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Tag: Chibok

  • Aisha Buhari to Boko Haram, others: Leave our Daughters Alone

    Aisha Buhari to Boko Haram, others: Leave our Daughters Alone

    Wife of the President, Mrs. Aisha Buhari has charged perpetrators of abductions and various harmful practices against women and girls to stop forthwith.

    She was speaking during an event to mark the 2018 International Women’s Day, on Thursday, March 8, 2018 at the National Center for Women Development, Abuja.

    Mrs. Buhari, in a statement by her Director of Information, Suilaman Haruna, observed that for Nigeria, the day must be marked with a difference considering the sad incidence of the abduction of girls, especially the case of Chibok and Dapchi, which must take the national spotlight.

    “As a mother, I share the sorrow and agony of the parents at this time, it is my sincere hope that efforts by government will soon lead to their release.” She said.

    She introduced a local theme tagged “Leave our daughters alone” which she said, is a strong call for the end of abductions, charging the media to own the campaign and spread the message.

    She also charged wives of the Governors to propagate the campaign in their various states, stating that the message must echo through all corners of Nigeria and be on everyone’s lips.

    “Leave our daughters alone, leave our daughters alone, leave our daughters alone” she charged.

    Speaking earlier, wife of the Vice President, Mrs. Dolapo Osinbajo, while congratulating women as they celebrate the special day, said it is sad that Nigerian women were witnessing the worst of times because of many negative things that are happening.

    She however noted that at the same time they are also witnessing the best of times in many respects.

    This, she said, is because there are many good stories happening around women.

    Director-General of the National Center for Women Development, Barrister Mary Ekpere-Eta, said this year, there was an unprecedented global movement for women’s rights, equality and justice.

    She said sexual harassment, violence and discrimination against women has captured public discourse, propelled by a rising determination for change, which she noted were instrumental to the declaration by the Wife of the President on the harmful practices affecting women and girls in Nigeria.

    She drew attention to the plight of rural women, who despite their hard work lack basic infrastructure and services, decent work and social protection, and are left more vulnerable to the effects of climate change.

    She called for urgent action to reverse this trend and ensure better life for the rural women.

    Goodwill messages were delivered by UNICEF, UN Women, UNFPA and a host of others.

    Highlight of the event was an exhibition of women’s business products.

     

  • Ending Chibok and Dapchi crisis

    Ending Chibok and Dapchi crisis

    Several reactions have continued to trail the attack on the Government Girls Science and Technical College, Dapchi, Yobe State by Boko Haram insurgents where no fewer than 110 girls were abducted from their dormitories.

    This was after a shooting occurred in the school premises as the girls were observing Maghrib (sunset) prayers, breaking their voluntary fast and getting set for supper.

    Robert Ogbogu, Team Lead, at Locate Initiative for Missing and Exploited Persons (Locate NG) believes that sad occurrences like this can be better avoided.

    Speaking in an exclusive interview with our correspondent, Robert laid claim to the International Humanitarian Law which binds countries of the world to account for missing persons in domestic and international armed conflicts.

    “The International Humanitarian Law Rule 117 significantly binds countries to account for missing persons in both international and domestic armed conflicts and Nigeria is bound to fulfil this obligation but unfortunately this is not so, as the government has not only ignored this provision but also failed to learn from previous incidents.

    “That is why we are having a repeat of Chibok in Dapchi. The Nigerian government has ignored security threats Boko Haram insurgents pose in our society and tragedy has struck once again. With Rule 117 in perspective, an enabling environment has been provided for relevant stakeholders to introduce reform programs that will help find and account for missing persons,” he said.

    Robert stated that the number of missing persons over the years have continued to pose threats to citizens and critical stakeholders in the country.

    “The fate of missing persons in Nigeria has been a major challenge to citizens and other critical stakeholders as it relates to public safety, security and human rights.”

