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Tag: Tukur Buratai

  • Military operations in Southern Kaduna, Kano, Plateau soon- Buratai

    Military operations in Southern Kaduna, Kano, Plateau soon- Buratai

    To rid the country of criminals and troubleshooters, the Chief of Army Staff, Tukur Buratai on Thursday said that the Nigeria military will soon commence exercises named Kunama 2 in Southern Kaduna, parts of Kano and Plateau States.

    He spoke with State House correspondents at the end of about six-hours security meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    According to him, troops are already on ground to stop the killings in Southern Kaduna.

    He also said that other operations in the North-East, South-South, and South-East are on course.

    He said: “Our troops are already in Southern Kaduna, we have our special forces operating there along with all other security agencies and we intend also to have an exercise very soon in Southern Kaduna to cover some part of plateau and indeed part of Kano state.

    “So it is part of our strategy for this year, to continue all the exercises we have had before. We will be having exercise Kunama two, which will come into Southern Kaduna state and part of Plateau and Kano state.

    “Croccodile smile in the Niger Delta and indeed the Python dance, but we are going to rename the Python Dance for the South East this year also,” he added

    On Sambisa forest, he said: “We are continuing our operations in that area, Lafiya Dole mandate and the troops are still moving all over the area.

    Asked if there is new directives from the President on the North-East, he said: “The directive is there, we are still pursuing it and it is a task we must accomplish at all cost.”

    The Minister of Defence, Mansur Dan-Ali also disclosed that major security issues in the country were discussed at the meeting.

    “The Southern Kaduna, the Niger Delta issues and other major crisis areas were discussed and resolutions were passed.

    “Like I said in the Southern Kaduna we have our troops being moved and they have already taken places, operation is going on and I believe that very soon it will come to an end.” He said

    He said that no conclusion was reached at the meeting on The Gambia crisis, pointing out that it was not a national issue affecting Nigeria.

    But he was optimistic that the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) was adequately handling the matter.

  • Pay attention to us like Chibok girls, wounded soldier urges Nigerians

    Pay attention to us like Chibok girls, wounded soldier urges Nigerians

    Cpl. Ibrahim Usman, one of wounded soldiers in the fight against the  Boko Haram terrorists in the North-East, has called on Nigerians to pay more attention to troops’ welfare.

    Usman made the appeal in an interview with newsmen on Monday, when the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, visited wounded soldiers at hospitals in Maiduguri.

    The soldier, who was admitted to military hospital, Maimalari Cantonment, about three weeks ago, urged Nigerians to pay attention to soldiers’ well being in the frontline just as they were doing for the missing Chibok girls.

    According to Usman, his two legs broke during an explosion when a vehicle conveying him and nine other soldiers to Monguno in Borno north during an operation stepped on mine planted by the terrorists.

    “We need Nigerians to take care of us. Like this my injury, broken legs, they suppose to take me to a specialist hospital or abroad for a good treatment.

    “If it is these girls – Chibok school girls, they will take them abroad. We are the ones fighting in the bush,’’ Usman said.

    Although the solider said that he was responding to treatment, he said would retire from the military when he gets well due to the injury.

    “I cannot fight again because I do not have that strength any more. My legs are broken.

    “If I get well, I will retire because my legs are broken. I can no longer go and fight the insurgents,’’ Usman.

    Another soldier, Sgt. Ahmed Musa, however, thanked the army chief for visiting wounded soldiers in the hospital.

    Musa of 119 Battalion Task Force, Mallam Fatori said: “My situation when I got here was worse but God I am getting healed.”

    “I have injury in one of my hands. When he – Buratai came here we are happy because when we came here we did not see anybody. We appreciate the way he comes here,’’ he said.

    According to Cpl. Innocent Gabriel, a nurse attending to one of the wounded soldiers at the time of the visit, the common cases of injury are fractures resulting from explosions and gunshots.

