Bakare flays leaders for politicising Chibok girls’ abduction

The General Overseer, Latter Rain Assembly, Lagos, Pastor Tunde Bakare, has lampooned politicians and political parties for using the abduction of 219 Chibok schoolgirls to score cheap political points.

Tunde Bakare

He noted that the nation had not given the issue the necessary thoughtfulness and seriousness it deserved, stressing that those who are in a position to act have not taken sufficient action towards addressing it or even towards calming the anxiety of the waiting Chibok parents.

The cleric said this in a sermon on Sunday during the thanksgiving service to mark the global action week in commemoration of the second anniversary of the abduction of the schoolgirls organised by the BringBackOurGirls coalition at the Unity Fountain, Abuja.

Bakare stated that the girls would have been rescued if they were children of the political and religious elite and appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to prioritise their  rescue in the midst of the numerous challenges before him. He stressed that the girls had become the symbols of the soul of the nation.

He said, “What do you think I would have done extra if my girl was involved? Have I done those things? What could  have happened, if these were daughters of Emirs or the Prelate or Primate of the Anglican Church or Methodist Church? If any of them happen to be son of Pastor Adeboye not to mention sons or daughters of governors or president, what do you think would have happened on that issue?

“Am just asking a question, what do you think would have happened? We would have done more than we have done, the whole nation has failed these children and we must repent and that is why we must honour those of you (BBOG) who have made it to be on the front burner.”

Reading Isaiah 49:24-26 from the Holy Bible, Bakare urged the BBOG and the Chibok parents not to give up, saying the girls would be rescued alive from Boko Haram captivity.

He recalled that the past administration failed to act on ‘actionable intelligence’ that could have led to the rescue of the girls, noting that the government did not take the necessary steps to rescue them until there was a global outcry.

Bakare said, “It is most severely injurious to see that the fate of our daughters has been frequently politicised. Rather than rise to the occasion as stakeholders and custodians of the security and welfare of the citizens of this nation, political parties and politicians have paid lip service, using our pain and the plight of our daughters to score cheap political points.

“We are not convinced that the matter of our daughters has been given the needed thoughtfulness. We do not believe that those who are in a position to act have taken sufficient action towards addressing this issue or even towards calming our anxiety as waiting parents.”

The fiery cleric who spoke in an emotion-laden voice for about 35 minutes, expressed the conviction that the abducted girls were alive and could still be rescued, noting that there was no evidence, not even satellite photography, suggesting that they were in a mass grave.

“We have heard varied suggestions as to the fate of our girls. We have heard that some have been married off, that some have been sold as slaves, and that some are being held captive as human shields. We have heard that some have been radicalised, and there have been suggestions that they are now being groomed and deployed as suicide bombers.  What we expect the government to do is to systematically analyse the possibilities with a view to eliminating impossibilities,” Bakare suggested.

The Convener, Save Nigeria Group, appreciated the government for the renewed military offensive and the gains recorded in the fight against Boko Haram, but added that the nation expected that the success would be translated into tracing the whereabouts of the girls or even finding some measure of closure for their parents.

“If they have been sold as slaves, to whom have they been sold? What are the locations of these slave buyers or dealers? Are they in the territories in which our girls had been held captive in the past? What attempts have been made to investigate or eliminate this possibility? Have they been sold beyond the Nigerian borders? What routes are there through which they could possibly have been taken?,” he asked.

Given the complex security nature of the abduction, Bakare noted that  rescuing the girls might require special tactical military operations, details of which could not be publicly discussed.

This, he added, should not stop the government from creating a confidential information channel that would keep anxious parents abreast of the basic facts and show that, at least, the country cared for their daughters.

Bakare flays leaders for politicising Chibok girls’ abduction

Rescuing Chibok girls is my responsibility - Buhari

 

Buhari storms out of the meeting with BBOG – Group

ABUJA – President Muhammadu Buhari, Thursday said that securing the release and safe return of the missing 219 Chibok girls was his responsibility.

This came as he ordered National Security Adviser, NSA, General Babagana Munguno to set up a panel to investigate the abduction  of the girls from Government Secondary in Chibok, Borno State in April 2014.

The panel however is yet to be named by NSA.

A statement by the Senior Special Assistant to the president on media and publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu on Thursday stated that the “investigation will seek to, among other things, unravel the remote and immediate circumstances leading the kidnap of the girls by Boko Haram terrorists as well the other  events, actions and in actions that followed the incident.”

Meanwhile, speaking at a meeting attended by some parents of the abducted girls, representatives of the Chibok community and members of the Bring Back Our Girls movement at the Banquet Hall of the State House, President Buhari said that he remained fully committed to his pledge  to rescue the girls.

He regretted that the previous government he succeeded failed to purchase the necessary weapons meant to adequately combat insurgency in the country.

“I assure you that I go to bed and wake up every day with the Chibok girls on my mind. The unfortunate incident happened before this government came into being.

“What have we done since we assumed office? We re-organized the military, removed all the service chiefs and ordered the succeeding service chiefs to deal decisively with the Boko Haram insurgency.