    “Key concerns range from poor and untimely reporting, poor case management, delays in the search process, human rights abuses, lack of modern information technology tools and weak coordination and cooperation amongst relevant
    stakeholders, security agencies and citizens,” Robert added.

    Read Also: Military tackles Rep over Dapchi girls’ whereabouts

    Robert agreed that the Government has done a great job in releasing a list of the abducted girls but needs to do more than just that if the girls are to return home as he called for more enlightenment in the face of the on-going crisis.

    “The government are doing well already by deploying military assets and officers to work but more has to be done. They need to engage the locals and I urge parents, friends and families of the missing girls to come forward with the pictures of the girls so we can upload same to our missing persons portal. It saddens me that at this moment we are yet to put faces to the names of the girls.

    “I know Nigerians want to help and they can do it better with adequate information. You never can tell, these girls might be held hostage in plain sight and if we fail to act now, consequences for delay in acquiring military intelligence to rescue our girls could be dire now and in the not too distant future. In cases like these, the need for enlightenment on preventive tips to staying safe in volatile area must be provided for mass consumption,”Ogbogu enthused.

    Robert spoke of www.locate.ng which is an easy, fast and research supported intervention that addresses the three most important reasons why it takes a long time for missing persons to be found or not found at all in Nigeria – reporting, broadcast, citizen engagement, and instant search.

    Locate will allow Nigerians report, broadcast and engage to find missing persons. It will bring together citizens, media houses, security agencies, development partners, national and state government, civil society organizations, and religious centres.

    Locate is designed to receive reports and broadcast alerts of missing and displaced persons; and also provide social and psychological support to families of victims of missing and displaced persons.

  • Chibok, Dapchi…the evil goes on

    Chibok, Dapchi…the evil goes on

    IT SOUNDED far-fetch when the news broke in the night of Monday, February 19. It cannot happen again, we chorused, looking at one another as we shared the news of the abduction of another set of school girls in the Northeast. No, not after what happened in Chibok, Borno State, about four years ago. In our subconscious minds, we silently prayed that the news would not be true. But the abduction of over 100 pupils of the Government Girls Science and Technical College (GGSTC) in Dapchi, Yobe State, was real.

    At first, the situation was confusing. The police initially denied that the girls were abducted. According to the police, they were missing. Some, they claimed, had run back home following the invasion of their school by Boko Haram. That was on Monday night. By Tuesday, things started to fall in place bit by bit. It had become clearer that something sinister happened at the school that fateful Monday. With the Chibok incident still fresh in our memory, the police were cautious in talking on the matter. They did not want to release more information than they should in order not to create panic.

    Unknown to them, with the world now a global village because of the social media, the news had  spread like wildfire. Whether or not the government was willing to release information, the public got information anyway and from diverse sources. Initially reports said 94 of the girls could not be accounted for; they were not among those who ran back home from school. No fewer than 906 of them were said to be in school that night. Some ran into the bush; some ran into nearby houses and yet others took to wherever their legs could carry them just to escape from the insurgents.

    With the 2014 Chibok experience and what happened in Bunu Yadi also in Yobe State in 2013, where some schoolboys were killed, still so fresh, a government that cares about its people, especially the future of its young ones, would have taken steps to prevent a recurrence of incidents like this. It is a big slap on the government’s  face  that Boko Haram could still storm a school and abduct pupils with ease despite its claim that it has clipped the sect’s wing. What happened in Dapchi on February 19 has turned that claim on its head. Troops may have levelled Sambisa Forest, the Boko Haram headquarters, to Ground Zairo, but it seems  they have not curtailed the sect’s power to do evil.

    It is sad that Boko Haram still has enormous power to raid schools and villages as well as  ambush exploratory research teams and troops and abduct people in the process. More still needs to be done in the battle against Boko Haram. Can we still describe it as a battle? The answer is no. It has become a war, which the nation must win at all costs if the kidnapping and killing of pupils must stop. The  insurgents must be laughing at us now wherever they are holding the girls. Our troops paved the way for them to strike on February 19 by letting their guards down.

