A riot policeman and three other persons were said to have been killed in Lokoja, Kogi State, following the invasion of the state headquarters of the Department of State Services.
Our correspondent gathered on Saturday that a band of terrorists, armed with with sophisticated weapons, at about 9.45pm on Friday, invaded the DSS office.
A source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the heavily armed attackers appeared to overwhelm the DSS operatives in a gun duel, prompting a Deputy Director of the agency, whose name is yet to be ascertained, to quickly put a distress call to the police at about 10. 40pm.
It was gathered that patrol teams with combined efforts of the military men, who were later drafted in, engaged the invaders in a gun battle for over seven hours.
The source said the security operatives later overpowered the attackers while some of the invaders fled into the bush.
He added that at the end of the shootout, the lifeless body of a riot policeman and three of the attackers were discovered.
The source said two of the fleeing attackers forced themselves into the flat of a woman at Otokiti Housing Estate in the state capital.
The woman was said to have assured them of their safety before she locked them in.
It was gathered that she quickly invited the Army, who responded immediately, arrested and and took away the distressed attackers.
The Kogi State Police Commissioner, Mr. Emmanuel Ojukwu, confirmed the attack to journalists in Lokoja.
He confirmed that the hoodlums attacked the state DSS office in Lokoja at 9.45pmon Friday.
According to him, the prompt response of the police command led to the death of killing of the attackers while the command lost a policeman.
He said he could not confirm whether the attackers succeeded in entering the DSS office or not.
The CP stated that the command had commenced investigation into the attack.
Ojukwu said, “We are still investigating and we cannot say much for now until we are able to lay our hands on the suspects. I cannot confirm whether they are Boko Haram members or not. All I know is that they are criminal elements and the law will take its course.
“We are working assiduously with other security agencies in the state to ensure that we get to the root of he attack.
“Our mandate is to keep the environment and Kogi free and safe for Nigerians to go about their lawful businesses.
He urged the public to partner with the police in the fight against crime.
“We should have an understanding that there is no way you can solve crime without community involvement.
“Criminals live in our midst. Don’t hide them, criminals don’t respect persons. If you are not a victim today you may be a victim tomorrow if you don’t report criminal elements in your midst,” Ojukwu added.
An eyewitness told the News Agency of Nigeria that the gunmen arrived in the DSS office at about 10.30pm.
He said the gunmen barricaded the adjoining roads to the office and shot at motorists from all directions.
Sequel to the violent and heinous crimes perpetrated by terrorists in North Eastern Nigeria, the Armed Forces of Nigeria was tasked to halt the carnage and restore sanity in that region. This resulted in the deployment of land and air forces.
Boko Haram
The deployment denied the terrorists the freedom of action they had hitherto enjoyed and they resorted to diversionary tactics known with terrorist groups around the world by carrying out isolated attacks and bombings. The series of deployment and operational effectiveness of the military were however challenged by the porosity of the borders, which gave the terrorists leverage to operate in Nigeria and retreat into safe havens in neighbouring countries of Niger, Chad and Cameroon.
The recent reinvigoration of a partnership between Nigeria and these neighbouring countries under the auspices of Multi-National Joint Task Force (MNJTF) provided the desired response to the challenge, as these border areas that hitherto served as hideouts for the terrorists have been actively dominated by troops in the MNJTF. This development decimated the fighting capabilities of the terrorists, as the Nigerian military carries out a final onslaught on the nation’s enemy within the country. These successful operations have culminated in the dislodgment of terrorists from towns and communities in Adamawa, Yobe and Borno states.
Just this morning, the troops of the Nigerian military in a concerted and well-coordinated land and air operations have liberated Gwoza, the headquarters of their so called caliphate which they renamed ‘darul hikima’. This was preceded by successive sack of terrorists from towns and villages leading to Gwoza, the main objective. Several of the terrorists have died and many of them captured in the process. A lot of arms and ammunition have been recovered and the administrative Headquarters completely destroyed. A massive cordon and search has commenced to locate any of the fleeing terrorists or hostages in their custody.
As at yesterday, the military has been able to take over virtually all the enclaves and hideouts where the terrorists were marauding. It is observed that some of the terrorists are currently fleeing towards border areas. The fleeing terrorists will expectedly run into subsequent encounter with contingents of partners in the Multinational Joint Task Force who have been mandated to contain them accordingly. The mop up operation in Gwoza and other liberated areas will continue in order to ensure that no vestiges of terrorists or terrorism remain in our country.
The Nigerian military and security agencies therefore thank Nigerians and our partners in the sub-region who have consistently encouraged and supported us in the course of these operations. The military is more than ever before determined to once and for all stamp out every trace of terrorism and insecurity in our country. All citizens are urged to remain vigilant and report every movement or assemblage of suspicious characters to the security forces so that NEVER AGAIN shall the evil elements re-group to terrorize or cause mayhem in our country
Earlier this month, residents who fled the town in Borno state told AFP that militants had been massing in Gwoza and killing local people who were unable to flee.
That led to speculation that the group, which has been pushed out of a number of towns in three northeast states in recent weeks, was preparing for a final assault.
Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau declared on August 24 last year that Gwoza was “part of the Islamic caliphate”, adding to speculation the militants were imitating the Islamic State group.
– ‘Final onslaught’ –
Shekau had the previous month praised IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi but stopped short of pledging allegiance. He has since formally allied himself to the group in Syria and Iraq.
Nigeria’s national security spokesman Mike Omeri said last week that troops had begun the “final onslaught” against Boko Haram, saying Gwoza was one of three areas yet to be retaken.
A four-nation coalition of Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Cameroon has claimed a number of successes since the turn of the year to end the insurgency which has claimed more than 13,000 lives since 2009.
The ongoing operation was cited as a reason to delay Nigeria’s general election on February 14 to this Saturday, as soldiers would not be able to provide security nationwide.
In a televised address broadcast on Friday, President Goodluck Jonathan hailed troops for having “successfully stemmed the seizure of Nigerian territories”.
“I heartily commend the very courageous men and women of our Armed Forces for the immense sacrifices which they continue to make in defending the nation and protecting its citizens,” he added.
But Chad’s President Idriss Deby accused Nigeria of failing to cooperate with the regional coalition battling the jihadists, saying there had been zero contact between their armies.
“The whole world is asking why the Nigerian army, which is a big army… is not in a position to stand up to untrained kids armed with Kalashnikovs,” Deby told French magazine Le Point, in an interview published this week.
Nigerian soldiers have recaptured the town of Gwoza, the Headquarters of the Boko Haram terrorist self styled Caliphate.
According to tweets by the Defence Headquarters, several terrorists were killed while many are captured. Mopping up of entire Gwoza and her suburbs is ongoing.
