The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Maiduguri

  • Victim of Borno acid attack calls for justice

    Fatima Usman, a 23-year old acid attack victim in Borno, on Wednesday appealed to security agencies to fish out the perpetrators of the attack on her.Fatima, a final year student in the Department of Nursing, University of Maiduguri, was attacked on March 16, by suspected tricycle operators at Shagari quarters, Maiduguri.

    Fatima made the call on her hospital bed at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital ( UMTH ), where she was receiving treatment from the injuries sustained in the attack.She told the News men that arrest of the attackers would allow justice to take its course and protect women from similar attacks.

    Recounting her ordeal, Fatima said she boarded a tricycle at Bank Road and met two male passengers sitting in the rear seat.She said that one of them suddenly brought out a white handkerchief from his pocket, poured powder on it and put it on her face.“I became unconscious and they dumped me at Royal quarters in Shagari low-cost area.

    “They bathed my face and other parts of my body with corrosive fluid.“I could not recognized all of them; but I can identify the one who brought out the handkerchief and covered my face with it.

    “I call for justice to be served. The police should arrest those who attacked me and bathed me with acid,” she said.Fatima also sought for prayers for her quick recovery.Dr. Bashir Tahir, the Chairman, Medical Advisory Committee ( CMAC ) of the UMTH, said the victim was in stable condition.

    Tahir, however, explained that medical examinations showed that she would undergo four different stages of surgeries on Thursday due to the spread of injuries sustained in the attack.

    Read Also: Borno orders closure of public boarding schools

    He also said that Fatima suffered fatal damages of her body tissues as a result of the attack.“For now she has been recuperating, but she will have to undergo surgical operation on the face, head and shoulder,” Tahir said.

    Hajiya Jummai, the victim’s mother, commended the hospital management, the state government and well-wishers for their support.Jummai also expressed concerns that the attack might impact negatively on Fatima’s academics.

    “It is barely two months to complete her degree, but she is apprehensive of going back to school due psychological trauma experienced in the attack.“We have accepted everything as the will of Allah. I thank Allah she is still alive.

    “Ummi ( Fatima’s other name ) is my last daughter and my favorite child.“It is hard to fathom that a fellow human could perpetrate such cruelty on another person,” she said.Meanwhile, Borno governor, Mallam Kashim Shettima, has directed a full scale investigation into the case.

    NAN

  • Released Dapchi girls moved to theater command headquarters

    The released Dapchi girls have been moved to the Theatre Command of Operation Lafiaya Dole, in Maiduguri.

    The girls were ferried out of Dapchi in a heavy military convoy led by the GOC 3 Division, Nigerian Army Army, Maj. General Ahanatu to the theatre command in Maiduguri.

    Our correspondent sighted the large military convoy at the Mega Station in Damaturu comprising of over 20 vehicles as they stopped to refuel and the girls were given refreshment.

    Journalists were prevented from taking pictures of the girls or talking to any of the girls or the parents as the convoy hurriedly left with the girls to Maiduguri.

    The Chairman of the Forum of parents of the Dapchi Missing Girls Bashir Manzo also informed that he was in the convoy heading to Maiduguri with the girls when our correspondent contacted him.

    Asked on the number of girls that were been taking to Maiduguri, Alhaji Bashir said he cannot categorically tell the number as they were hurriedly asked to leave Dapchi for Maiduguri.

    “We were trying to get the exact number of the girls when the military came and we hurriedly left Dapchi. As it is now, I can only tell you the number by the time we get to Maiduguri”, Manzo informed.

    Details later…

    Read Also:Released Dapchi girls moved to theater command in Maiduguri

  • Released Dapchi girls moved to theater command in Maiduguri

    The released Dapchi Girls have been moved to the Theatre Command of Operation Lafiaya Dole, in Maiduguri.

    The girls were ferried out of Dapchi in a heavy military convoy led by the GOC 3 Division, Nigerian Army Army, Maj. General Ahanatu to the theatre command in Maiduguri.

    Our correspondent sighted the large military convoy at the Mega Station in Damaturu comprising of over 20 vehicles as they stopped to refuel and the girls were given refreshment.

    Journalists were prevented from taking pictures of the girls or talking to any of the girls or the parents as the convoy hurriedly left with the girls to Maiduguri.

    The Chairman of the Forum of parents of the Misssing Girls Bashir Manzo also informed that he was in the convoy heading to Maiduguri with the girls when our correspondent contacted him.

    Read Also: #BBOG to interrogate circumstances of Dapchi girls release

    Asked on the number of girls that were been taking to Maiduguri, Alhaji Bashir said he cannot categorically tell the number as they were hurriedly asked to leave Dapchi for Maiduguri.

    “We were trying to get the exact number of the girls when the military came and we hurriedly left Dapchi. As it is now, I can only tell you the number by the time we get to Maiduguri”, Manzo informed.

  • Tight security in Damaturu as Buhari visits Yobe

     

    There is heavy security in Damaturu, the state capital awaiting the arrival of the President and Commander –in – Chief of the Armed Forces of Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari to Yobe State.