    When fighting a sect like Boko Haram, you must be at alert every second, every minute. You must not leave your flank open. Troops were said to be stationed about 30 kilometres from the school. They were deployed there to guard the school and prevent the kind of thing that happened  on February 19. But that day, they left for another mission, without a thought for the safety of the GGSTC girls. I am a novice in the art of war, but I do not think that is how to prosecute a war, whether conventional or unconventional. You do not move all your troops from one front at a go, without making provision for the safety of those in your charge.

    Those girls were the state’s charge and those troops had no right to expose them to danger under the guise of moving to another front. What is in that front that is more important than the lives of those  vulnerable 906 schoolgirls? Shouldn’t some troops have been left behind to secure the girls? Come to think of it, are we sure that some of these troops are not working with the insurgents? How did the insurgents know that the soldiers will not be at their base 30 kilometres away from the school that night?

    Now that the government has obtained the actual number of abducted girls – 110 – everything must be done to bring them back. Unlike the Chibok case, where the nation was caught flat-footed, our troops unarguably  opened their flank for Boko Haram to abduct the Dapchi girls right under our nose. It is unfortunate that this is happening under an administration in which we pinned so much hope at the outset. Was it misplaced? The administration has a lot to do to win back the people’s trust. It can start by bringing back the Dapchi girls and all those abducted before them.

    If only the troops had not left their position, what happened that night would have been averted. There is no way the sect would have had the audacity to strike knowing that troops were not that far away. It could have been a pre-arranged attack for all I care because the insurgents took their time in carrying out their dastardly act. One of the girls, Aishatu Abdullahi, who escaped, said they were preparing to break their usual Monday fast when the insurgents struck. The senior school pupil told the online paper, Premiun Times: “They (insurgents) were shooting guns and everyone was confused; then we started running helter-skelter, but they were able to get some girls. We saw some people pushing some of the students to enter their vehicles. There were no soldiers at the time of the invasion.

    “They came in three trucks.  Some of the other girls ran with some of our teachers to a house near the school… we had to enter and hide inside the house; all of us that escaped, including our principal. The vice principal and some other teachers stayed in the deserted house till morning’’. So, the insurgents had all the time in the world to wreak havoc on the school because there was no superior force to stop them. How can we explain this – that the government abandoned 926 vulnerable girls at the time they needed it most? It is inexplicable. It is sad; so, so sad.

  • Dapchi Girls: Stop the blame game, Dogara tells Army, Police

    Dapchi Girls: Stop the blame game, Dogara tells Army, Police

    Speaker of House of Representatives, Mr Yakubu Dogara, on Tuesday, asked security agencies to take responsibility for failing to stop the abduction of 110 schoolgirls in Dapchi, Yobe, on Feb. 19.

    He said that the buck-passing between the Nigerian Army and the Nigeria Police Force was unacceptable.

    In a statement by Mr Turaki Hassan, his Special Adviser on Media and Public Affairs, Dogara said rather than trading blames, the security agencies should strengthen inter-agency collaboration towards rescuing the girls.

    He said that the statements credited to the Army and the Police in which they tried to exonerate themselves from any culpability in the unfortunate abduction of the girls from their school were highly condemnable.

    “This is unacceptable and the House of Representatives, and indeed Nigerians, will hold the security agencies responsible. They all bear responsibility for this unfortunate incident.

    “The traumatic experience of the Chibok abduction which is still fresh in our minds should have served as a warning signal to security agencies to provide adequate protection to all schools in the North-East.

    “I want to use this medium to console the parents of the abducted girls and the entire Dapchi community over this unfortunate incident.

    “I also urge all Nigerians and people of goodwill from all over to pray for the safe return of the girls,” Dogara said.

  • Family of rescued Chibok girl lauds army

    Family of rescued Chibok girl lauds army

    Mr Ayuba Aloson, a relative to one of the abducted Chibok girls on Friday lauded the Nigerian Army’s effort over the rescue of Salomi Pogu, the 15th in the list of the abducted girls.

