Tag: insurgents

The Shehuof Borno, Alhaji Mustapha El-Kanemi, declared yesterday that the leaders of the insurgent group, Boko Haram, are not indigenes of the state

He said this when the presidential fact finding committee on Chibok visited him in his palace.

A statement by the committee’s spokesperson, Kingsley Osadolor, said the monarch described the abduction of over 200 girls as unfortunate.

“What is happening now is unfortunate. It’s entirely new to us. None of the leaders of Boko Haram is from Borno. They cannot claim to be from here. The problem was brought to us from elsewhere,” El-Kanemi said.

The monarch said the people of Borno were peace-loving people, as the Borno Empire had been in existence for some 1,200 years.

The Committee Chairman, Brig.-Gen. Ibrahim Sabo, said: “We are now in the main theatre where the Chibok girls were kidnapped.

“The world has mobilised against the abduction, and we cannot be happy while our daughters remain in captivity.”

He said the Committee had an open mind about the assignment.

“We are not here with preconceived notions. We are here to find facts that will lead to a resolution of the current hostage crisis involving the schoolgirls.”

The Committee Chairman said the Committee would meet with stakeholders and advise the Federal Government accordingly.

He, therefore, called for the cooperation of all concerned.

The team was received at the Maiduguri Airport by the Acting General Officer Commanding 7 Division, Brig Gen Mohammed Ibrahim and government officials.

The United States Department of State yesterday said it would support the Federal Government to bring to book the abductors of the Chibok girls.

The Department of State, in a factsheet released by theOffice of its Spokesperson in Washington, DC, quoted the Secretary of State John Kerry as saying: “The kidnapping of hundreds of children by Boko Haram is an unconscionable crime, and we will do everything possible to support the Nigerian Government to return these young women to their homes and to hold the perpetrators to justice. I will tell you, my friends, I have seen this scourge of terror across the planet, and so have you. They don’t offer anything except violence. They don’t offer a health care plan, they don’t offer schools. They don’t tell you how to build a nation; they don’t talk about how they will provide jobs. They just tell people, “You have to behave the way we tell you to,” and they will punish you if you don’t.”

Nigeria, it said, is a key strategic partner in Africa. It added that the country has the continent’s largest population and largest economy, and it plays a vital role in efforts to resolve crises and promote stability and prosperity in West Africa and beyond.

It observed that in the midst of rapid economic growth, the country faces security challenges, notably Boko Haram , which it described as “a violent Islamist movement that has staged regular attacks in northern Nigeria since 2010.”

It revealed that Nigeria would join the United States as one of the founding members of the International Institute on Justice and the Rule of Law (IIJ), which would open its doors in June 2014 in Malta, and provide rule of law-based training on how to counter terrorism and other transnational criminal activity within a rule of law framework.

“As a founding member, Nigeria will be expected to ensure its police, prosecutors, and prison officials are regular participants in IIJ trainings.”

The factsheet also explained that the State Department’s Counterterrorism Finance (CTF) programme provides training aimed at restricting Boko Haram’s ability to raise, move, and store money.

“CTF’s current focus provides Nigeria with cross border financial investigations training to work effectively with counterparts in neighboring countries on critical CTF cases,” it said.

The factsheet noted that given the country’s importance as a regional political and economic leader, the U.S. has a vital interest in helping to strengthen its democratic institutions, boost its prosperity and security and ensure opportunity for all of its citizens.

The factsheet reads: “The U.S. and Nigeria also work closely together in multilateral fora, including the UN Security Council, where Nigeria is serving a term as a non-permanent member for 2014-2015.

“As the President noted in his National Defense University speech in May 2013, countering terrorism requires a holistic approach. We continue to work with Nigeria and other international partners to help promote and support such an approach to Boko Haram. The United States has been working to counter BH for many years, and we will continue to do so.”

On the counterterrorism assistance to the country, the factsheet noted: “Counterterrorism support to Nigeria focuses on building critical counterterrorism capabilities among Nigeria’s civilian and law enforcement agencies. This supports the larger U.S. objective of encouraging Nigeria to develop and implement a comprehensive approach to counter BH that upholds and enforces the rule of law, provides civilian protection, respects human rights and international norms, and addresses the underlying grievances that BH exploits (including through development gains and through responsive governance).

