The deputy governor of Yobe state, Abubakar Ali, was on Monday involved in an auto accident along the Kaduna- Kano expressway.
A witness, Sunusi Abdul, told PREMIUM TIMES that the incident occurred in Daka-Tsalle town, along the expressway.
“The SUV he was travelling in had a head-on collision with a Toyota Avensis vehicle,” Mr. Abdul said. Fortunately, the deputy governor’s vehicle did not somersault, but the Toyota car was badly damaged and some of its occupants injured.”
Mr. Abdul, who said the accident occurred around 9:30 am, added that he also narrowly missed hitting Mr. Ali’s car.
He said the deputy governor’s convoy later continued its trip to Kano.
The accident happened a day after the Minister of State for Labour, James Ocholi, his wife and son died in a crash along the Kaduna-Abuja expressway.
Efforts to speak with the Yobe deputy governor was unsuccessful. He did not answer or return calls.
A source at the Government House in Damaturu however told PREMIUM TIMES that the accident occurred as Mr. Ali travelled to Kano for a condolence visit to the Kano State governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, who lost his mother on Friday.
The Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) is yet to comment on the accident.
Boko Haram insurgents yesterday attacked the 120 Task Force Battalion of the Army at Goniri in Gujba Local Government Area of Yobe state.
Nigeria soldiers fighting Boko Haram
The insurgents appeared to have come from Shettimari in the Borno axis of the town and engaged the soldiers in a fierce fight that lasted for almost four hours.
A military source said the attack was effectively repelled.
“But we lost one soldier in the fight,” the source said .
Spokesperson for the 27 Task Force Brigade in Damaturu Lt. George Okupe who confirmed the attack told our correspondent that no soldier lost his life in the attack except one soldier that was wounded.
He said that the terrorists came by foot to the 120 Task Force Battalion in Goniri at about 5.50am on Friday and immediately launched an attack.
They were over-powered and the rest fled,he said.
Lt. Okupe said about 14 Boko Haram terrorists were killed in Tashan Fulani Village around Chorokusko in Babangida Local Government Area of Yobe State while weapons including 6AK 47 riffles, 3 IEDs, four 36 handheld grenades 1GPMG, 4 magazines, 382 Rams of 7.62 MM Nato were recovered from the terrorists.
Goniri is one of the communities in Yobe state recently recovered from Boko Haram by soldiers and it is currently being cleared of deadly mines laid by the terrorists.
Yesterday’s attack came less than 24 hours after the Minister of Interior Abdulrahman Dambazau visited Yobe in company of all the service chiefs including Police Inspector General SolomonArase, the Comptroller General of Immigration Service, Martins Kure Abashe, Comptroller General of Prison Service, Dr. Peter Ekpendu ,and the Commandant General, Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corp, Abdullahi Gana to assess the extent of destruction to police and other security formations .
Ado-Ekiti—Ekiti State Governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose has called for the trial of the Yobe State Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Abu Zarma, over the N15 million bribe he was alleged to have received to influence the Yobe State governorship election.
The governor said doing otherwise, will make nonsense of President Muhammadu Buhari’s avowed fight against corruption, adding that “If nothing is done on a case as clear as that of the INEC REC, Nigerians can as well kiss President Buhari anti-corruption fight goodbye.”
In a statement by his Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, Governor Fayose said it was worrisome that despite the evidence of lodgement of N15 million into the two bank accounts of the REC, a few days to the April 11 election, which was admitted as evidence by the Governorship Election Petition Tribunal in the state, the REC has not been charged to court.
No fewer than 150 people drowned in a river or were shot dead fleeing Boko Haram gunmen who raided a remote village in Yobe State, local residents said on Tuesday.
Abubakar Shekau
“They opened fire instantly, which forced residents to flee. They shot a number of people. Unfortunately many residents who tried to flee plunged into the river which is full from the rain. Many drowned,” Modu Balumi, a resident of the village, told AFP.
“By our latest toll, we have 150 people either (shot dead) or drowned in the attack. The gunmen deliberately killed a fisherman who tried to save drowning residents of the village.”
Balumi said the bodies of many of the drowned were picked out by locals several kilometres away.
News of the attack was slow to emerge because the militants have destroyed telecom masts around the village, around 50 kilometres (30 miles) from Yobe State capital, Damaturu, since the insurgency began in 2009.
“Most residents, particularly women and children, ran towards the river in confusion,” said Bukar Tijjani, another villager, who confirmed the death toll.
“They were pursued by the gunmen who kept firing at them. In the frantic effort to escape, they jumped into the river, which was full to the brim.”
A local government official confirmed the attack but put the death toll much lower, at around 50.
The ambush came during the region’s peak rainy season, when most waterways in northeastern Nigeria are swollen and can flow with dangerous speed.
The village was still reeling from a raid by suspected Boko Haram militants on July 31 when at least 10 people were killed by gunmen who burned homes, food silos and livestock.
The Gujba area of Yobe state, where Kukuwa-Gari village is located, has been hit hard by Boko Haram violence in the past but had seen relative calm since troops reclaimed it in March.
In September 2013 scores of students of an agricultural college in the area were massacred as they slept in their dormitories.
In February last year dozens of students of a boarding secondary school in the main town of Buni Yadi were also killed in a gun attack on their hostels.
Boko Haram claimed responsibility for both attacks.
The jihadist militia, which has pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group, has waged a violent campaign for a separate Islamic homeland in the northeast which has seen more than 15,000 deaths since 2009.
The military under President Muhammadu Buhari’s predecessor Goodluck Jonathan was heavily criticised for poor handling of the insurgency and its failure to free more than 200 schoolgirls abducted from the northeastern town of Chibok in April last year.
Nigeria’s new leader, who came to power on May 29 vowing to destroy Boko Haram, replaced his military chiefs last week, ordering them to end the insurgency within three months.