    Reports say that troops of Operation Lafiya Dole on Thursday rescued Pogu in company of one other girl, Jamila Adams, at Pulka in Gwoza Local Government Area of Borno.

    The 219 girls were abducted by Boko Haram insurgents at Government Secondary School, Chibok in 2014.

    Aloson, who is among thousands of displaced persons taking shelter in Maiduguri host community, commended the military over their commitment to rescue the abducted girls.

    He expressed joy over the development, and hoped that the remaining abducted girls would soon be rescued from captivity.

    Alonson said that he is a family member of the rescued girl, adding that four of his nieces abducted in the school were still held by the insurgents.

    Read also: Troops rescue Chibok girl Solomi Pogu

    “I am happy over the development; our abducted daughters are still with their captors.

    “This demonstrates the commitments of the military to the rescue of the girls,” he said.

    Meanwhile, the Bring Back Our Girls movement had also lauded the efforts of the military in the rescue of Pogu.

    The spokesman of the group, Sesugh Akume, said in a statement issued in Maiduguri that the rescued girl was serial number 15, in the list of abducted 219 school girls.

    “Our movement is delighted to confirm this news to be true.

    “Salomi Pogu; is a daughter of Malam Pogu Yahi from Kaumutahyahi, a village in Kuburmbula ward of Chibok Local Government Area. Her parents are currently at an Internally Displaced Persons ( IDPs ) camp in Rumirgo village, near Askira-Uba in Borno.

    “She is number 15 on the list of missing Chibok girls. This brings the number of our missing girls to 112”.

    Akume said that the group was yet to ascertain further details on Jamila Adams and her baby.

    Pogu’s rescue brought the number of girls that were freed from insurgents’ captivity to 107.

    NAN

  • Soldier kills officer, self in Chibok

    Soldier kills officer, self in Chibok

    The Army has confirmed the killing of an officer by a fellow soldier  who also shot himself after killing the officer.
    The incident took place on Sunday in Chibok,  Borno State.
    A statement released by  Brigadier General Sani Kukasheka Usman, Director Army Public Relations confirmed that a Board of Inquiry has been constituted to unravel the cause of the bizarre event and report within one week.
    The Statement reads; “The Headquarters of 26 Brigade Nigerian Army has instituted a Board of Inquiry (BOI) to unravel the circumstances surrounding the shooting incident that resulted in the death of an Officer and a Senior Non-Commission Officer (SNCO), deployed on duty at Chibok, Borno State earlier Sunday, 12th November 2017.
    “At about 12.50pm today, the unit received a report that a Staff  was seen to be drunk and misbehaving to civilians. An officer was dispatched to the scene with a view to bring him back to base. The officer did his best but the SNCO refused several entreaties to calm him and be disarmed by the superior officer.
    “Unfortunately, the Staff Sergeant shot the officer dead and then killed himself. Their remains have since been evacuated to a military facility. The BOI is expected investigate the incident and promptly turn in its report and findings in one week”.
    The statement further reiterated the discipline and professionalism of the Army, adding that, “Nigerian Army is a disciplined and professional force with zero tolerance for any acts of indiscipline and misdemeanor”.
    Gen. Usman described the death of the officer and the Staff Sergeant as painful and a great loss to the unit and the Nigerian Army.
  • The miracle boy of Chibok

    The miracle boy of Chibok

    ALI AHMADU IS just six,  but he has a strong will. He is alive today by the grace of God and his own will to live. Boko Haram did not mean well for the boy when some of its members ran over him with their motorcycles in 2014 in Chibok, Borno State. The incident happened few days after the insurgents abducted over 200 pupils of the Government Girls Secondary School in the early hours of April 15, 2014.

    Ali broke his spinal cord and he was left in that state in the bush for days. No treatment,  nothing. People gave up on him because they thought his case was hopeless, but the small boy did not give up on himself. Where others saw despair and a bad case, he saw hope and life. This was why when he was being taken to Dubai on September 14 for corrective surgery, he called on God in Hausa repeatedly to let him walk again.

