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Tag: Cameroon

  • 3,000 Nigerians flee anti-terrorism war to Cameroon, says UN

    3,000 Nigerians flee anti-terrorism war to Cameroon, says UN

    •Jonathan thanks U.S. for bounty on  Shekau, others

    No fewer than 3,000 Nigerians have fled the battle against Boko Haram in the northeast and relocated to Cameroon, the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) said yesterday.

    The agency earlier reported the presence of some fleeing Nigerians in Niger.

    Also yesterday, the Borno State government lamented that about 19,000 rice farmers had relocated, hinting at a possible food shortage at the end of the year.

    The UN agency said people continued to flee the crises in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states with the refugee exodus now spreading to Cameroon, where more than 3,000 Nigerians have fled.

    UNHCR said thousands of Nigerians began crossing into Cameroon one week ago. The new arrivals tell aid workers they fled a confrontation between the army and Boko Haram rebels.

    UNHCR spokesman Adrian Edwards said the fighting occurred just 10 kilometres from the Nigerian-Cameroon border. Most of the refugees, he said, were women and children.

    “Primarily, the refugees are being looked after by the host communities and … churches are also part of the networks providing help to people as they immediately come across,” he said.

    “As with all of these crises,” Edwards added, “the worry for us is when you have refugees in areas very close to the border, which might be volatile, might be unsafe. We are looking at moving people to other locations. But, in terms of their current accommodations, most people are living in the community.”

    The UNHCR said refugees were continuing to arrive in neighboring Niger, adding to the more than 6,000 refugees that are already there.

    Edwards said most of the new arrivals in Niger were women and children coming from rural villages across the border and from the towns of Maiduguri and Baga.

    “On 11 June, gunshots were heard in Malam Ftouri, a village on the Nigeria side, close to the border, prompting the population of the village to flee across the border. They travelled by foot, by motorbike,” he said. “They found refuge with host families just across the border. Hundreds of new arrivals have also been reported further north of Diffa, according to local authorities.”

    Aid workers on the ground report some displaced people from Nigeria are returning home after a few days in Niger. Others, they said, were shuttling between the two countries depending on the security situation in Nigeria.

    Chad, a third possible destination for Nigerian refugees, has officially closed its border. As a consequence, the UNHCR reports no Nigerians have arrived there besides the 155 refugees who came last week.

    Islamic militants have driven 19,000 rice farmers from their land while a military crackdown is preventing thousands more from working their fields, raising fears of imminent food shortages, officials warned yesterday.

    Food shortages would add to the misery in Northeast. The area abandoned by farmers is a fertile one in the semi-arid Sahel, a regional bread basket created by the receding waters of Lake Chad.

    “We anticipate general hunger this year because all roads linking the cities to the farming hinterlands have been closed down,” Agriculture Commissioner for Borno State Usman Zannah told The Associated Press in an interview yesterday, adding: “Farmers have been locked out of their farm lands while those in the hinterland cannot come to the city for tractors or labourers to get their farms tilled for the next cropping.”

    President Goodluck Jonathan has thanked President Barack Obama and the United States government for their “evident solidarity and support’’ for the country in its committed fight against terrorism.

    The North America Correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the President stated this in a June 4 letter, which was released on Monday.

    Jonathan noted that the U.S. government’s declaration of a bounty on the head of the leader of Boko Haram, Abubakar Shekau, along with other terrorist leaders across the Africa was most welcome.

    “As I indicated in my earlier letter to you, Nigeria is unwaveringly committed to successfully prosecuting the fight against the scourge of terrorism in all its ramifications in our country.

    “In frontally facing up to the threat of Ahlul Sunna li daawa wal Jihad (Boko Haram), our law enforcement agents are under strict instructions to adhere to the clearly defined rules of engagement.

    “They are not to engage in acts that may have the effect of compromising the human rights and safety of innocent citizens in the areas of operation,’’ Jonathan stressed.

    He added that “in this quest, Mr President (Obama), we are with the U.S. in the belief that an act of terrorism against any nation or group is an attack against our common humanity, and it must be resolutely resisted by all legitimate means.’’

    “I fully acknowledge your committed leadership of the global fight against international terrorism as well as your government’s steadfast support for us and other nations which have come under terrorist attacks over the years.