It could recalled that NAIJA CENTR NEWS published a statement by President Goodluck Jonathan on Wednesday, assuring Nigerians that Gwoza will be liberated on Friday.
Since an escapee had revealed that the more than 200 girls abducted by Boko Haram in Chibok are in Gwoza, there is no news on their whereabout and rescue as at the time of filing this report.
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.
Without stopping, Nigerian military has continued to show its might by claiming the territories which had fallen in the hands of the dreaded terrorist, Boko Haram in the North East of Nigeria.
Boko Haram and Nigeria soldiers
According to the information posted on its page on Saturday by The Director of Defence Information, Chris Olukolade, a Major General, The troops have succeed in flushing Boko Haram out of Baga, a town that was taken weeks back with more than 2000 Nigerians killed, according to a report by Amnesty International.
It could be recalled that NAIJA CENTER NEWS published a debunk by the military that both soliders, civilians and terrorists that died in Baga were not less than 150 contrary to AI reports.
Giving details of the operation, Olukolade said large number of terrorists have drowned in the Lake Chad as they fled the heavy bombardment by Nigerian Air force heralding the advance of Nigerian troops on mission to flush them out of Baga. Not even the strategy of mining over 1500 spots with land mines on the routes leading to the town could save the terrorists from the aggressive move of advancing troops.
All the land mines were skillfully cleared one after the other. Eventually, the resistance of the terrorists collapsed and the land forces finally stormed the town in the early hours of Friday.
Many of the terrorists died while an unknown but substantial number of them fled with various degrees of injury, in the series of encounter along the routes of advance of the as troops headed for Baga.
Apart from the 5 anti air craft guns and the rifles captured from the terrorists, over 34 motorcycles and 5 vehicles including trucks being used for operations by the terrorists were destroyed in the course of the fighting as troops headed for Baga. The troops finally began clearing the terrorists from Baga on arrival in the town early Saturday morning.
A comprehensive cordon and search phase of military operation has now commenced to enable troops mop up arms and ammunition and also apprehend any terrorist who might be hiding in the vicinity. The exercise will also determine details of the casualties inflicted or incurred in the course of the operations to clear Baga and environ of terrorists.
Similar exercise is being carried out in over 15 locations namely Gajigana, Ngaze, Ngenzai, Marte Junction, Mile 90, Yoyo, Kekeno, Kukawa, Cross Kauwa,, Kangarwa, Amirari, Kichimatari, Borokari Barati, Kauwa and other localities where troops have flushed out the terrorists in the operations preceding the entry to Baga. The troops are now dominating and conducting aggressive patrols in the locations. The morale of troops remain high.
Al-Azhar, Sunni Islam’s most prestigious centre of learning, expressed outrage at the Islamic State group for burning to death a captive Jordanian pilot, saying its militants deserve to be killed or crucified.
After a video was released showing the caged fighter pilot, Maaz al-Kassasbeh, dying engulfed in flames, the Cairo-based authority’s head, Ahmed al-Tayib, expressed his “strong dismay at this cowardly act”.
This “requires the punishment mentioned in the Koran for these corrupt oppressors who fight against God and his prophet: killing, crucifixion or chopping of the limbs.”
“Islam forbids killing of the innocent human soul… It forbids mutilating the human soul by burning or in any other way even during wars against an enemy that attacks you,” Tayib added in a statement.
IS itself has implemented such punishments against its own members for robbery at checkpoints or stealing funds from religious endowments in territories controlled by the group in Iraq and Syria.
Maiduguri – The Borno chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) on Monday advised the Federal Government to continue with the ceasefire agreement with the Boko Haram.
Rev. Titus Pona, Chairman of CAN in Borno, stated this in a communique at the end of a three day fasting and prayer for Christians in Maiduguri.
According to him government should continue with the agreement in spite of the recent attacks in some communities in the state.
Pona said that since the insurgents had expressed the desire for peace, government must take advantage of the offer by playing along.
“We the Christian faithful in Borno commend the efforts of the Federal Government for agreeing with the Jama’atul Ahalis Sunna Lida’awati, popularly called the Boko Haram, for a ceasefire,” he said.
Pona said however that there were indications that a faction of the sect might not be interested in the cease- fire agreement.
“We are happy with the ceasefire, although, we heard some reports suggesting attacks by some suspected insurgents lately.
“We believe it is only a faction that is not interested in the peace process,” he said.
Pona added: “ we believe that those interested in peace are in the majority.
“Government should also be sincere in dealing with the insurgents to ensure lasting peace.’.
He said that the ceasefire would hopefully lead to the release of the students of the Government Secondary Schools (GSS) Chibok and others in captivity of the insurgents.
“We assume that the Chibok girls and other people in their captivity are alive and well,” Pona said.
“ We pray that the offer for ceasefire will be adhered to in order to have the abducted ones released and for an end to the insurgency ravaging Borno, Yobe, Adamawa and other parts of the country,” he said.(NAN)
Several Arab countries have offered to take part in air strikes against Islamic State (IS) militants in Iraq, US officials say.
But any action is subject to approval from the Iraqi government, they add.
US Secretary of State John Kerry says he is “extremely encouraged” by promises of military assistance to tackle the extremist group.
He spoke in Paris after a whirlwind tour of the Middle East trying to drum up support for action against IS.
France is due to host an international conference on Monday about Iraqi security and tackling IS.
On Saturday, the militant group released a video showing the beheading of UK hostage and aid worker David Haines. The group has threatened to kill a second Briton, Alan Henning, who also appeared in the video.
“You cannot fight terrorism when you collaborate with those who created these terror groups including in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey and others,” Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad told me.
Those countries deny they’ve ever backed Islamic State. But Qatar and Saudi Arabia have provided weapons to Sunni rebel groups, some of whose members have moved to Islamic State.
Turkey has let Sunni fighters, including jihadists from al-Qaeda and IS across its border into Syria.
Mr Mekdad said that as well as Syria an effective coalition would also have to include Russia and Iran: the Assad regime’s key allies.
He repeated Syria’s view that any air strikes on its territory without its permission would be an act of war, a violation of the UN charter and a disaster not just for Syria but for the region.
The Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs has warned the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar, against holding talks with the dreaded Islamic sect, Boko Haram, until he receives an official approval from the Federal Government.
Sultan
The apex body of Muslims in the country fears that the Sultan might be blackmailed by the government if he goes ahead to negotiate with the terrorist group, especially on the over 200 pupils of Government Girls’ Secondary School abducted by the sect on April 14, without an official consent.
The council warned that the Islamic leader should not be hoodwinked into making such moves by those calling for his intervention in the insurgency by the sect.
Some Islamic elite, under the aegis of Concerned Muslim Professionals, had written to the Sultan earlier in July, asking him to lead the dialogue with the Boko Haram sect.
The group told the monarch, who is the President-General of the NSCIA, to use his position and engage members of the sect in dialogue that would make them stop their campaign of killings.