    A detachment of security personal including army, police , Civil Defense Corp have been  deployed to strategic locations of the city to quell any breach of law and order during the visit.

    The August 27 Stadium where the president is expected to land from an Air force helicopter enroute Maiduguri International Airport has been taken over security with Armored Personal Carrier Machines mounted at the front of the stadium.

    Read Also: Buhari to meet Dapchi girls’ parents in Yobe

    The entrance of the Yobe State Government House where the president is expected to meet with all stakeholders in the state is also under tight security as the stern looking security operatives subject vehicles and human beings under strict checks before gaining entrance into the government house.

    In another development, schools and commercial activities have been paralysed in Damaturu due to unfavourable security arrangements put in place.

    Though there was no official statement as to whether there was restriction of movement on the streets of Damaturu, instead, the Commissioner for Information in the State Albania Mala Musti had issued a statement calling on the people to come out emass to welcome the President.

    Our correspondent sighted empty streets in Damaturu as many access roads were closed from the central roundabout up to the stadium on Maiduguri road.

  • NSCDC deploys 500 personnel to schools in Borno

    NSCDC deploys 500 personnel to schools in Borno

    The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps ( NSCDC ), Borno Command, on Friday said it had deployed 500 personnel to enhance security in public schools in the state.

    The Commandant of the corps, Mr Ibrahim Abdullahi, disclosed this in an interview with the News men in Maiduguri.

    Abdullahi said that the personnel were deployed to seven of the 22 liberated local government areas of the state.

    He explained that the measure was part of efforts to enhance security for pupils and teachers in the schools.

    He also said that the deployment was in line with the directives of the corps’ Commander-General, Mr Abdullahi Gana, that schools in the North-East be provided with security and protected.

    Read Also: Dambazau directs relocation of IGP, NSCDC boss to North-East

    According to him, the command was working in collaboration with other security agencies in order to ensure protection of lives and property.

    He said, “Following the incident of abduction of school girls in Yobe, the Command Headquarters directed immediate deployment of personnel to schools in the state.

    “This include special armed, counter terrorism and anti-riot squad, bomb detection and disposal unit, intelligence, detective as well as rescue and medical teams,” he said.

    NAN

  • Police foil attack in Maiduguri

    Police foil attack in Maiduguri

    •’Nobody died in Yobe bombing’ 

    Security forces in Borno State yesterday foiled a suicide attack on the University of Maiduguri, police spokesman Joseph Kwaji said in a statement.

    According to Kwaji, security personnel deployed in the area neutralised a lone bomber at the parapet of the university.

    He added that the bomber detonated his explosive devices, killed himself.

    The statement reads: “On February 19, about 19:20pm, a male suicide bomber strapped with Improvised Explosives Device (IED), in an attempt to infiltrate the University of Maiduguri parapet, was sighted by security operatives who opened fire on him.

    “As a result, the IED strapped to his body exploded, killing the bomber alone and no other casualties.”

    Kwaji said that the police EOD team had sanitised the scene and normalcy restored.

    Spokesman of Yobe State Police Command Abdulmaliki Sumonu said yesterday that nobody died in the suspected attack on Government Girls’ College in Dapchi.

    Insurgents attacked the school, shooting sporadically and forcing workers and pupils to flee to safety.

    They stole foodstuffs.

    Sumonu told reporters that three men were abducted by the insurgents in a remote community in Geidam Local Government Area after the attack on Dapchi.

    But no girl was abducted.

    “We are still gathering details on the attack, census of the girls and the public,” he said.

  • Boko Haram: EU/British council build sexual abuse referral centre

    Boko Haram: EU/British council build sexual abuse referral centre

    The European Union in collaboration with British Council has built and donated   a Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC) to Borno State.

    The centre is expected to provide care for women children and other group of people that have suffered  rape and other abuses due to the Boko Haram activities in the state.

    Borno First Lady, Mrs Nana Shettima, on Monday commissioned the centre which is the first of its kind in the region ravaged by the Boko Haram crisis.

    Mrs Shettima, expressed delight on the initiative which she said had come at the right time when cases of sexual abuse have become a disturbing trend in the state.

    “All hands must be on deck to cub this vices rearing its ugly head in the society”, she said

    The Centre which is located within the premises of the Umaru Shehu General Hospital, Maiduguri will now serve as management centre where victims of cases of abuse will report their ordeal for proper management and subsequent prosecution of the perpetrators unlike in the past where people were reluctant in reporting such cases to the law enforcement agencies.

    According to Borno state Commissioner for health, Dr Haruna Mshellia,  “ this  SARC facility would also function as a hub for collation of forensic evidence that will aid the possible prosecution of rapists and related sexual abusers” adding that,  “the services of the centre would not only be restricted to only females but also to males who may have suffered one form of sexual abuse or the other”.

    In his remarks, the  Managing Director Borno state hospital management board, Dr Ibrahim Kwayabura, said the establishment of the SARC by the state government in collaboration with the British Council came at a time when a 2014 WHO statistics indicate that one in every five women has either been raped or sexually abused in one form or the other.

