The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Nigerian Army

  • Why Nigerians must support Army

    Why Nigerians must support Army

    I just watched the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt. General Tukur Buratai on Television after he visited troops in Geidam Community of Yobe State, as a result of Wednesday’s attack by Boko Haram militants who over-ran the military.

    Tn the attack, the insurgents killed 3 soldiers, carted away many weapons and ammunition abandoned by the military on the run and looted mostly food and petroleum products from the popular Wednesday market.

    I was particularly touched by the honesty of General Buratai who was obviously angry with the troops who had run away from Geidam town.

    In his words, the General said “How can you allow these criminals over-run you? How can you run away from this rag-tag and untrained criminals? You allowed them to operate here for 12hours unchallenged. You refused to come back until they withdrew.”

    On the surface, the words of COAS Buratai are very hurtful to the image of the Nigerian Army but this is the painful reality today.

    The Nigerian Army seems to be overwhelmed and demoralized.

    The image of the Nigerian Army has suffered so much damages in the eyes of Nigerians and the international community mainly because of the way they have handled the war against Boko Haram in the past 3years.

    These insurgents have repeatedly, for over 2years, embarked upon massive propaganda using social media to demonize the Nigerian Army.

    They have through so many online propaganda and campaigns portrayed our army as a weak and a cowardly army that cannot stand to fight.

    Many online media and personalities helped the insurgents to achieve their propaganda campaigns either intentionally or otherwise.

    It is important for us to know that all wars are fought both on ground, air, sea, land and in the minds of all parties involved in the war and most importantly in the psyche of the citizens. To win this war against Boko Haram, we must conquer the minds of Boko Haram with fear, win over our allies and friends by convincing them our army is capable and reliable and also boost the confidence of our troops through citizenry support since the morale of our troops are boosted when they know the citizens of their country are solidly behind them.

    The Nigerian Army and our other security agencies are our last line of defense against these barbarians since we cannot defend ourselves against their satanic attacks. If not for the efforts of the Nigerian Military and our other security agencies, these barbarians would have taken over the entire nation, enforced their barbaric and misguided religious tenets on all of us, restricted us to their false Sambisa sharia law system, forced our Sisters into sex slavery like they have done to the Chibok Girls and make us live in perpetual fear of terror.

    [quote font_size=”18″ font_style=”italic” bgcolor=”#000000″ bcolor=”#e2e2e2″]We sleep safely at night because rough men stand ready to visit violence on those who would harm us.”  ― Winston S. Churchill[/quote]

    If not for the Nigerian Army and other security agencies, many Muslims and Christians across our country would not be able to go to the mosque on Fridays or the church on Sundays.

    Boko Haram seeks to destroy Christianity and Islam and do not wish any of us well, Nigerians, irrespective of religious consideration, party affiliation and tribal affinity, must realize that Boko Haram are our common enemies and not just the Nigerian Army’s.

    The Army means well and are doing their very best to protect us all despite the overwhelming odds, they need our support at all times.

    This was what the opposition party in the days of President Goodluck Jonathan was admonished with but they refused to listen. They politicized everything.

    Sadly, they politicized the attempt by the former president to list Boko Haram as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO); they politicized the procurement of arms to prosecute the war; they politicized appointments of service chiefs; they politicized State of Emergency in the North East; they politicized Chibok and turned it into a campaign tool against Jonathan.

    The PDP-led Federal Government and the Nigerian Army, for inexplicable reasons, chose to see issues as an appendage of the PDP rather than the federal government.

    Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, now governor of Kaduna State and many leading APC chieftains then referred to the Nigerian army as Jonathan’s army. They politicized everything as regards the fight against the deadly sect.

    At some point in time, their presidential candidate now President Muhammadu Buhari called an attack against Boko haram an attack against Northern Nigeria.

    If the political class and all Nigerians had supported the then Federal Government and our security agencies in the fight against Boko Haram, may be we would have long won the war.

