The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Chris Olukolade

  • Students’ killings: Defence Headquarters send team to Yobe

    Following the weekend attack on a public school in Yobe State, the Defence Headquarters (DHQ) on Tuesday dispatched a high powered fact finding team to the State.

    A statement issued in Abuja on Tuesday by Director of Defence Information, Brig.-Gen Chris Olukolade, said the team is led by Maj.-Gen. Collins Ariahu, Chief of Research and Development in the DHQ.

    According to the statement, the team is expected to carry out on-the-spot assessment of the deployment of troops of the Joint Task Force in the state.

    “The team is to pay particular attention to the security circumstances surrounding the attack on the Government Secondary School, Mamudo, near Potiskum, at the weekend.

    “The team is to also visit troops deployed in remote locations in Yobe State to verify the effectiveness of patrol and cordon and search operations.

    “This is to forestall any further breach of security and track down perpetrators of the weekend attack.

    “The team is expected to brief the Chief of Defece Staff in respect of any requirement for additional troops and logistics for the operation in Yobe State,’’ it said.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that more than 20 students, a teacher and a preacher were killed during Saturday’s attack suspected to be carried out by the Boko Haram sect.

  • Special Forces arrest 120 Boko Haram members

    Special Forces arrest 120 Boko Haram members

    …Sect ‘commander’ reportedly killed

    The Defence Headquarters on Monday gave an update on the ongoing war against the Boko Haram insurgents in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa States.

    A statement signed by the Army spokeman, Brig.-Gen. Chris Olukolade, said about 120 of the insurgents were arrested in Maiduguri as they were preparing the burial of one of their commanders who was killed in a gun duel with the special forces.

    Olukolade also said the special forces have also secured some villages that were initially taken over by the insurgents while all the camps erected by the fleeing insurgents were destroyed.

    It also distances itself from pictures making the rounds, purported to be that of residents fleeing the war zone.

    The statement reads: “The Special Forces have now secured the environs of New Marte, Hausari, Krenoa, Wulgo and Chikun Ngulalo after destroying all the terrorists camps sited in the vicinity of these localities. The troops are already interacting with locals and citizens assuring them of their safety and freedom from the activities of insurgents.

    “Terrorists fleeing towards Chad and Niger Republic are being contained as they have had encounter with Multi-National Joint Task Force in various locations towards the border. Advancing troops also observed a few shallow graves believed to be those of hurriedly buried members of the terrorist groups.

    “In Maiduguri, about 120 terrorists were arrested as they organized burial of one of their commanders who died in an encounter with Special Forces the previous day. The arrested insurgents are in custody of the Joint Task Force where they are being interrogated.”

  • Crackdown on Boko Haram members to continue – Army

    Crackdown on Boko Haram members to continue – Army

    Nigeria’s army has vowed to continue its offensive against militants in the north-east “as long as it takes” to achieve its main objectives.

    The Army Spokesman, Brig. Gen. Chris Olukolade told the BBC the aim was to assert Nigeria’s “territorial integrity as a nation.”

    Earlier, a 24-hour curfew was imposed in parts of the city of Maiduguri, where the military said it had arrested 65 “terrorists.”

    Maiduguri has been an important base for Boko Haram militants.

    Earlier this week, President Goodluck Jonathan declared a state of emergency in Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe States – after a series of deadly attacks by militant groups.

    He told the BBC World Service Newshour programme that the offensive “knows the targets it is after, and it took a long time to plan and prepare for this.”

    “It is their (insurgent) bases, their weaponry, their logistics that we are going to deal with in this operation,” he added.

    Earlier, an army statement named 12 areas of Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State, which would now be under permanent curfew.

    BBC says the neighbourhoods listed are considered strongholds of Boko Haram. The whole of Maiduguri was already subject to an overnight curfew.

    Witnesses said troops were stopping lorries from entering the city.

    The army also said the 65 insurgents had been arrested trying to infiltrate Maiduguri. Those held had been “fleeing from various camps now under attack.”

    However, there has been no independent confirmation of the arrests.