    Since He is God that answers prayers,  He granted Ali’s wish. The boy successfully underwent surgery and he can now walk again. The surgeons gave him 14 days to get back on his feet after the operation,  but he surprised them all when he rose on his feet after seven days and began to walk. He is a child of promise and since he is back on his feet, nothing can stop him again. Many thanks to the foundation which footed his hospital bill. By your humanitarian gesture, you have made a bold statement that what matters at the end of the day is our service to humanity and not the wealth we amass.

  • IPOB crisis ‘bigger than Boko Haram’

    IPOB crisis ‘bigger than Boko Haram’

    •Shettima warns of grave danger

    The Indigenous People of Biafra IPOB separatist crisis being spearheaded by Nnamdi Kanu  is bigger than the activities of the deadly terrorist group Boko Haram, Borno State Governor Kashim Shettima has said.

    No fewer than 20, 000 people are believed to have been killed by Boko Haram since the Islamist sect started its attacks in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states, especially and partly in Abuja and some other parts of the country about eight years ago.

    Thousands of others have been maimed by the sect that was also responsible for the infamous abduction of 276 Chibok schoolgirls in April, 2014. More than 100 of the girls are still in the sect’s custody.

    Thousands of others abducted by the sect remain unaccounted for.

    Speaking in Owerri on Monday night during a meeting with Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha, when he led a truce team of North’s governors to the state, Shettima said the threats posed by the Nnamdi Kanu-led secessionist IPOB to the nation’s survival are far bigger than those posed by Boko Haram.

    He said it was for this reason that he had to leave the killings going on in his state behind to join Governor Aminu Tambuwal (Sokoto) Simon Lalong (Platueau) Aminu Bello Masari (Katsina) and Abubakar Atiku Bagudu (Kebbi), on visits to Abia, Rivers and Imo, seeking peace.

    “Only this morning, 25 people were killed in my state via explosions carried out by three suicide bombers, but I have to be on this mission because of what it means to the nation,” he said.

    He noted that the huge population of Nigeria makes it imperative to avoid anything that could lead to war among its tribal groups, wondering which country would have the capacity to accommodate Nigerian refugees in the event of another civil war.

    He said: “What we wanted to forestall actually was a mass movement of Nigerians from one part of the country to another. It was a very dangerous signal.

    “We equally invite our brothers from the South East to visit some of the northern flash points like Kaduna, Kano and Jos, and together we can talk to our Igbo brothers and sisters there to assure them of the safety of their lives and properties.

    “Make or break, this country belongs to all of us. The population of Syria is a paltry 22 million. Only 2 million Syrian refugees are knocking on the doors of Europe and it is causing reverberation. How then do you perceive a situation where 35 million English-speaking Nigerians are knocking on the doors of Europe?

    “That is why we have a moral obligation as stakeholders to make things work in this country. We are all part of the leadership challenges we are facing in this country, and none of us can exonerate him or herself from blame.

    “Like I said earlier in Aba, the hope of the black man rests not with the hard-thinking South Africans or the obsequious Kenyans who are struggling to be more white than the white men, but with the people of this country.

    “If you see an African walking on the streets of London and would not leave the way obsequiously for the white man to pass, you don’t need a soothsayer to tell you that that black man is a Nigerian.

    “If we allow this country to implode, up is the Sahara Desert, Niger is already a failed state. The population of Niger is only 11 million while Kano has a population of about 30 million. We can eat up the entire food reserve of Niger Republic within a week.

    “Down is the Atlantic Ocean and the tiny countries of Benin Republic, Togo and Senegal. Maybe some of us will migrate to Gambia. The entire food reserves of those tiny West African countries can be exhausted within two weeks.”

