The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Sambisa

  • As Sambisa falls

    The country must guard its victory jealously and remain vigilant for potential surprises

    Kashim Shettima, the Borno State Governor, captured the elation. He noted that the fall of Sambisa, Nigeria’s most dreaded forest in the modern era provided him with the best Christmas of his tenure as the chief executive of the northeast state.

    The battle has been a fierce and bloody drama, accompanied by military sloppiness, elite larceny, desertion, bonfires of villages, the hoisting of flags as signals of a new and savage caliphate, official denials, the slaughter of boys and women, the ferreting away of school girls at night, girls going off in suicide bombs, boys going off in the same bilious smoke.

    But the dust has settled over the dark leaves and long limbs of a dark and incendiary forest. The Nigerian Army declared that the Boko Haram sect has been routed. They tormented a nation and brought it not only to fears but even many of its best soldiers to their knees.

    But this year’s victory will mark a turning point. Last year, victory bells tolled prematurely when the Buhari administration declared the end of Boko Haram. After that, the army rolled out its tanks, lost many a soldier, buried a warrior in grand style, suffered a few miscues, but rumbled on for many exploits. Sambisa Forest as an episode was not even in the narrative.

    Now, however, the story seems different. The victory is dramatic. We know the date: December 22. The day: Thursday. The time: 1.30 p.m. We even had more theatrical detail. It involved a historic bunker unknown to most Nigerians. It was installed in the turbulent years of former dictator, Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida, for his shadowy, military special forces outfit known then as The National Guard. For more histrionics, the place was called Camp Zero.

     The President, Muhammadu Buhari, could not conceal his joy. “I am delighted at, and most proud of, the gallant troops of the Nigerian Army, on receipt of the long-awaited and most gratifying news of the final crushing of Boko Haram terrorists in their last enclave in Sambisa Forest.”

    But no one explained this impact more than Governor Shettima. Besieged during its most feisty ferocity, he could not guarantee the safety of the government house because the terror brigands loomed. Now, he could boast that its major arteries are abuzz again. He exhaled over the re-opening of the Maiduguri-Gubio-Kareto-Damasak Road and the Maiduguri-Monguno-Baga Road, all leading to the north of the state.

    Hear him: “I would want to start by declaring that since I became the Governor of Borno State in over five years, this is the best Christmas season I have witnessed; this is the best December I have witnessed and the year 2016 is my best year so far as Governor of Borno State. 2016 is for me Nigeria’s year of victory and Borno’s year of hope and resurrection. It is in this 2016 that we began to have access to major towns like Gwoza, Bama, Dikwa, Monguno and Damasak following their liberation by our gallant armed forces.

    “It is in the year 2016 that major highways began to be re-opened. It is in the year 2016 that we accelerated our major reconstruction of liberated communities; it is in the year 2016 that we recovered some of our daughters abducted at Government Secondary School, Chibok in 2014; and, fellow Nigerians, it is in the year 2016 that the Federal Republic of Nigeria established its supremacy over the Sambisa headquarters of the Boko Haram. For the Government and the good people of Borno State, there is no better Christmas and New Year Gift that is more precious than the conquest of Sambisa Forest by our efficient military.”

    The myth of the Sambisa Forest as the redoubt of terror might have been broken. But the war is by no means over. We may discountenance the video from Shekau, the sect leader, but what we fear now is not an organised assault from a standing army but the touch-and-go guerrilla style surprises. The evidence of the combing of Abuja for infiltrators and the arrest of a man who allegedly plotted the bombing of the Third Mainland Bridge are pointers of new theatres, if unconventional. We also had reports of girl bombers on Boxing day in the haze of the fall of Sambisa Forest.

    We cannot gainsay the significance of the routing of the forest. But a question still needs to be addressed. The military bunker that Boko Haram used as operational base came as a surprise. But it was a landmark military establishment, and for it to fall, it should have raised questions. Who was in charge and how did it fall? What did we lose to such a major military setup?

    In the midst of the euphoria, we need to look back and investigate the circumstances of its neglect and fall. We must not forget, as the President has noted though, that such victories as we have noted, came from an organised military.