Similarly, a human rights activist based in the North and President, Civil Rights Congress of Nigeria, Mr. Shehu Sani, had earlier in May asked the Sultan to spearhead the moves to secure the release of the abducted pupils from the group’s captivity.
Sani, in a letter to the religious leader, had said, “You (Sultan) have a moral duty and a spiritual responsibility to be visibly and actively involved in seeking the resolution of this impasse happening within areas you have religious influence.”
However, the Secretary-General of the NSCIA, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, while speaking to SUNDAY PUNCH on Thursday, warned that the President-General of the council should not be hoodwinked into taking up the task of negotiating with the terrorists.
He said, “The Muslim community had always been taking action; it had always been appealing to the people (Boko Haram) but Muslim leaders are also cautious because in your process to go out to look for these people; if in the process you’re caught talking with them, the government can even turn against you and say you’re part of part of Boko Haram.
“No matter the level of the Muslim leader, he has to think twice before he begins to communicate with these people (sect) because the same government that you want to work for can turn against you and accuse you of complicity; and you will be on your own.
“They (government) have enough machinery to present you as a devil such that members of your family will believe that you’re a devil.”
When asked if such could be done to the Sultan, the professor insisted that the Islamic leader could be implicated without the backing of the government, especially at a time when “many of us are being unduly monitored.”
He added, “I am not the Sultan but fortunately the Sultan has dual status; traditionally, he is the Sultan of Sokoto; religiously, he is the leader of the Muslim community. I relate with him as far as his mandate as the leader of the Muslim community is concerned.
“In that capacity, I will not advise him to hold any unilateral action with the sect without having the full confidence of the government of the day. If anybody makes such calls, somebody like the Sultan should think twice before venturing into searching for people you do not know.”
Oloyede asked why the Federal Government kept the findings by the Presidential Committee on Dialogue and Peaceful Resolution of Security Challenges in the North, which was chaired by the Minister of Special Duties, Taminu Turaki.
“I believe that by now, as Muslims leaders, we should have access to the findings; we don’t. We are just working in darkness. By now, even if the report had not been released, we should have had access to it. Then, we will be able to have some clues to what is happening,” the NSCIA scribe stated.
Also, an Islamic pressure group, Muslims Rights Concern, said it was the responsibility of the Federal Government, and not the Sultan, to seek an end to the insurgency by the group.
The Founder, MURIC, Prof. Ishaq Akintola, told SUNDAY PUNCH in an interview on Friday that the Sultan had spoken out against the activities of the sect on several occasions, “what else do they want him to do?”
He said, “I stand by the decision of the Supreme Council; it is a very correct position. The Sultan cannot negotiate, particularly without the Federal Government’s green light. We don’t support the idea of the Sultan negotiating because he would be seen as somebody who has vested interests. Why can’t the Federal Government take that up?”
The Professor of Islamic Eschatology stated that there was no reason for the Muslim community to rise up to the challenge separately, as it would be “tantamount to sedition, separatism and rising when the Federal Government should rise.”
Efforts to get the Presidency for comments on Friday and Saturday proved abortive. Calls made to the mobile phones of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe, and the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, respectively, were not picked.
Also, they did not reply to text messages sent to them.
In the letter to the Sultan, the President, Concerned Muslim Professionals, Alhaji Mohammed Saidu, said, “A failure on the part of the Muslim leadership (under His Eminence the Sultan) to discharge these responsibilities/actions to the later will render it of questionable ability, doubtful recognition, decimal loyalty or an outright dismissal as a mere smoke-screen. As obedient and loyalists to His Eminence the Sultan, our hearts bleed on these realities.”
Sani, in an exclusive interview with SUNDAY PUNCH, had stated that the sect would prefer Islamic clerics as its negotiators.
He said, “The group (Boko Haram) is mostly comfortable with Islamic clerics. The insurgents are more comfortable with people that are considered neutralists. .
“For the purpose of negotiation, if the government is setting up a team, I strongly advise that the team should be made up of Islamic clerics, who are going to reach out to them to seek the release of the girls.”
Just as the Islamic bodies have requested, former President Olusegun Obasanjo had insisted that President Goodluck Jonathan must approve his planned move to secure the release of the Chibok schoolgirls.
In an interview with Bloomberg TV on May 31, 2014, the ex-President had said while he had not been officially mandated to lead the mediation, his next step was to get an approval from the government. He insisted that the President must know about his moves.
Again on June 12, 2014, in an interview with the BBC Hausa Service, Obasanjo had expressed his regret that the Federal Government had not yet given him the green light to reach to the insurgents for the release of the girls.
The Federal Government had, however, insisted that Obasanjo had access to President Jonathan, if he truly wanted to make inputs. Sources at the Presidency had also expressed doubts over Obasanjo’s sincerity with his plan.
ABUJA — Former Defence Minister, Lt General Theophilus Danjuma (Rtd.), yesterday, lamented that insurgents appear to be having an upper hand in the country at the moment and tasked President Goodluck Jonathan to bring the insurgency to an end.
President Jonathan, on his part, is seeking approval of the National Assembly for a $1billion loan to enable him fight terrorism, saying that the days of terrorists are numbered.
Both President Jonathan and General Danjuma spoke in Abuja at the inauguration of the Presidential Committee on Victims Support Fund. The fund is for victims of the Boko Haram insurgency. The committee is headed by General Danjuma.
In his speech, Danjuma, who told the President jokingly that members of the committee would be willing to go to Sambisa Forest if the President, as Commander-in-Chief leads, challenged government to bring the insurgency to an end.
“But seriously, this war must be brought to an end. We must win this war immediately; it is taking too long. I called it civil war when it began and people say it is insurgency. The insurgents appear to be having an upper hand at this very moment. They pick and choose where to strike; they are even holding positions and displacing us. We must win this war, Mr. President, we must do so immediately”, he said.
General Danjuma promised that his committee “will raise the funds, and we will disburse it. I promise you we will do so diligently and transparently but we must win this war, Mr. President. May God bless our country”.
President Jonathan, who spoke earlier said: “The menace of terrorism has emerged as one of the most complex and challenging problems confronting governments in different parts of the world. Terrorists aim to cause social dislocation, spread fear and panic among the populace and disrupt government activities. But they never win. They have not won in the Middle East, in the USA, in China, in Colombia, in Italy, in the United Kingdom, in Kenya, etc. They will not win in Nigeria, and, with the support of all Nigerians, we would ensure they do not win in Nigeria. Good must prevail over evil,” he said.
Why we set up the fund — Jonathan
President Jonathan noted that the decision to set up the Victims Support Fund was to provide a framework through which all persons and institutions that wish to help mitigate the pains men and women are going through for no fault of theirs.