“In spite of the terrible economic condition we found ourselves in, we tried to get some resources to give to the military to reorganize and  equip, retrain, deploy more troops and move more forcefully against Boko Haram.

“And you all know the progress we have made. When we came in Boko Haram was in Adamawa, Yobe and Borno. Boko Haram has now been reduced to areas around Lake Chad.

“Securing the Chibok girls is my responsibility. The service chiefs and heads of our security agencies will tell you that in spite of the dire financial straits that we  found the country in, I continue to do my best to support their efforts in that regard.

“This is a Nigeria where we were exporting average of two million barrels per day at over 140 dollars per barrel. Now it is down to about 27 to 30 dollars.

“You have been reading in the press how they took public funds, our funds, your funds and shared it, instead of buying weapons. That was the kind of leadership I succeeded. That was the kind of economy I inherited.

President Buhari who was accompanied to the meeting by the Minister of Defence, Mansur Mohammed Dan Ali, Minister of Women Affairs, Hajiya Aisha Alhassan, Chief of Defence Staff, Gen Gabriel Olonisakin, Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen Tukur Buratai and the National Security Adviser, Maj.-Gen Babagana Monguno (rtd) however stated he had tried his best to secure the release of the girls.

“God knows I have done my best and I will continue to do my best,” President Buhari said.

Also speaking at the meeting, the Chief of Defence staff told the meeting that in the last three months the military has liberated more than 3000 people kidnapped by Boko Haram in the North eastern part of the country.

He said that the military had the ability to  rescue the Chibok girls, but added that “intelligence is delicate and we don’t want to ​do ​anything to jeopardize the lives of the girls.”

Meanwhile, Information by the Bring Back Our Girls (BBOG) revealed that President Buhari on Thursday stormed out of his meeting with the parents of the abducted Chibok girls while journalists were barred from the Banquet Hall, after the arrival of the President.

Earlier, there was drama when the parents and the group were told that the president would not meet with them but they insisted on seeing the president, who had promised, on July 8, to rescue the abducted schoolgirls.

 The president had sent Aisha Alhassan (Mama Taraba), minister of women affairs, as his representative but Alhassan lambasted the protesters for not giving the government prior notice of their coming

Rescuing Chibok girls is my responsibility - Buhari

Jonathan govt’s response to Chibok girls case unimpressive - Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday said the conflicting reports that emerged from the government and the security chiefs in the days shortly after the over 200 schoolgirls were kidnapped in Chibok, Borno State, portrayed the government of former President Goodluck Jonathan in bad light locally and internationally.

Buhari spoke while granting audience to members of the BringBackOurGirls group.

The President said the government’s response to the incident was far from being impressive and unfortunate.

“We cannot rationalise the government’s incompetence in handling this issue,” he said.

Buhari reiterated the commitment of his government to mobilise and deal with the scourge of terrorism across the country.

He also insisted that members of the Boko Haram sect could not claim to be propagating Islam, saying they should think of changing their name to something else.

Jonathan govt’s response to Chibok girls case unimpressive - Buhari

Man Accused of Participating in Chibok Girls’ Abduction Arrested

• Two suicide bombers attack hospital as Osinbajo visits Maiduguri 

• BBOG group to meet Buhari July 8 

• UN asks Nigeria to ease abortion restrictions for Boko Haram rape victims

By Chiemelie Ezeobi in Lagos and Michael Olugbode in Maiduguri with agency reports

Nigerian troops have arrested a businessman accused of “participating actively” in Boko Haram’s mass abduction of over 200 schoolgirls from their secondary school in Chibok, Borno State last year, Nigeria’s defence ministry said on Tuesday.

Boko Haram, food, fuel supplier

Quoting Defence Headquarters (DHQ) spokesman, Major-General Chris Olukolade, the UK-based Telegraph newspaper reported that the suspect, Babuji Ya’ari, headed a “terrorists’ intelligence cell” for the Islamic extremists while masquerading as a member of the self-defence Youth Vigilante Group.

This confirms suspicions that the vigilantes have been infiltrated by Boko Haram. Soldiers have told the Associated Press (AP) that some of their comrades also belong to the extremist group.

“The arrest of the businessman … has also yielded some vital information and facilitated the arrest of other members of the terrorists’ intelligence cell who are women,” Olukolade said in a statement Tuesday night.

He did not say when the arrests were made or how many people were arrested.

He alleged that Ya’ari has since 2011 coordinated several deadly attacks on Maiduguri, the birthplace of Boko Haram, and spearheaded the May 2014 assassination of the Emir of Gwoza, a religious and traditional ruler who was targeted for speaking out against Boko Haram’s extremism.

One arrested woman, Hafsat Bako, confessed to coordinating the payroll for operatives paid a minimum of N10,000 a job, the defence ministry statement said.

Boko Haram was responsible for the April 2014 kidnapping of 276 girls from a boarding school in Chibok. Fifty-seven escaped but 219 schoolgirls remain missing.

The mass abduction sparked international outrage and demands for the girls’ release under the Twitter hashtag #BringBackOurGirls.

Nigeria soldiers fighting Boko Haram

The extremists last year took control of a large swathe of Northeastern Nigeria where they declared an Islamic caliphate. This year, they became the West African franchise of the Islamic State group.