    “I very much look forward to even closer cooperation between our two nations in the fight against this global menace.’’

  • Boko Haram got $3.15 m to free French hostages

    Islamist sect, Boko Haram was paid an equivalent of around $3.15 million by French and Cameroonian negotiators before freeing seven French hostages this month, Reuters reported Friday quoting  ‘a confidential Nigerian government report.’
    It said the  memo did not specify  who paid the ransom for the family of seven, who were all released on April 19.
    Cameroon was said to have  freed some Boko Haram detainees as part of the deal.
    France and Cameroon reiterated denials that any ransom was paid. Nigerian authorities declined to comment.
    Armed men on motorcycles snatched Tanguy Moulin-Fournier, his wife, brother and the couple’s four young children, the youngest of whom was four years old, on February 19 while they were on holiday near the Waza national park in north Cameroon, some 10 km  from the Nigerian border.
    The Nigerian memo,according to Reuters, suggests that 1.6 billion CFA francs ($3.15 million) was paid, but that right up until the last minute Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau had insisted on double that, before agreeing to reduce it if some Boko Haram members in Cameroonian jails were freed.
    Reacting to the report, a French foreign ministry official said that France has passed a clear message that it does not pay ransoms. Cameroon government spokesman Issa Tchiroma Bakary said “Cameroon did not pay any ransom”.
    A spokesman for Nigeria’s government declined to comment.
    The report suggests Nigerian security forces decided not to try to rescue the hostages so as not to endanger their lives. A botched rescue attempt of a British and an Italian hostage believed to have been held by Islamist sect Ansaru in March last year resulted in both hostages being killed.
    French news network i-tele reported earlier yesterday  that a ransom had of $7 million had been paid, suggesting either Cameroon President Paul Biya or GDF-Suez had paid it.
    Eight French hostages are being held in the Sahel region, although the fate of one of them is unclear after al-Qaeda’s north African arm last month said it had beheaded Philippe Verdon.
    Hollande has said Paris has ended a policy of paying ransoms for hostages, but suspicion that the country still does despite official denials has been a source of tension with the United States.
    France brushed off an allegation by a former U.S. diplomat that it paid a $17 million ransom in vain for the release of four hostages abducted in 2010 from Niger.
    Hollande told the family of the Sahel hostages in January that the new policy also meant that he had told companies and insurance firms to not pay ransoms.
  • Seven French hostages released in Cameroon

    Seven French hostages released in Cameroon

    A French family of seven including four children kidnapped in northern Cameroon and taken to Nigeria by suspected Boko Haram militants have been released, a senior Cameroon official said on Friday.

    “They are all alive and well,’’ Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh, secretary-general of Cameroon’s presidency, said in a statement carried by state radio.

    He said the family had been handed over to Cameroon authorities late on Thursday.

    The family, which was on holiday, was abducted in February by men on motorcycles, armed with Kalashnikovs in Dabanga about 10 km from the Nigerian border near the Waza national park.

    Gunmen claiming to be from Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram later released videos of the family, threatening to kill them if authorities in Nigeria and Cameroon did not release Muslim militants held there.

    The parents of the family, which included two boys and two girls as well as another relative, work for French utility firm GDF Suez.

  • Cameroon holds international confab on maritime security

    Cameroon holds international confab on maritime security

    Worried by the unbridled phenomenon of maritime insecurity that has become common features in most countries, experts from 15 countries converged on Cameroon to discuss ways of tackling the trend.

    The Nigerian Navy, being among the 15 countries, participated in a multi-national sea exercise tagged Obangame Express 2013. The conference held in Cameroonian city of Douala. Issues in counter-piracy and maritime security operations in the Gulf of Guinea dominated discussions at the event.

    The exercise provided Africa, Europe as well as other maritime countries the opportunity to work together, share information and refine methods of tackling issues of security in the Gulf of Guinea for better monitoring of the territorial waters and the economic zone.

    Two Nigerian Navy ships namely NNS Thunder and NNS Burutu as well as a maritime patrol aircraft from the Nigerian Air Force were deployed for the exercise.

    Countries that participated were Belgium; Benin Republic; Brazil; Cameroon; Cote d’Ivoire and Equatorial Guinea.