    It restores national self-confidence and boosts our military as a force against any threat to parts or the whole of Nigeria as a corporate entity.

    But what is important now is to strengthen the intelligence forces in the country to ensure that we do not have the recrudescence of a Boko Haram again in another fashion or guise. Hence, the country should focus on southern Kaduna where we are witnessing the onslaughts that Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El Rufai attributes to foreign herdsmen.

  • Army dismisses Shekau’s video as mere propaganda

    Army dismisses Shekau’s video as mere propaganda

    The army yesterday dismissed a new video in which Boko Haram’s elusive leader Abubakar Shekau is disputing a claim that the jihadist group had been routed from its Sambisa Forest stronghold.

    “It is mere terrorists propaganda,” the military said.

    Shekau was boasting that the sect’s fighters remained strong.

    He said: “We are safe. We have not been flushed out of anywhere. And tactics and strategies cannot reveal our location except if Allah wills by his decree,” Shekau said in the 25-minute video, flanked by masked armed fighters.

    “You should not be telling lies to the people,” he said, referring to President Muhammadu Buhari who said on Christmas Eve that the extremist group had been defeated and driven away from the forest, its last known bastion.

    “If you indeed crushed us, how can you see me like this? How many times have you killed us in your bogus death?” he asked.

    But the Army dismissed his claim as “mere terrorists propaganda”.

    It was not immediately clear where the new video was shot, but Shekau, who spoke in Hausa and Arabic, said it was filmed on Christmas Day.

    Shekau last appeared in a video in September where he disputed a claim by the military that he had been wounded in battle.

    He vowed to continue fighting on until an Islamic state was imposed in northern Nigeria.

    “Our aim is to establish an Islamic Caliphate and we have our own Caliphate, we are not part of Nigeria.”

    Buhari had announced that a months-long military campaign in the 1,300 square-kilometre (500 square-mile) forest in northeastern Borno State had led to the “final crushing of Boko Haram terrorists in their last enclave in Sambisa Forest”.

    The government and the military have frequently claimed victories against the Islamic State group affiliate but access to the epicentre of the conflict is strictly controlled.

    That has made independent verification of official statements about victories virtually impossible.

    There have been video clips of troops setting fire to Boko Haram camps. Many bodies of suspected insurgents are displayed in the videos.

    Besides, the army said on Wednesday that it recovered Shekau’s personal Quran and the flag displayed in his videos.

    Also, there has been no major Boko Haram attack recently, many displaced people have returned to their homes.

    Attacks have meanwhile continued, with Boko Haram using suicide bombers.

    The Boko Haram’s insurgency has killed at least 20,000 and forced some 2.6 million others to flee their homes since 2009.

    The violence has sparked a dire humanitarian crisis in the region, with thousands of children facing the risk of famine and starvation.

    A statement by Army spokesman Brig.-Gen. Sani Usman Kukasheka, said:

    “The attention of the Nigerian Army is drawn to a video clip released by Boko Haram terrorist group from an undisclosed location a while ago, showing its purported leader making spurious claims.

     ”While effort is on going to subject the video to further forensic analysis, the Nigerian Army wishes to reiterate that it has captured and occupied the last known stronghold of the terrorists group in the Sambisa forest.

     ”We would like to reassure the public that this video is nothing but mere terrorists propaganda aimed at creating fear in the minds of people and to remain relevant. Therefore, there is no cause for alarm, more so as concerted effort in clearing the vestiges of Boko Haram terrorists wherever they might be hiding is still ongoing.

     ”Our gallant troops deployed in various parts of the Northeast have continued to intensify search for all persons associated with Boko Haram terrorist group with a view to bringing them to justice.

    “Consequently, the public are hereby enjoined to go about their normal lawful business, remain vigilant and security conscious. They should also report any suspicious person or group of persons to security agencies.”

