State Government for the smooth conduct of the 2014 WASSCE in the State (photocopy attached).

    “ It could be recalled that last year’s WASSCE in the State suffered a setback due to the activities of Boko Haram insurgency. In some centres, students missed examinations, some wrote the examinations in haste and fear while others were unable to even sit for some of the examination. In the light of the above, I am directed to make the following requests for the duration of the examinations. Attached is a copy of the examination time table for guidance.

    “Provision of three (3) police pick up vehicles to convey security men on three routes from Maiduguri-Biu (daily); Maiduguri-Auno (daily) and Maiduguri to Askira-Lassa-Chibok (twice weekly).

    “Provision of armed escorts for each route. Adequate security for the examination centres in Maiduguri, Biu, Askira, Lassa, Chibok and Auno.

    “I am further directed to add that government would arrange three official vehicles for the conveyance of the security/examination materials, one to each of the routes while police would contribute three police patrol vehicles and escort to each route. Thank you for the usual cooperation.”

    A source who spoke in confidence also faulted the Minister of State for Education, Mr. Nyesom Wike, for claiming that the ministry warned the state against conducting examinations in Chibok.

    The source said: “A letter sent from the office of Minister of State for Education which the supervising Minister claimed he used in warning the Borno State Government against conducting the WASSCE in Chibok was said to have focused entirely on Unity Schools, requesting the Borno State Government to move final year students from all federal colleges in the State to collapse them in Maiduguri for the May/June exams, given their relatively fewer number compared to those of Borno.

    “By the letter, the Minister keyed into the model adopted by Borno’s government, which collapsed students in fewer examination centres as against over one hundred located in over 80 public secondary schools and private schools across the state.

    “The Minister neither has controlling or advisory powers over schools owned by Borno State Government and as such he couldn’t have directed the Borno Government not to conduct exams in Chibok.

    “Mr. Nyesom Wike was last week reported saying he wrote advising Borno not to hold examinations in Chibok. There was nothing like that.

    “You  can see that these correspondences contradict the first terms of reference of the Presidential Fact-Finding Committee which was that the committee should establish circumstances why GGSS Chibok was opened when others were closed.

    “WAEC clearly knew that not only GGSS Chibok was opened for examinations.”

    A source, who pleaded no to be named because he is not permitted to speak officially, added: “Also relating to the Chibok incident,  a document showed that  WAEC had written another letter to Borno State Government with reference number MD/ZO/OA/10/204, dated May 10, 2014 requesting for financial assistance.

    “Titled ‘May/June 2014 WASSCE-logistics for conduct of examinations’, signed by the WAEC zonal coordinator, F.M. Gaiya , the body made a submission to the Borno State Government demanding the release of N1, 668,000(one million six hundred and sixty eight thousand Naira) out of which the state government released N1,500,00( One million, five hundred thousand Naira )which the zonal coordinator received.

    “All the correspondences seem to suggest that both the WAEC and the Borno State Government did not anticipate security challenges in Chibok.”

  • 20 killed in fresh Boko Haram attack

     

    The Boko Haram group struck again on Sunday killing at least 20 people in Kumuyya village in Borno State.

    A military source told Reuters that the assailants shot people as they gathered to trade in the village open air market.

    On Thursday, suspected Boko Haram gunmen rampaged through three villages in the state killing 28 people and burning houses.

  • Extension not enough

    Extension not enough

    •Devising strategies for curbing terrorism in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states should go beyond extending the emergency rule

    YESTERDAY, the emergency rule imposed on three North-Eastern states lapsed. In anticipation, President Goodluck Jonathan had, last week, made a proclamation extending it and forwarded same to the National Assembly for ratification. However, while it had a smooth sail in the House of Representatives, the Senate has deferred discussions till this week. Eminent persons, political leaders and governments of the affected states have rejected the bid to extend the emergency, arguing that equipping and boosting the morale of government troops would be more effective.

    We find it difficult to agree with the contention by the Federal Government that an extension would help curb the insurgency and save the populace from undue harassment and displacement. Since the emergency was imposed May last year, the terrorists have struck at will in schools, villages and markets. State governments have continued to wonder how convoys made their way to public places and slaughtered the innocent. In some cases, Nigerian soldiers have lamented the superiority of arms and ammunition available to the Boko Haram terrorists.

    It is our view that mere extension without a thorough review of the operations of the security forces and improvement in welfare package for the troops would be counter-productive. The recent mutiny by some soldiers of the 7th Division of the Nigerian Army is an indication that something grave is happening which requires more than cosmetic attention.