    Gabriel said that most of wounded soldiers were responding to treatment, adding that some of them may be taken to the theatre.

    The doctor in charge of the hospital, Lt.-Col. Ndidi Onuchukwu, a Consultant Orthopaedic and Trauma Surgeon, said that 97 wounded soldiers were being treated in the facility which had capacity for 105 patients.

    Onuchukwu said that the worst cases come from combat injuries, adding that the hospital was,collaborating with the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital – UMTH to give the best to them.

    Speaking after the visit, Buratai described it as “operation and welfare visit” to encourage the wounded soldiers.

    He said that most of them would soon be discharged and commended troops for efforts in the war against the insurgents.

    Prof. Abdurrahman Tahir, the Chief Medical Director of UMTH, lauded the army for the prompt settlement of its personnel medical bills. (NAN)

  • Abuja residents sue Army chief, minister over alleged land grab

    Abuja residents sue Army chief, minister over alleged land grab

     

    Some residents and land owners in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have sued the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Tukur Buratai, FCT Minister, Mohammad Bello and others over alleged forceful appropriation of plots of land allocated to them.

    The plaintiffs, in the suit filed by their lawyer, Amobi Nzelu want that High Court of the FCT to stop the Minister and other defendants in the suit from further trespassing on plots of land located at Maitama Extension.

     

    Other defendants in the suit marked: CU/2566/16 are the Army Council and the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice.

     

    A firm, Ogenyi Global Resource‎, who sued for itself and the other land owners  queried the right and powers of the minister to encroach on their land.

     

    The firm and others want the court to order the defendants to vacate the plots of land which they (the defendants) have forcibly occupied without any valid court order.

     

    In the alternative, they want the court ‎to compel the Minister to make alternate allocation of plots of land to them in a choice area in Abuja or award a compensation of N50m as damages for the action of the FCT minister.

     

    In the statement of claim, the firm accused the FCT minister of unilaterally revoking the plots allocated to them without statutory notice.

     

    The plaintiff said the plots of land were duly allocated to them without encumbrances, and that the purported revocation of the land did not comply with the provision of the Land Use Act.

     

    The land owners said they will be willing to accept monetary compensation to show goodwill in the matter.

     

    According to them, ‎the cost of a plot of land in the said Maitama Extension is between N200 to N300million.

    The plaintiff accused the FCT Minister and the Nigerian Army of violently possessing the plots of land about a month ago.

     

    They said that the defendants have no right to take over their lands without any valid court order.

     

    The plaintiffs contended that the defendants could  only exercise the right of revocation for overriding public interest and nothing more.

     

    ‎The case is yet to be assigned to any judge for hearing.

     

  • Army operation will clear criminal gangs from Bauchi forest – Buratai

    The Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, said the Army’s training and simulation exercise titled `Operation Shirin Harbin’, would also help in clearing criminal hideouts in the Alkaleri forest in Bauchi State.

    Buratai said this while assessing the performance of Troops and their Commanders participating in the exercise in the Alkaleri forest.

    He said apart from improving the combat readiness of the troops and the testing of high caliber weapons, the exercise would address security threats around the area.

    “This area is a very good training ground but during this exercise we will be killing two birds with a stone.

    “It is a training exercise and it is also a real operation as we hope to clear any hideout of criminal gangs that are known to be operating in the fringes of the forest.

    “This is the starting point for us to be more professional at this particular time,’’ he said.

    He said the exercise had brought out the best in the Nigerian Army both in terms of troops combat readiness and in the handling of high caliber weapons.

    He said some of the equipment used in the exercise had been abandoned in the workshop for many years.

    According to him, some of the equipment were not usable but had been repaired and would be used in real time situation.

    He said the exercise was a demonstration of the judicious use of funds allocated to the Army by government.

    On his part, the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Gabriel Olonisakin, said the exercise was unprecedented stressing that such exercises would return the Army to its days.

