The Chief of the Naval Staff, (CNS) Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas has disclosed that the Nigerian Navy confiscated Navy confiscated crude oil and diesel worth about N420 billion in 2016.
Giving details of the activities of the Navy in his 2017 budget defence at the House of Representatives, the CNS disclosed that the specific quantity of crude oil and diesel confiscated stood at 810,725 and 1,078 metric tonnes respectively.
The Navy Chief also disclosed that for the year 2017, the Nigerian Navy plans to expend about N26.446 billion on capital projects with the priority areas listed as fleet renewal, operational infrastructure upgrade, operational logistics procurement, capacity development and personnel welfare.
Giving a breakdown of the achievements of the Service in 2016, the CNS revealed that the Nigerian Navy destroyed 181 illegal refineries, 263 wooden boats, 38 barges, 139 Geepee tanks, 148 pumping machines, arrested 784 suspects, 22 crude vessels, 53 wooden boats, 145 outboard engines, 135 speed boats, 27 tankers, seized 2,974 drums and recovered 468 arms, 1,659 ammunitions in 2016.
Furthermore, he said the Nigerian Navy confiscated 210 storage tanks, 47 vehicles, 15 motorcycles, 4,753 jerrycans, 27 power generating sets, 224 surface tanks, 24 hoses, 17 welding machines and 33 other vessels, reiterating that the feat was despite the reduction in overhead with only N2.5bn released out of about N3.4bn appropriated in 2016.
He said out of the N56.463 billion appropriated for personnel cost in 2016, N49.656bn was released, while the sum of N205.879 million was generated as Internally Generated Revenue and remitted to the government via the Treasury Single Account (TSA).
Earlier, the chairman House Committee on Navy Honourable Abdulsamad Dasuki commended the Nigerian Navy for performing credibly well, despite insufficient funding and other operational challenges, promising that the committee would ensure adequate allocation of fund for the maintenance and fuelling of Nigerian Navy platforms.
The Chairman, however, observed that an estimated N3trillion ($10bn) was lost in revenue due to Nigerian Navy’s inability to carry out statutory duties, reiterating that the Navy’s budgetary allocations must be realistic.
The troops of Operation Lafiya Dole on Wednesday made contacts with ‘fleeing Boko Haram terrorists during a clear out operation at Dulsa and Buk, Damboa local government area of Borno state.
The soldiers from 25 Task Force Brigade, 7 Division Nigerian Army recovered Armoured Fighting vehicle, trucks, arms and ammunition. However, three soldiers died while five were wounded in the operation.
Director, Army Public Relations, Brigadier-General Sanni Usman told The Nation that a large number of Boko Haram terrorists were neutralised in the operation.
Usman said: “At Dulsa this morning, the troops cleared the hideout of the terrorists during which they neutralised six Boko Haram terrorists, recovered 1 Light Machine Gun, 2 Rocket Propelled Grenade Tubes and 1 Extra Anti-Aircraft Gun Barrel.
“The troops also encountered Boko Haram terrorists camp at Buk where they were engaged by the terrorists.”During the encounter, the troops
“During the encounter, the troops neutralised large numbers of the Boko Haram terrorists and wounded several others. They also made an unprecedented recovery.
“The items recovered include 9 AK-47 rifles, 3 Fabrique Nationale rifles, 2 Rocket Propelled Grenade Bombs, 1 Mortar Tube, 1 Shilka, 1 Gun truck mounted with Anti-Aircraft Gun and 2 Hilux vehicles.
“Unfortunately, however, 3 soldiers paid the supreme price, while 5 others were wounded in action. Similarly, 1 Mine-Resistant, Ambush-Protected vehicle belonging to the Brigade was badly damaged.”
The Army spokesman said the bodies of the late soldiers and those that sustained injuries have since been evacuated while the wounded soldiers are in stable condition.
The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) recently conducted a cancer awareness campaign and free screening to mark the opening of business of its brand new cancer screening centre at the 461 NAF Hospital Kaduna. Assistant Editor, Seun Akioye reports.
Those expecting the usual military-styled programme at the ceremony to open the Cancer Screening Centre at the 461 Nigerian Air Force (NAF) Hospital Kaduna were disappointed. Instead of marches and parade, there were doctors and specialists who came to deepen the knowledge of the NAF personnel about cancer.
The Chief of Air Staff (CAS) Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar since assuming office seems to be in a hurry to deliver on his mandate of “re-positioning the NAF as a professional force” which includes training and provision of infrastructure all over NAF bases.
Chief of Medical Services AVM Saley Shinkafi
One of such was the Cancer Screening Centre and Registry which was commissioned on December 19, 2016 and domiciled at the 461 NAF Hospital Kaduna. The establishment of the centre, which was the first of its kind was to “provide a modern facility with the capability for early detection of the most common cancers affecting out personnel and other people in the local community,” said the Chief of Medical Services, Air Vice Marshal Saley Shinkafi.
Although the 461 Hospital is the first cancer screening center there has been an expansion, upgrade and provision of modern, high technology equipment to all of the NAF’s 33 health care facilities and recruitment of specialist manpower to manage them.
The maiden cancer awareness programme which was tagged: “ Kick Cancer out of NAF Bases” according to the Air Chief would be replicated in all NAF bases across the country. The CAS said the health of an individual is one of the most essential pre-requisites for the individual to survive and carry out his duties effectively.
He also noted that: “The cost to the Service could be unimaginable if we neglect the health of our personnel and their families,” while expressing the hope that the cancer screening centers would provide the personnel and the host communities of the NAF bases the opportunity to carry out regular checks in order to detect cancers early enough and prevent untimely consequences of late diagnosis.
A cancer conundrum
Three experts joined the NAF medical personnel in discussing the cancer challenge and the ways to prevent the untimely deaths usually associated with the disease. Dr Monday Yilkudi, a consultant surgeon at the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital, Gwagalada and breast cancer specialist said cancer is an abnormal body cell which “keeps dividing and not under the control of the body.”
Yilkudi said the cause of breast cancer which is one of the most common forms of cancer has not been determined even though there are risk factors that may contribute to its emergence including’ gender, family history, race, early menstruation etc.
There are other lifestyle factors including low physical activity, alcohol consumption, obesity which may contribute to its risk factor. However, early detection which can be accomplished either by screening and or detection by constant physical examination by women is essential to beating the disease.
NAF MRI SCAN
For Dr. Sam Ojah, senior consultant and gynecologist with the Ministry of Defence, cancer of the cervix may be the second most common form of cancer, it is, however, the most deadly with over 270,000 deaths and over 500,000 cases every year.
Cancer which is caused by Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), a sexually transmittable disease affects mainly women and early detection is the only way to survive cancer. However, a third consultant, Dr. Ahmed Mohammed, a consultant at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria said prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men but it advances with age.