    Others were Gabon, Ghana, the Netherlands, Democratic Republic of Congo, Sao Tome and Principe, Spain, Togo and United States of America.

    Trainings on sea ship boarding; air operations; communications drills; and regional information sharing were conducted. The aim was to improve the multi-lateral operations among maritime forces of the participating countries, as well as the skills of their individual ships.

    Cameroon’s Minister of Defence, Mr. Meme A. E. Alain said naval forces within the region must effectively strengthen the intervention capability using reliable equipment and maritime surveillance system.

    “The required harmonisation of operational procedures of multi-national players involved in securing the Gulf of Guinea guarantees the effectiveness of our naval forces in maintaining maritime security and safety.

    “Maritime security is a prerequisite for attracting investment, promoting trade and continuing economic development,” he said.

    Commander, United States African Command, General Carter Ham said that maritime partnership, maritime security and safety are increasingly important in the Gulf of Guinea in order to combat variety of challenges including maritime crime, illicit trafficking and piracy.

    Coordinator of the exercise, Captain Dave Rollo of the United States Navy, said Obangame Express helps to promote relationships between countries to enable them to combat illicit activities in the Gulf of Guinea.

    He said: “The act of piracy is a global problem that must be jointly tackled.”

    Commanding Officer, NNS Thunder Captain Adeseye Ayobanjo praised the United States for conducting the exercise which he described as successful.

    “We are happy to take part in the exercise. We shall take home the knowledge gained from this exercise for improved maritime security on our territorial waters,” he said.

    The sea exercise came few weeks after the Nigerian Navy inaugurated five newly-acquired Ocea and Shaldag boats in Lagos.

    While inaugurating the boats acquired from France and Israel, the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice-Admiral Dele Ezeoba said that they would be deployed in stemming the upsurge in piracy and crude oil theft in the country’s maritime domain.

    Ezeoba further said that “for the Navy to effectively deal with the scourge of oil theft, sea robbery and piracy, it would require a minimum of 40 Ocea and Sheldag boats in order to dominate the vast exteem of the country’s territorial waters; especially in the current emerging security challenges.”

    He further said that the boats would be deployed in the Brass corridor where there is high rate of crude oil theft and pipeline vandalism, so as to checkmate all illegal activities and reduce them to the barest.

    “Though the boats are small, they are fast. They are designed for security tasks such as interdiction, anti-smuggling, anti-bunkering, sea robbery and piracy.

    “I made a solemn pledge to the President on my assumption of office that the Nigeria Navy would put in place proactive operational imperatives that would engender gross reductions in acts of illegalities, particularly crude oil theft in our maritime environment.

    “To give verve to that pledge, I promulgated what I call Strategic Guideline (SG) 1, which encapsulates broad operational directives and a clearly-defined methodology for the attainment of the strategic end state for the current watch on deck.

    “The thrust of this Strategic Guideline would be establishment of a robust and combat-ready fleet which I consider fundamental to the achievement of the Navy’s mission which is ‘to discharge its constitutional roles and assigned task in a professional and efficient manner, consistent with global best practices for the defence and protection of Nigeria’s territorial integrity.

    “It is in this context that the acquisition and subsequent deployment of these boats manifest expression of the Navy’s commitment to the attainment of these operational objectives.

    “The features of these boats include very high maneuverability with good sea keeping qualities. And in order to ensure proper and efficient deployment of these boats, a total of 11 officers and 48 ratings have been trained to man and maintain them.

    “What we have done is to give teeth to the vessels because they cannot fight on their own. It requires well-trained human resource to be able to drive the requirements of getting the vessels to do what they are supposed to do,” Ezeoba said.

  • Abduction: France will not negotiate with Boko Haram

    Abduction: France will not negotiate with Boko Haram

    France will not negotiate with gunmen claiming to be from the Boko Haram sect who have taken a French family of seven hostage, Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on Tuesday.

    The three adults and four children were seized in Cameroon’s far north near the Nigerian border last week, Reuters reports.

    In a video posted online on Monday, the gunmen threatened to kill them unless authorities in Nigeria and Cameroon released Muslim militants held there.