The Resident Electoral Commissioner in Yobe, Habu Zarma, on Sunday said the electoral commission, INEC, had postponed elections indefinitely in 18 polling units in Giedam Local Government Area of the state due to security challenges.
He told journalists in Damaturu that security challenges in the council area had scared adhoc staff from going to conduct election in the affected units on Saturday and Sunday.
“Elections could not hold in those areas on Saturday and Sunday due to security challenges.
“The commission will meet to consider the position of the affected units,” the commissioner said.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that rescheduled elections were ongoing in 18 polling units in Fika, Potiskum and Yunusari Local Government Areas on Sunday.
The commissioner said the elections were shifted in 10 polling units in Fika, four in Potiskum and and four in Yunusari Local Government Areas due to late delivery of electoral materials.
“The elections are currently taking place peacefully in the affected polling units in the three Local Government Areas except Giedam,” Mr. Zarma said.
The Presidential and National Assembly elections were conducted peacefully in other council areas on Saturday across the state.
Yobe is one of the states most affected by the Boko Haram insurgency although the Nigerian military recently announced it had taken full control of all territory in the state from the insurgents.
DAMATURU—Niger and Chad, yesterday, launched major ground and air strikes in the North-East against Boko Haram, after the militants formally pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq.
The attacks, which followed a sustained build-up of troops in southern Niger, have opened up a new front in regional efforts to wipe out the Islamist group, whose six-year insurgency has spread across borders.
The Nigerian troops also, weekend, recaptured Buni Yadi town, the headquarters of Gujba Local Government Area and Buni Gari town both in Yobe State from the terrorists.
“Very early this morning, troops from Niger and Chad began an offensive against Boko Haram in the area of Bosso and near Diffa,” a Niger government source in Niamey told AFP on condition of anonymity.
More than 200 vehicles, some of them with machine guns, as well as tanks, ambulances, water tankers and transport trucks, were seen moving towards the border, radio station Anfani, based in Diffa, said.
Aircraft targeted Boko Haram positions on Saturday and early yesterday, it added, while a Diffa resident and aid worker said troops were seen heading to the border and heavy gunfire was heard.
The previously lacklustre counter-insurgency against Boko Haram has been given renewed vigour with the deployment of troops from Cameroon, Chad and Niger last month.
Troops record victories
The armies have claimed series of successes in rebel-held territories in recent weeks, as part of an operation to clear and control the northeastern states in time for the general elections set for March 28 and April 11.
Much of the focus has been on Chad’s army, which has experience in tackling Al-Qaeda-linked extremists in Mali alongside French forces.
But the Director of Defence Information, Major General Chris Olukolade, said the Nigerien and Chadian attacks were “complementary to the ongoing push against the terrorists.
“The mission of routing the terrorists from Nigeria’s territory is being conducted from various fronts in and out of Nigeria and is achieving expected results so far,” he said in a text message.
On Friday, the African Union endorsed the creation of a regional force of up to 10,000 men to join the fight against Boko Haram.
The force, the idea which was adopted at an AU summit in January, will be based in Chad’s capital N’Djamena, the pan-African bloc’s Peace and Security Council said.
It will be mandated “to prevent the spread of Boko Haram activities and other terrorist groups” and “eradicate their presence,” the body agreed in a meeting earlier week.
Diplomats said Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon, Niger and Benin had committed to providing troops, who would “operate freely” in a still-undefined region.
Barring any last minute change in plan, the Peoples Democratic Party’s presidential rally earlier fixed for Monday (today) in Damaturu, Yobe State will no longer hold.
Jonathan
President Goodluck Jonathan, Vice President Namadi Sambo and other top officials of the PDP were earlier scheduled to take the President’s re-election campaign to Gombe and Damaturu today.
Our correspondent however learnt that a decision to call off the Damaturu rally was taken on Saturday after members of the President’s advance team had already arrived the state capital.
When asked why the rally was put off, the official simply said, “unfavourable security report.”
The top Presidency official told our correspondent that when it became clear that the rally would no longer hold as scheduled, members of the President’s advanced team left Damaturu for Abuja on Sunday.
He said the team had left the town before an explosion was recorded in front of the residence of the PDP candidate for the Potiskum/Nangere Federal Constituency in the state, Sabo Garbu, opposite the Federal Government College in the town.
He said they were still in Damaturu when they heard information that insurgents were again making attempts to overrun Maiduguri, the Bormo State capital.
The source however said the President would still make the Gombe trip except he changed his mind at the last minute.
He could also not say whether the campaign train would still visit Damaturu before the grand finale billed for Abuja on Saturday.
By the PDP timetable, the campaign train is expected to visit Minna and Lokoja on Tuesday; Benin and Asaba on Wednesday; and Yenagoa on Thursday before rounding it off on Saturday in Abuja.
Meanwhile, with the presidential election just some 13 days away, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the PDP, Chief Tony Anenih, on Sunday called on the North and the South-South to strengthen their age-long political alliance by voting overwhelmingly for President Jonathan.
Anenih, in a statement that came less than a week after the one in which he appealed to Nigerians to ensure the unity of the country during and after the election, urged the North to consider the decades of cooperation given by the people of the South-South to candidates of the North and reciprocate the gesture with a renewed mandate for Jonathan.
He said it was the right of the northerners to be aspirating to be the President of the country, but begged them to jettison such ambition by supporting President Jonathan.
The statement partly read, “Last week, I made a passionate appeal to Nigerians on the need for us to ensure, during the forthcoming elections, that the nation remains unified and keeps moving forward in unity.
“With a few days to the 2015 Presidential election, I find it expedient to send this appeal specifically to our brothers and sisters in the northern states.
“The election is the most important as it is the precursor to the elections at the state level, which come up on February 28. For me, however, the critical issue in the February 14 Presidential election is justice.”
“While I do not intend to wish away your legitimate right to be President, I urge you to consider the decades of cooperation given by the people of the South-South to candidates of the North.”