“Based on our longstanding concerns about Boko Haram, we have a robust security dialogue and assistance relationship with Nigeria. As part of the Bi-National Commission Framework, we hold regular Regional Security working group meetings focused on the Boko Haram threat and ways our two governments can collaborate on a holistic approach to countering the group.

“Our security assistance is in line with our efforts to ensure Nigeria takes a comprehensive approach to countering Boko Haram. We are working to build Nigerian law enforcement capacities to investigate terrorism cases, effectively deal with explosive devices, and secure Nigeria’s borders, while underscoring that the most effective counterterrorism policies and practices are those that respect human rights and are underpinned by the rule of law. We are also focused on enabling various Nigerian security services with fusing multiple information streams to develop a better understanding of Boko Haram. Our military assistance supports the professionalisation of key military units and improves their ability to plan and implement appropriate steps to counter Boko Haram and ensure civilian security.”

The U.S. said its Antiterrorism Assistance (ATA) programme enhances law enforcement agencies’ capability to prevent, detect, and investigate terrorism threats; secure Nigeria’s borders; and manage responses to terrorist incidents.

“ATA’s primary partners are the Nigerian Police Force (NPF), Customs Service, Immigration Service, and National Emergency Management Agency. ATA represents the only donor assistance to Nigerian law enforcement on identifying, diffusing, and the safe disposal of improvised explosives devices (IEDs). ATA curriculum has been integrated into NPF training curriculum, supporting its ability to respond to IED attacks in Abuja and to deploy to the northeast part of the country where Boko Haram attacks are the most frequent.

“Countering violent extremism (CVE) programmes aim to limit recruits to BH by reducing sympathy and support for its operations, through three primary objectives: (1) building resilience among communities most at risk of recruitment and radicalization to violence; (2) countering BH narratives and messaging; and building the CVE capacity of government and civil society. Such efforts include promoting engagement between law enforcement and citizens, and elevating the role of women civil society leaders in CVE,” it said.

Boko Haram fighters have launched multiple killing sprees in past months — blasting villages and often scaring off the Army in the northeast region, writes John Campbell

Over the past few weeks I have been hearing from a number of credible interlocutors that Boko Haram fighters are indeed better than government forces. They suggest that Boko Haram has not crumbled to the Nigerian military because of some factors.

These factors can also be identified among other successful fighters in various parts of the world.

They have been involved in bank robberies and kidnappings for ransom. Many of the latter incidents go unreported, so it is difficult to judge what the magnitude might be, but they are a valuable domestic source of revenue. I have seen little to no credible evidence that a significant source of funding comes from abroad, except for various cross-border criminal activities, including smuggling.

The same is true of the weaponry that Boko Haram employs. I have seen little evidence that weapons stockpiles from Libya have a transformative presence in Nigeria. Boko Haram attacks certainly employ a quantity of weapons, but their sophistication does not appear to give them a noticeable advantage.

On the other hand, government forces are allegedly poorly equipped, do not receive their pay on time, and do not receive regular medical services. Pensions paid to widows can be erratic.

There were also complaints about inadequate equipment and pay during the campaign in Mali last year when Nigerian soldiers were reportedly forced to ask for food from local Malian communities. They were also restricted to manning checkpoints in the capital region because they lacked equipment to deploy further afield.

Muslim Rights Concern raised such shortcomings in northern Nigeria, as I cited in a blog post on February 27, 2014.

Some observers suggest that government forces simply run away when Boko Haram approaches, and that is ostensibly why the security check points are not manned. Their motivation is fear:— and it is a well placed fear given that Boko Haram has a long tradition of killing any person in the security services that it can.

Traditionally, the policy of the Nigerian government has been to not assign soldiers or police to service in their native regions. Some of my interlocutors suggest this remains true for officers deployed to the regions under the state of emergency; but over-stretched operational requirements and personnel shortages have meant modification to this policy with respect to foot soldiers.

Now, it was suggested, many soldiers in the north are from the north. As such, they are particularly fearful of Boko Haram, both from first-hand knowledge and, presumably, fear for their families.

Such points about the strengths of Boko Haram fighters and the weaknesses of the government’s security forces are credible. I would caution that the factors of Boko Haram strength most likely apply to the most ideologically or religiously committed of Islamist fighters, not to the criminal or other score-settling elements, or the political factions that are likely part of the general insurgency.

Similarly, the northeast of Nigeria is geographically expansive. Conditions among the government’s security personnel likely vary from place to place.

•Campbell, a former U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria, wrote this piece for Christian Science Monitor