“Prostate cancer is a disease of men and it is the 6th leading cause of cancer death in the world. It is very rare before the age of 45 and like the other forms of cancer, we do not know the cause,” he said. But there is good news, only one out of 38people diagnosed with the disease will die of it.
One of the remedies of prostate cancer is also an unusual and unwilling treatment by most men; “ As long as men have testicles, they are at risk of prostate cancer so if a man wants to diagnose prostate cancer early, then they should remove the testicles early,” Mohammed said.
This unusual remedy drew laughter from the participants but the doctor was not done yet, one of the unproven remedies is frequent ejaculation to the tune of 20 times a month. This proposition though unproven scientifically drew loud applause from the mainly male audience while the women looked on in disbelief.
A town hall meeting
After the lecture, a town hall meeting between the experts, NAF medical personnel led by AVM Shinkafi and officers and men of the NAF Training Command, Kaduna took place. Many of the women wanted to reconcile preventing Cervical cancer through abstinence from sex and helping their husbands prevent prostate cancer through frequent ejaculation. However, Dr Ojah insisted sexual transmission of cervical cancer is a risk factor when multiple sexual partners are involved.
The Air Officer Commanding, Training Command, Kaduna, Air Vice Marshal Christopher Okoye said the CAS has spent millions of naira on the cancer screening centre and it must be utilised by the personnel. “ The Chief has spent so much to put this together, you must make use of it, the facility is not only for the personnel and their families but for everyone in Kaduna,” Okoye said.
A world class facility
Chief of Medical Services, AVM Shinkafi is never tired of boasting about the NAF cancer screening centre and the world-class facilities it boasts of. He said the centre is part of the general improvement in health care delivery in the NAF. He said there are solid plans to open the cancer centre in all the 33 health care facilities of the NAF in Nigeria.
Cancer doctors; Left SL Kolawole Ogah and FL Brenda Saror
“The Nigerian Air Force has tried to improve our facilities because cancer is becoming a prominent health concern in Nigeria. The Chief of Air Staff felt no area of health care should be left unattended to so we have started addressing the issues of cancer.
“After Kaduna, we are moving to Markudi, Maiduguri and Lagos and our facility can screen for more than three types of cancer including colon, liver etc. In testing for prostate cancer in men, we have a lab using blood sampler that can detect specific antigen in men. In breast cancer , apart from detecting for lumps, we can even do more deeper tests to determine if the lump is cancerous.
“There are other ancillary investigations we can also do and we have the capacity to investigate fully, we can do MRI, CT Scan and arrange specialist investigation, we have all that facility,” Shinkafi said.
Not a few of the officers came for various cancer screening and deeper investigation on breast, prostate and cervical cancer and NAF’s medical personnel including Flight Lieutenant Brenda Saror and Squadron Leader Kolawole Ogah dutifully attended to all cheerfully.
“You have seen the number of the facilities put up by the CAS, it is for the use of the personnel and members of the host community to enjoy. By doing this we are also contributing our part in supporting the national health care delivery,” Shinkafi concluded.
But whichever way one looks at it, cancer is no good news but the doctors insist there is hope with early detection through screening and other methods. And this is what the Air Force is promoting.
The Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar has described the bombing of a civilian settlement by an Air Force fighter jet as a tragic mistake.
Air Marshal Abubakar spoke at the 117 Air Combat Training Group (ACTG), Kainji on Wednesday during the deployment of about 200 Air Force troops to The Gambia.
He said the pilots got airborne to save lives but a mistake led to the “tragic loss of lives.”
Abubakar said: “It was a very tragic thing yesterday (Tuesday), our pilots got airborne hoping to save lives but unfortunately there was a tragic mistake which lead to the loss of life of innocent people, we have been operating for eight years in the North East now we have flown close to 6000hrs, this is the first time we are having this tragedy.
“This is very tragic and unfortunate incident, sometimes it does happen in war, I want to say that we share in the pains and sorrows of the families that have lost loved ones, I want to sympathise with those that are wounded.
“We have directed our Chief of medical services to provide medical facility in Maiduguri to the wounded so that they can also be treated there in addition to other medical facilities that is available in Maiduguri.”
He assured that the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) will conduct a thorough investigation into the accident.
“Also we are putting up a high-powered committee at the Air Force level, I know the theatre commander is also working hard to find out what really happened, the information we have are very sketchy, we don’t want to pre-empt the findings of this committee both at the headquarters level and the Committee that has been set up.
“It is very tragic and unfortunate but I want to assure as a professional service we will continue to evaluate our procedures and processes so that we can be effective in dealing with those that are out to kill innocent people and not what really happened on Tuesday.
The troops deployment to The Gambia was a mandate of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to enforce the results of the December 1, 2016 presidential election in that country.
The Air Force personnel were airlifted from Kainji to Dakar in Senegal. The troops which included the Special Forces, Combat Support Group, Technicians, Medical officials etc were airborne in the Hercules C-130 military transport plane.
The CAS who addressed the troops urged them to keep Nigeria’s flag flying by being professional and to conduct themselves to the Air Force high standard.
“They have been given the task which is very well defined, and we have put together all the air assets that we think are necessary to ensure that we are able to to successfully conduct this operation and that is what we have on the ground here,” Abubakar said.
Among the platforms being deployed to the Gambia include: fighter airplanes, helicopters, C-130 and the large utility helicopter which also be useful in the conduct of the operation.
“What we have here are men that are highly trained, highly skilled they know their job and they know their task, and as a professional service the commander of the air assets will work together with other commanders and they will come up with what is required in terms of plans, to be able to execute their tasks and come back home,” Abubakar said.
Also, it was reliably gathered that the Nigerian Army is also set to deploy to the Gambia on Thursday. The Army troops will be airlifted by the C-130 transport plane. The Navy had on Monday deployed it’s newest battleship, NNS Unity to the tiny West African country.
The Nigerian Army yesterday announced a reward of the sum of N500,000 for any information that leads to the arrest of a suicide bomber, the guide to the suicide bomber, or discovery of the transit house or factory of the suicide bombers.
Following the spate of spate of suicide bombings in the North East and in particular, Maiduguri and Madagali metropolis which is assuming a disturbing proportion, Army Director of Public Information, Brigadier General Sani Usman said the reward is to further encourage law abiding citizens to actively join the war against terrorists and our collective security.
General Usman also revealed the official numbers of contact persons in the Operation Lafiya Dole as follows: Theatre Commander, Operations LAFIYA DOLE, Maiduguri- 09064823221, General Officer Commanding 7 Division Maiduguri- 09078599985, Commander, 7 Division Garrison Maiduguri-08022375305, Commander, 28 Brigade, Mubi-08065504576, Commander, 26 Brigade, Gwoza-+234 809 721 1700 (WhatsApp), Director, Army Public Relations, Abuja-07080217992, Commander, 7 Division Military Intelligence Brigade Maiduguri-09021668444.