    Already, having lasted more than one year, the emergency in Adamawa, Yobe and Borno states is the longest in the history of such unusual situations in the country. In the First Republic when the confusion in the Western Region led to the appointment of Chief Moses Majekodunmi as administrator, with consequent conferment of extraordinary powers on him, normalcy was restored within six months. The emergency was not extended.

    In May 2004, the Federal Government imposed emergency rule on Plateau State following communal conflicts that had engulfed the state and threatened to spill to others. The tenure of General Chris Alli who was appointed the administrator was not extended after it lapsed in November.

    Similarly, in October 2006, a state of emergency was declared in Ekiti State and another retired general, Adetunji Olurin, was made the administrator. His tenure had to be slightly adjusted to cover the one-month gap to the installation of an elected governor.

    By nature, emergency periods are supposed to last only a short period. While it could be argued that the situation that called for taking the measures has not abated, it should be equally noted that the emergency has not succeeded in ridding the territory of the terrorists.

    We also note that in none of the previous cases did the emergency rule cure the society of the ills that provoked such extraordinary measures. In the current case, the ease with which the insurgents, especially the outrageous recent kidnap of about 273 girls from the Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State, calls for a new approach by the military and civil authorities. Whether the emergency is extended or not, security of lives and property in the affected states and the contiguous region should be paramount.

    If two terms of the emergency could not stamp out the menace, there is no assurance that a third term would perform the magic.

     

  • NBA, Sagay back extension of emergency rule

    NBA, Sagay back extension of emergency rule

    Some prominent lawyers in Lagos on Wednesday backed the extension of emergency rule in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe States.

    The lawyers, in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), said the state of emergency should be retained to enable the government restore peace to the areas.

    It will be recalled that President Goodluck Jonathan on May 14, 2013, imposed the emergency rule on the three states experiencing the activities of insurgents.

    Jonathan on Tuesday sent a request to the National Assembly seeking approval for an extension of the state of emergency.

    A constitutional lawyer, Prof. Itse Sagay (SAN), told NAN that the Nigerian military had not achieved much with the previous powers granted them to tackle the insurrection.

    Sagay said the recent abduction of some students of Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok in Borno, was an indictment on the military.

    He, however, urged the National Assembly to grant Jonathan’s request, adding that the military should be given another opportunity to deal with the situation.

    Sagay also advised the president not to remove the state governors of the troubled states, as being suggested by some persons.

    “People talking like that are ignorant and they thrive in gross unconstitutional acts.

    “No power exists in the Nigerian Constitution for removal of governors because of the declaration of state of emergency,’’ he said.

    Also speaking, Mr Yinka Farounbi, Chairman, Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Ikeja branch, called for a collaborative effort in addressing the security challenges in the states.

    “The state of emergency should be extended but the Federal Government must work hand-in-hand with the various state governments to make sure the campaign against Boko Haram is sustained.

    “As a start, the Federal Government should provide military protection for all schools, markets and other public infrastructure in those areas,’’ Farounbi said.

    Another lawyer, Mr Wale Ogunade, said the state of emergency should continue till the situation is brought under control.

    Ogunade also advised Nigerian politicians to stop playing politics with the security challenges and work together toward bringing stability to the areas. (NAN)

  • Chibok: 54 girls identified in video, says Borno Governor

    Chibok: 54 girls identified in video, says Borno Governor

    Borno State Governor, Kashim Shettima has confirmed that 54 of the  young girls shown in a video released by the Boko ‎Haram sect  are part of schoolgirls abducted at Government Secondary School Chibok .‎

    Governor Shettima confirmed the identification in Abuja on Tuesday during a press briefing held after a peaceful procession by coalition of civil society bodies and activists under the Bring Back Our Girls initiative in Abuja

    Isa Gusau , Special Adviser to the Governor on Communications said in a statement that  the girls were identified by their names at an exercise that involved some parents of the girls, fellow students that include escapees from abduction, some teachers, security men and some officials of the Borno State Government led by the Chief of Staff to the Government House,Abubakar Kyari.

    The parents and students were conveyed to the Government House in Maiduguri to make for an open identification exercise‎.