    The politicization of the war against Boko Haram caused more damage than good on the whole nation. Those who saw the war against Boko Haram as an avenue for them to keep scoring needless and cheap political points in the North, sabotaged the efforts of our security agencies.

    They got the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) to issue endless press releases kicking against the ban on Boko Haram and the plan of the then FG to list Boko Haram as an FTO which was needed to get arms from our allies to effectively prosecute the war.

    And finally, when Boko Haram was listed as an FTO, they began another campaign against the army saying former Chief of Army staff, Lieutenant General Ihejirika was also a sponsor of Boko Haram and was the one supplying arms to Boko Haram on the orders of former president Jonathan.

    Their allegations were so scary and consistent that our allies became skeptical of supplying us with arms, and the United States and Israel refused selling arms to us to fight the deadly sect.

    We had to turn to Russia for help. As if that was not enough, the former governor of Adamawa State, Murtala Nyako even did the unbelievable, accusing the FG of genocide against Northern Nigeria and suggested that federal troops were the ones dropping arms for Boko Haram with helicopters.

    Furthermore, it was Mallam El-Rufai that built a propaganda foundation which suggested that former President Jonathan was the one sponsoring Boko Haram against the North.

    He also tried to bring in the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, Ex-Niger Delta Militants and others as possible sponsors of the terrorist group. El-rufai ensured he poisoned the minds of young people from the North and many of his followers on social media against the then president Jonathan by maintaining this lie. He further justified this lie when he spoke at Chatham House by presenting a table to justify his propaganda theory.

    The questions all Nigerians must now begin to ask those who refused to support the former administration of Goodluck Jonathan and our security agencies in their fight against Boko Haram then and who are suddenly supporting the Federal Government and the army now is, what has changed? Is Goodluck Jonathan still the one sponsoring Boko Haram with the help of his Niger Delta ex-militants? Is CAN still the one sponsoring Boko Haram? Explanations were offered to APC on why they should see the battle against the terrorists as a national issue rather than treated as a political one just for parochial and mundane reasons, that where national security is concerned, we must not play politics with it but they did not listen.

    They threw caution to the wind and were playing loudly to the gallery. Now see where that has gotten us to, in just 120 days of president Buhari taking over, the deadly group has killed more than 1,300 Nigerians and bombed Abuja twice.

    The message here is this, the enemy is Boko Haram, not the Federal Government, not president Buhari, and definitely not our ever caring Nigerian Army and the security agencies who daily spend their days in the heat and their nights in the cold while the rest of us spend times with families in the comfort of our homes.

    The military deserves our respect and support as they remain in the forefront in the fight against these barbarians.

     

    Deji Adeyanju is a Member of the PDP

    He writes from Abuja and can be contacted:

    Twitter: @adeyanjudeji

    Email: dejiadeyanju_1979@yahoo.co.uk

    [news_box style=”2″ display=”tag” link_target=”_blank” tag=”Boko Haram” count=”8″ show_more=”on” show_more_type=”link” header_background=”#dd0808″ header_text_color=”#42a7b5″]

  • 14 killed, 39 injured in Maiduguri bomb blast

    The Nigerian Army has confirmed the killing of 14 persons, including four suicide bombers, in a bomb explosion at Sajeri area of Maiduguri in Borno.

    The acting Army spokesman, Col. Sani Usman, confirmed the incident in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Friday.

    Usman said that 39 other persons were injured in the explosion which occurred near the Ajilari railway crossing on Thursday evening.

    According to the statement, security operatives and emergency management team have been mobilised to take care of the wounded persons.

    “Although details of the attack are still sketchy, suffice it to state that four Boko Haram terrorists detonated their vests simultaneously.

    “Three of the terrorists detonated their bombs in the same area while the fourth detonated in front of a mosque.

    “It has been confirmed that 14 people have lost their lives, including the suicide bombers while 39 others were wounded,’’ the statement said.

    Usman appealed to residents of the metropolis, especially those in the affected areas, to remain calm and continue to be vigilant as security operatives were in control of the situation.