  • Fall of Sambisa, rare Christmas gift

    SIR: On Christmas Eve – Friday December 23, the final stronghold of the Boko- Haram terrorists named Camp- Zero tucked inside the belly of the dreaded Sambisa Forest in Borno State finally fell to the heavy war machinery of the Nigerian military through the grace of God. The news came to many Nigerians as a unique/rare Christmas gift from God to the nation that is despondent and living under the heavy yoke of an economic recession whose end is yet to be determined at least giving by the damming statistics/economic indices and prevalence of hunger in the land.

    Kudos should also be given to the fighting spirits and the resilience of our troops for doing the nation proud amidst the reports of alleged poor logistics/welfare which they suffered especially when it comes to adequate supply of food and water.

    Despite this latest success, the intelligence community in collaboration with the Nigerian public and diplomatic community should not rest on their oars. This is because the fall of the Camp-Zero occupied by the Boko-Haram as their fortress should not be likened to the fall of the insurgent group or its ideology. The event of last week, as strategic as it was, only represented the dislodgment of the Boko-Haram group from their strongholds with their resultant dispersal into the larger community. As a matter of fact, few days after the fall of the Camp Zero, one of the sect’s commanders was reportedly apprehended in Ikorodu near Lagos.

    As if this was not enough, two female suicide bombers were also apprehended on Monday December 26 in Maiduguri, Borno State. One of them reportedly died while detonating the bomb while her partner in the deadly suicide mission was gunned down while the bomb-belt strapped to her body was detonated later. The federal government has also called for extra-vigilance on the part of the public to prevent integration of these deadly insurgents into the larger society so that they do not continue to perpetrate their evil agenda.

    It should be noted that Boko-Haram is an ideology in the hearts of its adherents and supporters. And that is the reason why the federal government should quickly move in to address the remote causes of the insurgency in the first place so that it doesn’t resurface in another location under the guise of another extremist/fundamentalist group.

    By the way, we learnt that Camp-Zero was an abandoned military facility constructed by the former Military President Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida for his ill-fated National Guard project. The camp reportedly has underground bunkers. But how did the location of this military facility come to the knowledge of the Boko-Haram insurgents and its subsequent acquisition and use as their own fortress without the knowledge of the nation’s intelligence community during the era of the former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan? And on whose authority were they using the facility? This may be the subject- matter of research and National Discourse by other writers/social commentators.

    But for now, while congratulating the President and the Commander-in-Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces and the entire military with their sister security agencies for this remarkable success/breakthrough in the fight against terrorism, we want to admonish the President and his economic team to also strive and win the fight against hunger and abject poverty that are prevalent in the land. When the government wins the war against hunger and poverty in the land, it will drastically reduce its expenditure on purchase of arms and ammunition to fight crimes.

    Meanwhile, let us celebrate, cling our glasses and toast to the dislodgment of Boko-Haram insurgents from their fortresses in the Sambisa forest as we continue to be more vigilant in our respective immediate environments.

    • Gbemiga Olakunle JP

    gbemigaolakunle@yahoo.co.uk

  • Sambisa: Forest of a thousand myths

    Sambisa: Forest of a thousand myths

    Not many Nigerians know much about Sambisa Forest. In 2014, our then Maiduguri Correspondent, Bodunrin Kayode, gave readers a glimpse of this mysterious forest which was once a game reserve

    erhaps a few weeks or month, back the name Sambisa Forest meant nothing to many Nigerians. Not anymore. It has come to signify terror and home to the terrorist group Boko Haram. The forest is now a myth for so many people within the Lake Chad basin who have come to align the complex north eastern vegetation to the home of Boko Haram instead of the game reserve the colonialist meant it for. The colonial government had marked the forest out as a game reserve!

    Today, Sambisa has become one of the strongest bases of the Boko Haram insurgents who run back into its dark recesses anytime they have finished their slaughter of harmless citizens. Others in this part of the country rightly associate it with wicked and poisonous reptiles such as loud hissing rattle snakes and giant crustaceans crawling underneath the forest vegetation which is not more than sometimes 1.5metres in some areas while some areas could be as high as two metres depending on the size of the shrubs growing in that section.