Usman: “We would like to reassure that all information received would be treated with utmost confidentiality and acted upon with despatch.
“While we appreciate the cooperation of the members of the general public so far, there is the need to be more vigilant and security conscious to save lives and apprehend Boko Haram terrorists and their sponsors.
“Once again we call on all law abiding citizens to provide useful information to security agencies towards a quicker apprehension of remnants of terrorists still bent on unleashing mayhem on Nigerians.”
The Federal Government is still negotiating with Boko Haram for the release of the abducted Chibok schoolgirls and other abductees, Minister for Information, Culture and Tourism, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said on Tuesday.
He spoke during a briefing following an intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) operation to the Sambisa forest.
“Negotiations for the release of the girls have never stopped. In a situation like this, we use the carrot and stick approach.
“Even the success of the military also helped fast track the process of the negotiation for those who were released.
“The negotiation is complicated, delicate and changes from time to time, but we are on still talking and we are near breakthrough,” he said.
The trip to Sambisa was organised for the leaders of the Bring Back Our Girls (BBOG) group to acquaint them with efforts by the military to find the Chibok girls and end the war on the insurgency.
“This government has nothing to hide; that is why we have brought you here so you can have a first-hand experience. We want to let the world know what we have been doing not only to recover the girls but also to end the insurgency,” Mohammed said.
But the leader of the BBOG and former Minister of Education Dr Oby Ezekwesili said though the group had learnt some lessons about the workings of the military, its demand still remained.
“We have learnt that the Nigerian Air Force is working to generate the information that supports the Army to ensure the security of the theatre of war.
“By joining the NAF to do ISR day and night, we saw what it looks like to embark on a search for targets like the abducted Chibok girls. It also helps to frame the question we have been asking, we leave here to say the Federal Government should be able to say what strategic decision should be taken.
“Negotiations led to the highest yield of 21 girls, four came back after the military raided their bases, that is, they either escaped or were found after the raid.
“It becomes a strategic question, we will hold the Federal Government accountable to a decision on what options work better for our girls and others.
“The information has empowered and enriched our demand, the Minister for Information has given the assurance that 80 girls would be part of a batch based on negotiation, we will keep asking for that,” she said.
The former minister also said knowing how important it is for the military to be equipped; the group will continue to call for the prosecution of all who have mismanaged military hardware funds.
“Imagine what would have happened if the whole money has been spent on buying the equipment, we are more empowered to demand sanctions.”
She praised the NAF on the innovative use of technology saying it makes the efforts to be precise.
She also called for improved transparency in the conduct of the war on insurgency saying for as long as the war was prosecuted as a propaganda mission, there will be criticism and cynicism.
She praised the “strong commitment” of the troops saying the group has always been supportive of the efforts of troops.
“As citizen activists, we shall remain the voice, we will hold the government accountable to its promise to rescue the Chibok girls and others,” she said.
The BBOG leader also sought clarification on the capture of Camp Zairo. She said a proper understanding of Sambisa is necessary for Nigerians to put the capture of the Camp in perspectives. In a clarification, the information minister said the capture of Camp Zairo is a strike at the heart of the insurgent. “When you strike Camp Zairo, you completely disorient the insurgents, but it does not mean the end of the campaign.
The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has taken a stock of its activities in 2016. The appraisal followed the degrading of the Boko Haram Terrorist group and the eventual capture of its headquarters in Sambisa Forest, Borno State. Assistant Editor Seun Akioye reports the air power that aided the capture of the insurgents’ Camp Zero stronghold.
More than a month ago, soldiers deployed in the battle against insurgents in the Northeast under the auspices of umbrella LAFIYA DOLE launched an operation codenamed: “Rescue Finale”. The onslaught, launched on November 1, 2016 was the culmination of months of preparation for the final raid of the dreaded Sambisa Forest, the stronghold and headquarters of the terrorist group, Boko Haram. The aim was not only to dislodge the militants, thereby bringing to an end insurgency that has raged Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states, for about six years. It was to rescue all abducted Nigerians, including the Chibok schoolgirls, believed to being held in the ‘evil’ forest.
Months before the final push, the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) had launch a two-pronged operation – Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) and target bombing of Sambisa Forest, all aimed at softening the ground for the ground troops to advance into the forest and carry out the land raid.
The ISR was a critical and deliberate operation by the NAF to ensure a safe passage for the soldiers into Sambisa in order to route the militants and end Boko Haram impunity.
The NAF was engaged in Counter-Insurgency Operations (COIN) on many fronts last year. Such operations included: OP LAFIYA DOLE in the Northeast to dislodge Boko Haram insurgency, OP SAFE HAVEN to quell ethnic crisis in Jos, OP SHARAN DAJI to counter the menace of cattle rustling and armed banditry in the Northwest, OP AWATSE to curb pipeline vandalism in the Southwest and OP DELTA SAFE to prevent destruction of oil installations in the Niger Delta. According to the Director of Operations (DOO), Air Vice Marshal (AVM) Dayo Amao, the strategic role of the NAF in the operations was to force generation and ensuring combat readiness towards supporting surface forces.
Directing the various missions from its bases at 103 STG Yola, 115 SOG PH, 403 FTS Kaduna and 451 NAF Stn Jos, the NAF employed a number of its air assets, including the Alpha Jet, F-7Ni and the CH3A UCAV. Others are the Super Puma, Agusta 109 LUH/E, ATR-42MPA and the Beechcraft King Air 350i. The Mi-17 and Mi-35M/Mi-24P helicopter gunships, C 130 H, DO 228 and the DA-42 MPP also played prominent roles in the operations.
The attack on Sambisa Forest
One of the biggest military operations in Nigeria since the end of the civil war was Operation LAFIYA DOLE (Peace by Force), aimed at countering Boko Haram insurgency. The operation included both the ground and air components. The air component was planned and executed by the Tactical Air Command of the NAF, commanded by Air Vice Marshal (AVM) Nurudeen Balogun and the Air Component Headquarters operated from the 105 Composite group in Maiduguri with Air Commodore Charles Ohwo at the helms.
For the air component in Operation LAFIYA DOLE, it was a period of intensive air operations and subsidiary operations. These operations include OP CRACK DOWN, OP GAMA AIKI, OP FOREST STORM and OP RESCUE FINALE.
The OP FOREST STORM, which took place from October 2-8, 2016, was critical to the war and the eventual takeover of Sambisa Forest. The NAF conducted independent offensive air raids at neutralising Boko Haram Terrorists (BHT) targets in the Sambisa general area with a view to further degrading their capabilities.
The operation was also targeted at shaping the Sambisa environment to a level that would facilitate the rescue of the “Chibok Girls” by ground troops. A total 82 sorties in 116:30 hours was flown.
