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Tag: Borno State

  • Abducted IDPs in Borno went beyond permissible distance – DHQ

    Abducted IDPs in Borno went beyond permissible distance – DHQ

    The Defence Headquarters says the 112 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), who were abducted by terrorists in Borno recently, reportedly went beyond the permissible distance from their camp without informing the camp officials.

    The Director of Defence Media Operations, Maj.-Gen. Edward Buba, made this known while giving update on the operations of the Nigerian Armed Forces across the country  on Thursday in Abuja.

    Buba said that troops, on March 3, received information from the Coordinator of Borno State Emergency Management Agency  about suspected abduction of an unknown number of IDPs in Gamboru Ngala Local Government Area of Borno.

    He said that preliminary investigation revealed that the IDPs left camp to an undisclosed location to fetch  firewood.

    He said that the IDPs reportedly went beyond the permissible distance.

    According to him, the IDPs reportedly did not notify the camp authorities of their movement.

    “It was later,  at about 2030hrs at  night, when the IDPs did not return to camp, that alarm was raised as to their possible abduction by terrorists.

    “It was at that stage that troops were notified of the incident.

    “The standard practice was for troops to be notified prior to any movement of IDPs beyond the permissible distance of 5-7km from their camp.

    “The IDPs reportedly went beyond the permissible distance to get firewood as a result of deforestation around their camp.

    The terrorist abducted 112 IDPs in the process,” he said.

    Buba said that efforts were ongoing to rescue them and  others  abducted in other locations including Kaduna and Sokoto states.

    He said that search-and-rescue efforts were affected by the late notification of troops about the abduction.

    He gave the assurance that the military would  do its best to get back the abducted people.

    “Because of the sensitivity of the matter, I cannot go into further details as to signs of life, location and the different options that we have in order to get these hostages back.

    “I can further assure that getting these hostages back is very clearly on the top of our priorities.

    “It is for this reason we have leveraged on our international partners for support,” he said.

  • APC officials suspended for allegedly selling palliatives

    APC officials suspended for allegedly selling palliatives

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) has suspended four of its officials in Borno over alleged selling of the State Government palliative for vulnerable persons.

    Mr Mustapha Loskuri, the state APC Secretary, said this in a statement on Tuesday in Maiduguri.

    Loskuri said that the officials included Ali Kaka, state executive; Adam Ajiya, ward chairman of old Maiduguri; Mala Mohammed, ward secretary of old Maiduguri; and Usman Bukar, ward executive of old Maiduguri.

    He said that the decision to suspend them was taken was at the meeting of the State Working Committee of the party.

    “This decision was taken in accordance with the provisions of Article 21 of the party’s Constitution.

    “In the same vein, the aforementioned officers remained suspended pending the outcome of the investigation by the disciplinary committee by the party,” Lokuri said.

  • APC lauds peaceful conduct of Borno LG election

    APC lauds peaceful conduct of Borno LG election

    The Deputy National Chairman(North) of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Alhaji Ali Dalori, has lauded the peaceful conduct of Saturday’s local government election in Borno.

    The APC leader made the commendation in an interview with journalists in Maiduguri on Sunday.

    Dalori, who was in Borno for the election, urged candidates and parties that participated in the election to accept the outcome in good faith and follow due process if they have to complain.

    He urged winners of the 27 chairmanship and 312 councillor positions to put the electorate first in running their administration if they want to remain relevant in politics.

    “As representatives at the grassroots, you need to be with the people always, if you run away from them you’re killing your political career.

    “I started as a ward councillor who held onto his people to grow to council chairman, lawmaker, state party chairman and today a national party official.

    “Having people is the real asset in politics and your must not joke with that if given the opportunity, particularly by the electorate,” Dalori said.

    He lauded the APC led government under Gov. Babagana Zulum of Borno for its performance which he said was inline with the party manifesto and urged the new council leaders to emulate him.

    Also speaking, Sen. Kaka Shehu(APC-Borno Central) and Rep. Kadiri Rahis representing Maiduguri Federal Constituency, lauded the peaceful conduct of the election.

    They urged the people of Borno to continue to work for the continued peace and development in the state.

    Six political parties – the All Progressives Congress (APC), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), Social Democratic Party (SDP), Labour Party (LP) and Allied People’s Movement (APM) participated in the election.

  • Voter apathy mars Borno LG election

    Voter apathy mars Borno LG election

    Citizens of Borno trickled out to vote in Saturday’s local government election that was held in the State to elect councillors.

    The election was marred by voter apathy, as many residents blamed the development on lack of campaign by the participating political parties and candidates.

    As at 12 noon, some of the polling units that started operation only recorded a few voters.

    The Executive Chairman of the State Independent Electoral Commission (BOSIEC), Alhaji Lawan Maina, who monitored the exercise, urged for peaceful conduct.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports six political parties participated in the local government election.