    Home to wild animals

    To Mohammed Bagoni, it is a forest where elephants used to stray in from Central Africa through some game reserve corridors. According to him, he remembers seeing those mighty beasts in the forest as a kid when his uncle worked inside the reserve while it was under the state government. The thick skin of elephants and camels make the animals to be immune to the characteristic thorns of the Sambisa Forest vegetation which is why they can go through unhurt even feeding on the very thorns which the uninitiated mortals fear and which makes them call the place a forest. For many young people who have never travelled beyond Damaturu, Sambisa is the only forest they have seen in their life time. Apart from these patches of forests the north is generally a vast land where one can drive endlessly without seeing much vegetation.

    For so many young people outside the savannah, it is indeed very strange to find a ‘forest’ in the middle of the savannah vegetation. How would a ‘forest’ be found in the north eastern axis of Nigeria? Are they not living in a desert full of sand from the great Sahara which has encroached badly from the receding Lake Chad region due to global warming?

    The question many ask no one in particular is: Why the Sambisa forest still remains intact as a game reserve when many other green zones in the Sahel have been overtaken by global warming? What is it that makes Sambisa tick so much that the insurgents tormenting people of the north east have taken solace inside? Is it so dark underneath the vegetation cover that it can hide massive boa constrictors which can swallow a whole human who dare to hunt inside like we hear in the tropical rain forests of southern Nigeria? Is there any mystic charm or juju associated with the Sambisa?

    To some people in Maiduguri, the Sambisa is a real forest game reserve located not far from the state capital. From about 14 kilometers off Kawuri Village, along Maiduguri – Bama Road you will begin to see signs that you are close to the lowest thorny bushes of the reserve some as low as half a metre. It is not the typical forest one sees along some southern states which could be as high as a hundred metres creating a primary, secondary and tertiary scenario but a single dimensional forest which is visible driving through the main road that connects Maiduguri, Konduga and Barma. Actually it also graduates from as low as half a metre trees to the extremely thick areas where human skins cannot penetrate without being hurt by thorns if you do not have a cutlass or something to ward them off. That is the nature of the forest which is being manipulated and controlled by Boko Haram who have become masters of the savannah. A few people liken the ferocious sect to the animals who hitherto lived in the game reserve!

    According to Professor Umar Maryah of University of Maiduguri, the forest covers an area stretching approximately 60,000 square kilometers across the north east from Borno, Yobe, Gombe, Bauchi states along the Darazo corridor, Jigawa and right up to some parts of Kano State in the far north.

    It harbours a sizable population of wildlife, typical of savannah habitats worldwide and a conducive environment for animals such as monkeys, antelopes, lions, elephants, as well as bird species such as Ostrich, Bustard and a lot of those migrating species. There is no Sambisa without the sustaining Game Reserve for hunters and farmers. This means that a lot of animals in the Sambisa reserve contribute to making the land very fertile for farmers in the surrounding villages to make big harvest from the land. The forest reserve has been handed to the Federal Government through the National Park.

    To the south of the Sambisa is Askira local government area, to the south west is Danboa while to the west is Konduga and Jere local government areas. The reserve got its name from a village called Sambisa bordering the Gwozo axis of the area.

    On the eastern flank of the Sambisa is Gwoza Local Government Area which is also a notorious hide out for the Boko Haram insurgents. The Gwoza Hills, with heights of about 1300 meters above sea level provides scenery and is made up of ranges of mountains known as the Mandara Mountains. These Mountains form a natural barrier between Nigeria and Republic of the Cameroun, starting from Pulka. They over look the game reserves by meandering towards Mubi and beyond in Adamawa State. They equally have a connection with the Mambilla Mountain which is also home to the Gashaka Game Reserve at its foot, which is also a corridor connected to the Sambisa Game Reserve.

    According to a source in the Borno State department for urban planning, “The Mountains around Gwoza have several streams, ponds, springs dotting out into settlements by various tribes including the Gwozas. This mountain has varieties of attractive animal species which can be spotted when they are grazing. They graze mostly in the mornings, afternoons and evenings including nights for night breeding species.”