AVM Balogun said: “This air operation was successful as it resulted in displacing the BHTs from the Sambisa forest. It also significantly curtailed the freedom of action of the terrorist as well as degrading their capacity to effectively engage own troops.”
Other specific operations carried out by the NAF included: Air interdiction missions conducted by the F-7Ni, A-jet and the Mi17/24/35 helicopters to neutralise BHT logistics, camps, foot soldiers and facilities on a daily basis. The operation neutralised Boko Haram foot soldiers in Kadara community. Two Alpha Jet aircraft also conducted an air interdiction on about 30 insurgents suspected to be angling to attack troops’ position. The interdiction was to degrade the terrorists.
There was also the Close Air Support (CAS), which turned the tide of the counter-terrorism war in favour of ground troops, using the F-7Ni, A-Jet and Mi-24/35 helicopters.
On December 22, last year, a CAS mission facilitated the successful capture of Camp Zero where Boko Haram flag and holy books were retrieved. Similarly, one Alph-Jet conducted CAS to support the advance of troops at Sambisa Gate.
Armed Recce/Armed Escort was also extensively conducted to locate and engage opportunity targets. The F-7Ni, A-Jet and the Mi-17/24/35 helicopter conducting a total of 635 sorties led to the destruction of Boko Haram hideouts and prevention of ambush of troops.
The ISR was critical to the intelligence gathering of the war on insurgency. Using the Be-350KA, ATR-42 MPA, DA-42 and the CH-3A UCAV aircraft to maintained presence over the theatre to obtain critical footages of activities of Boko Haram, it became the game changers in the COIN, leading to precise attacks on insurgent locations both day and night.
According to AVM Balogun, over 689 ISR sorties were undertaken in 2016. The NAF also conducted evacuation of troops including Wounded in Action (WIA) personnel and provided critical logistics and supply missions deep inside the forest. In 2016, 1,494 personnel were airlifted and 122,055kg of logistics was resupplied in the theatre of operation contributing immensely to the effectiveness of ground troops.
One of the enduring missions conducted in October was the successful rescue of 21 of the 276 girls abducted from their dormitory in Government Secondary School in Chibok on April 14, 2014. It was a two-day operation comprising of six missions flown in 13 sorties using the Alpha Jet, Be-350 KA, Super Puma, AW101 and A109 LUH.
“The mission presented some tactical challenges with respect to the lack of lighting in the operational area as well as the confined area designated as landing zone. Notwithstanding all these challenges, the air component was able to effectively plan and coordinate the operation to a successful outcome,” AVM Amao said.
The NAF also offered significant humanitarian assistance to various Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) Camps with over 20,000 IDPs in Adamawa provided with free medical treatment. At the IDPs Camp in Bama, 4,761 of the displaced persons were provided free medical treatment and about 28,051 of the IDPs in Dalori were also provided medication in addition to the provision of shelters, boreholes, foodstuff and clothing.
Rescuing Arepo from oil vandals
Arepo, Isawo, Ikorodu and Majidun communities in Lagos and Ogun states knew no respite from pipeline vandals and hoodlums, who terrorised the residents, raped, kidnapped and killed residents at will. But the launch of Operation AWATSE rescued the communities from the throes of the vandals:
Operation AWATSE began in 2010 in partnership with the Army and Nigerian Navy but Air Force operations began with an air recce of the area and air strike began on July 28 and concluded on August 16, last year, leading to a significant degrading of the hoodlums and bringing respite for the residents.
Battle against cattle rustling
The launch of Operation SHARAN DAJI was NAF’s response to itinerant herdsmen-turns criminals. The operation was initiated in July 2015 to tackle the upsurge of armed bandits, cattle rustlers, kidnappers and other criminal activities around the Northwest. But last year, the governments of Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Niger, Sokoto and Zamfara states requested the intervention of the NAF to provide air support to counter the security challenges. From July, the NAF deployed six platforms at various times for the operations which include: DA 42 MPP, essentially ISR, CAS for surface forces, air liaison, troops insertion/extraction and medical evacuation missions.
According to the NAF, Operation SHARAN DAJI significantly degraded the capability of the armed bandits as their precise locations acquired during the ISR missions enabled the ground troops to locate and destroyed the bandits. But it was not a walkover for the NAF, the bandits fought back and fired at the NAF planes with at least one A109 LUH helicopter sustaining serious damage in Gidan Garba.
Protecting national infrastructure
The NAF responded with the introduction of Operation Delta Safe to the destruction of oil and gas installations in the Niger Delta by militants.
The activities of Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) members in the Niger Delta informed the establishment of a Joint Task Force code-named Delta Safe which replaced Operation Pulo Shield with a mandate to protect oil and gas infrastructure and to prevent/deter other forms of economic sabotage caused by militants, sea pirates and other criminal elements within its Joint Operations Area (JOA) which covers an estimated landmass of 47,942 sq. km.
Some of the activities of the NAF in Delta Safe include: air interdiction which aimed at destroying militant’s camps, using the A-Jet and Mi-24 helicopter with a total of four sorties and three hours 40 minutes flight.
The CAS was conducted for advancing land, maritime and Special Forces at the request of the HQ OP DELTA SAFE to flush out the militants from their location. Aggressive armed patrols were a major mission against illegal oil bunkering destroying 16 illegal refineries and 58 illegal oil barges.
Other missions are ISR patrol which shaped the battle space providing guidance for surface troops and Light Air Liaison (LAL), involving the movement of top commanders and guests within the operating area.
The NAF described the destruction of notorious Camp Benji on November 24, 2016, as a milestone in restoring sanity to the restive region and improving economic activities.
Enhancing operational effectiveness of NAF platforms
The NAF, last year, restructured its engineering unit with the weaponisation and upgrade of its various platforms and machines by its engineering team. Three Alpha Jets were upgraded in-house with weapons system and deployed in active combat operations in the northeast with high degree of performance.
The engineering team also upgraded the Mi-17 helicopter with weapons system while the installation of camera on Beechcraft ac NAF 202 and NAF 204, and upgrade of camera on NAF 201, were also conducted.
In line with the vision of the Chief of Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, to reposition the NAF into effective and professional force, the NAF conducted several trainings and provided basic infrastructure in housing and education to the NAF personnel. At least, 1,020 personnel were trained overseas and 4,868 locally, while 268 units of accommodation was provided
A total of 24 boreholes were sunk in 14 locations and 14 kilometres of roads were constructed in NAF bases in Kaduna and Abuja. There was also the provision and expansion of operational facilities, such as hangars, aprons and taxiways in 531Aircraft Maintenance Depot, Lagos, 131 Engr Group, Makurdi, 103 Strike Group Yola, 401 Flying Training School, Kaduna and VIP Lounge at NAF Forward Operations Base, Daura, Katsina.