    Olonisakin said the exercise would prepare troops and their equipment for present and future engagements both in Nigeria and beyond.

    “This exercise which is a command exercise is aimed at training troops and their commanders.

    “Having seen what we have witnessed here, I know that the commanders out there will do better than what they have been doing.

    “I am impressed because for some time we have not had it this way, under this particular exercise, the correct personnel are deployed and the right equipment are used,’’ he said.

    Also speaking, the Deputy Governor of Bauchi State, Nuhu Gidado, Commended the Army for choosing the state for the exercise.

    He said the exercise would help to address some of the security challenges confronting the state being perpetrated by some criminal elements operating from the Alkaleri forest.

    `It is more than a privilege having them conduct this exercise here in Bauchi state, because for a very long time we have had pockets of criminal activities coordinated from this forest.

    “This particular exercise has given us hope that our people can now live in peace,’’ Gidado said.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the exercise featured simulation exercises using tanks and other caliber of weapons as well as real combat operations deep into the forest.

    NAN also reports that the exercise is organised as part of activities marking the 2016 Nigerian Army Day Celebration. (NAN)

  • Insurgency: Army promises sustained collaboration with media

    Insurgency: Army promises sustained collaboration with media

    The Nigerian Army has promised to sustain collaboration with the media towards educating Nigerians on its ongoing anti-terrorism operation in the north-eastern part of the country.

    Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, the Chief of Army Staff, stated this on Saturday while inaugurating a newly refurbished studio at the North East Headquarters of the Nigeria Television Authority (NTA) in Maiduguri.

    He said that sustained collaboration with the media was imperative because of the role of the media in disseminating information to the people.

    “What happened was that I visited the station as part of our media programmes to enlighten the public on our activities in the countries.

    “I was surprised at the state of facilities at the studio and when I was asked to help I decided to offer a helping hand,’’ Buratai said.

    He, however, said the assistance he offered in renovating the complex did not come from the Nigerian army’s purse.

    “The Nigerian Army does not have that kind of money. What happened was that I sought for help from a friend who offered to provide money for the renovation work,’’ Buratai said.

    He advised members of the staff of the station to make maximum use of the studio by offering better services to viewers.

  • God saved me from Shiite sect members – Army chief

    God saved me from Shiite sect members – Army chief

    The Chief of Army Staff, Lt-Gen. Tukur Buratai, on Monday said it was God that saved him from the hands of Shiite sect members during his encounter with them at the weekend.

    The Army Chief described the sect members as violent in their conduct during his encounter.

    Buratai spoke with reporters in Abuja shortly after an interactive session with members of the Senate Committee on Defence.

    A clash ensued on Saturday in Zaria, Kaduna State, between Shiite adherents and the convoy of the Army chief.

    Several people were killed in the incident.

    Buratai said, “You want to know how I escaped?  It was by the will of God that I was able to escape from that place.

    “I think NTA was there and they aired the clip. It was very clear. They were violent, definitely this is very clear, the clips are there. That was what happened.”

    The Army Chief, who urged Nigerians to be law abiding, insisted that “nobody should take the law into his hands.”

     