The former Minister of Works said that in all the democratic elections in Nigerian history in which a northerner had contested, he said that statistics showed that the South-South often voted overwhelmingly for such a candidate.
The Federal Government’s next line of action on Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states at the expiration of the emergency rule imposed on the three north-eastern states will be decided on Monday (today), investigation by The PUNCH has revealed.
President Jonathan
The third tranche of six-month emergency rule imposed on the states following the continued activities of members of the Boko Haram sect expires on Thursday.
There have been speculations that President Goodluck Jonathan may impose “total emergency rule” on the states by appointing military administrators to take over from the state governors.
A top government official, who pleaded anonymity, however, told The PUNCH on Sunday that the decision on whether to renew the emergency rule or not would be taken at a meeting of the National Defence Council holding on Monday (today).
Although he said he would not preempt the outcome of the meeting, the government source however insisted that military administrators would not be appointed for the state, saying it would be unconstitutional to do so.
He said, “The National Defence Council is meeting tomorrow (today). After the meeting tomorrow (today), whatever decision is taken, you will be told. We cannot preempt the members.
“The council will be meeting by 11am on Monday and a decision will be taken on the state of emergency in the affected states and the way forward.”
The Council is one of the federal executive bodies established by Section 135 of the nation’s Constitution.
The source added that the current government would not embark on any illegality by sacking state governors under the guise of fighting insurgency.
He said all that would be done would be under the ambit of the law.
It will be recalled that Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, had told Sunday PUNCH in September that Jonathan was not contemplating replacing governors of the three states currently under emergency rule with military administrators because he had no power under the nation’s constitution to do so.
Abati disclosed this in an exclusive interview with Sunday PUNCH.
Abati had in that exclusive interview said the people clamouring for the removal of sitting governors in the affected states were doing so in error.
He said such people should be referred to the relevant section of the constitution that deals with the state of emergency, adding that there is nowhere in the section where the President was given such a power.
YOBE State Governor Ibrahim Gaidam said he would have achieved all he set out to achieve when he was sworn in as governor if not for the eruption of the Boko Haram insurgency.
Yobe State Governor Ibrahim Gaidam
The governor however said that he had been able to record a 90 per cent achievement, despite the insurgency.
Gaidam gave an account of his stewardship at the gathering of the All Progressives Congress on Saturday, where he was announced as the sole governorship candidate of the party for the 2015 election.
He lamented that insurgency had taken over the state since 2011 thus inflicting on the state enormous losses of lives and property, citing instances of about 215 government school buildings destroyed by the insurgency.
Gaidam said, “This unfortunate event has slowed down the execution of our policies and programmes. The resources we commit to support the prosecution of the war against the insurgents have affected the execution of our capital projects.
“Some of the areas of support to security agencies include provision of over 300 Hilux vehicles, payment of over N250m monthly as allowances alone, fuelling and repairs of security vehicles, assistance to the families of security personnel killed in action, and the payment of medical bills of those of them who sustain various degrees of injury in the fight with insurgents.”
Some parts of Potiskum town of Yobe State in North East Nigeria boiled on Tuesday night as no fewer than 17 worshippers were killed by suspected insurgents, who launched attacks on two separate mosques in the town.
Boko haram in Borno
The mosques were located at the Kalli Alkali area, around the Emir of Fika’s Palace, and the Sakafa Mosque close to the Potiskum central market.
Our correspondent gathered that the worshippers were targeted in the two separate attacks during the evening prayer at about 7:30pm.
Sympathisers, who besieged the two mosques immediately after the attacks, were said to be horrified by the mutilated bodies of some of the victims as they littered the mosque premises.
Residents also besieged the Potiskum General Hospital to identify those affected as well as commiserate with them.
Although hospital authority declined comments, our correspondent learnt that 17 bodies were brought from the scenes of the two attacks while 35 others, affected by the blasts, were currently receiving treatment at the Potiskum hospital.
Some of the victims, were as of press time, being referred to other hospitals.
One of those involved in the rescue operations, Bala Afuwa of Isma Medical Initiatives, confirmed that 17 people died in the attack while 35 were currently on admission.
“We were involved in the rescue operation from the beginning up to this time and I can confirm to you that 17 people were killed in the separate blasts while 35 others sustained varying degrees of injuries.
Many of those on admission will be referred to either Nguru or neighbouring Azare for treatment,” he said in Hausa.
The Emir of Fika and chairman Yobe State Council of Chiefs, Alhaji Mohammadu Idris, who also visited the scene of the two blasts, condemned the attacks, describing it as callous and inhuman.
He called on the people to be vigilant at all times in the fight against terrorism.
Earlier on Monday, suspected Boko Haram members had sacked a military base in the Birni Yadi area of the state before killing no fewer than eight people.
The terrorists reportedly blew off a bridge linking Damaturu, the state capital, through Birni Yadi with Borno and Adamawa states.
AN explosion, on Tuesday evening, hit a viewing centre in Damaturu, Yobe State. As of the time of going to press, the casualty figure could not be ascertained.
The explosion was said to have occurred after the kick-off of the Brazil versus Mexico match in the ongoing World Cup.
The scene
Those injured, Nigerian Tribune learnt, have been taken to the Sani Abacha Specialist Hospital in Damaturu.
The CNN reported that Tuesday’s explosion at the soccer viewing centre claimed the lives of 21 people, a hospital source said on Wednesday.
Another 27 were injured in the blast during the showing of a World Cup match, said the source from Sani Abacha Specialist Hospital in Damaturu. He spoke on condition of anonymity, because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
“All the victims are young men and boys. They sustained burns, ruptured tissues, shattered bones,” he said.
A police official placed the death toll lower Wednesday, saying 10 people had died. But the hospital spokesman said its count was based on the number of bodies delivered to the facility’s morgue.
The incident occurred on the outskirts of Damaturu, in Yobe state, the sources said. The explosives had been concealed in an abandoned motorised rickshaw outside the center. People were watching the Brazil-Mexico match.
