The Nation Newspaper

Tag: commander

  • Military arrests three Boko Haram commanders in Borno

    Military arrests three Boko Haram commanders in Borno

    Military authorities in Borno State have said that the ongoing clearance operation of Boko Haram hide of the military has continue to yield positive results with the killing of 22 Boko Haram terrorists and the arrest of three commanders of the sect in the state.

    In a statement signed by the Acting Director of Army Public Relation Col. Sani Usman and made available to newsmen in Maiduguri disclosed that the operation was carried out by troops of 152 and 155 Task Force Battalion of Nigerian Army and Multinational Joint Task Force (MJTF) in a coordinated joint clearance military operations along the Nigeria-Cameroonian borders areas of Borno state.

    The statement noted that the clearance operations covered 10 suspected Boko Harm terrorists’ hideouts along the Cameroonian border areas in the North-East.

    Part of the statement reads: “The unprecedented clearance operation swept through over 10 Boko Haram suspected Boko Haram terrorists’ hideouts along the borders in which they killed 22, terrorists, arrested three Ameers (commanders) and rescued many abducted persons from the liberated communities in Borno state.

    “Some of the fleeing Boko Haram terrorists who escaped from villages previously cleared by troops of the Nigerian Army, were also killed in the five-hour military operations,” said Usman in the statement.

    The statement also added that six towns and villages of Nbaga, Bula, Dabube, Ybiri, Greya and Suduwa, including adjourning settlements earlier occupied by the fleeing terrorists were cleared during the operation.

    The statement gave the identities of the arrested commanders as;  Lawal Abba, Mallam Hisna, and Mallam Gana in Shatte, Bulla Jaja and Bula Burra towns of Borno state.”

    Speaking on the rescued captives, Col. Usman said the 1, 275 rescued Borno hostages, were held captives of Boko Haram terror group in the cleared communities in the border areas of Cameroon.

    Usman further explained: “The rescued persons are being administered and screened by 152 Task Force Battalion pending onward movement to Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camp. It is gratifying to note that the operation was a huge success as there was no casualty or injury on part of the Nigerian and Cameroonian troops,” he said.

     

  • New commander takes over ‘Operation Lafiya Dole’

    The Deputy Theatre Commander of ‘Operation Lafiya Dole’ in the Northeast, Maj.-Gen. Lucky Irabor, has taken over the leadership of the operations from Maj.-Gen. Hassan Umaru.

    Umaru replaces the late Maj.- Gen. Yushau Abubakar Mahmood as the Chief of Training and Operations, Army headquarters, Abuja, who died in a crash on the Damaturu/Maiduguri Highway on his way to Damaturu.

    The ceremony, held at the Theatre Command Headquarters, Maimalari Cantonment, Maiduguri, was attended by top military officers.

    Gen. Umaru said he was happy to hand over to his deputy, whom he said had worked with for over six months. He described him as a hardworking and committed officer.

    The outgoing theatre commander urged the officers and soldiers to support his successor. He thanked them for their loyalty during his brief stay.

    Gen. Umaru said he enjoyed his stay at the theatre command and hoped that his successor would enjoy cooperation to end terrorism.

    He hailed the media for their support and coverage of the command’s activities and enjoined them to continue the support to tackle insurgency.

    Gen Umaru vowed to support ‘Operation Lafiya Dole’ from the Army headquarters.

  • 35 arrested, 2 guns recovered in Delta

    Thirty-five suspects have recently been arrested through an operation involving security agencies, including the army, air force and the police in Delta state.

    The Commander, 4 Brigade of the Nigerian Army Benin, Edo State, Brigadier General Faroque Yahaya, Commander, 61 NAF, Delta, Air Commodore Sani Zakari and the Delta State Commissioner of Police, CP Alkali Baba Usman, jointly addressed the press over the development at the 3 Battalion Barracks, Effunrun, Delta state Friday.

    Speaking at the briefing / parade of suspects as well as arms and ammunition recovered during the operations, Brig Gen Yahaya said the operations would continue until the state, which had been notorious for the proliferation of illegal arms and gangster activities, had been purged of the dangerous trend.

    Friday’s operation, which yielded the arrests and arms recovery, was carried out in Ekpan and Effunrun communities in Uvwie council area of the state’s.

    “In the early hours of this morning. A joint operation codenamed “operation Yankari” was conducted by the military comprising elements from the Nigerian army, Nigerian navy, Nigerian airforce, police and elements from state security service. It was a successful operation to check the spread of small arms in our means. Ammunitions were recovered and suspects were arrested.