The NAF also established the Air Force Girls Comprehensive School, Abuja and established a fifth Command/ Special Operations Command in Bauchi.
Looking ahead
To the NAF, the way forward is to build on its past experiences. It said it would improve on its efficiency in this year. AVM Balogun told The Nation that last year underscored “the need for a more effective intelligence gathering capability as well as night capability and precision guided munitions, good communication network and availability of aircraft critical spares.”
According to him, better synergy and understanding between the NAF and the surface forces will be achieved as more Forward Operation Bases would be established and reactivated.
His words: “The overall objective is to improve capabilities, methodology and refine processes with a view to ensuring effectiveness and efficiency in the application of airpower. The induction of the more modern, night capable and sophisticated Mi-35M helicopter would enhance the NAF capability for standoff, day and night operations.
“The reactivation of additional ATR-42MPA and the UCAV CH-3A will boost the NAF ISR and strike capability. For effective air patrol of the wide expanse of Nigeria’s borders, especially in the Northeast, plans have been concluded to establish more FOBs as staging posts to provide technical support and increase the radius of action of NAF air assets.”
Two years and the third Christmas celebration after the abduction of over 200 senior students of the Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok, Assistant Editor Seun Akioye investigates how the community has been able to rise from a shocking abduction that grabbed the attention of the world.
Pa Wandazam Allen remembered the first time members of the terrorist group Boko Haram came to Chibok, a predominantly Christian community, in Southern Borno state. He also remembered the last time the attackers came to the community.
“It is a tragedy,” he said several times holding his grey head in his right hand and heaved heavily. “They abducted those girls, they just took them away, we tried to find them but we could not enter into Sambisa forest,” the old retired teacher lamented.
Pa Allen was sitting in his expansive compound in the middle of Chibok town; his house like most of the others was built of clay, with a new brick building about to be completed standing in the centre. As one of the elders of Chibok, the security of the community weighs heavily on his mind.
“My friend called me on the phone that he had information Boko Haram was on its way to Chibok, 10 minutes after he called, we heard the loud sound of gunfire, then there were bombings and everyone started running everywhere,” he said.
Pa Allen has a dramatic way of telling a bitter story which leaves one with an incredible urge to giggle. But there was no mirth in his voice as he went on to describe the arrival of Boko Haram fighters into the town from the western corridor, the loud sound of bombs which killed a soldier, his own dramatic escape and his brave return the following morning to join the chase of the insurgents.
Chibok town has known a prosperous past as a farming community, the chief crops being maize, guinea corn, groundnut and beans. In the days of its prosperity, it was a shining example for religious tolerance and peaceful co-habitation. Predominantly Christian community, it has lived at most amiable conditions with its Muslim population, commerce had thrived and educational standards better than many of its neighbours.
The community gained international attention after 276 schoolgirls were abducted from their hostels at the Government Girls Secondary School (GGSS) by Boko Haram fighters on April 14, 2014. The mode of execution of the plot had left many people insisting that no girl was abducted until the girls were safely inside Sambisa forest, a fortress of evil only about 40 kilometres from Chibok.
Two years and the third Christmas without the majority of the abducted girls, how the community is moving ahead and what will Christmas be without the Chibok girls.
A broken community
For all its worldwide fame, a first-time visitor to Chibok would be shocked at the non-availability of basic infrastructures. There are two main roads into Chibok namely; Maiduguri/Damboa road and Mubi/Askira Uba road. But whichever road you take there is no respite from bad road, and the quicksand and when the wind blows, a hail of red dust welcomes you to Chibok. From Mubi, the good road ends in Danga and on the northern side, it ends in Damboa.
Inside the town itself, there is no single tarred or graded road despite being the local government headquarters for 10 years. Chibok’s problem is beyond its terrible roads, the town of about 66,000 has no electricity, petrol station or bank. “The main transformers in Damboa and Mubi were blown up by Boko Haram about four years ago but they have repaired some, I still don’t know why we don’t have light yet,” Pa Allen asked no one in particular.
Since the destruction of GGSS, there the Central Primary School has played host to both the Government Day Secondary School and the GGSS. The three schools rotate the lectures within the day with each school allotted about four hours every day before vacating the premises for another school to take over.
Living in Chibok could try the patience of the most diligent, every end of the month, people send trusted relatives to Mubi with their Automated Teller Machine (ATM) cards for cash withdrawals. Cash is usually scarce in the town and inflation is rife, products coming into Chibok are usually twice the price one can get in Askira or Damboa leaving the impoverished people with little choice.
This year, there has been less rain and harvest has been bad particularly for beans, nobody could explain why this was so and the farmers could only wrung their hands together and lift it to heaven in supplication. “Many people planted large fields of beans this year, but there has been terrible harvest, we don’t know why this has been so but it is not good,” Pa Allen said.
An audacious abduction
Bitrus Wavi remembered the exact time he heard gunshots on April 14, 2014. The time according to him was 11:15 pm. The events of the night had always attached a sort of mystery to it, how could Boko Haram abduct over 200 teenagers willingly without protestations.
Chief Ahmed Yidan
Ahmadu Yidan is the Da Yidan Poga or the traditional head of Chibok; he said the events of that night left everyone in confusion. “Do you know that when these Boko Haram move they sometimes move with 100 vehicles, they have Lorries and there were some Lorries packed here in the town. They carried those ones. They started bombing all over and they went to the girls and said something is wrong, can’t you hear, we are soldiers, come inside this vehicle let us evacuate you to a safe place.
“So the girls were thinking it was some of the soldiers around and some of the insurgents came in army uniform, so they rushed into the Lorries, had it been known they were Boko Haram they won’t go with 20 students. That night there was confusion, every animal even the cows were in confusion those who had BP died, a soldier died because of the bombing, nothing touched him,” Yidan said.
After the initial confusion, the people of Chibok gathered and determined to pursue the fleeing terrorists. Armed with Dane guns, machetes, kitchen knives, sticks and stones, they made a blind dash towards Sambisa forest.
Yidan: “Our vigilante pursued these people, they reached close to Sambisa but they had to turn back. People carrying sticks and Dane gun, if they had armed escort at the time it would not have been like this.”
But some of the girls escaped, at least 56 of them were able to find their way back home. “After the girls saw that they were not soldiers, some of them jumped down and fractured their legs, others hung on the trees and dropped from the Lorries, those were the brave ones,” Esther Allen said.
Yidan and his people believe the government left the rescue of the girls a little too late and are unimpressed by the rescue of 21 girls. But the proximity of Sambisa to Chibok gives the Yidan Poga sleepless nights.
“Why should Sambisa exist? This is what I was thinking, why shouldn’t they make Sambisa become a desert? They should attack this Sambisa forest, it is true there will be collateral damage if they leave Sambisa and these people go to somewhere and kill more people and they run to Sambisa and you leave them because they are using human shields.