    Professor Maryah of the Geography Department of the University of Maiduguri said lots of villages surround the Sambisa making it conducive for farming which is practised by the people who are at the fringes of the Sambisa. The Sambisa village by the reserve has tribes like the Gamarabu, Margis also found in Gwoza and the Fulani who use the area as a grazing reserve.

     

    They live a lot on fruits and stem crops such as sugar cane and date palms which are very common in the Sambisa forest. No wonder date palm called ‘debino’ in Hausa has become a major fruit which is served to new initiates who agree to join the sect to fight propagators of western education.

    Vegetables such as spinach, onions and tomatoes are equally common in the place while grains such as wheat, sorghum, rice and millet are also present in the place. There are also root crops and nuts which are grown by locals and taken to Maiduguri and Banki in Cameroun. These include groundnuts, cow peas, sweet potatoes and cassava. For the area around Jere Local Government Area, they equally farm Irish potatoes which is a common delicacy in Borno even in the markets of the insurgents in the Sambisa. Gum Arabic which is grown all over the savannah is equally very common in the Sambisa. It has become a major crop grown by the people along the corridor.

    Master of the environment

    Members of Boko Haram are well knowledgeable about the enormous endowment of the Sambisa Forest and have capitalised on the fact that even if military tanks must be moved into the place to dislodge them, it must be done with knowledge and tactics.

    For now the people living along the Sambisa corridor are very careful while some of them have left their villages for Cameroun and Niger thus making the new landlords – Boko Haram- calling the shots.

    “As a matter of fact, Sambisa is not the only hideout of the insurgents, it is just that before the kill and run antics of the Boko Haram, nobody will expect that some human beings will be hibernating with a bunch of blood thirsty occultist Nigerians and their foreign collaborators in there.

    “Those who are still there are at the beck and call of the Boko Haram just like the teenagers of Government Secondary School, Chibok who have now become the latest sex slaves of the insurgents. To produce children that will finally be initiated into their cults. The girls will be moved tactically from one base to another mostly in the night so that they cannot recognize where they were. They will finally end up in Sambisa or Algoni, the two most dreaded bases remaining for the managers of the nation’s security to bring down

    “It actually took the intelligence services a long time to discover that the game reserve had become a hideout for the sect. They waited three years until several lives had been lost before acting reluctantly on the intelligence advises.”

    The source added, “We in the intelligence were ready to penetrate the sect but they (the government) wasted too much time concentrating on irrelevances. Now it is too late, the intelligence guys are not ready to risk their lives any more after all the frustration from the managers in Abuja. We have given them all the information they need including the level of sophistication of the insurgents; it’s up to them to act.”

    The Sambisa Forest lost its innocence as a game reserve before 2006. The forest is believed to have super bunkers underneath the Sahel so that the new tenants (Boko Haram) will be well placed to complete their aim of taking over all the government houses in the north east after bringing down the few military installations created years back to protect the people of this region.

    The forest in many ways looks like the forest created by the Yoruba novelist D.O. Fagunwa in his novels. The question is: who will take the veil and the shrubs off the face of this forest of a thousand myths?

     

     

    First published in The Nation on Sunday, April 27, 2014

  • Troops enter the heart of Sambisa forest

    The troops of Operation Lafiya Dole have entered the heart of Sambisa forest from different fronts while recording huge successes clearing
    out the last frontier of Boko Haram terrorists hideouts.

    During several operations include Operation Rescue Finale which is the continuation of Operation Crackdown aimed at rescuing all the Chibok
    School Girls and other hostages held deep inside Sambisa Forest, troops have rescued a total of 801 hostages, between November 23 to
    December 5, 2016. However, it is still unclear if there are any Chibok girls among them.
    The theater commander of Operation Lafiya Dole, Major General Leo Irabor on Wednesday gave a full account of the operations in Maiduguri
    saying the current offensive against Boko Haram has been successful.

    General Irabor said the current operation into the heart of Sambisa forest is in several fronts and it included collaborations with the
    Nigerian Air Force which has been deeply involved in the fight against the insurgency. He also revealed that the two Boko Haram factions have
    been fighting each other causing disarray in the rank and file of the insurgents.