    The identified  schoolgirls are:
    1.     Agnes Gafane

     2. Saraya Stober
    3.   Hauwa Bitrus
    4.  Hajara Isa
    5.    Na’omi Philimun
    6.   Hauwa Abdu (1st Speaking)
    7.   Magret Yama
    8.   Shitta Abdu
    9.    Jummai Muta
    10.Ladi Paul
    11.   Roda Peter
    12.  Filo Dauda
    13.  Godiya Bitrus
    14. Saratu Tauji (2nd Speaking)
    15. Ross Daniel
    16.Hauwa Ali
    17. Hajara Isa (Amira 3rd Speaking)
    18.Luba Afga
    19.Na’omi Luka
    20.  Saraya Emos Ali
    21. Bilkisu Abdullahi
    22.     Mairama Ali
    23.      Maryam Ali Maiyanga
    24.      Dabora Abbas
    25.       Kabu Mala
    26.       Halima Ali
    27.          Yana Bukar
    28.         Solomi Pugu
    29.         Lydia Emmar
    30.         Luba Sanda
    31.   Saraya Samuel
    32.         Comfort Habila
    33.           Rejoice Shanki
    34.        Gloria Yaga
    35.     ‎Mary Nkeki
    36.          Moda Baba
    37.           Hauwa Isuwa
    38.           Patient Jacob
    39.           Ladi Jajel
    40.            Abigel Bukar
    41. Fanta Lawan
    42.       Zainabu Yaga
     
    43.     Aisha Lawan Zanna
    44.          Dokas Yakubu
    45.        Kabu Mala
    46.         Maryama Bashir
    47.      Hauwa M. Maina
    48.     Mary  G. Dauda
    49.      Susana Yakubu
    50.        Maryam Abbas
    51.  Laraba John
    52.     Hanatu Nuhu
    53.        Na’ omi Bukar
    54.       Rifkatu Galang
     

    .

  • Borno declares three-day fasting for missing girls

    Borno declares three-day fasting for missing girls

    GovERNOR Kashim Shettima of Borno State yesterday declared three days of fasting and prayers in the state for the safe return of the students of Government Girls Secondary Schoool, Chibok, who were abducted by Boko Haram last month.

    The fasting will run from Monday, May 12 to Wednesday, May 14 for God to intervene in the rescue of the girls . Receiving participants in a protest organised by the Kibaku Area Development Association (KADA), Chibok, in Maiduguri, the governor asked every Nigerians, regardless of religion, to join the three-day fasting.

    He said that the issue at stake is beyond politics and religion because, according to him, the abduction borders parents everywhere.

    He hailed the American first lady, Michelle Obama, for supporting the cause of the freedom of the girls.

    Shettima noted that without the support of concerned citizens of the world like Michelle Obama, her husband and many other leaders around the world, little would have been known about the plight of the victims.

    “The people of Nigeria say no to this unfortunate development and I assure you that we will do all we can to get you out of this pains you are going through,” he told the women.

    Earlier, spokesperson for the KADA people, Alabe Grema, called on the managers of security in Abuja to take concrete steps to free the abducted teenagers.

    Grema spoke of the psychological trauma being faced by his people following the abduction and prayed that the pains would end soon.

    Among the protesters were women and elders of Chibok, including those whose daughters were abducted.

    The mother of Helen Jarma, one of the victims, wept all through the protest.

    She told reporters that since she could not go to the Sambisa forest to get her daughter, the best she can do now is to cry until she returns.

    On the allegation by Amnesty International that the military had foreknowledge of the abduction four hours before it occurred, Governor Shettima said that while he appreciated the “sacrifices” of security agencies in checking the menace of Boko Haram in the state, he had no reason to doubt the findings of the organisation.

    But he said that with the AI’s findings directed at the Federal Government, the state government would prefer to stay out of it.

    Special Adviser to the Governor on Media, Mallam Isa Gusau, in a statement yesterday on the AI report said the governor “will not comment” on it.

    “But the Governor deeply appreciates the efforts and sacrifices of security agencies in Borno State who have been engaged in counter-insurgency operations in the last three years with some of them laying their lives for the state. The Governor also respects the Amnesty International as a credible institution and will not doubt its findings,” he said.

    “The Governor is very much committed to supporting ongoing search and rescue efforts to free Borno’s precious daughters.

    “More than any other person in position of authority, Governor Shettima is deeply pained by that unfortunate abduction and is committed to providing all necessary support security agencies and community volunteers towards freeing his daughters.”

  • Boko Haram has become a global problem, says Soyinka

    Boko Haram has become a global problem, says Soyinka

    Unless the international community joins forces with the Nigerian government, the 276 girls kidnapped at the Government Secondary School in Chibok, Borno State would be sold as sex slaves, Prof Wole Soyinka said yesterday.

    The Nobel Laureate, who spoke to CNN’s Christine Amanpour, described the abduction of the school girls as a horrifying event, which needed rapid action from the global community.