  • Boko Haram: army chief decries troops’ attitude

    Boko Haram: army chief decries troops’ attitude

    The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai has condemned the attitude of troops deployed to Geidam in the fight against Boko Haram terrorists group.
    He spoke in Lagos during his maiden tour of units and commands under the 81 Division of the army.
    Referring to the poor performance of the troops, Buratai emphasised the need for serious review, the attitude of the troops towards the ongoing war.
    He noted that despite having the necessary weapons, equipment that will enable them protect themselves, civilians and properties, they did not attack the insurgents.
    “Two, three days back, I was in Geidam and the attitude of our troops call for serious review because they have the equipment, weapons, everything they require to protect themselves and indeed citizens that are there, the whole community and villages around.
    “But, they just went and sat down without adopting the proper battle procedures. These are the attitudes we have been suffering all these while.
    “I have given them very strong warning. And some of you may find yourselves around that area, if you go there, you must behave very professionally.
    “You must apply all the battle principles that you have been thought, deploy the weapons and equipment properly,” he said.
    While fielding questions from reporters after addressing his soldiers, Buratai said he had to go to Geidam to see things for himself, assuring that the loopholes are being addressed.
    “Immediately after my visit, the following day (Friday) they (terrorists) attempted to move into Geidam but the soldiers stood up and conquered that attack. They pursued them and the terrorists have been on the run.
    “So, that issue has been addressed and we want to maintain that capability to ensure we repeal and equally pursue them to wherever they go to.
    Buratai also warned army personnel to remain apolitical, stressing that their moves were being monitored and anyone found romancing politicians will be dealt with accordingly.
    He said: “I want you to remain professional, apolitical. Any officer or soldier seen hibernating with politicians or getting involved in politics of whatever nature will not be tolerated. If he is caught, he will be dealt with accordingly.”
    The army chief also insisted that the December deadline given by President Muhammadu Buhari for the military to end Boko Haram was achievable.
    “Fighting I s urgency require alot of resources, initiative. The renewed commitment of the government of President Muhammadu Buhari,  increased equipments that we have been providing to the troops; increased troops with the deployment  Special forces in key and critical areas have contributed in motivating the troops.
    “We are addressing their welfare needs as at when due, so all these contributed and it is changing the tide against the terrorists. We will definitely meet the target,” said Buratai.
    According to him, priority was given to the various operations the army is involved in with the northeast and Niger Delta areas coming first and second respectively.

  • Giedam attack: Buratai warns against take over by terrorist

    The Chief of Army State Lieutenant General Tukur Yusuf Buaratai has warned troops at Geidam in Yobe State not to allow terrorists to invade the town again.

    The Army Chief who was in Giedam for operational visit  to assess the damage of the attack by the Boko Haram terrorists Thursday night in the town also assured the residents of their protection from any form of attack by the insurgents.

    A statement issued by the Acting Director of Army Public Relation Col. Sani Kukasheka Usman also confirmed that death of three soldiers in the fight and the destruction of some military equipment by the insurgents.

    The statement reads in parts; “The Nigerian Army wishes to confirm an attack on Sector 1 of 27 Task Force Brigade located at Gaidam, Yobe State, yesterday Wednesday evening. The attack was successfully repelled by the troops and the reinforcement sent. The troops killed most of the attacking terrorists and destroying their weapons and equipment. However and regretfully too, we lost three soldiers and some equipment during the encounter.

    “The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant General Tukur Yusufu Buratai who was on operational visit to North East, personally visited the troops location, assessed the damage done. He warned the officers of the unit that such ugly incident should not be allowed to happen again”.

    While giving the assurances of the COAS of the protection of the people by the military from the Boko Haram terrorists, the statement added ; “The COAS also drove into the town and further assessed damage by the terrorists and gave further directives to the troops for the defence and improved security of the general area. He also met with some of the community leaders and Idris Aloma Polytechnic staff where he assured them of their safety and improved security”.

    According to the statement Geidam is now calm and people are going about their normal businesses.

    The  Chief of Army Staff was received at Geidam by the General Officer Commanding 3 Division, Major General Hassan Umaru and Acting Commander 27 Task Force Brigade who led the reinforcement team last night.

    The  COAS was accompanied on the visit by the Theatre Commander Operation Lafiya Dole, Major General Yushau Abubakar, the Chief of Training and Operations (Army), Major General Fatai Alli, as well as Acting Director of Military Intelligence, Acting Provost Marshall and Director of Campaign Planning, and the Acting Director Army Public Relations and the Liaison Officer of the Multinational Joint Taskforce.

  • Photo: Army Chief inaugurates Task Force vehicles

    Photo: Army Chief inaugurates Task Force vehicles