“Our men have deployed to the scene but it’s too early for us to give details, said Yobe state police commissioner Sanusi Ruf’ai.
Volatile northeastern Nigeria is the home of the notorious Boko Haram group, the militant Islamists who abducted scores of schoolgirls in April.
Maina Ularamu, a local official in Madagali, in Adamawa state, told CNN last week that people in the town, which has been the target of previous Boko Haram attacks, had been warned against watching World Cup matches.
“Letters have been distributed to viewing centers in Adamawa state warning people not to gather to watch the World Cup games,” she said. “We suspect these letters to be from Boko Haram militants. People are very afraid and are not leaving their homes.”
To try to combat the growing threat from Boko Haram, the Nigerian government placed Yobe, Borno and Adamawa states under a state of emergency last year.
For about two and a half hours, Service Chiefs met members of the House of Representatives yesterday to defend why the emergency rule in three states should be extended.
Aminu Waziri Tambuwal
They said without the six-month extension, the United States and other Allied Forces cannot operate freely to rescue the 276 abducted girls.
Also, they confirmed that National Security Adviser Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd.) and Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Air Marshal Alex Badeh had gone to France for a strategic meeting on how to rescue the Chibok girls whose abduction on April 15 has sparked a global outrage.
The Service Chiefs had a closed-door session with members of the House on whether or not to extend emergency rule in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states.
They held Speaker Aminu Tambuwal and other members spell bound for two and half hours on the need for six more months of emergency rule in the three states.
They gave four key reasons to back their stand. These are:
•the situation in the states, which they described as “fragile”, “unpredictable” and a “threat to peace”;
•extension will boost intelligence gathering and operation against Boko Haram insurgents;
•emergency rule will give the U.S. and other foreign collaborators freedom and legal backing to operate and enter any part of Nigeria to free the abducted 276 girls; and
•to avoid trial/ sanction by International Criminal Court and other bodies if due process is not followed in military campaigns against insurgents.
It was gathered that the Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral Usman Jubrin, who stood in for the CDS, gave insights into the operation against the insurgents in the Northeast.
Admiral Jubrin said: “We need your support as our political leaders to make headway in the fight against Boko Haram insurgency. The six-month extension is necessary and we are hopeful that we should be able to curtail these insurgents.
“It is not as if it is convenient for all but it (emergency rule) is the only way to end this insurgency. We have so far succeeded in driving away the insurgents from Maiduguri and other parts of Borno State to only Sambisa Forest from where they come out to operate.
“With what is on ground and our operations so far, we need the extension of the emergency rule.
“We should also give our foreign collaborators, who are coming to assist, the enabling environment to operate. It is only under the state of emergency that they can function very well to search and rescue the abducted girls.
“The emergency rule gives legal backing for our operations and international intervention. Otherwise, after the insurgency, our soldiers and international collaborators will be appearing before International Criminal Court for crimes.
“We will get the abducted girls back, but we will not divulge operational information,” he said.
The Service Chiefs cited court verdicts on the invasion of Odi and Zaki-Biam to back up their demand for the extension of the emergency rule.
They said the invasion of the two towns during the administration of ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo became a subject of litigation because Obasanjo did not seek the legal backing of the National Assembly.
The Chief of Army Staff, Lt.Gen. Kenneth Minimah said: “Although insurgency has abated in Yobe State, the extension of the emergency rule in the three states was designed to prevent Boko Haram from relocating to Yobe State to meet and plot attacks.”
Asked about the package for fallen troops, Gen. Minimah said: “Ideally, soldiers who died under two years in service are not entitled to certain perks and entitlements, but because of the nature of the battle against insurgents, equal treatment is being given to all gallant soldiers.”
The Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Adesola Nunayon Amosu, admitted that there had been under-funding of the military over the years.
“He added: “The neglect has been over the years; it is not just today. The Armed Forces will ask for N20billion but they will give N2billion.
“We plead with you to provide funds for the Armed Forces and security agencies to play their roles well.”
Inspector-General of Police Alhaji Mohammed Abubakar said: “The extension of the state of emergency will enable the military and security agencies to carry out more intelligence gathering and operate within the ambit of the law.
“If you give us the legal backing, the better. Nobody wants to go to ICC for trial after leaving office.”
The Director of the State Security Service, Ekpenyong Ita, said: “We have done a lot to foil many planned attacks by the insurgents. We have been taking preemptive action and we have aborted many attacks.
“We have also tracked down and arrested those behind some of the bomb explosions in some parts of the country.
“We are doing our best to rescue the abducted girls. Troops are closing in on Sambisa Forest.”
Overwhelmed by the brief from the Service Chiefs, Speaker Aminu Tambuwal said: “As Nigerians, this is the time to rise above sentiments; we should be patriotic. Let us put national stability and security on the front burners.”
A source said: “With the emotion-laden evaluation of the Speaker and the brief from the Service Chiefs, we all bought the idea of extending the emergency rule.”
The House of Representatives consequently approved an extra six months extension of emergency rule in the three states of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa.
President Goodluck Jonathan had in a letter to the Speaker, dated May 5, brought a equest to the National Assembly for an extension of the state of emergency in the Northeastern states of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa
Media and Public Affairs Committee Chairman Zakari Mohammed told reporters after the executive session that the decision was devoid of party affiliation.
According to him, from the briefing received from the Service Chiefs, some men were lost during the operations, but that nonetheless, adequate provision had been made for the payment of pension and gratuity and motivation for the soldiers and security personnel involved in the operation.
He noted that the situation is an opportunity to share intelligence and information among security agencies and the international allies.
But the presidential request suffered a setback in the Senate, which failed to vote on it.
The Upper Chamber unanimously resolved to difer its consideration of the request.
It, however, invited Minister of Defence Aliyu Gusau, Col. Dasuki, Minister of Police Affairs Abduljelili Adesiyan, Service Chiefs, Inspector General of Police and the Director General of the Department of State Services (DSS) to appear before senators today.
