Boko Haram
Ex-President Obasanjo: Education for all, way out of insecurity
Former President of Nigeria, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, on Friday said if the country will get out of the present insecurity threatening the corporate existence of the nation, such as banditry, Boko Haram, kidnaping, and other criminalities, Nigeria need to go through a very long gestation period of training and educating all Nigerian children. Speaking at the commissioning of Prof. Abayomi Oluwatosin Jiboku Building, Lariken International College, Ologuneru, Ibadan, Oyo state capital, on Friday, he advised government at all levels to invest hugely in Western education to tackle insecurity. Obasanjo stated that Nigerians should reawaken their conscience and they should not be falling cheaply for pecuniary gains, which, according to him, has been fueling corruption and insecurity besetting th...
Former Nigerian soldier who trains ESN militants arrested in Abuja
The police have arrested a dismissed army lance corporal allegedly responsible for training and recruiting people into the Eastern Security Network (ESN), the militant arm of the outlawed pro-Biafra group, IPOB, according to a report. He was arrested a few days after a top commander of the terror group, Awurum Eze, was arrested in Aba, Abia State. The group is alleged to have been responsible for killings of security agents and destruction of public properties in the South-east and South-south zones. They have, however, denied the allegations. According to sources, the 32 years old dismissed soldier, whose name was given as Livinus Owalum-Barnabas, was arrested on Sunday, at Gwagwalada Area Council of the FCT by men of the Inspector General of Police Intelligence Response Team (IRT). The e...
Police: 21 officers killed by gunmen in Akwa Ibom
The police authorities in Akwa Ibom State said they have so far lost 21 officers due to gun attacks in the state. The commissioner of police in the state, Amiengheme Andrew, disclosed this on Monday while briefing Governor Udom Emmanuel who visited the police headquarters in the state to condole with the families of the slain officers and the police over the loss. Mr Andrew also informed the governor that the police in the state lost 11 vehicles and seven firearms in the various attacks. Mr Emmanuel, who visited the police headquarters immediately after the State Executive Council meeting, announced a donation of N60 million to the families of the slain officers. Besides meeting with the police commissioner in his office, Mr Emmanuel met with officers inside a hall where he thanked them fo...
‘Boko Haram members’ arrested in Kano mosque
Armed security men on Saturday night raided a mosque in Filin Lazio, Hotoro, in Kano metropolitan area, arresting an unspecified number of worshippers. Eyewitnesses told newsmen that the operation, led the military, occurred at about when the Muslim faithful were breaking their Ramadan fast. Sources indicate that the operation was targeted at suspected Boko Haram members who are believed to have gathereed at the said mosque. The arrest, which took members of the immediate area by surprise, automatically resulted into a scare as many residents left the vicinity in order not to run into harm as a result of the operation Nigerian Army spokesman in Kano State Captain Irabor told Daily Sun by phone that the army are working on a public statement on the operation. Get more stories like this on T...
President Buhari mourns Senator Al-Hassan’s demise
File Photo President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday said he is deeply saddened by the death of Hajiya Aisha Jummai Al-Hassan, “Mama Taraba’’, who was Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development during his first term in office. The Nigerian Mission in Cairo, Egypt, announced the passing of the former minister and Senator. Buhari in a statement issued by presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu, said: “The demise of the notable politician, Aisha Jummai Al-Hassan has left many saddened. “Both in office and out of office, her concern for the education of the girl child, especially those of Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok, who were abducted by Boko Haram terrorists, shone through. “Her death is a huge loss not only to the female gender activist community but to the country as a whole. Our...
35 killed in Boko Haram attacks in Borno
Jihadists have killed 35 people, including five troops and 15 militiamen, in two attacks in Nigeria’s troubled northern Borno state, sources told AFP Tuesday. Islamic State-aligned militants have intensified attacks on army camps in recent weeks as part of a decade-long insurgency that has killed 36 000 people and forced more than two million to flee their homes. Fighters from Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) came in several trucks fitted with machine guns and stormed Ajiri town late on Monday. They attacked a military base, leading to intense fighting in which five soldiers and 15 anti-jihadist militia were killed, two military sources said. ISWAP had raided the same base on Sunday, killing the base commander along with six civilians and carting away weapons, military sources sa...