“We will ensure that those, who have suffered unjustly in the hands of terrorists can, in our little way, be consoled”, he said.
President Jonathan urged members of the committee “to go out there and knock on the doors of all hearts and institutions in a determined and focused way. I am confident you will raise the required resources to help rebuild some of our broken existence,” he said, adding jocularly that even if it means going to the notorious Sambisa Forest, members of the committee should do so.
“The Victims Support Fund Committee will help to mobilise collective efforts and resources in support for the victims. I appeal to all well-meaning Nigerians and non-Nigerians, individuals and corporate bodies, to give generously to this Fund. The victims need our sympathy and empathy. We have to show that we care and can never give way or give in to agents of evil.
“I, therefore, call on all Nigerians — students, youths, boys, girls, men and women — to pause today and spare a thought for the victims; and support them. This is not a task for the rich alone. Every widow’s mite will count, and will be appreciated. I urge Nigerians to donate generously, even through your GSM phones”, he said.
In his vote of thanks, the National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki assured that government would take hard decisions to bring the war on insurgency to an end.
“There are some very hard choices that would have to be made. We have been more concerned about the lives of a few versus the condition of a few million. The decision has to be made soon.
“This is not the first time we have been challenged by very senior Nigerians about the need to end this. We had a situation the other day with former heads of state. They told the President the same thing. But the constraints we are aware of. We do realise that the time has come to draw a line. As we have said, if they are taking the territories, then we have lost the first role as far as I am concerned. At this point I will like to assure you and all Nigerians that we will win the war and God willing, we will do it quickly”, he said.
The terms of reference of the committee are:
lTo identify sources and ways of raising sustainable funding to support victims of terror activities;
lTo develop appropriate strategies for the fund raising;
lTo ascertain the persons, communities, facilities and economic assets affected by terror activities;
lTo assess and determine the appropriate support required in each case;
lTo manage, disburse and/or administer support to the victims as appropriate;
lTo address related challenges as may be appropriate;
lTo advise Government on other matter(s) necessary or incidental to support victims of terror activities.
Jonathan seeks Senate approval for $1bn loan
Meanwhile, President Jonathan has written the Senate, seeking an approval to take a loan of $1 billion for the fight against terrorism, especially the Boko Haram insurgency in some parts of the country.
President Jonathan in the letter addressed to the Senate President, Senator David Mark explained that the loan would be used to upgrade equipment, training and logistics of the armed forces and other security agencies.
While reminding the Senate of the ongoing onslaught by the Boko Haram sect on innocent Nigerians, the President noted that the issue of terrorism had become a great challenge for the country and that it needed to be tackled frontally.
Titled, “Tackling ongoing security challenges: Need for urgent action”, President Jonathan in the four paragraphed letter stated: “You are no doubt cognizant of the on-going and serious security challenges which the nation is facing as typified by the Boko Haram terrorist threat. This is an issue that we have discussed at various times.
“I would like to bring to your attention the urgent need to upgrade the equipment, training and logistics of our Armed Forces and Security Services to enable them more forcefully confront this serious threat.
“For this reason, I seek the concurrence of the National Assembly for external borrowing of not more than $1 billion, including Government-to- Government arrangements for this upgrade.”
President Goodluck Jonathan has advised the media to desist from celebrating terrorists in their reports.
Jonathan who spoke in Abuja at a book launch titled: “What they don’t teach you in broadcasting” written by Orji Ogbonnaya Orji said terrorists should not be motivated by reports on them to keep engaging in their violent acts.
The President who was represented by Minister of Information, Labaran Maku said though the public should be informed of happenings in the society, terrorist should not be given undue attention.
Terrorist, according to Jonathan “” need publicity to be recognized and they depend on the media but they do not deserve the type of publicity the media is giving them.”
He said reports on terrorism should not be written to incite the people against one another, religion, and the government but should in a way unite the people to fight the terrorists.
Jonathan said the government was doing its best to curb the menace of insurgency but noted that “the problem we are facing is that these insurgents live with us.”
“The media should sensitize the public with their reports so that they can unite and fish them out thereby bring terrorism to an end quickly. I am not saying that you shouldn’t report when there are, say, terrorists’ attacks on innocent citizens but we must report from the point of view of arousing society to reject their message, to unite society against what they are doing.
“I am still calling on all of us to be able define the thin line that exists between the urge to report and the need to protect. We need to really come to a definition of what the responsibility of the media should be to organizations and persons whose major objective is to destroy society, to incite hatred among normal people. I have said it that if we black out terrorism for a period, I am sure it will go down,” the President stated.
Jonathan added that terrorism and related activities could only be tackled effectively if all segments of society, particularly the media join forces against it.
Author of the book, Orji Ogbonnaya Orji, said there were lots in the broadcast world which lecturers in institutions didn’t teach the students while they were in school.
According to him, there are reports dished out by reporters that could make the public loose confidence in them.
He said the book will educate reporters on better ways to carry out their jobs and gain the confidence of their audience, adding that the book is an intervention towards restoring the falling standards in the broadcast industry.
Mr. Orji urged the media to support security agencies and unite Nigerians in the fight against terrorists.
Director General, Voice of Nigeria, Abubakar Jijiwa recommended the book for broadcasters and students of mass communication so that they would be kept abreast of what they need to know about the profession outside what they were taught in the classroom.
Cameroon securities have killed no fewer than 40 members of the Boko Haram sects over the weekend during a clash between the vampires and the military in the far north of the country.
The gun duel according to a state radio, happened after the release of two Italian Priests and a Canadian nun suspected to be held by the Islamist group.
A source at the Cameroon Presidency confirmed the clashes, which took place in Kousseri west of the town, the region bordering Nigeria and Chad.
It could be recalled that Nigeria head of military had earlier criticized Cameroon government for not cooperating in the fight against Boko Haram, but the country authority confirmed that it has sent about 1000 capable troops to the far north last week as it steps up the fight against the insurgents.
The two Italian priests and Canadian nun were said to have been abducted in Cameroon in April, official says.
The three were abducted at their building where they were temporary residing in the Northern district of Maroua in the early hours of April 5.
Though no group claimed responsibility but suspicion has fallen on Boko Haram.
It could be recalled that last year, Boko Haram kidnapped a priest and seven members of a French family in the Northern Cameroon which led to global outrage and negotiation.
Italy’s foreign ministry confirmed the release of the Italian Priests Gianantonio Allegri and Giampaolo Martala and Canadian nun, Gilberte Bussier in a statement released yesterday.
Though no details of how the three were freed, but the ministry thanked the Cameroon and Canadian authorities over the release.
It thanked the Canadian and Cameroun authorities but gave no details of how the three were freed.
Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said news of the release “fills us with joy”.
According to their diocese in the Vicenza reigon of Italy, the priests had been working on improving water supplies and fighting the spread of HIV AIDS, as well as carrying out their religious duties.