Although the request was listed for debate on the order paper, Senate Leader Victor Ndoma-Egba moved a motion that it be deferred till today.
Ndoma-Egba said the Senate could only debate the proclamation of a state of emergency after it has been gazetted and copies of the gazette circulated to all senators.
He said the Senate would also require adequate briefing from the security agencies in camera on the progress of the ongoing emergency rule, which has been in place since May last year, before proceeding with the consideration.
Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, who presided over the session, described the motion as “a very serious business which bothers on the security of a part of this country “.
Ekweremadu said the Senate need to be “well informed of the situation on ground and the efficiency or the effectiveness of the state of emergency in the past 12 months to enable us take a proper decision”.
“I, therefore, appeal that in accordance with the motion moved by the Senate Leader, we should step it down till another legislative day.”
Senator James Manager, who seconded the motion said: “It is important to invite the Service Chiefs but since they were under some authorities, I want to amend the motion as proposed by the Senate Leader by adding two very important persons.
“First the National Security Adviser, the Minister of Defence and the Minister of Police Affairs.”
Members of the Boko Haram sects have on Friday ambushed some civilians, slaughtering 3 and abducting 5 women in Gujba Local Government area of Yobe state at about 6pm.
Boko Haram leader, Shekau Abubakar
The victims were said to have travelled to Damaturu to withdraw their monthly salary since there was no ATM or functional bank in Gujba town due to the scourge called Boko Haram which had paralyzed economic activities.
It could be recalled that Boko Haram attack Gujba local government area months ago, killing students of the College of Agriculture, and that of Federal Government college and since then, the local government has been deserted.
Many innocent Nigerians have been killed on the Gujba road
Speaking on the issue, a relative to one of the victims confirmed the incident to a journalist that his brother was one of the victims and added that his remains will be brought home for necessary rites today, (Saturday).
He said .” from what we heard from one of the survivors that ran into the bush, Boko Haram members waylaid them at the gate of College of Agriculture Gujba, initially they thought they were soldiers because they are putting on soldiers trousers but it dawn on them when they were stopped and order out of the vehicles and asked to lay down on the road before they were robbed. And then 3 of them were slaughtered before they ran into the bush with about 5 women” he said.
Governors of the three states under emergency rule in the Northeast opposed yesterday the attempt to extend the controversial measure.
Governor Nyako and Governor Suswam
The second strand of the emergency rule is expected to end on April 19.
The Presidency is weighing its options on the “sensitive” matter.
Besides rejecting the extension of emergency rule, the governors are also asking the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to learn from last week’s general elections in Afghanistan and conduct polls in their states next year.
The Boko Haram insurgency, has led to thousands of deaths and great hardship in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe.
To the governors, shelving elections in the three states would amount to succumbing to or conceding victory to the deadly sect.
They asked INEC to work with the Federal Government to provide adequate security for a free and fair poll in the affected states.
The governors – Murtala Nyako (Adamawa), Ibrahim Gaidam (Yobe) and Kashim Shettima (Borno) – gave the advice in a joint statement.
The statement was released through their spokesmen, including Ahmad Sajoh for Nyako, Abdullahi Bego for Gaidam and Isa Gusau for Shettima.
The governors said: “On the issue of extension of State of Emergency, it is our considered view that there is absolutely no reason to even contemplate an extension of the State of Emergency in any of the three states.
“It must be noted that a counter insurgency strategy that lasted one year without achieving the desired result requires a redefinition rather than extension.
“The Federal Government should always remember that it has the obligation of protecting the lives and property of all Nigerians in all parts of the country without necessarily putting them under any special condition.
“It has the option of putting a security structure in place that can continue and intensify ongoing counter insurgency operations without an extension of emergency rule.”
They said there had been insurgency in Niger Delta with Joint Military Task Force (JTF) deployed in the region without a state of emergency in place.
They added: “After all, we had the Joint Military Task Force (JTF) in place in some of States with full military activities prior to the declaration of emergency.
“We have for many years, also have in place similar JTF in the Niger Delta to combat militancy and kidnapping, we have had same in the southeast to fight armed robbery, we have a Special Task Force in Plateau State combating the crisis in parts of the State without necessarily putting them under emergency rule.
“Besides, the Nigerian Army has in 2013 created new divisions and brigades in Borno State as permanent military establishments.”
They expressed confidence that if the military sustained its present level of engagement against Boko Haram, the insurgency will be overcome.
The statement said: “We hold that with continued motivation, continued and intensified deployment of military resources, the crisis will be overcome.”
The governors, however, pledged to assist security agencies to restore lasting peace to the three states.
They said: “We call on citizens in our respective states and other Nigerians to continue to intensify prayers for the return of peace.
“We call on our security agencies to remain resolute and patriotic. We salute the sacrifices of fallen heroes among them and among our civilians who died in the crisis.
“We are all very committed and determined to continue to work with security agencies and all other stakeholders in our committed search for lasting peace in our three states.”
The governors warned INEC against hiding under the guise of insurgency to shelve elections in 2015.
They said the commission should take a cue from Afghanistan which conducted a successful poll in spite of threats from the Taliban.
They said: “Afghanistan and its good people were celebrated worldwide for liberating themselves from the scourge of fear and thereby sending a strong signal that no amount of threat would deny them from choosing their leaders through democratic processes. This is the kind of courage expected of genuine patriots.
“Our Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, should please learn from the landmark election that took place in Afghanistan at the weekend during which election officials took the bold step of going on to conduct election in spite of threats by the Taliban to send the country into extinction if the elections were held.
“The Central Government in Afghanistan provided adequate security for the conduct of the poles. It was also reported that there was a 53 percent voter turn-out during the elections and it went on peacefully in most places.
“We all know that the unfortunate insurgency affecting this country has a similar attribute to the Taliban doctrine in Afghanistan even though ours is now assuming a very complicated character.
