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Tag: mercenaries

  • Boko Haram: Ghadaffi’s mercenaries fingered in Konduga attack

    Boko Haram: Ghadaffi’s mercenaries fingered in Konduga attack

    •Troops liberate some abducted women

    Konduga, the besieged Borno State town attacked by Boko Haram, was gradually regaining it peace at the weekend. Military authorities, who have been probing the attack in which no fewer than 39 people died, have fingered some mercenaries of ex-Libyan leader Muammar Ghadaffi as part of those who invaded the town, killing residents and burning homes.

    There are fears that Ghadaffi’s mercenaries have been working with Boko Haram.

    A comprehensive probe of the attack on is underway at the Defence Headquarters.

    It was however confirmed yesterday that troops have regained and secured Konduga to enable the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) take relief materials to the residents, who have been indoors for about five days.

    Hundreds of residents trooped out yesterday, looking for food.

    One of the key gains of military intervention was the liberation of some of the 20 women abducted by the gunmen who invaded Konduga.

    According to a source in the military, going by the analysis of some reports, some mercenaries of the ex-Libyan leader have teamed up with Boko Haram sect to attack towns and villages in Borno State.

    “These mercenaries relocated from Libya to Mali in the heat of the Libyan crisis, which led to the ouster of the late Ghadaffi. And with the intervention of French troops and African Mission, the mercenaries eventually lost their bases in Mali,” the source said, adding:

    “You will recall that Nigerian troops also played a vital role in putting out insurgency in Mali.

    “So, this is the latest bend to the insurgency we are curtailing in Borno State. With our sustained counter-attacks on Boko Haram sect, there was no way the group could remain stronger if there was no external backing.

    “They have been using Hilux vans and trucks, painted in Nigerian Army colour, to invade towns and villages in Borno. If there is no external backing like those of Libyan mercenaries, the Boko Haram sect cannot go far.

    “These mercenaries, with stinking funds at their disposal, have not even given up in Libya. On January 18, some of them were said to have overrun an Air Force Base outside the City of Sabha in Southern Libya. They do have an ally in Boko Haram.”

    “There is the suspicion that the Libyan mercenaries are backing the Boko Haram sect in retaliation of the position on the Libyan crisis.

    Responding to a question, the source added: “If you look at recent pattern of attacks, the insurgents cannot be said to be waging a Jihad or pursuing any agenda to Islamise Nigeria because they have been destroying churches, mosques and killing Christians and Muslims.

    “It looks more of a war against the sovereignty of Nigeria than any religious colouration. This is why the military authorities have directed troops to go full blast on land and in the air.”

    The top source assured that the troops will succeed in checking the insurgency in Borno State.

    Some of the 20 women abducted by the insurgents have been liberated, but no specific figure was available yesterday.

    Boko Haram had last Tuesday attacked Konduga, killing more than 39 people. They also destroyed about 2000 houses.

    The insurgents abducted about 20 girls from the Government Girls Senior Science Secondary School and Ashigar School of Business and Administrative Studies.

    The Governor of Borno State, Alhaji Kashim Shettima, who wept over the incident, said: “About 60 to 70 per cent of the town has been burnt down but we are willing to rebuild it.”

    More troops have been deployed for protection of lives and properties in the troubled town. Besides, the Federal Government has moved truckloads of relief materials to Konduga.

    According to a statement by NEMA, the “truckload of materials, which were transported by officials of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), led by its North-West Zonal Coordinator Muhammad Kanar, include food items, toiletries, clothing and other basic needs.

    The statement said: “With the destruction of markets in the community, the gestures of the Federal Government were well-received by thousands of locals who trooped out from their abodes and hideouts to receive the materials.

    “The Zonal Coordinator, Kanar, assured members of the community that more items would be distributed, including building materials to rehabilitate some of the structures destroyed in the recent attacks.

    “NEMA has undertaken many of such interventions in recent times in various communities in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states where a state of emergency has been declared as a result of the insurgent activities.”

     

  • ‘Day Fulani mercenaries killed 8, burnt 96 houses’

    ‘Day Fulani mercenaries killed 8, burnt 96 houses’

    The Fulani were at the receiving end yesterday at the sitting of the Justice Joseph Gbadeyan panel in Lafia, Nasarawa State. They were accused of using mercenaries to attack Mada and Eggon people, reports Sanni Onogu, Lafia

    The Mada people in Bassa Zarengi District of Kokona Local Government Area of Nasarawa state yesterday accused their Fulani neighbours of conspiring with mercenaries to kill eight of them.