    Irabor said: “On one of the fronts, on 30th November 2016 the troops cleared Goneri before harbouring at Goni Kurmi. While at harbour at
    Goni Kurmi the troops were attacked by the Boko Haram terrorists with the hope of slowing down their push.  The attack was successfully
    repelled with the Boko Haram terrorists suffering casualties. The troops recovered one AK 47 rifle, different calibers of ammunitions and magazines.

    “The advance continued the following day and our troops successfully cleared Alafa 1, 2 and 3 respectively before harbouring at Bula Bello.
    On 5th  December  2016 the troops cleared all Boko Haram terrorists delay positions before capturing Njimia. At Njimia our troops were
    attacked by the terrorists with Anti-Aircraft guns and small arms fire.  The attack lasted for about 30 minutes but was successfully
    repelled with Boko Haram terrorists suffering heavy casualties in both men and equipment before retreating. However, one soldier and 2
    Civilian JTF were wounded.  The soldier and one Civilian JTF later died while being evacuated to the hospital.

    “Yesterday, at about 4.00pm, Intelligence Surveillance  and Reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft identified Boko Haram terrorists massing
    up to attack own troops at Njimia.  Our Artillery and air assets were used to engage the Boko Haram terrorists which led to the destruction
    of 4 vehicles, a fuel tanker likely laden with Improvised Explosive Devices. The Air Force also strafed and killed many fleeing
    insurgents.

    “Meanwhile, I can confirm to you that the BHTs are in total disarray due to our current military operations. Even the Maman Nur and Shekau
    factions clashed again recently which has further forced the Boko Haram terrorists  remnants at Kafa to disperse in confusion and desperation.”

  • Troops advancing into Sambisa, says Buratai

    Troops advancing into Sambisa, says Buratai

    •To spend Xmas at battlefront

    THE Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, has said troops are advancing into Sambisa Forest, a major stronghold of Boko Haram terrorists.
    Gen. Buratai spoke yesterday in Abuja while unveiling packs of bottled water provided through private initiative, in appreciation of the fighting troops.
    According to the Army chief, the advancement is an onslaught to finally flush out the remnants of the insurgents from the forest and rescue those abducted.
    “This year, the Army Headquarters will be moving into the Northeast to celebrate Christmas and New Year with our troops,” Gen. Buratai said.
    He described the free bottle water-initiative as “quite historic and the first”.
    Gen. Tukur Buratai said the initiative was meant to appreciate efforts of the troops.
    His words: “The scheme involves branding 50cl bottled water with the image of the Nigerian soldier. It has the Nigerian Army logo and that of stakeholders and partners from the private sector with the words “Thank you for your service”.
    “This will boost the morale of troops to show that their labour is recognised and appreciated.
    “This initiative is timely, coming at a critical stage of operations, when the troops have embarked on “Operation Rescue Finale”.
    “It will surely add vigour, impetus and stimulate the troops in this phase of the operation,” Gen. Buratai said.
    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the bottle water-initiative was supported by Enugu State government (N10 million), Ebonyi State government (N5 million) and Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) (N1.5 million), among others.

  • Troops capture wanted Boko Haram terrorist inside Sambisa

    Troops capture wanted Boko Haram terrorist inside Sambisa

    •Soldiers attacked in sect’s fortress
    •Arrest IDP with N1.9 million
    •Cameroun nabs five

    The army yesterday announced the arrest of a wanted Boko Haram leader, Sulaiman Umaru deep inside the terror sect’s fortress –Sambisa forest.

    Some soldiers came under attack from insurgents inside the forest while refitting.

    The acting Director Army Public Relations, Colonel Sani Usman, said Umaru was arrested at about 1.35pm on Friday by troops from the 143 Battalion.

    Umaru is one of the 100 Boko Haram terrorists whose photographs are displayed in a poster launched a few months back.

    The suspect has been moved to 28 Task Force Brigade Headquarters investigation, the army said.

    Usman said troops of 21 Brigade and Armed Forces Special Forces (AFSF) on Operation Crackdown inside Sambisa forest while on harbour for refitting came under Boko Haram militants attack at about 1.45am yesterday.