“The INEC should, as a matter of counter insurgency approach, ensure that no part of Nigeria is excluded from the 2015 elections on account threats.
“Suspending elections on account of threats by insurgents and other sundry social miscreants would amount to succumbing to their doctrine and conceding victory on the part of Nigeria.”
The governors said if INEC opted to shelve or postpone the 2015 poll in the three states, the Boko Haram insurgents will be emboldened to infiltrate other 33 states to scuttle the next general elections.
The statement said: “Should INEC go ahead with its initially considered exclusion of Adamawa, Yobe and Borno States from the 2015 elections, all criminal gangs need to do, is to extend the attacks to other parts of Nigeria and have more places excluded from future elections. “This will then imply that crime and criminality will be victorious in suspending constitutional democracy in Nigeria.”
Yobe State – Suspected insurgents of the Islamist sect, Boko Haram, brutally disrupted yesterday’s early morning prayers (Zuhr) at Buni Gari village in Yobe State, killing at least 20 worshippers.
Boko Haram leader, Shekau Abubakar
The worshippers were just gathering for the prayer, the first of the five daily by Muslims, when the gun wielding insurgents opened fire, eye witness Musa Ibrahim said.
Buni Gari is about 100 kilometers south of Damaturu, the state capital.
Mosques have frequently been targeted by militants who threaten Muslim clerics who preach against their extremist doctrine.
More than 1,200 civilians have been killed this year amid more frequent and deadlier attacks by the sect.
And overnight, gunmen suspected to be Boko Haram members swept across the border into northern Cameroun and abducted two Italian priests and a Canadian nun in Maroua.
The London-based human rights organization, Amnesty International, in a report last week claimed that more than 1500 people were killed in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states since the beginning of this year.
It cited the March 14 Boko Haram attack on Giwa Barracks, the largest military facility in Maiduguri, and said that the sect members ‘staged a successful break into the detention centre and released all of those being held.”
It said that Boko Haram “gave those freed the option of joining them or going home. Most chose the home option. Boko Haram then withdrew. Shortly thereafter the security forces reoccupied the facility.
“With the help of the Civilian Joint Task Force, a locally based vigilante group, the security forces then hunted down all of those who had escaped and murdered most of them.”
Amnesty, quoting ‘eye witnesses’ estimated that over 600 people were killed.
Besides, it said that “many of the inmates were emaciated and without shoes. Many also had scars indicating abuse. All of the inmates were unarmed.”
The Amnesty report also profiled rampant human rights violations by Boko Haram.
The Defence Headquarters, responding to the Amnesty allegations at the weekend, said it was launching an investigation into the claims.
The DHQ said the investigation was to establish the veracity of the claim and for the authorities to take necessary action to address any human rights breach by troops.
The Defence spokesman, Major General Chris Olukolade said that while the Amnesty International report did not reflect the true position of things in the military operation, the authorities found the allegation too confounding to ignore.
He said:”This report is a new dimension to the well-known fact that the security operation in that part of the country was necessitated by the need to address the gross abuse of human rights being perpetrated against Nigerians by the terrorists.
“It is noteworthy that despite the peculiar asymmetric nature of the security challenge, measures have been put in place to ensure compliance with tenets of human rights and rules of engagement by troops involved in the conduct of the mission.
“Apart from inculcating the necessity for observance of human rights in troops, regular programmes have been conducted to review the human rights situation related to the conduct of the operations.”
The military said it was in adherence to respect for human rights that most of those apprehended in the counter-terrorist operations are being kept in custody.
He said the detention facilities have been visited by Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) including International Committee of the Red Cross and others to verify the conditions of detainees, adding: “this is even in the face of destruction of relevant amenities by the terrorists who have burnt down prisons, courts and government facilities in that part of the country in the course of their ceaseless attacks.
“The claim contained in the Amnesty International’s report attributing gross abuses of human right of Nigerians to both the terrorists and the security forces is quite confounding.”
Italy’s foreign ministry said yesterday that two Italian priests and a Canadian nun were kidnapped overnight by gunmen suspected to be Boko Haram members in northern Cameroun.
The attack occurred in Maroua, close to the border with Nigeria, according to Italy’s Ansa news agency.
The Islamist sect, Boko Haram, freely operates across Nigeria’s Northeast and Cameroun’s Northwest.
The Italian foreign ministry said that two priests from Italy’s northern Vicenza region had been seized, but gave no other details.
Armed gunmen pulled up to the buildings where the priests and the nun were staying around 2am and ransacked them before taking the hostages, added the Ansa news agency.
The attack comes three months after the release of French priest Georges Vandenbeusch, who was kidnapped in the same region in mid-November 2013 and then held in Nigeria by Boko Haram.
One of the two priests taken on Friday night had been in Cameroun for more than six years while the second had arrived around a year ago, Ansa reported.
Authorities in Vincenza, where the priests were from, were not immediately available for comment.
No fewer than 48 people were killed yesterday in various parts of the North on a day governors raised the alarm over the security situation.
The scene
Boko Haram suicide bombers hit Maiduguri, the Borno State capital with two blasts, killing 11 people, including five policemen.
Seventeen people died in Nasarawa State’s communal clash in which a monarch’s palace was burnt down.
Fulani herdsmen continued their onslaught on the Tiv communities in Benue, killing 20.
There was panic in Kaduna over a bomb scare.
The police detonated the explosive device kept in a polythene bag.
About 10 people died in two separate bomb blasts in Dalori, Konjuga Local Government Area of Borno State.
The dead included two suicide bombers.
An eye witness said five police men were on patrol when their vehicle was blown up by the suicide bombers when they were confronted on the highway around Dalori, about five kilometres from the University of Maiduguri.
According to eye witnesses, at the Dalori check point area of the road, another bomb exploded about five kilometres from Dalori. The suicide bombers were alleged to have thrown an improvised bomb into a commuter vehicle, killing three people inside the vehicle.