    The community, in a memorandum it presented before the Justice Joseph Gbadeyan-led Judicial Commission of Inquiry probing the recent killing of security personnel in Lakyo village, alleged that the mercenaries burnt 96 houses in the 14 villages.

    The memorandum was jointly signed by Dogolamba Ciroma, chairman of the Mada Development Association (MDA) and Chinchan Maigan Nkonkyu, secretary of the MDA.

    Nkonkyu, in his evidence-in-chief, said the Mada people in Bassa Zarengi District were found mainly in 12 villages.

    The Mada people, he said, are predominantly farmers while others engaged in other economic activities like trading and artisanship. He said whenever a Mada was apprehended during the attack, he would be asked if he was Eggon or Mada. He said the person would be killed if he answered in the affirmative.

    He added that others were asked if they were Muslims or Christians before being killed.

    Nkonkyu said those who claimed to be Muslims were usually asked to recite the Muslim prayers to ascertain their truthfulness.

    The MDA scribe also accused the state government of negligence and unfair treatment of the Mada people after the attacks.

    Nkonkyu said: “On the fateful day of the 8th of January 2013, gunmen (mercenaries) struck and attacked five Mada villages and the other nine villages which are mixed settlements with other ethnic nationalities.

    “The five Mada villages are inhabited by people of purely Mada extraction. The 8th of January 2013 attack started from Ruwan Doma in Bassa Zarengi District which is Eggon predominant area.

    “While the attack was going on, we were assured by the Hausas and Fulanis living with us that we should not panic that the attack was not targeted at Mada people.

    “However later, the first Mada village that was attacked is Jigawa. It proceeded to all the five Mada villages and spread to other nine villages where Madas and other ethnic nationalities coexist. The 14 villages were attacked and scores of people were killed and several houses burnt.

    “The Mada people (Community) were very apprehensive when they heard the sound of gun shots in a nearby village of Ruwan-Doma within Bassa Zarengi District but for the assurances given by both Hausa and Fulani neigbours, we were relaxed just to be surprised by an attack by the blood thirsty mercenaries.

    “The mercenaries in commando style hacked down their victims with sharp swords and gunshots, thereby setting the residences ablaze and destroying lives and properties such as machines, foodstuff and razing down houses completely. Some of those killed were burnt to the point of non-recognition.”

    On lives and properties destroyed during the attack, he said: “Human lives were affected in these violent unprovoked attacks by hired mercenaries. Besides human lives, properties of no mean estimation were equally destroyed. The relics remaining were houses and machines.”

    He said the Mada community had never been involved in any turmoil with any ethnic group since its settlement at their present location.

    He said they did not also harbour any malice against any ethnic group to warrant any attack as a remote cause.

    On the causes of the crisis, Nkonkyu, who is a Supervisor with the Agwada Development Area Education Authority in Kokona Local Government Area, said: “There is no immediate cause of the unwarranted attack, except for conspiracy and deception we found at work against us which we believe our neighbours (Hausa and Fulani) hold serious hidden agenda against us which manifested itself in the 14 Mada communities that were attacked.

    “During these attacks, which raged from 8th January to March 30, 2013, it was clearly manifested that whenever a Mada is apprehended, questions are thrown at the person as follows: ‘Are you Mada or Eggon?’ If the answer is in the affirmative, the victim must be killed.

    “The second question is: ‘Are you a Muslim or Christian?’ If Christian, the victim must be killed. Even if the victim were Mada or Eggon that says he is Muslim, he or she will be asked to relate ‘Salat’ (Muslim prayers).

    “Our worry is that despite our predicament we were surprised that the government gave no relief materials or showed concern to our people so we can be quick to accuse them of negligence and unfair treatment against our people.”

    He added that eight people were killed during the attacks and 96 houses burnt among other properties affected.

    Under cross-examination by the Commission’s counsel, Funso Lawal, Nkonkyu said the Mada community believed the attacks were orchestrated by the conspiracy of their Hausa/Fulani neighbours.

    He said: “The same person who told you in the morning not to panic that the attack was not targeted at you, the same person attacked you in the evening.”

    On why he accused the government of negligence and unfairness to his people, he said: “Government did not provide my people with relief materials; that is why we said they were unfair.”

    When asked to recommend ways to end the incessant attacks and killings in the state, he said: “Government should not underestimate any violence, grazing land should be provided for the Fulani; government should provide relief materials in the event of any crisis to reduce the hardship of the affected people. There should be workshops and seminars on peace and conflict resolution.”