    He said “records have shown that the culprits are usually very close associates or relatives”.

    Borno state Commissioner of police, Mr Damian Chukwu, is also worried over the high rate of cases of rape in the state especially minors which he said are on a “daily basis”.

    “You find a 60 year-old man defiling a four year-old girl. I call on people to change their attitude toward rape suspects and stop making unnecessary pleas to save them.

    “It is disheartening to see victims’ families asking the police to drop charges against rape suspects. Unless we change this attitude, we will continue to witness rape in the society,” he said.

    Mr. Chukwu noted that one of the biggest challenges of apprehending  cases of rape is the unwillingness of victims to seek prosecution of perpetrators.

    He advocated for a possible “enactment of the sexual abuse law, and setting up of special tribunal for the trial of all offenders”

    The Project Manager of MCN, Professor Tabiu Mohammed, said that the SARC centre is part of the core programmes of the organization geared at promoting the involvement of women in peace-building and addressing the impact of violence on women and girls.

    He said, “ British Council, through its MCN project takes into account the large scale of violence directed at women, girls and boys in the course of the counterinsurgency and the likely escalation of such violence in the affected communities in the course of resettlement after the insurgency”

    Team Lead of the MCN in Borno state, Mrs Zara Goni, said it is in the best interest of relatives to encourage victims to visit the facility as soon as cases of rape is confirmed so that the girl could be provided with medical care that could prevent not only unwanted pregnancies, but all other kinds of diseases.

    She it is part of the MCN programme to establish SARC desk in police stations where cases of rape could be referred to the SARC facility for immediate medication and psychosocial support

    The SARC facility is expected to run an integrated service with various organs of government like the police, the military, the ministries of justice, ministry of Women Affairs as well as the Ministry of Health.

    With the Boko Haram displacing well over 2 million people, mostly women and children, several cases of sexual abuses – especially raping of young girls – have become order of the day within and outside the IDP camps in Borno state.

  • Borno to spend N300m on traffic light installations in Maiduguri

    Borno to spend N300m on traffic light installations in Maiduguri

    Borno Government says it plans to spend 300 million on installation of 28 traffic light and street light in designated locations of Maiduguri in 2018.

    The state’s Commissioner for Works and Transport, Alhaji Adamu Lawan, made the disclosure at a news conference held on Thursday in Maiduguri.

    He said the measure was meant to guarantee security of lives and property of residents.

    According to him, the ministry is currently undertaking street light installations of about 8.2 kilometres from Pompommari bypass to Baga road in Maiduguri.

    The commissioner said the state government spent more than N528 million yearly on 20 generators to power street lights in Maiduguri.

    Read Also:  Boko Haram: Borno reconstructs 50, 000 houses, schools, clinics

    He added that the government also provided 5,000 litres of diesel and lubricants to ensure uninterrupted electricity supply throughout the state capital.

    “The ministry is spending about N44 million on monthly to power 20 generators, services and repairs as well as payment of staff allowances.

    “We did not want the solar (energy) because the light is not as bright as the electricity. And the miscreants are always stealing the solar batteries,” he said.

    According to him, the government is looking at powering the street light from the Power Holding Company because of the improved supply of electricity instead of generators,” he said.

    NAN

  • Update: 5 dead, 39 injured in Maiduguri multiple explosions

    Update: 5 dead, 39 injured in Maiduguri multiple explosions

    Five persons have been confirmed dead as suicide bombers suspected to be Boko Haram members attacked the Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs, camp in Dalori, Borno state on Wednesday.

    The Borno State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) chairman, Satomi Ahmad confirming the incident to newsmen in Maiduguri said five IDPs members and 39 others sustained various degrees of injuries in the suicide bomb attack.

    Satomi said that a female suicide bomber infiltrated the IDPs camp and detonated explosive killing herself and five other people, while 39 others were wounded.

    He said the second suicide bomber detonated improvised explosive device at the entrance of Dalori residential quarters and blew herself to pieces.

    According to him, there was no casualty in the second attack.

    The chairman added that the wounded had been taken to the Specialist Hospital, Maiduguri

    Dalori camp is located on the road from Maiduguri to Konduga, Bama, and the border between Nigeria and Cameroon, 15 kilometres south-east of Maiduguri.

    The camp has been targeted many times by suspected Boko Haram terrorist group. Worst of these attacks occurred on January 30, 2016, when at least 86 people were killed and at least 62 injured.

  • NDE trains 2,000 youths in Borno

    NDE trains 2,000 youths in Borno

    The National Directorate of Employment ( NDE ) on Tuesday said it had trained 2,000 youths in Borno.

    NDE Coordinator in the state, Wakil Kalanga, said this while fielding questions in Maiduguri.

    Read also: Borno govt bans vehicular movement on three highways

    Kalaga said the beneficiaries were exposed to various trades under its Basic National Open Apprenticeship Scheme ( B-NOAS ).

    He said the beneficiaries would be provided with resettlement packages to enable them set up their businesses.

    He said the exercise would provide job opportunities and enhance wealth creation in the society, adding that the agency would train 50,000 youths int eh state this year.

    NAN