    He assured the public that Boko Haram had been decimated and therefore had no capacity to reverse the progress already made in the ongoing counter-insurgency operations.

    In a related development, the Army announced that 80 Boko Haram fighters on Thursday surrendered to troops of the Army 7 Division in Bama Local Government Area of Borno.

    The Army said the repentant terrorists comprised commanders, foot soldiers and the terrorists’ food suppliers.

    It said that the terrorists surrendered as a result of the intense heat put on them by joint forces operating in different theaters in the North-East.

    “The terrorists among whom were commanders, suppliers and foot soldiers confirmed to have taken part in several terrorists attacks especially on Bama town, Borno, surrendered,’’ the statement said.

    The army attributed its success to intense heat and the continuous offensive embarked upon by troops.

    “It will be recalled that we have repeatedly stated that surrender is the only option available to the insurgents.

    ‘’The Nigerian Army and Nigerian Air Force, in conjunction with other security agencies, are totally committed to the achievement of the 3-month Presidential deadline for the eradication of terrorism in Nigeria.

    ‘’Other terrorists are encouraged to also surrender or face total annihilation, as the new name of the operation states ‘achievement of total peace is a must’,’’ it said.

  • Sallah: Army restricts movement in Borno

    To ensure a hitch free Sallah celebration, the 7 Division, Nigerian Army, Maiduguri, Borno State, has placed a strict restriction on movement across the state.

    A statement issued on Wednesday by the Deputy Director, Army Public Relations, 7 Division, Col. Tukur Ismail Gusau, said, “the general public in Borno State be informed  that a restriction on vehicular movements will be observed during the Eid Kabir celebrations throughout the state.

    “All movements involving the use of vehicles, bicycles and animals like horses, camels and donkeys in Maiduguri will be restricted as from Wednesday 5:00pm (1700hrs) September 23, 2015.

    “Similarly, all vehicular movements into and out of Maiduguri town will also be restricted within the period till further notice.”

     

     

  • Boko Haram: Army begins soldiers’ ‘rotation’ in Yobe

    The rotation of soldiers and officers who have stayed too long in the battle front against Boko Haram sect in Yobe State has started with the heavy influx of new troops to the state.

    The General Officer Commanding, 3 Division (Tactical), Damaturu, Maj. Gen. Hassan Umaru, disclosed this while fielding questions from journalists in Damaturu.

    He spoke when the Yobe State Police Commissioner, Mohammed Zanna Ibrahim, visited him in his office.

    Gen. Umaru dismissed claims that some of the over-stayed soldiers are frustrated, stressing that the morale of the troops is very high because they have everything required to prosecute the war against the insurgents.

    He said, “There is no personal of this division that is frustrated in any way. The issue is that, having stayed for quite some time in the battle field, it is mandatory that we find some sort of relief for them by rotating them, or we give them welfare passes to go and see their families  for two to three weeks and come back. I want to repeat, there is no soldier that is frustrated. I have not heard of that since I came here and I don’t know where you got your own information.

    “We have a program now. If you look at what is happening in the last one week, you will discover that more troops are coming in. In the next few days, they will now jump into the battle areas and these ones will now pull out.”

     

  • Army captures over 200 Boko Haram insurgents in Adamawa

    Army captures over 200 Boko Haram insurgents in Adamawa

    The Department of Civil Military Affairs at the Army Headquarters, said on Wednesday that it had captured and de-radicalised over 200 Boko Haram insurgents in Adamawa.

    Brig.-Gen. V O Ezugwu, the Commander, 28 Task Force Brigade, Mubi made the disclosure at the opening of a two-day sensitisation programme on de-radicalization held in Mubi, Adamawa.

    “This Brigade has rescued and de-radicalised over 200 Boko Haram insurgents from November 2014 to date.

    “And the beneficiaries of this programme numbers in terms of thousands,” Ezugwu said.

    According to the commander, military operations alone cannot provide a holistic solution to eradicating terrorism and insurgency in the country.