    “I just want to reiterate that the security in Delta State is determined to rid our communities of illicit arms that are being used to terrorise law abiding citizens in the state. Those arrested will be investigated. The operation would be continuous as we continue to gather information. We advise those trafficking illicit arms to peacefully surround them otherwise we will get them,” he said.

    Giving details of the operation, the Delta State Commissioner of Police, Alkali Baba Usman said “It’s an operation carried out because of the incessant complaints of crimes and criminality around the area we have conducted the operation.

    “A total of 35 suspects have been arrested. A preliminary screening has taken place. We have been able to identify three and they have been released. The remaining 32 suspects will be taken for further investigation for various offences.

    “We have also recovered during the exercise a G3 Riffle loaded with 20 rounds ammunitions and a pistol. We also recovered other incriminating items including ballot papers, but we are yet determined whether they are fake,” he said.

    He, however, clarified that the operation was not targeted at individual but criminals while dismissing claims that people’s homes were invaded during the operation that lasted for several hours.

  • We have reduced Boko Haram to wanderers, says ex- Army Commander

    We have reduced Boko Haram to wanderers, says ex- Army Commander

    The former Commander, Army Corps of Engineers, Major General Sarduarna Davies has said that the Nigerian Army (NA) has reduced the terrorist group, Boko Haram to wanderers and bandits.
    Davis stated this on Friday at the corps headquarters in Bonny Camp, Lagos, while handing over to his successor, Major General Edmund Obi.
    The ex-corps Commander reminded his personnel that the ongoing war against the terrorists was an engineering and logistics war, and urged them to ensure that only trained personnel are deployed to the area.
    “I am very certain that we are winning the war in the northeast. I am just in from there and I can tell you that they are just bunch of marauders who are just acting like bandits now.
    “They don’t act as a formidable force, we can’t say this is where they are, they are just roving around and I know that the Chief of Army staff is putting troops in place to comb the whole of northeast and push them to a place where they can be annihilated.
    “I’ve been in and out of that place as many times as I can so I exactly know what I am talking about.”
    Although Sarduarna confirmed that the NA was suffering from dearth of equipments, he however stated that the army headquarters was on top of the situation and would soon deliver the necessary tools to conclude the war.
    Also speaking at the occasion, the incumbent Commander the corps assured that the army was doing everything within its power to uncover and destroy the source of IEDs for the terrorists.

  • NDLEA commander seeks reinstatement

    NDLEA commander seeks reinstatement

    An assistant State Commander of the Nigerian Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Prince Benjamin Ikani, has taken the agency to the National Industrial Court (NIC), seeking reinstatement

    In the originating motion, Ikani is praying the court for four reliefs.

    The first, second and third respondents are the chairman of the NDLEA, the agency and its director-general/secretary.

    Ikani said he filed the suit, following the agency’s refusal to reinstate him, thereby disobeying an order of Justice Ayodele Obaseki-Osaghae of NIC.

    Ruling on an ex-parte application dated April 22, this year, Justice Obaseki-Osaghae ordered the respondents to maintain the status quo ante bellum as at February 15, this year, when Ikani was suspended,  pending the hearing and determination of the Originating Motion on Notice.

    The presiding judge had further ordered the reinstatement of Ikani as an Assistant State Commander, including his pay, pending the hearing and determination of the Originating Motion on Notice.

    The court adjourned to May 14,  for hearing of the Originating Motion.

    But in the new suit filed through his lawyer, Mobola Akintunde, the applicant is seeking an Order of Certiorari of the court to quash the decision of the respondents, suspending him without remuneration for instituting a suit against the respondents as contained in a letter dated February 16, this year, saying the decision was ultra vires and a violation of his right to fair hearing.

    Ikani also prayed the court for “an order of prohibition prohibiting the respondents from implementing or enforcing the decision of the  respondents suspending the applicant from duty without remuneration as contained in the respondents’ letter dated February 16, 2015″.

    He also sought for “an order of injunction restraining the respondents by themselves, their officers, agents, servants or privies from implementing or enforcing the said decision contained in their letter dated February 16, 2015” and for such further or other orders as the court may deem fit to make in the circumstance.

    The three grounds upon which the application is predicated are that “the respondents have no power under the NDLEA Act Cap No LFN 2004 or the NDLEA Regulations (Terms and Conditions of Service) 2001 or indeed any other law to suspend the applicant from duty without pay merely on the ground that the applicants instituted an action against the respondents.

    “That the applicant was not given an opportunity to be heard before the decision to suspend him without remuneration was taken.