    “We do not negotiate on that kind of basis, with these kind of groups,” Le Drian told RTL radio. “We will use all (other) possible means to ensure that these and other (French) hostages are freed.”

     

  • Confusion over French hostages’ release

    Confusion over French hostages’ release

    …They were not released in Nigeria – JTF

    … No official confirmation that they had been freed – French minister

    Reports that seven French hostages kidnapped in Cameroon were found alive and safe in a house in northern Nigeria on Thursday are false, a Nigerian military spokesman has said.

    “It’s not true,” said Sagir Musa, spokesman for the Joint Task Force in Borno State, where the hostages were reported to have been released.

    Reports quoting French and Cameroonian officials had earlier said the hostages were rescued and  freed in Nigeria.

    “They were found abandoned in a house in Dikwa” in Nigeria, about 100km [60 miles] from the border with Niger, a senior Cameroonian officer told AFP.

    “They are in the hands of the Nigerian authorities,” the officer added.

    Reuters reports that France’s minister for veterans’ affairs told parliament the four children and three adults abducted on Tuesday had been released.

    Few minutes later he said there was no official confirmation that they had been freed.

     

     

  • Cameroon claims French hostages ‘now in Nigeria’

    Cameroon claims French hostages ‘now in Nigeria’

    The Islamist militants believed to have abducted a French family of seven, including four children, in Cameroon on Tuesday have taken them into Nigeria, Cameroon’s foreign ministry said.

    Reuters reports that the abduction highlights the growing risk of attacks on French nationals and interests in Africa since Paris sent forces into Mali last month to help oust Islamist rebels occupying the country’s north.

    “The kidnappers have crossed the Nigerian border with their hostages,” junior minister Joseph Dion Ngute said in a statement late on Tuesday.

    He added that security in the Dabanga area, 10 km (six miles) from the Nigerian border, had been reinforced and “urgent measures” put in place to find the hostages.

    It is the first case of foreigners being seized in the mostly Muslim north of Cameroon, a former French colony.

    Speaking on French television on Wednesday, French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said all the evidence pointed to Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram, but there did not appear to be a direct link with France’s intervention in Mali.

    “We believe it’s the Boko Haram group that carried out the kidnapping, but we don’t know for sure. Unfortunately, terror breeds terror,” Le Drian told France 2 television.

    “Now this group …has started taking children.”

    France intervened in Mali last month after Islamist rebels seized control of the north of the country and pushed south towards the capital Bamako.

    “It’s these groups that are calling for the same fundamentalism, whether it’s in Mali or in Somalia or in Nigeria. And it’s these groups that threaten our security,” Le Drian said.

    French President Francois Hollande said the kidnappings would not stop France from pursuing its operation in Mali.

     

  • Nigeria, Cameroon raise security committee

    Nigeria, Cameroon raise security committee

    NIGERIA and Cameroun moved yesterday to prevent the influx of terrorists from troubled Mali and other parts of the sub-region. They set up a joint Trans-border Security Committee.

    Inaugurating the committee in Abuja, Foreign Affairs Minister Ambassador Olugbenga Ashiru said the agreement had been signed with Cameroonian vice prime minister since February 28, last year.

    According to him, the recent reports of terrorist incidents in some border villages with Cameroon have further underscored the urgency to inaugurate the National Committee to pave the way for an early meeting of its members with their Cameroonian counterparts towards an earnest and effective implementation of the agreement.

    Ashiru urged the committee members to bring their expertise to achieve the noble aims and objectives of the agreement.

    He said: “This event is holding at a crucial period of renewed international fight against trans-border crimes; including the on-going war in Mali; to get rid of the terrorist groups; their networks and heinous activities.

    “Your committee has an important role to play in the efforts to curb the wave of trans-border crimes and safeguard lives and properties on our common borders with Cameroon.

    “In line with its mandate, the Trans-Border Security Committee is to develop practicable strategies and measures to strengthen cooperation on security between the two countries on their common borders.

    “This includes new and additional measures to address the challenges of terrorism, trans-border trafficking in small arms and light weapons and influx of illegal immigrants.”

    Urging the Nigeria members of the committee to take the assignment seriously, Ashiru said: “I cannot over-emphasize that as representatives of Nigeria, you must always be guided by our national interests in your deliberations, considering the link with our national peace, security and development.”