Niger governor: Video of Boko Haram forcefully converting people to Islam fake
The governor of Niger State, Abubakar Sani Bello, debunked a video now going viral on social media of Boko Haram elements forcefully converting people to Islam. The video of Boko Haram of terrorists forcing Niger State residents to convert to Islam was shared by former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode, on Twitter. “Boko Haram and ISWA forcefully converting people to Islam in the parts of Niger state that they have captured, conquered, occupied and flown their flag, he captioned it. “This is happening just two hours from Abuja! I warned you.” The Niger State governor in his reaction tweeted that the video was an old video and that it did not originate from Nigeria. “Please query your sources as this is not Niger State or even Nigeria. We understand that this video is from Ivory Coast ...
Nigeria’s president under fire over surging violence
With his country ensnared in mounting jihadist violence, bandit attacks and kidnappings, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari is under fire from allies and enemies alike for appearing incapable of tackling the security crisis. April saw an almost daily toll of bloody assaults and abductions in Africa’s most populous nation. In the past week alone, at least 240 people have been killed and more than four dozen kidnapped, according to tallies by local media. The fatalities included 19 Fulani herders gunned down in southeastern Anambra state; five students in the northwest who were shot to death days after gunmen snatched them from their campus; 31 troops, slain in a jihadist ambush in the Lake Chad region; and nine police killed by cattle thieves in northwestern Kebbi state. Senators, local go...
President Buhari condoles with Adamawa community over insurgents attack
President Muhammad Buhari has condoled with Kwapre community in Hong Local Government Area (LGA) of Adamawa over the recent Boko Haram insurgents attack. Buhari, represented by Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, said this when he visited the community on Sunday. The president expressed his deepest sympathy and condolence to the affected community. ”I am in Kwapre to see things under the directive of President Muhammadu Buhari and to symphatise and condole with the community. ”I have seen the level of destructions which is tragic of monumental dimension. ”I am deeply saddened by what I saw and am assuring the community, government will do all what is possible to protect lives and property of the citizens,” he said. He said that from information available, over 78 ...
Group advocates palliative for terrorism, banditry victims
A group under the auspices of Initiative for Conciliation and Right Protection has advocated for palliative for victims of terrorism and banditry to cushion the effect of the ugly trend. This is contained in a statement jointly signed by Mable Bremah, Godwin Ekoja and Halima Bukar, Assistant Secretary, PRO and Deputy Organising Secretary respectively in Birnin Kebbi on Saturday. It observed that victims of terrorism, banditry and oppressed deserved better treatment to enable such victims resettle and gradually recover from their trauma. The statement urged Nigerians irrespective of ethnic, religious and political affiliation to collectively join hands toward ending the insecurity bedevilling the country to pave way for a better Nigeria. It observed that Nigerians were living in an unpreced...
OPC berates ex-COAS for equating group with Boko Haram
The Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) yesterday berated a former Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt. Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazau, for comparing the group with the terrorist organisation, Boko Haram. In a statement, the group’s newly-elected President, Mr. Wasiu Afolabi, said the former army chief displayed a dangerous level of mischief, prejudice and narrow-mindedness by equating what it termed a pro-democracy group like the OPC with a world-acclaimed terrorist organisation. Afolabi maintained that the comments by Dambazzau were an attempt to give a dog a bad name in order to hang it, insisting that the move will not work. “We shall not succumb to this cheap attempt at blackmail and negative profiling. OPC is not, has never been and will never be a terrorist organisation. Nobody should link us or lik...
CAN: Isa Pantami serving President Buhari’s interest
File Photo The Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, says President Muhammadu Buhari appointed Isa Pantami as Nigeria’s communications minister to serve a predetermined purpose, noting the government will not cast him away no matter how loud the call for his removal becomes. CAN’s position was relayed by its General Secretary Joseph Daramola in an interview with Punch. The comments come less than 24 hours after the presidency defended Mr Pantami of his alleged support for terrorist groups. Mr Daramola said the Christian body is not surprised that the presidency swiftly came out to exonerate Pantami, saying those who tapped him for the job were quite aware of his antecedents and must have given him specific instructions to carry out in government. “Government studies the characters they pu...