    “There is need for a collaborative approach involving political, diplomatic, economic, timely information and other related lines of counter insurgency operation,” Ezugwu said.

    He said that the seminar was part of efforts by the Nigerian Army High Command to deepen collaboration with all stakeholders.

    In his lecture on relationship between the military and civil populace, Col. Victor Olatunji said that the Nigerian Army was committed to respect for human rights in the discharge of its responsibilities.

    Olatunji assured that the Army would not trample on the rights of any Nigerian including captured Boko Haram terrorists.

    He advised the participants to offer useful suggestions that would promote good relationship between the military and the civil populace for the benefit of all.

  • Troops kill 10 bandits, recover 7119 animals

    Troops kill 10 bandits, recover 7119 animals

    Troops under the 1 Division of the Nigeria Army have killed no fewer than 10 bandits and suspected terrorists in various joint operations tagged “Operation Restore Peace II” in the Northwest zone of the country.

    During the military operations about 64 suspected terrorists and bandits have also been arrested and handed over to the Police for further investigations and prosecution while 7119 cattles, sheep and goats were also recovered from rustlers and bandits who have been terrorising people from the zone.

    The zone comprises of Jigawa, Katsina, Zamfara, Sokoto, Kebbi, Kaduna, and Kano, while the operations extended to Niger and Kogi states in the north-central.

    [ad id=”403656″]According to a statement issued by the Deputy Director, Army Public Relations of the 1 Division Headquaters in Kaduna, Colonel Usman Abdul, the operations were carried out by combined team of Nigeria Army, Nigeria Air Force, Police, DSS and Customs personnel among others.

    Colonel Abdul said: “in Kaduna state and its immediate environs, the expanded security outfit involved in the operation have made recovery of 2081 animals like cattles, sheep and goats. 27 suspects were arrested and lots of weapons of different calibers were recovered from the bandits.

    “In the axis of Sokoto, Zamfara, and Kebbi states over 3027 animals which included cattles, goats and shhep were recovered. 33 suspected bandits were arrested with 11 weapons seized in the course of the operation. All the suspects were handed over to Zamfara DSS and the Police Command while the animals were handed over to Zamfara state government officials.

    “In the area covering Kano, Katsina and Jigawa states , the joint operation recovered a total of 2011 animals, 4 suspects arrested and 10 bandits were killed during encounters and 8 assorted weapons recovered.

    “Arrested suspects were handed over to Katsina police command, while animals recovered were handed over to Katsina state government officials.”

    Colonel Abdul noted in the statement that since the commencement of the operations, confidence has been restored to the locals who have since resumed their normal farming and commercial activities.

    He said the army and other security agencies and the men of operation Yaki in Kaduna have through various operations been able to reduce and subdue activities of bandits and insurgents.

  • Troops make steady progress in Sambisa forest – Army

    Troops make steady progress in Sambisa forest – Army

    The Nigerian Army says troops involved in the counter-insurgency operation code-named; “Operation Lafiya Dole’’ are making steady progress toward clearing all Boko Haram enclaves in and around the Sambisa forest.

    This is contained in a statement issued on Wednesday by the acting Director of Army Public Relations, Col. Sani Usman.

    Usman said in the statement that troops were currently clearing Boko Haram hideouts around areas that had already been taken over by the Army within the forest.

    “I am glad to inform you that our troops are making substantial progress within the fringes of Sambisa forest.

    “Nigerian Army troops are clearing Boko Haram enclaves along axis of advance from Bitta to Tokumbere,’’ the statement said.

    It reiterated the commitment of the Nigerian Army toward ending insurgency and to ensure a safe and secure Nigeria in line with the directive of the President.

    In a related development, the Army announced the arrest of some suspected suppliers of hard drugs and other stimulants to Boko Haram terrorists by troops of the 3 Division, Nigerian Army.

    The Army said the suspects were arrested between Depchi and Geidam in Geidam Local Government Area of Yobe on Tuesday.