    The troops however repelled the attack and followed up with mopping up operations of the general area before advancing.

    Usman said: “Unfortunately five soldiers were wounded in action (WIA), as a result of mortar fired into the harbour area by the Boko Haram terrorists. The wounded soldiers have been evacuated to the rear for treatment.”

    The army also said  that N1.9 million was found on an Internally Displaced Person (IDP), Abacha Bulama  in Borno State, when troops from 22 Task Force Brigade Garrison, in conjunction with 112 Task Force Battalion, intercepted and screened 31 IDPs, including women and children coming from Sunabaya, Gumule, Garno and Mane-Gana villages.

    The army said Bulama’s claim of being a businessman couldn’t remove the suspicion on why he carried about such a huge amount of money.

    He is being detained for further investigation, while other IDPs have been handed over to Dikwa IDP Camp Manager for screening and further humanitarian assistance, the army said.

    Meanwhile, the army said the troops from 22 Task Force Brigade Garrison ran into an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) at Antul, a village south east of Dikwa.

    Seven soldiers were said to have been injured in the incident, while four fighters from the Civilian JTF who accompanied the troops also sustained injuries.

    The injured soldiers and their civilian counterparts have been evacuated to 7 Division Hospital and Medical Services, Maiduguri, the army said.

    Simultaneously, Cameroon said the multinational joint forces fighting Boko Haram captured five leaders of Boko Haram including Boukar Kaou, traditional ruler of Kumche in Nigeria. Dozens of the terrorists were killed and 60 women and children freed.

    Cameroon’s communication minister and government spokesperson Issa Tchiroma said 1,000 troops of the multinational joint task force fighting Boko Haram organized systematic raids between May 10 and 12 on Boko Haram bases in Madawaya forest in Nigeria, some seven kilometers from Cameroon’s northern border, killing 58 Boko Haram fighters.

    Tchiroma said 15 Nigerian women, three Cameroonian women and 28 children who had been held captive in the Boko Haram stronghold were freed and taken to Cameroon.

    Huge quantities of war weapons were either destroyed or seized.

    The traditional leader of Kumshe and emir of the terrorist group, were arrested along side dozens of their supporters.

    He said that after a recent successful operation in Goshe and Kumche in Nigeria many Boko Haram fighters escaped to the Madawaya forest and created camps for their fighters, where they also trained suicide bombers especially young women and girls.

    Cameroon believes the militants have resorted to suicide bombings because their fire-power has been drastically reduced following ceaseless attacks on their stronghold since December 2015 by an eight thousand-strong multinational joint task force with troops from Cameroon, Nigeria, Chad, Benin and Niger.

     

  • Boko Haram: Army cautions media on negative reports

    Boko Haram: Army cautions media on negative reports

    The Nigerian Army on Monday cautioned media practitioners in the country against negative reports that would hamper the ongoing war against terrorism in the North East.

    Brig.-Gen. Victor Ezugwu, General Officer Commanding (GOC), 7 Division of the Nigerian Army, stated this while speaking with newsmen in Maiduguri.

    Ezugwu said that the call became imperative because the media had great role to play in the success of the anti-terror war.

    “Nigeria must defeat Boko Haram; for us to be able to make progress, the media has a role to play in this.

    “What you tell the people should be positive, so we can get maximum support from them,” he said.

    Ezugwu said that the military had recorded tremendous successes against the terrorists lately.

    “I was privileged to be with the troops some few days ago in Sambisa, they are very professional in their approach to the task and objectives given to them.

    “So far so good, they are on top of the situation, it is a very different ball game now,’’ he said.

    Ezugwu added: “Troops are better equipped, well coordinated, with the Air Force playing its role too.

    “We have our information moving from the air to ground forces, the teams are working in synergy and the result is very obvious.’’

    The GOC however lamented that some media reports had been discouraging on the issue.

    “What we want you to do for us is please be very positive towards our course and towards the anti-insurgency fight that we are conducting,” Ezugwu said.