    Shettima thanked Governor Okorocha for the warm reception he accorded the delegation, saying that they were in the state principally as a delegation of Northern Nigeria governors’ forum to identify with the uncommon leadership exhibited by the governors of the South East sub-region in these trying moments of the nation’s contemporary political history.

    He said: “In politics, perception counts and symbolism matters. So we are here largely to identify with our governor colleagues; to visit the northern communities in their states and to reassure them that our governor colleagues are equal to the task.

    “In fact, I had to pay a visit to the governor of Rivers State where we were earlier on, and Chief Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State and, of course, the merchant of peace in Imo State (Okorocha) for rapidly responding to the emergency situations in their respective states by declaring dusk to dawn curfews. They equally stopped the nation from reaching the boiling point.

    “While we were in Rivers, we were not opportune to address the northern community. But in Aba and Umuahia, we were able to do so and thank the governor, because the reports we got directly from the northerners residents in Umuahia, Governor Ikpeazu had solved 70 per cent of their problems; that they had never had it so good of a governor that responded rapidly to the challenges they were facing in their communities.”

    Okorocha thanked the delegation on behalf of the people of Imo State for leaving their busy schedules to travel more than 1,000 km just to speak the language of peace.

    “Even between husband and wife, without communication, a break-up is inevitable. And we should not only communicate between ourselves as governors, we should also communicate with the ordinary citizens on the streets,” he said.

    He said there was a feeling of abandonment among the people of the South East, especially with the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari because they feared from day one that since they did not vote him, his government would forget them.

    “As untrue as that may be, it remains the general feeling of the people in this part of the world. So, you coming to bridge the gap is a right step in the right direction,” he said.

  • Chibok boy with nine lives

    Chibok boy with nine lives

    Only the will to live and the grace of God could have sustained little Ali Ahmadu up till now. He was three when the dreaded Boko Haram insurgents returned to his community,  Chibok in Borno State. As usual, they came to loot, rape and kill. Three or so days earlier, they had invaded the Government Girls Secondary School (GGSS) and abducted over 200 pupils. Unknown to many in the country,  the insurgents still had the nerve to return to Chibok to wreak havoc again.

    While the nation was worried over the abducted girls, Boko Haram went on another murderous mission to Chibok. The sect cared less about the storm generated by its action. To the group, it had done nothing – it was all part of its script to cause chaos and make the country ungovernable. Since the government of the day pretended that no girl was abducted in Chibok in the wee hours of April 15, 2014, it is not surprising that it kept quiet when the insurgents went back few days later.

    There was bedlam that day as they went after the villagers, who took to their heels. They ran helter-skelter without any particular destination in mind. All they wanted was to get to somewhere safe in order to avoid the wrath of Boko Haram. Expectant mothers with children strapped to their backs and also pulling one or two other kids along were a spectacle to behold as they ran for their lives. There was no help in sight; they just ran blindly to wherever their legs took them. It was another black day in Chibok, but the incident went unreported.

    However, the story of that fateful day is taking another dimension because of six-year-old Ali. Perhaps, the toddler was kept alive by God so that we will forever remember what happened not only to him, but also countless others that day. There is no record of the incident anywhere, but what other evidence do we need once we see the wheelchair bound Ali, who epitomises the hell the Chibok people went through in the hands of Boko Haram. We do not know the hour that Boko Haram struck, but Ali’s pitiable picture tells plainly the story of the sect’s atrocious act. As Fela would say, they left sorrow,  tears and blood.

    But Ali survived the evil act at a cost.  His spinal cord was broken. We do not know what happened to his expectant mother.  Did she deliver the baby? Her mother and baby alive? Was Ali the only survivor in his family? A mother’s love cannot be quantified. All Ali’s mother wanted was to get herself, son and unborn child to safety. But as she ran from the invading fundamentalists, she fell and Ali fell off her back and the terrorists overran the boy with their motorcycles.