“Sometimes I think would it not be better to attack Sambisa, we are not saying they should burn Sambisa, they should match gradually with these armoured weapons and bomb detectors, we know there will be some few casualties but I think it will not be wise to be leaving Sambisa for years because they are keeping some people and then allow many more to die, this is my personal thinking I really don’t know. It is giving me sleepless nights,” he lamented.
The Chief said the people of Chibok are grateful to the world for the support it has received but Chibok remains a prime target for the terrorists.” They want attention, if they attack Chibok they will have a global attention that is why everyone must continue to speak up for us.”
Christmas in Chibok
Around 6:00 am on Christmas day 2016, the voice of an itinerant preacher broke through the violet cold wind which had descended on the town.
Moving from one dusty street to the other, he yelled into a loudspeaker “God is wonderful, his mercies endureth forever.” Soon he began to describe the “enduring loving of Christ” and urged those who are yet to do so to turn their lives over to Jesus Christ after which he wished everyone a “happy Christmas.” The people of Chibok who may have heard the unknown preacher could relate to the message of “the mercies of the Lord,” which the long-suffering people of the town are badly in need of.
Pa Allen wore his white agbada and began to walk with great strides to the EYN, Lutheran Church of Christ LCC. The church would witness its first Christmas celebration in the new building partially paid for by the Borno State Government. All over Chibok, children braved the harmattan and the wind to observe the age-long tradition of exchange of food especially with their Muslim neighbours.
During the 2014 attack, all the churches in Chibok were destroyed, the EYN lost everything and it took a long time to recover. The service was conducted in a mixture of Hausa and Kibaku, the language of the Chibok people.
There was no instrument and the microphone constantly misbehaves, the choir master hums the hymn and then the congregation followed, it was a solemn service by a determined people. The pastor preached from Isaiah 62:8 “Surely, I will no longer give your food as grain for your enemies; and the sons of the foreigner shall not drink your new wine, for which you have laboured.” It was a scripture that the people can relate to especially the displaced people of nearby Kumjalari whose grains are currently food for Boko Haram insurgents.
The parishioners have thrown their fears into the singing, groups came up one after the other to sing and ‘raise some dust’ with rigorous and energetic dancing. And sometimes, they sang sorrowful songs, a very emotional moment for the grieving parents.
Nothing can be taken for granted in Chibok, earlier in December, the people received a letter purportedly from Boko Haram informing them of an impending attack on December 15 or 16 2016. Security details in the town was tripled and a curfew from 6: pm to 6: was imposed on the main Aja road.
For every service in the churches and mosques, a detachment of soldiers and vigilantes are deployed to provide reassurance. Pastor Peter Ayuba of LCC said Christmas celebration in 2016 was the best since the abduction.
“We have many more people despite the scare from Boko Haram, people turned out to praise God as we continue to hope that everything that was lost in this town will come back,” he said. At 2: pm, Chibok came alive; the village Christmas dance which was abandoned during the insurgency would hold this year. It has been the talk all day and the space opposite EYN 2 was already filled up.
Security was provided and everyone going into the arena was screened. The dance carnival was the biggest gathering of the year and indigenes who had been in Maiduguri, Lagos and other cities were eager to prove their new social status. Everyone wore new clothes and shoes and carry on in pretended elitism.
Inside the dance arena, dancers march around the drummers and singers. For hours they circle the musicians dancing to various local songs, kicking up so much dust and leaving everyone white as snow. At 5:10 pm, the dance came to an end and social connections began, young boys ran after the girls determined to impress with their new outfits.
“Only a foolish girl will fall for these boys in borrowed shoes and Jackets,” Esther Allen said. In the night, the Allen homestead played host to a lot of young men and girls, who had come to lessen the night. It was the place to talk about the latest trends and impress with knowledge. One of the young people was 18-year-old Shuaibu Madu who considered himself superior to others because he had been to Lagos and spoke smattering Pidgin English.
Shuaibu
Shuaibu ran to Lagos when Boko Haram invaded the town where he stayed for one year in Ajah selling recharge cards. “ I am a Lagosian, now in Chibok all the girls are running after me, they are saying Lagosian come let me kiss you,” he said provoking prolong laughter into the teeth of the night.
Shuaibu is better than his twin sister Awa, a Senior Secondary 2 students who could not speak any sentence in English. “This one is ‘mumu’ (dullard), I have been trying to teach her English but she no gree,” Shuaibu said dismissing his sister, who provoked by the attack, tried unsuccessfully to repel it in English.
No homecoming for Chibok girls When news arrived in Chibok about the homecoming of the 21 freed school girls, there was wild jubilation especially among the relatives of the girls. There would be a lot to catch up on; there would be the Christmas celebration and the dance carnival to follow.
None of the released girls came from Chibok town itself but from the surrounding villages and hamlets. Family members waited for the girls in Chibok, expecting to have some private moments with their daughters.
The girls arrived in a convoy of security details and made straight for the expansive compound of the member representing Chibok in the State House of Assembly, Aimu Foni. But it was not the homecoming the people of Chibok had dreamt, there would be no church service on Christmas day, neither would the girls attend the anticipated Christmas dance carnival.
The massive security build-up to the girls’ arrival saw the Brigade Commander, 28 Task Force Brigade Mubi, Brigadier General Felix Omoigui also relocating to Chibok. Apart from the Army, there were the personnel of the Department of State Security (DSS) the Nigeria Police Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) with the operational name of CRACK, the Nigeria Peace Corps, The Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF), Borno
State Vigilante Group, and the Baka Boys etc.
The security operatives were assisted by two armoured tanks and several Ak-47 rifles, only the parents of the girls were allowed into the house and that is after vetting and delay. Since their arrival, the girls were not allowed to come out of the rooms despite their protestations. Family members who were fortunate to see them were not allowed to take pictures.
“We have been waiting since 7:00am to see our daughter but the security is preventing us, we are not from Chibok and we have to ride a bicycle for two hours to get to our village, we do not understand why the government is hiding them,” a parent complained.
The residents of Chibok began to resent the increasing restrictions on their movements around the Aimu Foni compound. A member of the vigilante group who was also drafted to the girls details said: “The grip of the military over the girls is stifling, what would have been better than putting the girls in a uniform and escorting them to the
dance yesterday, let them mingle with their friends, it would have been a good therapeutic healing for the girls.
“There are more than 3000 people at the carnival, what they are saying is that the lives of the 21 girls are more important than that of the whole of the people here at the dance,” he said. The Nation also gathered from relatives who had seen the girls that there was something close to a mutiny as the girls continued to demand a chance to come out to Chibok town if not to their own villages. It was also learnt that the girls went on hunger strike on December 24, to press home their claims.