As their attacks spread across borders, a multinational army from Nigeria and neighbouring countries mobilised and this year drove Boko Haram out of towns. But suicide bombings and attacks on villages have continued.

Nonetheless, the Chibok girls continue to remain on the front burner as the Bring Back Our Girls (BBOG) group would on July 8 finally get to meet with President Muhammadu Buhari regarding the fate of the remaining girls who are yet to be found.

One of the co-conveners of the group and a former Minister of Education, Mrs. Oby Ezekwesili, made this disclosure on her Twitter handle on Wednesday.

She tweeted: “#ChibokGirls: Stop Press. We hope you will join us @BBOG_Nigeria on our march to meet with our president on July 8 at noon. #BBOG!!!!!!!!

“We @BBOG_Nigeria have received confirmation of schedule of our meeting with @MBuhari and FG on our #ChibokGirls for July 8, 2015 at noon.

“DAY443 of our #ChibokGirls. On July 8, we shall march to the President @MBuhari to ask him what he has done and is doing to bring back our girls.

“I could have chosen the easy path of looking away on the tragedy of our #ChibokGirls to avoid the toxin they spew. God forbid. I stand on.”

In an earlier report by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Ezekwesili said the group had written to Buhari over the fate of the missing girls and efforts to successfully bring them back.

She was quoted to have said: “We have written to request for a meeting with the president as we did on several occasions with the previous government.

“The meeting shall enable us to express our deep anxieties at the failure of the federal government to rescue our 219 Chibok girls.

“We shall also use the meeting to understand and contribute to the strategy for countering terrorism, ensuring post-insurgency recovery and other related issues.”

But as the BBOG group prepares to meet the president, the terror sect continued to unleash mayhem Wednesday when two suicide bombers (male and female) detonated a bomb in Molai village, a few kilometres from one of the places visited by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, who was on an unannounced visit to Borno State.

A member of the youth vigilante group, Modu Abba, told THISDAY on the phone that another set of suicide bombers, four days after Saturday’s similar suicide bombings at a general hospital in Molai where five persons were killed and 16 others injured, came back to attack the town for the second time.

Molai is 10 kilometres south of Maiduguri, where the vice-president was visiting internally displaced persons (IDPs) quartered in the town.

Maiduguri plays host to about 1.5 million persons made homeless by the Boko Haram insurgency, including about 125,000 quartered in 22 camps.

According to Abba, the two suicide bombers were unsuccessful in their attempt to wreak havoc and only succeeded in blowing themselves up into pieces, but two persons were injured in the process.

He said the suicide bombers were terrorists who were suspected to have sneaked into Molai from Sambisa Forest, the notorious base of the insurgents that has been under military siege for sometime.

Abba said the two suicide bombers must have been blown apart due to an accidental detonation of the explosives strapped on their bodies.

“It must have been an accidental detonation, as no known persons or structures were targeted by the suicide bombers.

“The explosion occurred at about 11 am close to Molai Leprosy/General Hospital and about 100 metres away from a local market. It left both suicide bombers dead and two innocent people injured.

“Many residents including patients admitted at the hospital were left scampering for safety,” he said.

Abba revealed that the explosive device on the first suicide bomber – the woman – detonated at the entrance of the hospital, injuring two passersby, while the other one who was riding a bicycle accidentally detonated his explosives at the back of the hospital before reaching the fence, killing himself only.

During his visit to Maiduguri on Wednesday, Osinbajo informed his audience that the federal government was moving into the next phase of management of the Boko Haram crisis. This he said entailed the resettlement of those displaced by the crisis.

The vice-president stressed that the role of government was to provide security and welfare for its people, revealing that he was in the capital of the troubled state to see to the welfare of the displaced persons.

Osinbajo, who spoke to journalists after his tour of the Dalori camp, one of the 22 IDPs’ camps in the city, the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH) and the palace of the Shehu of Borno, said he had been empowered with knowledge on how to handle the IDPs and related issues, after his visit to the camp.

He disclosed that he was equally briefed by stakeholders on the IDPs, praising the efforts of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and the Borno State Government for providing succour to the displaced persons.

He said that the federal government was ready to assist the IDPs back on their feet after they might have been resettled.

Earlier at the camp, Osinbajo told the displaced persons that he was in Maiduguri on the instructions of the president and to see to their well-being.

He said: “I am here in Borno State and in particular in this camp on the specific instructions of the president, His Excellency Muhammadu Buhari, who is concerned about the well-being  and the welfare of the men, children and women in this camp.

“He has asked me to come and join the governor and see for myself what exactly is going on in the IDP camps, not just in Borno but also Yobe and Adamawa States which have been affected by the Boko Haram insurgency.

“The president is extremely concerned especially about the welfare of women and children and other displaced persons and in particular those who are here in Borno State.

“He wanted me to go round and interact today with the displaced persons who are in this camp.”

Osinbajo said that based on the report presented to him and the brief interaction with the displaced persons, it was quite apparent that there has been “great human suffering and extreme trauma”.