    Narrating Ali’s pathetic story in Abuja on Sunday before the boy and his aunt, Mrs Hannatu Madu, left for Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), founder of GIPLC Nuhu Kwajafa said : “With mother and child seriously injured, Ali was kept under a tree for about three days without any form of medication. He was bleeding from mouth and nose. Ali has remained bedridden as a result of his spinal cord injury”.  GIPLC and the Dickens Sanomi Foundation are collaborating to ensure that Ali walks again to fulfil his destiny. It is a miracle that he has survived up till now giving the condition under which he has lived since he broke his spinal cord.

    That he did not die under those circumstances show the grace of God upon his life. Besides, the boy has also shown uncommon will to live. He has held on to hope in the last three years and we can only join him in prayers that his corrective surgery will be successful.  Ali came to limelight few months ago when Vice President Yemi Osinbajo received him and some Chibok leaders at the State House in Abuja. May be, the foundation got to know about his case during that visit.  The foundation has embarked on a worthy cause and we pray for a happy ending.

    As little as the boy is,  he knows how dire his condition is and he has been praying to God for healing. Before his trip, he prayed 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”).

    What an irony.  Those who wanted to kill him are campaigning against western education under the guise of propagating Islam,  a religion which enjoins its faithful to seek knowledge even in distant land. As he has prayed, so shall God do unto him.  May Ali walk back home on his legs.

  • Boko Haram ‘commander’: I led Chibok schoolgirls kidnap

    Boko Haram ‘commander’: I led Chibok schoolgirls kidnap

    ‘Sect’s factions ready for talks with Fed Govt on how to get Shekau’

    A member of the Boko Haram, Auwal Ismaeela, has confessed to leading the kidnap of 276 schoolgirls from the Government Secondary School in Chibok, Borno State on April 15, 2014.

    The ‘commander’  confessed to the act in an interview with PRNigeria, a news agency.

    More than 100 of the girls are still being held by the insurgents after many of them were released in talks with the Federal Government.

    Ismaeela, who has surrendered to the military, also told the news agency that he led other major operations and said he regretted his actions.

    The PRNigeria report said: “Ahead of the Islamic festival of Eid-Kabir coming up by the weekend, a top Boko Haram commander who played a major role in the abduction of Chibok girls and killing of youths in Madagali has surrendered and confessed to several acts of bloodletting on innocent people and destruction of properties across the length and breadth of the North-eastern part of the country.

    “In an interview with PRNigeria at a military facility for the repentant and surrendered Boko Haram members in the Northeast, the ex-terrorist leader said he regretted the atrocities he was forced to commit against humanity.

    “The commander, Auwal Ismaeela, is currently cooperating with the Nigerian military with useful information on locations and hideouts of other top commanders of the deadly sect. He regretted his actions which, according to him, run counter to several Islamic injunctions.

    “Mr. Ismaeela encouraged other top commanders of the sect to surrender to the military.

    “Myself and Abu Hafsat, a Boko Haram commander, led other squads to abduct the Chibok girls. We led the operations to invade Gwoza, Bama, Limankara mobile barracks, Bita, Bosso, Madagali, Chibok, Pulka, Firgi, and Mubi.

    “In Madagali, which is my home town, myself, Adam Vitiri, Abu Adam and Habu Kudama, some high-ranking Boko Haram commanders, led an operation in 2014 where we killed some students and youths at the Central Secondary School in Sabon Garin Madagali.

    “In one of the operations, I abducted my wife named Maryam who had two kids for me in Sambisa Forest. It is unfortunate that I was brainwashed and misled not only on some abductions but in the killings of my own people that were innocent. I wholeheartedly regret my actions.

    “During a battle in Konduga where myself and other Boko Haram commanders led the operations, I lost my right leg and was almost got burnt. Even at that, I did not stop fighting for the course. Sheikh Shekau ordered that I should be given a tricycle which I continued to use for various operations before I eventually surrendered.”

    He was reported to have given several reasons for his decision to voluntarily surrender to the troops after realising the misleading sermons, barbaric indoctrination of the sect leaders and atrocities being committed in some of the Boko Haram camps.