But a high-ranking security operative told The Nation that the security of the girls is of utmost importance. The official who pleaded anonymity said there are security reports that Boko Haram may want to embarrass the government by recapturing the girls. “The families should please exercise patience, we have a red alert and we have instructions to protect these girls with everything we have got.
Soon, everything will be okay,” the official said.
Winning hearts and mind
Many of the soldiers deployed to Chibok are veterans of the war on the insurgency in the Northeast. According to some of them who spoke on strict conditions of anonymity, they had seen action in faraway places like Birte, Mubi, Alaganna, Biu and Sambisa forest.
“We were the ones that captured Mubi, it was a fierce battle but we drove away the Boko Haram and killed so many of them,” a private soldier said as he held on firmly to his Ak-47 rifle. The soldier later went to Biu where he described an elaborate fight against the insurgents which resulted in the total annihilation of the terrorists.
“Chibok is peaceful, that is why people can go to church, I have been here for only eight months and I have not seen anything unusual, we are hoping by next year we will be able to go home back to normal
duties,” he said.
His team leader a Corporal wearing crisp, clean uniform agreed with him. “Our Baba (Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Turkur Buratai) has said we will return to the barracks next year, we believe in honestly. I cannot wait to see my family again.” The Corporal was
one of the soldiers who retook Chibok from the insurgents. To prove the veracity of his claims, he took out his phone and opened to a note he had on it. “See, I wrote it down that day. November 13th, 2014, Chibok on fire,” he then gave a handsome smile which lit up his youthful face. “You cannot stand here, when those people came, it was like a herd of cows, my brother, it was fire that day, no one can forget.”
There has been relative peace in Chibok ever since thanks to the successive innovative commanding officers posted to the town. Holding and locking down Chibok is no mean task as the town is surrounded by villages still in the hands of the insurgents and the borders are porous and almost endless, giving terrorists multiple options of entry.
One of the innovative ways introduced by the army is the motorcycle patrol of the various entry points into the town. Armed soldiers made a duty of cycling round the bush into the far outposts of the town, every day. Also, communication posts are built all around Chibok; The Nation also ventured far into the borders around the town and found soldiers in trenches in the bush. One location was commanded by a Lieutenant who was assisted by a Staff Sergeant.
Despite the haze and cold, the soldiers remained at their duty post, they looked white, eyes devoid of sleep and their palms were coarse and hard when they shook hands.
The soldiers have been able to integrate with the local population; they visit the markets, attend to the needs of the people and provide specialized services for them. The people have also come to trust the soldiers knowing many of them by name.
On Christmas day, many families tried to outdo each other in providing food and drinks for the security personnel.” The people here appreciate us, some of us are learning the language to better interact with them and win their trust,” a soldier said.
The soldiers too have known fear. On the night of the abduction, only 15 men were on guard in the town led by a Lieutenant Godknows. It was a bad night for the soldiers, outgunned, outnumbered and caught in surprise, the soldiers retreated, one died from the shock, “Boko Haram didn’t touch him, it was the shock that killed him,” an elder said.
But there is anger in Chibok over the fate of Lieutenant Godknows and his men. There were rumours that they were court-martialed and jailed for failing in Chibok. The Nation could not confirm the true position before the publication of this story.
“It is not cowardness to withdraw when you are faced with a superior power, what will 15 soldiers do when Boko Haram came with over 200 fighters with RPG and heavy artillery, even the US Marines cannot withstand them. We are asking the government to release Godknows, he did the best for us and we are unhappy that he is being punished,” a CJTF member who said he joined in the war as a tribute to Godknows said.
Chibok IDPs: We are left to suffer On the northern outpost of Chibok, there are 20 new building built of
red bricks lying in a rectangular form. These buildings house the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) from nearby villages of Kumjalari, Kubrivu, Kaumutayahi, Kakilmari and Kwada. The houses were built by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR).
On Christmas day, about six children played in the sand in front of one of the houses, the house belonged to Sunday Garba, the spokesperson of the IDPs. In 2014, he had escaped from Kumjalari with
his family after Boko Haram struck. Now resident in Chibok, life could not have been more bitter.
“There is no Christmas for these children,” he said pointing to the bare feet, dirty children chasing each other in the sand. “Who will buy chicken for them, there is nothing for them to eat,” he said in a despondent voice.
Garba had known prosperous past, he was a big time farmer harvesting more than 100 sacks of guinea corn, but that is now history, he now works as a farm hand in Chibok. Sunday Kabir has joined the local vigilante; it was his way of fighting back after he was forced to leave Kumjalari four years ago.
“We have lost everything, we don’t have anything for Christmas so what do we do?” he lamented. The plight of the IDPs from the surrounding villages is telling. After the villages were sacked, they returned to their farms and planted. But as if on cue, Boko Haram fighters emerged from nowhere and chased the farmers away just as harvest was to begin.
“When our wives tried to get some food from the farms so that we won’t starve, they were chased away by Boko Haram. The terrorists have harvested our guinea corn and they are right now as we speak harvesting our beans, how do we survive now?” Kabir asked.
In Chibok, there are more than 200 IDPs living in squalor, at least two families share one room and conveniences are open to many more families. Here, there is neither privacy nor decency. “We are suffering here; we have no food, no mat to sleep on and no clothes.
Many of us escaped with nothing except the clothes on our backs,” Garba said.
Even though much of Borno state has been retaken from the insurgents many villages around Chibok are still in the hands of the terrorists. A contingent of soldiers was stationed at Kwaja but the refugees accused the soldiers of not venturing to capture other villages around Kwaja.
“When our wives went to harvest and were chased away, they ran to the soldiers in Kwaja which is only five kilometers from Kumjalari but the
soldiers refused to follow them, also when we lost some CJTF people and asked the soldiers to escort us to remove the corpses, they refused,” Kabir alleged.
While government and the international communities have focused attention on the IDP camps in the big cities, the refugees in Chibok are largely forgotten. With their food in the hands of Boko Haram, the refugees, once proud and prosperous farmers have resorted to begging.
But Chibok is not a place to beg, whatever was left in the earth was not enough for the people and they can ill afford to feed extra mouths. “ That is why the children go hungry, they are not in school and they have no clothes to wear,” Kabir lamented.
“If I am not released, let us meet in heaven” Paul Lailai and Yusuf Madu are united not only by their coming from the same village of Bulabam but together in grief mourning their missing daughters. The two had left their village for the almost two hours bicycle ride to Chibok when they heard 21 colleagues of their daughters would be in town from Abuja.
The girls who were recently released from Boko Haram captivity had been in the custody of the Federal Government. Two days before Christmas, they were ferried to Chibok to celebrate with their families. Paul and Madu hoped they would be able to get some information from the girls. Paul’s missing daughters are Ladi and Mary while Madu’s daughter is Christiana.
“I did not see my children when the Boko Haram released their video, I cry everything I think about what they are going through,” Paul said.