“But the governor of Borno State has been working hard at making sure all of the trauma and hardship is greatly reduced.

“The president wants me to tell Governor (Kashim) Shettima specifically that he is extremely pleased with the hard work he has done, that he is aware that the governor has been trying to ensure the comfort and safety of the people who are in these camps and of course the entire people of Borno State.”

The vice-president acknowledged that the task at hand was onerous but the federal government was ready to play its part in leading the effort to alleviate the suffering of the displaced persons in the North-east.

He added that despite funding constraints, all persons in Nigeria including residents in the North-east have a right to education, potable water, decent health care and shelter, adding that the federal government was committed to improving the livelihoods of the people of Borno.

The vice-president’s visit however caused major disruptions for the people of the state who woke up to see many of the major roads closed.

Motorists were diverted off the major roads in Maiduguri as early as 7 am for the vice-president who arrived the town in company with the Director General of NEMA, Alhaji Mohammed Sani Sidi, at 10.45 am.

Commuters were barred from the cordoned roads until he departed the city at 3.30 pm, forcing many motorists to abandon their vehicles and walked long distances to their destinations.

Meanwhile, the United Nations rights chief on Wednesday urged Nigeria to show compassion and make it easier for women and girls who became pregnant in Boko Haram captivity to access abortions.

Boko Haram militants are estimated by Amnesty International (AI) to have kidnapped more than 2,000 women and girls in Northeastern Nigeria since the beginning of 2014, including the Chibok girls kidnapped last year.

“During their captivity, lasting in many cases for months or even years, women and girls have been sexually enslaved, raped and forced into so-called ‘marriages’,” Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein told the UN Human Rights council in a special session on Boko Haram.

“Many survivors of these horrific experiences are now pregnant for their rapists … and several reportedly wish to terminate these unwanted pregnancies,” he said.

But in Nigeria, abortion is only legal when the life of the woman is at risk, Zeid said, warning that a lack of access would only add to the horrendous suffering the former captives had been through.

“I strongly urge the most compassionate possible interpretation of the current regulations in Nigeria to include the risk of suicide and risks to mental health for women and young girls who have suffered such appalling cruelty,” he said.

He also called on authorities to help women and girls freed from Boko Haram enslavement, who often face stigmatisation, to reintegrate them into their communities.

During his speech, Zeid accused Boko Haram of a litany of other atrocities in Nigeria and in neighbouring Cameroun, Chad and Niger, including massacres, beheadings, torture, burning people to death in their own houses and forcing children to become soldiers.

He demanded that perpetrators be brought to justice, but also warned that hard-handed tactics by the military and police fighting Boko Haram risked exacerbating the suffering of civilians and increasing support for the militants.

He pointed to reports of “shocking conditions of detention in north-eastern Nigeria, including torture and lack of food or water,” and the lengthy detention of women and children released from Boko Haram captivity, reportedly for screening and rehabilitation.

He also referred to the AI report last month accusing senior Nigerian officials of “war crimes” in connection with the Boko Haram battle.

But the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bulus Z. Lolo, slammed the Amnesty report as “demoralising”, insisting to the council yesterday that it constituted an “undue interference in the work our security agencies are undertaking under very difficult circumstances against the insurgents (which) can only serve to strengthen and embolden Boko Haram”.

Nigerian forces were not the only ones accused of heavy-handedness. Zeid referred to the widely criticised case of 84 children, aged seven to 15, detained since last December “in near starvation conditions” after Camerounian forces raided what was first said to be a Boko Haram training camp, but which witnesses have said was an ordinary Koranic school.

Camerounian Ambassador Anatole Fabien Nkou told the council that all 84 children had now been released, and that they had only been held long enough “to establish their level of involvement” in Boko Haram crimes.

Man Accused of Participating in Chibok Girls’ Abduction Arrested

Why Chibok Girls Were Kidnapped, BBOG Was Formed - Doyin Okupe

By Ehi Ekhator, Naija Center News

Senior Special Assistant to President Goodluck Jonathan on Public Affairs, Mr. Doyin Okupe has said that President’s failure to secure second term was a grand conspiracy from the kidnapping of the Chibok girls, international conspiracy to BBOG secret mission.

Okupe advised Nigerians to dialogue with the incoming administration to employ a different approach in finding the missing girls.

In a statement posted on his Facebook page on Saturday, Mr. Doyin said “One of the reasons the chibok girls were kidnapped was to present Jonathan’s administration as incompetent and hold it to ransom against 2015 elections.

“One of the reasons the BBOG was formed was to sustain and internationalise the embarrassment.

“One of the reasons President Jonathan lost the election was a national and international conspiracy predicated on this carefully choreographed and assiduously sustained perception.

“One of the issues that will be in the hand over notes will be the missing girls.

“What is reasonable and expedient for well meaning men and women of good conscience is to dialogue with the incoming administration on what best new approach to employ to find and rescue the chibok girls.

“Not much can be achieved, except mischief, by continuing to flog this administration on this matter.”