    He said the experience would traumatise the victims for the rest of their lives, stressing that services of psychological experts would be needed to help the girls recover from the pain should they be rescued alive.

    He said: “The world must confront this reality. It is painful and horrifying that these girls are going to be sold as sex slaves. I used that expression deliberately; let us not beat around the bush. We are dealing with the monstrosity and an affliction, which requires that we must go in quickly and act rapidly, because these girls are going to be traumatised in a way in which it is going to …haimt them for the rest of their lives.”

    Soyinka described as gleeful charade, the latest video released by the Boko Haram sect, which filmed its leader, Imam Abubakar Shekau, with four other armed militants, sending a message to the government.

    “The obscenity we just watched from the leader of Boko Haram is something to be anticipated, but it doesn’t come as a surprise. That is the nature of what this people have made themselves into,” the Nobel Laureate said.

    Soyinka, who noted that the Boko Haram activity should not be seen as Nigeria’s problem, said the sect was consolidating internal insurrection that had been brewing slowly in the country for a long time.

    He dismissed the notion that the extrajudicial killing of Mohammed Yusuf, the sect’s leader, aggravated the crisis in the Northeast, saying the late Yusuf was a serial killer and butcher, who should have been brought to justice were he to be alive. He condemned the move by government leaders to make the late sect leader a saint, even as he denounced his extra-judicial killing.

    He said: “When Yusuf was killed, a former Head of State went on a mission of appeasement to Boko Haram family, asking the people to forgive and forget. But this was a killer. But the law says those who kill must not go unpunished.”

    Condemning the acts of terror against innocent Nigerians, Soyinka said: “These criminals take pride in bestiality. The issue is that of fundamentalist fascism in which you feel that…it is an act of domination in which you prove what power you have in the environment, the little pond, where you operate. It is a bad mentality.”

    Soyinka said the protesters demonstrating against the school girls’ abduction have created action whose end nobody could tell. He said the abduction has ended all pretence by the government, which he said has shown indifference to the enormity of the crisis rocking the Northeast.

    He said: “People coming out on the street now don’t realise the enormity the action would catch up on them. Where it would end, I do not know but one thing is certain; the president and his government cannot pretend what has befallen Nigeria. All the pretence, indifference and denial have ended; I am convinced about that. The situation is now beyond the capacity of the government…”

     

    That is why I said it involves an international action.”

     

     

     

  • Anglican to govt: Rescue the girls

    The Diocese of the Kwara Anglican Communion has urged the federal and Borno State governments to rescue the over 200 schoolgirls abducted from a secondary school in Chibok.

    The church appealed to both governments to provide tight security for schools, particularly in the Northeast.

    The synod of the church at its 14th session, presided over by the diocesan Bishop Olusegun Adeyemi in Ilorin, the state capital, urged President Goodluck Jonathan to tackle the nation’s security challenges.

    In a communiqué at the end of the session the “synod notes with concern the activities of the Boko Haram sect and the general insecurity in the land and calls of President Goodluck Jonathan to stem the unacceptable security challenges, and Nigerian must be more proactive in intelligent gathering and reporting”.

    The communiqué added: “The synod is alarmed by the abduction and kidnapping of about 200 girls from Government Girls’ Secondary School, Chibok in Borno State.

    “Synod appeals to our politicians to conduct responsible campaigns and conduct themselves with the fear of God as we approach the 2015 general elections. It appeals to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to be fair to all political parties in the interest of the continued survival of Nigeria as a united entity.

    “Synod prays that God will grant the country’s leaders the wisdom to direct it on the path of righteousness so that everyone can realise their full potentials. This will make life better for the poor and the downtrodden.

    “Synod notes with concern the jumbo pay for political office holders and appeals to the Revenue Mobilisation and Fiscal Commission to look into ways of effecting a downward review to forestall future agitations and labour unrests and their attendant negative effects on the country.”

     

    “The synod notes that the ongoing national conference is a welcome development and a golden opportunity to sort out areas of conflict in our continued existence as a nation in search of truce federalism and enjoins delegates to be selfless, patriot and fair in resolving issues.”

    On the state government, the synod “notes the commendable efforts of Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed in keeping the state together and prays that God grants him the wisdom to heed the cries of the Christian community in order to achieve a lasting peace.

    “The synod notes the constant conflicts, with frequent loss of lives, between Fulani herdsmen and farmers and calls on governments at all levels to create grazing areas integrated with nomadic schools and constant supply of portable water.”