    The arrested persons were also said to be engaged in the supply of fuel in addition to hard drugs such as Cannabis (Indian hemp) Chlorofone substance and Tramol.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the development reinforces an earlier statement by the Army that the insurgents were operating under the influence of drugs.

    The Army had earlier reported that most of the Boko Haram terrorists captured by Nigerian military could not read the Holy Qur’an.

    According to the Army, the bases of the insurgents are littered with local charms, condoms and drugs, including sex enhancing ones.

  • Army uncovers plot to undermine counter-insurgency operation

    Army uncovers plot to undermine counter-insurgency operation

    The Nigerian Army says it has uncovered a plan by some foreign media in partnership with collaborators in Nigeria to undermine ongoing operations to end insurgency in the country.

    This is contained in a statement issued on Tuesday by the acting Director of Army Public Relations, Col. Sani Usman.

    Usman said the plot was to be executed via another false claim of human rights violation by troops in operation.

    He said the development was unfortunate and capable of frustrating the efforts of the military, while reiterating that troops and their commanders in the frontline would remain focused.

    According to Usman, the Nigerian Army would like to reiterate and renew its commitment to upholding human rights principles and practice.

    “It has come to our knowledge that some foreign media, Non-governmental Organisations (NGOs) and some of their Nigerian affiliates are about to start making false claims of human rights violations by the Nigerian Army.

    “It is clear that these groups and their collaborators are not happy with the progress made in the efforts to solve the security problems bedeviling our nation as manifested in the terrorists’ activities.

    “The implication of such act is not lost on us as it is capable of thwarting the gains in the fight against terrorism and insurgency, ‘’ he said.

    The acting Army spokesman described the sponsors of the new plot to discredit the army as “unscrupulous, unpatriotic and driven by material and pecuniary gains rather than the wellbeing of Nigerians’’.

    He said the Nigerian Army had been protecting human rights and would not be party to any breach in Nigeria or during any of the military’s operations.

    He, however, stressed that the army would not give in to antics that were calculated at frustrating ongoing efforts to liberate parts of the North-East plagued by the Boko Haram insurgency.

    “We would not condone any human rights abuses.

    “Where there are allegations of human rights violation by any individual or group, this would be thoroughly investigated and those found guilty would be brought to book in accordance with extant laws.

    “Therefore, the Nigerian Army would not succumb to blackmail and neither would it be distracted from its determined effort of defending the territorial integrity of our great nation and safeguarding the security of its citizens,’’ Usman said.

  • Troops clears Gwoza road of Boko Haram IEDs

    Troops clears Gwoza road of Boko Haram IEDs


    Nigerian Army Troops of 7 Division on Wednesday began to clear Gwoza-Yamteke road of Boko Haram Improvised explosives devices (IED).

    •       Some of the Pickup vehicles arrested from insurgents during military operations
    Army 4  
    • Few of the Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) commonly used by Boko Haram insurgents
    Army 3   Army clears Gwoza road [news_box style="2" display="tag" link_target="_blank" tag="Army, Boko Haram, Insurgency" count="6" show_more="on" show_more_type="link" header_background="#9e3224" header_text_color="#efefef"]

  • Army restates commitment to war against insurgents

    Army restates commitment to war against insurgents


    The Director of Defence Information (DDI), Colonel Rabe Abubakar, has re-affirmed the commitment of the Nigerian Armed Forces to ward-off insurgency and other insecurity plaguing the North East and other parts of the country. Colonel Abubakar on Wednesday appealed to the general public to be security conscious, saying that security is everyone’s business and should be treated as such. He also solicited public cooperation with the military and other security agencies by volunteering needed information that would help in the operations against terror as 'terrorists are anti-human, anti-development and act in desperation and callous manner'. "Therefore they must be identified, pursued and annihilated in line without Rules of Engagement". [news_box style="3" display="tag" link_target="_blank" tag="Army" count="4" show_more="on" show_more_type="link" header_background="#293a29" header_text_color="#f2f2f2"]