Italian media reported that one of the priests had spent six years in Cameroon while the other one had just joined him barely a year ago.
Boko Haram who started their campaign since 2009 has killed thousands of people through their different styles of attack.
Suicide bombing is an act whereby an individual personally delivers explosives and detonates them with the sole aim of inflicting the greatest possible damage, killing himself in the process in order to serve the interests of the sponsoring individuals or organisations.
Records have revealed that suicide bombers are capable of carrying out very wicked, audacious and highly destructive acts that are shocking on the account of their specific intention to destroy critical infrastructure and kill mostly unsuspecting civilians or injure anyone within the range of the explosion. But if I may ask, what kind of a person would sacrifice his life in order to kill innocent people and what would possibly motivate that person to take the offer of becoming a suicide bomber?
In the wake of several tragic incidents, the government, civil society as well as security agencies have always found it difficult to objectively analyse the causes and processes through which suicide bombings are carried out since there is no single theory as to what brings about such wicked act. Although many people have cited negative indoctrination, radicalisation and religion as prime motivators but the act involved a wide variety of motivation including politics, quest for revenge, humiliation as well as altruism.
The willingness of the perpetrator to kill himself shows a very high symbolic value and dedication to whatever may be his cause. However, the truth is that suicide bombing has become a most accessible weapon of choice available to the terrorist groups because of its cost-effectiveness, lethality, ability to cause confusion as well as the tremendous amount of publicity and fear it generates as clearly witnessed in the series of bomb attacks across the nation. For example, immediately after the last blast, the usual crowd witnessed at motor parks, night clubs and other social event centres, in no time, disappeared because of the wide speculations through the media that there was likely to be another bomb attack in those areas. This is a classical example of the effect of fears associated with terrorism.
Characteristics of a potential suicide bomber
There is no specific profile for anyone who engages himself in suicide bombing. A suicide bomber can come from nearly every cultural background, religion, race, creed or gender. However, the following are common characteristics of a potential suicide bomber.
Through his behaviour
• He behaves in a way similar to someone with no future.
• His mental state could present clues – his eyes are secretive, he makes obvious attempt to avoid eye contact with the people he perceived to be his enemies and always looking at every possible exit.
• Mumbling prayers – may be fervently praying to himself, showing the impression of whispering to someone else.
• He shows no response to any authoritative voice, command or instruction.
Through his appearance
• He wears clothes that are unsuitable for the present-day weather. For instance, wearing of sweater or rain-coat during hot weather.
• He wears slack or puffy clothes. This gives the impression that his body is excessively larger than his head or feet.
• Sweating – resulting from tension and stress or wearing of unsuitable clothes. For instance, wearing a heavy coat during high weather temperature.
• He appears to be focused and more vigilant on his target.
• He will usually have his hands placed in the pocket, around the button of the detonator and ready to set off the bomb at the slightest opportunity.
• He carries big bags or backpacks tightly with wires piercing out of the bag.
• He may most likely have a clean shave or low hair-cut especially when he is ready to carry out the task. This may be done to disguise his real appearance.
• He displays signs of drug use. For instance, his pupils become enlarged with fixed staring.
• His breathings are heavy and rapid.
• Mostly male who falls between the age range of 16 to 30 years of age.
• He looks aggressive, restless, irritable and nervous.
Through his movement
• He walks awkwardly or clumsily in an unusual and odd manner. This is usually due to the unsuitable attire he is wearing and sometimes due to the weight of the explosive devices tied around his body.
• He tries to be evasive in movement. This unusual gait is adopted to evade security agents and some other persons who may foil his plans.
• Often times, he may not know the route to his target destination very well, hence he may occasionally ask for directions. One of the suicide bombers that struck at a church in Kaduna in late 2013 had to ask commercial motorcyclists for direction to the church he eventually struck.
Through his kind of person/other features
• He tries to blend into a group which he clearly does not belong to. For instance, he tries to attend Church worship services even as a non-Christian with clear intention to carry out surveillance and identify vulnerable areas before attack.
• He demonstrates forceful actions in order to reach his desired target by pushing the crowd so as to find his way into a restricted area or showing desperations to reach a crowded point or particular target.
• He will usually have an unusual herbal smell. This is as a result of incense used in the final rituals performed on him as he takes off for the suicide mission.
MAIDUGURI— Residents of Attagara and Kawuri villages in Gwoza and Bama local government areas of Borno State, respectively, repelled attacks on their community by suspected Boko Haram insurgents.
A resident said the attackers invaded the village yesterday on motorcycles but met some women, adding “they wanted to hit the women with sticks but when they raised the sticks, their hands refused to descend.
“Three of the insurgents fled, but seven were not lucky as the women alerted the people,” and the vigilante group in the community rushed to the scene, disarmed the seven insurgents, who were later lynched.
Attagara, a border community with Cameroon is about 10 kilometres South-East of Pulka District in Gwoza Local Government Area of the state and about 130 kilometres from Maiduguri, the state capital.
Also, scores of gunmen suspected to be members of Boko Haram were killed yesterday through the combined efforts of members of the vigilante youths, otherwise known as Civilian JTF, and the military in Kawuri village, Bama Local Government Area of Borno State.
Twenty years old Mallam Mamman Yakubu, a vigilante youth that participated in repelling the insurgents, said: “We were able to kill many of the terrorists who invaded our community yesterday night.”
On whether arrests were made, Yakubu said they were not interested in any arrests because Boko Haram members hardly reveal any secret when arrested.
A top security source, who confirmed the incident, told Vanguard that three dead bodies of the terrorists were recovered yesterday morning in Kawuri, adding that more of the terrorists were killed in a nearby bush of Kawuri when they attempted to flee to the Sambisa Forest.
Troops on the hunt for the more than 200 school girls abducted last month in Chibok, Borno State are up against a fresh challenge.
Their navigation of the massive Sambisa forest where the girls are believed to be kept by their abductors is being restricted by land mines laid across the area by Boko Haram, it was learnt yesterday.
Vigilant soldiers detected the mines and the spots have accordingly been marked.
A military source said the troops were being hampered in moving around the Sambisa forest because of many landmines planted by Boko Haram.
The source said commanders and troops, which have been operating on the fringes of the forest, have marked the spots where the landmines are laid.
The source said: “Boko Haram is desperate to protect Sambisa Forest and prevent troops from gaining access to any part of it. So far, troops have discovered many landmines along the routes to Sambisa Forest; they are battling to clear these mines. Some of the landmines can destroy military tanks. We have marked the affected landmines spots and troops have been given appropriate directive.
“This development has confirmed intelligence gathering that the forest is either a major base of the sect or where the girls are kept.”
Responding to a question, the source said: “We have detonated some of the landmines but what they do mostly is to get counter-intelligence about movement of troops and in a make-shift strategy, they will go and lay landmines.