Why Chibok Girls Were Kidnapped, BBOG Was Formed - Doyin Okupe

Bring Back Our Girls: Shekarau, Onwuliri Shun Protesters

The Minister of Education, Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau, and the Minister of State for Education, Prof. Viola Onwuliri on Tuesday shunned school girls protesting the inability of the government to rescue the 219 Chibok schoolgirls one year after they were abducted from their school in Borno state.

THISDAY gathered that the Bring Back Our Girls (BBOG) group had formally notified the ministry of its plans to bring the schoolgirls to meet with the ministers as part of activities to mark the anniversary of the abduction which drew local and international outrage.

The secondary schoolgirls and some primary schoolgirls drawn from different schools across the Federal Capital Territory marched from the Unity Fountain to the Federal Ministry of Education. They bore placards bearing the names of each of the missing school girls.

The Chairman of the Human Rights Commission, Prof. Chidi Odinkalu walked with the BBOG leaders, alongside some human rights activists. Former Minister of Education, Mrs. Oby Ezekwesili, who is one of prominent leaders of BBOG group was conspicuously absent.

Officers of the Nigeria Police and Federal Road Safety Commission were on ground to ensure security and orderliness.

The Ministers were away from the Ministry when the girls arrived there at 11.30am Tuesday morning. It was obvious that there were no plans to receive them as the gate was locked to keep them out for over 25 minutes.

A visibly ruffled Director, who identified herself as Director of Planning, Mrs. Olutoun later came out and tried to address the girls through the gates.

This drew the ire of Odinkalu who insisted that the gates cannot be shut against the students as they were Nigerian citizens. The leader of girls, Miss Maryam Ahmed also insisted they would not speak from outside the gates.

As the gates were opened, the Director of Human Resources, Mr. Mohammed Bello, who also introduced himself as the Acting Permanent Secretary received the protesters.

Fielding questions from the girls, Bello gave the assurance that the government was doing its best through the security agencies to ensure that girls are rescued and returned safely to their parents.

“We are concerned with anything that has to do with girls’ education, we are with you and will give you all the necessary support to ensure that the girls are found…if you have been following the happenings in that last three weeks, you will know that sooner than later, we will get the girls back,” he said.

Bello recalled that almost all the schools in the North East region had to be shut down at some point, while the government relocated students to safer areas.

Odinkalu, who noted that he was there as a parent, urged Nigerians to keep hope alive for the missing girls, as there is no evidence that they are dead.

He however berated the officials of the Education Ministry for the shoddy manner in which the protesting students were received.

“This is an anniversary that no parent would wish for, not even for enemies. When we came, we were locked out and people were afraid to see us. This is the Federal Republic of Nigeria and it is this country that unites us. The girls were abducted because they choose to write the exam in a certain part of the country. The only reason my child was not abducted was because he took the exam in another part of the country,” he said.

“Nigeria is changing, it is important for public officers to live up to their responsibilities. It is utterly offensive for public officers to lock us out of this building. We pay for this building. The next time we come here, receive us as Nigerians, receive these children as your children, because one day you would leave this office and you will reap what you have sown, the seed of irresponsibility. Never again should any child have to go through what these children are going through,or what their parents are going through,” Odinkalu added.

Bring Back Our Girls: Shekarau, Onwuliri Shun Protesters

Mbu absent in suit seeking his removal

An Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIG) in charge of Zone 2, Mbu Joseph Mbu Monday failed to appear before the Federal High Court in Lagos in a suit seeking his removal.

He was also not represented by any lawyer despite being served with the suit.

The plaintiff, Mr Tope Alabi, a lawyer, is praying the court to strip Mbu of his rank and declare his office vacant for allegedly abusing his powers.

The plaintiff’s lawyer Mr Oladare Falana, who stood in for Mr Femi Falana (SAN) said the defendants had been served.

He said he was surprise that the defendants were not in court or represented by any lawyer.

“We have served all parties to the case with the processes.

“We have a motion on notice supported by a 27-paragraph affidavit and a written address.

“I seek to adopt the written address along with the motion on notice,” Falana said.

Justice Ibraahim Buba said that there was no doubt that the defendants had been put on notice as he had the proof of service.

In the substantive suit, numbered FHC/L/CS/149/15, the plaintiff is seeking a declaration that the first defendant (Mbu) “is unfit to be a police officer in Nigeria”.

It followed Mbu’s alleged threat to kill 20 innocent civilians for any policeman killed during the general elections.

The plaintiff is praying the court to direct Inspector-General of Police Suleiman Abba, the Police Service Commission and the Attorney-General of the Federation, Mohammed Adoke (SAN) (who are the second to fourth defendants) to declare Mbu’s office vacant and replace him without further delay.

Alabi said Mbu, as a senior police officer, swore to uphold to the rule of law and abide by the Constitution, but has allegedly been behaving as if he is above the law.

The latest of Mbu’s action, the lawyer said, is his directive to policemen under his Zone 2 Command covering Lagos and Ogun State.  “If one of my men is killed, I shall kill 20 of them but don’t shoot first,” Mbu was quoted as saying.

Alabi is praying the court to determine whether Mbu is fit and proper to remain in office considering his controversial utterances and “his public misconduct,” and whether the lives of Nigerians are not in danger as long as Mbu remains in office.