  • Call for participation in U.S TechWomen programme

    Call for participation in U.S TechWomen programme

    Call for participation in U.S TechWomen programme

    Alade Abiodun

    TechWomen, an initiative of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs has invited applications from emerging women leaders in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM.)

    Participants will be drawn from the Middle East and Africa together with their counterparts in the United States for the professional mentorship and exchange program in the Fall of this year.

    Applicants must be women who are permanent residents of Algeria, Cameroon, Egypt, Jordan, Kenya, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Nigeria, the Palestinian Territories, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tunisia, Yemen and Zimbabwe.

    Deadline for interested participants in the programme scheduled for Fall of 2013 is February 22.

    The program will identify approximately 80 women who are emerging leaders and entrepreneurs working in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) from the Middle East & Africa for a five-week program  including mentorships and professional exchanges at leading companies in Silicon Valley, California, concluding with workshops, networking events and meetings in Washington, D.C.

    During the five-week program, participants engage in project-based mentorships at leading companies in Silicon Valley, participate in workshops and networking events throughout the San Francisco Bay Area and travel to Washington, D.C. for targeted meetings and special events to conclude the program.

    Each Emerging Leader will be paired with a Professional Mentor who works closely with the participant to design and carry out a project at the host company. The Professional Mentor offers guidance and support throughout the mentorship. Emerging Leaders also participate in professional enrichment activities that include leadership and entrepreneurship workshops, technology seminars and networking events.

    Each TechWomen Emerging Leader will also be paired with a Cultural Mentor who facilitates activities to deepen mutual understanding and help the participant acclimate to the San Francisco Bay Area and Silicon Valley culture. Participants will also have the opportunity to tour national landmarks while in Washington, D.C.

    Past activities have included sightseeing, art exhibits, sporting events, and visits to local universities.

    Participants are women who are engaged or rising in professional careers that require significant expertise and knowledge of STEM fields and/or innovative application of these skills, and who already are —or show promise of being— role models for women and girls.

    Preference will be given to applicants Who have demonstrated themselves as emerging leaders in STEM fields;  have limited or no prior experience in the United States; have a record of voluntary or public service in their communities; have demonstrated entrepreneurialism and commitment to innovation.

    While participating in the program, applicants are not permitted to apply for immigrant visa to the United States, or participated in a visa lottery in the past five years and not hold U.S. Citizenship or be a U.S. legal permanent resident.

    TechWomen, an initiative of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs was launched by the outgoing Secretary of State of the United States of America, Hillary Rodham Clinton in 2011, with the vision of “smart power diplomacy” embracing the full range of diplomatic tools, including technology, to bring people together for greater understanding and to empower women and girls worldwide.

    Interested participants should visit www.techwomen.org/how-to-apply/ or send e-mail to techwomen@iie.org.

     

  • Nigeria, Cameroon to partner on economy

    The Nigerian High Commissioner to Cameroon, Hajiya Hadiza Mustapha, on Monday said the two countries were proposing to partner on economic development to enhance cooperation between them.

    In a chat with the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja, Mustapha said the two countries had recognised that if cooperation was maintained, there would be improved economic development in the countries.

    She said the partnership would create room for increased exchanges between the two countries.

    “The oil wells issue is one of my missions. I am pursing a project that will expand our economic cooperation in that area because it is one of the best ways to ensure security between the two countries.

    “It is something that has been discussed under the Cameroon-Nigeria Mixed Commission and we are hoping that it will yield positive results,” Mustapha told NAN.

    The high commissioner said there was a proposal from Cameroon to Nigeria for cooperation in hydrocarbon production, adding that the Federal Government was studying the proposal “and the issue is on course.”

    She advised Nigerians in Cameroon to always renew their residence permit when due “even though I don’t have any problems with that as Nigerians in that country are cooperating well.

    “I always advise them to obey the rules and regulations of the country so that they will not face any harassment.

    “Cooperation and peaceful living are my major areas of priority and I want to ensure that it is maintained.

    “The relationship between Cameroonians and Nigerians living in Cameroon is very cordial. The government cooperates with us and gives me all the facilities to do my job,” she added.