    Counsel to the MDA, Harry Anyuabuga, objected to the counsel representing the Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore Socio-Cultural Association, Abubakar Dogara, appearing during the presentation of the Mada memorandum.

    After a brief argument by the lawyers, the Commission rose and retired to rule on the objection.

    Justice Gbadeyan upheld the objection, saying Dogara cannot appear in the case since his clients were not directly referred to in the memorandum in question.

    Dogara thanked the Commission for the ruling but said he would study the ruling.

    Also, yesterday Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice Innocent Lagi drew the Commission’s attention to media reports, which, he said, did not represent the happenings at the panel’s sittings.

    Lagi, who was represented by Sambo Vongjen, told the Commission that the reports were contained in a national daily of August 20 and 21.

    Sambo said: “The publication in question does not reflect the true position of what happened at the Commission. The caption of the publication and the content are at variance with the contents of the memorandum referred to and we view this with great dismay. The caption and content of the Wednesday publication are poles apart from the memorandum referred to and we view it with great displeasure.”

    The Nasarawa State Correspondent of the Daily Trust, Hir Joseph, when asked by the Commission to justify the publications in question, said he picked his story from the subhead on page three of the memorandum in question which reads: “Observation/sponsorship.”

    The memorandum was submitted to the Commission by the Eggon Cultural Development Association (ECDA).

    Justice Gbadeyan asked: “If it becomes a criminal case, can you wriggle yourself out of it?”

    “Yes my Lord,” the reporter said.

    The Chairman added: “The memo said nothing about negligence. Read the particular portion that supports your caption that the Nasarawa State Government sponsored attacks on Eggon people.”

    The reporter said: “The entire memo presented by ECDA talks about attacks and invasion and they went further to say there was sponsorship. I did not go anywhere outside the memorandum.”

    At this point, Sambo urged the Commission to rule that the said publications be retracted in three consecutive publications and an apology tendered to the government.

    “If they fail, then we know what to do,” he said.

    Justice Gbadeyan said: “During our inaugural session, we pleaded with the press that we want accurate and non-sensational reports of the proceedings of the Commission. We know you want to sell your papers. The Commission is not holding brief for the state government. The government can speak for itself. It is not our duty to so direct.”

  • ‘How Fulani mercenaries attacked my people’

    ‘How Fulani mercenaries attacked my people’

    The hearing in absentia of a memorandum by Pastor Joshua Daudu, District Head of Bassa in Nasarawa State, which accused the Fulani in Nasarawa State of using mercenaries to attack his people, leads to a drama at the sitting of the panel on Nasarawa killings, reports Sanni Onogu, Lafia

     

    There was drama yesterday at the sitting of the panel probing the killing of some security operatives in Nasarawa State some months ago. The panel heard two of the memoranda submitted to it in the absence of the petitioners.

    The memoranda were filed by the District Head of Bassa-Zarangi in Kokona Local Government Area, Mr. Joshua Daudu and the Eggon Cultural Development Association (ECDA).

    ECDA and several other petitioners had withdrawn from the proceedings of the panel.

    They had cited alleged procedural irregularities, bias and lack of confidence in the Commission for the withdrawal.

    Other petitioners who withdrew from the panel include: John Allu (Ward Head of Eggon Ruttu) and Peter Galilee (Ezhim Eggon Elder), Burum- Burum of Eggon Communities in Doma Local Government Area, and Danladi Jatau, member representing Kokona West Constituency in the Nasarawa State House of Assembly.

    Others include petitions from Alhaji Musa Darinya (Ubangarin Kwandare), Alhaji Aliyu Maigida (Makungijin Kwandare), Alhaji Iliyasu Galadima (Wanbai Kwandare), Mallam Abdullahi Maigida (Chairman), Mallam Jamilu Galadima and Mallam Aliyu Oboshi on behalf of Kwandare Community.

    But the commission struck out the notices when their lawyers failed to move their notice of withdrawal.

    The Chairman, Justice Joseph Gbadeyan, said the commission would take the memoranda with or without their presenters. Neither the authors nor the counsel of the two memoranda slated for yesterday were available when they were called.

    Following this development, Justice Gbadeyan called on the Commission’s Secretary, Abubakar Sadiq Ishaq, who explained that all efforts to serve the lawyers with the hearing notice failed.

    He said the commission decided to publish the notices in two national dailies and made public announcement through the Nasarawa Broadcasting Service (NBS) and Precious FM Radio.