“It is the same vehicle that deliberately drove into the police vehicle, killing all five policemen inside the patrol vehicle. The Policemen had accosted the vehicle for normal stop and search which has been going on since the attack on Giwa Barracks by the insurgents but the suicide bombers drove their vehicle into them while simultaneously throwing an IDI into their vehicle.
“The police vehicle exploded instantly, killing them and destroying their patrol vehicle beyond recognition,” said the source.
The two suicide bombers equally died inside a golf vehicle burnt down completely at the check point
Soldiers opened the road and mounted a massive manhunt for the insurgents.
Many people were injured.
The charred remains of the Golf car and shredded police patrol vehicle were seen near the check point.
Nurses at the casuality wing of the University of Maiduguiri Teaching Hospital said the charred bodies of the five policemen were deposited at the morgue.
“We received the bodies of the five policemen while about 14 injured cases have been brought so far.
“We have been tending to the injured and I do not think there is any very critical case that would lead to death now,” said a hospital source.
Suspected Fulani herdsmen shot and killed 20 Tiv farmers in an early morning attack,in Agena, Mbtseda, Mbalom district ,Gwer Local Government Area.
According to the federal lawmaker, representing Gwer/Gwer West Federal Constituency, Mrs Christina Alaaga, the attackers stormed Agena village, a popular railway settlement in Mbatseda, Mbalom district, at about 6am.
“They opened fire on the houses and as people attempted to escape, they gunned them down. We counted 20 bodies. Many others sustained serious injuries and were taken to the hospital in Aliade and Makurdi”, she said.
Hon. Alaaga expressed shock that were brutally murdered.
Chairman of Gwer local government council, David Maor, said the bodies were taken to the Federal Medical Centre morgue.
Police Spokesman Daniel Ezeala said only seven people were killed adding that investigation had commenced.
The palace of the paramount ruler of Giza chiefdom in Keana local government area in Nasarawa state, Umaru Elegu Abu, was razed in the early hours of yesterday. More than 17 people were killed in the raid carried out by yet to be identified gunmen.
Police Spokesman Umar Ismaila who confirmed the incident said only five people died.
He said: “Armed Tiv militia attacked Giza town of Kadarko development area.
“On getting the report, a combined team of conventional police and Mobile Force led by the Kadarko DPO, Ikojo Sunday, mobilised to the scene and repelled the attack”
Information available to the police according to him indicated that “three inhabitants and two attackers were killed in the process”
He said normalcy had returned to the affected area.
One of the victims who craved anonymity said “the gunmen killed several people. As I speak to you, we have been able to recover nine bodies from the surrounding bushes while some are still been searched for. The ones so far discovered have been taken for burial”.
The police in Kaduna yesterday detonated a high calibre Improvised Explosive Device (IED), allegedly dropped at the ever-busy Sultan road/Kashim Ibrahim road junction by an unidentified motorcyclist. There was pandemonium in the area.
The junction is located a few metres away from Essence International School, one of the highbrow private schools in Kaduna .
Kaduna Police Spokesman, Aminu Lawan, said: “We got a distress call that a polythene bag containing a questionable substance was dropped by a moving Okada man. So we quickly ordered our Anti Bomb squad team to the area.
“The area was immediately condoned off when it was discovered that the polythene bag contained high calibre IED, and our Anti-Bomb Squad was able to successfully detonate the IED and the area was immediately brought under control.
“As I speak to you now, the area is calm and people are already going about their normal activities.”
Lawan also said men of the surveillance and SID personnel were deployed in the area to monitor movements of persons with questionable characters and advised that people should maintain some level of vigilance. (0)
The Commissioner for Water Resources in Yobe State, Alhaji Sidi Yakubu Karasuwa has declared that All Progressives Congress (APC) will win President Goodluck Jonathan in the 2015 general election.
Jonathan Banner
He said : “Actually as far as we are concerned, personally I will prefer Jonathan to contest. Why? Because, he is the one we can easily beat because he has done so many things that he cannot be marketable.
“There are a lot of things under this administration of Jonathan that one can tell Nigerians and it is not something hidden. See the corruption in the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and all over the place. Today, hundreds of billions of dollars are gone; tomorrow is the same; next tomorrow is still the same? Look at his Petroleum Minister who is spending over N10billion just for charttering aircraft. What about the tragedy recently at the Immigration recruitment? The list is endless.
“So, politically talking, politics is about presenting the score card of the present administration for you to criticise or support; so, we in APC have so many things now at hand that we can present to Nigerians and tell them that Jonathan is not competent to rule this country.
“I heard some time that PDP wants to make him a consensus candidate and if that happens, we will have an upper hand. As far as APC is concerned, the contest will be a walk-over for us.” (0)
The move by members of the Islamic sect, Boko Haram, to attack Goniri Community in Gujba Local Government Area of Yobe State yesterday failed as they were ambushed by troops who had received intelligence on their mission.
Goniri is few kilometres away from Buni Yadi where the terrorists killed dozens of teenage students on February 25.
A statement issued Monday night by Major General Chris Olukolade, Director of Defence Information, said troops are still in pursuit of the fleeing terrorists’ elements after the encounter which resulted in some casualties on both parties.
According to him, rockets and machine guns were freely used by the insurgents who eventually lost over eight of their fighters with several others wounded.
He disclosed that arms were also recovered from the terrorists while others fled. However, the troops lost a soldier while an officer was seriously wounded in the encounter.
Meanwhile, security forces operating around Gamboru, Ngala and Dikwa Local Government Area towards the borders of Chad and Cameroun were throughout the weekend busy recovering weapons hidden by militants earlier dislodged from the area.
Assisted by captured terrorists, the troops were led to the sites where the sect stockpiled arms in farms and cemeteries.
Olukolade, Coordinator of Joint Security Information Committee, added that cordon and search of the entire area was still in progress. (0)
Fifty five People have died in two separate road crashes in Yobe state in the early hours of Monday, the Federal Road Safety Yobe Command has said.