In the past two days, the two had remained in Chibok struggling to come to terms with the reality that they would not hug their children, at least not yet.
When Madu spoke, his voice carried no strength, it sounded hollow and far away. “ I looked through the pictures released by Boko Haram and I didn’t see my daughter Christiana, that is why I came to find out if there is any news of her,” Madu said.
He was in luck. One of the released girls had a message from Christiana to her parents and the message was not heartwarming. “She told one of the girls to tell us she is alive but there is no way she could escape. She said greet my parents and my younger ones, tell them if it is God’s will I will see them again, if not, we will meet in heaven.
“When I heard that, I cried and did not eat, Christiana was the child who looked after me, sometimes I feel it is better I am not around in the world but I believe if I am alive I will see her again,” Madu said.
The parents of the missing girls had lived in frustrated hope.” Whenever the local government calls us for a meeting and we return home, the mother would ask if it was good news, when we reply in the negative, all the women and the children would begin to cry,” Madu added.
For 60-year-old Rebeka Nteke, the tears are yet to cease. When Abubakar Shekau released a video of the girls, she saw something that gave her grief and hope; her daughter, Hauwa Nteke. “I still thank God but I am looking for my daughter, I saw her in the video but I know one day she will be back,” she said and then began to cry.
Bitrus Yanna, the father of Ruth Bitrus fares no better. When Ruth was abducted, he joined the group of villagers who went after Boko Haram in the hope of finding the girls. “ I went as far as Selari and Zangore but I could not locate her. When it happened and the government did not believe us, I was very angry but now I have left everything in the hands of God while praying that she will return to us,” Yanna said.
Mariam Wavi’s mother has remained devastated. Unable to cope with the abduction of her daughter, she has relocated to her ancestral village.
Mariam’s absence has left a gaping hole in the lives of her parents because they are both blind. Mariam’s brother, Bitrus has been consoling her, giving her hope. “ What can we do, she is yet to return but we are hoping. Our mother is devastated because she was really the main helper of our parents,” he said.
When Mariam was taken, Bitrus took a motorcycle, armed with a stick, he pursued the terrorists in vain, over two years after, he is struggling with the reality that she may not return.
The other Army Paul Martins (surname changed) has been sitting on a tree trunk on Chibok- Damboa road for two hours, like the hundreds of schoolchildren who were dragged out of their holiday to welcome the governor, he was tired and hungry.
“ The governor should have told us he is not coming, we have been waiting since 10:am, there is no food, there is no money, we are just here,” he groaned. Paul has more reasons to be despondent, as a member
of the CJTF, he claimed he has not received any payment for the past six months since he signed up.
“ We buy our own uniforms, we buy our own bullets and we don’t get paid to fight Boko Haram, we just feel that we cannot be running away from men like us, we both have one life, lets exchange bullets and if
I die, then that is it,” Paul said.
But he has not always been brave, when the insurgents struck in November 2014, Paul trekked to Biu, encountered countless obstacles and found his way to Anambra state to his in-laws. Six months ago,
tired of running, he came back to Chibok, signed up with the CJTF, bought his gun and bullets and went to the trenches.
The security of Chibok though rests on the Army, credit must also be given to the CJTF and the local vigilante. Armed with Dane guns and local charms, the young boys and old hunters helped chase Boko Haram fighters away from Chibok.
These volunteers according to investigations were spurred on by love for country and community and are not paid for their services. There was a man, one of the leaders of the CJTF in Chibok simply known as Bamal-Gana or Bagana. This Bagana was a great hunter, possessing terrifying magic; members of the CTJF claimed that he cannot be killed by iron or bullet.
In the last week of November 2016, Bagana led some of his men to Shawar village, about 10 kilometers West of Chibok. “ We have secured the place but some of us stepped on these bomb they plant inside the
ground (IED), then Boko Haram came out and started firing at us, we responded and killed some of them before we could get away but three of us died including Bagana,” one of the men who participated in the raid said.
But the CJTF has not been able to recover the corpse of their fallen colleagues and properly mourn them. “Bagana was fearless, Boko Haram can’t kill him, even in battle when soldiers turn back he won’t, his
death is a huge loss and the government has not even sent condolences to his family, he had three wives and many children,” the man said.
Two other commanders who spoke to The Nation said if the CJTF had Ak-47 or a pump action rifle, they would vanquish Boko Haram in no time. “We fought with our cartridge guns and captured many towns, what we really need is a pump action we would finish Boko Haram, but who will buy it for us?
The vigilante was reborn after the abduction of the school girls, since then, they have remained an integral part of the security apparatus of Chibok. Usually dressed in brown uniform, the vigilantes looked hungry and sad. Also working without salaries, they are poorly armed with Dane guns and charms.
“We are here to protect our community, we may not be paid but we are determined to protect our families, we can’t just sit and wait for them to be captured again,” one of the vigilantes said.
December 26, 2016 Activities began early in preparation for the visit of the governor of Borno state, Kashim Shetimma, a town crier had gone round the villages asking school children to dress in uniform to welcome the governor. Soon politicians arrived, intimidating the people with their security details, at 11: am, the students of the three schools lined up in the harmattan on Aja road, awaiting the governor.
It was a wait for godot, the children stood in the dust for many hours as the governor was said to be in Damboa, there was no food or water for them, the teachers and security details also got frustrated. With strength failing, the children lay on the dusty dirty road, the teacher too at the end of their patience could only look on helpless.
At exactly 3:00 pm, as if on cue, the students began to march to their homes, starting with the smaller kids, soon the welcome party was over, the kids were determined not to wait any longer despite protestations from the teachers.
The governor finally arrived at 5:00 pm, but the majority of the relatives of the Chibok girls had left in anger unable to see their daughters. “ My village is two hours away, by 6:00 pm, there will be a curfew and I will have nowhere to sleep,” a parent who had spent the better part of the day in a shouting bout with the soldiers said. He then mounted his bicycle and began to ride furiously out of Chibok. Ten minutes later, the governor arrived.
Officers and men of the Nigerian Air Force have contributed the sum of N7million towards the welfare of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the Northeast.
The cash donation and other relief materials were recently voluntarily contributed by the officers and handed over to the National President, Nigerian Air Force Officers’ Wives Association (NAFOWA), Hjiya Hafsat Abubakar for onward delivery to the victims of Boko Haram insurgency.
The Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Baba Abubakar had earlier encouraged Air Force commanders to make voluntary contributions to the IDPs a core value of service to support the Federal Government to alleviate the plights of the IDPs.
Receiving the items, Abubakar expressed deep appreciations to officers and men of the NAF for their genuine concern towards the IDPs and for taking concrete steps to put smiles on their faces.
She promised that the Association would be fair and transparent in handling the donations, even as she stated that the items would be transported immediately to Maiduguri to enable the association to commence immediate distribution in Bama IDP Camp.