    “That the action of the respondents in suspending the applicant without remuneration on the ground that the applicant instituted an action against the respondents is a breach of the applicant’s right to approach the courts and access to justice”.

    In a 29-paragraph affidavit in support of the Originating  Motion, Ikani alleged that the NDLEA under Mr. Glade, had declared war on him following his appointment by the Attorney General of the federation as Secretary of the seven-man Presidential Committee, headed by Justice Gilbert Obayan (rtd.) and inaugurated in 2006 for the reform of the agency.

    He claimed that the report of the committee was submitted in 2007 and that the leadership of the agency accused him of not protecting them.

    Ikani averred that he had borne the brunt of several persecution by the agency, including the alleged plan to retire him in 2010 on the ground “on the untenable ground that I was not entitled to return to service after serving as Attorney- general of Kogi State”.

    He further averred that when he became aware of the plan to retire him from service, he instituted an action at the Federal High Court, Lagos in suit number FHC/L/CS/1327/10 and sought various declaratory and injunctive reliefs against the first and second respondents and two others to which, he said, they responded by filing a counter affidavit in opposition to the originating summon.

    Ikani submitted that the court restrained the respondents from interfering or obstructing him in the performance of his duty in the NDLEA, adding that on the threat of committal for disobedience of the order of the Federal High Court, he was reinstated to the service of the second respondent in a letter dated November 23, 2010 while the suit number FHC/L/CS/1327/10 was transferred to the NIC.

    The applicant stated that his persecution and witch-hunting continued in the agency as the defendants forwarded a complaint containing allegation of “disobedience to order and falsehood/prevarication” against him to the Senior Staff Disciplinary Committee  (SSDC), describing the allegations as “spurious and unfounded and constituted part of the vendetta and persecution embarked upon by the first respondent to achieve the objective of finding new grounds for relieving me of my position in the second respondent”.

    Ikani claimed to have again approached the Federal High Court in 2013 where Justice Kurya made an order of interim injunction restraining SSDC from adjudicating on the complaints and allegations against him by the first and second respondents pending the hearing and determination of the Originating Motion on Notice.

    He averred that while the order is still subsisting and the case still pending, the respondents allegedly decided to suspend him again from duty pending the hearing and determination of suit number FHC/L/CS/1327/10 and that the decision was conveyed to him in the letter dated February 16, this year.

    Ikani averred that he was not  aware of the decision by the respondents to suspend him from duty without pay. He added that his employers had no power to do so without affording him the opportunity to be heard. He described it as a violation of his right to fair hearing  and access to justice.

  • Commander lauds school’s performance

    Commander lauds school’s performance

    The management of Command Secondary School, Ipaja, Lagos, has been praised for churning out good results.

    The Commander, Nigerian Army Education Corps, Major-General Dapo Adebayo, gave the praise last Thursday during the 2013/2014 valedictory service/speech & prize giving for about 420 graduands.

    Adebayo, who was represented by Colonel Kabir Ndamadu, as special guest of honour, praised the school’s commandant, Col Yakubu Momoh, for the efforts made to achieve such successes as well as the improvement in learning and teaching infrastructure in a short time in office.

    The Commander also commended the pupils for their brilliant performances in external examinations which he described as phenomenal in the history of the school.

    He urged them to maintain the discipline they received from the school and not involve themselves in any act that could bring shame to the school.

    Col Momoh, who was deployed to the school in February, urged the graduands to be focused in their new lives.

    “Set out to get a great personal and professional life for yourself and do not be distracted.  Fix you sight on your goal and you will achieve it,” he said.

    The Commandant urged the graduating students to be good ambassadors of their alma mater by not allowing the labour of their teachers and parents to be in vain.

    At the event, chaired by Ikenna Anochie, Peter Lydia Omotayo emerged as the best overall pupil, while Ihenacho Chiamaka was the runner up.

    While thanking the Commandant and the entire management of the school, the Senior Prefect (girl), Enah Rebecca, remarked that the 2014 graduands would not forget their teachers whom she described as “God sent moulders.”

    She thanked them for the tuition, discipline and other virtues which according to her will make their lives fulfilling and rewarding.

    Dignitaries who graced the occasion include the Alajasa of Ajasaland  Oba Sule Suberu; Olympic Medalist, Chioma Ajunwa, who is the Divisional Police officer (DPO)  Meiran Divisional Police Headquarters.

  • Slick Joe features General Pype in Commander

    Slick Joe features General Pype in Commander

    FAST-RISING R n B singer, Steven Iyere, a.k.a Slick Joe, has released his much-publicised single, Commander, featuring General Pype.