“People have been asking why it is difficult to overrun Sambisa Forest. We have a challenge of landmines but we are trying to clear these mines. In tackling mines, you peg them and detonate.
“Planting landmines is a ploy by Boko Haram to ambush troops and block access to Sambisa Forest.” The Presidential Fact- Finding Committee on the girls abduction met behind closed doors yesterday with Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno State.
Leading the committee was its chairman, Brigadier General Ibrahim Sabo (rtd). The session focused mostly on options available to set the girls free.
The private session, which lasted three hours, was held at the Government House in Maiduguri. A source described the meeting as a no-holds-barred session.
“The session was to forge a consensus on the rescue strategy. We had paid a courtesy call on the governor on Tuesday but this secret session on Saturday was frank,” the source said. “We have been establishing a good number of facts on how to rescue the girls.”
A member/spokesperson of the Committee, Kingsley Osadolor, said: “The committee rubbed minds with the governor behind closed doors on Saturday but I cannot give you the details yet.”
There were strong indications, yesterday, that the massive troop deployment, intelligence sharing between Nigeria and neighbouring countries along with the support from Britain, France and the United States were yielding positive results as information made available to Sunday Vanguard suggested that the military was closing-in on the abductors of school girls from Chibok, Borno State.
It was learnt that the over 200 girls abducted from Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok, on April 14, may be rescued soon.
In an exclusive chat with Sunday Vanguard, last night, the Co-ordinator, National Information Centre, Mike Omeri, disclosed that the efforts of officers and men of Nigeria’s defence forces as well as the police and the Department of State Service, DSS, were paying off.
“We have made significant progress”, he said.
Pressed further, Omeri, who is also the Director-General of the National Orientation Agency, NOA, said, “The very nature of the sensitivity of what we are doing demands that we provide information only on a need to know basis. That is why some of the posers you have raised, I would not be able to yield”.
However reminded that the parents of the abducted girls have been waiting for all of 40days and hoping against hope, Omeri hinted, “By God’s grace, we are looking at a matter of days”.
The Coordinator, National Information Centre went on: “We are already winning the war against terror because when you look at the activities of our defence forces, including the police and the DSS, especially the number of attempted bombings that have been thwarted, you will agree with me that we are winning the war.
“The total attention and focus of the military on this war gives the confidence that by the time this chapter in this war is over, Nigerians would be pleasantly surprised and happy.
“Already, our troops are smoking the terrorists out of their hiding places.
“For instance, one of their hideouts in Darazo, Bauchi State, has been bombed repeatedly and they are now on the run.
“The support we are also receiving from our foreign partners has upped the tempo and we are confident that soon, very soon, the parents would have their children back and, by God’s grace, in safe and sound health.
“We are closing-in on them. But there is a limit to what I can volunteer”.
FEAR of the known pervades any mention of Chibok. It is gripping, unspoken fear, with expected consequences that when I piled inside a bus for the 130-kilometre drive to uncertainty, the only thing I knew was that death could be a part of the trip.
I dared not tell anyone I was going to Chibok. How could I have mentioned that I would embark on a journey that included travelling beside the dreaded Sambisa Forest? What was I searching for in Chibok where fear is life and insurgents could strike at anytime?
Monday was the best day to make the trip. It was Damboa Market Day. It meant that traffic on the risky Maiduguri-Damboa-Biu Road would be busy with many heading to the market. There was assurance that the heavy traffic could deter the attackers, it was a thin hope, but where fear rules, one holds to any strains of hope.
Chibok shows early signs of its bareness. The road from Damboa, where I boarded a taxi to Chibok, is barely motorable. Seven of us squeezed into the small car, three in front, four at the back seat. Nobody appeared to care about the discomfort. We arrived Chibok at 12:25 pm due to the heavy security checks on the way. They checked all parts of the car. Each check point bore its own nightmare. With stories of people in uniform turning insurgents, one could never tell whether it was a check point or a death point.
As we passed by Sambisa Forest, I knew all I needed to cause a scare was to ask the driver to stop. Who else could make such a request? I pondered the idea but discarded it, there were already enough risks on this journey to think up more. I was even grateful the vehicle passed there without an incident.
Everyone kept his thoughts to himself throughout the journey. Everyone seemed to suspect that the other could be an insurgent. If one of us was, and intended to attack the vehicle, how would we know?
Security in Chibok was heavier. Whole area remained deserted as parents and relations of the abducted school girls were indoors mourning their calamity. Chibok is draped in fear and mourning that would not disperse until the kidnapped students return.
Hunger Looms In Chibok
Chibok, a farming community runs the risk of hunger. People are not going to the farms for two reasons – they are mourning their missing daughters and fears of further attacks persist. Their neighbours in Damboa were attacked at home and then in their farms. They too have stopped farming. Where would their food come from without farming this year?
The journey to infamy started for Chibok on 14 April when some gunmen attacked a government secondary school occupied by girls who were writing their West Africa Examination Council examinations. Details of how they were taken vary from who is telling the stories, which no longer interest the parents.
All they want is to have their children back.
Mallam Chiroma Usman Chibok, seven of his relations were abducted said, “My brother, Chibok is a shadow of itself as most parents stay indoors to mourn their abducted children. Government is not helping matters. We keep getting assurance our abducted would be girls.
“It is the farming season, but nobody is going to the farm. The trauma is too much for us.”
Mr. James Yama said, “We are suffering in silence, one of my brothers, Mr. Mutai Hona, whose two daughters were among those abducted, died last Sunday from heart attack. He developed high blood pressure after the abduction.”
‘We Want Our Girls, Not Relief’
“It will interest you to note that on Sunday, officials of the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA came to Chibok to distribute relief materials to the victims, but none of the parents collected even soap. They protested to NEMA officials that they want their abducted daughters back. Those who benefited from the relief materials were people whose daughters were not among the abducted,” Mr. Yama said. “If we had seen the corpses of our girls, we would have forgotten about them. We do not know what is happening, it is unfortunate”. #BringBackOurGirls
‘Our Daughters Were In Government Custody’
Mrs. Saratu Pagu Mdurmbula, mother of one of abducted girls said, “Our daughters were at school writing their final year examinations. We believed our daughters were in the custody of the state government being a public school.
They were not abducted from our homes, but from the school. It is unfortunate that after abducting our innocent daughters, government and security operatives are yet to rescue them. We are disappointed. It is not one school girl, but over 200 of them. It would be more appreciated if security agencies rescued our daughters. We were fed up with stories about our daughters, the trauma is increasing”.
‘Teachers Abandoned Our Girls To Terrorists’
Simon Watila, the father of Godiya, one of the girls who escaped from the Sambisa Games Reserve camp of the sect, said he was out of town during the incident, but immediately called his daughter and she told him the school was safe.