    He tendered copies of the newspaper publications and the radio and television scripts before the Commission as proofs.

    Lawyers present did not object to copies of the publications being admitted in evidence by the Commission.

    At this point, the Commission’s counsel, Funso Lawal, sought to know if it would take the memoranda as presented since their authors were not present.

    Lawal said: “In the light of the absence of the presenter and counsel for memorandum 8, I don’t know whether we should take the memo as having been read or ask the Secretary to read it?”

    Two lawyers, Yakubu Hassan, representing the Hausa Community of Bassa District in Agwada Development Area of Kokona Local Government Area and Abubakar Dogara, who appeared for Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore Socio-Cultural Association, Nasarawa State chapter, objected to the presentation of the memoranda in absentia by the Commission.

    Hassan said: “I have a contrary position. The memo that has been filed before the Commission is a different thing from presenting a memo. Even in the courts, if a process is filed, it is a limited time and when the parties fail to come it is abandoned. That is my observation. Since they are not here to present it, it should be abandoned.

    “You cannot present the memo because the people (presenters) are not here. Who do we cross-examine after it is taken?”

    Responding to Hassan’s observations, Justice Gbadeyan said: “That will be a question for address?”

    On his part, Dogara also objected to the reading of the memo saying: “What will happen if the presenter comes another day to say he wants to present the memo?”

    But, Justice Gbadeyan replied: “We will finish with the memo today. It has to be read here because the whole world wants to know what is in that memo.”

    He ordered the Commission’s secretary to read the memo, which blamed the crisis and the attendant killings and destruction of property on Fulani herdsmen in the area.

    The memorandum reads: “The peace we used to enjoy in Bassa District ceased to exist from the 8th of December 2012 when some group of Fulani herdsmen attacked some Eggon farmers in the farm during rice harvest.

    “The facts are that, while the Eggon farmers were harvesting their rice around Angwan Arume, some Fulani herdsmen visited the farm with their cattle for grazing. At that point, there was disagreement when the youths protested against the Fulanis for allowing their cattle to graze on their harvested rice.

    “The disagreement led to the death of two Eggon youths who could not survive the deep machete cut from the hands of the herdsmen. When I heard the news of the attack, I immediately rushed to see for myself as I witnessed the body of one identified as Obgunri Emmanuel, who died at the spot of the attack and Philibus Avre, who died on his way to the hospital after my humble self and the officer in charge of the Police Force were rushing him to the hospital.

    “The incident that led to the death of two Eggon farmers witnessed a serious reaction from the deceased relations and other Eggon youths who were bent on reprisal attack which took my intervention and that of the officer in charge of the Bassa Police Outpost, the Eggon elders on ground and the prompt response by Hon. Danladi Jatau, the Hon. Member representing my constituency to restore peace on that day.

    “On the need to preach peace, I summoned a meeting of chiefs and ethnic leaders in my domain and pleaded for calm as the incident gave us restless moment.

    “Within a week, I got another call reporting the attack on an Eggon woman also in her rice farm by Fulani herdsmen which I made effort to resolve.

    “Sometimes around the 8th of January, 2013 at about 2am, I received a distress call and my house was opened to attend to complaint by some Eggon led by one Gideon Affiku (the Chief of Sakwato) within my district that four Eggon youths were shot to death in their neigbourhood by unknown gunmen suspected to be Fulanis.

    “That at the time of the report, two of the youths were already dead while others bled seriously. I immediately called on Mr. D.S. Yamu (Jarmen Bassa) on phone to help speak with the youths and to also intervene which he did together with our Hon. Member in the House of Assembly, Hon. Danladi Jatau.

    “As if that was not enough, after the return of peace, what my domain started experiencing was mutual suspicion among the Hausa, Fulani and the Eggon people to the extent that, it became a daily rumour that there was a plot to invade Eggon communities.

    “Following the death of another Eggon youth from an attack by the Fulani, I , immediately, on receiving the information called on Alhaji Buli who is the Ardo of my district who denied knowledge of what happened. According to him, his men were not responsible.

    “While the DPO of Garaku division in company of others and I were searching for the dead bodies of the two Eggon boys, attacked on the 9th of January, 2013, an Eggon boy ran to me and said ‘Zaki, please tell your people to go back because I saw some Fulani and other mercenaries carrying sophisticated weapons and ammunition’.

    “He said he only managed to escape from his farm on sighting them. That the battle ready men were heading towards the town in an organised movement but I took the information with less seriousness.