    Also, the video of Commander, which is currently enjoy impressive airplay, was shot and directed by Tosin Igho of Remote Pictures.

    Slick Joe, who is also working on his self-titled solo album, had previously released some singles, including Addicted, Sweet love and Mercy, online.

    The Edo State-born act began his romance with music at a very tender age. He later joined a choir while he was in secondary school, where he learnt to control his voice and perfect his texture and range. He was dubbed Clarinet owing to his dexterity on the instrument.

    While he was an undergraduate of Psychology at the Covenant University, Ogun State, his musical prowess won him admiration of the university community, including the then Vice Chancellor, Prof Aize Obayan, who nicknamed him ‘slick’.

    Interestingly, in his undergraduate days, Slick Joe, now 25, worked with different producers, including Nay Palm, Dr. Frabz, Spells, Puff Tee, Buster Keys, Magic Fingers, Ex O and Dell B, among others.

    According to him, “Music is a part of me. Music is an avenue for me to express the various experiences that I have felt. The feelings could be love or heartbreak, joy or sorrow, loss or glory etc. ”

    His song-writing ability has been developed to the extent that he can capture emotions perfectly with words.

  • U.S Gulf War commander dies

    U.S Gulf War commander dies

    Retired United States General, Norman Schwarzkopf, who led troops in the 1991 Gulf War, has died aged 78.

    Gen. Schwarzkopf – known as Stormin’ Norman – was commander of coalition forces in the first Gulf War in 1990-91.

    BBC says the U.S-led coalition drove Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein’s forces out of Kuwait.

    Former U.S President George H W Bush described Gen. Schwarzkopf as “one of the great military leaders of his generation.”

    Gen. Schwarzkopf spent his retirement in Tampa, Florida, where he had served in his last military assignment as commander-in-chief of U.S Central Command.

    The BBC says his military success made him one of America’s most famous modern generals although some criticised him for negotiating ceasefire terms which allowed Saddam Hussein to remain in power.

    President Bush, who was in office during the first Gulf War, said he “mourned the loss” of Gen. Schwarzkopf, “one of the great military leaders of his generation.”

    Mr. Bush, who remains in intensive care at the Methodist Hospital in Houston, Texas, issued a statement, saying: “A distinguished member of that Long Gray Line hailing from West Point, General Schwarzkopf, to me, epitomised the ‘duty, service, country’ creed that has defended our freedom and seen this great nation through our most trying international crises.”

     

  • JTF: we’ve killed Boko Haram commander

    GAMBORU Ngala, a boarder town in Borno State, was yesterday attacked by about 50 gunmen suspected to be members of the Boko Haram sect.

    The Joint Task Force (JTF) said it killed a commander of the sect.

    The residents fled their homes when the heavily-armed sect members invaded the town about 8.30am, sources said.

    The fundamentalist shot sporadically into the air.

    They reportedly raided three churches and set them ablaze after the worshipers abruptly ended services and fled on hearing gunshots.

    Sources said the gunmen attacked Customs and Immigration posts. Officers of both services abandoned their duty posts and fled into the bush.

    The gunment reportedly attacked a police station but they were resisted by the policemen on duty.

    Though there were unconfirmed reports that the fundamentalist killed two policemen in the siege, they were, however, repelled after about 30 minutes of gun battle.

    A source, who said the sect lost its members in the attack, could not confirm the casualty figure last night.

    Many telecommunication masts belonging to GSM providers have been destroyed by the sect members.

    Police Commissioner Abdullahi Yuguda could not be reached for confirmation. He did not answer his phone.

    But Police spokesman Gideon Jubril confirmed the incident. He, however, could not give details.

    In a statement, JTF spokesman Lt.-Col. Sagir Musa said: “In a follow-up operation to arrest some key commanders of the Boko Haram sect in Bulabulin area of Maiduguri on November 29, where the JTF lost an official with one other injured, the task force, with members of the Department of State Security and the Nigeria Police Force Dog Section, in a combined operation (yesterday) launched a special raid on Damboa–Biu Road to capture a major terrorist Commander, Abdulkareem Ibrahim, top on its wanted list.

    “During the operation, Ibrahim and two of his lieutenants were killed and an AK47 rifle with other arms and ammunition were recovered.”

    Col. Musa claimed that Ibrahim was a notorious terrorist Commander who has been responsible for recent assassination and bomb attacks in Maiduguri.

    “He is one of the top”Amirs” (Commander) recently declared in the Bounty list released by the JTF to members of the public,” Col. Musa added.