    Ismaeela said: “I willingly surrendered to the military because I was tired of the senseless killing and fight. I realised that our people had resorted to stealing and all sort of atrocities contrary to the teaching and practice of Islam.

    “Women were being raped, sometimes publicly. Children died from malnutrition and diseases as the living condition became harsher. As there was no food in the camp, people died every day because of hunger.

    “I will continue to cooperate with the security agencies in providing useful information on our mode of operations and to disclose top-secret hideouts of our commanders.”

    More than 100 Boko Haram fighters and some ‘commanders’ had in the recent past surrendered to the military, knowing full well that their actions had become inimical to the overall interest and well-being of the nation and the surrounding countries of Cameroon, Niger and Chad.

     

    ‘Boko Haram factions ready for talks with govt’

    Two factions of the Boko Haram insurgency group may be ready for talks with the Federal Government, Abdulkadir Abubakar, a former ‘commander’ of the group has claimed.

    Abubakar, also known as Abu Muhammad, was the chief intelligence officer of the Boko Haram group and one of its top commanders, until his arrest in June by the military in Buni Yadi, Gujba Local Government Area of Yobe State.

    Abubakar told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) at his cell in Maiduguri that Albarnawi and Mamman Nur factions were willing to cooperate with the government to defeat the most visible leader of the group, Abubakar Shekau.

    According to him, Shekau, whose capture, dead or alive, the military high command has ordered, has been the major obstacle to peace, since the insurgency began in 2009.

    He was quoted as saying: “Shekau is not willing to surrender due to his high handedness. Unfortunately, the government and military authorities accorded priority on dealing with Shekau, who is blood thirsty.

    “Albarnawi has indicated interest to dialogue with the government to end insurgency and provide a lasting solution to the crisis. Albarnawi discusses this with members of his circle. And I can assure the government that he would cooperate to achieve peace.

    “The two factions are willing to cooperate with Nigerian Government to defeat Shekau.”

    Abubakar’s claim about the readiness of the factions to dialogue with the authorities could not be verified as he had been incarcerated since June. But he insisted that the groups were predisposed to a peaceful resolution of the eight year-old crisis.

    Abubakar claimed to have undertaken various espionage missions and provided intelligence to the insurgents, which enabled them to hit a long list of targets, among which were the abduction of 276 students at the Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok and the massacre of students at the Federal Government College, Buni Yadi.

    Over 20 students were murdered at Buni Yadi.

    He also claimed to have been involved in other attacks on schools in Maiduguri, Damaturu, Postikum and Mamudo.

    He said: “Shekau has left his enclave in Sambisa and moved deep into Mandara Mountain.

    “The intensified military offensive has weakened Shekau’s position and that of the other groups.”

    Abubakar claimed  that the Albarnawi and Mamman Nur factions were opposed to Shekau’s leadership style.

    Abubakar said: “During the early days of the insurgency we fought for what we thought was a just cause, to establish a caliphate where human beings are valued, cherished and respected.

    “After annexing vast territories, Shekau began to demonstrate his cruelty and atrocities against humanity.

    “In view of the high level atrocities committed by the group,some of the top commanders, including myself, Albarnawi and Mamman Nur, challenged Shekau, demanding an immediate end to the ugly saga.

    “Thereafter, Albarnawi and Mamman Nur parted ways, and formed their groups. Shekau is responsible for suicide bombings and attack on soft targets in the Northeast.

    “The Albarnawi and Mamman Nur groups never attacked schools, religious places of worship, markets, women and children. Our fight was strictly with security forces. Even the kidnapped oil workers would not be killed by the group.

    He said: “Shekau is fond of using the girls and other abducted women as sex toys, and suicide bombers. He kills on the pretence of punishing for lies, theft and rebellion. Shekau kills without justification.

    “Shekau arrogated to himself the powers to accuse, prosecute, convict and punish in total contradiction to Islamic teachings. Children and women also starved to death in Sambisa due to Shekau’s cruelty.”