The plaintiff wants the court to hold that Mbu’s threat as widely reported in the news media is ultra vires (beyond his powers) and therefore in breach of Section 308 (1) (b) of the 1999 Constitution.

Alabi also wants a declaration that his life and those of other Nigerians are in danger as long as Mbu remains in office, and that their rights cannot be guaranteed unless Mbu is removed.

The plaintiff prays for an order of perpetual injunction restraining Mbu from giving any orders during the March 28 and April 11 general elections.

The plaintiff is asking for an order stopping Mbu from arresting any governor in light of Section 308 (1) (b) of the 1999 Constitution. The AIG had told officers to arrest any governor who goes to polling unit with an entourage.

Alabi said Mbu has no powers under the law to personally kill or direct officers under his control to kill innocent Nigerians in retaliation should any officer be attacked.

According to him, by Mbu’s utterance, he has chosen to flout the laws he swore to uphold as his statement is “capable of inciting mass killings, violence and anarchy.”

Alabi recalled that Mbu served in Rivers State and in the Federal Capital Territory where he continued to violate the Constitution by exhibiting “intolerant and unlawful” behavior, to the extent that the IGP had to distance himself from Mbu in the latest instance by restating that the mandate of the police is to “save and protect lives and not to kill.”

“It is in the interest of justice to declare the first defendant unfit to be and to remain a police officer in Nigeria, considering his public conduct all the time and to declare his position and seat vacant and a replacement made without delay ,” Alabi said in a supporting affidavit to the originating summons.

Mbu, the newly posted AIG in charge of Zone 2, rose to infamy for his unguarded utterances as well as his recent clashes with politicians, civil society activists, and journalists.

Last year, the #BringBackOurGirls protesters in Abuja slammed a N200 million damage suit against the Nigeria Police after Mr. Mbu banned their daily sit-ins to demand the release of the kidnapped Chibok girls. The police hierarchy promptly reversed the ban and the suit was dropped.

Also last year, Mbu detained and arraigned a journalist before a Magistrate for branding him ‘controversial’ during a TV programme. The magistrate struck out the charges.

Justice Buba adjourned till March 20 for hearing on the plaintiff’s interlocutory injunction.

Mbu absent in suit seeking his removal

Reclaiming Territories From Boko Haram Without Chibok Girls Worries BBOG Group

As the Nigerian military continues to recapture more territories from the Boko Haram sect, the #BringBackOurGirls (BBOG) group has expressed concern over the fate of the 219 Chibok school girls, who were abducted by the sect, April 14, 2014.

Speaking during the normal sit-out of the group at the Unity Fountain, Abuja, one of its members, Dr Allen Manasseh, stated that many communities were said to have been recaptured by the military and wondered why there have not been any signs of the abducted girls.

Manasseh, who is also a native of Chibok, however, stated that it was the more reason why the BBOG group should not stop asking questions from the government about the abducted girls and when they will be returned to their families safe and alive.

“I am beginning to get worried that after many communities have been recaptured by the Nigerian army, they have not come up with the abducted girls. Bama, Gwoza, Sambisa, Buniyadi axis and other communities have been cleared, so where exactly are the Chibok girls? We have to keep asking questions”, he said.

Reclaiming Territories From Boko Haram Without Chibok Girls Worries BBOG Group

Boko Haram: BBOG Group Wants Prosecution Of Parents Who Sell Children

The #BringBackOurGirls (BBOG) group has called on the government to see to the prosecution of parents who were alleged to have sold their children to the Boko Haram sect.

Speaking during the usual sitting protest of the group, one of its members, Elvis Iyorngurum stated that it is imperative that parents or relatives caught in such act are prosecuted to serve as a lesson to others who might be thinking of doing same.

He called on the Nigeria Police Force to wake up to its responsibility in finding and prosecuting perpetrators of such act, urging the federal government to protect the lives of innocent children as it continues its fight against insurgency in the Northeast.

The federal government recently stated that it would set up a panel to probe the alleged trafficking of some children of the Internally Displaced Persons in the Northeast.

The government said it was disturbed that hundreds of children were being trafficked to some countries as a result of the Boko Haram insurgency.

The attorney-general of the federation and minister of justice, Mr Mohammed Bello Adoke (SAN), who issued a statement in Abuja to that effect, had said that the government was determined to prevent acts that would further traumatise its citizens.

Also, a 13-year-old suicide bomber, Zarahau Babangida was apprehended in Kano recently. Babangida had revealed to the police that she was taken to the sect by her parents and was later recruited by the sect as a suicide bomber.

Boko Haram: BBOG Group Wants Prosecution Of Parents Who Sell Children

BBOG demands number of fallen troops, terrorists

The #BringBackOurGirls group has demanded for what it called a mid-term report of the six-weeks military operations against Boko Haram insurgents in north-east.

It asked the military authorities to publish number of terrorists killed, number of those captured alive, number of fallen troops and those injured.

The group at its sitout on Sunday in Abuja, also demanded for names of all liberated towns, villages and local governments, as well as the communities that residents could return to and those that are safe for habitation.