    The parties are the All Progressives Congress (APC), People’s Democratic Party (PDP), New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), Social Democratic Party (SDP), Labour Party (LP) and Allied People’s Movement (APM)

    The APC is the only party with chairmanship and councillor candidates in all the 27 LGAs as the remaining parties fielded candidates in less that five LGAs.

  • Borno reaffirms ban on illegal mining

    Borno reaffirms ban on illegal mining

    The Borno State Government on Sunday reaffirmed its ban on illegal mining and warned defaulters of the dire consequences.

    Prof. Usman Tar, information and internal security commissioner, in a statement on Sunday in Maiduguri, enjoined the public to adhere strictly to the ban.

    “The military and security agencies are requested to be vigilant and apprehend defaulters.

    “For the avoidance of doubt, the ban on illegal mining remains active in the light of the fragile security situation in Borno.

    “Let’s enforce the ban. Any illegal miner caught will be prosecuted,” he warned.

    Seventeen (17) solid minerals are found in Borno, according to the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission.

    The minerals include Feldspar, Limestone, Kaolin, Potash, Iron-Ore, Quarts, Magnetite, Diatomite, Trona, Mica, Silica Sand, Gypsum, Granite, Flutters Earth and Uranium.

  • Borno governor, Zulum promises to continue giving palliatives till end of tenure

    Borno governor, Zulum promises to continue giving palliatives till end of tenure

    The governor of Borno State, Babagana Umara Zulum supervised the distribution of N275 million in cash, food items, and wrappers to 95,000 residents in Monguno town of Monguno Local Government Area in the northern part of the state.

    It was gathered that during the distribution on Tuesday and Wednesday, 55,000 women were each given N5,000 cash and a wrapper, while 40,000 male heads of household received 25kg of rice and 10kg of beans.

    Recall that Monguno was displaced by Boko Haram insurgents about eight years ago before it was recaptured by the Nigerian military. Monguno hosts IDPs from the four local government areas of Kukawa, Guzamala, Nganzai, and Marte.

    “Monguno is one of the local government areas severely devastated by Boko Haram insurgents. The population here is huge and they have limited access to agricultural land. For this reason, we decided to provide palliatives to all residents living in Monguno,” Zulum said.

    The governor has promised to continue the distribution of palliative throughout his tenure in order to support communities severely affected by the Boko Haram insurgency.

    Zulum expressed gratitude to President Bola Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima for supporting the Borno State Government with rice through the Northeast Development Commission (NEDC).

    The governor also acknowledged support from the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and the Nigeria Customs Service.

    Dignitaries present during the distribution include the House of Representatives member for Marte, Monguno, and Nganzai, Bukar Talba, Managing Director of the Chad Basin Development Authority, Abba Garba, Commissioner for Local Government and Emirate Affairs, Sugun Mai Mele, and his Agriculture and Natural Resources counterpart, Bawu Musami.

    Others include the Director General of SEMA, Dr. Barkindo Aliyu Muhammed; Special Adviser to the Governor on Monitoring, Baba Bukar Gujibawu; General Manager of the Borno State Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency, Mohammed Musa Aliyu; and Chairman of Monguno Local Government, Mohammed Kyari.

  • Air Force knocks out terrorists in raids in Borno

    Air Force knocks out terrorists in raids in Borno

    The air component of the joint military taskforce, “Operation Hadin Kai’’ knocked out several terrorists in Ajigin and Banki Junction areas of Borno in two major air strikes on Nov. 8 and Nov. 11.

    Director, Public Relations and Information at the Nigerian Air Force, Air Commodore Edward Gabkwet, stated on Sunday in Abuja that the interdictions were in continuation of efforts at clearing remnant of terrorists in the locations.

    He stated that the terrorists, who had hidden four gun-trucks under thick shrubs, had perfected plans to attack troops’ locations around Damboa and Wajiroko.

    He added that three of the gun-trucks were struck as evidenced by the thick black smoke and fire from them after the strike. The last gun-truck was seen fleeing the scene of the strike.

    “The fleeing truck was subsequently tailed for about 26km until it disappeared under a tree, but was struck and observed to be on fire with no sign of movement at the location.

    “The destruction of the four gun-trucks, along with the occupants, effectively degraded the capability of the terrorists to attack friendly forces and locals within the area,’’ he stated.

    Gabkwet added that air interdiction missions were also conducted at a location seven kilometres east of Banki Junction in Borno on Nov 11.

    The location, he explained, was a well-known terrorists’ enclave hitherto deserted, but suddenly became active with high terrorists’ activities.

    Terrorists used the location as logistics storage area and staging area to attack troops’ locations at Banki Junction in the past, he added.

    “Accordingly, NAF aircraft were scrambled to interdict the location. The aftermath of the strike revealed the destruction of the location with the logistics sites on fire.

    “The terrorists have continued to feel the firepower of air and ground forces and her apparently desperate, confused and at a loss as to why they have been on the receiving end of military onslaughts.