  • Army destroys Boko Haram camp near Sambisa

    Army destroys Boko Haram camp near Sambisa

    •Two killed, two captured, arms, ammunition seized

    Troops have destroyed “all remaining Boko Haram camps and enclaves around Alagarno and Sambisa forests”.

    Army spokesman Col. Sani Usman, in a statement, said: “Yesterday, troops of 81 Battalion and 251 Task Force Battalion patrol team, cleared Boko Haram camps located at Komala, Dole, Kumshi and Moadori around the fringes of Alagarno forest.

    “The troops killed two Boko Haram terrorists and captured two notorious terrorists; Mustapha Busuru (50-year-old) and Usman Abubakar (56-year-old) at Dole village and brought down all Boko Haram terrorist flags hoisted in the village and destroyed them.

    “They also recovered two Toyota pickup vans, 40 motorcycles, Improvised Explosives Making Devices (IEDs), stockpile of foodstuff and fuel dump.

    “The patrol team also recovered horses and donkeys used for transportation by the terrorists.

    “In response to a distress call of an attack by Boko Haram terrorists on Kuda village along Butuku road, troops of 143 Battalion swung into action, unfortunately the terrorists fled after setting the village on fire. The situation led to the death of an elderly woman.

    “The insurgents regrouped and attempted to cross through Magar bridge but they were pre-empted by elements of the battalion who killed two terrorists and wounded several others.

    “Sadly, three soldiers and four locals sustained injuries, while the troops recovered one Toyota Buffalo vehicle mounted with an Anti-Aircraft Gun with registration number 081375, one General Purpose Machine Gun (GPMG) with registration number 132042, a loaded G3 rifle magazine and 30 rounds of 7.62mm (NATO) ammunition link.

    “Both military and the wounded civilians are receiving treatment at the unit’s Regimental Aid Post.”

  • DHQ: Sambisa is last battle ground with Boko Haram

    DHQ: Sambisa is last battle ground with Boko Haram

    Military dismisses senator’s claim on sect’s control of Borno

    The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) yesterday said Boko Haram has been knocked down in Borno and other parts of the Northeast.

    It said the only battle ground left is in the Sambisa Forest, the about 80 kilometres swathe of thick bush that is the sect’s stronghold.

    It said once the battle for Sambisa is over, Boko Haram will become a thing of the past.

    But the DHQ pleaded for support from every citizen because it is a Nigerian war against Boko Haram insurgents.

    Director of Defence Information Brig.-Gen. Rabe Abubakar spoke exclusively with our correspondent against the backdrop of the allegation by Senator Baba Kaka Garbai (Borno Central) that half of Borno State is still being occupied by Boko Haram.

    Gen. Abubakar said: “The situation is clear on how much we have decimated Boko Haram. Technically, we have knocked down these insurgents.

    “ The insurgents have been beaten and I stand by what I said. I can beat my chest that the insurgents have been decimated.

    “All these attacks on soft targets do not mean that Boko Haram insurgents are occupying any territory. They are carrying out these attacks in order to remain relevant. The insurgents are pretending to be alive when in reality they have lost out.

    “The attacks on soft targets by the insurgents do not translate to occupation of territories or some parts of Borno State or the North-East.

    “The insurgents’ attacks on soft targets are not peculiar to Nigeria. These terrorists do so in the U.S. France, Britain, and many countries. We are doing our best to protect these soft targets.”

    Gen. Abubakar said: “What is left is Sambisa Forest. That is the last battle ground with the insurgents.

    “ This Forest is about 80kilometres but I believe very soon, we will overrun the Forest and rout out the insurgents. We will certainly send them packing from the Sambisa Forest.”

    “For anyone to make a claim that half of Borno State is under the insurgents is not helping the military. It is just to get media attention. We have decimated Boko Haram. This is the reality.

    “We want to appeal to Nigerians to appreciate and support our gallant troops to maintain the high rate of success we have achieved in the war against the insurgents.

    “This is a Nigerian war versus the insurgents. Boko Haram is a national catastrophe which requires the support of all to address. Every Nigerian must be seen to be contributing morally to the war against these insurgents. “