The movement in a statement said it looked forward to the victory of the military and the Multi-National Joint Task Force, noting that it was hopeful that the military would succeed in bringing back the Chibok school girls.

The statement read in part, “Can the Federal Government and the military high command provide a comprehensive mid-term report of the six-weeks operation that details the following: number and names of all liberated towns, villages and local governments.

“What communities precisely have been liberated, and the names; Liberated territories that residents are able to return to as well as those that are not safe for habitation. Number and names of territories that are yet to be liberated.

“The number of terrorists killed; number of terrorists captured alive; number of our fallen troops and those injured; the status of our regional and collaborations. Can there be more audio-visuals of the progress at the war front?”

The group asked the Federal Government to respond to the perception that it may have mismanaged the support that several countries like the United Kingdom and the United States offered at the beginning of the search to rescue the Chibok girls in May,2014.

The BBOG also challenged the British Government and other countries which offered support to the FG to demonstrate a minimum standard of accountability, by providing substantial update of the results they have accomplished.

BBOG demands number of fallen troops, terrorists

Give evidence of victories over Boko Haram, BBOG tells military

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The #BringBackOurGirls coalition has demanded verifiable evidence of victories over Boko Haram insurgents from the military authorities, noting that accurate reporting in times of war is a critical tool for winning battles.

The group said the military should provide photos, videos and other evidences to show that it was making progress in the war against terrorism in the country.

The #BBOG, in a statement to mark the second week of its ‘sixweekscountdown’ to the war against terrorism and rescue of the Chibok schoolgirls, on Sunday in Abuja, said the Federal Government and the military should know that they have credibility deficit due to misinformation in the past.

The statement read by Tunji Olanrewaju on behalf of the BBOG Coordinator, Oby Ezekwesili, also flayed what it called the conflicting signals on the renewed offensive in the northeast, noting that some Presidential aides discountenanced a statement credited to President Goodluck Jonathan that normalcy may be restored in the area within six weeks.

It said, “All reportage of the Nigerian military’s triumphs currently quotes a single source— the defence spokesman, Maj. Gen. Chris Olukolade. The news reports refer to the Spokesperson’s press releases and not on the strength of any independently verified information or direct media investigation.

“We therefore demand that the Defense Headquarters takes immediate steps to provide, alongside its releases, as much on the ground evidence of its battlefront actions and successes; that is, verifiable images and audiovisuals from the battle grounds.

“For instance, the Chadian military’s liberation of Dikwa in Borno left no one in doubt with abundant visuals of their victory reported independently. Not quoting a Chadian military spokesperson. This stirred up a victorious spirit and stronger confidence in the operations.

“Our government and the military must come to terms and appreciate that presently, they have an integrity/credibility deficit, due to the litany of misinformation, disinformation, inconsistencies and outright falsehoods in the past. Accurate reporting in times of war is a critical tool for winning battles.”

The group wondered if military intelligence was lagging in the light of ongoing attacks by Boko Haram.

The coalition said it learnt from military sources that the current offensives were meant to keep Boko Haram at bay, because the Multi-National Joint Taskforce is yet to deploy troops, and questioned the wisdom behind the six weeks timeline for the offensive against the insurgents.

“Given the history of failed promises and dashed hopes for Nigerians, especially the Chibok parents, we wish to advise our Presidency to do the utmost to avoid a repeat of the unsavoury past,” the BBOG said.

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Give evidence of victories over Boko Haram, BBOG tells military

Police ambush BBOG campaigners in Abuja

Policemen on Thursday cut short the street protest by members of the #BringBackOurGirls movement as they walked along the Shehu Shagari Way, Abuja, distributing fliers to motorists and passers-by to remind them of the plight of the 219 Chibok girls that are still in Boko Haram captivity.

The policemen numbering about 20 barricaded the road with their vehicles at the junction to the  Presidential Villa, a move that enraged the activists who shouted in anger.

The BBOG members raised questions about the billions of naira raised for the victims of terrorism in the country through the Victim Support Fund, noting that the money was not being used to ameliorate the sufferings of Internally Displaced Persons and other victims of the insurgency.

The coalition members, who took off from their regular meeting point, the Unity Fountain, Maitama, after a short session, initially walked to the National Assembly gate where they flayed the lawmakers for proceeding on Christmas holidays while the abducted girls languished in the forest.

A Co-coordinator of the group, Oby Ezekwesili, said the lawmakers should be “ashamed of  themselves for going on break while the Chibok girls are with wicked men in the bush.”

A police patrol team which had been following the group from the Unity Fountain, quickly radioed for support and about three other vehicles quickly drove to the shut NASS gate.

A dark man in white native, apparently a senior security officer, was observed speaking to his boss on his hand held radio, and  reporting the situation. He was overheard saying “the protest is being led by a former education minister.”

After spending a few minutes, the BBOG members left and as they walked towards the Presidential Villa junction, policemen in four vehicles quickly drove to the junction and blocked it, to prevent the protesters from heading that way.

This infuriated the #BBOG members who railed against the operatives, but they were not deterred as they massed at the junction and shared out fliers to motorists.