    “The inability of terrorists to move freely and at will is also attributed to the effectiveness of the operational cooperation exhibited by the air and ground troops, which should be commended,’’ Gabkwet stated.

  • Marauding elephants invade farmlands in Borno

    Marauding elephants invade farmlands in Borno

    Marauding elephants have invaded farm fields in Gamboru/Ngala Local Government Area of Borno.

    Confirming the development on Friday, the Director Forestry and Wildlife in the Borno Ministry of Environment, Mr Ayuba Peter said that the ministry received reports and was mobilising a team to go to the area.

    Peter said the elephants were from Waza National Park in neighbouring Cameroon Republic.

    “The herd is from Waza National park and yearly it use to move from Cameroon to Nigeria and back again at this period, following it route that passed through Gamboru/Ngala and Kala-Balge LGAs.

    “We have mobilised our men, we are just waiting for personnel of Federal Ministry of Environment that will join us any moment now to move to the area,” Peter said.

    Also speaking on the development, the Director of Pest Control in Borno Ministry of Agriculture, Malam Mustafa Bukar said he heard about the incident but was yet to get any official complaint from the affected area.

    “So far, we only got complaints about Quela birds and Grasshoppers in Dikwa, Molai and Muna axis of Dikwa, Konduga and Jere LGAs which has been contained,” Bukar said.

  • Why Boko Haram insurgents are surrendering – Official

    Why Boko Haram insurgents are surrendering – Official

    Retired Brig.-Gen. Abdullahi Ishaq, the Special Adviser to Gov. Babagana Zulum of Borno on Security, has attributed the mass surrendering of Boko Haram insurgents to the State Government’s offer to receive and rehabilitate them.

    Ishaq said this in a presentation titled “The Impact of Borno Model in the Fight against Terrorists in Borno”, at a public lecture organised by University of Maiduguri on Wednesday in Maiduguri.

    “I want to say without fear of contradiction that apart the fact that the insurgents have been degraded by the military, the window opened by the Zulum administration for them to surrender and the political will exhibited by the government has made many of them to surrender,” he said.

    “The first batch of 35 insurgents who surrendered and received good treatments, encouraged others to also surrender, because of the reception given them.
    ” This included the governor’s visit to talk to them and this encouraged more others to surrender.

    “That week I received over 1,500 of them who came out from the bush,” Ishaq said.

    He added that the resolve by the people to accept those who surrendered back into the society also facilitated their surrendering.

    “They are happy to hear that the people of Borno are ready to forgive them,” he said.

    Ishaq said that the death of former leader of the group, Malam Abubakar Shekau and the supremacy fighting between the Boko Haram and the ISWAP group also created a wide division as many insurgents abandoned the fight saying it was no longer about ideology.

    “Shekau’s death coupled with the fact that most of the die hard Boko Haram members have been killed in combats with military and the inhouse fighting made many mostly those conscripted to abandoned the fight.

    “Most of conservative or die hard members of Boko Haram died of military action or in house fighting; over 90 per cent of them are dead.

    “Hence, many of those conscripted started coming out,” Ishaq said.

    He lauded the military for working in synergy with security agencies in the fight against the insurgents .

    Over 100,000 Boko Haram/ISWAP fighters and their families have so far surrendered to troops in the state under the,“ Borno Model.

  • Police arrest husband, 1 other for allegedly killing wife in Borno

    Police arrest husband, 1 other for allegedly killing wife in Borno

    The Borno Police Command on Friday confirmed arresting two suspects, Adamu Ibrahim and Bukar Wadiya for allegedly killing one Fatima Alhaji-Bukar, a 24 years old housewife.

    Alhaji-Bukar was a resident of Dikechiri, Bayan Gidan Dambe area of Maiduguri metropolis, Borno State.

    This is contained in a statement signed by the spokesperson of the command ASP Sani Kamilu and made available to newsmen in Maiduguri on Friday.

    According to him, the deceased was married to one Adamu Ibrahim who was  the prime suspect in the matter.

    “On October 18, 2023, one Adamu Alhaji Ibrahim of Dikechiri Bayan Gidan Dambe area Maiduguri went to Gwange Division, accompanied by one Bukar Wadiya, conveying the body of a woman whom he  claimed to be his wife and sought for an emergency help from the police,” he said.

    “The husband, who claimed to be a staff member of a commercial bank in Maiduguri, came back from work at about 5:00 p.m. and found the deceased  lying down in a pool of her own blood,” he said.

    According to him, preliminary investigation revealed that before the incident, the couple had some domestic disputes over an alleged extra marital affair by the husband at their matrimonial home.

    He explained that the house where the incident happened was secured and during search, some exhibits were recovered including one short pestle, a bag, rope, a rug carpet stained with blood, knife, and Honda vehicle and a mucus stained pillow.

    Kamilu said that there was no evidence of constructive breakage or entry into the house and only the husband has the key to the house.

    He said that the husband and  Bukar Wadiya were both arrested as prime suspects, noting that discreet investigation was ongoing for subsequent prosecution.