“I called this my daughter in the school, asking where she was. She told me she was in the hostel. I told her they were attacking the town, they have started burning houses.
“I asked if soldiers were with them in school. She said no. I asked about the police she said they were no policemen, but that the school was safe.
“The insurgents were still attacking the town. My daughter told me all the teachers had left; there were no guardians with them.
“It was in the realisation that there was no one guiding the school that I told my daughter to run if she had the opportunity. I told her the insurgents would turn to them when they finish with the people in the town.
“When the shooting started in the town, the teachers were still with them but they took to their heels, and locked our daughters . There are teachers’ quarters within the school premises, the teachers left before the attack.
“She even told me that the teachers instructed them not to run away. One of the teachers locked the gate, there was no way for our daughters to escape. When the attackers finished with the town, they came to the school.
“They told the girls they were soldiers and the girls believed them because they were in uniform. They promised to protect the girls from the insurgents who were attacking town. The girls happily came out to them and they seized all their mobile phones. I knew my daughter was in trouble when I called and she was not taking the call. The next day I learnt our daughters were abducted.”
He was happy that God answered his prayers for the return of his daughter. If there were enough soldiers around, he said, girls would not have been abducted.
Why Chibok Girls Don’t Speak English
People have been concerned that the abducted girls did not communicate in English, in the interviews they granted. They mostly spoke in Hausa. Over 95 per cent of students in public schools in the State cannot express themselves in English, although, their written English is reportedly better.
Some reasons were adduced for the situation, the major one being the poor standard of education and the quality of teachers in public schools across the state. Teaching Service Board officials tend to favour their kinsmen over qualified applicants.
Most teachers in the rural areas and the students prefer speaking their own dialect either in the classrooms or during school hours, making English language secondary.
Governor Kashim Shettima admitted in an interview that, “In 2011 WAEC examinations, only three students at one of the government secondary schools in Northern Borno Senatorial District had five credits, including mathematics and English language. The Three students were not from the State as their fathers were serving soldiers at Monguno Military Barracks”.
The Chibok girls reflected the quality of teachers in public schools in Borno State. Chibok, a local government headquarter, has only one secondary school, which also serves people from neighbouring local government areas. Recently, the school, which used to be only for girls, was converted to a mixed school, admitting male students as non-residents.
Who’s To Blame
A teacher in the school, Mr. Amos Dawi said, “Apart from the poor quality of teaching materials and unqualified teachers, the students themselves are not helping matters, as most of them devote their interest to farming.
“Chibok and other schools in the state have no English or Mathematics teachers. Rarely would students from JSS I to SS III have these teachers throughout their stay in school. In fact, most of these students are not taught English properly from year one to their final year”. An educationist, Dr. James John attributed the problem to lack of training and retraining of teachers by the Borno State Teaching Service Board. The board does not organise workshops for its teachers, especially those in rural areas.
Yakubu Iliya, a student, blamed the teachers. “Where the teachers are qualified, they do not take their work serious because ministry officials hardly supervise them. Most teachers prefer being posted to schools in Maiduguri. The unqualified ones are posted to rural areas, where they abandon their profession for farming and businesses”.
‘We Don’t Want To Speak English’
One of the freed schoolgirls, who did not give her name, for security reasons explained their dilemma in the matter. “Another major reason we are not speaking English is the trauma we are undergoing. It is not because we cannot speak English. Each time we want to speak English to journalists, we feel the terrorists are still watching us, so we quickly switch to Hausa, which is our dominant language in the North without realising it. Only those who have been through what we suffered can understand this. Boko Haram hates anything to do with Western education and the ability to speak the English language is an indication to them that one has Western education”.
We’re Expecting Mr. President
Yaga Yarakawa spoke on his disappointment on President Goodluck Jonathan’ s widely publicised visit to Chibok, which was postponed, though the Presidency had denied that a visit was planned.
“We were happy when we heard Mr. President was coming to Chibok. We expected his visit to Chibok would bring relief to everybody. When the girls were abducted, we thought government would act swiftly, but it is unfortunate that after a month, their whereabouts remain unknown.
“It is really sad, disheartening and disappointing to all of us as parents. This is beyond politics, it is between life and death, so we want our girls and that is what we are after at this trying moment, nothing else”.
Shettima Sheds Tears Again
Borno State Governor, Alhaji Kashim Shettima shed tears again on Tuesday as he told the Presidential Fact Finding Committee on the abduction, in Maiduguri, that doubts over the abduction of the Chibok school girls and the theory that the kidnap was staged-managed by his government was as painful as the actual abduction.
The governor said it was a sad tale that Nigeria pays more emphasis on politics than finding solutions to the nation’s numerous problems.
Responding to the address of the Chairman Brig, Gen. Ibrahim Sabo (rtd), Shettima said, “Borno has seen evil times. Our people have suffered. The Chibok incident, for me, has grossly exposed our weighty weakness as leaders in terms of assuming our shared responsibilities.
“Doubts over that abduction pained me far more than the childish theory that as Government, we staged that abduction in order to create basis to stop the extension of emergency rule in Borno.
“Then, there was the issue of saying Chibok was not safe and we went ahead to open the school. Majority of these students are from Chibok axis, if the school was considered unsafe, I don’t think any right thinking parent would allow his or her child to study in an atmosphere of high risk.
“To every other Muslim, worldwide, these men that kill, destroy and abduct, insult Islam by calling themselves Muslims. They have contradicted every single tenet of the Islamic religion. They have in some cases, tried to change the ordained translation of verses in the Holy Quran.
“To every Muslim, a verse of the Holy Quran has clearly said that there is no compulsion in religion. But to these men of violence, there is compulsion not only in religion but even in Islamic ideology. To these men, any human who doesn’t share their ideology deserves to be brutally killed. A Muslim that is of not of the sect is condemned to death and so is Christian. To them, the human race should go into extinction for their doctrine to thrive.”
The governor had approved N150 million for the rehabilitation of the 53 girls who escaped, and for assistance to the traumatised parents whose daughters were still held.
“Unfortunately, we had to hold what we should have done for Chibok because of the politics brought in. If we had released some material support earlier, some bad elements would have said we tried to buy the people of Chibok.
“The Borno State Government is committed to sincere and active collaboration with the Federal Government and all other support groups in our collective fight against insurgency.
“I see misconception about those behind the insurgency as one major hindrance to fighting it. So long we continue to look the wrong way, there would be lack of focus on the part of most stakeholders and in which case, the victims would remain the accused.”
Earlier, Brig. Gen. Sabo assured that the committee was ready to carry on with the task with absolute patriotism and fear of God. He condoled the people and government of Borno state who have been traumatised as a result of the attacks.