A member, Bukky Shonibare, who just returned from delivering relief materials to Internally Displaced Persons in Yola, Adamawa State, noted that 98 per cent of the IDPs are not living in camps but with private families.

She explained that the displaced persons were suffering, adding that most of them lacked food, shelter and clothing and other basic needs.

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Police ambush BBOG campaigners in Abuja

Alleged Boko Haram links: BBOG Group to storm Chadian Embassy

The #BringBackOurGirls group will today storm the Chadian Embassy in Abuja to protest against the alleged supply of weapons by its government official.

An online media, Saharareporters quoted a Cameroonian investigative journalist, Bisong Etahoben, via his Twitter, as saying that Mr Gnoti claimed that President Idriss Déby gave him “the funds to purchase the weapons, waved a presidential pass issued to him by Mr Deby’s office in order to get past border guards, but was stopped and searched by the guards who found the deadly weapons on him.”

The group, which has been advocating for the rescue of the remaining 219 school girls abducted from Government Secondary School, Chibok, said the botched ceasefire deal mediated by the Chadian President, Idriss Déby, and now the report of Mr Mahamat Bichara Gnoti, were suspicious instances.

The group noted that with the ceasefire deal, the Nigeria government and the Nigeria people relaxed and put their trust in the Chadian president, only for the Boko Haram to capture more towns and failed to release the Chibok girls.

Meanwhile, President Goodluck Jonathan had also on Monday paid an emergency visit to Chad where he held a closed-door meeting with the country’s president, Déby.

After the closed-door meeting, President Jonathan reiterated the need for Nigeria and her neighbours to intensify joint actions and cooperation to win the war against terrorism and insurgency.

The president, according to Reuben Abati, told reporters that Boko Haram had a lot of external influence from outside Africa and it had become even more imperative for all countries in the region to work together to overcome terrorism and other criminal activities across their borders

Alleged Boko Haram links: BBOG Group to storm Chadian Embassy

200th day: Make rescue of Chibok girls top priority, Ezekwesili pleads

By Emmanuel Aziken, Political Editor

The rescue of the 219 girls abducted from Government Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State by insurgents of the Islamist Boko Haram group must take priority over every other activity, Bringbackourgirls campaigner, Mrs. Oby Ezekwesili has said.

Speaking ahead of the 200th day today, of the abduction of the school girls, Mrs. Ezekwesili expressed sorrow over the continued abduction of the girls who she said, should not be allowed to abide a day longer in the captivity of the insurgents.

She rebuffed a direct response to the spate of political activities connected to the forthcoming elections saying tersely that every other thing was insignificant to the efforts to liberate the girls.

“As far as we are concerned, we are not looking at any other thing, we are just interested in the Federal Government living up to its responsibility, the need to rescue the Chibok girls,” Mrs. Ezekwesili a former minister of education and vice-president in World Bank said.

“Every other thing pales into insignificance to the lives of 219 citizens of Nigeria who should not be in the enemy’s den for 200 days now,” she reiterated.

276 girls of the Government Secondary School, Chibok were abducted by the insurgents on the night of April 14, 2014 in an operation that initially raised doubts among some sections of the government and the polity. 57 of the girls reportedly escaped from the captivity of the insurgents the abduction has drawn worldwide condemnation from all sections of the world.

Efforts by the government to rescue the girls have so far been unsuccessful despite the alleged deployment of international assistance from some western nations.

The Nigerian Chief of Defence Staff, AVM Alex Badeh had on October 17, 2014 announced a ceasefire with the insurgents in a move that was believed to be a step towards the release of the school girls, but the ceasefire has so far failed to lead to a truce with continued reports of attacks by the Boko Haram insurgents.

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200th day: Make rescue of Chibok girls top priority, Ezekwesili pleads

BBOG activists are APC chieftains planning to unseat Jonathan - Presidency

By Ehi Ekhator, Naija Center News.

The Presidential Spokesperson, Reuben Abati has lambasted the BringBackOurGirls group for playing politics with the lives of the abducted girls in Chibok, Borno State.

Abati disclosed this, following the role the BBOG played during the declaration of the former head of state, Muhammadu Buhari at Eagles Square in Abuja on Wednesday.

In a series of tweets by the spokesperson, he said “Our longstanding view of BBOG movement’s hidden agenda to unseat the Jonathan administration received full Justification yesterday

“Roles played by Dino Melaye & presence of BBOG’s Initiator Hadiza Bala Usman at Buhari’s Declaration is proof of their true aim of politicizing the agony of the Chibok girls & their families. This is now fully apparent, the true agenda & prime movers of BBOG movement”

Abati advised Patriotic Nigerians to open their eyes and reject the movement’s political partisanship and unjustifiable Jonathan bashing.

Following the special recognition for Hadiza Bala Usman, the leader of the BBOG, the Presidency noted that the BBOG activists who he also referred as APC chieftains, have partisan interest but masquerading as altruism, adding that the mask is off.

He added “Politicizing collective agony to score cheap political points. How sad?”

He reassured that “President Jonathan remains fully committed to doing all possible to BBOG. He will not be deterred by political hustlers&Agents provocateurs”

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BBOG activists are APC chieftains planning to unseat Jonathan - Presidency