    “But within 30 minutes of the information, I heard sporadic gun shots and smoke gushing out of roofs of houses in the town. It was then, we had to run for our dear lives.”

    The memo added that the invasion started around Ruwan Doma/Lawe settlement of the Eggon people and later extended to Bassa, Yelwa, Ruwan Doma Primary School, Ruwan Doma Wasku, Kurinin Kura, Gidon Dogo, Angwan Ajagena, Jigawa A&B, Uke, Angwan Waje, Angwan Awolo, Akure, Sakwato and Taba Usman.

    Other villages affected by the crisis include Aforanmi, Alagani, Agbaruma, Katako, Angwan Anduwa, Angwan Yerima, Atteshini Tiv, Atteshini Mada, Angwan Dariya, Yelwa Wata, Angwan Ekon and Robo.

    “The number of lives lost and properties destroyed are so much and worrisome as only years of divine intervention may heal the huge losses of the areas affected,” the memorandum said.

    On those responsible/sponsors of the mayhem, Daudu blamed it on Fulani and their mercenaries.

    He said: “I know as a fact that the persons responsible for the unrest in my locality and the immediate cause were the Fulani herdsmen, and the escalation led to the invasion of my community by mercenaries who I find difficult to identify.

    “Even eyewitnesses confirmed to me that the invaders spoke Fulani and Hausa languages and also that other faces were unfamiliar unlike the Fulani of Bassa.

    “The attack left over a thousand houses razed down by fire, several motorcycles destroyed, foodstuffs burnt to ashes and a hundred lives lost due to the crisis.

    “The situation also left many inhabitants of my village homeless as they have taken refuge outside my village with little or no hope of returning due to fear and lack of shelter and adequate security yet to be provided by the authorities.”

     

    Hassan, who is representing the Hausa community of Bassa at the panel, said the district head violated the oath of office he took to lead the people of Bassa with fairness, irrespective of ethnicity, adding that his memo sounded like he was rather a tribal leader, than a community head of the people of Bassa comprising different ethnic groups.

    He added that the pastor’s decision to join other Eggon interests to withdraw from the commission gave him up as a tribal jingoist.

     

  • 10 ‘mercenaries’ arrested with weapons in Benue

    Men of Operation Zenda, the Benue State security outfit, have arrested 10 suspected mercenaries who allegedly attacked Kurayemen village and killed five Tiv farmers in Mbayer-Yandev ward, Guma Local Government Area, last Sunday.

    The suspects were also said to have set ablaze 400 houses in 11 compounds. Property worth millions of naira were allegedly destroyed in the attack.

    A member of the House of Assembly, representing Makurdi North, Avine Agbom (ACN), told The Nation that he got distress calls from members of his constituents that their village was under heavy attacks by suspected Fulani.

    The lawmaker said the callers told him that the attackers were killing harmless farmers and setting their homes ablaze.

    Agbom said: “I immediately called the Benue State security outfit, code named Operation Zenda, with a combined team of soldiers and mobile policemen. They responded immediately. They stormed the village and arrested 10 suspected mercenaries and recovered several sophisticated weapons from them.”

    The lawmaker said the security team also recovered over 40 motorcycles.

    He alleged that the suspected mercenaries came to the village with over 300 cows and pretended to be grazing before they carried out the Sunday attack.

    Agbom hailed the Commandant of 72 Special Forces Battalion in Makurdi, Lt-Col. Abubarkar, for his immediate response, which led to the arrest of the suspected mercenaries.

    Police spokesman, Daniel Ezeala, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), confirmed the arrest of the 10 suspects.

    He said: “The Army handed over 10 suspects for murder and mischief by fire (arson)…”

     

  • Sallah: ‘Boko Haram employs foreign mercenaries’

    The Joint Task Force (JTF) in Borno State yesterday said the Boko Haram sect has recruited foreign mercenaries to cause mayhem during the Eid-el-Kabir festival.

    In a statement in Maiduguri, the state capital, JTF spokesman, Lt.-Col. Sagir said: “Information available to the Joint Task Force, Operation Restore Order, indicates that Boko Haram terrorists are planning massive attacks on military and civilian targets during the Sallah period.

    “Consequently, members of the terrorist group have invited foreign mercenaries to assist them in launching the attacks. The group has also advised the public to store enough food items and other routine household requirements as they believe that the JTF will impose curfew on Maiduguri in the event of a breakdown of law and order.”

    Sagir urged the public to report any suspicious person or movement to the JTF to guarantee security during the festivity.