Back To Base
By sunset, Chibok residents abandon every activity to seek refuge in their homes. I left Chibok at 2:15 pm, to a repeat of the security checks that marked the earlier journey, through the same route. I arrived Maiduguri at 5:30 pm to joy that I never knew I could muster. I heaved a sigh of relief, having gone through the most dangerous route in Nigeria and survived the trauma of anticipating an attack that never came.
As I went on my knees to thank God Almighty for seeing me through this assignment, I realised that another trip to Chibok would be necessary – hopefully in happier circumstances, to welcome the girls.
Over three years after the international terrorist, Osama Bin Laden, was killed by the United States Naval Special Warfare Development Group and Central Intelligence Agency, the US has still not declassified letters linking the terrorist to Nigeria’s Boko Haram, a US-based newspaper report has indicated.
The newspaper, The Daily Beast, quoted some US intelligence analysts as saying al-Qeda experts in America had been critical of releasing the full information they got on the late terrorist.
Part of the report read, “Many US al-Qaeda experts inside the intelligence community are also critical of the handling of the documents taken from Osama bin Laden’s Pakistani lair.
“These experts lobbied to declassify many more than the handful that have thus far been released. Some of those documents that were initially slated to be declassified, according to two US intelligence officials, were letters between leaders of Boko Haram and bin Laden.
“In other words, they showed that the Nigerian terror group, now infamous for its mass kidnappings, was tied to al-Qaeda’s leader. Those records are still being kept under wraps. Mr. Devin Nunes, a Republican on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, has openly called on the Obama administration to declassify all of the documents.”
The report quoted US al-Qaeda experts inside the intelligence community as saying that as the strength of alQeda continued to decline, other threats evolved and other extremists expanded in different parts of the world, including Nigeria.
The newspaper quoted Tommy Vietor, who served as the spokesman for the National Security Council in Obama’s first term, as saying that during a meeting he attended with Obama on the crisis in Mali, the US President said the threat from al-Qaeda’s core leadership had diminished, while the threat of affiliates had grown stronger.
At the end of the meeting though, he said the President remarked, “What will be required for a crisis like that is not a drone-based program dotting the continent. It will be a sustained political process that includes economic development.”
However, in a report by The PUNCH on Tuesday, the US government said Boko Haram was not a branch of al-Qaeda.
A statement by the US Consul General in Lagos quoted the US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, Wendy Sherman, as saying, “Boko Haram is its own terrorist group, and the US has designated Boko Haram as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation. In this day and age, there is probably no terror group that does not have some links somehow, even if tenuous, to some other organisations. But for the most part, we treat Boko Haram as its own terror organisation.”
The Boko Haram terrorist group that has abducted nearly 300 Nigerian girls is reportedly sponsored by the same international political mafia that orchestrates the ongoing crisis in Ukraine and the Arab world, a political analyst says.
In an article posted on Press TV’s website, Gordon Duff referred to recent revelations, including a secret FBI memo, about the 2012 killing of the US ambassador in the Libyan city of Benghazi and the kidnapping of the Nigerian girls.
“Investigations of both attacks, including a recent secret FBI memo from last week, indicate that the ‘terrorists’ were, in actuality, working in direct coordination, not just with domestic political enemies but, on a broader scale, the same powerful international political organization, one involved in these attacks and others, Libya, Egypt, Syria and the Ukraine,” Duff wrote.
It is learned that the two operations in Nigeria and Libya as well as the takeover of the Ukrainian government by right wing extremists and gas attacks inside Syria are funded by billions of dollars, Euros and pounds, gold and diamonds stolen from former Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi’s fortune, the analyst pointed out.
Based on the intelligence reports, the Gaddafi fortune has been funneled to Paris and kept in three warehouses under the supervision of French and Israeli intelligence services to finance terrorists, assassins and members of the mainstream media, he noted.
The article also cited a Persian Gulf state intelligence service as saying that billions of dollars of Ghaddafi’s wealth as well as his stockpile of chemical and advanced weapons have been gradually transferred from France to Poland, Ukraine, Africa, Turkey and the US.
On April 14, the Boko Haram abducted 276 students from their secondary school in the northeastern town of Chibok, later threatening to “sell” the girls.
Boko Haram – whose name means “Western education is forbidden” – says its goal is to overthrow the Nigerian government.
The Takfiri group has been responsible for a number of deadly gun and bomb attacks in various parts of Nigeria since 2009.
The Niger state government has said that it has discovered another suspected terrorist Islamic sect with link to the dreaded Boko Haram sect, adding that the government has set up a two-man committee to identity the sect members in order to flush them out of the state.
According to the State governor, Dr. Babangida Aliyu who made this known in Minna, saying that the government has set up a committee to look into the activities of the sect and report back within 3 days for urgent action.
However, Aliyu said, “The state government is acting on security report given by the League of Imams in the state and this led to the setting up of the two man committee to investigate the report as a matter of urgency. “
A group of suspected Boko Haram atacked a village called Kubla in Madagali Local Government area, Adamawa State, killing eight iInnocentt Nigerians, burning two churches and other private properties.
Some of the residents who ran way from the area revealed that they were attacked by the gunmen on Monday night.
A resident who identified himself as Heldia Apogu said ”I cannot actually say how many people were killed but I saw about six dead bodies being evacuated,”
Another resident disclosed that some men were taken hostage from other houses attacked by the gunmen.
He said ”I saw some people crying saying that their relations had been taken hostage by the gunmen,”
President Jonathan, on his part, is seeking approval of the National Assembly for a $1billion loan to enable him fight terrorism, saying that the days of terrorists are numbered.
The gun duel according to a state radio, happened after the release of two Italian Priests and a Canadian nun suspected to be held by the Islamist group.
Records have revealed that suicide bombers are capable of carrying out very wicked, audacious and highly destructive acts that are shocking on the account of their specific intention to destroy critical infrastructure and kill mostly unsuspecting civilians or injure anyone within the range of the explosion. But if I may ask, what kind of a person would sacrifice his life in order to kill innocent people and what would possibly motivate that person to take the offer of becoming a suicide bomber?
Monday was the best day to make the trip. It was Damboa Market Day. It meant that traffic on the risky Maiduguri-Damboa-Biu Road would be busy with many heading to the market. There was assurance that the heavy traffic could deter the attackers, it was a thin hope, but where fear rules, one holds to any strains of hope.
The newspaper, The Daily Beast, quoted some US intelligence analysts as saying al-Qeda experts in America had been critical of releasing the full information they got on the late terrorist.
In an article posted on Press TV’s website, Gordon Duff referred to recent revelations, including a secret FBI memo, about the 2012 killing of the US ambassador in the Libyan city of Benghazi and the kidnapping of the Nigerian girls.
According to the State governor, Dr. Babangida Aliyu who made this known in Minna, saying that the government has set up a committee to look into the activities of the sect and report back within 3 days for urgent action.