Accident scene
The Public Relation Officer of the Corp in Yobe State Yusuf Sani told newsmen in Damaturu that one of the accidents occurred along Gashua-Garin Alkali road and killed 20 people out of whom 16 were women and 4 men while the other one involving three cars occurred on Damaturu-Potiskum causing the death of 35 people.
An eyewitness in Gashua who spoke with our correspondent on phone informed that the accident happened while some villagers were returning from the Sunday Market in the area.
On the cause of the accident, Yusuf said it was as a result of “over-speeding and dangerous overtaking.”
“The accident at Gashua killed 20 people. Out of that number, 16 are women and 4 are men. They were returning from a local Sunday market from Garin Alkali. On the accident along Damaturu/Potiskum Road, 35 people died, only 7 survived,” Sani disclosed.
The spokesman informed that those who sustained injuries were taken to Damagum General Hospital, adding that the corpses have equally been evacuated to the same hospital. (0)
Four pupils of the Federal Government College, Buni Yadi, Yobe State, are still missing – almost two weeks after a Boko Haram attack in which many died.
The hunters and herdsmen deployed by the government to comb the bush for the pupils have not achieved any result.
Yesterday, the military said its troops foiled an attack in Borno State where the insurgents have been killing people.
Seven travellers were also feared killed yesterday at Wala ‘A,’ Gwoza Local Government Area of Borno State.
One of the victims of the Thursday attack was identified as a patent medicine store owner from Gwoza.
The other six victims were said to be residents of Gadamayo who were travelling to Maiduguri when they ran into an ambush of the insurgents hiding in the hills of Gwoza.
A security source said the seven travelers were all butchered to death by the insurgents.
The Defence Headquarters said no fewer than 20 insurgents were killed by the troops.
Chief of Defence Staff Air Chief Marshal Alex Bardeh also gave the assurance that the military would end the insurgency.
Chairman of the Special Committee set up by the Yobe State Government to assess and assist victims of Boko Haram attacks on FGC Buni Yadi, Ahmed Mustapha Goniri, said in Buni Yadi yesterday that his committee discussed with the school teachers on how to reach parents of missing pupils.
Goniri, who is the Commissioner for Justice, noted that the committees’ constant touch with the school teachers would give easy access to the missing pupils’ parents and to have complete statistics of pupils who died in the attack.
“So far we have gathered that four pupils are yet to be found since the attack,” Goniri said.
Asked whether the four missing pupils could be among the bodies burnt beyond recognition, Goniri said: “No, we were able to identify all the pupils that were burnt beyond recognition with the help of their housemates.
Most of the pupils were burnt on their beds. Their mates who survived were able to identify who slept on which bed and who was burnt. But the ones missing, no one has seen their bodies since after the attack”.
The chairman said security operatives, vigilance groups and hunters were deployed in the bush to trace the missing pupils.
He called on the traditional rulers and citizens in the area to help security agencies with useful information to succeed in their assignment.
He said the committee had assessed the extent of damage done to the school, adding that the N100 million donated to the staff would soon be shared appropriately to cushion the suffering of the victims.
The Defence Headquarters said troops foiled fresh attempts by Boko Haram insurgents to attack Ajiri and Mafa in Borno State.
It admitted that some troops were wounded but without any specific figure of those affected.
It also contrary to insinuations, the military was not overwhelmed by Boko Haram insurgency.
The DHQ, in a statement by the Director of Defence Information, Maj-Gen. Chris Olukolade, asked Nigerians to ignore allegations that Nigerian troops have been weakened.
The statement said: “Attempts by terrorists to attack Ajiri and Mafa as well as other communities in the outskirt of Maiduguri and Dikwa in Borno State towards the Cameroon borders, yesterday were foiled by the security forces.
“The ambush mounted by the terrorists to enable them unleash terror on the communities unchallenged, was also cleared by troops on reinforcement mission.
Arms captured from the terrorists include various brands of machine guns and improvised explosive devices.
“Twenty insurgents died in the encounter, while own troops sustained varying degree of injuries.
“Also, more camps were destroyed yesterday in encounters at various forests and mountain locations around Adamawa and Borno States.
The DHQ took exception to assumptions that the Nigerian military had been overwhelmed by Boko Haram.
The statement added: “Meanwhile, the Defence Headquarters has noted with grave concern the inflammatory pronouncements by some highly placed persons in government and some apparently sponsored commentators in and outside the country who have consistently given false and misleading remarks to describe the disposition of troops in the ongoing operations.
“It has become clear that this sustained campaign is intended to demoralize the troops and give impression that the military is overwhelmed by the terrorist group. This tendency is unfortunate to say the least.
“For the avoidance of any doubt, it is hereby restated that the Nigerian military cannot by any standard be overwhelmed by the insurgents neither will the devious antics of their sympathizers and sponsors demoralize the fighting spirit of troops.
“Nigerians and indeed all well-wishers are enjoined to discountenance the propaganda messages of the terrorists and their backers alleging the inability of Nigerians troops to handle the insurgency.
Air Chief Marshal Badeh, who spoke when the Caucus of House of Representatives members from Adamawa State, led by Rep Anthony Madwatte, visited him, said the military was doing all it could to rout out the insurgents.
“What I can guarantee you is that we will do our best but we solicit your assistance to ensure that this war is over.
“We look forward to your protection; you must give us the legal backing for us to do our job.
“If you want your son to succeed then you must assist him, if your son succeeds then, the armed forces have succeeded, ‘’ he said.
Badeh also assured the legislators that the situation would be normalised to enable them to go back home and campaign when the time comes.
The CDS thanked the National Assembly for the support to the military to effectively carry out its duty.
“We are not custodians of democracy but we are defenders of democracy; we are to ensure that democracy thrives, so that everybody can go about doing their business,” he said. (0)
